Upcoming: “Art of Hunting” by Alan Campbell (Tor)

The first novel in Alan Campbell’s Gravedigger Chronicles, Sea of Ghosts, is one of my favourite novels from 2011. After reading that, though, I haven’t heard much at all from Mr. Campbell. The author, who also wrote the Deepgate Codex trilogy – Scar Night, Iron Angel and God of Clocks – is an fabulously talented fellow, in my opinion, and I’ve been desperately keeping my eyes open for information about his next novel. (Interestingly, or perhaps weirdly, I was reading his blog before I ever started this one. His and Joe Abercrombie’s… Anyway.)

Thanks to a work-requirement to read Locus magazine, I spotted a mention that Alan Campbell’s Art of Hunting is on its way, and it is the sequel to Sea of Ghosts! This has made me ridiculously happy (and impatient). Here’s the synopsis…

The Haurstaf have been decimated. The Unmer have seized the palace at Awl. Ianthe’s father carries her to safety. But she is not interested in a life of treasure hunting with him. She returns to the palace, hoping to find the Unmer prince with whom she shared some of her darkest moments.

Prince Paulus Marquetta discovers a friend and ally in Ianthe, albeit a dangerous one. She has the power to destroy his mind with a single thought, and yet she herself remains at risk from his own innate sorcerous abilities. The handsome young prince could murder her with a simple touch.

Briana Marks, meanwhile, has escaped with her life. Fearful of Marquetta’s rule, she travels to the Dragon Isles to seek out the exiled Unmer lord, Argusto Conquillas and beg him to help her assassinate Ianthe. When Granger learns of this plot to kill his daughter, he must use every scrap of his resourcefulness and cunning to protect her.

Maskelyne returns to Scythe Island to study the crystal he plucked from the wreckage of the Unmer chariot. The artifact leads him to discover exactly why the Drowned continue to deposit thousands upon thousands of keys on the beach beneath his fortress. The Unmer, in their quest to unlock the secrets of the universe, forged a monster. Now Maskelyne knows where this thing is imprisoned...

Art of Hunting is due out in November 2013, published by Tor in the UK.

Paperback Release: “Sea of Ghosts” by Alan Campbell (Tor)

The superb beginning to Campbell’s second series

Thrown out of the Graveyard corps by a corrupt and weak emperor, Granger has to turn to running his own prison. It’s not a lucrative business but if he keeps his head down, doesn't succumb to pity or morals then he may just survive.

But when two unexpected prisoners enter his life then his world is turned upside down. Ianthe is young, blind and deaf – she can only see or hear through other people’s senses. This makes her unique in a world held to ransom by the powerful Haurstaf – a sisterhood of telepaths who consider the young girl a threat to their power. She’s also Granger's daughter...

Just a quick news post, which is also an opportunity to mention this fantastic novel again. I reviewed Sea of Ghosts last March, and I thought it was superb – an opinion I stand by today. At the time, and in my enthusiasm, I said it was “easily one of the best [novels] I’ve read in years” and “almost indescribably good”. That’s certainly more enthusiastic language than I normally use in my reviews, so I hope that gives you some indication as to just how much I enjoyed the novel.

So, with the paperback now available (in the UK and for UK Kindle, at least…), if you will indulge me for a moment, here are some more snippets from the review:

“The Sea of Ghosts is a novel of honour, revenge, loyalty and perseverance, set in a world ravaged by unfathomable science and magic.”

The plot is tight and quickly paced… the world-building is expertly interwoven into the plot… a world so full of weird, wonderful, and sometimes horrifying invention, it’s captivating.”

“Campbell’s prose is sublime, possessing that indescribable quality that sucks you in, envelopes your imagination and pulls you happily along for the ride; insistently readable and compelling. The novel kept me up until 4am on three occasions, as ‘one more chapter’ turned into three or four.”

“Campbell’s knack for atmospherics is almost peerless, and his innate storytelling ability is awe-inspiring.”

I said it then, and I’ll say it again today: Sea of Ghosts is absolutely superb and I think Campbell is an author every fantasy fan must read, and I’d highly recommend his work to everyone. I really can’t wait for the next novel in the series. I also can’t understand why on Earth I haven’t finished his Deepgate Codex series. I’ve read the prequel short story, Lye Street, but not the rest of the series: Scar Night, Iron Angel, and God of Clocks (the latter two novels were reviewed by Emma).

Learn more about Campbell’s novels at his website and his blog. Alan’s latest available work is Damnation for Beginners, a special edition novella published by Subterranean Press. Like Lye Street before it, this story is set in the world of Campbell’s Deepgate Codex, further expanding on that series and world. Here’s the synopsis:

“The story begins in the beleaguered city of Cog. The protagonist, Jack Aviso, is himself a cog, a functionary in the soulless, profit-obsessed enterprise known as the Henry Sill Banking Corporation. When a routinely corrupt business transaction shatters both his marriage and his well-ordered life, Jack finds himself — quite literally — in Hell, where he embarks on a perilous, unprecedented journey of revenge.”

