Archive for March, 2011
Get Walking the Tree for a quid!
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To celebrate the fact that Kaaron Warren has just been nominated for a Ditmar award for her book Walking the Tree, we have dropped the price of the eBook – for 48 hours only!
So, from now (midday GMT, March 29th) until the same time on the Thursday 31st, you can buy Walking the Tree as an eBook for just £1 (which works out to US $1.60ish), instead of the usual price of £4.49.
You can buy this an an ePub file from angryrobotstore.com
So don’t get caught out – go and get yourself a copy before it is too late!
Angry Robot Podcast #9
Posted by: | CommentsIn our March episode, we welcome Maurice Broaddus, author of King’s Justice, and Ian Whates, author of City of Hope and Despair.
Don’t forget we have several items up for auction at Genre for Japan. Please consider bidding!
Theme song courtesy of John Anealio, find more of his awesome/twisted science fiction-themed music at SciFi Songs.
Subscribe to the podcast via RSS feed or via iTunes.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Genre for Japan – Bidding Now Open
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The Genre for Japan auction is now live. With 137 lots available to bid on (including a few from Angry Robot and our authors) there is something for everyone.
- * Want to be named in someone else’s next novel? Check
- * Want a rare, signed ARC from some of the best in the business? Check
- * Want a year’s worth of your favourite reading matter? Check
- * Want a professional critique on a piece of your own writing? Check
- * Want a choice of many, many other things? Check
- * Want to support the Red Cross relief efforts in the process? Check
Bidding starts as low as £0 on some items.
Head to the Genre for Japan website now, and check out what’s on offer.
Dan Abnett’s London signing has been postponed
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Due to the protest March in London tomorrow*, Dan’s signing at Forbidden Planet has been cancelled, but will be rescheduled as soon as possible. Keep an eye on this site (and Forbidden Planet‘s) for details of the new signing date.
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*They’re not protesting against Dan, of course, although we wouldn’t be surprised if someone organised a protest that Dan doesn’t have his own barony, yet.
Embedded signing in London, tomorrow
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For all you UK folk lucky enough to be in the London area tomorrow, be sure to pop in to the Forbidden Planet Megastore on Shaftesbury Avenue between 1.00 and 2.00pm.
Dan Abnett will be signing the limited hardback edition of his new novel, Embedded. The official publication date for Embedded in the UK is April 28th, but you can get the limited edition – which is exclusive to Forbidden Planet – nearly 5 weeks earlier!
A beautiful edition, and with only 200 printed for sale, this is sure to become a collector’s item!
If you can’t make it to the signing, you can pre-order a copy, here. But be quick – when they’re gone, that’s it!
Genre For Japan
Posted by: | CommentsWe’re all aware of the tragic events in Japan in recent weeks. On seeing other communities starting to work together to raise much-needed relief funds, one book blogger stood tall and said “We should do something, too”. Step forward, Amanda Rutter of Floor to Ceiling Books.
Amanda assembled a crack squad comprising Jenni Hill, Louise Morgan, Alasdair Stuart, Ro Smith and Robert Mulligan, and then set out to contact genre publishers and authors with a view to donating prizes for auction, and donate, they did!
If you have anything you feel would make a great prize for this effort, Genre for Japan are accepting donations until March 5th.
Bidding on the auctions (which includes manuscript critiques, eBook bundles, paperback bundles and hardback limited editions) begins on Monday 28th March, and runs for 6 days.
100% of the money raised goes directly to the Japan Tsunami Appeal run by the British Red Cross.
So, click here and BOOKMARK THIS PAGE and come back on Monday to see the many wonderful items you can bid on.
Latest reviews roundup
Posted by: | CommentsThe first reviews are coming in fast and furious for Dan Abnett’s superior military SF novel, Embedded. This, from My Favourite Books:
It’s a great story, a dangerously more-ish mix of corporate engineering and boneshaking action. It feels fresh, it’s accessible to everyone and permeated with the vivid and immersive action that’s become Dan’s trademark. I devoured it in a couple of days and my only complaint was that there wasn’t more of it!
