Author Archive
2013 Locus Award Finalists
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Last night (well, last night in the UK – yesterday afternoon in the US) this year’s Locus Award finalists were announced, and we’re delighted to announce that Madeline Ashby’s vN has been shortlisted in the Best First Novel category, and Angry Robot author Aliette de Bodard has been shortlisted in both Best Novella and Best Short Story categories!
Not only that, but Angry Robot has been shortlisted for Best Publisher.
The competition in all of the categories is fierce, and the entire awards list highlights some of the amazing work being done in the SF & F genres today, and our congratulations go to Madeline and all of the other finalists. Except perhaps for those in the Best Publisher category – our cybernetic army lies in wait. Just sayin’…
More great Angry Robot reviews and a competition!
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So much love around for Chuck Wendig‘s The Blue Blazes (published May 28 in the US and Canada, June 6 in the UK).
Buzzy Mag says of it: “Seamlessly blending urban fantasy, crime noir and artisanal butchery, The Blue Blazes is one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time… Fun, fast,deep and superb.”
According to 52 Reviews: “You’re left with a story that will resonate beyond the close of the final page.”, and it’s listed as one of the best books of 2013, so far. Quite right, too!
(Oh, and here’s an awesome interview with Chuck at that very same site).
“Oh how good it is to be back in Wendig’s realm!” says Bite My Book. “I will not hesitate to wander down the next journey… 9/10″
So, that nice Mr Adam Christopher has been busy! He had a great interview with Veronica and Tom at Sword and Laser last week (the video below is how it was streamed on YouTube, and the podcast proper will be shown at Sword and Laser this week).
Sword and Laser are also running a competition in which you can win a signed, limited edition hardcover of Empire State and The Age Atomic. Enter the (extremely cool contest) here.
Support your local indie bookstore
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Image courtesy of Aleksa D at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
We love chain bookstores, online bookstores, secondhand bookstores, bookstores that double up as coffee stores, bookstores with stationery in them, bookstores with DVDs in them, and bookstores with just books in them. Anywhere that sells books is a place we like to be.
As well as supporting the major High Street and online stores we have an ongoing love affair with the independents, and we know that many of you do, too.
So, to that end, we’d like to hear about your favourite independent store.
What to do
Write to us (details below) about your favourite indie bookstore. Tell us where it is (anywhere in the world), when they open, and if they have a website. Tell us what it is about this store that you love. Send us a photograph of the front of the store so others can recognise it. If you get permission, send us a photograph of the inside of the store, too. Ideally, we’d like 200-400 words on why this store is great! Feel free to ask the owner or staff for a quote. Or feel free to just gush from the heart.
What you get out of it
If we publish your recommendation on our blog we’ll send you some books to say thank you.
What the store gets out of it
Word of mouth and recommendations are the lifeblood of any local business. We’d like to help promote some deserving local stores.
What we get out of it
A warm, fuzzy feeling in our tums. We had that once before, and it turned out we’d eaten something out of date, but we’d really like to get a similar sensation for doing something nice.
Where to send your missives
Drop us an email at independents AT angryrobotbooks.com – don’t forget to include a photo or two, and try to give plenty of detail as to why your favourite store deserves some time in the limelight.
Deadline
We’d like to get your recommendations as soon as possible. Shall we say: no later than the end of May?
Yes. Apparently, we shall.
Welcome to Exhibit A
Posted by: | CommentsRegular robot followers will know that we’re intent on world domination. A little under four years ago we launched Angry Robot in the UK, followed by the US and Canada a year or so later.
Last September we launched our new YA imprint, Strange Chemistry, to critical acclaim, and today sees the launch of our new Crime/Thriller imprint, Exhibit A, with the incomparable Emlyn Rees at the helm – himself a bestselling novelist.
Exhibit A’s launch titles are Scare Me by Richard Parker and Penance by Dan O’Shea, available in paperback today in the US and Canada, and in ebook worldwide. UK crime fans only have to wait until Thursday for their fix!
