Archive for Angry Robot Media
Robot Round-Up 17.05.13
Posted by: | CommentsGather round drones, and check out what has been amazing couple of weeks for all things robotic and brilliant…actually makes us a little bit less angry, but don’t worry as it won’t last. Prepare yourselves…it’s a long ‘un.
I think it’s only right that we start off with the great news from the US, that Angry Robot has been shortlisted at the Locus Awards for Best Publisher. Not only that but Madeline Ashby‘s vN has been shortlisted in the Best First Fiction category, and fellow Angry Robot author Aliette de Bodard is up for Best Novella and Best Short Story! Couldn’t be better timing with Book Two in the Machine Dynasty, iD, coming very shortly! Check out Lee’s post on this good news.
Wesley Chu continues to take the world by storm with Tao & Roen in The Lives of Tao with reviews, interviews, and blog posts popping up left, right, and centre.
Reviews:
• Normal in London loved the book: “There are comic moments, there are tender moments and there are moments where I wondered what I would do if I had an alien inside me, and moments where I wished I did as it might push me into doing stuff! The climax was especially strong, and somewhat unexpected. And it has left me wanting more Roen & Tao.” There’s definitely a business opportunity for Wes if he can provide aliens for all the reviewers looking for their own Tao!
• Dangerous Dan awards Tao “four easy stars” believing the “ending[...]was perfect for the story and left it open-ended enough for future adventures of Roen and Tao.”
• Always Unmended don’t just focus on the fact that “Chu’s writing is strong, and his ability to write tragic, heart-rending scenes into such a fun, easy story is proof that he’s found his calling as a writer” but also believe we can all learn something from Roen: [the book] ”contains inspirational advice that is bound to make readers reflect on their own lives. There is much about being the person you want to be and not making excuses to let yourself fail. Much as the practice of Tao is The Way of life, the character of Tao shows Roen the way to live fully. And isn’t that something we could all use a little help with?” Now. Go out there and live your live…after the pizza dinner, it is Friday evening after all.
• For a review with a spin, check out Richard’s rhyming review; I can’t even pull a line from it, it needs to be read in whole…what are you waiting for? Shooo!
• Feathers & Tea get their review off to a great start, calling Chu’s debut “another triumph from the Angry Robot publishing stable”, why thank you! It continues thusly: “Chu’s writing is sparingly skillful [and the] key premise is novel and handled deftly, the transition of Roen from bumbler to Commander is a joy to read, and the book is as laced with humour and flashes of poignancy as it is with action scenes”
• The Lives of Tao has even managed to impress the self-proclaimed cross-genre wary 42 Webs! “The Lives of Tao is one of those good books that pulls off the mash-up perfectly. We get the full sci-fi feeling combined with the spy genre without either side getting diluted or ignored. We get the full effect and in turn get a character we care about. Roen becomes the mix between James Bond and Ezio Auditore da Firenze (Assassin Creed 2, Brotherhood, Revelations).”
• “The most fun I’ve had all year” Staffer’s Book Review
• Mike over on Stuff and/or Junk calls Roen & Tao ”a sci-fi action Odd Couple” – I think the most apt description I’ve heard yet!
• Wes & the Prophus’ global domination continues with i109 proclaiming The Lives of Tao one of the Astounding Summer Reads!
• The Lives of Tao is ”top notch entertainment” and “the perfect summer read” The Eloquent Page
• The wonderful 52 Book Reviews allow no excuses for anyone not reading Chu’s amazing debut: “Chu’s cunning and hilarious mash-up of comedy, coming of age drama, espionage thriller, and science fiction has something for everyone.”
• Matthew Scott Baker is very excited about Tao! It’s “very clever with fun/deadly characters and a high-paced plot. Be ready to drop your social life for a few days, though…you will definitely want to use your free time finishing this one up!”
•Bandelier Girl Reads Everything is short and sweet with Tao: “A nice mash-up of genres that moves the reader thru the story with humor and interesting characters. Recommend.”
Blog Posts/Interviews:
• Wes has been interviewed on many a website, and get yourself over to Toonari Post, Sci-Fi Fan Letter, and Bastard Books…for a mammoth, brilliant, read which also includes a giveaway!
