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Future Treasures: The Race by Nina Allen

Future Treasures: The Race by Nina Allen

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The Race Nina Allen-smallI quite enjoy Nina Allen’s regular column in Interzone magazine. Which I guess is kind of an odd way to introduce her, but it’s true. She’s also a fine short story writer who’s earned a lot of accolades in a short period of time — including the British Science Fiction BSFA Award, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire, and the Aeon Award. She’s been shortlisted for the British Fantasy Award four times, and was a finalist for the 2014 Shirley Jackson Award.

The Race is her first novel. It was first published in the UK by NewCon, a small press. Tor.com described it as “a progressive sci-fi novel set in a future Great Britain scarred by fracking and ecological collapse,” and Kirkus Reviews praised it as “a brilliantly weird world that’s utterly riveting.” Titan Books is re-issuing it in trade paperback in the UK and the US this month, with a knockout new cover designed by Julia Lloyd. Here’s the description.

A child is kidnapped with consequences that extend across worlds… A writer reaches into the past to discover the truth about a possible murder… Far away a young woman prepares for her mysterious future…

In a future scarred by fracking and ecological collapse, Jenna Hoolman’s world is dominated by illegal smartdog racing: greyhounds genetically modified with human DNA. When her young niece goes missing that world implodes… Christy’s life is dominated by fear of her brother, a man she knows capable of monstrous acts and suspects of hiding even darker ones. Desperate to learn the truth she contacts Alex, who has his own demons to fight… And Maree, a young woman undertaking a journey that will change her world forever.

The Race will be published by Titan Books on July 19, 2016. It is 400 pages, priced at $14.95 in trade paperback and $7.99 for the digital edition. The cover was designed by Julia Lloyd. Read a brief excerpt from Chapter One at Tor.com.

John DeNardo: In Defense of Media Tie-Ins (Part 1)

John DeNardo: In Defense of Media Tie-Ins (Part 1)

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Dan Abnett Eisenhorn-smallJohn DeNardo has closed up shop at his Hugo Award-winning blog SF Signal, but he continues to write about SF and fantasy in his regular column at Kirkus Reviews. One of his best recent articles — indeed, one of the most enjoyable blog posts I’ve read in a long time — was his passionate and articulate defense of Media Tie-ins, published on June 15.

As much as I bemoan the poor public of image of science fiction by mainstream readers, there’s an even worse injustice going on. Some people in those very same slighted genre circles are often quick to dismiss a certain type of book: media tie-ins. These are the books that are based on a story most often found in another media (like film, television, and games) but could be sourced from other literary properties as well. These are the Star Wars, Star Trek, and Dungeons and Dragons prose novels that the bookstores like to relegate to the end of the science fiction and fantasy bookshelf section. They are positioned like an appendix in a non-fiction book “in case you’re interested in more reading.” You know, if you’ve run out of other things to read…

So, yes, media tie-ins are worth your time. I’ll even back that up: one of the best set of books I’ve ever read — in any genre — was the Eisenhorn trilogy by Dan Abnett. The books are set in the richly-imagined Warhammer 40K universe, which is based on the popular role playing game. (Even WH40K itself is an offshoot of the fantasy RPG Warhammer, for which there are even more prose novels.)  Abnett is a one of the most skilled master storytellers you’ve never heard of.  This is the series that I point to when anyone is quick to dismiss tie-in fiction. The fact that it is set in the Warhammer 40K universe is incidental, though if you are familiar with the games, that would be an added bonus when you read them. I don’t play the game, but that didn’t stop me from losing sleep because I couldn’t stop turning page after action-packed page, or cheering when a bad guy finally got his comeuppance.

Read John’s complete article here.

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New Treasures: United States of Japan by Peter Tieryas

New Treasures: United States of Japan by Peter Tieryas

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United States of Japan-small United States of Japan-back-small

Amazon.com’s high concept series The Man in the High Castle, based on the famous novel by Philip K. Dick, became a major hit for the online retailer, and it was renewed for a second season late last year.

I have not yet seen the series, but I find myself in total agreement with Peter Tieryas’s implied critique of the whole concept: that it would be 300% better with giant robots. Seriously, I think this Tieryas guy is on to something. Sure, there isn’t an artistic or creative endeavor in Western Civilization that wouldn’t be improved by adding giant robots (“Are you enjoying that double scoop pistachio ice-cream cone, young lady? Here, try it with giant robots.” See what I mean?), but there’s something about World War II alternate history that just screams, “More giant robots, please!” Come on, you know what I’m talking about.