Head over to Exhibit A to find out more!
It’s Chu’s Day – The Lives of Tao, Out Now!
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Today marks the launch of Wesley Chu‘s brilliant The Lives of Tao in paperback in the US and Canada, and in ebook worldwide. Somewhat unusually for Angry Robot, Tao is our only book this month – but fear not, we published three last month and we have three next month for you, so you won’t be short on your robot fix, but for now it’s all about Roen and his alien passenger, Tao.
The Lives of Tao
When out-of-shape IT technician Roen Tan woke up and started hearing voices in his head, he naturally assumed he was losing it.
He wasn’t.
He now has a passenger in his brain – an ancient alien life-form called Tao, whose race crash-landed on Earth before the first fish crawled out of the oceans. Now split into two opposing factions – the peace-loving, but under-represented Prophus, and the savage, powerful Genjix – the aliens have been in a state of civil war for centuries. Both sides are searching for a way off-planet, and the Genjix will sacrifice the entire human race, if that’s what it takes.
Meanwhile, Roen is having to train to be the ultimate secret agent. Like that’s going to end up well…
And folk in the UK won’t have to wait long for the paperback – it’s out on Thursday (though some shops already appear to have stock)! One thing is sure, for the next month at Angry Robot, whatever day it is, it’s bound to be Chu’s Day!
“This book is high-octane spy vs spy action with a sly sense of humor. Pure pleasure from beginning to end. Highly recommended!”
- Ann Vandermeer, Hugo winning editor of Weird Tales and British Fantasy Award winning publisher of Buzzcity Press
The best book trailer you’ll ever see – Black Feathers
Posted by: | CommentsBook trailers have somewhat improved since their early days, when most of them were made by having the camera repeatedly zoom in and out on the cover, while a SERIOUS VOICE read the back cover copy.
Ladies, and gentlemen, we present you with something considerably more: the trailer to Joseph D’Lacey‘s Black Feathers:
For the full effect, hit the full screen button (between HD and vimeo).
BLACK FEATHERS MASTER NEW H264 from HORROD AND HARRIS on Vimeo.
The trailer was created by the astonishingly talented folk at Horrod and Harris.
To share this on your own site, copy and paste the following HTML:
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/63401644" height="281" width="500" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<a href="http://vimeo.com/63401644">BLACK FEATHERS MASTER NEW H264</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/horrodandharris">HORROD AND HARRIS</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a> <br>
Discover some great SF by women writers
Posted by: | CommentsIn the last week we’ve had two major award shortlists announced – the Hugo Awards (announced last Saturday) and the Arthur C Clarke award (announced this morning). Both sets of lists have some excellent titles, and while the Hugo shortlist had more female writers than male this year, the Clarke had none at all (though with a jury made up of 80% women, we know there was no male bias from the judges).
We’d like to help promote some great science fiction by our own female writers, to show the incredible quality of SF that can be enjoyed, whatever your gender.
Winner of the Arthur C Clarke Award 2011
So, if you buy 2 or more Angry Robot or Strange Chemistry ebooks from the Robot Trading Company, you can get a hefty discount off the usual £5.49 price*. Buy 1 book for the usual price, buy 2 – 4 and get 33% off, or buy 5 or more titles for a whopping 50% off!
Enter the code WSF at the checkout to get your discount!
Offer expires 30th April.
The titles:
Moxyland by Lauren Beukes
Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
Walking the Tree by Kaaron Warren
Debris by Jo Anderton
Suited by Jo Anderton
vN by Madeline Ashby
The Mad Scientist’s Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Broken by A E Rought
Emilie and the Hollow World by Martha Wells
Shift by Kim Curran
Still here? Go – fill your basket!
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*includes VAT @ 20%. Customers outside of the European Union do not pay the VAT.
Meet the Authors – Adam Christopher and Joseph D’Lacey
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As previously announced, Adam Christopher will be launching The Age Atomic at Forbidden Planet in London, this coming Thursday (4th April) at 6pm. Pick up a copy of the paperback, or treat yourself to the highly-collectible limited edition hardback (100 copies, only) of Empire State or The Age Atomic!