Capsule Review: “Lye Street” by Alan Campbell

Novella prequel to Deepgate Codex

The Greene family is cursed. Every fifty years Deepgate’s scarred angel, Carnival, returns to murder another descendant. Now, five hundred years after the first victim’s death, Sal Greene is facing his own doom. His time has almost run out. In a desperate attempt to break the chain of violence and save his family, he summons a demon to the chained city: a warrior he hopes is powerful enough to stand against the angel.

Yet the creature which arrives in Deepgate is not quite the legendary mercenary Sal Greene was expecting.

This prequel to Alan Campbell’s first trilogy, The Deepgate Codex, offers a perfect, bargain-priced introduction to the author’s work, and certainly whet my appetite for more story set in this world.

While I’ve only read one of Campbell’s books (this year’s excellent Sea of Ghosts), he has a reputation for superb writing. In Lye Street, this skill is certainly on display. The author evokes his gothic, dark and original world perfectly. Reading this novella left me very eager to get stuck in to The Deepgate Codex.

His prose flows very well, and his writing is wonderful to read. The dialogue is always realistic and engaging, and often witty. Passages of description (be it of the city, characters or atmosphere) are great, but never feel over-done. There are some original, quirky takes on some classic fantasy tropes (demons, in particular), and the characters are all well-rounded and realistic, not to mention often sympathetic. Carnival in particular is a complex and tragic figure, suffering from amnesia yet stuck in a cycle of violence that appears never-ending. The Spine (this world’s religious sect) is only really introduced, so I assume the novels will contain far more information and description – it will be interesting to see what Campbell does with the religion and its agents in the novels.

As a novella, this is only a taster of this world, but Campbell does a great job of bringing it to life on the page (or Kindle screen, really), and we are given vivid descriptions of the world and its characters. The description is never too much, which helps keep the pace of the story going. It’s perhaps become cliché to mention Mervyn Peake in a review of Alan Campbell’s work, but there is an air of Gormenghast-ian gothic wonder about the story.

The novella is not wholly satisfying, I must admit – this is not a complaint about Campbell’s writing or plotting, rather the length of the novella. I have always found full-length novels more satisfying than shorter works, so there is a natural lack of exposition and expansiveness in Lye Street that would not be lacking (I assume) in Scar Night, Iron Angel and God of Clocks. Knowing that there are three novels that follow this, however, certainly took away the majority of my concerns.

Lye Street should make anyone hungry for more. The characters, story, world, and magic (thaumaturgy – very important in this novella) are all great and one is left with a sense of great things to come in the full-length novels. There is a great, if bloody and brutal, ending, which brought this story to a very satisfying conclusion.

(The lengthy sample of Sea of Ghosts will also give new readers a great taste of Campbell’s latest novel as well.)

Highly recommended for all fantasy fans (with Kindles).

[An interview with Alan Campbell]

Buy the Novella: Amazon UK & US

News: Alan Campbell’s LYE STREET…

… is now available as Kindling! The novella, which forms a prequel to Campbell’s first trilogy, the Deepgate Codex, was originally a limited edition release.

Here’s what Alan wrote about the release on his blog:

“A lot of people have asked me how they can get hold of my novella, LYE STREET, which was published by Subterranean Press as a limited edition. The simple answer is, unfortunately, that you can't unless you spend a lot of money. Copies of this little book are now selling for crazy prices.

An Interview with Alan Campbell

Alan Campbell’s latest novel, The Sea of Ghosts is easily one of the best novels I’ve read in a good number of years. It had everything – superb characters, great plotting, a vivid and interesting world, and of course exceptional writing. In order to find out a little more about Campbell’s books and writing, I contacted him with a handful of questions, and he was kind enough to answer them.

“The Sea of Ghosts” by Alan Campbell (Tor)

An astonishing new series from the author of The Deepgate Codex

When the last of the Gravediggers, an elite imperial infiltration unit, are disbanded and hunted down by the emperor they once served, munitions expert Colonel Thomas Granger takes refuge in the unlikeliest of places. He becomes a jailer in Ethugra – a prison city of poison-flooded streets and gaols in which a million enemies of the empire are held captive. But when Granger takes possession of two new prisoners, he realises that he can’t escape his past so readily.

