Search Results for "walking the tree"
Lauren, Gav, Kaaron, and Mike
Posted by: | CommentsThe Angry Robot plans for world domination continue apace. Over at Dark Fiction Review, as part of the Angry Robot Special, there’s a special guest blog by Mike Shevdon (author of Sixty-One Nails and The Road to Bedlam) in which Mike talks about the state of the genre, Lauren Beukes’s Zoo City is reviewed, and Kaaron Warren (Slights and Walking the Tree) is interviewed.
First up, Mike Shevdon, on why fantasy makes such great TV:
Because urban fantasy is set in current reality, it becomes possible to adapt it into current time. That’s why True Blood and The Dresden Files (and Buffy) could make TV, and consequently reach a whole new audience. After the show is over that audience naturally wants more, and the sudden explosion of vampire romances and supernatural detectives is the result.
Next up, the Zoo City is as fantastical or as ordinary as you want it to be… it’s exactly the kind of book that should get her on late night US chat shows as it is carried up the New York Times Bestseller list. Yes, it’s that good. Zoo City is major league writing. It is effortless, easy and, quite frankly, astonishing.
And, although Kaaron wrote the award-winning horror Slights, nothing will prepare you for the (frankly disturbing) image that accompanies her interview.
I love that moment of original spark and will often take pages of notes before even thinking about writing the story. It can be just a title, like Cage Life, used to describe the life of Mustafa 1, who was kept imprisoned for 14 years by his brother.
We’re having a pretty good time of it in the dead-tree magazine, too. As well as last week’s superb review of Zoo City in SFX, this week, SciFi Now tells us:
Lauren Beukes stuns with a richly textured venture into a pseudo-fantastical Johannesburg of the future… this is a fine novel that will wrap itself around your imagination like a sloth on your own shoulders.
4**** – Must Read Now
and SFX also covered Gav Thorpe’s epic The Crown of the Blood:
there’s plenty to keep you turning the pages… An intriguing ending promises something different for book two
And finally (for now) at Falcata Times, Mike Shevdon is interviewed.
FT: It is often said that if you can write a short story you can write anything. How true do you think this is and what have you written that either proves or disproves this POV?
MS: My first work of fiction was over 150,000 words and I really struggle to write anything under 5,000 words. I don’t know whether an accomplished short story writes can write everything, but I suspect not – the two forms are quite different. It’s a bit like saying a good pastry chef can cook anything, which is fine until you have to eat their mushroom and banana risotto.
A few recent reviews and other interesting stuff
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s been a while since we posted any reviews (largely due to the fact that we’re in the middle of a short break before our US/Canada launch and our UK relaunch) but here are a few that came to our attention, recently:
The Speculative Scotsman has this to say about Kaaron Warren’s wonderful fantasy, Walking the Tree:
Warren’s almost detached tone belies a startling blackness at the heart of her narrative… Walking the Tree is an unpretentious, eye-opening experience. Dark but never dim, Karron Warren’s first novel since she documented the psyche of a serial killer in her debut Slights is an insightful, earthy chronicle of diversity and understandings arrived at and remade. Hers is a voice that demands to be heard, and I don’t doubt that this marvelous fable represents only the root of her talents.
Wow!
Meanwhile, over at BiblioBuffet, Arthurian specialist Gillian Polack touches on what makes a successful retelling of the Arthurian myth. King Maker comes under some pretty close scrutiny (the section on King Maker is about halfway down the feature):
King Maker is different. King Maker is based on an idea so very clever that I keep telling my friends “Look—it’s clever!” It’s like watching West Side Story for the first time. It’s like reading Malory as an adult, after having discovered Geoffrey of Monmouth and Nennius and Wace and Chrétien and Marie.
There is so much more I could quote from this article, but rather than just read the odd soundbite, I urge you to read the full piece.
And finally (for now), Mat Coward reviews Colin Harvey’s Winter Song for the Morning Star newspaper:
This is tough, traditional science fiction with plenty of “Hard SF” and world-building, intriguingly leavened by the spirit of the Norse myths that runs through it. Good entertainment by a thinking writer.
Some random links of interest
Posted by: | CommentsA few interesting snippets from the web over the weekend:
The BBC reports on how hundreds of children in Glasgow embarked on a series of vampires hunts in the 1950s, in order to kill the vampire responsible for the deaths of two local children, and how the authorities used this case to strengthen UK censorship laws.
