O
r soon will be, at any rate. To the right you will see Jake Murray’s cover art for the compendium collection of my three Pantheon novellas. It is truly a thing of beauty, is it not? It was a shame that Marek Okon, cover artist for the series so far, is no longer available (something to do with his signing an exclusive contract to some design company or other) but in his absence Jake is a more than welcome replacement. He’s brought his own style to the party, clean and cool, and frankly everyone at Solaris is pretty excited about what he’s come up with for the book, and so am I. I can’t wait to see what he does for Age Of Shiva.
Age Of Godpunk, for that is what we are calling this collection, brings together in physical format the three novellas which have so far only been published as ebooks. They are Age Of Anansi, Age Of Satan and Age Of Gaia. The last of these hasn’t actually appeared yet, mostly on account of the fact that, as of this moment, I haven’t begun writing it yet. When it’s done, however, I think it will sit nicely alongside the other two, and the three of them together should make for an interesting read.
With the novellas, I’m straying somewhat from the military-SF theme of the Pantheon novels, exploring aspects of divinity and the human/deity relationship in different ways. The tone of them is somewhat lighter and less serious, and there’s minimal gunplay.
In other news, I’ve submitted my manuscript for Sherlock Holmes: The Stuff Of Nightmares for editing. I wrote this one in an absolute white heat of creativity, a full-length novel in eight weeks. I was hurrying to meet a tight deadline, but also I was enjoying myself so much, I could hardly stop writing. The result is, I hope, both a faithful Conan Doyle homage-slash-pastiche but also a bang-up, full-bore steampunk romp. There are clues, deductions, investigations and all the other Holmesiana we’ve come to love, but also hair’s-breadth escapes, fiendish plots, dastardly villains and a proto-superhero character.
The cover has yet to be finalised, but as soon as the completed image comes in, I will post it here.
Age of Satan? Age of Gaia? Age of Voodoo? Age of Shiva !?
You mean there are more in your Pantheon series that I haven’t read ??? I have to set my radar for these.
Your others have been at the top of my reading list – I keep flipping through Age of Zeus and Age of Odin because some (many !) of the bits are worth multiple rereads…
I found Age of Ananasi to be a welcome change of pace and Age of Aztec simply blew me away.
The best part of your Pantheon series is how they are all so different from each other. Not the fact that they stand alone, more the fact that each is a different take on the gods completely.
Yes, Mike. Yes, there are more Pantheon books either out now or due out during the coming year. Satan and Voodoo are already available, Gaia is due in the autumn (I think) as part of the Age Of Godpunk novella collection, and Shiva is slated for spring 2014. There may be further titles to come, somewhere down the line, but that’s it for the time being. Once those are all in the bag I’m taking a break from the series and setting to work on a new series. I haven’t in any way ruled out doing more Pantheon stories, but it’s good to have a rest and back away every once in a while, even from doing something you love doing.
Thank you for noticing that I try to make each of the books as different from the others as possible. That’s been one of my major aims with the series: not to repeat myself. This is for my own benefit, since I get bored easily, but also for the readers’ benefit. I think it’s disrespectful to one’s readership to keep churning out the same old stuff time after time. Shake things up, keep the innovation going, variety is the spice of life, et cetera.
You succeeded. I completely geeked out when I realized that there were more books in the works. 🙂
Heck, I even “adapted” Age of Zeus for a roleplaying game setting recently…
My favourite character to date has been Gideon from Odin. My favourite gods have been from Zeus (the creatures were even more interesting!). My favourite book overall was Aztec – especially because I was reading it just before the end of the world. 🙂
Thanks for writing them. They’ve been a genuine pleasure to read.
You’re welcome. And as you know, the world didn’t actually end. Which was quite a relief.
Hi James, Tim again!
Yay a trilogy book! That sounds unbelievably exciting! 😀 And I’m liking the cover too.
I’m actually excited about The Age of Shiva book that your working on (I gotta ask, did you at think about making this or when I asked you about using Hindu mythology that gave you an idea for a story?). Anyways I thought maybe I should give you some very helpful points for the Shiva story:
– Ramayana
– Astra (Sanskrit: अस्त्र) (Is a supernatural weapon, presided over by a specific Hindu deity e.g Brahmastra – A weapon that could destroy entire hosts at once. Could also counter most other astras. Mythical equivalent to the modern nuclear weapon.)
– Kalki (The final incarnation/avatar of Vishnu that is destined to appear in the future)
– Kali Yuga (also known as ‘The Age of Vice/Evil’) which also means of the rise of the embodiment of evil Kali (not to be confused with the goddess Kali, but a demon king with the same name).