Ianthe is a young girl with an extraordinary psychic talent. A gift that makes her unique in a world held to ransom by the powerful Haurstaf – the sisterhood of telepaths who are all that stand between the Empire and the threat of the Unmer, a powerful civilization of entropic sorcerers and dragon-mounted warriors. In this war-torn land, she promises to make Granger an extremely wealthy man, if he can only keep her safe from harm.

This is what Granger is best at. But when other factions learn about Ianthe’s unique ability, even Granger’s skills of warfare are tested to their limits. While Ianthe struggles to control the powers that are growing in ways no-one thought were possible, another threat is surfacing: out there, beyond the bitter seas, an old and familiar enemy is rising – one who, if not stopped, will drown the world and all of humanity with it…

This is the first novel I’ve read by Scottish author Alan Campbell, and it is easily one of the best I’ve read in years. This novel is almost indescribably good.

Upcoming: February-March on CR

Just wanted to write a quick post to let everyone know what’s coming up on the site over the next couple of months. As always, there will be plenty of reviews, but I’m also trying to increase the number of interviews I get up here. I’ll try to do one of these posts every couple of months, rather than the large “Recent Acquisitions” posts, which were rather long. Although, if there is a week where something particularly exciting comes in, I might highlight that, too.

One thing I have noticed, is that I tend to get genre-fatigue quite quickly, so I’m going to make more effort to switch between fantasy, sci-fi and thrillers, in order to keep things fresh both on the site and also for myself. We’ll see how this works out.

So, here are the books that will be featured over the next eight weeks or so, along with some scribbled thoughts. (This is not an exhaustive list, as there’s every possibility that something else will come up and grab my attention – this is just based on the books I already have in my possession.

Coming Up in 2011…

Once again, I take the opportunity to post exciting artwork and highlight some of 2011’s releases that have caught my eye. It looks like the first six months of next year are going to be pretty interesting in the world of books, and particularly speculative fiction.

As I was putting this together, I noticed that I’ve lost touch with the thriller genre that I so love. Partly, I think, this is because there is a decreasing amount of originality in the genre – the War on Terrorism is fast becoming a limited, saturated topic (which might explain Vince Flynn’s slight shift – see below). As it stands, there were only three thrillers I’m aware of that stood out as novels I’d like to read.

As for science fiction and, particularly, fantasy… Well, 2011 is going to be an exciting year indeed. I’ve not included every book that has caught my eye – some, such as Doug Hulick’s Among Thieves, I’ve mentioned before on the site, so I don’t want to be too repetitive.

In no particular order, here are some of the intriguing books coming out in the next eight months…

Simon Morden, Equations of Life, Theories of Flight & Degrees of Freedom (Orbit – April, May, June)

Near-future thriller trilogy

Set in the overcrowded, decaying urban jungle of the London Metrozone, the series features Samuil Petrovitch – a foul-mouthed, selfish and anti-social Russian émigré who also happens to have a genius-level intellect. Going against his customary principle of ‘don’t get involved’, Petrovitch surprises himself one day by performing an uncharacteristically kind act – resulting in him being propelled into a world of rival gang lords, exiled yakuza, crooked cops, crazed prophets and gun-toting warrior nuns...

I’ve not been the biggest fan of London-based fiction (save for James McGee’s Ratcatcher), but there’s been quite a buzz about this series for a few months. I’m certainly interested in giving this a go. We’ll just have to wait and see if my strange aversion to London-based fiction can be halted by this trilogy.

Daniel Abraham, The Dragon’s Path (Orbit - April)

Book one of The Dagger & The Coin

The dragons are gone, the powerful magics that broke the world diluted to little more than parlor tricks, but the kingdoms of men remain and the great game of thrones goes on. Lords deploy armies and merchant caravans as their weapons, maneuvering for wealth and influence.

But a darker power is rising – an unlikely leader with an ancient ally threatens to unleash the madness that destroyed the world once already. Only one man knows the truth and, from the shadows, must champion humanity.

The world’s fate stands on the edge of a dagger, its future on the toss of a coin...

Daniel Abraham has been writing for a long time, but I first read his work earlier this year, when Orbit published the omnibus editions of his Long Price Quartet. His fantasy is very broad in scope, superbly crafted, intricately plotted and expertly characterised. High praise? From almost everyone. It is also very highly deserved. With The Dagger & The Coin, the author returns, and hopefully with another winning series.

[Interestingly, Abraham has also written an Urban Fantasy novel, under a pseudonym. I’m tempted to get over my prejudice against that sub-genre and give it a go. If I get the time, of course…]

Dan Abnett, Prospero Burns (Black Library – January)

The Wolves of Fenris enter the fray of the Horus Heresy

The Emperor is enraged. Primarch Magnus the Red of the Thousand Sons Legion has made a terrible mistake that endangers the very safety of Terra. With no other choice, the Emperor charges Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves, with the apprehension of his brother from the Thousand Sons home world of Prospero. This planet of sorcerers will not be easy to overcome, but Russ and his Space Wolves are not easily deterred.

