Archive for Other people’s business
Robot Round-Up, 20.01.12
Posted by: | CommentsHello again, and welcome to our weekly links round-up of all the latest happenings from the Angry Robot flavoured reaches of the Internets. Or something like that. My last caffeine dose is wearing off, I probably need to re-charge. But I digress…
Empire State was reviewed online by Red Rook Review, The Geek Syndicate (who also ran an excerpt), The Weaving Knight and Starburst Magazine, where it was said: “This is simply one of the greatest science fiction books I have ever read”. The latest issue (#63) of SciFiNow also ran a four-star review: “Empire State is highly recommended to those who like their sci-fi dark, pacey and woven tight by multiple threads of intrigue.”
Meanwhile, author Adam Christopher was interviewed this week for The Ranting Dragon. And just as we posted this round-up, the fine folk over at Tor.com posted their own chat with Adam, which took place while the author hosted a signing of Empire State at the New York Public Library recently.
Lavie Tidhar‘s The Great Game, the concluding instalment in the steampunk extravaganza that is The Bookman Histories, is out in February and has been reviewed by Drying Ink and Libris Leonis. He also gets a whopping ’10 out of 10 zeppelins’ from a review on The Traveler’s Steampunk blog, wherein it was said: “Lavie Tidhar has once again created an outstanding Steampunk novel. Gripping, multi-facetted, and fascinating.” Stick that in your boiler and fuel your airship with it.
David Tallerman, whose debut novel Giant Thief is also published in February, was interviewed for The Mad Hatter’s Review and the book received a cracking review from Marc Alpin at Fantasy Faction, who reckons: “this book will be one of the finest débuts of 2012″.
Chris F. Holm spoke to Elaine Ash about the design elements of his forthcoming (March 2012) Angry Robot debut Dead Harvest, for her Ashedit blog.
Carpathia by Matt Forbeck (March 2012) has been advance-reviewed by Shadowhawk for The Founding Fields.
Paul S. Kemp held a forum-style interview/chat with Reddit’s Fantasy Community this week, talking about his Star wars titles and, of course, his forthcoming Angry Robot debut, The Hammer and the Blade (July 2012). Plus: if you haven’t already seen it, check out the cover artwork for said tome, here.
Anne Lyle, whose debut The Alchemist of Souls we’re publishing in April, has been interviewed by Civilian Reader.
Dan Abnett was a guest on fellow AR-author Kaaron Warren‘s blog this week, for the latest in Kaaron’s Sparks series of author interviews.
K. W. Jeter‘s Infernal Devices received a rave review from Fantasy Nibbles.
Aliette de Bodard‘s Master of the House of Darts was reviewed by WarpcoreSF.
Hard Spell by Justin Gustainis was named as one of Sci-Fi Guys Book Review’s Best Books of 2011 and one of the Top Ten Books of 2011 at The Turn of the Page.
And finally… The Sci-Fi Guys Book Review named Angry Robot as one of their Top Three publishers of 2011, thereby ensuring their place on the ‘Do Not Annihilate’ list when the Robot Revolution comes. A wise, wise move on their part, we’re sure you’ll agree.
Win Everything! All 50 Angry Robot Titles Up For Grabs with SciFiNow
Posted by: | CommentsAdam Christopher‘s Empire State is the 50th Angry Robot title to see the light of meat-space reality. To mark the occasion we’ve teamed up with top-notch UK sci-fi ‘zine SciFiNow to give away one of everything we’ve published so far – yes, all 50 titles – to one insanely fortunate UK or Ireland based competition entrant.
Here’s what you could win:
You want them all, don’t you? Oh, yes you do! (Click for a larger image and get your print-acquisition instincts all a-quiver…)
The competition is being run by SciFiNow and to be in with a chance of winning you’ll need to visit the SciFiNow website and follow the entry instructions. Usual sort of thing: answer an easy-peasy Empire State themed question, hand over your name and email address, then cross your little fingers for all you’re worth. Nothing you meat-sacks can’t handle, we’re sure. And the competition closes on February 15th, so you’ve got a whole four weeks to get your act together.
