Archive for Interviews

Fantasy Authors in Conversation: Anthony Ryan and John Gwynne

Authors Anthony Ryan and John Gwynne discuss their novels THE PARIAH (US | UK) and THE SHADOW OF THE GODS (US | UK) as well as historical influences on their works. And much more!

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Anthony Ryan: Hi John. Congratulations on The Shadow of the Gods, which you know I enjoyed immensely. It’s probably best if we deal with the big important questions first, to wit: what’s the difference between a sword and a seax?

John Gwynne: Hi Anthony, great to be here chatting to you. I’m so pleased you enjoyed The Shadow of the Gods, and I love your question about a seax, but before I get to that I’ve just got to say this; Vaelin Al Sorna [the main character in Ryan’s Raven’s Shadow series] is one of my favourite characters in fantasy, like, ever. He’s iconic and I imagine he will be remembered in the Fantasy Hall of Fame alongside characters such as Druss and Logen Ninefingers.

Okay, now that I’ve got that out of my system, onto the difference between a sword and a seax.

A seax is essentially a big knife, used during the Viking era for all manner of tasks. It’s a single-edged blade, with a broken back tapering to a point. Little to no crossguard, with the blade ranging in size roughly from 6 inches up to about 14 inches in length, although there are variations either side of these dimensions. The Norse were a practical and pragmatic people and the seax was a multi-purpose tool, useful for cutting kindling, chopping vegetables, gutting and skinning a meal, and stabbing your enemy (particularly useful whilst in the shield wall, which would be cramped conditions with little room to swing a blade, much like the Roman gladius). A sword during the same period was longer, tended to be double-edged and with a more prominent crossguard.

Another difference is the way the seax and sword would be worn. A sword would be scabbarded and hung from a baldric or belt to hang roughly diagonally across the hip. A seax would have a scabbard with two or three suspension points and usually would hang from your belt horizontally across your front, roughly around the area of your upper thighs. This was a comfortable position for rowing.

Just to blur matters a little, there were also examples of a langseax, or long-seax during the Viking period, which is a blade with the same design as a seax (single edged, broken back, small or no crossguard) but being longer, of a roughly similar length to a sword. I’ve read various theories on why the langseax was used, and one of the ones I like the most is that the long-seax was used for ship combat, because there would be no danger from a single-edged sword in a back-swing of cutting rigging. So much of ancient history is filling in the gaps and educated guessing, so as to whether that’s true or not, I don’t know, but I like that logic.

Onto my first question to you, Anthony. I’ve recently read your latest novel due to be published later this year, The Pariah, which I loved. I felt a strong medieval and Robin Hood inspiration in its setting and style, though this is a much grittier tale, with a heavy dose of revenge thrown in. Can you tell me a little about your inspirations for The Pariah?

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SUCCESSOR’S PROMISE: A message from Trudi Canavan

Succesors Promise, book 3 of Millennium's Rule by Trudi Canavan

SUCCESSOR’S PROMISE (UK|US|ANZ), the third instalment in Trudi Canavan’s Sunday Times bestselling Millennium’s Rule series is out now.

Following THIEF’S MAGIC (UK|US|ANZ) and ANGEL OF STORMS (UK|US|ANZ), this dramatic fantasy novel is set in a time of chaos – where worlds are at war, torn apart by magic and power-hungry sorcerers.

For us and legions of fantasy fans around the world, the release of this new book is a very exciting event!

Trudi filmed the video below to tell readers just what they can expect from this series and SUCCESSOR’S PROMISE – and to send a big thank you to her fans all around the world for everything they do to support her books!

Cover launch: A PLAGUE OF GIANTS by Kevin Hearne

This October, an invasion is coming.

From the east will come the Bone Giants. And from the south, the fire-wielding Hathrim . . .

A Plague of Giants, a new epic fantasy from Kevin Hearne, author of the Iron Druid Chronicles

Check out our UK cover for A PLAGUE OF GIANTS (UK| ANZ), a colossal new epic fantasy from the New York Times bestselling Kevin Hearne.