• Check out Stellar Four for Roen’s drink of choice, and Wes talks about Aliens on Dribble of Ink.
• Wes had a guest post with Mary Robinette Kowal which you can catch here
Events:
• Wes has also been busy with some fun & games and with the coolest cake ever, launched The Lives of Tao in Chicago. Take a look at the photos on Wes’ Facebook page
• If you’re in Chicago – or will be – on May 19, you can catch Wes on a panel at Open Books: 213 W. Institute Place Chicago, IL 60610 (1 block north of Chicago & Franklin el stop.) See the Open Books Website for further details.
• If you can’t make Chicago, Wes will be at WisCon May 24-27, on 4 panels no less, and for more info: check it out here
• And if Tao & Roen hadn’t provided Wes with enough to celebrate, didn’t he only go and win the April Debut Author Challenge Cover Wars over at The Qwillery! Thanks again to Argh! Oxford for the great cover! Here’s an interview The Qwillery also did with him.
• Adam Christopher‘s The Age Atomic has a very cool video review over on I’m Ellie Ann
• Paper Mages is putting future reading trust in the hands of Adam, a very wise move, whilst also praising Christopher’s dynamic characters!
• Listen in to Adam’s radio i/v on City FM 89 here
• And, it might be belated posting on my behalf, but check out the Bane of Kings review over on The Founding Fields: “A wonderful novel, The Age Atomic proves that Adam Christopher can write sequels just as well as anyone. The most fun read of 2013 so far, and one of the best.”
The wonderful Emma Newman has had the internet all a flutter between reviews for Between Two Thorns, advance talk on Any Other Name, the wonderful Three Wishes, and also her new podcast, Tea & Jeopardy!
Reviews for Between Two Thorns & Any Other Name:
• ”JK Rowling meets Georgette Heyer ” so say the Guardian along with praising how Emma “renders the Split Worlds with verve and an infectious sense of fun, and presents in Cathy a strong and personable heroine.” Get in, Between Two Thorns!
• “Between Two Thorns is in essence a mystery, with a dash of magic, suspense and intrigue combining with just a touch of romance, polictics and feminism to freshen it up a bit” Boy, do Vinx Books love Between Two Thorns! Vinx also highlights Em’s amazing short stories based in The Split Worlds, and the Three Wishes, thanks Vinx!
• Uncorked Thoughts give Between Two Thorns 4 out of 5 stars, and declare the ”story…an Austinesque fantasy, filling every chapter with action. I loved learning about this new world and am looking forward to sinking my teeth into the next book!” You don’t have long to wait, Leah!
• A Writer’s Sidequest is another eagerly anticipating the release of Any Other Name, having fallen in love with Between Two Thorns!
• 5 out of 5 stars. Why, thank you very much Geek Syndicate. “A word of warning, make sure it is somewhere comfortable though as once you start this magical book, you won’t be going anywhere until you finish it. Absolutely brilliant.” Just one of the many excellent proclamations from them, and rightly so!
• Here’s a review for the forthcoming Any Other Name from My Dear Bibliophage who call it “enchanting, shocking, and well-crafted”
Interviews:
• SQ Magazine have a great interview with our Em; find out what she thinks about the challenges facing female speculative fiction writers in today’s publishing world, amongst much more. Emma also has a short-story in SQ, here
• Keep an eye on Emma’s Split World interviews page for all her oot-and-abooot happenings!
Three Wishes:
• If you haven’t heard about Emma’s fantastic new project Three Wishes, you’re missing out on your chance to have some magical wishes come true! Get involved: make your wish but also try grant somebody else…it’s a magical Pay it Forward, and we like it! Read more here.
• Urban Fantasy Land have definitely got on board with Three Wishes and are urging everyone to be “part of something very exciting, wonderful, and of course, magical!”
Tea & Jeopardy:
• Geek Planet Online are very excited to have Emma onboard with her new podcast, and rightly so, it’s great! Check out the first podcast with our very own Chuck Wendig: Tea & Jeopardy
Chuck has kept the web busy with both Mookie Pearl and Miriam Black:
The Blue Blazes:
• For something “dark, gritty and fun” Three Crow Press recommend Chuck‘s first Mookie Pearl novel, The Blue Blazes. True that.
