Archive for Reviews
SFX reviews Angry Robot books
Posted by: | Comments
Two great reviews of Angry Robot titles in the current issue (out today). You’ll not be able to miss this month’s SFX magazine, with its frankly astonishing 3D Doctor Who cover!
First review is of Aliette de Bodard’s magical Aztec murder mystery Servant of the Underworld:
Part murder mystery, part well-researched historical novel and part fantasy… The fantasy element blends neatly with the other parts.
4****
Next up is Lavie Tidhar’s steampunk romp, The Bookman:
The juicy backstory is unfolded by Tidhar, making it a key part of what makes the narrative so compelling… skilful, clever and highly enjoyable.
4****
Woody’s Roundup
Posted by: | Comments
Temple Library Reviews are running an Angry Robot marathon – interviews, features and reviews of our books. They kicked off yesterday with a great interview with Walking the Tree author Kaaron Warren.
When Marc Gascoigne was asked to set up a new imprint of Harper Collins, he knew he wanted to seek far and wide for authors. He wanted an international cast of characters. So he asked writers he’d worked with when he was with The Black Library to give him the names of writers they respected in their own countries.
Matthew Farrer, a Warhammer 40,000 novelist, included me on his list.
From there, I nervously emailed Marc to tell him I had three novels and he asked me to send him proposals for all three. His response to the proposals was to ask for sample chapters and his response to the sample chapters was to ask for full manuscripts.
That was a nervous time, waiting for his final response.
Then I got an email, telling me that Angry Robot would buy all three novels. I had to get my husband to read the email for me, to check I wasn’t dreaming!
Today they followed up with a review of Kaaron’s first book, Slights:
Perhaps one of the most disturbing psychological horror stories imbued with withering decadence and written as a memoir. This story haunted me and froze my blood in a manner I have yet to encounter.
Talking of Slights, Bookish Ardour tells us:
Sometimes I finish reading a book and I swear it’s like I’m shell shocked. I’m dazed, I don’t want to talk to anyone, I don’t really want to listen to anyone. I feel like I’m stuck in some sort of limbo that only happens after certain stories. The thing is, it’s not always the story that leaves me shell shocked, but that the story is over…
The story actually deals with a lot of death, and hints at some pretty obscene and horrific acts, and yet in all that darkness I found quite a sense of humour. I don’t usually laugh when I’m reading. I’ll smile, maybe, but not laugh and I did with this one. I think the character Stevie is great and hilarious even though she is so crude. I even had to write down some of the lines because they entertained me so much.
Over at Fantasy Book Critic Ian Whates’ fabulous fantastical adventure (and brilliant debut) City of Dreams and Nightmare is reviewed:
“City of Dreams & Nightmare” grabs you pretty much from the first page and then you really do not want to put it down since it just twists and turns and the threads following the main characters above are all deftly handled with very smooth jumps and several crucial interludes following the “true movers and shakers” of the novel…
Highly recommended as a strong A and a fun, page turning sff adventure that will enchant all fans of such.
Falcata Times has just reviewed Lavie Tidhar’s The Bookman:
Angry Robot is fast building a reputation for bringing new talent alongside the less explored area’s of fiction to the fore. With this offering, they not only give the reader a new area to explore but a unique and novel storyteller to the masses…
Not only an interesting read but also one that leads the reader to ask more questions than is answered within the text supplied… A promising start and I hope that the follow-ups are just as interesting.
A few linkages of doom
Posted by: | CommentsOk, not “of doom”, exactly, but I’m hoping to get a job writing headlines for the UK tabloid press.
First up, another great review of The Bookman – this time, from The Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf and Book Review:
One of the fascinating aspects of Steampunk is how authors alter the timeline and introduce historical characters, which The Bookman has in spades. The story starts off a bit sedately, but quickly moves into something all action oriented with nary a slow spot. The world building is immense as Tidhar has warped history into something altogether wonderful and exciting, which also shows the authors great love for the written word and the power it can convey.