With wrath in his heart, Russ is determined to bring Magnus to justice and bring about the fall of Prospero.

Long-time readers of the site will know just how much I love Black Library’s Horus Heresy series (particularly the last three novels), as well as how much I respect and enjoy Mr Abnett’s work. As this is a sister-volume to Graham McNeill’s superb A Thousand Sons, there is added anticipation as Abnett offers the reverse perspective of McNeill’s novel, and the Space Wolves (think heavily armed-and-armoured Nordic berzerker-supermen) finally get their own novel. [Geek note: When I was younger, and more interested in the game aspect of Warhammer 40,000, the Space Wolves were my favourite army.]

Black Library have kindly sent me an advance copy of Prospero Burns, so it is currently staring at me from my ‘to-review’ shelf… I shall, however, hold off on the review until mid- to late-December.

Brian Ruckley, Edinburgh Dead (Orbit – ?)

An Alternate Edinburgh…

Mixing real history and historical figures with magics and conspiracies, this novel imagines the Edinburgh of 1827, populated by mad alchemists who treat Frankenstein as textbook rather than novel, and by a criminal underclass prepared to treat with the darkest of powers.

The plot follows the progress of an officer of the recently formed Edinburgh City Police as he follows a trail of undead hounds, emptied graves, brutal murders and mob violence into the deepest and darkest corners of Edinburgh’s underworld – both literal and magical – and back again to the highest reaches of elegant, intellectual Edinburgh society.

I’ve not managed to read Ruckley’s Godless World trilogy yet, but when I read the blurb of Edinburgh Dead, I was immediately intrigued. I love the idea of “Frankenstein as textbook rather than novel”, and can’t wait to see how the author does this.

Alan Campbell, The Sea of Ghosts (Tor – April)

The Gravedigger Chronicles

When the last of the Gravediggers, an elite imperial infiltration unit, are disbanded and hunted down by the emperor they once served, munitions expert Colonel Thomas Granger takes refuge in the unlikeliest of places. He becomes a jailer in Ethugra – a prison city of poison-flooded streets and gaols in which a million enemies of the empire are held captive. But when Granger takes possession of two new prisoners, he realises that he can’t escape his past so readily.

Ianthe is a young girl with an extraordinary psychic talent. A gift that makes her unique in a world held to ransom by the powerful Haurstaf – the sisterhood of telepaths who are all that stand between the Empire and the threat of the Unmer, the powerful civilization of entropic sorcerers and dragon-mounted warriors. In this war-torn land, she promises to make Granger an extremely wealthy man, if he can only keep her safe from harm.

This is what Granger is best at. But when other factions learn about Ianthe’s unique ability, even Granger’s skills of warfare are tested to their limits. While, Ianthe struggles to control the powers that are growing in ways no-one thought were possible. Another threat is surfacing: out there, beyond the bitter seas, an old and familiar enemy is rising – one who, if not stopped, will drown the world and all of humanity with it…

Another author I’ve not yet read (Emma nabbed his previous series for review, and I’ve just not managed to get around to it, even though it sounds superb). With the beginning of a new series, however, I’ll have the opportunity to get in at the beginning. Also, if you read the synopsis and aren’t intrigued (even a little), then they could well be something very wrong with you.

Expect a review mid-March – might even be able to do a joint-review with Emma, who is reading the book at the moment.

Paolo Bacigalupi, The Windup Girl (Orbit – December 2010)

Prize-Winning Dystopian Future

Anderson Lake is a company man, AgriGen's calorie representative in Thailand. Under cover as a factory manager, he combs Bangkok’s street markets in search of foodstuffs long thought to be extinct. There he meets the windup girl - the beautiful and enigmatic Emiko - now abandoned to the slums. She is one of the New People, bred to suit the whims of the rich. Engineered as slaves, soldiers and toys, they are the new underclass in a chilling near future where oil has run out, calorie companies dominate nations and bio-engineered plagues run rampant across the globe.

And as Lake becomes increasingly obsessed with Emiko, conspiracies breed in the heat and political tensions threaten to spiral out of control. Businessmen and ministry officials, wealthy foreigners and landless refugees all have their own agendas. But no one anticipates the devastating influence of the Windup Girl.

Bacigalupi’s novel has been out in the US for a while, now, but Orbit are finally bringing it to the UK! The Windup Girl has been winning a slew of prestigious awards, and received praise from a broad range of critics and authors. Anticipation is high – so high, in fact, that the publication date has been brought forward – and I’m certainly going to give it a try as soon as I can.

