Angry Robot are expanding again, and as a result we are announcing a new and exciting vacancy. As part of our ongoing growth in the US and Canada, and the imminent arrival of our YA imprint Strange Chemistry and our Crime imprint Exhibit A, we are looking for a North American Sales & Marketing Manager.

This person will be a brand champion, liaising with the passionate souls that are the Angry Robot editors to ensure that the expert sales team at our distributors, the mighty Random House, have all they need to sell our books. Based in the US, they will use their experience of book sales and marketing channels to ensure that the delights of AR’s range are promoted to our distributors, wholesalers, stores and readers. They will in turn feed back on-the-spot information about the local market and as a key member of the Angry Robot gang help decide which books go into our ranges, with the express intention of making our books and their sales better than ever.

The role will be based on the East Coast – probably in the offices of our parent company, the Osprey Group, in Long Island City – but we may be able to be flexible for the right candidate.

If you are interested, please apply with your CV/resumé and salary expectations to Marc Gascoigne, care of incoming [at] angryrobotbooks.com or via our Contact page. No snailmail applications, please. Don’t delay – the closing date is noon GMT on 28th May 2012.

The novel was originally published by PS Publishing in signed hardcover, hardcover and ebook editions, and will be published in paperback by Solaris in October.

Here at AR we’re justifiably proud to have published his entire Bookman Histories series: The Bookman, Camera Obscura and The Great Game. So there’s plenty more Lavie Tidhar story-telling to get your teeth into once you’ve devoured Osama.

Congratulations again and the very best of luck to Lavie – who’s up against some extremely strong competition on that final list – and we’ll have our fingers firmly crossed for him when the winner is announced on July 8th.

Charlie Jane Anders has reviewed vN for the mighty IO9.com and under the headline “The Most Messed Up Book About Robot Consciousness Ever” draws a few comparisons to Philip K. Dick, Amy Thomson and Battlestar Galactica, before concluding “So yeah, if you have been missing the kind of thought-provoking-yet-exciting stories about artificial creatures that only come along once in a while, vN is well worth grabbing … a strikingly fresh work of mind-expanding science fiction.” We’ve also heard from the one and only Cory Doctorow, whose full review will be going live on BoingBoing later in the year, but who has given us permission to post a snippet in the meantime: “Ashby’s debut is a fantastic adventure story that carries a sly philosophical payload about power and privilege, gender and race. It is often profound, and it is never boring.”

You can look forward to seeing vN on a bookshelf near you (virtual or otherwise) from August onwards.

Back to our current crop of top-notch new novels and we’ve seen a bunch of new reviews of Justin Gustainis‘ second Occult Crimes Investigation, Evil Dark, this week (enough for him to get his own bullet-list, no less):

• Ed at Starburst Magazine said: “Fans of TV shows like Supernatural and Grimm will find this worth a read, and it’s a lovely mix of real world nightmare and fantastic horror” and draws comparisons to Mike Mignola and Jim Butcher as well.
• Over at The Bibliophilic Book Blog, they said: “Rich and diverse, this gritty noir thriller will leave you thirsting for more!”
• Julia at All Things Urban Fantasy said: “The dry police banter, methodical exploration of crimes, and a story and world that were easy to jump into make this a great introduction to the series as well as a satisfying stand alone.”
• Mieneke at A Fantastical Librarian said: “Evil Dark was a terrifically entertaining read, which kept me invested in its characters from beginning to end.”
• Laura at Book Chick City reviewed series-opener Hard Spell and said: “Hard Spell was a nice sojourn from my usual urban fantasy style. Gritty, dark, with a mystery that kept you guessing … An enjoyable read for urban fantasy and police drama fans alike.”

Justin has guest-blogged at The Bibliophilic Book Blog as well, on the subject of James Bond… but not as we know him. And at All Things Urban Fantasy he muses on the topic of “What the Hell Is Urban Fantasy, Anyway?”

Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig has been on the receiving end of another round of glowing reviews in the past few days:

• Gef at Wag the Fox said: “I want to find fault with the novel somewhere, but nothing springs to mind. The damned thing is about as immaculately gritty and unrelenting, while avoiding nihilistic venom, as a guy like me could ask for. I have a feeling this one will be on a lot of summer reading lists this year.”
• Niall at The Speculative Scotsman said: “Chuck Wendig was one to watch beforehand, but with this twisted little treat he cements an already-estimable reputation. Blackbirds is dirty, filthy, nasty… fantastic. If you can stand the sight of some awfully ugly stuff, you’re exceedingly likely to love it.”
• Ros at Warpcore SF said: “I finished the book wanting to know more about Miriam’s world with all its peeling paintwork, fading bruises, and grotification. It’s the kind of story where no-one is getting out without a fair amount of staining, but the characters are more interesting as a result.”
• Bobby at This Writing Life, drawing a comparison between Chuck and The Beastie Boys c.1984, said: “Look in the dictionary under the word audacious. There’ll be a picture of Chuck Wendig.”

Chris F. Holm is the subject of a New Author Profile at SF Signal. He’s also a guest, along with Stina Leicht, on the 102nd episode of the Functional nerds Podcast. Meanwhile, Dead Harvest has been reviewed by Dan O’Shea, who said: “If you are an urban fantasy fan, than Dead Harvest is sure to be a new favorite. But even if you’re not, I encourage you to give it a shot.”

David Tallerman – author of Giant Thief and the forthcoming sequel Crown Thief (October 2012) – has been interviewed at length by Ryan at Fantasy Book Review, with discussion roaming over David’s writing habits, the background and inspiration for Giant Thief and his plans for the future.

Snippets from our Authors’ Blogs:

Guy Haley has been exploring the Mythology of Star Wars and has re-posted a 2010 interview with fellow AR author Dan Abnett as well.

Aliette de Bodard has been discussing SFF as metaphor: aliens, vampires, foreigners and immigrants, sparking off a lively debate in the comments thread in the process.

Gary McMahon has been getting to grips with Meme Horror and in the process has discovered the creepy delights of Marble Hornets, which by all accounts isn’t for the faint-hearted: “The whole thing is both epic and intimate, absurd and insightful, messy and often completeley fucking terrifying. I think it’s the first masterpiece of internet-based meme fiction.”

Chuck Wendig was both surprised and delighted to realise that he has fans. We weren’t. Surprised, that is. Delighted, definitely. But not surprised in the slightest.

Anne Lyle is giving away three copies of her swashbuckling, Elizabethan alt-history debut novel The Alchemist of Souls to readers from the UK/EU. Head on over to www.annelyle.com for entry details.

And finally…

Here’s a short animated film by Kibwe Tavares that was released last year and won a great deal of acclaim, as well as the RIBA Presidents’ Medal, but which we (or I anyway – DT) only saw for the first time this week thanks to a mention from Mark C Newton.

Robots of Brixton… welcome to your robo-future, meat-sacks:

(Hmmm. A tale of dark, dystopian robotics? That’s a meme we like the sound of. Wonder where we can get us some more of that sort of thing..?)

Where: Flights of Fantasy, 381 Sand Creek Rd. Albany NY 12205

When: Sunday, June 10th 2.00 pm

Doesn’t look like any sort of ticketing is involved, but we’re sure Flights of Fantasy would appreciate a heads-up if you’re going to attend so they can keep an eye on numbers.

Here’s your handy Google Map of the venue:

View Larger Map

So, without futher ado or kerfuffle:

We’ve seen lots and lots more love for Chuck Wendig‘s Blackbirds (out now! out now!) this past week:

