When Solaris asked what I wanted to do next for them after The Age Of Ra, I straight away said two more Age Of (Fill In Name Of Heathen God Here) books. Zeus is a flat-out action-adventure effort. There’s power armour, monsters galore, violence, intrigue, deception, betrayal, violence, Australian swearing, punning porn movie titles … did I mention violence?
Click here to read an extract, the prologue of the novel.
Reviews:
- “This mix of mythology and science fiction isn’t a natural one at first glance, but Lovegrove pulls it off with aplomb. A good, enjoyable romp with plenty of bang for its buck. The prose is solid … and there is a smattering of humour to keep things bubbling along. A fun read that doesn’t get bogged down with technology or lengthy paragraphs of exposition” Total Sci-Fi
- “A barking mad fusion of Andy McNab and Ray Harryhausen … a rollicking page-turner, crammed with violence, lurid plot twists and mythic monster-battling adventure. The plot moves like a bullet … energetic and entertaining stuff” SFX
- “What kept me reading was the characters. I cared what happened to them and some surprising people got killed, especially early on. I even felt sorry for the Minotaur. It is this characterisation that is the book’s strength … One of those books that I have no regrets about reading … A fine book, a thumping good read and well worth the money.” The Hub
- “The second book of the Pantheon trilogy sees the Greek gods imposing their hegemony on contemporary Earth, bringing stability and peace but also wreaking terrible revenge on those who oppose their rule. Samantha Akehurst, an ex-cop with a tragic past, and 10 others with their own reasons to hate the regime of the gods, are brought together by billionaire weapons tycoon Regis Landesman to kill the gods and their monsters. Nothing, however, is quite as it seems, and this huge novel, almost 700 pages long, expertly unpicks the motivations of both Landesman and the gods. It’s a compulsive, breakneck read by a master of the craft, with stunning action sequences and acute character observations. This is the kind of complex, action-oriented SF Dan Brown would write if Dan Brown could write.” The Guardian
- “The technology of the armored suits, weapons and related paraphernalia is extremely well done too and counterpoints very well with the Olympians’ powers and their creatures’ abilities which all are described in a scientific way despite the seeming supernatural involved in them. And the action is just unbelievably good, keeping the reader on his/her edge of the seat so to speak; the monster hunts and later the direct fights with the Gods are the highlights of the book, while the humor and the jibes balance the tension well – though the explicit titles of mythporn movies that are used as cover against the all-seeing Argus who is now the “global moderator” of the world are not for the easily offended.” Fantasy Book Critic
- “The Age of Zeus is fun, entertaining and endlessly explosive. It is a fantasy in the sense that it is a daydream let loose on paper. Very readable and very enjoyable.” Pornokitsch
- “FIVE STARS! A brilliant combination of modern warfare and Greek mythology. Though the synopsis has the sound of Fantasy, believe me when I say this is Science Fiction. One must read the entire story to fully understand my meaning. Author James Lovegrove’s writing style is intense. His plot is creative, impressive, and could almost be called noble – no matter which side of the battle line the reader may mentally stand on. Lovegrove is on his way to greatness.” Huntress Reviews
George Mann of Solaris Books rang me up and asked if I’d like to do an alternate-history novel for them. Naturally I said yes, not least because I’d been hearing nothing but good reports about Solaris since the imprint’s inception (and you won’t hear anything but good reports from me either). 
In 2004 my editor at Gollancz, Simon Spanton, suggested I have a crack at a Young Adult series and, moreover, that I base it on my tale “Wings”. He said the world of “Wings” was crying out to be built upon and expanded, and naturally I disagreed and hummed and hahhed and said I didn’t think it would work, the story was a closed loop, I couldn’t extract any more mileage from it. And then I started thinking about it, and realised it could work, and might work pretty well, and next thing I knew, I was writing a novel called The Fledging Of Az Gabrielson. 
I love a good zombie movie, me, and I’ve long been harbouring thoughts of writing a story in that genre. So when Barrington Stoke told me they were starting a new line, Most Wanted, for Reluctant Readers who aren’t teens (i.e. adults), I thought I’d have a bash at giving them a tale about the shambling undead. 
The idea for Kill Swap came to me, as the author’s note in the book states, when I was lying awake at four o’clock one morning. 
Cold Keep came about largely because I wanted to write a story with a tough, resourceful young female protagonist and because the title, which popped into my head one morning, was just too good not to have a tale attached to it. 
The initial inspiration for the novel came to me while my wife and I were on our ‘third honeymoon’, a three-week trip to the US. 
This is the third of my Barrington Stoke books for Reluctant Readers. The concept is a Big Idea which I’ve had kicking around in my head for a while, about the nature of divinity and the corresponding relationship between human beings and lesser creatures. 
Worldstorm is a big fantasy novel, something I could never have envisaged myself writing, but then never say never when it comes to envisaging your own future. The setting is a world much like ours was about two centuries ago but with one crucial difference: everyone in it is born with some form of super power, latent till the onset of puberty. 
The idea for Gig came to me, as ideas sometimes do, while I was out on a run.