While over at Dark Wolf’s Fantasy Reviews, author Lavie Tidhar is grilled (in the questioning sense, not culinary):
M(DW): I read that you define your writings as weird fiction. Why an attraction towards the weird? Why do you define your works as weird fiction?
LT: I can’t really answer the why of it. I just tend to have this skewered way of viewing the world, I guess. The thing is, I like writing different things, mixing different genres, trying different approaches, and the only common denominator for them is the “weird”, is that they’re all kind of skewered. But I’d hate to be stuck in one single genre or sub-genre or whatever. I still want to write a cookbook! And I have this dream of one day writing a Mills & Boon romance…
And the first review of Matt Forbeck’s hi-octane scifi adventure, Amortals is already in, courtesy of the Writing and Reading blog:
It’s gripping, exciting, imaginative… It would could make a great film, but it’s a great book anyway so read it, whether you like scifi or not!
Amortals is out next month in the UK and Australia, and June in the US and Canada.
Have a great Friday.
The best negative review you’ll ever read!
Posted by: | Comments
Before we talk about the nature of reviews (and reviewers) let’s take a few quotes from a review over at FantasyLiterature.com where King Maker is under the spotlight:
The premise of King Maker is simply awesome
Maurice Broaddus’ writing creates a dangerous and authentic mood. The language is fierce and evokes the gritty realism of life on the streets. When the supernatural elements are introduced, they drift through the novel like smoke, leaving the reader gradually horrified as the end game is reached.
the dialogue is very effectively written
all of [the characters] are written in shades of grey
For some, King Maker is going to be the best read of 2010.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that the reviewer adores this book as much as we do, but she doesn’t. As she is someone as far removed from Indianapolis gangland life as you can possibly get, she found the dialogue difficult to get through at times, and there are a few “extremely gruesome scenes” that she had difficulty in reading, but the interesting thing about this review is that, although the reviewer didn’t particularly enjoy the read, she acknowledged that “sometimes you just don’t ‘fit’ with a book” and that she has “the sneaking suspicion that other readers will love this book.”
She’s right. As a former book reviewer for several magazines, I know how important it is for the right person to read a book for review – no point, for instance, in giving a visceral horror to a paranormal romance aficionado, no matter how great the title, they won’t enjoy the ride.
So, it’s refreshing to find a review from someone who didn’t particuarly gel with a title, and find that they don’t blame the book, nor themselves, but the synergy between the two.
And for what it’s worth, we’ll take a negative – but well-rounded – review such as the one above, over an overtly positive but nothing-to-say review, all the time.
Oh, and King Maker is in the shops this Thursday – but before you go buy a copy, just re-read the comments quoted above, from a reviewer who didn’t fit with the book. Yeah, you want a copy…
Actions have repercussions, good guys don’t always win and there are no easy answers
Posted by: | Comments
As we move ever-closer to the launch of our first titles in the US and Canada, it’s gratifying to see those same titles – launched three-quarters of a year ago in the UK and Australia – are still garnering great reviews.
SF Crowsnest have just reviewed Moxyland:
…a chilling, effectively written novel.
Actions have repercussions, good guys don’t always win and there are no easy answers. This uncertainty builds real tension as the novel progresses towards its climax, as the various strands of reality weave around each other and the relentless minimalism of Beukes’ style evokes an oppressive atmosphere to match that hanging over the city. A tension leading to an utterly terrifying scene in which the police deploy biological weapons as a crowd-control measure.
The uncomfortable question ‘Moxyland’ raises is whether it’s truly terrorist to oppose a system which no longer recognises the rights of its individual citizens. There is a line between terrorist and freedom fighter, that much is clear but when does it get drawn and who gets to do the drawing?
Then go buy Moxyland (currently on special offer (£3.99) at Play.com) – you’ll thank yourself.
The kind of book that changes you on the inside
Posted by: | Comments
Now that’s what I call a good review! At Dave Brendon’s Fantasy and SciFi Weblog, the focus is on J Robert King’s masterful tale of the supernatural, Angel of Death.