• “[Blackbirds is] one dark book. Think Six Feet Under co-written by Stephen King and Chuck Palahniuk … Wendig’s surefooted prose means that this ride is well worth sticking your thumb out for.” 4 **** said SFX Magazine.
• “I genuinely can’t recommend this novel highly enough. I may contact Amazon and ask if they’ll create a sixth star just for this. Miriam Black is a fascinating creation and I look forward to meeting her again.” said Pablocheesecake at The Eloquent Page.
• “It’s a high octane ride through the dark recesses of humanity, a smashing blend of noir and the supernatural that combines the best of classic crime novels with downright genuine creepiness.” said Keith at Adventures Fantastic.
• “Miriam’s narrative voice is infectious. Wendig evokes a palpable mood of gritty redneck Americana; if you’ve ever stayed in a horrible roadside motel or eaten at a greasy spoon, you know this world. The villains will make your skin crawl. The plot moves quickly and builds to a satisfying end with plenty of emotional oomph.” said Kelly at FantasyLiterature.com.
• “Full of violence, sex, drinking swearing and awesome, Blackbirds is compulsory reading for anyone who loves urban fantasy, or even just a damn good book.”
• “Blackbirds is a hauntingly macabre book … The prose is visceral and brutally beautiful.” said Kiara at Waiting for Fairies.
• “Blackbirds, a rough, unflinching suspense tale from Chuck Wendig, introduces us to Miriam and the torture of knowing how people die, yet being powerless to stop it.” said Cupcake at Cupcake’s (Book) Cupboard.
• “Forcefully paced and darkly humorous, Chuck Wendig doesn’t just establish himself as the new voice of horror, but jumps on top of the genre and does a little dance to prove his point.” said The Guilded Earlobe, of the Brilliance Audio edition of Blackbirds.
• “…a piece of dark and gritty urban fantasy, where ‘magic’ is a gift granted through trauma, where fate appears to hold power over people.” said Laura at Roots Half Hidden.
• “This is a must read for fans of paranormal books on the much darker and grittier side of things. I was hooked a few short pages in and could barely put Blackbirds down until I was finished.” said Tabitha at My Shelf Confessions.
• “I tore through Blackbirds and couldn’t stop reading. I may not have fallen in love with her at first sight, but Miriam made for a riveting lead character and I had to find out how it would work out, because in the end I did come to care for her.” said Mieneke at A Fantastical Librarian

Chuck also told John Scalzi’s Whatever all about the Big Idea behind Miriam Black’s story last week. And urges writers to “Own the Crazy” at writerunboxed.com. And at Boomtrom’s Criminal Complex he explains why ‘Genre is a Moving Target’. He also crops up on the 100th episode of the Functional Nerds podcast and episode #129 of Vodka O’Clock. He’s been guest-blogging at StephenBlackmoore.com. He’s been interviewed by LitStack. In traditional Terrible Minds ’25 Things’ mode he reveals the 25 Things I Learned While Writing Blackbirds. And you can win one of three copies of Blackbirds by following @scifibulletin on Twitter and then tweeting them with the answer to a competition question plus the appropriate hashtag. See SciFiBulletin.com for the question you’ll need to answer, plus full entry details. (Open to UK residents only. Closing date: Thursday May 10th.) Damn, that’s a lot of Wendig. More, please!

Evil Dark (also out now!) by Justin Gustainis was reviewed by Lightsaber Rattling, where Peter saud: “If you are a fan of police procedural stories and also enjoy horror, this is an interesting mixture of the two genres.” And Amber, of Amberkatze’s Book Blog, said: “I thought the debut in the series, Hard Spell, was amazing but this sequel ROCKED!” And at Falcata Times they said: “…great prose, a wonderful twist of fate that keeps you guessing and of course a whole host of colourful supporting cast members and all in all it’s a book that satisfies on so many levels.”

Meanwhile, Justin has been talking to The Once and Future Podcast about his Occult Investigations series and his Quincy Morris books. He’s also been busily guest blogging at Paperback Dolls, where he’s been telling them all about his Personal Demons and at Cherry Mischevous, where he introduces a few of Scranton’s supernatural residents.

Anne Lyle‘s The Alchemist of Souls was the subject of a New Author Spotlight at Sci-Fi Fan Letter. And Anne has revealed the cover of her second novel, The Merchant of Dreams!

Guy Haley – author of the Richards and Klein novels Reality 36 and Omega Point – has started posting a new batch of short stories on his blog, starting with ‘Outside’.

The third instalment in Mike Shevdon‘s Courts of the Feyre series, Strangeness and Charm is out next month and was reviewed this week at SF Book reviews where Antony called it: “one of the stand out novels and series of recent times, simply magical.”

Likewise out next month: Night’s Engines, the second and concluding part of Trent Jamieson‘s Nightbound Land series, reviewed most favourably this week by Upcoming4me, where their reviewer said: “Night’s Engines ultimately provides a satisfactory ending to the duology. But to be completely honest, I would be quite happy if Trent eventually changed his mind and made this a trilogy or even quadrology because I would be more than glad to take another trip to Shale.”