• “Wendig has taken the cast of Goodfellas and dragged them, kicking and screaming into a fantasy reality of New York, opened up the playground and let them run loose”, so says Wilder’s Book Review, who continues: “The dialogue is crisp and flows quickly, with a dark humour which Wendig relishes throughout…It’s a style which Wendig is well-known for and as my first Chuck Wendig novel, I found it to be a real breath of fresh air in a subgenre which sometimes feels a little stuffy and manufactured.”
• Odd Engine starts a glowing 4 star review with a shout-out to Joey Hi-Fi for the amazing cover, and continues by praising the “punchy dialog, snappy prose, and a gritty narrative voice”, calling The Blue Blazes “inventive, edgy, and a joy to read”
• Elf Machines from Hyperspace (what a cool name, and you’re welcome for the ARC!) after one book has declared Chuck’s writing “imaginative, funny, profound, tough, and poetic all at once” and they ain’t wrong!
Blackbirds:
• Blackbirds is “a bit fucking wrong” (a quote courtesy of Miss BookCunt) which for PublishThings sums up the second Miriam Black novel perfectly!
• The Cheape Book links Blackbirds with the perfect director: “This book begs to be done as a movie by Tarantino if he hasn’t already” Are ya listening, Quentin?
Finally, The 52 Review has a great interview with Mr Wendig, and if you’re an aspiring writer you definitely want to check out when he says about finding your own voice
With good timing as A Discourse in Steel‘s publication date (25 June / 4 July) is fast approaching, Geeks versus Nerds are talking all things Paul S. Kemp and The Hammer and the Blade: “This book is wonderful, funny and exciting with a pinch of spine shivering evil added in for flavor.”
The beautiful story that is Cassandra Rose Clarke‘s The Mad Scientist’s Daughter has certainly made an impression on ScienceFiction.com, who call it a “fantastically written science fiction novel about love and society”.
Robot Round-Up 26.04.13
Posted by: | CommentsCaroline here for my first Robot Round-Up, and what a gathering it is!
The week of April 15 was off a great start with Damien Walter’s Guardian round-up of the best young novelists from SF’s universe, even more so with not 1…nor 2…nor 3…but 4 Angry Robot authors being highlighted. Lauren Beukes, Madeleine Ashby, Aliette De Boddard, and Chuck Wendig are definitely four writers who, simply put, “tell great stories”.
Courtesy of @EMAldred, I present to you the wonderful display of Angry Robot Books in Foyles St Pancras:
I do like it when authors promote their stable mates and Joseph D’Lacey’s tweet does just that, with this photo of Adam Christopher and Emma Newman from WHS.
As we fast approach the publication date (April 30 for US/ebook and May for 2 UK) for Wesley Chu‘s debut novel, The Lives of Tao, the reviews are coming in thick, fast and impressive…just the way we like them!
• Over on The Founding Fields Bane of Kings declared The Lives of Tao to be an “awesome, fun read” whilst Upcoming4me not only agreed, likening it to “the best carnival rides, it is unlikely that you will forget it anytime soon, they also were lovely in praising the noses of our editorial Overlords in sniffing out new talent…thank you!
• Wesley and The Lives of Tao were busy on Fantasy Book Critic with Wesley’s Guest Blog on what goes into a great villain such as Sean Diamont, and after picking up his blown-off socks Mihir Wanchoo excitedly reviews The Lives of Tao as “one of the best amalgamations of SF, Thriller, buddy-stories, comedy and other genre assortments, which was even more impressive because it’s a debut and is funny as hell.” Nice!
• Troubled Scribe’s Liam is currently searching for his own brain-sharing alien but before he left, he described The Lives of Tao as “a fun, exciting, alien, sci-fi romp through history and espionage. Tao has had way too many lives to meet them all, but you should be sure to give it a shot by reading this book!” and gave it 9 out of 10 Liams.