I dunno if there’s anything else but I hope these will help you in anyway ^^
You may well have planted the Shiva seed, Tim. The Hindu gods were always on the “possibles” list, once I started looking at other pantheons after Ra, but I’ve been a bit wary of it up until now, mostly because it’s not an ancient dead religion, it’s a thriving contemporary one.
Those pointers of yours all sound like intriguing ideas for inclusion. I have the vaguest outline of a plot in mind, but I haven’t yet got down to the proper background research reading. That usually determines how the story is going to go and what sort of flavour it will have. The end of the Kali Yuga is definitely going to be in it. I first discovered that when writing an article about apocalyptic SF. The Astra sounds cool, too. The book looks likely to have a very widescreen, end-of-the-world-movie feel about it, with global carnage and destruction. What would happen if, suddenly, 330 million deities appeared out of nowhere? That’s likely to be the approach I’m taking.
Hello my friend long time no speak, or at least relatively speaking on here that would be. I had thought it was your turn to reply but I could be mistaken and finding my old comment is not happening so I figured I would drop a line here and say hello.
I am under so much stress and duress right now with school I haven’t had time to read Age of Voodoo. That highly disappoints me because your books have yet to disappoint me. Internship, full time work, full time school, life it just gets in the way of leisure. I am truly thinking that in 2014 around May should be when I get a hold of my life again and am able to breathe and do things for pleasure. I think I can get through Age of Voodoo if I read it during some spare time which will be mostly summer but overall I just missed my chatting buddy. I hope all is well with you and your family and hope to be hearing from you soon.
I’m sorry you’re under stress, Andrew. I fully understand the feeling, and sympathise. Sometimes life just takes over and stops us from doing what we’d like to do or even feeling how we’d like to feel. Last week I had a hellish four days working on an extensive rewrite. It consumed my every waking moment and even interfered with my sleep, to the point that I got up at 4 in the morning and went downstairs and started working, and kept on for the next ten hours, because I so desperately wanted to get the job done and felt I couldn’t rest or relax until I had. It’s all to do with wanting to get things right and do the best one can and not let other down. It’s hard being this way — a bit unfair, in fact — but better that than being lazy or prepared to leave things half done or badly done. The consolation is (and I’m sure this applies to you) it means you’re a striver, an achiever, a useful person.
My own leisure time is more or less nonexistent these days, what with work commitments and family commitments. I am behind on the TV shows I follow, with series backing up on my Sky+ hard drive, and my to-read pile of books and graphic novels is ridiculously, teeteringly tall. I keep telling myself I’ll take some time off and whittle down the backlog, but it never seems to happen.
Don’t get too busy, though, and remember to take time to pause and breathe.
Took a little longer than anticipated – my eReader was giving me issues – but I finally read Age of Voodoo.
At the risk of sounding cliché, that was some scary stuff. Very well done.
I found myself caring about Dove from the first ten pages I read and had quite a hard time putting the book down.
Again, very different take on a pantheon than the other novels that I thoroughly enjoyed and your ability to convey the characters’ knowledge and abilities is simply astounding.
Not to mention that I continue to snicker at the pop culture references that slide in from time to time.
Kudos on another great book !
Thanks, Mike. I keep saying it, but for me part of the fun of these Pantheon novels is making each as different from the others as I can, while still keeping the theme of men-versus-gods central to all of them. As long as I can keep coming up with new spins on the material, I’ll keep writing them. I’m busy researching and plotting Age Of Shiva at the moment, and some of the ideas I’m devising for it are completely, radically at odds with all the other books and at the same time a nice new extension of the core theme. Shiva is going to be widescreen, apocalyptic and flat-out insane, I hope, with surprises flying at you from left, right and centre.
Thanks for letting me know how much you liked Voodoo. I saw Lex as James Bond with a heart, so I’m glad that worked for you, and I’d like to think there are more stories for Team 13 somewhere out there in the future.
I think that was just me venting and being a complainer. It happens from time to time but I’m back now to somewhat normal. I have caught up in school and I’m actually ahead which is amazing if you ask me. I look forward to reading Voodoo still and I know by the time I do I’ll be last to the party. How are things by you in your neck of the woods. I can safely say that once I am done with school for the semester I do my long and strenuous report for internship then its the homestretch. I feel like an announcer to a sporting event.
Speaking of sporting events I am taking my father to see a Chicago Cubs game soon. I know your old stomping ground out in Chicago got any good recommendations for places to eat? Haha. Being from New York traveling down is a bit of a weekend trip but I’m looking forward too it. A roller coaster of a life I’ve been living recently and I can’t wait for some of it to slow down. I’m still glad I can come on and bs about nothing. I know most of the books you have planned for upcoming release but give me a little more insight into the mind of James. What are your brain children for the distant future?