Also in the latest issue of SciFiNow (number #63 – the one with the survivors of the Great Being Human Exodus of 2012 on the front) you’ll find (on page 90) a review for Empire State in which Dan Howdle says things like: “What [Adam] Christopher manages so successfully is to combine the fast-talking wit of the likes of Dashiel Hammett and Raymond Chandler with the frayed super has-beens of Alan Moore” and “Empire State is highly recommended to those who like their sci-fi dark, pacey and woven tight by multiple threads of intrigue”. This Dan Howdle fellow is clearly a meat-sack of excellent taste and fine judgement.
Robot Round-Up, 13.01.12
Posted by: | CommentsWelcome to this week’s Robot Round-Up of what’s been happening in the AR-flavoured reaches of the Interwebs. Lots to tell you about again this week, so without further ado:
James Lovegrove reviewed Adam Christopher‘s Empire State for the Financial Times, saying: “If, somehow, Raymond Chandler and Philip K Dick had collaborated on a Superman story, they might well have produced this novel.” Plus: The Geek Syndicate cornered Adam last week at his UK Empire State launch at Forbidden Planet London, and interviewed him.
Eric Brown reviewed City of Light and Shadow by Ian Whates for The Guardian, saying: “A deft mix of intrigue, assassination and romance culminates in a desperate fight for Thaiburley’s existence, and along the way Whates finally reveals the true nature of the city itself. Compulsively readable.” City of Light and Shadow was also reviewed at Val’s Random Comments book blog.
Jo Anderton was a guest interviewee at PattyJansen.com, where she answered questions five (including an all-important revelation that will change the way writers think about cats forever). And Debris was reviewed a couple of times this week, by Stefan Raets at fantasyliterature.com and by Sean at Adventures of a Bookanaut.
AR author-to-be Lee Battersby – whose debut novel The Corpse-Rat King we’re publishing in the Autumn – talks about his Angry Robot Journey so far on Ripping Ozzie Reads.
Bibliophile Stalker Charles Tan has posted a review of Zoo City by Lauren Beukes. Lauren also took part in a recent Guardian Podcast on the state of SF (along with Alastair Reynolds, Michael Moorcock and Jeff Noon) – well worth a listen. (And Lauren was featured in a Variety article on the South African film industry, but it’s behind a subscriber-only paywall, so no link…)
Aliette De Bodard has shared her New Year’s Genre Resolutions over at SFSignal.com, as did our Angry Robot Podcast Supremo, Mighty Mur Lafferty.
Matt Forbeck‘s Carpathia (March 2012) gets much love from Fantasy Nibbles: “Pure crucifix-wielding, stake plunging goodness. With icebergs. Brilliant!”
Paul Simpson has reviewed both Pretty Little Dead Things and Dead Bad Things by Gary MacMahon over at SciFi Bulletin, here and here.
Blogger David Marshall has reviewed a trio of our titles at his Thinking About Books blog recently: Debris and Dead Bad Things again, along with Reality 36 by Guy Haley.
Livejournal blogger Gill Polack has reviewed both City of Light and Shadow (here) and Chris F. Holm‘s forthcoming Angry Robot debut, Dead Harvest (here).
That’s all for this week. Have a great weekend, read lots, maybe even treat yourself to a few half-price ebooks in the Angry Robot January eBook sale, why don’t you?
Talk to the Robot
Reviewed an Angry Robot title? Interviewed an Angry Robot author? Drop us a line (via the Marketing drop-down option on our contact form) and let us know!
And check out the Robot Round-Up Archive to see what else our authors have been up to recently.
Robot Round-Up, 06.01.12
Posted by: | CommentsHello, hello and welcome to the first Robot Round-Up of 2012. And what a lot of rounded-up stuff we’ve got to tell you about this week.
First things first: a reminder that the Angry Robot January eBooks Sale is still very much in effect. Between now and the end of January you’ll be able to pick up more than half our range of titles at half price or less, either direct from the Angry Robot Store (DRM-free ePub) or from your favourite online retailer of electronic literature, in the US, UK and beyond. Grab yourself a bargain while the grabbing’s good!