• Christal on Badass Book Reviews highly recommends The Lives of Tao to all “those looking for a uniquely modern science fiction yarn” and reckons it to be an enthralling debut!
• If you want to hear Wesley reading from the book, check out this YouTube link, courtesy of William Shunn.
• Wesley has taken part in a number of SF Signal Mind Melds recently, one such talking about humans and AIs, which also featured Madeline Ashby whose second Machine Dynasty novel iD will be out in June.
• Every Read Thing interviewed Wes, and there you can read about his books of 2012, favourite books and authors, his love for sci-fi, and some of the ideas and research behind The Lives of Tao.
• Kirkus reviews have picked The Lives of Tao as one of their April picks: check it out here
• Jessica at the Apex Book Company has highlighted Wes’ debut as a recommended read
• The Qwillery are continuing their Debut Author Challenge Cover Wars and April features the fantastic cover of The Lives of Tao (by Argh! Oxford). Click here to vote!
• Finally, here’s a link to Wesley’s blog where he has a great list of interviews and blogs to date, plus forthcoming!
More reviews for Adam Christopher‘s The Age of Atomic:
• Adventures Fantastic not only currently have Adam Christopher’s books in their Featured section but have been writing about The Age Atomic and the fast clipped action within. With “plenty of chases, fights, and intrigues for fans of pulp fiction”, they demand readers to Pick. It. Up. Their sentiment; my bossy intonation.
•Over on The Fiction Stoker The Age Atomic is awarded four strokes out of five, and rightly so for it is declared “relentlessly entertaining” and with a “remarkably striking and disturbing villain” in Evelyn McHale, “fans of funny robots, pulp detective novels and genre-bending will find much to like”.
• Make sure to keep an eye on the forthcoming April issue of VS Comics for an interview with Adam.
• The Financial Times delightfully announced The Age Atomic “a worthy successor [which] has the same jazzy plotting and anything-goes attitude that made Empire State such an unalloyed pleasure.”
• As always, Adam was kept busy and held an AMA over at Reddit, answering amongst other questions, his ideal casting for Jennifer Jones and Evelyn McHale.
• And in a HUGE finally, Adam has been short-listed for not one but two awards at this year’s Sir Julius Vogel Awards! Empire State has been shortlisted for the Best New Novel (and deservedly so) and Adam himself is up for Best New Talent. Eligible voters are members of SFFANZ or Au Contraire, the NZ national science fiction convention, so please do pass this on if you happen to know any such members, or indeed are one!
• If the June release of Chuck Wendig’s The Blue Blazes (May 28 for US/ebook release and June 6 for UK) is just too far away, then head to the mighty Tor.com and whet your appetite with a glimpse into this fantastic title.
• “Sin City after doing an 8-ball of mystic cocaine”…an epic summary of The Blue Blazes from The 52 Review. It thusly describes Chuck’s prose as “blunt force choreography, full of brutally disturbing descriptions, and wrecking ball action” whilst saying “fans of noir fantasy and urban fantasy with a bleeding edge should definitely explore the world of The Blue Blazes.” Roll on June!
• Joseph D’Lacey had, in his words, a huge first this last week with Black Feathers being excitedly photographed in WHS. Photo courtesy of Joseph’s Twitter
• The review on A Fantastical Librarian firstly highlights the importance of a great cover as Black Feathers image grabbed and intrigued Mieneke, and she does sound pleased that it did! Describing Joseph’s prose as poetic at times, Mieneke praises Black Feathers as “a compelling narrative and an amazing adventure”.
• Joseph was also on My Shelf Confessions to discuss his love for all things apocalyptic
• Since our last Robot Round-Up, the book trailer for Black Feathers was released, and if you haven’t already seen it, here’s your chance!