I wish I could remember good places to eat out in Chi-Town. But it was back in the 90s, and I didn’t get into the city itself that often, as it happens. I was based way, way out in the north-west suburbs, a good hour’s drive away. Did have some great ribs on the South Side, but that was in someone’s house. I don’t think they were ever intending on selling them commercially.
The brainchildren currently queueing up are the second Sherlock Holmes, which is set on the eve of the First World War, after Holmes took retirement and moved down to the south coast of England. The first Holmes is a steampunk novel, this one is going to be a godpunk one! Then after that there’s World Of Fire, first in a new series, which I’m still not at liberty to say much about. The cover is in production, however, and I’ll shout out about that very loudly when it appears — as I also will about the cover for Age Of Shiva, which is in progress right now too.
I’m mulling on a seventh Pantheon novel, maybe even an eighth, but those are way in the future. Trying to hold too many book ideas in my mind at once leaves me in danger of my head exploding.
Back from my trip to Chi town. It was pretty good although finding places to eat was like trying to find Holy Grail. We ended up being booked in what I would call the not so nice part of town, but overall the trip was good and successful. I am now coming to end of my 2nd year and 4th semester of Graduate school. The true fun begins very soon. Summer holds an internship, Fall hold two classes including an elective and Thesis I (Prep class) and then Spring is Thesis II (the actual nightmare paper.) Overall I can tell you I’m not excited about it but if the summer is good to me and the Fall is easier I can actually read a book or two which is a novel idea itself.
Interesting you are mulling on a seventh Pantheon novel and maybe eighth too? I hear you about holding too many book ideas in your head. I myself want to start writing books, and even if they don’t get published just to have written them would feel like such an accomplishment. I literally have about 30 different book ideas in my head, and one of those would be an ongoing series which literally could never end the ideas are infinite. So couple that with school and hobbies and I think my head actually has exploded I’m just unaware of it.
What religions do we have left in the grand scheme of things that aren’t monotheistic? I know the Age of Jesus, Age of Moses, and Age of Allah or Muhammad are probably not in the works, plus they wouldn’t be as interesting (if you stayed PC)
I would love to get an idea about what World Of Fire is about. I mean obviously not the plot synopsis but just to get me interested so I want to read it more haha. I’m still awaiting the read of Age of Voodoo which is in my bag I take to work and eventually I can read it.
How as Iron Man 3 by the way? I honestly have 0 interest in seeing it (coming from a huge comic fan as myself) because the trailers look like garbage and Ben Kingsley looks like a homeless Santa. Maybe the execution of the film is better but the trailers don’t hold me, at least at the moment.
Monotheistic religions don’t have the dysfunctional-family dynamic that I like to have fun with. One could argue that God and Jesus are a family, but there isn’t an extended network of relatives as well. As for Age Of Allah, it would take a braver person than me to attempt that one (although the guys at Solaris and I have joked about doing it, and our imagined cover concepts are as scurrilous as you could wish for).
World Of Fire. Hmmm. What can I say? It’s still very early days, and the concept is still coalescing in my head, but the basic pitch I’ve been using is “James Bond in space”. By which I don’t mean as in the movie Moonraker. Space opera with spies. Each book takes place on a different kind of planet, and the nature of the planet affects the type of secret mission which our hero has to undertake. Each book will be standalone but part of a consecutive series, and hopefully there’ll be the occasional recurring character or sets of characters who turn up from time to time but not in every volume. Slam-bang action, of course, and I’m going to do my utmost to make them the fastest-paced reads I’ve ever written.
Iron Man 3 is terrific. There’ve been some people who’ve complained about it, in particular about the lack of actual Iron Man action in it, and also a plot twist which comes two thirds of the way through and which I won’t spoil here in case you haven’t seen the film yet. The dialogue is hilarious at times, and the plot is more or less a crime drama with added super powers. It’s great to see Marvel doing something completely different with the series and being quite bold about the direction they take the characters in. They’re not playing safe with the franchise. They certainly seem not to want to repeat the boring mess that Iron Man 2 was, and they’ve avoided yet another baddie-in-armour confrontation this time round. Great post-credits sting, too.
The trailer for Man Of Steel, which played before IM3, makes that movie look utterly amazing. I can’t wait to see it. I hope it lives up to the advertising.