And now, on with our weekly what’s-been-happening show:
Empire State, the debut novel by Adam Christopher was officially published this week and the Interwebs have been abuzz with all sorts of coverage, such as:
Reviews from:
• Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing.net – “It’s often fascinating, as captivating as a kaleidoscope… just feel it in all its weird glory.”
• Eddie Robson in SFX Magazine – “[Empire State's] mounting chaos is authentically noir-ish and Christopher paints an effective portrait of a bleak, confused, subdued city. 4****”
• Laith Preston at DragonPage.com – “I thoroughly enjoyed the story as it unfolded. Many times as the story progressed I thought I could see the driving forces behind the plots within plots, only to discover things weren’t quite what I was thinking.”
• Antony at SF Book Reviews – “…a delight to the literary palate with a richly woven narrative, interesting ideas and above all a great story. 5*****”
• Michelle at Ranting Dragon – “…a fast paced revelation-fest that will continue to surprise even the most savvy readers.”
• Dave White at Do Some Damage – “Pick this book up … I urge you to do so. If these wild ideas keep running through Christopher’s head and he gets them down on paper he’s going to be a superstar.”
• Ros Jackson at Warpcore SF – “It’s a complex and intriguing novel: offering more puzzles every time the answers to each mystery are unlocked.”
• Erik Lundqvist at I Will Read Books – “It is not very often I read a book which just keeps on surprising me, but this is the case with Empire State. It’s a really nice situation to be in for a reader, and an excellent reason to keep turning those pages.”
Plus: Adam guest-blogged the Big Idea behind Empire State for John Scalzi’s Whatever blog, Empire State was named in the Superheronovels.com Top 5 of 2011 and you can read a three-chapter extract from Empire State at CriminalElement.com.
[Also, don't forget that the first Worldbuilder Project at EmpireState.cc will soon be accepting creative submissions of all kinds, based on the Empire State world. Keep your eyes peeled for further updates in the very near future.]
(Meanwhile, elsewhere on Her Majesty’s Interwebs…)
Dan Abnett‘s thought-provoking mil-sf novel Embedded was named runner-up in the SFBookReviews.com Book of the Year 2011 poll. (UK readers: the regular-sized paperback edition is out this month and available from all good bookstores and online retailers).
Aliette de Bodard‘s brilliant short story ‘Scattered Along the River of Heaven’ has been published by Clarkesworld Magazine in both text and audio formats.
DaveBrendon de Burgh had a holy-freaking-hell-this-is-awesome moment when reading Colin Harvey‘s Winter Song and said so in his review.
It’s still a few weeks until Chris F. Holm‘s Dead Harvest storms the bookstore shelves, but we’ve seen a couple more reviews this week, from bloggers Ed Fortune and Jacob at Drying Ink.
There’s an interview with The Damned Busters author Matthew Hughes in issue #39 of Theaker’s Quarterly which is available to download in a variety of formats from theakersquarterly.blogspot.com.
Anne Lyle‘s The Alchemist of Souls and Chuck Wendig‘s Blackbirds were both included in A Fantastical Librarian’s watch-list for 2012 and Gav Reads’ 13 Exciting Books from January to June round-ups.
Guy Haley‘s Reality 36, Guy Adams‘ World House: Restoration and Trent Jamieson‘s Roil all feature in Erik Lundqvist’s I Will Read Books Best of 2011 selection.
David Tallerman‘s Giant Thief (published in early February!) was reviewed by Alister Davison for Starburst Magazine, who declared Giant Thief to be “a fun, entertaining read, everything a good story should be … refreshing and engrossing.” (We agree!)
Morpheus Tales #15 includes an interview with Andy Remic – whose Clockwork Vampire Chronicles Omnibus is published in March – along with reviews of Guy Haley‘s Reality 36 and David Tallerman‘s Giant Thief.
And finally, Angry Robot was named as one of Adventures Fantastic’s Four Publishers You Should be Reading in 2012. (We heartily agree with that one as well!)
Talk to the Robot
Reviewed an Angry Robot title? Interviewed an Angry Robot author? Drop us a line (via the Marketing drop-down option on our contact form) and let us know!