• Ever catch yourself thinking about what must go into writing a book like The Marching Dead, or about the worries of writing a sequel to the brilliant The Corpse-Rat King? Wonder no more, but head over to Upcoming4me to hear Lee Battersby’s ‘Story Behind’
• The cover reveal for Emma Newman’s Any Other Name (May 28 for US/ebook release and June 6 for UK) was excitedly received. Fantasy Fiction’s Jennie Ivin is already looking forward to book three’s cover given how fantastic Between Two Thorns and Any Other Name look side by side, whilst Uncorked Thoughts thinks it “absolutely beautiful”
• Emma was busy with a short story featuring Between Two Thorns’ characters Claudia, Richard, and Imogen, over on Dark Faerie Tales, which is also running competition for a copy of the book, as well as appearing on Ujima Radio’s Women’s Outlook with Cheryl Morgan, which can be listened back to here.
• Over on Portland Book Review, Between Two Thorns was awarded five stars out of five, with reviewer Katie Richards declaring it “part Jane Austen novel of manners mixed with a contemporary fantasy novel”.
That *should* be everything for this round-up but do let me know if I’ve missed anything (be gentle!), and do come back next week for more linkage!
Behind the cover – vN
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Madeline Ashby‘s sublime science fiction novel vN is, even as you read this, powering in vast container lorries to every corner of the globe, ready for its publication at the start of August. Madeline herself has been out and about talking about the genesis and writing and themes of her book, so we thought it would also be interesting to catch up with the guy who did that amazing cover, Martin Bland.
We’d seen his work on Gavin Smith’s military SF novels for Gollancz, and marvelled at some stunning darkly futuristic work displayed on his website. He was surely the go-to guy for this job, and that turned out to be exactly the right decision. He kindly clambered up from his underground bunker to answer a few probey-probey questions…
What do you call yourself – graphic artist, illustrator, designer, part-time spacecadet, etc?
Just “Artist”. I have a hard time cornering myself into the usual suspects, and ‘visual storyteller’ doesn’t look great on a business card. Part concept artist, part illustrator, part fine artist; it’s easier to cut out the niches than to try and find one.
How did you get into “all this”?
Natural progression, I was always creative, loved my pencil work when I was younger, fell into the social chasm for ten years, then was offered the chance to find something I loved doing by my wife, worked my way through design, photo manipulation, web design and eventually found my stride in painting. It felt right straight away. Taught myself the basics, and continue to teach myself every day since.
What’s your balance of artwork – covers, graphics, editorial, personal stuff, etc?
I have worked in just about every area at some point, collaborated with some great people in most fields of art, magazine ad campaigns, album design, game concepts, portraiture etc. I do favour cover jobs though, CD and book, as I love to tell a story in a single image rather than a progression or sequence, and like a healthy balance between work and personal (personal turns into work with print sales).
What’s your typical approach to a piece, if you have one? Computer or sketches?
90% of any image I do is mental, I think a lot about how I am going to construct, and often see a completed image in my head long before pen touches surface, then it’s usually digital, blocking in large areas and refining details as I go, using form and values; I don’t tend to start with a sketch (in the traditional sense of the word, line art), a more organic approach works better for me.
Do you typically like a brief stuffed with detail, or the freedom to do whatever you want?
A bit of both really, it’s important to be able to visualise someone else’s idea, so the more information you get, the easier it is to nail it first time, I like a lot of visual stimulus, style guides. Setting the mood is more important than the details of subject matter. A good amount of freedom is always nice to have but I like to get the sketch stage down, and agreed upon, before I get to play around myself. That way, the changes are taken care of before the refining; it streamlines the process, I have enough of a library behind me for the client to know they will be getting my usual standard or better.
And how did you work on vN particularly?
It was a dream brief. I was given choice, style sheets, and a detailed description, and also a lot of freedom and trust in the later stages, Madeline had built a very believable world, rich with detail, so the excerpts I received were easy to absorb, and Marc’s art direction was great. Madeline had written somewhere that when she saw the cover, she saw Amy (the protagonist) – there’s no better feeling than that.
What’s a typical day, if you have one?
I’m a full time Dad, so my typical day is rather boring, full of homework and school runs, I fit my work around my son, and work from home, so it’s definitely not as “rockstar” as I’d like to imagine it is, I also procrastinate far too much… ooh, a biscuit.
Are you much of an SF fan yourself?
