Barricade, by Jon Wallace (28/6/2014)

Posted in Critical Failures

Declaration of vested interest: Jon Wallace is a Gollancz novelist. Barricade was published earlier this month. We share a publisher (although not an editor) and I was sent a courtesy copy prior to publication.

Declaration of being irritated at willy-waving from my elders and better.

The blurb:

Kenstibec was genetically engineered to build a new world, but the apocalypse forced a career change. These days he drives a taxi instead. A fast-paced, droll and disturbing novel, BARRICADE is a savage road trip across the dystopian landscape of post-apocalypse Britain; narrated by the cold-blooded yet magnetic antihero, Kenstibec.

Continue reading “Barricade, by Jon Wallace (28/6/2014)”

Book Giveaway: The Splintered Gods (22/6/2014)

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By the end of this week I should have a submission-ready draft of The Silver Kings. After that I get to talk with my editor about what comes next. Irritation of the week gets to be shared between the Achilles tendon that refuses to stop hurting and the review for the Black Mausoleum that describes it as having “rape-as-plot-device” when no such thing occurs, plot device or not, at any point. Balancing that is a new review of Dragon Queen at Fixed on Fantasy, “a masterpiece of fantasy and easily Deas’ best work to date.”

Well I thought so…

There’s some World Cup silliness over here (but I’m grumpy about that now), and I’ve also finished reading Barricade and might possibly write up a review of it if I have the time.

This week’s giveaway is The Splintered Gods (finally). I have nothing much to say about it except that it;s the sequel to Dragon Queen, is a bit shorter, and started off trying to be a murder mystery but largely failed.

splintered gods cover

Usual deal – comment on this post before the end of June 28th and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim. This week I can’t think of any clever things to ask for in the comments, so just wave and say hi and you’ll get entered as long as you’re not spam offering NFL jerseys.

Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. I am currently up to date with posting things.

Middle Earth v. Westeros matchcast commentary

Posted in Critical Failures

A couple of weeks ago when England played Italy I tweeted commentary of a fictional match between Middle Earth and Westeros. You can find the pre-match buildup on the Gollancz blog here. It seemed to irritate about as many people as it amused, judging from the responses; but for anyone who wants it, here it is in less irritating form. It’s pretty much the commentary that went out but I did edit a couple of tweets on the fly and add one or two. Enjoy or not, as the case may be. It’s quite long and probably doesn’t make much sense unless you a) watch football fairly often and b) have watched the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit movies and Game of Thrones. Continue reading “Middle Earth v. Westeros matchcast commentary”

The Splintered Gods (June 2014 UK)

Posted in Books

Published in the UK on the 19th July and appears to be available in the US as well via internet vendors. Once upon a time I had an ambition to write a fantasy murder mystery. This isn’t it, though it does have a trace of that origin in it. Zafir doesn’t own this story quite the way she owned Dragon Queen, but she has her claws in it pretty deep still.

So stuff happened at the end of Dragon Queen, and there are going to be some consequences now, and either everyone will band together to ensure the best is done for the greater good of society at large or maybe they’ll just claw each other apart to see who gets to be king of the ash-pile. Arbiter Red Lin Feyn is supposed to make sure it’s the former, not the latter, but she might have her work cut out for her.

splintered gods cover

The Splintered Gods is a direct sequel to Dragon Queen. You could probably read it on its own without reading Dragon Queen and it would still make sense, but you’d lose a lot of Berren, past and Zafir too.

Here’s chapter one, in which Tuuran and Crazy Mad do some looting and play with gunpowder.

The Splintered Gods reads a little like a a courtroom drama, a little like a fantasy epic and a little like an adventure story.” Nerdly

“If you are a fan of dragons, this series is an absolute must read. Deas’ incarnation of this timeless beast is fresh, fascinating and one of the best I have encountered.” Fixed on Fantasy.

