Upcoming: “A City Stained Red” by Sam Sykes (Gollancz)

I’m a fan of Sam Sykes’s novels. I thought both Tome of the Undergates and Black Halo were wonderfully subversive, dark and twisted takes on the fantasy genre. Sykes’s sense of humour is great, and runs throughout the novels without undermining the sense of adventure and action of the story. I’ve been woefully, shamefully slow about getting around to Skybound Sea, too. Nevertheless, the author’s story and characters continue apace! This April, Gollancz will be publishing the first in a new trilogy starring the loveable, dysfunctional heroes we have come to know and love(ish). A City Stained Red is the first in The Scion’s Gate trilogy.

Here is the synopsis…

The Scion’s Gate is a trilogy that tells the story of the struggle between the adventurer, Lenk, and his companions and the demons trying to break free from hell in order to resume their own agendas.

Long before he was sent to hell, the Aeon known as Khoth-Kapira was the closest thing to a living god the world had ever known. Possessed of a vast intellect, he pioneered many of the wonders that persist in the world that lingered long after he was banished. Nearly every fragment of medical, economic and technological progress that the mortal races enjoyed could be traced back to him. But with his wonders came cruelty beyond measure: industrialized slavery, horrifying experimentations and a rage that would eventually force the world to bow to him.

Now, as Khoth-Kapira stirs the world begins to shudder with disasters yet to come.The epicenter is the city of Cier’Djaal. A religious war between two unstoppable military juggernauts begins to brew. The racial fury among many peoples of the world is about to explode. Demons begin to pour from the shadows at the head of a vicious cult worshipping dark powers.

And Lenk finds himself in the middle once more, his fate and the fate of Khoth-Kapira interlinked as the demon attempts to convince him of his earnestness.

Also, I really like the new approach to the artwork – before, the character-based pieces were a little weird. Eye-catching, sure, but not the best. This new cover is a little more vague, but I prefer it to the original style.

Also on CR: Interview with Sam Sykes, Post-Trilogy Catch-Up

Full disclosure: I have read an early draft of this novel. It was very good – tighter, funnier and all-round better written and constructed than the first two novels. Given that I thought they were very strong, too… Well, I’m very excited to read the final version.

Art: “Skybound Sea” by Sam Sykes – French Edition (Fleuve Noir)

I’m currently reading some of Sam Sykes’s fourth novel (not for review), which means there may be a bit of a delay before my next novel review appears on the blog (well, actually, I have one coming up on Thursday, but after that…). Therefore, and in keeping with my Sykes-mood at the moment, I have shamelessly pinched the French artwork for Sam’s third novel, Skybound Sea, from Staffer’s Book Review. Because it’s jaw-droppingly good:

That is so, so much better than the UK and US covers for the book. The artist is Marc Simonetti.

Kataria looks bad-ass, and Gariath… Wow. (He’s the big, red, demonic-looking fella in the near-background).

Dear Pyr and Gollancz: re-release the novel with this cover.

Thank you.

[NB: I’m only guessing about the French Publisher – they’ve published the first book, but I can’t find much evidence of book two or three… I’ll keep checking, and post correction/confirmation as I find out.]

Catching up with SAM SYKES

I think Sam Sykes is one of the most interesting young authors currently writing in the fantasy genre. (I think, actually, he’s younger than me, which should give me license to refer to him as a “Scamp”…). His Aeons’ Gate series (which I always punctuate wrong – see the first question, below) has been a blast to read. It’s weird, dark, funny, terrifying, brutal, and populated with flawed, realistic characters. With the third book in the trilogy now available (through Pyr in the US, Gollancz in the UK), I thought it would be a great time to get in touch with him and ask him a few catch-up, post-game-style questions.

New Artwork: Jon Courtenay-Grimwood & Sam Sykes

Just a very quick art post for Saturday, this time bringing you two new pieces for novels by Jon Courtenay-Grimwood, and the cover for Sam Sykes’s next novel.

First up, Jon Courtenay-Grimwood’s excellent The Fallen Blade is getting a paperback release already (well, ok, not really “already”, but time has certainly flown!), with a very nice cover indeed:

Second, we have the final artwork for the sequel, The Outcast Blade, which is one of my most-anticipated novels of 2012 (due out in May):

I really like this new style, which is better than the original design (which I did also like, I should state). I did find another potential cover for The Outcast Blade (below), which was more in keeping with that of the first edition of The Fallen Blade, but I assume it was just a place holder. It’s a nice one, too. Here it is:

And finally, the cover for Sam Sykes’s The Skybound Sea, another highly-anticipated release (due out in April):

The Skybound Sea is the third novel in Sykes’s Aeon’s Gate series, following Tome of the Undergates and Black Halo.

That’s it for today. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

More on CR: Interviews with Jon Courtenay-Grimwood & Sam Sykes

“Black Halo” by Sam Sykes (Pyr/Gollancz)

Lenk & his band of unhappy adventurers return in the second Aeons’ Gate novel

The Tome of the Undergates has been recovered, and the gates of hell remain closed. Lenk and his five companions set sail to bring the accursed relic away from the demonic reach of Ulbecetonth, the Kraken Queen. But after weeks at sea, tensions amidst the adventurers are rising. Their troubles are only beginning when their ship crashes upon an island made of the bones left behind from a war long dead.

And it appears that bloodthirsty alien warrior women, fanatical beasts from the deep, and heretic-hunting wizards are the least of their concerns. Haunted by their pasts, plagued by their gods, tormented by their own people, and gripped by madness personal and peculiar, their greatest foes may yet be themselves.

The reach of Ulbecetonth is longer than hell can hold.

In Sykes’s second novel, we get more of all the good stuff that made Tome of the Undergates such a compelling and addictive read – specifically, his engaging and unique characters. While it does suffer from one flaw that bothered me in Tome as well, this is a very good novel. If you like your fantasy dark and twisted, Black Halo proves yet again that The Aeons’ Gate is a series tailor-made for you.

An Interview with Sam Sykes

While perusing author Sam Sykes’ singular website, I stumbled across this statement:

No other author loves you more than Sam Sykes.  This is fact, proven by science.  There is simply no way to comprehend a world in which Sam Sykes does not want to hear from you on all topics, whether it be praise for the book, praise for the author, questions about the book, questions for the author, recipe exchanges, brick-hurling techniques, tips for preventing wolf attacks or cannibal recipe exchanges.

So, naturally, I took this invitation at face value, and sent over some questions to the young author of Tome of the Undergates. (Only, with hindsight, I forgot to ask about wolf attacks…)

New Artwork: “Black Halo” by Sam Sykes (Gollancz)

[Thanks to Mad Hatter Review for posting this first]

Just a quick post, but one I wanted to share.

Hot on the heels of my review of Tome of the Undergates, I can now share the artwork for Sykes’s second novel, which has recently been released onto the internets!

Here it is for your viewing pleasure:

I quite like it, to be honest. More striking than Tome’s cover, and the focus on Lenk certainly keeps the feel of the first novel. Not sure what the synopsis is, but as soon as I get hold of it, I’ll post it on here.