And check out the Robot Round-Up Archive to see what else our authors have been up to recently.
Robot Round-Up, 23.12.11
Posted by: | CommentsHello and welcome to the final Robot Round-up of 2011. We’ve unchained ourselves from our desks and will be recharging our circuits for the next ten days or so, which means no round-up next week. But keep those links coming and we’ll be back in January with a fresh batch. In the meantime, here’s what’s been happing in Angry Robot world since the last round-up went live:
In the run-up to the official January 5th publication date, the online buzz for Adam Christopher‘s Empire State is starting to reach the proverbial fever pitch, with mentions in Doctor Who writer Paul Cornell’s Best of 2011 for Forbidden Planet International, Fantasy Nibbles’ Top Reads of 2011, Fantastical Librarian’s most-anticipated in 2012 list. We’ve also seen full reviews this week from Adventures Fantastic, Staffer’s Musings and A Fantastical Librarian.
Some people are already getting equally excited by the prospect of Anne Lyle‘s
Madeline Ashby – 2012 Angry Robot debut author of vN – points the way to three thought-provoking pieces on gender in genre fiction and fandom, over on her blog.
Paul S. Kemp – another 2012 Angry Robot debutant, with The Hammer and the Blade – has revealed his three favourite books of 2011. And Lauren Beukes has posted Part II of her 2011 Recommended Reading List.
Pete Crowther‘s Darkness Falling (out now) was reviewed for the Wag The Fox blog’s Rabid Reads column and Matt Forbeck’s Carpathia (March 2012) gets an early mention from Gill Polack via her Livejournal page.
R Thomas Brown takes a look at Chris F. Holm‘s forthcoming (March 2012) debut Dead Harvest for Spinetingler Magazine and concludes: “This is a novel that appeals to lovers of crime fiction, fantasy and the best elements of pulp fiction.”
And some love for Hard Spell by Justin Gustainis, as The Occult Detective names it as Best Occult Detective Novel (2011).
Trent Jamieson‘s fantastical Roil was named by Jeff Vandermeer in his Omnivoracious.com round-up of ‘Unique Fantasy, SF, and Horror You Might Have Missed’ in 2011. And Gary MacMahon‘s Dead Bad Things was named the winner of the ‘Notably Macabre 2011′ prize over at Spooky Reads.
Lavie Tidhar has posted a brand new short story on his blog: ‘Enter the Dragon. Later, Enter Another’. And Lavie’s Bookman Histories series has been touted as one to look out for on Laura Kramarsky’s Women of Mystery blog.
…and that, as they say, is that for 2011. You meat-sacks have a fantastic holiday season (whatever you preference and practices) and a terrific New Year* (assuming you celebrate it on January 1st), and we’ll see you all back here in 2012 for lots more astoundingly great Angry Robot stuff.
[*Please note, failure to comply with this edict from your Robot Overlords will result in suitably jolly and festive termination. That is all.]
Talk to the Robot
Reviewed an Angry Robot title? Interviewed an Angry Robot author? Drop us a line (via the Marketing drop-down option on our contact form) and let us know!
And check out the Robot Round-Up Archive to see what else our authors have been up to recently.
Robot Round-Up, 16.12.11
Posted by: | CommentsWelcome once again to our regular Friday round-up of all that’s new and interesting in the world of Angry Robot. This week we kick off with:
Our very own Lee Harris has been interviewed by Spooky Reads as part of a new series of interviews with UK genre publishing folk about the current state of and future prospects for the publishing industry.
Jo Anderton‘s Debris has been named one of US periodical Library Journal‘s SF/Fantasy Books of the Year for 2011. Which deserves a cheer, we think: Yaaay!
Dan Abnett‘s Triumff is the latest AR title to feature in Red Rook Review’s “review every Angry Robot book, ever” series and here’s the verdict.
Justin Landon names Zoo City and Empire State in his SFSignal.com best of 2011 list, part I (technically, Empire State is a January 2012 book even though it’s on-shelf date in the US is December 27th, but we feel it might be rude to quibble, so we won’t). Lavie Tidhar is one of the contributors to that piece as well.