Paul S. Kemp‘s The Hammer and The Blade has received its first Russian-language review (that we know of) at Fantlab.ru. 8/10 stars and (according to Google Translate), reviewer Aleks called it: “A wonderful tribute to the classics of the genre, ‘Might and Magic’ [we're pretty sure they mean 'Sword and Sorcery' rather than the computer game franchise - AR] with all its attendant advantages, disadvantages and limitations … All fans of Robert E. Howard and Fritz Leiber [are] urged to pay attention to [The Hammer and The Blade] when it goes on sale in June this year.” And there’s another, glowing review at The Troubled Scribe, where Liam concluded: “I found myself wanting more – many, many more – Nix and Egil adventures. With this fierce and untamed fantasy world Paul Kemp has created, I see no reason why there won’t be a vast number of them in the foreseeable future.” You can read a fresh extract from The Hammer and the Blade over at paulskemp.com as well.

vN (August 2012) author Madeline Ashby has been talking to Stefan at Civilian Reader about robots, Japanese anime, cyborg theory, writing and more.

Reviewer David Marshall took at look at Matt Forbeck‘s Carpathia for the Sacramento / San Francisco Book Review and said: “This is a beautifully constructed horror novel with the tension ratcheting up inexorably as night falls on the Atlantic.”

There’s a review of David Tallerman‘s Giant Thief in Theaker’s Quarterly Review issue #40, where the eponymous Mr Theaker says: “the book is as much fun as you’d expect the story of a thief who steals a giant to be”.

Lavie Tidhar‘s The Great Game was warmly reviewed in the latest issue of Locus Magazine: “Achieves moments of surprising depth and beauty, with real insights into human history and psychology as well as the immense and varied wealth of writing in the last half of the 19th century. It’s a virtuoso performance.” And at AllwaysUnmended as well, where Jessica said: “Spies, monsters, machines, and mad scientists fill every page, and the action never stops … Twists and turns await around every corner, constantly leaving readers wonder what will happen next.” And Android Dreamer took a look at series-opener The Bookman by and declared it to be: “brilliantly written, strong characters, wonderful world, and an engaging story make for a novel that is absolutely a must-read”.

And finally, Mighty Mur Lafferty, Angry Robot podcaster extraordinaire, is the subject of a 20 minute focus at roundtablepodcast.com. And our Lee has been describing his working day to Book Chick City, where you can also win a prize pack of three of our terrific titles.

That’ll do for this week. If you’re quick, you can still get 50% off any of our ebook titles at The Robot Trading Company… hurry now, offer ends Noon BST on Saturday May 5th.

Here at Angry Robot we’ve never inflicted DRM on our eBooks, preferring to trust our customers and readers instead – and we must say it’s most gratifying to see folks like Tor / Forge and co. catching up at long last… ;)

Anyhow, to mark the occasion, here’s a bit of a special offer for you: if you buy any of our DRM-free ePub-format eBooks from the Robot Trading Company in the next 24 hours you can get a mahoosive 50% discount.

Here’s how:

First, add lots of eBooks to your basket, then:

1. Enter the coupon code ‘DRMFREE’ in the (coupon / voucher) box

2. Click the ‘Update Basket’ button

3. Checkout, download and enjoy!

The Rules:

1. Offer expires at Noon, BST on Saturday May 5th 2012 (or whenever one of us remembers to log in and switch the coupon code off again – if you’re reading this on early Saturday afternoon then give it a go – you never know…)
2. Offer applies to all Angry Robot eBook novels and omnibus editions currently available via the Robot Trading Company website.
3. Offer does not apply to subscription packages (which are insanely good value all on their ownsome) or short stories (which are pretty darn cheap already, at 10 for £3.49).

What are you waiting for? GO, fill your eBoots with eBooks! Go NOW!

Such is the case here, a wonderful illustration by Angelo Rinaldi for David Tallerman‘s upcoming Easie Damasco novel, Crown Thief (October 2012). Look upon its manifold wonders and marvel. Also, click to get a better look at that insane detail. Then click again for even more.

Now if you’ll excuse, we need to go and make ourselves presentable again.