Lovely stuff.
If you’re in the UK, Dan will be signing a Limited Edition hardcover of the novel at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, this Saturday – that’s a whole month before the main UK release! And as this edition is limited to just 200 copies on sale, this is going to be very collectible, indeed!
Dan also waxes lyrical about his life and his work in the first part of a two-part interview over at BSC Review.
Speaking of interviews, there’s a great chat with Lauren Beukes at Mail & Guardian Online.
Aliette de Bodard’s superb Aztec fantastical murder mystery, Harbinger of the Storm is reviewed at Examiner.com:
This is one of those sequels that doesn’t require you to have read the first–but I highly recommend you do…
de Bodard’s writing is polished and striking, as she convincingly fills in the colorful elements of the Aztec culture–even if those colors tend to be of blood and bile as well as flowers and hummingbirds. The sacrifices, the never-ending rituals, the elaborate garb of the high priests…all of it paints a mosaic that is in turns beautiful, grimy, breathtaking, and morbid.
5 *****
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Welcome Angry Robot’s latest signing – Adam Christopher!
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We’re absolutely delighted to announce that we have pounced upon the debut novel of British-based New Zealander Adam Christopher.
Adam is well-known to many at the heart of the British science fiction community through his strong presence on Twitter, under the nickname @ghostfinder. It was through reading his posts that AR first became aware of him. When we found out he had ambitions to have his debut full-length novels see print we dove at the chance to check them out.
We loved what we read (and we mean loved), and so Lee has signed Adam to AR for at least two novels, starting with EMPIRE STATE.
Empire State is a story of superheroes, and a city divided in two. Detective Rad Bradbury picks up the trail of a murderer, only to discover that the world he has always known is a pocket universe, recently brought into existence by an explosion of phenomenal power. With a superhero on his tail he crosses into a city that bears a remarkable resemblance to his own – a city called New York. There he uncovers a deadly threat to the Empire State, and finds that the future of both realities are at stake.
Lee said…
“It’s always a great feeling when you find a new author – especially one with Adam’s talent. Empire State is reminiscent of China Miéville’s The City & the City – the existence of superheroes within Adam’s world serving to underline the very human struggle for survival. We’re pretty excited.”
And Adam added…
“I’ve been following Angry Robot ever since their mothership landed in 2009, and they quickly became one of my favourite imprints. Over the last couple of years they’ve built a brilliant list of authors and titles, and to be part of it all really is a dream come true.”
Empire State will be published in January 2012, with a second superhero-themed fantasy, Seven Wonders, to follow before the end of the year too. You are so going to looooove these books.
For more information, review copies, interview and feature requests contact Marketing Man, aka Mike Ramalho via the usual means.
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STOP PRESS:
Adam’s first interview as an Angry Robot author can be found here, at Floor To Ceiling Books.
One of the best books you will read this year
Posted by: | CommentsThat’s not our claim (though we’re happy to agree with it), that’s the mighty SF Book site, reviewing Dan Abnett’s amazing Embedded:
The prose is tight and incredibly well written… At it’s heart Embedded is a gritty military science fiction story, it’s also one of the best books you will read this year, I loved every second of it.
They also review Aliette de Bodard’s Harbinger of the Storm:
I love the way that this series is written, and the style that the author infuses onto the page – the rich mythology of Mexica along with the very real and physical presence of the god’s (there is no room for doubt here that they exist) along with the graphic and frequent bloodletting… the plot is both mature and seductive… while the action is both bloodthirsty and imaginative.
If you haven’t yet read Servant of the Underworld I suggest that you get them both and read them in order, you won’t be dissapointed.
(Worth pointing out that while Harbinger of the Storm is the second in the Obsidian and Blood series, you don’t have to have read the first, as both books function as standalone novels).