Jon Courtenay Grimwood, The Fallen Blade (Orbit - February)

Act One of the Assassini

Venice in the early Fifteenth Century is at the height of its power. Duke Marco’s aunt and uncle reign as regents, but Venice’s fate will be decided by three men.

Atilo il Mauros: head of the Assassini, the shadow army enforcing Venice’s will at home and abroad.

Prince Leopold: bastard son of the German emperor and leader of the krieghund – the only force in Venice more feared than the Assassini.

And Atilo’s angel-faced apprentice. Only a boy, Tycho is stronger and faster than any man. He can see in the dark, but sunlight burns him. It is said that he drinks blood...

I first heard of this novel when the cover artwork was published on the interwebs (although I forget, now, where I saw it first…), and I’ve been intrigued ever since. As far as I can tell, it’s a story of a vampire assassin. I am assuming this will not be anywhere near Twilight fare, so my interest in (almost) all things vampiric has been well and truly piqued.

Vince Flynn, American Assassin (Simon & Schuster - January)

The Makings of a CIA Killer

Before he was considered a CIA-super agent, before he was thought of as a terrorist's worst nightmare, and before he was both loathed and admired by politicians on Capitol Hill, Mitch Rapp was a star college athlete with an untapped instinct for violence.

Tensions in the Middle East are simmering when Central Intelligence Agency Director Irene Kennedy pays a visit to Syracuse University, where she hopes to recruit none other than Mitch Rapp, a student who has quickly climbed up the academic and athletic ranks. At first glance, he appears like any other smart, good-looking American college kid. Under the surface, however, a tempest rages.

Tragedy entered Mitch's life a year before when 35 of his classmates, including his girlfriend, perished on Pan Am flight 103. Since then, Mitch has grieved their senseless deaths and has felt helpless in his desire for revenge. When Kennedy arrives on campus, his career path is suddenly laid out for him. Nine months later, after gruelling training, Mitch finds himself in Istanbul on his first assignment, which is to assassinate the Turkish arms dealer who sold the explosives used in the Pan Am attack. Mitch hits his target but quickly sees, for the first time, what revenge means to the enemy.

When Mitch's mentor and a fellow recruit are kidnapped and tortured by a dangerous group of Islamic jihadists, he must stop at nothing to save them.

I have long been a fan of Flynn’s novels, and have reviewed a couple of the most recent ones on the site. He remains one of the best thriller writers today, and his novels are always well-plotted and -paced, and his characters are complex and realistic. Mitch Rapp may, at times, be a bit too gifted at his job, but despite his killing expertise, he remains very human and aware of his sociopathic tendencies. Irene Kennedy, his mentor, is likewise an excellent character. The twelfth novel in the series, it is going to be interesting to see how Mitch was inducted into the CIA.

David Baldacci, Hell’s Corner (Macmillan - December)

The Latest Camel Club Novel

On the night of the State Dinner honouring the British Prime Minister, Oliver Stone witnesses an explosion as the motorcade leaves the White House. A bomb has been detonated in what looks like a terrorist plot directed at the President and the Prime Minister.

In the aftermath, British MI5 agent Mary Chapman, an experienced, lethal operative with an agenda of her own, is sent to assist and coordinate the investigation alongside American authorities. Stone, together with Harry Finn, Alex Ford and the rest of the Camel Club, is drawn into the inquiry.

But everything is not what it seems, and what happened in the park may not have been the actual plan. It seems the mysterious attackers had another target in their sights, and it’s up to the Camel Club to stop them, or face the catastrophic results.

Easily the best of Baldacci’s series, The Camel Club books offer an interesting take on the American political thriller. Oliver Stone is a great, complex character with a colourful (and lethal) past, and each new novel offers more insight into his character and background. His companions are alternately kooky and your typical straight-laced federal cop, trying to get used to Stone’s unorthodox methods. The premise of this novel sounds, again, pretty original and with great potential. I’ll review this as soon as I can. Hopefully it’ll live up to my high expectations.

Patrick Rothfuss, The Wise Man’s Fear (Gollancz - March)

The epic Kingkiller Chronicle, continues

“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

An escalating rivalry with a powerful member of the nobility forces Kvothe to leave the University and seek his fortune abroad. Adrift, penniless, and alone, he travels to Vintas, where he quickly becomes entangled in the politics of courtly society. While attempting to curry favour with a powerful noble, Kvothe discovers an assassination attempt, comes into conflict with a rival arcanist, and leads a group of mercenaries into the wild, in an attempt to solve the mystery of who (or what) is waylaying travellers on the King’s road.

All the while, Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, forced to reclaim the honor of the Edema Ruh, and travels into the Fae realm. There he meets Felurian, the faerie woman no man can resist, and who no man has ever survived. Under her tutelage, Kvothe learns much about true magic and the ways of women.