I received a free copy of Tieryas’ second novel United States of Japan at the Nebula Awards back in April, and I finally settled in with it yesterday. It seems to be exactly what it promises: an action-packed detective story/alternate history successor to The Man in the High Castle. With honkin’ big robots. Financial Times says that “With its giant military robots, sumo wrestlers and body-transforming technology, [it’s] a gleeful love letter to Japanese pop culture,” and Lightspeed calls it “A hell of a ride, with plot twists as history is written and rewritten right in front of you… an ending as powerful as the iron grip of the godlike Emperor.”

United States of Japan was published by Angry Robot on March 1, 2016. It is 398 pages, priced at $14.99 in trade paperback and $6.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by John Liberto. Amazon.com currently has the Kindle version available for just $1.99 — grab it while you can.

Future Treasures: Drowned Worlds: Tales from the Anthropocene and Beyond, edited by Jonathan Strahan

Future Treasures: Drowned Worlds: Tales from the Anthropocene and Beyond, edited by Jonathan Strahan

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Drowned Worlds Jonathan Strahan-smallJonathan Strahan has edited some extremely impressive anthologies. In fact, we assessed his recent Meeting Infinity as the most successful anthology of 2016 (using our own highly subjective yardstick, of course.) His latest, Drowned Worlds, contains all-original fiction by some of the biggest names in SF, including Kim Stanley Robinson, Ken Liu, Paul McAuley, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Rachel Swirsky, Charlie Jane Anders, Lavie Tidhar, Jeffrey Ford, and James Morrow, and it promises to be just as interesting. On his Coode Street blog, Jonathan summarizes it thusly:

I think it’s sharp, pointed, timely and sometimes satirical. I think it’s about who we are when faced with disaster, and not about disaster. I think it makes for good reading.

Here’s the publisher’s take:

Last call for the Gone World…

We live in a time of change. The Anthropocene Age – the time when human-induced climate change radically reshapes the world – is upon us. Sea water is flooding the streets of Florida, island nations are rapidly disappearing beneath the waves, the polar icecaps are a fraction of what they once were, and distant, exotic places like Australia are slowly baking in the sun.

Drowned Worlds asks fifteen of the top science fiction and fantasy writers working today to look to the future, to ask how will we survive? Do we face a period of dramatic transition and then a new technology-influenced golden age, or a long, slow decline? Swim the drowned streets of Boston, see Venice disappear beneath the waves, meet a woman who’s turned herself into a reef, traverse the floating garbage cities of the Pacific, search for the elf stones of Antarctica, or spend time in the new, dark Dust Bowl of the American mid-west. See the future for what it is: challenging, exciting, filled with adventure, and more than a little disturbing.

Whether here on Earth or elsewhere in our universe, Drowned Worlds give us a glimpse of a new future, one filled with romance and adventure, all while the oceans rise…

Here’s the complete Table of Contents.

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Series Fantasy: Apparatus Infernum by A. A. Aguirre

Series Fantasy: Apparatus Infernum by A. A. Aguirre

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A A Aguirre Bronze Gods-small A A Aguirre Silver Mirrors-small

I get a lot of review copies in the mail, and I buy a great many books online (Amazon tells me I’ve placed 15 orders in the past 30 days, which seems like kind of a lot. And it’s probably best if we don’t discuss eBay.) But I still enjoy my Saturday trips to the bookstore, where I can leisurely browse Barnes & Noble’s SF & Fantasy section. Even for someone who puts effort into staying on top of SF publishing every single day, there are always surprises.

It was a pleasant surprise a few weeks ago when I stumbled on A. A. Aguirre’s intriguing two-volume steampunk/noir/crime series Apparatus Infernum, which consists of Bronze Gods and Silver Mirrors. A.A. Aguirre is the pseudonym for Ann & Andres Aguirre, a husband-wife writing team. Ann Aguire, as we’ve noted previously is an extraordinarily prolific fantasy and SF writer, producing some 22 novels in five years, including the Sirantha Jax science fiction adventures, the Corine Solomon urban fantasies, the YA post-apocalyptic dystopian Razorland trilogy, the dark SF series The Dred Chronicles, and many more.