You can expect truly great things from this fantasy adventure. Think shape-shifting bards, astonishing beasts and monstrous giants . . .

Kevin is an exceptional storyteller. If you’ve read his bestselling Iron Druid Chronicles, you’ll already know what an original, absorbing and exciting writer he is.

But this entirely new world called the Seven Kennings feels so fresh and is on such an epic scale, fans old and new are about to be wowed.

Readers of Anthony Ryan, Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology, Peter V. Brett’s Demon Cycle and Markus Heitz’s Dwarves series: you might just have found your new favourite author here.

But don’t just take my word for it – listen to these guys:

‘This isn’t just a breath of fresh air for the genre, it’s a damned hurricane’
Jason M. Hough, New York Times bestselling author

‘Absorbing epic fantasy, with clever storytelling that allows its many threads to each feel important, personal, and memorable’ James Islington, author of The Shadow of What Was Lost

‘Human-facing, optimistic, a much-needed reimagining of what epic fantasy can be’ Chuck Wendig

‘A rare masterpiece that’s both current and timeless . . . merging the fantasy bones of Tolkien and Rothfuss with a wide cast of characters who’ll break your heart’
Delilah S. Dawson

A PLAGUE OF GIANTS (UK| ANZ) is available for pre-order now.

Meet Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead . . .

There’s a new fantasy character in town and it’s time for you to meet her!

Dr Greta Helsing is a talented and well-respected physician with a highly specialised – and highly peculiar – medical practice in London’s Harley Street.

If the name sounds familiar, that’s because Greta is a descendent of the vampire hunter Professor Abraham Van Helsing. Luckily for her, family relations with the undead have improved since the nineteenth century and Greta now spends her days carrying on her father’s legacy by treating London’s supernatural community for a host of ills, such as vocal strain in banshees, arthritis in barrow-wights and entropy in mummies.

We managed to grab a few minutes with the busy doctor for a quick interview. You can read it here.

Greta Helsing

 

If you want to find out more about Greta’s adventures in medicine and  mystery, STRANGE PRACTICE (US/UK/ANZ) is hitting shops next week! You can read the first chapter here.

Strange Practice

‘A darkly delicious adventure featuring a quirky new heroine. Strange Practice breathes new life into the undead’ James Bennett, author of Chasing Embers

Greta is a refreshing urban fantasy heroine, strong and smart and utterly normal, despite her chosen profession.’ Booklist

Strange Practice surprises and delights . . . But the greatest elements of the book are the characters. They shine’ Bookbag

An excellent adventure’ Fran Wilde

‘What a splendid adventure this is – Dr Greta Helsing is a brilliant character’ Espresso Coco

‘An exceptional and delightful debut’ Elizabeth Bear

‘Readers will look forward to more of Greta’s adventures. An imaginative, delightfully droll debut’ Kirkus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The end of Shannara has begun…THE BLACK ELFSTONE is out now

The release of THE BLACK ELFSTONE (UKANZ) marks an important moment in the fantasy calendar, and for millions of fans around the world, it’s a bittersweet occasion.

It was in 1977 that Terry Brooks released what was to become one of modern fantasy’s most popular novels ever, The Sword of Shannara. It kick-started a fantasy phenomenon which has lasted for 40 years and over 28 novels, and today Terry’s Shannara books are still as popular as ever. He is lauded as one of the true masters of modern fantasy, with bestselling authors such as Brent Weeks, Patrick Rothfuss, Philip Pullman, Christopher Paolini and Peter V. Brett all citing him as a powerful influence on their writing and the genre as a whole.

And now with THE BLACK ELFSTONE – the first book in the Fall of Shannara series – it is with both excitement and sadness that fans will see Terry start to bring the world to a conclusion.

