Ugh, weak post title, I know. Sounds like the strapline for an advertising campaign for a chain of gift shops or a bedsheet company or something. Let your eye move swiftly past it and on to the content of the post itself.
Which concerns this and this from Solaris.
The former link furnishes pictorial proof of the imminent emergence of The Age Of Odin, conjoined with one of Professor David Moore’s erudite disquisitions. On this occasion he holds forth on the origin of the names of the days of the week in English, the ones derived from Norse gods, and compares and contrasts them with the names of the days of the week in other European languages, the ones derived from Roman gods. Interesting stuff.
But never mind that, let’s concentrate on the book itself, shall we? Snazzy or what?
The latter link displays a selection of cover images for the ebook editions of my backlist, which Solaris are preparing for publication (if that’s the term for what you do with ebooks) in the New Year. These, too, look very snazzy to me. I particularly like the little skulls lurking at the base of the anchor on The Hope. Was unsure about them at first but they’ve grown on me. A nice touch. Worldstorm is cool, too. Something rather 70s-John-Wyndham-esque about it, which naturally endears it to me. Fine work from Mr Pye Parr.
A fortnight or so ago, Philip Palmer got in touch asking if I’d contribute to the SFF Song Of the Week section on his Debatable Spaces site. I jumped at the chance, knowing almost immediately which song I’d choose to write about. Here’s the result.
Philip’s a terrific author. I’ve just salivated over his third novel, Version 43, for the Financial Times. Not literally, as that would be messy. I mean rave-reviewed it. The piece should appear in a couple of weeks.
I’ve also included Version 43 in my round-up of best SF novels of the year for the paper. It really is that good.
Some of you may know that Adam Roberts and I collaborated on an aborted project, a nonfiction book about SF in pop with the working title Geek Musique. We came up with about 100 songs without even really trying. Seems like Philip’s trying to do much the same thing online, a very worthy enterprise.
Can’t not draw your attention to this review by Graeme Flory of the soon-to-be-published End Of The Line, an anthology of Tube-themed horror stories. Not only does it rightly praise the book as a whole but it makes honourable mention of, ahem, my contribution, “Siding 13″.
The story was one of those gifts from the muse that came out in a rush, took only a single morning to finish. Sometimes when I write that fast I think I must be dashing it off, not really giving it my all. Then again, when the words are flowing, it’s better to accept this than worry about it.
Anyway, it’s a terrific collection. You should give it a try. Just don’t read it on the Underground.
…except it isn’t dead, it’s very lively and vital and hasn’t (metaphorically speaking) even been born yet.
Newly posted on the Solaris website is this vlog from David Moore. Watch carefully for an appearance by – well, it doesn’t have to be too carefully, it’s hardly a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo — the cover for The Age Of Odin, which David waggles alluringly at the camera like some flimsily-clad maiden with come-hither eyes displaying her wares.
I’m thinking the cover is the maiden in that simile, not David.
Love the subtitles.
Here, fresh from the publisher’s PC, is Tomislav Tikulin’s image for the cover of Dust with the title and author name added.
Looks even better this way, somehow. I especially like how the word “DUST” is all sort of, y’know, dusty. Just as if it’s being scoured away by some type of nanoparticle storm that threatens to consume the world and reduce all organic and inorganic matter to grey powder.
Solaris don’t just throw these things together, eh?
I’ve prepared back-cover blurbage for the book that goes a little bit like this:
An escape of nanotech from a British laboratory spells doom for the world. The bio-engineered submicroscopic particles are a rapacious plague, slowly spreading outwards, consuming everything they come into contact with and reducing it to grey dust.
All attempts to contain the disaster fail. A gradual, irreversible apocalypse looms. But while most people are running away from the encroaching Dust, one man – author Lucas Harris – is making his way towards it. His wife and family need rescuing. But Lucas is also a born nihilist, a man in love with the idea of oblivion and obliteration. His is an odyssey through a disintegrating country towards some kind of reconciliation with life – and death.
The formidable and indefatigable Andy Remic requested me to provide guest content for his blog. I chose “1-star reviews on Amazon” as my subject, just for a bit of fun. I hope I’ve been balanced and non-judgemental. You decide.
Meanwhile, work has begun on Redlaw and is proceeding apace (20,000 words so far in the space of a fortnight). The story is taking shape quite nicely and I find I’m discovering all sorts of new things about the world I’ve created, which is always gratifying and helps keep one’s enthusiasm up. There’s also an element of political satire which is coming out much more strongly than I envisaged, and I’m aiming at greater economy of prose and expression than I’ve ever attempted before.