In The Wise Man’s Fear Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.

And so continues the Kingkiller Chronicle, the story of Kvothe. I’m reading The Name of the Wind at the moment, and I’m eager to know how Kvothe’s tale progresses. The pace of the series is a bit slower than I would like, but there is no denying Rothfuss’s skill as an author. Highly enjoyable, and rather immersive, this novel is expected to dazzle readers all over again.

*     *     *

As well as these new novels, I thought it would be a good idea to just mention some other novels I’ll be reading in the final month of 2010 and early months of 2011 – specifically, the long-neglected series that have been collecting dust on my shelves for far too long.

Joe Abercrombie, The First Law series & Best Served Cold (Gollancz)

I don’t really know why I haven’t got around to this series, yet – I’ve started The Blade Itself before, but really wasn’t in the mood for fantasy at the time (so I stopped before I got grumpy with it), and I’ve read the first chapter of Best Served Cold (which I thought was great). I’ve also been a long-time reader of Abercrombie’s blog, so I really have no idea why I keep putting the series off…

I shall finally remedy this next year, or possibly over Christmas. Abercrombie’s novels have, like a lot of other Gollancz books, been bumped aside by other novels I’ve been sent for review. I don’t know why I keep doing so, but it’s probably because of Reviewer Guilt – that sense that one should be reviewing what we’re sent by publishers, rather than stuff we’ve bought ourselves… It’s an irrational feeling, but I think other bloggers and reviewers sometimes suffer from it.

MD Lachlan, Wolfsangel (Gollancz)

Reimagining the Werewolf myth

The Viking King Authun leads his men on a raid against an Anglo-Saxon village. Men and women are killed indiscriminately but Authun demands that no child be touched. He is acting on prophecy. A prophecy that tells him that the Saxons have stolen a child from the Gods. If Authun, in turn, takes the child and raises him as an heir, the child will lead his people to glory. But Authun discovers not one child, but twin baby boys. Ensuring that his faithful warriors, witness to what has happened, die during the raid Authun takes the children and their mother home, back to the witches who live on the troll wall. And he places his destiny in their hands.

And so begins a stunning multi-volume fantasy epic that will take a werewolf from his beginnings as the heir to a brutal viking king, down through the ages. It is a journey that will see him hunt for his lost love through centuries and lives, and see the endless battle between the wolf, Odin and Loki - the eternal trickster - spill over into countless bloody conflicts from our history, and over into our lives.

Another Gollancz orphan that I’ve been wanting to read ever since I first heard about it. I love Norse Mythology (I even took an elective module in Old Norse during my third undergraduate year), and coupled with my conviction that what Lachlan does with the werewolf mythology will be nothing like Twilight, this novel should be a perfect selection. I shall get to it ASAP (it’s ready and waiting on my Kindle), and hopefully before the second in the series, Fenrir, is published in May 2011. 

Here’s the blurb (and artwork, of course) for book two:

The Vikings are laying siege to Paris. As the houses on the banks of the Seine burn, a debate rages in the Cathedral on the walled island of the city proper. The situation is hopeless. The Vikings want the Count’s sister, in return they will spare the rest of the city. Can the Count really have ambitions to be Emperor of the Franks if he doesn’t do everything he can to save his people? Can he call himself a man if he doesn’t do everything he can to save his sister? His conscience demands one thing, the demands of state.

The Count and the church are relying on the living saint, the blind and crippled Jehan of St Germain, to enlist the aid of God and resolve the situation for them. But the Vikings have their own gods. And outside their camp a terrifying brother and sister, priests of Odin, have their own agenda. An agenda of darkness and madness. And in the shadows a wolfman lurks.

M.D. Lachlan’s stunning epic of mad Gods, Viking and the myth of Fenrir, the wolf destined to kill Odin at Ragnorok, powers forward into a new territories of bloody horror, unlikely heroism, dangerous religion and breathtaking action.

Sounds bloody marvellous! I think I’ll be pre-ordering this, depending on how much I like Wolfsangel.

There are actually quite a few Gollancz orphans at the moment (Tom Lloyd is another author I have neglected), but as the months pass, I shall do everything I can to finally catch up with these authors and their novels. I am already remedying this with Patrick Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind, and will do so again with Abercrombie and Lachlan very soon.

Upcoming (Exciting) Books from Tor

This is just a quick post to let you know about some exciting 2011 releases from Tor. It looks like next year will be another cracking for fantasy, sci-fi and other speculative genres, with Tor among the leaders of the pack.