Thinking about Chicago: the freezing wind coming in off the lake in winter, a strange cloudy sky one afternoon which looked like ruched grey velvet, trying to find a blues bar with some very drunk publishing people, swimming in a pool on the top of one of the taller apartment buildings, the blazing hot summer of ’96 when so many people died of heatstroke they ran out of morgue vans and had to store the bodies in commercial freezer trucks…
So my friend it has been months since I wrote here and we continued our pen pal writings. A lot has changed for me since I wrote last. I’m sure you have seen some of my Facebook posts where you know that my girlfriend of three years, more or less fiancee passed away at the end of May. I became so withdrawn and lethargic that I didn’t do anything including write you back. I know I don’t even need to apologize but let me tell you once school starts I’ll be on and sending messages. I am eager to actually read your Age of Godpunk, and Age of Voodoo because I of course haven’t had the drive or opportunity to read it. Honestly one of the things in the back of my head was that I wanted to re-establish communication with you because we always have had good chats and sometimes just writing on here makes things easier as just a place to put stuff.
I did finally see Man of Steel and yes I loved it. I thought it was phenomenal. I’ve been working on my internship, my martial arts, video games, comic collecting (not like I’ve been reading much) and work. Keeping busy is the best thing to do, and that’s what I’ve been doing. Other than that how is life been to you? Anything new beyond the books and writings. The biggest best news I can give is that I’ve finally got the drive to write the book I want to write (one of like 30) but I’m starting it now officially and I’m trying to write it. Let’s see how that goes haha.
Yes, I did catch glimpses of what was going on with you via Facebook, and I am very sorry for your loss. It’s hard to know what comments to make on a social network site that won’t sound trite or inappropriate or inadequate, and certainly hitting Like on a tragic, grieving status seems just wrong. I am glad you’re slowly recovering, and I appreciate you taking the time and effort to get back in touch.
I did like Man Of Steel a lot, although there was a great deal wrong with it, I felt. It had incredible grandeur and power, the music was stirring, and it gave a real sense of what it might be like to have Superman’s powers and responsibilities. However, the revamping of the origin story, particularly Krypton and Pa Kent’s death, was terrible, Lois Lane was hopelessly underused, and the whole thing felt like a prologue to a much bigger, better story. I enjoyed Pacific Rim, too, but again with reservations. It did everything right and yet seemed like it should have more to offer.
Good luck with the novel. Getting started is the hard part. Once you’re under way, you may find it easier than you expected, and more fun too.
Hey sorry for yet another delayed reply. It is strange how the days melt together and just become one very long, very large arduous day. I’m actually going on an extremely needed vacation come Tuesday. Nothing spectacular but it is still going to be nice. I’m going to Boston which is going to be hopefully a very nice relaxing and fun trip.
As far as Man of Steel goes, I have to say I liked it a lot and while somethings were different (i.e. Perry White, Lois’ hair, Pa Kent’s death etc) I didn’t find it distracting from the movie. I’m tacking DC movies like I did the Dark Knight series, like it is based on the comics but not gospel. Obviously with the New 52 and what have you things are a bit difficult and it isn’t easy for them to be totally faithful. I missed Pacific Rim although it looked like a very fun movie.
As far as my novel goes, finding the time to sit down and write it seems to be my biggest problem. With having work 40 hours a week, internship report, and school coming up I just don’t find the time to do the writing I WANT to actually do. I think my idea is new and creative with a hint of old school. The goal is to write it and get it published. I don’t need to make millions or even a career out of it but just knowing others have the ability to buy and read it would be awesome.
Hey maybe on my trip I can find time to read Voodoo, I’ve been putting it off way to long.
I’ve been to Boston. Spent a few days there while my wife and I were touring New England after we got married. Lovely city, although at the time they were doing the Big Dig, churning the ground up to lay a huge new tunnel, which left a bit of a mess. My cousin lives and works there, having emigrated several years ago, and his wife is a Bostonian. Hope you have a great time.
I liked Man Of Steel a lot, but I’m not sure why as it broke many of the cardinal Superman rules (most obviously: he never kills) and tampered with the mythology for no good reason that I could fathom. The visualisation was amazing, both of Krypton and of Supes using his powers, and the score was one of the most evocative and stirring I think I’ve ever heard. Even its use in the trailer raised the hackles on the back of my neck. I’ll be interested to see how Superman Vs Batman develops. I really hope they don’t go down the grizzled old Bats, Dark Knight Returns route, because that would hardly pave the way for the unfolding franchise Warner is hoping to spin out of this. If Batman isn’t the same generation as Superman, what’s the point in eventually putting them together in a Justice League movie? It just wouldn’t work. They have to be contemporaries and, in their contrasting ways, equals. They complement each other. An older Batman is too incongruous. What I hope for from SvB, more than anything, is that it follows the classic team-up formula of “they fight, overcome their differences, join forces against the villain”. That way, baddies such as Lex Luthor and the Joker could be (re)introduced, and we’d have the makings of a high-quality shared world, in the Marvel Studios style. Anyway, we shall see. My tip for Batman casting, by the way, is Josh Brolin.