In an interview with UNBOUND WORLDS, Terry had this to say:

“This four book set is intended to give readers new and old, but especially those who have stayed with me all these years, one last look at the Four Lands and a cast of characters who will write the final story to how things turn out in my lifetime, anyway, for this world. It does not tie up all the loose ends nor does it answer all questions. But it does look forward, it does hearken back, and it does spin one last tale of characters that will hopefully resonate with readers. Much of what you will read will remind you of things that happened in early books and of what I think were my strengths in writing epic fantasy for 50 years”

You can read the rest of the interview here, and THE BLACK ELFSTONE (UKANZ) is available in all good bookshops now.

Meet the Author: An Interview with Ken MacLeod, Author of THE CORPORATION WARS

Brand new SF adventure THE CORPORATION WARS: DISSIDENCE publishes this week, so we spoke to Ken about rebel robots and the inspiration behind the book.

Hi Ken! Can you tell our blog readers how you would persuade someone to read The Corporation Wars in just one sentence?

“Robots and walking-dead space mercenaries fight for the future of humanity among the stars!”

What drew you to tell this story?

“As so often, it came from coincidence – I was browsing my bookshelves and was reminded of Hans Moravec’s idea that A.I. machinery working for human owners in space might end up following its own path, and at the same time I was flicking through a David Friedman book about the evolution of law. The book just happens to be called The Machinery of Freedom, and suddenly . . .”

The main human character, Carlos, spends a lot of time in a virtual reality and in a robot’s body. What is it that makes him still human?

“His memories, his subjective awareness, and his body image seem to do the job for him. Whether we’d think of him as human if we had the misfortune to meet him in a dark alley is another matter.”

Ken MacLeodThe robots of the Corporation Wars are truly compelling characters, even though they do not have any emotions per se. How did you tackle the challenge of writing robot conversation in human language?

“By using poetic licence, basically. I follow Brian Aldiss’s example, in his classic short story ‘Who Can Replace a Man?’ and have my robots arguing and thinking like rather annoyingly logical and literal-minded speakers of a natural language like English. And in my view they do have emotions, albeit ones that they express clunkily as ‘positive and negative reinforcement’.”

Who inspires you as a writer?

“Aldiss, Asimov, Atwood, Ballard, Bass, Banks, Blish, Brunner, Bujold, Delaney, Faber, Harrison, Heinlein, Le Guin, Miller . . . all the way through to Vinge, Wyndham and Zelazny.”

Although humanity is exploring the stars in the Corporation Wars, they’ve brought a lot of their old rivalries and allegiances with them. Do you think we’ll ever evolve past conflict, or is it part of what makes us human?

“Besides the conflict between human projects and machine purposes, the stories involve a literal resurrection of an old human conflict, over this very question: whether humanity can ultimately live at peace, whether in a co-operative or a peacefully competitive society, or whether war and domination are ineradicable and possibly even desirable, or at least necessary. I’m firmly of the opinion that peace is possible, though not easy to establish.”

Can you tell us a bit about your writing routine – are you a planner or are you more spontaneous?

“I strive to plan, but sometimes I let the story run away with me or take an unexpected turn. And as you know, sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t, and then has to be painfully unpicked after an editor has asked sharp questions. I really do find that painful, so the more planning the better, I think.”

The Corporation Wars trilogy grapples with big questions about A.I. and what it means to be really alive. How close do you think we are to true A.I., and at what point do you think A.I. machines can be considered alive?

“Philosophers talk about ‘the hard problem’ of consciousness, of subjective awareness. And they’re right, it is a hard problem! I used to be confident I had a consistent answer to it, but a lot of long online arguments way back in the 1990s and some further reading convinced me I was mistaken. There’s a consistent answer given in the books, but it’s not one I could necessarily defend in a rigorous way.”

Finally ­– why do so many great SF writers come from Scotland?

“There’s only been one great SF writer from Scotland, and we all know who he was.”

THE CORPORATION WARS: DISSIDENCE is out now! Listen to an extract from the audiobook here:

Listen to an audiobook extract of sci-fi epic, Dissidence! By Ken MacLeod

Meet the Author of SNAKEWOOD: Adrian Selby

We interviewed Adrian Selby, debut author of SNAKEWOOD (UK|US|ANZ), an epic fantasy of mystery, betrayal and bloody revenge publishing this month via Orbit.