Lauren Beukes has been asking her friends what they’d recommend by way of ideal reading gifts this holiday season (this is just part one, part two will follow at the end of the week). And Zoo City has been reviewed by TheUrbanEagle this week as well, who conclded: “I can’t imagine a young South African and/or a fan of fresh absurdities in Urban Fantasy not enjoying this book.”
Gail Carriger, author of the Parasol Portectorate series, has been chatting to a certain Mr Adam Christopher about such things as the Empire State drinking game, Adam’s writerly enivronment, his aberrant ice-cream preferences, Carrie Fisher c. 1977 and, of course, the vital importance of The Jacket. There’s all sorts of other weird and wonderful things thrown in for good measure. Go, read!
Adam has also posted details of where to find his Empire State playlist of tunes to accompany your reading of his superhero noir debut.
Guy Haley has some advice for writers and reviewers alike in a blog on reviewing and being reviewed entitled the agonies of criticism. Wise words from a self-confessed somewhat snarky former reviewer turned published writer and, therefore, review-receiver.
Liviu Suciu of Fantasy Book Critic is particularly looking forward to a number of titles in 2012, including Lavie Tidhar‘s The Great Game.
More advice for writers and would-be writers: Chuck Wendig‘s rather excellent “25 Things Writers Should Know About…” series continues with a sage and not-at-all-sweary piece on handling rejection. (Okay, we lied, it’s quite sweary. But still very, very good.)
And finally, the second in the apparently ongoing @KristalShaff Angry Robot Face Painting Series is a nifty bit of time-lapse artistry inspired by Andy Remic‘s Vampire Warlords:
That’s your lot for another week! Next week’s Robot Round-up might be posted on Thursday, might be posted on Friday, depending. The week after that we’ll all be taking a week off so there’ll be no Robot Round-up at all (please do try not to be too bitterly disappointed) and then we’ll be back on our regular schedule in 2012.
Talk to the Robot
Reviewed an Angry Robot title? Interviewed an Angry Robot author? Drop us a line (via the Marketing drop-down option on our contact form) and let us know!
And check out the Robot Round-Up Archive to see what else our authors have been up to recently.
Robot Round-Up, 09.12.11
Posted by: | CommentsHello, hello, hello and welcome to the latest Angry Robot Links round-up. It’s been another busy, busy week on the Interwebs, so without further palaver and to-do:
SFBook.com have announced the shortlist for their SFBook of the Year 2011 poll and two of those titles are ours: Dan Abnett‘s Embedded and Maurice Broaddus‘s King’s War. Both brilliant books, of course, and both deserving of at least few hundred more votes, we reckon. >cough< You’re still here..?
Meanwhile, Mr. Abnett‘s Triumff was on the receiving end of what can really only be described as a rave review, courtesy of Red Rook Review’s “review every AR book, ever” strand. And his comics writing projects were featured in a Beyond the Bunker Practicioners piece this week.
Jo Anderton has posted a selection of pics from the Debris launch party at UNSW on her blog, with a more extensive set on Facebook (warning: includes images of chocolate robots and cake that some viewers may find delicious – no licking the screen…)
Lauren Beukes‘s Arthur C. Clarke Award-Winning Zoo City (you know, we just never get tired of saying that) has been reviewed by Kristy G. Stewart for LooseleafLeaflets.
Another couple of Maurice Broaddus mentions: firstly as the star of the hilarious 97th SF Signal Podcast and secondly, a blog post from Maurice with details of his 2012 convention appearances.
Adam Christopher was the recipient of much love this week. First up (and the one that had Adam literally dancing around the room) was Billy (The Rocketeer) Campbell’s comments on Empire State, which went like this: “As it happens, I’m a sucker for hard-boiled retro sci-fi stories; rocket-powered superheroes, spunky dames, fedoras, Studebakers slewing round gritty Gotham street-corners on two wheels, and Adam Christopher sure knows his way around a tightly spun yarn – I was as happy as a pig in poop from page one! As they say: This story? She’s a real sweater-full, with a great pair’a getaway sticks… Watch out for this Adam kid, he’s nobody’s sap. He’s got a sharp nib and a sharper wit. He’d steal your last few hours before you could say ‘cat’s pajamas’, and you’d thank him for it.”