Alan Campbell

Campbell, the talented author of the Deepgate Codex series, has apparently submitted the manuscript for Sea of Ghosts, his next novel, and the first in the Gravedigger Chronicles. Here’s the description from the press release:

Set in a world of entropic sorcerers, poisoned seas, the Drowned, drug-addicted dragons, Deadships and a powerful sisterhood of telepaths, and featuring ex-soldier Colonel Thomas Granger, this is an incredible novel of imaginative fantasy with strong characters, non-stop action and tremendous descriptive world-building.

Apparently, editing has just finished. The jacket design from artist Larry Rostant has also been completed, and is amazing:

Sea of Ghosts will be one of Tor’s lead fantasy hardback releases in 2011. Emma reviewed The Deepgate Codex and loved it, and it remains one of the series (along with those of Adrian Tchaikovsky, Brian Ruckley, George R.R. Martin, and Joe Abercrombie) I am kicking myself for not yet reading.

Adrian Tchaikovsky

Just a quick mention of Tchaikovsky’s continuing Shadows of the Apt series (book six, The Scarab Path, was release this month in the UK). The artwork for the seventh volume has now been released, and it’s another corker:

The Sea Watch is scheduled for publication in February 2011.

Doug Hulick

Tor has just acquired the publishing rights to debut author Hulick’s new fantasy series, The Kin Wars. Among Thieves is the first instalment, and here’s a quick description:

Among Thieves follows the morally ambiguous Drothe. He's a Nose, an informant who finds and takes care of trouble inside the criminal organization he's a part of.

When his boss sends him to Ten Ways to track down who's been leaning on his organization's people, Drothe discovers hints of a much bigger mystery. Someone is trying to stir up trouble between the lower-level criminal gangs. And there's a book rumored to contain forbidden Imperial magic that a lot of very dangerous people seem to be looking for - including two very powerful crime bosses known as the Gray Princes. When Drothe discovers the book, he finds himself holding a bit of swag that can bring down emperors, shatter the criminal underworld, and unlock forbidden magic…

If that’s not enough to whet your appetite, here’s what bestselling (and CR favourite) author Brent Weeks had to say about the novel:

“Among Thieves is an unalloyed pleasure: a fast-moving, funny, twisting tale in an evocative setting with great characters. The kind of story that reminds you why you love to read. This book may just give you that feeling you had the first time you read Rothfuss or Abercrombie: Oh hell yeah, there’s new talent in the game. Read this book. No really, read this book.”

Sadly, there’s no artwork to share with you just yet, but who cares – they could dress it in simple brown paper, and I’d still want to read it. Among Thieves is scheduled for an April 2011 UK release.

Alden Bell

The interwebs have been all atwitter about Alben Bell’s The Reapers Are the Angels, and it seems that the hype is justified, if the slew of glowing reviews are anything to go by.

First, here’s the artwork (UK and US) and also the synopsis:

Zombies have infested a fallen America. A young girl named Temple is on the run. Haunted by her past and pursued by a killer, Temple is surrounded by death and danger, hoping to be set free.

For twenty-five years, civilization has survived in meager enclaves, guarded against a plague of the dead. Temple wanders this blighted landscape, keeping to herself and keeping her demons inside her heart. She can't remember a time before the zombies, but she does remember an old man who took her in and the younger brother she cared for until the tragedy that set her on a personal journey toward redemption. Moving back and forth between the insulated remnants of society and the brutal frontier beyond, Temple must decide where ultimately to make a home and find the salvation she seeks.

If you’d like to read a little more about the author and his novel, then check out the interview of Bell, conducted by fellow Tor author Mark Charan Newton, which can be found here.

Tor has just also released a trailer for the book, and here it is:

“God of Clocks”, by Alan Campbell (Tor/Macmillan)

War, rebellion, betrayal… But the worst is still to come.

Scar Night introduced us to the dark and decaying world in which the city of Deepgate hangs in chains over the abyss in which dwelled the god Ulcis. Iron Angel detailed the protagonists’ difficult journey away from the ruined city, across a dangerous wilderness. God Of Clocks continues the story, as Dill and Rachel rush towards a final confrontation with King Menoa, Lord of the Maze. Rachel has rejoined the blood magician Mina Greene and her demonic dog Basilis. Carried in the jaw of a debased angel, they race to the defensive stronghold of the god of clocks, pursued by the twelve arconites – Menoa’s merciless automatons (the iron angels of the previous book). Meanwhile, John Anchor pulls Cospinol’s skyship into Hell itself to meet Menoa on his own ground. But neither Heaven nor Hell is anything they could have expected…

For this final installment to the series, Campbell’s writing has become even darker. His previous occupation as a video-game designer really comes through, as his writing is incredibly atmospheric and evocative – it’s clear that creating a complete picture for the reader is very important to him. He creates a dark and disturbing world, and as the characters journey into Hell, they find ever-more twisted and debased creatures. Campbell blurs the lines between good and evil: even relatively benevolent characters, such as Cospinol, deal in casual cruelty. This is a world in which no one can be trusted: neither gods, nor men, and certainly not any of the demons who inhabit Hell. Nothing is as it seems, keeping the characters, and the reader, guessing throughout.