Fear of the so-called Gorbals Vampire had spread to many of their parents, who begged Pc Deeprose for assurances there was no truth to the rumours.
Newspapers at the time reported that the headmaster of a nearby primary school told everyone present that the tale was ridiculous, and police were finally able to disperse the crowd.
But the armed mob of child vampire hunters was to return immediately after sunset the following night, and the night after that.
Buffy would be proud.
Meanwhile, the British Fantasy Society has published its long list of recommendations for the British Fantasy Awards 2010. Included in the list are Kaaron Warren’s Slights, Mike Shevdon’s Sixty-One Nails and Dan Abnett’s Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero as well as Hub Magazine, published by yours truly, and edited by Alasdair Stuart.
Over at Temple Library Reviews, for some inexplicable reason they decided to interview me:
TLR: What is the SFF award you most desire for a book from your imprint?
LEE: The best award is sales figures. A Hugo would be nice, or a Nebula, or a Stoker, or an Arthur C Clarke, or a Gemmell, but the most rewarding is to have the books read by huge numbers of people, so our authors can continue to write more novels.
Please excuse the hair.
Temple Library Reviews are also hosting an Angry Robot giveaway, so head on over to try your luck (please note: this particular giveaway is open to UK residents, only).
If you’re a Twitter afficionado and are looking for other people to follow, you could do worse than consult the 100 Fun Twitter Feeds for Serious SciFi Geeks.
And if you’re at this year’s World Horror Convention in Brighton this weekend, or EasterCon the following weekend, there’ll be a bunch of Angry Robot peeps around. Be sure to stop us and say “Hi”. We’ll be in the bar.
Some Monday morning robot luuurve
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A few more fabulous reviews for your delectation:
The Guardian has this to say about Ian Whates’ debut novel, City of Dreams and Nightmare:
Whates’s assured prose, slick pacing and inventive imagination make for a gripping read. His first novel is the work of a born storyteller.
The fantastically-named Captain Mission turns his attention to Guy Adams’ The World House:
a brilliant twisted fantasy that’s dark and bewildering and somewhat funny as well… it’s like alice in wonderland meets steven king on mescaline
Next, Kaaron Warren’s wonderful fantasy, Walking the Tree from Total SciFi Online.
It is the setting that really makes the story and keeps the reader interested. The various communities of Botanica are well thought out and intriguing, and their differing attitudes towards disease, sex and the Tree constantly challenge Lillah’s thoughts and beliefs. It also draws on our own awareness of humanity’s evolution, and adds a sense of reality to the already convincing setting.
Moxyland is reviewed, as part of a history of Cyberpunk over at The Zone:
one of the more interesting aspects of Moxyland is the way that it refuses to follow the recent trend of exoticising cyberpunk…
Moxyland is a wake-up call to a generation of science fiction writers that have been slumbering for far too long: if you want to write about the future then you cannot do so on terms that were set nearly 30 years ago: just as the mainstream of culture has evolved, so too must the ways in which thinkers formulate their opposition to that mainstream.
Kell’s Legend gets a couple more reviews, too. First up, SciFi-Fantasy Bookshelf:
The Kell storyline is very high fantasy, it is the larger picture of the world that is important here. The idea of the vachine are a brilliant reimagining of both steampunk ideas and vampires. With these creatures set in a world that Remic obviously has so much as yet unrevealed history for there is nowhere to go but up.
And over at Un:Bound:
Kell himself is an absolute bastard in many ways, his humanity largely tied to his grandaughter but he is trying to do the right thing and be a decent man… It’s a fast brutal fantasy adventure with some fun characters and some fantastic ideas. I am really excited to see the series develop.
Woody’s Roundup
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Temple Library Reviews are running an Angry Robot marathon – interviews, features and reviews of our books. They kicked off yesterday with a great interview with Walking the Tree author Kaaron Warren.
When Marc Gascoigne was asked to set up a new imprint of Harper Collins, he knew he wanted to seek far and wide for authors. He wanted an international cast of characters. So he asked writers he’d worked with when he was with The Black Library to give him the names of writers they respected in their own countries.
Matthew Farrer, a Warhammer 40,000 novelist, included me on his list.