I found Angel of Death to be an utterly masterful novel – one of those novels that truly only comes along very, very rarely. And it’s still echoing through my head – I replay scenes, hear the dialogue, see the imagery, feel the emotions… I haven’t read anything quite like this before; it stunned me completely, and I truly hope that this book finds its way into the hands of many, many people.
Gillian Polack has been getting to grips with King Maker (out next week):
Books can be puzzling. My current book ought to be. I tried to explain it to someone the other day.
“King Arthur in Indianapolis,” I said.
She said “Why would King Arthur be in Indianapolis?”
I blame Angry Robot. Again.
Oooh – sounds ominous…
KingMaker isn’t yet another retelling of the Arthurian stories. There are drugs and gangs and people who are almost too scared to breathe. If there’s a small world that needs saving, it’s the world of this novel: too many lives are in danger and too many people are willing to give up. What’s awesome is there is no guarantee that King is going to become the Arthur we know. His enemies understand where he comes from and what he can do before he does. They may just defeat the whole notion of a livable world before King can cause it to happen.
Ah… she liked it! -)
Meanwhile, Rose Fox (from Publishers Weekly’s Genreville) talking about Slights said:
there is no question in my mind that the best horror of 2009 was published by ChiZine Publications in Canada and HarperCollins’s new Angry Robot imprint in the U.K
Aliette de Bodard continues to attract praise for her Servant of the Underworld. This time, over at fantasyliterature.com:
Servant of the Underworld is a highly original debut novel. Thanks to a solid mystery plot and Aliette de Bodard’s extensive research into pre-Conquest Meso-America, this novel should strike a chord with more than just fantasy readers.
Reviews, interviews and some “interesting” views…
Posted by: | CommentsA few catch-ups to, er… catch up on – some brilliant interviews and superb reviews.
First up, we’re going old-school. Moxyland as reviewed by a native of South Africa (where it’s set):
I’d built up this book for myself for a while… Expectations were high, and they were met. It’s a hugely challenging and fun adventure through places both familiar and strange, encapsulated in a rich, coherent world. Highly recommended.
Falcata Times reviews J Robert King’s supernatural serial killer horror, Angel of Death:
Its quirky, its different and its definitely a novel to make you think… Not something to rush and will remain in the readers subconscious long after the final page.
Helium reviews Guy Adams’ The World House:
But in the meantime we have The World House, which is a wonderful read – and a book that deserves to be in the best-seller lists – by a writer who will at least keep me reading his new fiction.
A few interviews:
Dan Abnett interviewed by SciFi Now:
The premise [of Embedded] sounds really interesting, could you expand on your inspirations behind it?
It was one of those things that just sort of came along. Obviously through 40k, I am associated with what’s commonly known as, or officially known as Combat Science-Fiction. Military SF. Which I’d probably been writing for four or five years before I realised that it was a subgenre – I had no idea. In fact at 40k, in Black Library and stuff we always referred to it not as Combat SF, we referred to it as ‘shooty-death-kill-in-space’, which is a much better name for it. Anyway, if I’ve got a reputation based on anything at all, it’s probably that, because the bulk of my novels are those. The Gaunt’s Ghosts stuff particularly falls into that category. So one thing that Angry Robot said was ‘If you’re so damned good at that, can you put out something that plays on those strengths but has that universe stamp of being your own product’. So what I didn’t want to do was take the tried and tested Gaunt’s Ghosts formula, change his name to Gant, and they can be Gant’s Phantoms. You know, just transferring them across and crossing out 40k.
Kaaron Warren interviewed by DragonKat:
I get creeped out very easily. Just this morning on the bus, a man was picking at his fingernails and I wanted to hit him with my book.
I also tap into my subconscious very well. I think we all have nightmares under the surface. I can see what lies between, and I have these odd glimpses of dark truth.