The Apparatus Infernum series looks like a pleasing combination of fantasy and noir drama… and it has the added attraction of not being ten books long. Here’s the description for the first book.

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The Conclusion to a Grand Adventure: Hobgoblin Night by Teresa Edgerton

The Conclusion to a Grand Adventure: Hobgoblin Night by Teresa Edgerton

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oie_433623CB5VCFSUHobgoblin Night (2015) is an e-book rerelease (and revision, and repackaging, along with three previously published short stories) of The Gnome’s Engine (1991), Teresa Edgerton’s charming follow-up to Goblin Moon (1991). In it, the adventures of brave Sera Vorder and dashing Francis Skelbrooke, and the evil machinations of the faerie-human hybrid, the Duchess of Zar-Wildungen, continue.

In my Black Gate review of Goblin Moon, I wrote,

Goblin Moon is a model of what light entertainment can be. It’s not going to change your world, but it will definitely bring a smile to the face of anyone with a taste for some swashbuckling and Gothic mystery. This tale, smelling just a little of lavender and gunpowder, is a fun respite from all the bloody, cynical “realism” permeating much of modern fantasy — come to think of it, much of modern life.

Those words hold true for Hobgoblin Night, as well. There’s a little less swashbuckling and a little more Gothic mystery in this volume, but it’s just as much outright fun as its predecessor. If you have any desire to visit a world suspiciously like Europe during the Enlightenment, but with Gnomes, Fairies, Trolls, magic, and alchemy, these two books are for you.

At the end of Goblin Moon Sera, her cousin Elsie, and Jed Braun were headed off over the Alantick Ocean to the hoped-for safety of the New World. Though they had thwarted the Duchess’ evil plan to wreak dire harm on Elsie as revenge for a slight perpetrated by Elsie’s mother, they hadn’t stifled her desire for satisfaction. By stealing an ancient, mysterious parchment from the Duchess before fleeing, they had, in fact, only enraged her more.

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Self-published Book Review: Forgotten Soldiers by Joshua P. Simon

Self-published Book Review: Forgotten Soldiers by Joshua P. Simon

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If you have a book you’d like me to review, please see this post for instructions to submit. I’ve received very few submissions recently, and I’d like to get more.

Forgotten Soldiers coverForgotten Soldiers is the story of Tyrus, a sergeant in the Turine army. Turine has been at war with the Geneshan Empire for over a decade, and the war is almost over, the Empire on the defensive. Tyrus’s tactical skill and magic resistance make him a highly valued asset, and he is sent, along with his well-trained unit and powerful mage sister, on the critical mission of recovering a magical artifact, an ancient superweapon in the hands of the Geneshans. He succeeds, and the Geneshans immediately surrender. It turns out the Geneshans are even more afraid of the artifact than the Turines are, and the only condition of their surrender is that the Turines not use the artifact. Tyrus and what remains of his unit are discharged.

Their reception is not quite as warm as they anticipated. Many people have heard rumors of what the army has been up to, and it’s not pretty. People regard the soldiers with suspicion, refuse to do business with them, and there is even an attack by a mob at the first town they visit. When Tyrus and his friends are forced to defend themselves, the situation becomes worse and they have to leave town in a hurry, every soldier hoping that they’ll at least be welcomed back in their hometowns.

For Tyrus and his friends, that’s not to be. Tyrus returns to find himself presumed dead, and his family in dire straits. The town has changed, consisting mostly of newcomers hostile to him, and even his old friends are either suspicious of him themselves or too afraid of the current climate to help. It’s up to him to rescue his son and daughter, Zadok and Myra, from indentured servitude and try to find a place for his family.

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New Treasures: Almost Infamous by Matt Carter

New Treasures: Almost Infamous by Matt Carter

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Talos Press is in imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, the same outfit that purchased Night Shade Books and has done a stellar job re-invigorating the imprint. They’ve published some fine titles over the past few years, including Patricia Ward’s Skinner Luce, Martin Rose’s My Loaded Gun, My Lonely Heart, Karina Sumner-Smith’s Radiant, M. H. Boroson’s The Girl with Ghost Eyes, and many others.