I have no idea how people who have a full-time job or are massively busy with student work can possibly find the time and, more to the point, the energy to write as well. If I couldn’t devote several hours of every day to my novels and journalism, I just wouldn’t be able to manage it. I admire you for wanting to try and I wish you all the best. I guess even just a page or two every morning, before the day begins, would be enough at this stage. At that rate, within a few months you’d have enough material for a novel.
Off to see Kick-Ass 2 this afternoon. Caught the first movie again on TV the other day, which has whetted my appetite nicely for the sequel.
Boston was a great little trip which I so desperately needed. I did a lot of fun things while on vacation there too. It was the first time I ever went Ziplining which was a lot of fun if you have never done it I recommend it. But back to the grind of daily life which we all know isn’t that much fun when it comes to having to go to work again.
Man of Steel broke a few cardinal rules. Batman never kills, but I thought Superman wasn’t completely against it. Look at the Superman vs. Doomsday comic for example he knew he had to kill Doomsday, but for this film I wonder why they went that route. I guess the only true explanation would be that nothing else could kill Zod except Superman so the options were to imprison him again or kill him, and they took Superman down the dark road. I concur completely and really hope they don’t use Frank Miller for anything especially The Dark Knight Returns concept. I know we spoke about the New 52 of DC but I don’t know if you knew how old Batman was supposed to be. From my knowledge Batman is early to mid 40s, Superman late 20’s. Although they are different ages I don’t think Batman is supposed to be a superhero longer, their careers stared roughly the same time, but Batman was training all those years. I want the classic formula too. I think Superman should win the fight but they can easily do a Luthor Joker team up to face the heroes. My casting choice for Luthor is Billy Zane, and I agree Josh Brolin is a good older Batman, for a younger Batman Karl Urban.
For book writing it is more than a book I want to write it is my ideas and stories I wish to share. I know I’m a decent writer when I put my mind to it and I certainly can’t make films so that is my best avenue to go to share a concept. People tell me I tell great stories and am always embellishing on details. I agree with working full time, massive student work, and then hobbies life is hard when trying to write a story. What doesn’t help is having a short amount of free time so you write like 10-20 pages then you go on a 2 month break and are confused next time you sit down. I’m going to keep at it slowly but surely.
Let me know how Kick-Ass 2 is, I’m nervous about the film. After the first (which I thought was faithful enough to the book) I don’t know how they can keep the second as faithful. Not to mention if you didn’t read the story if they are too faithful the movie will be rated NC-17 (no child under 17 allowed at all) in the States. Overall I hope it is good enough and think it should be.
They watered down the action for Kick-Ass 2 a little bit and toned down the swearing too, but I thought that in many ways it’s the better film. It’s faster, funnier, and crazier, and the main characters have more to do, meaning the actors have more to work with. Since I have a problem with origin movies — essentially they’re prologues, and nobody needs prologues — I thought this one worked well and was more satisfying dramatically. Plus, it’s always a pleasure to see Hit Girl cut loose.
I guess Superman, in Man Of Steel, could have put his hand over Zod’s eyes in order to cap his heat vision, or turned his head away from the innocent civilians. The main thing is, he could have used his intellect to figure out some way of stopping Zod’s rampage without killing him, and by that I mean the scriptwriters could have. But it seems they couldn’t be bothered and went down the simpler, dumber route. By now we know that Ben Affleck is going to be the next Batman, and I can’t say I’m too excited about that. The memory of Daredevil lingers like a bad smell. That said, he’s a good actor. Maybe he can pull it off. I always thought that superheroes are pegged permanently at the age of 27, unless they’re supposed to be considerably older or younger. Comicbook tradition puts them at that age because they’re old enough to have experience and be mature but still young enough to be capable of feats of physical athleticism.
I’m forging on with Age Of Shiva. The finish line is in sight, but at this point Zeno’s paradox almost invariably comes into play: however fast I chase after the tortoise, I never seem to be able to catch up with it. What’s fun is finding that some of the ideas I didn’t think I’d have room to include, I’ve managed to shoehorn in, and they’re dovetailing well with the new ideas I’ve kept coming up with during the writing. Also, the ending I’m heading towards is a far cry from the one I originally plotted and is, I think/hope, a great deal better. The joys of authorship, eh? These small creative bonuses sometimes do make up for the long hours, low pay and general isolation of the writing life.