I’d like to say no, but all evidence points to yes :-). I like gritty, dark worlds that you can relate to and instantly believe, so I love the Blade Runner, Event Horizon, Dark City side of sci-fi, the Asimov side. I’m not the hugest fan of anything in particular, but I think that in itself adds a more unique twist to my own work in the genre, as I try my best to approach subjects with a fresh perspective – there are a million paths to tread but only one is mine.
What would you kill to illustrate?
My own IP. I have a project that hasn’t been put down to paper properly yet, a novel/screenplay/movie that has garnered interest from a couple of major movie studios, and almost optioned, just on the strength of the few images and brief idea/backstory pitched. I would love to bring it to fruition one day; illustrating/producing a movie based on my own art would pretty much be the pinnacle of my existence, and would make my kid proud.
Anything you really hate/struggle with drawing?
Not as far as subject matter goes, I can handle pretty much anything. If I can imagine it, then I can paint it, in my own style. I’ve painted everything from angels, to death metal covers, from an English country garden to a huge Yeti. I have been asked to take on work in other styles, and have struggled with it before, like colouring line art, or very technical perspectives and constraints. (I was once asked to paint, from imagination, a 20mm aperture lens view; couldn’t fathom that one, as I am not a camera.)
For vN you went absolutely bananas building robot fragments in the computer; is this sort of thing conducive to your mental health?
Well, they say the devil is in the details, so I’m probably 80% evil :-). I love getting stuck into it, if I’m honest. The best way to get someone to spend more time looking at an image is to pack it with detail, more to discover, and it gets quite cathartic after a while, you lose yourself, I haven’t noticed any problems yet. *twitch*
Tell us about five (or more) cool things – music, movies, comics, books, toys, whatever…
I do have quite a cool collection of tiny things, as I’m a sucker for detail – like a penny, with a bone-handled knife carved out of the middle and sat perfectly back into its hole, and a 2mm high, full colour printed book. I’ve got a couple of 6mm Bibles too, a bag of 1.5mm glass marbles. I’ve amassed quite a good gathering of very unusual miniatures. I’m also very good at collecting dust, and empty Pepsi bottles.
Which other artists do you rate?
I tend to rate the art, rather than artists, as the best can have an off-day, and the worst can produce a masterpiece. I see hundreds of images each day, and collecting the best of them has turned into a bit of a hobby. I have folders packed with inspiring imagery from every level of artist.
Do you have any other skills? What would you do if you didn’t do this?
I would always have to have a creative outlet of some sort, I do a bit of everything: sculpture, photography, traditional, so I think I would always gravitate towards making things look good. I was a manager/lithographic printer for 10 years too, so at the very worst, I could fall back into that, but it would have to get quite bad, haha.
And what are you working on next (don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone)?
I’ve just acquired a small stock of giclée poster prints so I’m currently approaching galleries and organising shipping and framing options, starting to turn what I do into more of a legitimate business, expanding that side – but also working on more covers, and also trying to pump out a few personal images as I feel like I’ve been neglecting that side of things this year.
Click on any image for a larger version – and see a hell of a lot more great artwork at Martin’s website, spyroteknik.com
Free Samples of Every Angry Robot Book
Posted by: | CommentsWe don’t always blow our own trumpet, so having spent a few, slightly tedious hours on a very hot day assembling the latest batch of samplers of some upcoming Angry Robot titles, we thought it worth reminding all you deeply lovely AR readers that we do, as standard, offer a free excerpt from every single one of our books.
There’s a lot of talk about eBook piracy at the moment. And there are all sorts of reasons. Some of them – “I like having stuff for free, so I’m going to take it; I’ll never get caught” – are a little hard to help with, short of some ghastly state surveillance program which nobody much wants. Others, though, we understand and we’re keen to help with if we can.
Ebooks are expensive - well, ours are always priced below their comparative physical fellows. We still have to pay for editing and proofreading, design and all that, but we’ve knocked off the cost of printing for you. (And don’t forget that at the moment, in the UK eBooks are subject to 20% VAT where print books aren’t.)
I can’t get them in my country - actually, you can buy our eBooks, DRM-free, from any country in the world. We also release our editions through all major eBook outlets, in as many countries as we can but notably across North America and Europe, in the same week.