Talos does a lot of books that other publishers wouldn’t risk, and that alone makes them interesting. A fine recent example is Matt Carter’s first solo novel Almost Infamous, about teenage superhuman Aidan Salt, who chooses to become the first supervillian the world has seen in decades. San Francisco Book Review calls it “a funny, dark, and thoroughly enjoyable story about friendship, heroism, and the lengths to which we’ll go to disrupt the status quo,” and Booklist labels it “irresistible reading.”

My only complaint is the cover. I understand why they went the comic book route, but it looks like it was designed by someone who hasn’t looked at a comic book in 20 years. With all the dynamic and innovative work being doing in comics these days, there’s little excuse for a comic book-style cover to be as bland and minimalist as this one. I suspect a lot of readers will overlook it because of the cover, and that’s a shame.

Almost Infamous was published by Talos Press on April 19, 2016. It is 312 pages, priced at $15.99 in trade paperback and $9.99 for the digital version. The cover art is by Adam Wallenta.

Sample the Finest Short Stories of a Science Fiction Great: The Best of Robert Silverberg: Stories of Six Decades

Sample the Finest Short Stories of a Science Fiction Great: The Best of Robert Silverberg: Stories of Six Decades

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The Best of Robert Silverberg Stories of Six Decades-small The Best of Robert Silverberg Stories of Six Decades-back-small

William Schafer’s Subterranean Press is one of the most prolific and accomplished small presses in the industry. It has produced countless books by Dan Simmons, Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, James Blaylock, Robert McCammon, Paolo Bacigalupi, Neal Barrett, Jr., Steven Erikson, Neil Gaiman, Jack Vance, and many others.

I don’t typically report on them here, however. While we’re always happy to promote small press publishers at Black Gate, we like to make sure you can obtain the great books we’re telling you about. And Subterranean specializes in limited edition hardcovers that frequently sell out quickly.

That’s not always the case, however — and I’m very pleased to report on those rare instances when Subterranean makes its excellent books available in paperback. One such case is the splendid The Best of Robert Silverberg: Stories of Six Decades, a generous collection of Robert Silverberg’s best stories spanning over 50 years. It includes much of his most important and acclaimed short work, including “Nightwings” (the 1969 Hugo Award winner for Best Novella), “Passengers” (Nebula Award, 1970), “Good News from the Vatican” (Nebula, 1971), “Born with the Dead” (Best Novella Nebula, 1975) “Schwartz Between the Galaxies,” “Sailing to Byzantium” (Nebula Award, Best Novella, 1986), and “Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another” (Hugo winner, 1990).

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Future Treasures: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2016, edited by Paula Guran

Future Treasures: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2016, edited by Paula Guran

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The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2016-smallI really enjoy dark fantasy and horror, but my hands are full just keeping up with the latest fantasy magazines and anthologies. It’s almost impossible to simultaneously stay on top of the excellent work being done in horror, in magazines like Sirenia Digest, Lackington’s, The Dark, and Nightmare, and anthologies like Aickman’s Heirs, Innsmouth Nightmares, Horrorology, Sing Me Your Scars, and many others.

That’s why I’m so grateful to editor Paula Guran, whose excellent Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror volumes — published every year since 2010 — have guided me towards the writers and editors doing really exemplary work. I look forward to new editions every year, and this year’s installment arrives in trade paperback from Prime Books next week.

Macabre meetings, sinister excursions, and deadly relationships; uncanny encounters; a classic ghost story featuring an American god; a historical murderer revived in a frightening new iteration; innovative Lovecraftian turns; shadowy fairy tales and weird myths; strange children, the unexpected, the supernatural, the surreal, and the all-too real… tales of the dark. Such stories have always fascinated us, and modern authors carry on the disquieting traditions of the past while inventing imaginative new ways to unsettle us. Chosen from a wide variety of venues, these stories are as eclectic and varied as shadows. This volume of 2015’s best dark fantasy and horror offers more than 500 pages of tales from some of today’s finest writers of the fantastique — sure to delight as well as disturb.

This year’s volume contains 30 short stories by Kelley Armstrong, Dale Bailey, Gemma File, Neil Gaiman, John Langan, Ken Liu, Seanan McGuire, Kelly Robson, Sofia Samatar, John Shirley, Angela Slatter, Catherynne M. Valente, Damien Angelica Walters, Kai Ashante Wilson, and many others.

Here’s the complete table of contents.

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