Sometimes I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders, as many do. It’s all too hard. There are too many problems, too much suffering. I think my writing is the result of all that. It’s like the negativity translates itself into story. Like that man on the bus, the fingernail picking one; things are not going to end well for him in my next story. Not well at all.
and Kylie Chan interviewed by Kathryn Linge:
After book three of the ‘Dark Heavens’ series, ‘Blue Dragon’, I received a constant stream of emails asking me when the next one would be out. I did a tour of the southern states just before Christmas to coincide with the release of ‘Earth to Hell’, and it was exciting to see queues of people at book shops waiting to have their copies signed. ‘Earth to Hell’ hit the top of a few best seller lists, and now I’m receiving the emails again – asking when the next one, ‘Hell to Heaven’, will be released.
And finally, some people who really seem to like our Mr Tidhar. Not quite sure what to make of this one… :-/
Have a great week!
Like nailing soup to a table…
Posted by: | Comments
The extremely lovely Guy Adams (author of The World House) has been interviewed by Hagelrat at the Un:Bound blog, and it makes for fascinating reading:
I think some of the book if lifted and offered out of context – I’m thinking about the scenes in the bathroom on the good ship Intrepid – actually reads like a kid’s book. But then I go and spoil it elsewhere with all the cannibalism and paintings rutting in their canvases.
It’s a great interview, so go read.
The equally-lovely Maurice Broaddus received a parcel yesterday – see what it is, and his reaction, here.
And Andy Remic’s Kell’s Legend (which is nominated for the David Gemmell Legend Award) has had a great review over at the Gemmel Award website, so go read the review, then go vote for the book!
Truly brilliant… it should come with a government health warning to fasten your seat belt as the pace is ferocious and leaves you breathless.
Personally I did not want this to end as it is such a fantastic read. Roll on book 2, grab this now and hang on for dear life as you ride the Kell rollercoaster!
I will be voting for this as it is truly the first Gemmell like read I’ve come across for pure grit and action.
Oh, and Stomping on Yeti lists their top 25 new (or newish) authors worth watching in 2010. Angry Robot authors account for 4 of these! Pretty good going for such a new imprint!
Enjoy your Wednesday. 
A Mini Monday Morning Missive
Posted by: | CommentsA few more excellent reviews have surfaced over the last few days:
At Only the Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Lavie Tidhar’s debut, The Bookman is reviewed. They describe it as:
steampunk in 3D! Highly recommended
Guy Adams’ weird and wonderful modern fantasy The World House gets more praise over at Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review:
It’s not often that I find myself tearing through a book, desperate to find out how it all ends but at the same time trying to hold back and drag out such an enjoyable reading experience for as long as possible. It’s even less often that I find myself doing this with a book that can be so unrelentingly dark and sinister. This was my experience of the ‘World House’; a book that reeled me in and had me hooked before I even realised that I’d taken the bait. I didn’t mind in the slightest.
This is the kind of book that ‘Best of Lists’ were made for. Nine and Three Quarters out of Ten
Oh, yeah!
Thomas Blackthorne’s near future ultra-violent SF thriller Edge, meanwhile, has been causing a bit of a stir over at Science Fiction and Fantasy.co.uk:
The characters themselves are wonderfully fleshed out and their interaction is quite mesmerising.
… an intelligent, slick and brilliantly executed novel with a quite unexpected but superbly scripted ending.
Fantastic reviews in today’s Guardian
Posted by: | CommentsWe know how good our books are, of course, but it’s still nice to get confirmation from a national newspaper.
In today’s Guardian, reviewer (and excellent SF author) Eric Brown says this of The Bookman:
The Bookman is a delight, crammed with gorgeous period detail, seat-of-the-pants adventure and fabulous set-pieces.
And of Thomas Blackthorne’s Edge:
Cumberland leaps off the page, a trained killer whose anger and grief at his daughter’s condition is brilliantly portrayed; the depiction of his simmering rage, barely held in check, and how he channels it, provides a masterclass in characterisation.
You can read the full reviews here.
Don’t forget – you can meet Thomas Blackthorne (aka John Meaney) at London’s Forbidden Planet Megastore this coming Friday (Feb 12th) for a signing session, and then retire to a local hostelry afterward for a chat. Also, Aliette de Bodard, author of the wonderful Servant of the Underworld. The signing is from 6.00pm until 7.00pm.