Can you give us your best elevator pitch for SNAKEWOOD?
Fifteen years after the legendary mercenary crew Kailen’s Twenty disbanded, they’re being killed off one by one.  Told through a ‘found footage’ collection of journals and interviews, SNAKEWOOD is a record of their glory, their demise and the final days of those left alive as they desperately try to evade a lethal and relentless assassin.

When did you first know you were going to write this particular book?
1989. Back then it was the desire to tell a story of two old soldiers, buddies all their lives, crumbling apart from a life of war, with only each other to rely on as an enemy from their past came after them.  All these years later it became a more layered narrative, an exploration of how they and their old mercenary crew fell apart, a glimpse also of their glory years and the story also of the assassin hunting them down.

Faded glory and absent comrades are a great theme in the book – what is it about the ‘old soldier’ motif that’s so attractive to you as a writer?
It’s many things all bound up.  They’re more vulnerable.  This particular crew of soldiers were so badass in their prime, winning every purse, that it wouldn’t have been that interesting to focus on them back then.  But having saved each other’s lives so often, there are debts of honour that will now make them take risks for each other.  There is an ennui that pervades our middle age, when the people that made us who we are drift slowly away, leaving us only the joy of having known them, something we treasure and, in Gant and Shale’s case, honour enough to act on when these old friends are dying, and in so honouring perhaps do one good thing before their own time is up.

SNAKEWOOD was a fantasy twenty years in the making: can you tell us a bit about the path to publication?
I finally got my head together and researched and wrote the novel over a ten year span, a growing family edging its progress to the corners of my days.  I finished the first draft in February 2013, and started querying literary agents in May.  Jamie Cowen, of the Ampersand Agency, expressed an interest in reading the full manuscript in December 2013 and offered to represent me the following month.  He helped me get the manuscript into shape for a pitch to publishers and in the summer of 2014 approached Orbit, who appeared to quite like it! Now the editing’s done and the first hardbacks have just arrived from the printers, the culmination of all those years of work and a wonderful collaboration with the brilliant Jamie and everyone at Orbit.

inspirationWho inspires you as a writer?
I have favourite writers, Hilary Mantel, Ian McEwan, Annie Proulx, and many others who write exquisite prose in the service of magnificent and moving stories.  While I’m a sucker for a great page turner, and I’m looking at you Tim Powers, I am also inspired by those writers who deliver hugely original and/or well realised worlds, from the master, Tolkien, to the strange and vivid worlds of John Crowley, Jeff Vandermeer, Robert Holdstock, Brian Aldiss, Jack Vance and Hannu Rajaniemi.  Then there are the writers who deliver on all three, such as David Mitchell and China Miéville.

SNAKEWOOD would definitely fall into that category of ‘strange and vivid worlds’, with its varied poisons and ‘fightbrews’ (potions taken by soldiers to enhance their fighting skill) made from ingredients found naturally in their world. No other fantasy writer has explored this in quite the same way – how did this change the story you were writing?
It is in the story’s DNA, as all magic systems must be.  The power of the One Ring in Middle-earth moves every living thing in it like the tides as it journeys south with Frodo.  In my own world of Sarun, the magic is in the plant life; it is widespread, capable of being harnessed by anyone who can figure out the recipes with which to make effective magic of it.  Such power is inevitably held with those who know and own the recipes, and can thus control the rest, not unlike the control of literacy in the dark to middle ages.  The political order of the world is shaped by the knowledge of ‘plant’ and the race to innovate and learn new recipes.  Such things therefore govern trade, conspiracies, conquests and alliances.