“The writing is always to the point, it gets to the meat of the matter and with some of the subtle hints and wordplay within generates a story that is pretty unique out there.” Falcatta Times

The Splintered Gods: Excerpt

Posted in Excerpts

Chapter one…

Book Giveaway: Barricade (9/6/2014)

Posted in Uncategorized

I am grumpy this week. My foot hurts. My foot hurt last week. It’s not suppose to hurt and it’s definitely not supposed to hurt for so long. Walking is distinctly uncomfortable, and running and leaping and bounding and jumping and cavorting and other circus skills are all right out, which pisses me off, because while I’m pretty luke-warm about running, I’m generally right up for some leaping and cavorting.

The structural rewrites for Fragile Hope are done, so that’s the news. Back to the last rewrite (I hope) of The Silver Kings this week. Ah Zafir, I shall miss your unholy combination of pathos and ruthless brutality. Anyway. This week’s giveaway. I was going to go with Jon Wallace’s Barricade, but I’m currently reading it and it’s rather good and I don’t know that I want to part with it. So no Barricade for . . .  oh go on then. Here’s the blurb. I’m about a third of the way through it, it’s a fast sharp and darkly witty English version of Mad Max, so far. Imagine a pissed-off Roy Batty instead of Mel Gibson.

“Kenstibec was genetically engineered to build a new world, but the apocalypse forced a career change. These days he drives a taxi instead.

A fast-paced, droll and disturbing novel, BARRICADE is a savage road trip across the dystopian landscape of post-apocalypse Britain; narrated by the cold-blooded yet magnetic antihero, Kenstibec.

Kenstibec is a member of the ‘Ficial’ race, a breed of merciless super-humans. Their war on humanity has left Britain a wasteland, where Ficials hide in barricaded cities, besieged by tribes of human survivors. Originally optimised for construction, Kenstibec earns his keep as a taxi driver, running any Ficial who will pay from one surrounded city to another.

The trips are always eventful, but this will be his toughest yet. His fare is a narcissistic journalist who’s touchy about her luggage. His human guide is constantly plotting to kill him. And that’s just the start of his troubles.”

There’s a couple of sample chapters up on the Gollancz blog, and some reviews and shit by people whose opinions matter more than mine. If you like it, go for Echo Rising by Danie Ware too, or Veteran by Gavin Smith. If the Gods of Random fail you, it’s available as an e-book for the knock-down price of £1.99 for the next few weeks.

Usual deal – comment on this post before the end of June 14th and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim. This week, who would YOU like to see go on a road-trip through a post-apocalyptic landscape.

Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. I am currently up to date with posting things, although whoever won the Incorruptibles competition, I haven’t had an address to send it to, so check your spam or I’ll send it to someone else.

Book Giveaway: In Dark Service (3/6/2014)

Posted in Uncategorized

Apologies to the few of you who saw the previous version of this post; I appear to have suffered a moment of Wordpress incompetence. So let’s try this again . . .

Not much news this week. I’m on break from The Silver Kings and working on the second William Falkland mystery, which won’t mean anything much to any of you on account of the first one not being out yet. There is a cover I hope to reveal shortly.

Moving on: this week’s giveaway is Stephen Hunt’s In Dark Service, Stephen’s first novel for Gollancz.I haven’t read this one, though I’ve read some of his previous series. Here’s the condensed blurb.

“Carter has been kidnapped. Enslaved. But he’s determined to fight to the end. Jacob is a pacifist. His family destroyed. He’s about to choose the path of violence to reclaim his son. Their world has changed for ever. Between them, they’re going to avenge it.”

But never mind that. Here’s the cover. So. So. Purty. So. Much. Cover. Envy…

Usual deal – comment on this post before the end of June and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim. This week, with the World Cup coming up, I encourage any soccer enthusiasts to offer up a well-known SFF character and what position they’d play (Gollum: substitute striker. Never features in the starting eleven but has a record of coming on for the last 10-15 minutes and scoring the winning goal). For those already rolling their eyes, you may blow elegant raspberries instead :-)

Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. I am currently somewhat behind.