I saw Kick-Ass 2 and I enjoyed the film. As a reader of the comic and a loyalist to a degree I was pleased with the route they took for the movie. It is definitely watered down compared to the book and there were scenes in the movie that made me cringe knowing how the comic played out, but just as they were going to step over that line they pulled back and ended with an off color joke. I wonder how they plan on doing a KA3 knowing how different the book-movie are at this point. On a plus Millar is writing the screenplay again if it comes off so at least if the work gets ruined, its ruined by the creator.
I agree about Superman. I think having him kill was a bit extreme and seemed like an easy way out instead of putting thought into the end. Overall I’m very pleased and much more so than I was with Iron Man 3 (which still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.) I totally understand your point about Batflack. He is a good actor and I think with the right script and good plot they can make it work. He has to play the role and not let himself take over the way RDJ did with Tony Stark. The age of 27 is a good age for superheroes for the reasons you depicted but I do like Batman as a grizzled old veteran of the superhero world. Gives him an edge in both intellect, experience, and leadership which is often just given to him without reason. Again who knows where it will go and we just have to wait for the movie.
I look forward to Age of Shiva and all of the other books you have put out that I have not gotten around to reading yet. From Holmes to everything else you are writing. That is the magic of having a creator owned story, be it like you who is a successful author or myself who only has ideas in his head; when they are your characters you can do whatever you want with them. Having the creative license to do that certainly makes up for the hours and isolation…sometimes I wish I didn’t have to deal with my own coworkers and just isolate myself.
My life has taken a turn for the “this sucks” with school kicking into gear. Research proposal, finish the internship, do a class, work a 40 hour/week job, and have a decent social life. Then make sure you do that 100 page thesis and do it good with hundreds of sources and then by May of 2014 all done. That expensive piece of paper called a Master’s better be worth it both financially and career wise. I just need to take it day by day and not let the world engulf me and overwhelm me and I should be ok. But again only time will tell.
Sorry things are sucking again. I’m sure it will all be worthwhile in the end, leading to a job that enables you to pay off your student debts and have a decent standard of living.
KA2 the movie killed off the Mother Fucker, which if I remember rightly didn’t happen in the comic — at least, Chris is still alive in the latest issue KA3. As for the rape scene, they did the right thing: it made the villain look even more of a dick, if you’ll pardon the pun.
I’m still not convinced DC know what they’re doing when it comes to movies. They haven’t figured out a way of making their characters cool and relevant, other than taking the Nolan route of darkness, misery and doom. Green Lantern played it straight, and was boring as all hell, not helped by having charisma-vacuum Ryan Reynolds in the lead role. Nathan Fillion would have been a billion times better — although he’d have had to lose some weight first. Incidentally, he was great in the Joss Whedon Much Ado About Nothing film, which I saw last weekend. A lovely little movie which went a long way to erasing the awful Kenneth Branagh smug-fest of a few years back.
Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. hits our TV screens at the end of this month. Can’t wait!
I definitely can’t wait to be done with school. If not for myself then just to be done with it and have half peace of mind. Knowing that I won’t have to come home from a long day to endure a long night is a nice piece of knowledge.
KA2 definitely made a mistake killing off the Mother Fucker. He is still alive and kicking, or at least alive in KA3 which I’m glad about. They can easily have Mindy get arrested in the beginning of KA3 movie if they wanna go that route. The rape scene I’m glad they watered down a lot. Gang rape after murdering her father, school children, neighbors, cops is just a bit far for an movie. He did look like more of a dick and it worked well with his character. The same can be said about Stars and Stripes and the dog. If you remember that it wasn’t exactly pretty.
DC has a lot of trouble with their films. They seem to shoot first ask questions later and hope the questions they are asking have good answers. Green Lantern had one redeeming factor which was Mark Strong as Sinestro. He was perfect for the role and I hope to see that translated into future films, without Reynolds. Nathan Fillion would be a great Green Lantern, smug, pompous, but good hearted. He works better in that role.
I’m not overly excited about Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Marvel really has turned me off as of recent with their “Marvel Now” titles and how they are bastardizing certain characters in the films and now comics. I hope this show is decent but I have doubts of its long running success.
Thanks for these awesome short stories. I didn’t miss the sci-fi elements, though I’m looking forward to Age of Shiva by now…
Not sure if these forums are still active, but I was wondering what the theme was in Age of Satan? It seemed to have a very mundane plot (though don’t get me wrong, it was good!) for a god punk book. Just wondering if you could explain the theme more?