There was also a cracking review from ‘Bane of Kings’ at TheFoundingFields.com: “…what I found in these pages blew me away … I think we may be looking at one of the best debut authors of 2012 already!”
Aliette de Bodard was interviewed by Jacob Topp-Mugglestone Drying Ink blog and talked about breaking genre expectations, world-building, Aztec civilisation, human sacrifice and much more. Aliette also posted an article on writing technique entitled ‘Playing To Your Strengths, Playing to Your Weaknesses’ at The Night Bazaar.
Matt Forbeck has been talking to legendary geek webcomic Dork Tower about his ’12 for 12′ Kickstarter project (and they snuck in a mention for Amortals as well). And Producer Paul has posted his review of Vegas Knights.
Trent Jamieson‘s Roil was reviewed at Dragon Page by Laith Preston, who said things like: “Trent Jamieson’s Roil, the first book in The Nightbound Land duology, promises… and delivers.” Trent also runs through his Xmas book wishlist in a Book Corner Christmas Special (we’ll pass on the Cinzano thanks, Trent.)
Gary MacMahon‘s Dead Bad Things has been named on the Horror Book of the Year shortlist. Which is a Good Thing, we feel.
And there are a couple of early reviews in for Giant Thief (Feb 2012) by David Tallerman; first a mini-review from Publisher’s Weekly and also an elegantly minimalist review of the first line of the book from Mad Hatter’s Book Review: “This line did exactly what a first line should do: pull the reader in.”
Red Rook’s “review every AR book, ever” programme is back and this time it’s Lavie Tidhar‘s The Bookman that’s under review: “…an intelligent, clever book, that creates a wonderfully complex secondary world … as well-constructed as a Swiss cuckoo clock and as readable as any genre fiction being written today.”
And finally, that man Chuck Wendig has posted a few thoughts on the Seduction of Self-Publishing. Wise words from Chuck, there. Wise words.
Right, that’s all from AR HQ for this week! Have a great weekend. And remember: Be Good, and if you can’t Be Good, then Be Damn Sure They’re Not Going to Catch You.
Talk to the Robot
Reviewed an Angry Robot title? Interviewed an Angry Robot author? Drop us a line (via the Marketing drop-down option on our contact form) and let us know!
Robot Round-Up, 02.12.11
Posted by: | CommentsHello and welcome to our regular round-up of Angry Robot author activity from around the Internets. Without further ado, here’s this week’s selection:
Jo Anderton was interviewed by David Conyers on the subject of her short story ‘Out Hunting For Teeth’, which will be appearing in issue #6 of Midnight Echo, the Australian Horror Writers Association magazine.
In the wake of this week’s announcement of the Zoo City TV/Movie rights deal, Lauren Beukes has been speaking to Bizcommunity.com and The Mail and Guardian about the project.
An interview with Knights of Breton Court creator Maurice Broaddus was the main feature of the latest SpeculateSF podcast. Maurice also revealed the contents of his to-be-read book pile, including Chris F. Holm‘s forthcoming debut Dead Harvest (March 2012).
Adam Christopher‘s forthcoming debut novel, Empire State (January 2012) has been getting some attention this week, with reviews from fantasynibbles.com and Livejournaller Gill Polack. Plus, a top-10 shortlist mention in Kirkus’ Science Fiction and Fantasy for December 2011 watch-list, and The Ranting Dragon’s 5 Most Anticipated December Releases as well. Meanwhile, Adam has been telling The Night Bazaar about his lifelong love of Doctor Who stories.
Peter Crowther‘s first Forever Twilight instalment, Darkness Falling, has been reviewed by David Marshall for his ‘Thinking About Books’ blog, by and Silver Thistle for ‘The Bookshelf Chronicles’ and by Mike Chinn for The British Fantasy Society.
Nathan McKnight has produced an Obsidian & Blood glossary for the Kindle, to help Aliette De Bodard readers keep track of all those Aztec names and their meanings. Aliette was also interviewed by Jeremy L. C. Jones for Clarkesworld Magazine.