We hope to see you there!
The following evening (Friday 5th April), from 6.30pm at the Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green, London, Joseph D’Lacey will be signing copies of his first Angry Robot book, Black Feathers.
Joseph had his first signing at Blackwells, Edinburgh, this last weekend, and it was standing room only! Be sure, then, to get to Big Green in plenty of time (and sample their other wares – they’re a fabulous indie book shop).
SFX says of Black Feathers:
It’s an involving, well-told tale… at the heart is a black, thin-feathered phantom with a legitimately frightening name: the Crowman.
If you can’t make the signing (and you should – Joseph’s a great reader, and excellent with a pen!) you can pre-order signed copies here.
Signed copies of Adam’s books can also be pre-ordered.
This link for The Age Atomic paperback, this for the limited edition hardback, and this for the Empire State limited edition hardback (ignore the incorrect date on the Empire State page).
And some other fine folk have said some great things about Black Feathers, too:
“Sometimes… a book captures your imagination in a way that it takes residence in your brain, and the more you think about it, the more special it becomes. That’s Black Feathers.”
And Then I Read a Book
“A bold beginning to a new duology from the brilliant D’Lacey. Two children embark on a search for meaning that is riddled with ambiguity about the nature of the saviour they seek and which, ultimately, provides a siren call to live in harmony with the land.”
Alison Littlewood, author of A Cold Season
“Black Feathers is poetic and compelling. It’s a gripping story crafted around a deep core of eloquent anger. And it’s scary – it’s the scariest kind of fiction – the kind of fiction that rings true. D’Lacey has written a great book of and for our troubled times.”
- Tom Fletcher, author of The Leaping
“Dreadfully visionary. Appallingly inspired. One could wear out a thesaurus trying to articulate the singular fusion of qualities that has come to define Joseph D’Lacey’s work. Alternately (and sometimes simultaneously) horrifying, mesmerizing, shocking, unsettling, and beautiful, and always deeply intelligent, it’s utterly unlike anything else I’m aware of. It’s also utterly wonderful.”
- Matt Cardin, author of To Rouse Leviathan and Dark Awakenings
“Spectacular is the word I’d use to describe [Black Feathers]. Nothing else can capture the reading experience.”
- Shadowhawk at The Founding Fields
“I really did love this book, as it had everything I was looking for and more, and really redefined the genres of fantasy and dystopian fiction. I know the two genres have been merged before, but this book just had that special un-put-down-able spark I couldn’t resist.”
- Rebecca at Book Chick City
“Read it. If, like me, you feel like you’ve read every post-apocalyptic book out there, you haven’t. Black Feathers is something different, with a new take on the end of the world.”
- Leanna at Leeanna.me
No April Fool gags from us this year…
Posted by: | Comments… but here is a compilation of our Greatest Hits:
APRIL 1, 2009 – Fiction Crossing Boundaries
We are absolutely delighted to announce our first truly crossover novel. We’re a huge fan of the crossover, and have been working hard behind the scenes to bring you something truly special and innovative. Something that will make other publishers think Why didn’t I think of that?
Novels that cross genre boundaries are not new, but with the release of Perl One (1 December, 2009) we’re not just crossing genres, we’re crossing media! Perl One is a space opera, huge in scope, with one big difference – it’s a “knit your own adventure”.
It can be read front-to back as a standard novel (and what a great novel it is!) but the truly innovative part is that the bottom 20% of every page is set aside for knitting instructions (in a mid-grey font so as not to detract from the prose). As the knitter completes each page, another clue is revealed within their fabric, and by halfway through, the knitter is able to influence the outcome of the story by choosing to knit one here, drop a stitch there, etc. There really has been nothing like this in fiction, ever!
The beauty of the format is that non-knitters can read the story like a straightforward novel (set on the asteroid Perl One, a renegade supersoldier must be brought to justice), and will lose nothing of the vitality of the story. Knitters, however, will get the added bonus of reading the first science fiction novel ever written with them in mind!
