I Am Spartacus (29/07/2013)

Posted in News

It’s been an appallingly badly kept secret for quite some time. Goodreads will tell you and now SFX in their review of The Crimson Shield have let the cat out of the bag that it was already pretty much out of any way.

I am SpartacusNathan Hawke. Look – here’s a picture by the very talented by Alejandro Colucci

cover lo-res

Yup, that’s me. Angry Man With An Axe. The protagonist looks kind of like that too. It’s a different kind of fantasy. No dragons and much more straightforward story-telling, I think. Some people have said some nice things and Gollancz have rounded them all up soall I have to do is cut and paste . . .

The Crimson Shield is a fast-paced and full of bloody battles.’ SFX

“Shades of David Gemmell… It’s about time someone good took up the torch for heroic fantasy. Inspiring characters, great plot and culture. I read this in one session, utterly absorbed” CONN IGGULDEN, bestselling author of the EMPEROR and CONQUEROR series of historical novels, and THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS

“A great mix of bloodied axes and brave warriors, an honest hero and the war that gets in his way” TOM LLOYD, author of the TWILIGHT REIGN series and the forthcoming MOON’S ARTIFICE

THE CRIMSON SHIELD is at once a huge adrenaline rush and a thoughtful examination of the destructive nature of war. The key protagonist, Gallow, is a cleverly constructed hero, full of conflict, confusion and bravery, a man who is unsure where his loyalties truly lie. A man driven by his upbringing and his love for his wife and family – factors that make very uncomfortable bedfellows. Mind you, he’s handy in a fight, very handy. Hawke has created a world with enough history, myth and folklore to make it believable. His prose is fluid, his dialogue crisp and his action very well-handled and visceral. It is not a long read and all the better for it. Entertaining, sometimes moving and always eminently readable. Highly recommended.” JAMES BARCLAY, author of the RAVEN and ELVES series of fantasy epics

“Reminds me of the tales that made me want to write novels in the first place” GILES KRISTIAN, bestselling author of the RAVEN historical books

“The simple fact the book has me guessing and speculating rather than ploughing into the next read is again testament to its quality of plot and story telling. I really do recommend this book, to fantasy or Historical Fiction fans.” ROBIN CARTER, Parmenion Books

“Bloody and interesting” Edi’s Book Lighthouse

I’ll put some more up about these books over the next few weeks. The first, The Crimson Shield is already out in the UK and available through online retailers in the US. In theory it might be in some bookshops over there too but ha ha. . . Look, if anyone actually sees a copy of a Nathan Hawke book in a US bookshop, send me a photo and I’ll send you an Angry Dragons T-shirt or a mug or something.

The second and third installments, Cold Redemption and The Last Bastion come out in August and September respectively so no messing about. Between those three and Dragon Queen, that’s a summer’s reading right there.

This week’s competition is going to be a Twitter thing as well – I have ten copies of either The Crimson Shield or the sequel, Cold Redemption (you get to choose) to give away. Usual deal – comment on this post before August 3rd  and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy of the series. This week we’re playing Viking Supermarket. So you need your comment to come up with something vaguely Vikingy. To enter the competition, you have to play the game. You can enter as may times as you like but I’ll only count the first entries – the rest are just for fun and showing off. You can also enter by re-tweeting the competition announcement on Twitter.

Extra points for humour and originality, not that extra points actually translates into anything useful :-p

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. Well, so far.

The Crimson Shield, Cold Redemption, The Last Bastion (Summer 2013 UK)

Posted in Books

The Crimson Shield is the first of a trilogy written under the pan-name Nathan Hawke. The dragon books might owe their politics, their spread of viewpoints and their emotionally troubled and retarded characters to the New Wave of Grimdark or whatever we’re call it these days, but Nathan Hawke has no truck with any of that. The Hawke books belong to an older time when fantasy was a little more straightforward. Gemmell, Lieber, Howard, the heroic fantasy and swords and sorcery that, to be honest, has always sat a little more comfortably as a reading pleasure for me. Maybe it’s the literary equivalent of simple peasant food (I think maybe that’s what you were trying to say, SFX?). Well I wouldn’t want to eat simple peasant food all the time but I wouldn’t want a rich man’s feast every night either. So this is simple, straightforward, bloody and hard-nosed. I hope you enjoy reading this series as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The second book in the series, Cold Redemption, came out on the 8th August. The Last Bastion came out on the 12th September.