Back in November Chris F. Holm was interviewed by R Thomas Brown for Crime Fiction Lover about his love of crime fiction, his recent short fiction collection 8 Pounds and, of course, Dead Harvest (March 2012).
Paul S Kemp is posting a series of excerpts from his forthcoming (July 2012) fantasy saga The Hammer and The Blade (July 2012). He’s just posted the second one and the first is here if you missed it.
Over on her blog, Anne Lyle, author of The Alchemist of Souls (March 2012), reveals the cunning visual reference methodology with which she plots fight scenes (hey, I guess that’ll be the same bleeding-edge character animation software last seen in the truly epic Lord of the Rings movie battle sequences..? eh? What’s that? Not the fancy software? So what does she..? Playmobil figures? Cool..!)
A second round-up mention for reviewer Gill Polack; this time she’s posted her review of David Tallerman‘s forthcoming (February 2012) debut novel Giant Thief.
Matt Forbeck was interviewed by Rick Novy for his ‘Entropy Central’ blog, talking about writing, game design and his ongoing ’12 for 12′ Kickstarter project.
There’s much love for Chuck Wendig as Andrea Philips turns the Creative Spotlight on his projects past, present and, er, projected, for her ‘Deus Ex Machinatio’ blog.
And finally, a rollerskating duck. Oh, no, it’s our Marco, live and uncensored, in the Nottingham online magazine Left Lion.
…and that’s your lot for this week. Have a great weekend!
Talk to the Robot
Reviewed an Angry Robot title? Interviewed an Angry Robot author? Drop us a line (via the Marketing drop-down option on our contact form) and let us know!
Announcing… Zoo City – the movie!
Posted by: | Comments
After some furious behind-the-scenes negotiation, we’re delighted to announce that an option has been taken out on Zoo City. Here’s the press release, direct from the winning production team:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TOP SOUTH AFRICAN PRODUCER WINS COVETED FILM RIGHTS IN INTERNATIONAL “BID FEST” TO MULTIPLE AWARD-WINNING AND BESTELLING NOVEL ZOO CITY BY SOUTH AFRICAN AUTHOR LAUREN BEUKES
“Beukes’ energetic noir phantasmagoria, the winner of this year’s Arthur C. Clarke Award, crackles with original ideas.” (Jeff VanderMeer, New York Times Book Review)
South Africa, November 22nd
Helena Spring, widely regarded as one of South Africa’s most accomplished motion picture producers, has just been awarded the highly sought-after film rights to Zoo City, the Sci-Fi thriller penned by South African author Lauren Beukes – who garnered the 2011 Arthur C. Clarke Award for best Science Fiction novel. In the wake of whopping sales figures, multiple awards and critical acclaim Beukes’ book generated fierce interest from numerous bidders in the entertainment industry, putting Spring alongside major US and UK producers eager to tell Beukes’ unique tale.
Zoo City was published first in South Africa by Jacana Media and thereafter internationally by by Angry Robot.
The urban fantasy is set in a futuristic, gritty and hard-core Johannesburg where the eponymous ghetto has been colonised by society’s outcasts – like criminals, drug-dealers and psychopaths, and their animal companions. Like the other residents of the Zoo City slum, Zinzi, the anti-heroine, is “animalled”, but she is also a shrewd, street-smart girl with the gift (or burden) of finding lost things. Zinzi wears her power animal, a sloth, on her back. When she is hired to find a missing teenybopper star, she hopes that it will be her ticket out of Hell’s waiting room.
“I’m delighted to have secured the film and television rights for Zoo City,” commented Helena Spring. “It is a groundbreaking, magical novel begging for a life on the big screen. Lauren’s storytelling is masterful – edgy and futuristic, unique yet universal. It is high in entertainment value yet emotionally charged, a dream project for any producer.”
Beukes positively acknowledges the choice of the winning producer. “Every novelist dreams of a movie deal – but you actually want more than that. You want to find a producer of great vision and integrity and experience who fundamentally gets the book and understands how to transform it into an entirely different creature based on the same genetic material. I’m thrilled that it’s being produced in South Africa – for an international audience.”