I only wanted to read a sample, see if I liked it enough to buy it… – And here we are. That’s why we’re very happy to sit here on a sweltering day preparing more natty little 50-page selections from our upcoming releases for you.
Below the jump (or further down the screen if you’re not on our homepage at the moment) you’ll find a selection of our recent excerpts, each one inside a cute little app thing. Take them, host them on your own site if you like (it’s very easy, and makes your blog look grrrreat), send them to your mates, share them wherever. Then check out the individual book pages here on the site for samples of our entire range.
And if you like the free samples we give you, you might even want to buy our lovely books, which you can do over at The Robot Trading Company (our very own webstore) or your regular eBook or pBook retailer of choice.
[Image Credit: Rather fabulous pirate kindle blatantly nicked from bookish.livejournal.com - no accreditation given there, so if it's yours, please let us know and we'll either add in a credit link or take it down...]
Listen to the latest Angry Robot audiobooks!
Posted by: | CommentsCourtesy of those fine folk at Brilliance Audio, we have some snippets of some of the quite brilliant audiobooks they have produced of some recent Angry Robot titles.
Last month’s titles: Omega Point and Blackbirds
This month’s titles: Empire State, Giant Thief and Dead Harvest.
Click on each of the links (below) to hear about 5 minutes of each, or to download to your computer for your offline listening pleasure (by right-clicking and saving, or doing what you usually do with these things #techie).
These titles can be ordered as downloads or on CD from Audible (UK / US) or Amazon (UK / US).
Blackbirds – Warning: Contains Chuck Wendig!
Narrated by Emily Beresford
Download MP3
Omega Point by Guy Haley
Narrated by Michael Page
Download MP3
Empire State by Adam Christopher
Narrated by Phil Gigante
Download MP3
Giant Thief by David Tallerman
Narrated by James Langton
Download MP3
Dead Harvest by Chris F Holm
Narrated by Brian Vander Ark
Download MP3
“Chameleon” – a short film
Posted by: | CommentsEight months ago, Angry Robot author Colin Harvey died of a stroke. We think of him often, and continue to mourn the loss of a great talent, and a greater man.
We were delighted, therefore, when we heard from Sam Lemberg. With the permission of Colin’s widow, he has created a short film based on Colin’s short story, Chameleon.
If you have five minutes free, we wholeheartedly recommend using them to watch this film. A short Q&A with the filmmaker, follows. We think Colin would have been delighted.
A Q&A with Sam Lemberg
AR) Why did you choose to make the film?
SL) Simply to make an entertaining sci-fi film.
What attracted you to this story, particularly?
The premise of the story was so easy to relate to – a husband and wife reuniting. Everyone who reads it talks about the ending, but the best part really is that the characters feel authentic and, in turn, sell you on this sci-fi world. The ending is just the cherry on top.
Also, the story lends itself well to a low-budget film adaptation. It’s dialogue-driven (Colin’s dialogue is superb) and tells a big story with few sets and props.
Can you describe the production process?
We prepped for four weeks and shot for two hectic days. We were going to shoot in this gritty abandoned space to go for a post-apocalyptic look (as in the short story), but we lost the set days before shooting. We had to settle for a not-so-gritty warehouse in downtown L.A. Luckily my crew was resourceful. For example, the “metal walls” outside the interrogation room are simply two gym lockers we found and flipped around.
Also, due to scheduling conflicts, we were forced to shoot Herb and Emily’s angles on separate days, but we made it work with the help of body doubles. Finally, we edited for five weeks and I personally did all the CGI and other visual effects work.
Short films often have tiny budgets, but yours looks very professional – how much did it end up costing?
Just under $4,000. My good friend and cinematographer Andrew Wesman is a genius with a camera – he did an outstanding job lighting and photographing the film, which made it look more expensive than it was.
With the benefit of hindsight, is there anything you would want to change?
I’m satisfied with the film.
What’s next?
Definitely something longer – I’d love to make another movie in the “Chameleon” world.
Introducing the Virtual Book (TM)
Posted by: | CommentsWe’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.