The wide cast of diverse characters, well-created, does sometimes become a little unwieldy, as we try to keep track of the various story-threads. This is not, however, too much of a problem – and one that might be mitigated by reading the series in one go, rather than having to wait a year between books (something a lot of fantasy fans do, with trilogies). Another slight problem was the ending, which didn’t tie up nearly as many loose-ends as it perhaps should. Sure, not everything can be tied off, but it does make me wonder if this is actually the last in the series… (anyone?) It would also have been nice to know a little more about the Deepgate Codex, which is only alluded to a couple of times, but never in too much detail.

Rachel is a great, strong female character (she kicks ass, basically). The god Hasp is a complex yet appealing character. I liked the way the author subverts the traditional ‘bad-guy’ tropes of fantasy; for example, both Mina Greene and Alice Harper are morally dubious, but even they turn out to be psychologically rounded characters – it’s clear why they do what they do, playing the hand they’ve been dealt.

Comparisons with Mervyn Peake (author of Gormenghast) are certainly justified, but Campbell brings a contemporary twist to a Peake-style gothic world – it’s certainly something new, strange and compelling.

Overall, an excellent series, but I would love to know if this is, in fact, going to be the last volume. I shall be watching eagerly for Campbell’s next book.

Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Emma

Series Chronology: Scar Night (2007), Iron Angel (2008), God of Clocks (2009)

For Fans of: Joe Abercrombie, Patrick Rothfuss, Brent Weeks, Mervyn Peake, George R.R. Martin, Richard Morgan

www.alanmcampbell.co.uk

“Iron Angel”, by Alan Campbell (Tor)

A dark, brooding and thoroughly haunting sequel to Scar Night

In the aftermath of the destruction of the chained city of Deepgate, the Spine militia struggle to halt the exodus of panicking citizens with brutal force. Rachel and the young angel Dill are captured and taken to the Temple torture chambers, but they are in greater danger from what lurks in the shadows outside the Temple stronghold.

The god Ulcis’ death has left the gates to hell unguarded, and all manner of foul things are rising from the abyss below the ruined city. In the skies above, the god of brine and fog is coming to join forces with his remaining brothers to avenge Ulcis, and Rachel and Dill will find themselves caught between two opposing forces, as men and gods, archons and slaves are forced into desperate alliances in a battle they cannot hope to win.

Scar Night was a magnificent debut, and Campbell doesn’t disappoint with the sequel. Iron Angel is an utterly spellbinding, richly Gothic tale of angels, gods and demons. We catch up with Rachel and Dill, fleeing for their lives, and are introduced to a host of new characters: Cospinol, the decaying god of brine and fog, and John Anchor, the giant who hauls his skyship across the land; handsome Rys, the god of flowers and knives; Silister Trench, the dead archon; Alice Harper, dead engineer and reluctant servant of King Menoa, lord of hell (and easily the most terrifying creature yet encountered); and the mysterious Mina Greene.

Campbell’s characters are dark, sinister, frequently grotesque, and always complex. For example, Alice Harper would seem to be nothing more than Menoa’s faithful, if reluctant servant, but the author shows us that Alice’s reasons for obeying Menoa are multi-layered and completely human, no matter what monstrous form he has currently forced her into. Cospinol is a very human god: capable of human emotions, such as fear. Ultimately, everyone in Campbell’s world is flawed.

The plot tears along, teeming with infernal machines, grotesque experimental creatures, warped humans and tattered angels. The author brings his world vividly to life; at once squalid and magnificent in its decay.

Despite the undoubted darkness and repellent nature of much of his creation, he succeeds in making us really care about what happens to his characters: from Dill, the young and damaged angel; to Carnival, the scarred angel who is just as much a victim of others’ machinations as Dill is. No one in Campbell’s world can ever really be labeled absolutely good or utterly evil, and that is, in part, what keeps his writing so gripping: it is almost impossible to predict what will happen next, or how a character will evolve.

A beautifully written, darkly realized, mesmerising read. The wait for God of Clocks will be unbearable!

Very highly recommended. Not a typical fantasy, Iron Angel is a must-read for absolutely everyone.

Series Chronology: Scar Night, Iron Angel, God of Clocks (Already available in the US, it is released July 3rd, 2009 in the UK)

For Fans of: Scott Lynch, Joe Abercrombie, Patrick Rothfuss, Mark Charan Newton, Nick Harkaway, China Mieville

Reviewed by Emma