With sinister echoes of 1984 and Brave New World, this original novel features a near-future city where medical science invents a single-dose pill for eradicating many common genetic defects . . .
Read a sample
From the acclaimed author of Mr. Shivers and The Company Man comes a new tale of gothic intrigue set during the Vaudeville era.
Visit the book site
- - April 7th, 2008
Jennifer Rardin stops in at Scifi wire to talk about the latest in her Jaz Parks series, Biting the Bullet. Next up in the series is Bitten to Death, out in August, and One More Bite, out in January 2009.
- - March 26th, 2008
2 mins and 18 secs is all it takes Philip Palmer to make me want to read Debatable Space (US/UK) again. See Philip talking about his stunning debut novel here:
- - March 10th, 2008
Via Charlie Huston‘s excellent website comes news that Charlie has been interviewed in Second Life – or, more correctly, his avatar has been interviewed on the Second Life Cable Network, SLCN.TV. As the man himself says:
“Carlos Suave is a Latin R&B Producer, the owner of a West Hollywood lounge, and a Promoter Extraordinaire, and, if you catch him on the right night, he will admit he knows a guy who can get you a little maryjane, comprende? Also, he writes bloody thrillers and horror novels. Trust us: This ese es loco!”
This will all make sense if you go here and here. Your third destination should probably be your local book shop to pick up a copy of Half the Blood of Brooklyn, published by Orbit in the UK just last month.
- - February 20th, 2008
The official Iain (M.) Banks website has been re-launched at www.iain-banks.net. Check it out for all the news and reviews, along with some very interesting contests coming up…
Meanwhile, in an interview at io9.com Banks reveals the hidden Thunderbirds influence that runs through the Culture novels:
“Thunderbirds gave me a love of big explosions I’ve yet to shake off. It’s kind of ingrained by now. Almost the first thing I think of when I’ve come up with an idea for a Really Big Artifact is how you could blow the living bijeesus out of it…”
And in the i09 review of Matter, Annalee Newitz sums up her thoughts on the book in the headline: “Iain M. Banks’ New Novel Kicks Ass on a Galactic Scale.”
While at BookPage Gavin Grant writes:
Matter is Banks in top form. His characters—whether human, alien or drone—are spiky, opinionated, diverse, occasionally short-sighted and tragically believable
Matter is available from Orbit in the US and the UK.
- - February 18th, 2008
Iain Emsley has posted a very interesting interview with Mike Carey over at Yatterings. It was largely conducted at last year’s Fantasycon, and covers Mike’s work on the Crossing Midnight and Lucifer comics and, of course, his masterful series of Felix Castor novels: The Devil You Know, Vicious Circle and Dead Men’s Boots. At the risk of annoying Castorphiles the length and breadth of the country, I can also reveal that Mike has delivered the fourth Castor novel, Thicker Than Water, and that it is a magnificent addition to the canon. You’ll have to be patient until January next year for that, I’m afraid, but don’t look at it as waiting – look at it as the perfect opportunity to re-read the first three books.
- - February 7th, 2008
Iain M. Banks’ new Culture novel, Matter, is getting lots of well-deserved praise from reviewers! Lisa Tuttle reviews Matter in The Times and calls it ‘Unexpectedly savage, emotionally powerful and impossible to forget’.
The latest issue of SFX gives it a 5-star review:
Throughout the book, people are observed covertly or even have concealed weapons trained on them – sound like any place you know? But as always with Banks, this is not preachy, and the author’s trademark wit is everywhere. His wry character observations are a joy to read, and the book has a rich seam of humour. . .this long-awaited return for both a writing legend and his finest creation is a delight.
And Starburst’s February issue says:
Banks can bring across the essence of a character with one sentence where others might hammer things home over the course of a chapter. . .Matter is as engrossing as you’d expect a Banks book to be.
Iain M. Banks has also been recently interviewed in The Times and The Guardian Unlimited. You can get details of his England tour here and read an extract of Matter here.
- - February 5th, 2008
There’s a terrific interview with the ever-thoughtful R. Scott Bakker over at Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist. The questions cover a wide range of topics, culminating in an insightful discussion on generic Fantasy tropes, with particular emphasis on worldbuilding. As always, Scott is eloquent and intelligent, and gives further proof (not that it’s needed) that he is one of the brightest new fantasy writers to have emerged in recent years.
As mentioned in the interview, Scott returns to the world of the Three Seas in January next year with the first book of The Aspect-Emperor trilogy, currently titled The Judging Eye. Those looking for ways to kill time until the new book is released could do worse that go back and re-read The Prince of Nothing trilogy: The Darkness That Comes Before, The Warrior-Prophet and The Thousandfold Thought.
- - January 15th, 2008
Over at Scifi Wire, Kevin J. Anderson talks about the Saga of Seven Suns (along with some of our favorite things):
“The Saga of Seven Suns pulls together everything I love about the genre: alien races, galactic empires, mysterious ruins, incredible creatures, exotic landscapes, giant black robots …”
The penultimate book, Metal Swarm, is out now — and watch for The Ashes of Worlds this spring.
- - December 20th, 2007
Karen Miller talked with The Dragon Page Radio about The Innocent Mage and The Awakened Mage, as well as her upcoming Godspeaker trilogy, which will launch this Spring with Empress. You can listen to the podcast here.
And Orbit Publishing Director Tim Holman had a long ranging interview with Rick Kleffel at the Agony Column podcast. They talk about the launch of Orbit US and the future of genre fiction publishing. If you’re interested in the strategy behind Orbit’s publishing program, or the future of the genre, don’t miss it! Link.
- - December 7th, 2007
Following Karen Miller’s wonderful piece about eating elephants, we have two more Orbit authors discussing their favourite quotes over at The Book Swede.
Jennifer Rardin, the fantastic debut author of Once Bitten, Twice Shy and Another One Bites the Dust, has a piece this week about humour in writing and in life:
Some of my stuff is pretty intense and rather dark. But every once in a while you’ll come to a laugh-out-loud moment. If I didn’t give you one, I’d expect you to toss the book out the window. And even if you were the soldier-through type, who’d stand by me without relief every heart-squeezing step of the way, I couldn’t do it to you.
The week before, Daniel Abraham, author of the critically-acclaimed The Long Price, had this to say about the perils of trying to be an intelligent reader and writer:
Deciding what to create is higher stakes than what to consume. If you’re one of the folks like me who has to fight the impulse to puff up their status by what they read, imagine how hard it would be to rein that in when it comes time to write.
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