And over at The Traveler’s Daily Steampunk, Lavie Tidhar’s superior steampunk romp, Camera Obscura gets the once-over:
A few weeks back I was wondering if Lavie would manage to dethrone himself and make Camera Obscura my new favourite Steampunk novel.
He did.
I think Camera Obscura is required reading for every Steampunk out there.The full reinforced squadron, ten out of ten Zeppelins!
Competition Time – Remix the Robot!
Posted by: | CommentsAnnouncing! The frankly incredible Remix the Angry Robot Theme Tune contest. Woah lawd yeah!
OK, so first there were our wonderful monthly podcasts, conducted by Mighty Mur Lafferty (no really, that’s her full three-word name – check her passport if you don’t believe us). To help give her broadcasts a proper opening, our Mur commissioned the uncontainable talents of John Anealio to create the Angry Robot theme tune. And lo, toes were tapped most verily and heads they did nod.
Its life-changing twenty-two seconds were enough to lead into whichever of our intrepid authors were braving Mur’s piercing questions, but unbeknownst to us mere mortals, minds immeasurably superior to ours were beavering away behind the scenes on something far grander. For yes indeed, that man Matt Forbeck was plotting away with the selfsame Anealio to produce a version that had, oh my, verses… containing, gasp, lyrics, no less. And thus it became lead track on John’s recent Robots EP, still available for ** free ** download over at Bandcamp.
But that busy Mr Anealio couldn’t resist fiddling about. Typical human. So this week he debuted the following gentle mood manipulator, the unplugged version of “Angry Robot”, via the primitive broadcast system known as YouTube:
But why should the composer have all fun, you cry! Where’s our chance to dick around with this song, you demand! Well hush yo mouth and listen up, sparky, cos that’s what we’re getting to.
For yes, we can proudly announce our next frankly mental contest. Unlike your average genre publisher, Angry Robot has a theme tune. Now it’s time for you guys to REMIX THE THEME TUNE. Here’s all you have to do…
1) Follow the link of your choice below to download the multitracked parts of John and Matt’s full length Angry Robot song.
2) Slice, dice, layer, shuffle, remix, scratch, burn, weld, rip, belay and flense them into a totally different form. Or use these as inspiration for your own band’s version. Or get out comb, paper and vastly expensive sampling software now inexplicably available on your iPhone for only 59¢ and make the ultimate bootleg mash-up. Whatever it takes, make us a new version of the Angry Robot song and rock our metal souls.
3) Send us the resultant magnificent octopus as an MP3, by the end of April 1st.
Assisted by the astute brains of Mr John Anealio and the very Reverend Matt Forbeck we’ll pick our favourites and host them here. If we get enough good tracks, we can probably be persuaded to sort out a Bandcamp EP of all of them, for one and all to download until the robot cows come home.
And of course the very best one will win something as demented as the song: you’ll get a role in Matt Forbeck’s next novel for Angry Robot – and a very nasty death is guaranteed too!
The various parts you need are no longer available, because the competition has closed. Sorry.
John said to tell you muso types that the original files are in D minor, at 116 bpm. Yeah, like, back in the lab, professor! Anyways, send your entries as an MP3, preferably inside a .zip file, to us at incoming@angryrobotbooks.com
Don’t forget sensible stuff like your name and email address, and remember to ask your parent or guardian before using any scissors.
THE SMALL PRINT
All samples are provided as is. All samples are freely usable in any way you see fit, under Creative Commons. You are allowed to chop these samples into pieces, loop fragments, blow them up, timestretch them out, do whatever. If you use any samples from *other people’s works* for some demented mash-up and they come after you with swanky lawyers, we don’t know you. If somehow you have a top ten hit with these and are suddenly neck-deep in floozies and fast cars, ours is a pint of champers and a Ferrari. Each. You agree that we can post your mad remixes on the internet for humans to hear.