Cover debuts – vN, Night’s Engines, Suited, Nekropolis Archives
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Hey, gang. We promised you some more cover goodness imminently, and cover goodness is what you shall have! Click each thumbnail to see heartstopping levels of detail.
The cover to vN by Madeline Ashby is by the remarkable Martin Bland, aka Spyroteknik. You really should click to get a better look at this, because the poor fellow almost sent himself blind working all of the detail in those robotic components that are surrounding poor Amy.
Night’s Engines is the second of Trent Jamieson‘s explorations into the apocalyptically storm-damaged Nightbound Land, and as with Roil the cover is by Angelo Rinaldi. Less in your face than Margaret, the first book’s kick-ass heroine, David as seen here is a feckless wastrel forced into action by destiny. I know, happens to us all. He’s scrubbed up rather well for the climax to this two-volume adventure.
Jo Anderton‘s disgraced pion-controller Tanyana is fully Suited on the cover of Debris‘ sequel. The first book in the defiantly science fantasy Veiled Worlds series has been getting rave reviews everywhere, along with plenty of “Is it SF, is it fantasy?” deliberation from the worthies of the SF/F blogosphere. All we know is that she looks damn mean in that suit. You’ll have someone’s eye out with that!
And ultimately, Steve Stone‘s none-more-noir cover to the collected Matt Richter tales by the redoubtable Tim Waggoner. The Nekropolis Archives has all three wonderfully entertaining novels featuring the undead detective and his half-vampire sweetheart Devona, along with a swathe of short stories. All in a paperback so chunky it really should come with health & safety warnings.
12 Days of Christmas – Day 10: Marc Gascoigne
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Make your own Angry Robot Christmas Snowflakes!
Just in case you hadn’t noticed – and to be fair because Angry Robot readers are brighter than the average droid you probably did – there’s a crafting revolution going on. From Etsy to your local knitting shop, people all over the recession-hit western world are rediscovering the pleasures of doing it oneself. This Christmas, always one for an internet trend, we’d like to suggest a “make” for you of our own – with these deeply festive Angry Robot Christmas Snowflakes.
Making one isn’t so very hard, we reckon, our reasoning being that if we can make them without severing any major arteries, so can you. You’ll need a printer and appropriately sized paper (you can resize to suit), a pair of scissors or sharp craft knife… and Your AR Snowflake template (PDF) – don’t forget to right-click or alt-click, as is your wont.
So here’s all you have to do:
1. Download the PDF.
2. Open it up and print it. It’s set to just go onto some UK A4 (letter) but you may want to resize it to fit the paper size your printer can handle. Big is nice, weeny means you’ll probably lose a thumb trying to trim it, but feel free to experiment.
3. Fold it up (NB, you don’t need to cut the circle out first, unless you really want to). You might just cock the folding up first time but don’t worry about it. First, fold in half horizontally, then along one edge of the grey-tined segment. Then fold again so the grey-toned segment is on top. Fold the segment beneath it back the other way so it’s a “Z” in profile not a flattened spiral.
4. Using your preferred hacking implement, trim off all the grey parts, leaving the white. You’re going through 12 layers, so watch it!
5. Unfold. Wow, it’s like Christmas day already. Do a few, using different coloured papers, stick them up somewhere, and marvel at your crafting skills every 20 minutes until Twelfth Night. Then throw them in the recycling bin.
Angry Robot Authors Twitter-List
Posted by: | CommentsAnother quick note, this time to say that we’ve put together a Twitter List of all tweet-enabled Angry Robot authors, which you can find at:
twitter.com/#!/angryrobotbooks/angry-robot-authors
It’s a rather handy way to check out all the tweets from all you favourite Angry Robot authors and the list page can be loaded into Twitter clients such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck for on-screen updates as they happen.
Even better, if you click through to the list page’s Following tab whilst logged in to your own Twitter account, you can whizz down the list to make sure you’re following everyone, and click the big, friendly ‘follow’ buttons to catch up with anyone you’re missing:
Follow! Follow them All!*
*Yes, we know there are a few names missing, but we’ve double-checked and the authors in question don’t have a Twitter account yet…