Perl One will be available to pre-order from May, and the sequel – The Needle of Axos - will be published by Angry Robot in mid-2010.
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April 1, 2010 – Kell’s Legend, the Musical
We’ve been dying to break this news, and the ink is still wet on the contracts, but we are delighted (and a little bit intimidated) to announce that we have agreed to a limited run by the Royal Shakespeare Company of Kell’s Legend – The Musical.
Casting is yet to be confirmed, but there is already a director and a musical director attached, and Andy Remic will act as creative consultant (to ensure that no changes are introduced that conflict with events in future stories).
Leopold Earnest, Marketing Director of the RSC, told us:
This is a real divergence for the RSC. In 1988 we produced a musical version of Stephen King’s Carrie, but we’ve never before attempted high fantasy. We have been in solid discussions with Mr Remic for some time now, and we believe we have a script suitable for production at The Courtyard.
Check back in September for details of how you can win tickets to the opening night (November 12th).
Songs include:
- * Axe no questions
- * I’m just a love vachine
- * For the Kell of it
- * The Canker Can-Can
Script by Anthony Leigh, Book by James Meadows. An RSC/Angry Robot co-production.
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April 1, 2011 – A new Angry Robot imprint announced
This has been over a year in the making, and you’re going to be reading a lot about this over the next couple of days, but we thought we’d share it with you, first.
We love science fiction, fantasy and horror, and our genres have become part of the mainstream – you can’t move for SF films and TV series. It was only a matter of time before we turned our attention to another popular genre.
Romance and eroticism have been outselling SF for decades, and the readers of these works – like SF fans – are fiercely loyal, so we have decided to launch a romance/eroticism imprint. We’re not going to be going down the same route as other publishers, though – that’s not the Angry Robot way. No, all of the titles written for the newly-formed Robot Amour, will be penned by existing Angry Robot authors and based on their existing titles. SF and romance – now that’s something special!
We’ll start off with just one title per month (from September 2011).
Our first few titles are:
Soulmate Stealers by Andy Remic
When Saark’s childhood sweetheart is captured by the evil vachine, he turns to his old friend Kell for help.
File Under: Romantic Fantasy [ Stolen Kisses | Land Of The Lost | Pork Swordmaster | To Kell With It ]
Triumff: Her Majesty’s Paramour by Dan Abnett
Sir Rupert Triumff has returned from another quest to find more magical lands for his Queen, but a chance encounter at the palace makes them both realise that the one true magic is… love.
File Under: Romantic Comedy [ Puns-a-million | Comedy Of Errors | A Royal Pardon | Knight Time Activities ]
Emma, Bedded by Dan Abnett
Lex Falk is on another mission – this time, with the aid of his dog, Patch, he infiltrates the bordellos on the prisoner planet of Mattress Springs, though they’re fiercely protected by the Military. To get inside, he must get his mind chipped into the brain of a veteran courtesan – Emma Climatis – but will he be able to fight off the advances of the owner of the the bordello for long? And does he really want to…?
File Under: Erotic SF [ Hard Time | Penile Colony | Thrilling Climax | Wet Patch ]
Sixty-Nine Nails by Mike Shevdon
Rabbit and Blackbird fight to preserve one of the world’s oldest activities, when six of the Seven Courts vote to outlaw it. They decide to enlist the aid of the Seventh Court, who always fight to get a head. The task seems hopeless, until they discover an ancient French rite involving nine bread-based foodstuffs.
File Under: Erotic Urban Fantasy [ Croissant Neuf | Man Of Iron | Like Rabbits | Feyre Comment ]
All titles will be released as eBooks and paperbacks, worldwide.
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April 1, 2012 – Introducing the Virtual Book (TM)
We’ve developed a bit of a reputation for innovation over the years, and let us tell you – it’s been hell trying to keep our new project under wraps! We’ve been working on this for over two years, and have had all our suppliers sign confidentiality agreements in order to protect our patents before our new device was ready, but the paperwork has now been filed, and the hardware is out of Beta. The official Press Release will go out to all the trade journals tomorrow, but we thought we’d give our regular readers a sneak preview before we’re inundated with press enquiries.