Spring’s career in the entertainment industry spans nearly three decades, during which time she has produced over twenty motion pictures – including the first ever South African film to receive recognition at the Academy Awards®: Darrell Roodt’s Yesterday earned a Best Foreign Picture nomination in 2004.
Spring, who has worked with some of the foremost filmmakers in the world – such as Paul Greengrass who helmed the box office smash hits The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, and Academy Award® winner, Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech), will soon be putting the project out to a select party of directors, while Beukes has first look as screenwriter to adapt her novel for the screen. “Lauren is perfectly placed to do this. The characters are alive inside her,” says Spring.
Julian Friedmann of Blake Friedmann (the literary agency that reps Beukes), says that: “Helena outbid all the others in a spirited auction for film rights to this extraordinary book. She had an extremely proactive, writer-friendly approach to working with Lauren and offered an imaginative and creative proposal that was irresistible.”
Lauren Beukes’ meteoric rise seems unstoppable and recently a new megabucks book deal was announced. The working titles of the two novels – due in 2013 and 2014 – are The Shining Girls and Broken Monsters. They were picked up by publishers in the US, the UK, South Africa, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany.
Robot Round-Up, 25.11.11
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s been a busy, busy week in the Angry Robot themed bits of the Interwebs, so without further ado, here’s what we’ve spotted, bookmarked, earmarked or hypothetically scent-marked since our last round-up piece:
Jo Anderton‘s Debris made it into Library Journal‘s Top 10 SF/F of 2011 list, along with the comment: “An accomplished debut reminiscent of the visionary works of China Miéville.”
Debris was also reviewed at Dragonpage.com, where reviewer Laith Preston said: “I would highly recommend Debris to any fan of Sci-Fi or Fantasy. I am eagerly awaiting the release of the next book in the Veiled World Trilogy, Suited“.
It’s been a particularly busy week for Lauren Beukes. First off, Lauren was was cited in an Independent on Sunday article on tghe subject of How women are winning sci-fi’s battle of the sexes. Lauren said: “The stuff I was reading in my teens were books like the Dragonlance Chronicles, and there were really strong female characters in those… There is more of a stage now for female writers.”
Next up, an article by Richard Bowker of the Dictionary Unit for South African English posted an article on the use of South African English and multilingual slang in Zoo City.
Lauren was also interviewed for Pakistan’s City FM 89 radio’s City Cast View show and for the If You’re Just Joining Us podcast.
And finally, Lauren reported for the Mail & Guardian Zoo City themed art exhibition called ‘Dark City’ that “explores themes of xenophobia, city life, suburbia and paranoia” as inspired by the novel.
Adam Christopher was interviewed by The Qwillery on the subject of his forthcoming debut novel Empire State and the blending of science fiction and noir.
The Canadian podcast Squideye and The Bitter Guy talked to Matt Forbeck about his forthcoming Angry Robot title Carpathia and his 12 For Twelve Kickstarter project.
The new Paranormal Special Edition issue of SFX Magazine is on-sale now and features a short story by our very own Guy Haley.
Fantasy author Adrian Tchaikovsky posted an article on the resurgence of the thief-character in fantasy fiction and highlighted a certain dashing rogue by the name of Easie Damasco, star of David Tallerman‘s forthcoming Angry Robot debut, Giant Thief.
Fantasy-Magazine.com turned their author spotlight on Lavie Tidhar, mainly to talk to him about the short story he wrote for them but also to ask after his current and forthcoming projects, which include the third part of his Bookman Histories, The Great Game
Lavie is also featured, along with Aliette de Bodard, in this week’s SF Signal podcast on the subject of recommended international authors.
There’s an in-depth interview with Gav Thorpe on Stefan Fergus’s Civilian Reader blog, which covers his current Crown of the Blood series for Angry Robot and his Warhammer novels, as well as his influences, writing practices and his opinion of the genre today.
Kaaron Warren contributed to Sinescope.org article on Women Writing Horror by recommending a few of her favourite female horror writers.
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