Clearly Quentin Tarantino would have to direct any adaptation of SNAKEWOOD – a dark and gritty tale of assassins, soldiers and mercenaries on the run – but who would be your dream cast?
This was rather harder than I first thought! I see Javier Bardem as Gant, because I’ve seen him be a complete badass and yet he has a sensitive, expressive quality, softly spoken, perfect for an old mercenary that holds a strong love for old friends.  Shale, his lifelong buddy and in a way his rock is more Russell Crowe, all Gladiator – calm, ruthless and more stony in demeanour.  Karen Gillan would be a great Galathia, a vengeful young princess estranged from her throne.  She could easily bring out Galathia’s intelligence and rage.  Kailen, the genius former leader of Kailen’s Twenty, has to be Gabriel Byrne.  He can transfix you with those eyes, he has a great presence, commanding authority, but can give the impression of being able to crush you with his eloquence or slit your throat just as easily!

Adrian Selby, author of the groundbreaking fantasy epic SNAKEWOODADRIAN SELBY studied creative writing at university before embarking on a career in video game production. He is a Tolkien fanatic and an online gaming addict, and lives with his wife and family on the south coast of England. His debut novel Snakewood is an epic and inventive fantasy about a company of mercenaries and the assassin trying to destroy them. You can find Adrian on Twitter, tweeting as @adrianlselby.

All Hail the Glow Cloud – the WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE Novel is finally here!

After two UK tours*, appearances at Comic Con, an online scavenger hunt and more sinister pronouncements about the dog park than you can ever imagine, WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE: A NOVEL is released into the wild today. The City Council advises that you run, do not walk, to your nearest bookshop immediately.

If you’re quick you can still get a copy of the Waterstones exclusive edition, and Amazon has also chosen Night Vale as their Deal of the WeekBookshops across the UK and Australia will be hanging these ritual adornments in their windows and making the traditional stone circle sacrifices, so our oracles predict that Night Vale will be welcoming lots of new visitors today.

Night Vale window display, Waterstones Grimsby

Night Vale event pack

Our oracles offer no information on whether said new visitors will ever be allowed to leave.

Here you can listen to a sample of the audiobook (out now!) which is read by no less than Night Vale’s own signature voice actor Cecil Baldwin, plus a host of guest stars and co-conspirators:

The authors were interviewed by the New York Times yesterday and also talked about the book on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last week. Although it’s not aired in the UK or Australia, you can watch the clip here:

Colbert

You can buy WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE: A NOVEL in ebook, audiobook and print today.

*ANZ fans will be pleased to hear that an Australia/New Zealand tour is planned for February 2016.

Meet the author: Julia Knight, author of the Duellists novels

Julia Knight, author of Swords and Scoundrels, book one in the Duellists trilogyWe interviewed Julia Knight, author of the Duellists trilogy. The first book, SWORDS AND SCOUNDRELS (UK|US|ANZ) is out this month. It’s a fast and furious fantasy adventure about two siblings, Kacha and Vocho, who are known for the finest swordplay in their kingdom – until they are dishonoured and forced to become reluctant highwaymen. The sequels LEGENDS AND LIARS  (UK|US|ANZ) and WARLORDS AND WASTRELS  (UK|US|ANZ) will follow in November and December 2015.

What was the inspiration behind SWORDS AND SCOUNDRELS?

Lots of things! I was reading a lot about post-Moorish Spain – which was inspiration for the fallen empire in the book – and Renaissance Italy, which inspired all the city states that are at each other’s throats. Then add to this a re-reading of the Musketeers, and my happening across a video for an architect’s design for a clockwork city and….hey presto!

Swords and Scoundrels, Legends and Liarsa and Warlords and Wastrels - the Duellists Trilogy by Julia Knight

Which was your favourite character to write?

That is a really hard question, as I love them all in different ways. Vocho was a blast to write, because he’s just so vain and unintentionally funny but he does have a heart too (when he remembers). I like Kacha because she takes no crap from anyone, especially Vocho. Petri was supposed to be the bad guy . .  . but I found I rather felt for his predicament . . .

Who really is the better duellist – Kacha or Vocho?!

Depends on who you ask . . . As Vocho says, she’s better at technique, but he has an advantage in strength and reach. Both are devious as required. I’d say they both have their strengths but that balances out so they are actually fairly evenly matched.