Hi, Alex. The idea behind Age Of Satan (and all the novellas in Age Of Godpunk) was to do something godpunk-ish but from a different angle. The stories are more urban fantasy than military SF. Somehow the vibe of the urban fantasy genre seemed to work well at that length of story. It also allowed me to take the same basic theme — men versus gods — and spin it differently. For me, what’s fun about Satan is there may actually be no deity involved at all. Equally, Satan, the Lord of the Flies, Beelzebub, whatever you want to call him, could be working behind the scenes throughout the narrative. The same goes for the other two novellas. They are, literally, mundane, in the proper sense of the word.
Hey James, not sure if this forum is still being looked at but i wanted to say how much i loved Age of Ra when i first read it, only recently have i rediscovered the Pantheon series and Age of Aztec is the best book i have read in years. Also I’m really excited to read Age of Shiva as I ordered it from amazon last week and also My heritage is Indian but I’m Sikh not Hindu but mostly i would like to suggest that the next book(if you are willing to write a new book!) is about the Chinese gods. China is obviously a huge place but some of the myths like the Goddess Nuwa who was the ruler of heaven and Ao Kuang who was the Dragon king of the eastern seaboard are really interesting.
Thanks for writing awesome books!
This site is still live and (mostly) active. Thanks for getting in touch. I hope you enjoy Age Of Shiva as much as the others. There aren’t any plans at present to continue the series, but I don’t feel that I’ve completely abandoned it yet, or that it’s done with me. I have an idea for a book based on the Celtic mythology, and after that I have been considering the East Asian pantheons. I don’t know much about them but from what I do know there’s something interesting stuff to be explored there. Dragons, swordsmen, demons… Could be fun!
Yeah! Also forgot to mention in the myths Ao Kuang was a kinda evil dragon ruler that ate people and caused huge tidal waves and storms killing many.and Got his butt handed to him on several occasions, By Ne Zha (pronounced Nah Zhaa) the lotus prince, Sun Wukong the Transforming warrior monkey king (who stole a magic Cudgel from him). After all this he got scared ran off ( as a snake!) and found his brothers. After this they took Nezha’s parents and the prince was forced to barter his organs to free them. This was basically to explain their personal vendetta and how you could have the general idea of “oppressive Government/Dictatorship” overturned
By the way this is just scratching the surface, there is a whole other can of worms with the Jade Emperor and his saints of war including Guan Yu and the Demon Hunter Zhong Kui
Hope this helps you out if you choose to make a book about this!(I think it would be awesome!)
I forgot about the Monkey King. He’d make a good central figure, like Hanuman in Age Of Shiva.
Like I said, a Chinese mythology Pantheon novel isn’t out of the question, but Solaris and I are giving the series a rest for the time being, while I concentrate on Sherlock Holmes and Dev Harmer.
Hi Mr. Lovegrove!
I just finished your Age of Godpunk collection and will be starting on Age of Shiva soon. All of your Pantheon novels have been fantastic and I enjoyed each and every one of them with gusto. I found Voodoo especially interesting as it felt like such a departure from the previous ones as it was not necessarily set against the backdrop of a massive global conflict, but still kept me feeling that it was, with the great characters you created. The ending was especially satisfying. Your ability to create memorable and unique leads in all of your stories is also quite impressive. The only non-unique part (save Godpunk) is that they are all bad asses and posses razor sharp wit. But then again, who wouldn’t want that in a protagonist?!
Also, I saw a comment that you are going to be doing a Sherlock Holmes-Cthulhu story! I can’t wait! I have no idea how it will work, but I will definitely pick it up as soon as it comes out.
Thanks for writing such remarkable books, and keep up the great work!
Thanks for getting in touch, and I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the books. Voodoo is a bit of an oddity in the series, because it goes down a somewhat different route from the usual military-SF shenanigans, but I couldn’t figure out a way of using the voodoo pantheon in any other context. Their mythology dictated the shape and form of the plot, as the mythology of each pantheon has done with each of the books. I enjoyed writing Lex Dove because he was such a badass, but he also had a sense of humour and irony, which a lot of badasses lack.
I’m looking forward to starting on the Holmes/Cthulhu mash-up trilogy soon, early next year. My editor and I have been discussing how to make it work and I think the idea that has emerged from those conversations is going to be interesting and fun. The rough outline I’ve come up with will dovetail with Conan Doyle canon while not stinting on the elder gods, squamous monstrosities and non-Euclidean geometry that we know and have come to love in Lovecraft’s tales.
