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.

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.

“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.

A Most Unusual Fantasy Map

So, it’s common for Fantasy novels to come with a map or two printed in the front of the book to give the reader a sense of this new and unfamiliar geography we are about to delve into. Some are exquisite pieces of cartography, complete with major features, cities and the like; or perhaps an intricate street-map of a major metropolis integral to the story. Others are clearly cobbled together because it’s expected, and therefore are less-than-inspiring or interesting.

Debut author Sam Sykes, on the other hand, has something a little different to offer. The UK and US editions of his highly-acclaimed debut novel, Tome of the Undergates (book one in his Aeon Gates series), did not include a map. His German publisher, however, has requested one. So he went about putting one together…

If you haven’t read the novel, then you should know it’s a dark, twisted quest/journey of a band of disparate, bitchy, and flawed characters. It takes many fantasy tropes and gleefully dashes them across the rocks of the author’s twisted imagination, making them new and a good deal more disturbing (in a very, very good way). Or, as his publisher describes it: “a vast and sprawling story of adventure, demons, madness and carnage”.

This map really suits the novel and the slightly warped mind of its author. So, here it is, the map to go with Tome of the Undergates, created with the help of Michael Lee Lunsford:

 

Frankly, I think this is brilliant.

“Graar!”

Tome of the Undergates is out now through Gollancz (UK) and Pyr (US), and the sequel – Black Halo – will be published in March and June 2011 (US and UK, respectively).

Sam Sykes Website

Michael Lee Lunsford’s Site & Webcomic

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.