Where’s your favourite bookshop?

I’m going to cheat and say it’s a toss up between Forbidden Planet in London and my local Waterstones in Horsham, West Sussex. Forbidden Planet because I cannot leave without buying *something* and it is just so very cool. And my local Waterstones because it’s got everything – a café, squishy sofas, staff that really know their books (and are more than happy to chat about them, or help me find something). It also has a decent SFF section which brings me on to the next question…

When you walk into a bookshop which section do you gravitate to first?

I always gravitate to the SFF section first in any bookshop. However I do have a soft spot for other genres – historical (both fiction and non-fiction) and crime in particular, so once I’ve mined the SFF I tend to browse there too. Frankly I’ll read almost anything!

What we can expect from the next Duellists novel LEGENDS AND LIARS?

Dastardly magicians, dashing duellists and warring cities. It gets deeper into the characters, and darker too, though it’s still got plenty of light-hearted moments . . .

Meet the Author: Angus Watson

We interviewed Angus Watson, author of the Iron Age trilogy. Angus debuted last year with the action-packed historical fantasy adventure AGE OF IRON. The final book in the trilogy, REIGN OF IRON, comes out this month.

Angus Watson

What would be your quick pitch for the Iron Age trilogy?

Buy this book or I’ll drown these baby raccoons. Not really! AGE OF IRON is the best adventure story set in the Iron Age that you will ever read. Although younger readers might be better off with the Asterix books.

The final book in the series comes out this month, how does it feel to have completed the series?

I loved school and was sad to leave, but also looking forward to the next adventures. Finishing AGE OF IRON after around five years’ work feels like that. I used to think it was pretentious and a lie when authors said that characters had become their friends, but, annoyingly, it is rather like that when you spend days, weeks then months and even years sitting at your desk with only these made up people for company (and, in my case, two cats).

So, wanky as it sounds, I’m genuinely sad to leave old friends when we’ve been through so much together. However, I’m looking forward to meeting new people in the next trilogy and I daresay that some of my old friends, or at least parts of them, will be reincarnated.

And how does it feel to see the amazing reactions the book is getting?

It feels brilliant. Like spending ages on a project and then walking into a big room full of people telling you how much they like it and how well you’ve done. The odd bad review I’ve received is the opposite of that – like someone walking up to you and telling you that you’re an idiot. Luckily there aren’t enough of those yet to fill a big room, or even a small one.

The Iron Age Trilogy by Angus Watson: Age of Iron, Clash of Iron and Reign of Iron

Which character did you most enjoy writing?

Probably Dug, because he could say or think whatever the badger’s balls he wanted to.

Who are your biggest influences?

Douglas Adams, Joe Abercrombie, Patrick O’Brian, Scott Lynch, Carl Hiaasen, Iain Banks, Thomas Hardy and my Mum.

When you walk into a bookshop which section do you gravitate to first?

I buy pretty much all books online, so I’m most likely to be in a bookshop to meet a friend (note to everyone, especially internet daters – bookshops are great places to meet before pub, dinner or whatever). I used to go straight to the comic / graphic novel section so that I’d have a chance to read a substantial part of something before whoever turned up. Now I go to the fantasy section to make sure that my books are displayed prominently enough.

Where’s your favorite bookshop?

The Waterstones in Westfield, Shepherd’s Bush, London. Westfield is a vast shopping center full of the dreariest, see-them-everywhere, uninspiring, unchallenging clothes shops you can imagine. Waterstones may be a chain, but, since it sells books, it stands out from the other shops like a towering volcano island of quality and knowledge from a slurry sea of vacuous crap.

What are you working on next, can you give us a hint?

I’ve researched for a few months, and now just started writing a new epic fantasy trilogy in which a mismatched group of refugees will battle animals and monsters, determined assassins, depraved tribes, an unforgiving landscape and each other as they cross a continent to fulfil a prophesy . . . how’s that for a hint?