Hello james I’m a big fan of all of your work. I saw that you said you are taking a break from the pantheon series, but can you give us an idea of the next possible novel.
Hi, Antowan. For the time being I’m concentrating on two series. The first is a new Sherlock Holmes trilogy pitting the great detective against monsters and elder gods from H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos (I’m starting on that in early 2015). The other is the Dev Harmer Missions, a set of outer-space adventures that takes place against the backdrop of a future Cold War between humankind and a race of AI beings (World Of Fire is already out and I’m working on World Of Water right now). Those two ought to keep me busy for the next couple of years. After that, I may well revisit the Pantheon concept, but I’m giving it a rest for now.
Hello James Lovegrove
I just finished reading your book with title on front – “Age of Shiva” and “The Age of War” on the back.
I am an Indian in India with Hindu religious following. Naturally, I was curious on what I would find inside the book before I began reading.
I am quite pleased with the book and the narrative for the Dasavatara (the 10 Reincarnations of Lord Vishnu)used as Super Heros. There is an eleventh character – Hanuman as well. These characters are manipulated by a business group consisting of 3 people ( seems Hindu trio of Super Gods – Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma). There are a few things that could be different in their role in background of current animosities between India and Pakistan.
How do I write a long review report back to you considering these Gods that I worship irrespective of this Fiction?
I find the title has nothing to do with the Novel at all.
Is the book published in Indian Regional languages?
Regards
Hi, Dr Subrahmanyam. I’m not aware that the book is published in India in any language other than English. The line “The Age of War!” on the back is simply the heading for the blurb that follows, there because it sounds cool. As for the actual title, Age Of Shiva is the latest in a series of books I’ve written, all of which use the words Age Of… followed in each case by the name of a pre-eminent member of whichever pantheon I’m writing about. So Age Of Shiva may not make literal sense but it makes literary sense.
Anyway, I’m glad you seem to have enjoyed the book. If you wish to write me a long report, by all means please do. There’s a contact button on my website that links to my email address.
The Godpunk books have been amazing. I’ve read Odin, Zeus, and Ra. I just started Age of Godpunk. I am thrilled to learn there are more, and that you have so many other books out there. You are on the top of my favorite modern authors list, along with Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. I look forward to reading more of your work. Also, have you considered Graphic Novels or a “comic book” series? Such as Gaiman has done with Sandman and Death. The Godpunk genre would fit well in graphic form.
I’d love to do a comics series sometime, Steve, and you’re right, the godpunk books would make a great set of graphic novels. The thing is, nobody’s asked me to do them. It’d be nice if someone did. Maybe I should put some feelers out, talk to some people. You never know!
And Gaiman and Pratchett? That’s some revered company you’re putting me in. Thank you.
I’d just finished reading “Age of Godpunk”, and now I’m reading news reports of a collapsed gypsum mine in China’s Shandong province. I was immediately struck by the parallels with events in “Age of Gaia”, and was blown away to learn Ma Congbo, the mine owner, had apparently suicided by throwing himself down a well shaft, a victim of Gaia?
I really enjoyed the novellas and will be reading “Age of Shiva” next.
I had previously read “Escardy Gap” which I really liked, and also “The Krilov Continuum”.
Hi, Roland. I didn’t know about that gypsum mine in China. Interesting. Perhaps you’re right. Gaia does work in mysterious ways.
Hope you enjoy Age of Shiva. The gods aren’t quite so vengeful in that book…!
Hello James,
A couple of years ago, I stumbled across Age of Zeus and after that, i chewed the series up! I love the stories of ancient civilizations and their deities, and the way you put them in a modern militaristic setting is awesome. I know one day while perusing the local book store I saw a standalone paperback edition of Age of Satan. Yet I’ve been unable to find it since. I finally broke down and checked Amazon and the only thing I can find is their Kindle version. I am not an e-book reader, and the only other mention I could find was that it is included in Godpunk (which I have). Tell me I’m not crazy and that I did see that, and where can I get it? Or is the version in Godpunk the complete work that would be in a standalone edition anyway? Thank You!!!
Hi, Jeremy. As far as I’m aware no physical edition of Age of Satan exists. It was an ebook novella only until it was published as part of the Age of Godpunk collection. The version there is exactly the same as the ebook version, so you’re not missing anything. I had a quick look on Amazon to see if there’s a book with the title Age of Satan by another author but there doesn’t seem to be. So maybe you were suffering from some hellish, demon-possessed hallucination that day! Anyway, I’m delighted that you’ve been enjoying the series, and look out for Age of Heroes, which will be coming out this September. Or at least I hope it will, since I’ve yet to finish the damn book… 😉