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 

Much, much love again this week for Chuck Wendig‘s rather superb AR debut, Blackbirds. So many new reviews, in fact, that we’re having to bullet-point them:

• Clear Eyes, Full Shelves: “[An] outrageous flurry of outlandish violence (see: Tarantino) and crude profanity (see: Clerks, Eastbound and Down), tempered by irreverent wit (see: Boondock Saints).”
• Tor.com: “If you don’t mind grim and gritty novels full of death, violence, and nihilistic loners, you really should consider picking up Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig. It’s a short, sharp tale that’s consistently captivating and a pure, dark delight from start to finish.”
• Shelf Awareness: “…despite fate being hell-bent on keeping her down, Miriam’s stubborn struggle to change it makes Blackbirds take flight.”
• Urban Fantasy Land: “It’s gritty, graphically violent, pulp fiction, and yet terribly compelling. If Quentin Tarantino wrote fiction, this would be his genre. Fans of Richard Kadrey will love Chuck Wendig. The pair seem to have tapped into a whole subgenre of gritty, fantasy pulp fiction.”
• Violin in a Void: “It’s a quick and dirty brush with the seedier side of urban fantasy. A good kind of nasty, especially if you get a little tired of squeaky clean heroes and heroines who do no wrong.”
• The Book Stoner: “I enjoyed this very much and I spent half the time laughing my brains out. It’s just darkly hilarious? Hilariously dark?”
• LitStack: “The story has a schizophrenic flair to it—one moment, you laugh, possibly out loud, and shake your head; the next, you’ve moved your hand to your mouth, brow furrowed, and you swallow hard against that bacon cheeseburger you just finished. No matter what, you will feel. You will react.”
• Stefan’s Bookself: “Blackbirds is urban fantasy at its gory and violent best, 5 bloody stars.”

Chuck has also been interviewed by LitReactor and My Bookish Ways; on the latter site you can enter a giveaway to win a copy of Blackbirds. And on his blog this week he’s been asking for feedback on what works in book promotion for publishers, authors and readers.

Justin Gustainis – whose second Occult Crimes Investigation novel, Evil Dark, is officially published next week (although the eBook and US print editions are available already) – has been guest blogging at For What It’s Worth where he talks about his approach to scaring his readership.

We’ve seen three more reviews of Chris F. Holm‘s Dead Harvest this week, from Sabrina at My Friends Call Me Kate, who said: “I’d let Sam Thornton snatch the soul from my chest any day of the week.” Which is, er, nice? At FantasyLiterature.com Terry said Dead Harvest is “Supernatural noir at its best” and went on to add: “Dead Harvest will make you stretch your lunch hours and stay up far later than is good for you”, so consider yourself warned. Plus, Joe Myers said: “Fantastic stuff all around. For those who are a little too into their old-fashioned pulpnoir to feel entirely comfortable wading into urban fantasy, step up to the plate and get ready for a fastball right in the jumblies.” Which brought tears to several pairs of eyes in the AR office, we don’t mind telling you.

Over at Civilian Reader, Stefan took a good, long look at Anne Lyle‘s The Alchemist of Souls and concluded: “Lyle is a superb talent, one I think everyone should be reading. The Alchemist of Souls is very highly recommended.” We couldn’t have put it better ourselves. Anne is also the subject of a New Author Spotlight piece over at SF Signal.

Speaking of interviews, there’s a big one with Guy Haley over at www.sfx.co.uk, wherein Guy talks about Omega Point as well as his current Solaris title, Champion of Mars and the work he’s doing in the Warhammer milieu for Black Library. The Omega Point (and its immediate prequel, Reality 36) author has also been talking to Erik at I Will Read Books about his love of science fiction and all things Richards & Klein.

Madeline Ashby, author of the forthcoming vN (August 2012), spoke out on the subject of climate change for an Earth Day 2012 article at Toronto.com.

Gary McMahon (Pretty Little Dead Things, Dead Bad Things) has confessed his deepest, darkest fears over at The Horrifically Horrifying Horror Blog.

One from the AR Archive: there’s a rather excellent review of Kaaron Warren‘s Slights – one of the very first books that Angry Robot ever published – by Michael Matheson, over at Chizine.com. Michael said: “I’ve yet to see a review do proper justice to what truly fuels the dark heart of Slights; what powers the midnight core of what is one of the most sickening, engrossing, brutally honest character and social studies published in the past several years.” and then proceeds to provide just that.

Lauren Beukes‘ award-winning Zoo City was reviewed Trent Smith at Pulp 300, who offered three whole blurbs, including: “Zoo City spikes your drink with mashavi goodness then lines up a dozen more shots filled with all manner of pureed noir, urban grime, shamen shenanigans, 419 scams, and pop-culture spin.” Which we like.

And finally, our Marco has been talking to The She-Wolf as part of the Five Alarm Books blog’s ‘Shelf Candy’ meme.

Right, that’s your lot. Have a great weekend and we’ll see you back here this time next week for another batch of rounded-up robotics.

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.