From there, I nervously emailed Marc to tell him I had three novels and he asked me to send him proposals for all three. His response to the proposals was to ask for sample chapters and his response to the sample chapters was to ask for full manuscripts.
That was a nervous time, waiting for his final response.
Then I got an email, telling me that Angry Robot would buy all three novels. I had to get my husband to read the email for me, to check I wasn’t dreaming!
Today they followed up with a review of Kaaron’s first book, Slights:
Perhaps one of the most disturbing psychological horror stories imbued with withering decadence and written as a memoir. This story haunted me and froze my blood in a manner I have yet to encounter.
Talking of Slights, Bookish Ardour tells us:
Sometimes I finish reading a book and I swear it’s like I’m shell shocked. I’m dazed, I don’t want to talk to anyone, I don’t really want to listen to anyone. I feel like I’m stuck in some sort of limbo that only happens after certain stories. The thing is, it’s not always the story that leaves me shell shocked, but that the story is over…
The story actually deals with a lot of death, and hints at some pretty obscene and horrific acts, and yet in all that darkness I found quite a sense of humour. I don’t usually laugh when I’m reading. I’ll smile, maybe, but not laugh and I did with this one. I think the character Stevie is great and hilarious even though she is so crude. I even had to write down some of the lines because they entertained me so much.
Over at Fantasy Book Critic Ian Whates’ fabulous fantastical adventure (and brilliant debut) City of Dreams and Nightmare is reviewed:
“City of Dreams & Nightmare” grabs you pretty much from the first page and then you really do not want to put it down since it just twists and turns and the threads following the main characters above are all deftly handled with very smooth jumps and several crucial interludes following the “true movers and shakers” of the novel…
Highly recommended as a strong A and a fun, page turning sff adventure that will enchant all fans of such.
Falcata Times has just reviewed Lavie Tidhar’s The Bookman:
Angry Robot is fast building a reputation for bringing new talent alongside the less explored area’s of fiction to the fore. With this offering, they not only give the reader a new area to explore but a unique and novel storyteller to the masses…
Not only an interesting read but also one that leads the reader to ask more questions than is answered within the text supplied… A promising start and I hope that the follow-ups are just as interesting.
News and reviews Round-up
Posted by: | CommentsKaaron Warren certainly seems to be getting the attention she deserves. As well as being shortlisted for the Aurealis Award for Best Horror novel, her debut novel – Slights – is in the preliminary ballot round for Superior Achievement in a First Novel in this year’s Stoker Awards. Don’t forget that Kaaron’s second novel – Walking the Tree – is out now!
Now we discover that she’s one of the authors in a new book of short fiction – Tails of Wonder and Imagination (Night Shade, edited by Ellen Datlow). Pretty impressive, when you consider that co-contributors include Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, George R R Martin, Graham Joyce, Michael Marshall Smith and Tanith Lee!
Guy Adams’ debut for Angry Robot – The World House is starting to get a lot of love around the blogosphere. The first full review we’ve seen is at sciencefictionandfantasy.co.uk. They liked it!
The World House is a utterly original, quite crazy and simply brilliant piece of fiction. 5*****
Over at Free Thinking: A Journal of Popular Culture, Lavie Tidhar’s The Bookman is held under the microscope:
This is Tidhar’s first novel, though he has written much short fiction, and he has set himself quite a standard to live up to. A sequel is in the offing and I can hardly wait. I could write much more but I want you to discover this novel’s delights for yourself. Do I need to add that this is highly recommended? 5*****
Meanwhile, seven months after its UK release, and three months before its US publication, Lauren Beukes’ critically-acclaimed debut, Moxyland continues to delights and impress new readers.
Specusphere.com have this to say:
Her style is distinct, comprising short, almost staccato sentences that mimic the pace of the people and the society itself that seems to spin frenetically like a gerbil on a wheel… Beukes has done a fabulous job of world building, although it’s a world I’m glad I don’t inhabit!
I highly recommend this novel for fans of William Gibson and others who are fascinated by a talented new writer with a distinct style.
Those fine people over at Lateral Books have taken a look at Aliette de Bodard’s Servant of the Underworld:
I am finding it rather difficult to express my opinions of this novel without resorting to gushing like a schoolgirl about it… It is a book which is like a fresh breeze of crisp air.
Thankyou, Angry Robot. They’ve done a great job in unearthing some of the most exciting books of last year, and no doubt will be digging up some more future giants this year. I fully expect Ms De Bodard’s name to be huge.