And damn, but that’s a fine piece of cover art. This really is the cover, too. No words, no title, no name, just Angry Man With Axe

cover lo-res

Cold Redemption Cover

cold redemption cover lo-res

The Last Bastion cover

Cover artwork lo-res

The Crimson Shield is a fast-paced and full of bloody battles.’ SFX

“Shades of David Gemmell… It’s about time someone good took up the torch for heroic fantasy. Inspiring characters, great plot and culture. I read this in one session, utterly absorbed” CONN IGGULDEN, bestselling author of the EMPEROR and CONQUEROR series of historical novels, and THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS

“A great mix of bloodied axes and brave warriors, an honest hero and the war that gets in his way” TOM LLOYD, author of the TWILIGHT REIGN series and the forthcoming MOON’S ARTIFICE

THE CRIMSON SHIELD is at once a huge adrenaline rush and a thoughtful examination of the destructive nature of war. The key protagonist, Gallow, is a cleverly constructed hero, full of conflict, confusion and bravery, a man who is unsure where his loyalties truly lie. A man driven by his upbringing and his love for his wife and family – factors that make very uncomfortable bedfellows. Mind you, he’s handy in a fight, very handy. Hawke has created a world with enough history, myth and folklore to make it believable. His prose is fluid, his dialogue crisp and his action very well-handled and visceral. It is not a long read and all the better for it. Entertaining, sometimes moving and always eminently readable. Highly recommended.” JAMES BARCLAY, author of the RAVEN and ELVES series of fantasy epics

“Reminds me of the tales that made me want to write novels in the first place” GILES KRISTIAN, bestselling author of the RAVEN historical books

“The simple fact the book has me guessing and speculating rather than ploughing into the next read is again testament to its quality of plot and story telling. I really do recommend this book, to fantasy or Historical Fiction fans.” ROBIN CARTER, Parmenion Books

“Bloody and interesting” Edi’s Book Lighthouse

“…a book that treads its own path to the readers imagination.” Falcatta Times

“…a strong foundation for the rest of the series.” Fantasy Book Review

“There were in fact so many battles, some readers may find this to be all consuming, but the story and character development effortlessly takes place through the structure of combat.” NudgeMeNow

“As with most heroic fantasy, the plot builds up to a climax at the end, though the entire book is paced very well and had chapters that were short enough to turn “just one more chapter” into an all-nighter. Gallow is a great character who tries to do right in a world where people like to do the opposite and I need to get my hands on the sequel, Cold Redemption, as soon as possible. If and when you end up reading The Crimson Shield, you without a doubt have to read to the final page, including the epilogue and prologue to the sequel, and if you’re like me, the final line will put an ear-to-ear grin on your face.” A Biter Draft

“at times it was a bit too action filled for me.” Books for Life. Yeah, it has a lot of fighting.

“good story and good character development.  The only thing I didn’t like was the romanticism.” Reader Reading. The reviewer doesn’t explain quite what (s)he means by that, but take that NOT to mean romance, because there isn’t any. It’s true that all three books do kind of romanticise the notion of personal values.

“I have long yearned for a book that properly portrays the Norse culture and it is kind of funny that it comes in the form of a fantasy book.” Benign Guy

“Martin says that the great theme in his fantasy work “is the existential loneliness that we all suffer.” That big idea is not evident in ‘The Crimson Shield.” What does come through is a rollicking good tale. It is a hybrid work, closer to Gemmell than Martin. Its strength lies in its battle scenes and well-wrought characters.” Red Rook Review, which was one of the more entertaining reviews to read.

“Gallow is an enigmatic and interesting protagonist, but sadly I never felt that I got to know him beyond the tough warrior exterior.” Fantasy Book Review. Oh. Bugger.

“I need to get my hands on the sequel, Cold Redemption, as soon as possible.” FantasyLiterature.com

And so far just an early Goodreads review for Cold Redemption from Robin Carter: “I dearly hope that this series not only gets nominated for a Legend award but wins, for the cover art which is exceptional, but more for the story that is a combined series in my top 5 stories this year, and if it keeps up this standard could make my all time top 10.”