Virtual Book – Model VB1(UK) shown.
Ladies and gentlemen, Angry Robot Books (part of the Osprey Group) is proud to announce the world’s first heads-up glasses system, with built-in fiction display. Known as the Virtual Book, there are 4 versions planned for release, later this year. The basic design is the VB1(UK) and VB1(OS), pictured right. The top-end models look like designer sunglasses (rather than the Virtual Reality design of the entry-level model), but they all have one thing in common – Books On the Move. You’ll love our BotM – the technology is deceptively simple in principle. Two hidden cameras film whatever is in front of the wearer, and display the images on high resolution screens in front of the wearer’s eyes (using Asynchronous System Scan, or ASS). The quality is phenomenal, and to the wearer, it simply looks like they are wearing glasses (though brightness and contrast can be adjusted – a godsend on sunny days).
The user then has the ability to overlay text on one half of their vision – the size and opacity of the text is adjustable to suit the comfort of the wearer (using our patented Balance User Management system). The text can be set to auto-scroll, or to have virtual “pages” flip when the wearer performs a pre-defined eye gesture, such as a sharp glance to the right. In this way, the wearer is able to read a book while walking down the street, laying on the beach, paddling in the sea, even driving! As vision is not obscured, it’s 100% safe! Our VB3(OS) and VB4(OS) models also have audiobook technology – read, listen, never be away from your favourite book!
Books can be pre-loaded via USB or WiFi connectivity in ePub, Mobi, RTF, plain text or ODF, and the glasses can store up to 2,500 titles at a time.
The entry-level model (shown above) will retail for just £299 (UK) / $449 (US) and will be available to pre-order for delivery before Christmas! A perfect gift for anyone who loves to read, but can never find the time!
Model style may vary. Launch Date: October 2012.
Adam Christopher UK Launch Event
Posted by: | CommentsNext Thursday (4th April) sees the UK launch of Adam Christopher‘s The Age Atomic. This brilliant sequel tells the story of what happens after the events at the end of Empire State.
The book has already garnered some fantastic reviews -
CNN.com describes it as “a blast for sci-fi fans”, and Chuck Wendig says that it’s “a rare follow-up that’s better than its predecessor.”
Adam will be reading from – and signing copies of - The Age Atomic at the London Forbidden Planet Megastore from 6.00pm until 7.00pm on the day of publication.
But wait! There’s more!
Not only will you have the opportunity to pick up a signed copy of the paperback, you’ll also be able to pick up one of only 100 copies of a limited edition hardback, produced exclusively for Forbidden Planet! And at £20 for one of just 100 copies, that’s sure to become a collectors’ item! If you can’t make it to the launch event, you can pre-order a copy, here.
But wait! There’s even more!
“Surely not!” you say.
“Absolutely, yes!” we reply.
“Get on with it!” shouts a voice from the back, but we look around too slowly to see who it is…
The Empire State Limited Edition variant cover. Look at the shiny… (click to embiggify)
In addition to the 100 copy limited edition hardback of The Age Atomic, we’ve also produced a 100 copy limited edition of the book that started it all - Empire State. Again, this is exclusive to Forbidden Planet, and you can pick up a copy on the night (you’ll also be able to pre-order from Forbidden Planet’s website, later today).
But wait! There’s even more news!
“Oh, now, Mr Ambassador, you are surely spoiling us!”
The 100 copy limited edition hardback of Empire State has a variant cover, by the original artist – the uber-talented Mr Will Staehle. So, grab a copy of an extremely limited edition run, of SciFi Now Magazine’s Best Book of 2012!
But wait!
“No. That’s enough, surely,” you opine.
“Oh, OK,” we agree.
For now...
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Check back tomorrow for details of Joseph D’Lacey‘s Scottish and English launch events for Black Feathers…