I just can’t wait. Now, excuse me. I’m off to sacrifice something for Ms De Bodard’s continued success.
You know, I think they rather liked it!
This week’s signing, plus competition reminder
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Remember that this Friday at 6.00pm, there is an opportunity to meet with Angry Robot authors Aliette de Bodard and John Meaney at the Forbidden Planet Megastore in London. You can pick up signed copies of their books (Aliette’s Servant of the Underworld and John’s Edge – written under his alter-ego’s name: Thomas Blackthorne).
While there you can pick up a competition entry form to win one of two great prizes – a stone replica of an Aztec calendar (to tie in with Servant of the Underworld) or the opportunity to have a character named after you, and killed in Point – the sequel to Edge, published later this year!
Also, don’t forget this week’s competition, celebrating the release of Guy Adams’ The World House, alongside Kaaron Warren’s Walking the Tree and Thomas Blackthorne’s Edge.
Write a short story about any subject you like. The only rules are:
- 1) It has to be 13 sentences long
- 2) The first word of the first sentence must begin with T, the first word of the second sentence must begin with H, the first word of the third sentence must begin with E, and so on, so that the first letters of the sentences, printed one under the other, spell out “THE WORLD HOUSE”.
The best entries will be sent to Guy Adams for judging, and the winner gets an Angry Robot USB drive plus a choice of any book Angry Robot published in 2009. No geographical restrictions.
Send your entries (in Word or RTF format) to: theworldhouse [AT] angryrobotbooks.com
Competition ends Sunday 14th February.
Good luck, and have fun!
Some awesome sample chapters from next month’s releases
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What a cracking trio of samples we have for you today!
Here are some sample chapters from our March titles (all out on 4th March in the UK, later in the year for the US and Canada).
We will be offering free sample chapters of all of our titles prior to release, because you’re worth it.
All rights reserved.
However, feel free to share these sample chapters with anyone you wish, or to post them on your own site. And if you like them, buy Ian’s, Tim’s and/or Maurice’s book(s).
Please note that the formatting will vary from that of the final commercial product. Click on the PDF icon to download the sample.
City of Dreams and Nightmare by Ian Whates
King Maker by Maurice Broaddus
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and don’t forget we have three incredible books out today:
Feel free to share these sample chapters with anyone you wish, or to post them on your own site. And if you like them, buy Guy’s, Thomas’ and/or Kaaron’s book(s).
Edge by Thomas Blackthorne (aka John Meaney)
Walking the Tree – now with free novella!
Posted by: | CommentsAngry Robot set its stall out from the very start as an imprint that would be trying different approaches to delivering stories. Over the last year we’ve been fortunate to be in a prime position to take advantage of the surge in eBook editions. Now here’s another idea we’d like to run past you.
While writing Walking the Tree, ace AR author Kaaron Warren naturally concentrated on her central character, Lillah. But as she explored that woman’s incredible journey around Botanica’s immense Tree, she became just as fascinated with the story of one of her young companions, Morace.
So fascinated, in fact… that she rewrote the whole book from Morace’s point of view! Well, we couldn’t just hide that away and so, if you buy a physical copy of Walking the Tree you’ll find, amongst our usual swathe of extras and freebies at the end, the first two chapters of his story… and a secret download link and password, that will allow you to download or read the entire novella. And if you get the eBook edition, well, you get the whole thing as an added extra.
Who knows – perhaps this sort of thing could catch on. I’m sure we could all think of secondary characters whose adventures we’d like to read from their POV. And plenty more who we wouldn’t, of course.
And another *stunning* piece of art
Posted by: | CommentsToday it’s the cover for Ian Whates‘ first fantasy novel, City of Dreams & Nightmare. The cover is by Greg Bridges, the Australian artist who also graced us with the cover for Kaaron’s Walking the Tree.
This time we’re in the land of brass and clockwork, amongst the many towering spires of Thaiburley, City of a Hundred Rows – a setting that is as much of a character in the novel as any of the people. We see a vast metal and glass heart that appears to be running the city through some mysterious alchemical process, while through the great iron-worked windows you can glimpse a brief part of the vast city. To our minds, this is just stunning.
Click this image for a bigger version and check out all that incredible metalwork detailing. Seems almost a shame to shove lettering all over it.
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