Plus: plenty of fang-tastic action and, in the shape of the title character, a serious hardcase. Imagine a thinner, white-haired Ray Winstone cross-fertilised with Solomon Kane and you’ll be sort of there.
Here’s the marvellous cover image that’s been conjured up by Tomsilav Tikulin for next-but-one novel Dust.
When I first saw examples of Tomislav’s work, his style immediately made me think of 1970s SF paperback covers – in a good way — and that’s the vibe that he’s gone for here, without lapsing into a slavish tribute or kitsch parody. While I gave him a few pointers as to what the book is (or rather will be) about, he came up with the visual content himself. The dead soldier is a great idea — someone obeying orders and suffering the consequences — but for me the loveliest touch is the No U-Turn sign. The book is (will be) about scientific hubris and the notion of going too far in the name of Progress, but with a secondary theme centring on destiny and the idea of learning to go along with whatever fate allots you in life. In both cases the message is: once you’re on a path, there’s no turning back.
And now, as with Redlaw, I can’t wait to get started on the book. In fact, I want to write both novels so much, I’d do them simultaneously, if I could. A kind of literary menage a trois.
And moving swiftly on from that…
If you’re in the Eastbourne area this weekend (and why wouldn’t you be?) I’m going to be signing books at the town’s branch of Waterstone’s for most of Saturday, from 11am onwards. So that’s July 31st, Waterstone’s, Terminus Road, Eastbourne. In the pedestrian-precinct part. Come along, say hi, buy a copy, have my name and yours scrawled in it. It’ll be fun.
Check out this.
..
It’s the cover image for my upcoming novel Redlaw, and it is, I think you’ll agree, awesomely awesome in its awesomeness.
The artist responsible is Clint Langley, as I mentioned in my last post, and I think he’s done an unbelievable job. In fact, I like this image so much I’ve set it as the desktop background on my computer. That way it glares at me sinisterly and redly every time I switch the machine on.
When I said “upcoming” above, what I of course meant was “as yet unwritten”. I’m planning to start work on the book next month, and with luck will have a finished first draft ready by the end of the year.
What this picture does, apart from induce drooling and cause me to become ever so slightly aroused, is make me want to turn in the best damn novel I can manage. If the contents of the book can match the jacket, or even come close, then I shall be a very happy camper indeed.
Redlaw’s a vampire cop, by the way. That’s a cop who deals with vampires, not a cop who is a vampire himself. The bloody-fanged fellow emerging from his coat, and the hoodie types below, are the vampires. And the bad guys.
Or … (pauses for effect) … are they?
I’ve just been helping to brief artists on the covers for my next two books. It’s exciting but also slightly daunting: now I’ve really got the write the damn things! They’re not just synopses any more, they’re things that are going to have to happen.
For Dust I’ve been in contact with Tomislav Tikulin. It looks like it’s going to be a classic apocalypse-fest with, I hope, a retro 70s feel, all crumbling cityscapes and abandoned cars, and I can’t wait to see the final result. As for Redlaw, Clint Langley of 2000AD fame is doing the honours, and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with either. I’m envisioning a kind of “Solomon Kane battling vampires in the modern world” approach (that’s certainly the tone I’m going for in the novel itself). I long ago learned, however, that it’s best to leave the artists to determine the image. They know what they’re doing.
Sticking to the subject of covers, here’s one for Solaris’s upcoming anthology End Of The Line, edited by the inestimable Jon Oliver and based on the theme of the London Underground. It comes courtesy of Solaris’s own design wizard Luke Preece, and I reproduce it here not only because it’s ineffably understated and cool but because I’ve contributed a story to the collection, “Siding 13″.
End Of The Line is out in November. This is what Solaris themselves have to say about it and this is what Dark Wolf website has to say about what Solaris has to say about it. A mouth-watering line-up of authors, wouldn’t you agree? Looking forward to getting my author copies!
The podcast I did with the lovely people at Solaris is now up and running, and you can listen to it by clicking on the link here and then following the relevant instructions on the page. There’s the interview I did with the very well informed and affable David Moore, and there’s also my reading of a passage from Age Of Zeus, with added sound effects and that.
Trust me, you’ll be relieved I didn’t attempt accents for the non-English characters. I’m hardly a Rory Bremner in that department, although if you want a convincing impression of a second-generation Pakistani who may or may not live in Wales, I’m your man – because that’s where every accent I do, whatever region or dialect I’m shooting for, ends up.
