Promising Mystery, Sci-fi & Fantasy - September 2018

Compared to July and August, September seems rather bleak in terms of release, don't you guys agree? But then again, it has some promising new content nevertheless.

Charlesgate Confidential
Author - Scott Von Doviak
Publisher - Hard Case Crime / Titan Books

An ingenious debut-novel unraveling the heist of the century, in 1946, 1986 and present-day Boston
A group of criminals in 1946 pull off the heist of the century, stealing a dozen priceless works of art from a Boston museum. But while the thieves get caught, the art is never found. Forty years later, the last surviving thief gets out of jail and goes hunting for the loot, involving some innocent college students in his dangerous plan - and thirty years after that, in the present day, the former college kids, now all grown up, are drawn back into danger as the still-missing art tempts a deadly new generation of treasure hunters. A breathtakingly clever, twist-filled narrative that moves from 1946 to 1988 to 2014 and back again, CHARLESGATE CONFIDENTIAL establishes Scott Von Doviak as a storyteller of the first order, and will leave you guessing until the very last page.

[ Another new 'Hard Case Crime' book that interests me. I am a sucker for a good crime noir most of the time. ]

Salvation (Salvation Sequence #1)
Author - Peter F. Hamilton
Publisher - Del Rey Books

Humanity's complex relationship with technology spirals out of control in this first book of an all-new trilogy from "the owner of the most powerful imagination in science fiction" (Ken Follett).
In 2204, humanity is expanding into the wider galaxy in leaps and bounds. A new technology of linked jump gates has rendered most forms of transporation--including starships--virtually obsolete. Every place on earth, every distant planet mankind has settled, is now merely a step away from any other. And all seems wonderful...until a crashed alien spaceship is found on a newly-located world 89 light years from Earth, harboring seventeen human victims. And of the high-powered team dispatched to investigate the mystery, one is an alien spy...
Bursting with tension and big ideas, this standalone series highlights the inventiveness of an author at the top of his game, as the interweaving story lines tell us not only how humanity arrived at this moment, but also the far-future consequences that spin off from it.

[ I haven't yet had the pleasure of reading anything from this author, but I have been meaning to for a long time. May be, now is the time to finally dive in with this new series on the horizon. ]

The Dreaming Stars (Axiom #2)
Author - Tim Pratt
Publisher - Angry Robot

Ancient aliens, the Axiom, will kill us all – when they wake up. In deep space, a swarm of nanoparticles threatens the colonies, transforming everything it meets into computronium – including the colonists. The crew of the White Raven investigate, and discover an Axiom facility filled with aliens hibernating while their minds roam a vast virtual reality. The treacherous Sebastien wakes up, claiming his altered brain architecture can help the crew deactivate the swarm – from inside the Axiom simulation. To protect humanity, beleaguered Captain Callie Machedo must trust him, but if Sebastien still plans to dominate the universe using Axiom tech, they could be in a whole lot of trouble.

[ Well, I have the hard copy of the first one of this series on my bookshelf, need to start reading I guess. ]

Rosewater (The Wormwood Trilogy #1)
Author - Tade Thompson
Publisher - Orbit

Tade Thompson's Rosewater is the start of an award-winning, cutting edge trilogy set in Nigeria, by one of science fiction's most engaging new voices.
Rosewater is a town on the edge. A community formed around the edges of a mysterious alien biodome, its residents comprise the hopeful, the hungry and the helpless—people eager for a glimpse inside the dome or a taste of its rumored healing powers.
Kaaro is a government agent with a criminal past. He has seen inside the biodome, and doesn't care to again—but when something begins killing off others like himself, Kaaro must defy his masters to search for an answer, facing his dark history and coming to a realization about a horrifying future.

[ Very, very unusual setting. to say the least. Should be my cup of tea. ] 

Port of Shadows (Chronicles of the Black Company #1.5)
Author - Glen Cook
Publisher - Tor Books

The father of Grimdark returns…
The soldiers of the Black Company don’t ask questions, they get paid. But being “The Lady’s favored” is attracting the wrong kind of attention and has put a target on their backs, and the Company’s historian, Croaker, has the biggest target of all.
The one person who was taken into The Lady’s Tower and returned unchanged has earned the special interest of the court of sorcerers known as The Ten Who Were Taken. Now, he and the company are being asked to seek the aid of their newest member, Mischievous Rain, to break a rebel army. However, Croaker doesn’t trust any ofthe Taken, especially not ones that look so much like The Lady and her sister…

[ Hmm, the latest entry into the 'Chronicles of the Black Company', Need I say more? ] 

The Queen of Crows (Sacred Throne #2)
Author - Myke Cole
Publisher - Tor.com Publishing

Myke Cole, star of CBS's Hunted and author of the Shadow Ops series is here with book two of the Sacred Throne Trilogy: The Queen of Crows.
In this epic fantasy sequel, Heloise stands tall against overwhelming odds--crippling injuries, religious tyrants--and continues her journey from obscurity to greateness with the help of alchemically-empowered armor and an unbreakable spirit.
No longer just a shell-shocked girl, she is now a figure of revolution whose cause grows ever stronger. But the time for hiding underground is over. Heloise must face the tyrannical Order and lay siege to the Imperial Palace itself.

[ I loved the first one of this series, which I reviewed for fantasy-faction (review link). I have been a fan Myke Cole for a while now. Quite confident this should be even better than its prequel. ] 

Author Interview - Cameron Johnston (The Traitor God)

Well, it's been a log time since my last interview on this blog (more than 2 years as a matter of fact). I guess it's time I do a few of this.

So I'll start with interviewing 'Cameron Johnston', the author of 'The Traitor God'  which is his debut being published today from 'Angry Robot'.

Without further ado -

1) Would you please start by telling us a bit more about yourself?

Hi, I'm Cameron Johnston, author of The Traitor God. I live in Scotland, with my wife and an extremely fluffy cat. I'm an enthusiast of archaeology, history and mythology and love exploring ancient sites and camping out under the stars by a roaring fire. I am also one of those people who have more books than shelves - clearly the answer is to acquire yet more shelves.

2) So, 'The Traitor God' is your debut novel. How does it feel to see your words in print for the first time?

It's a surreal and wonderful thing to hold your own book in your hands and know it will be in bookshops and libraries all over the world. The library-going kid me from many years ago would be incredibly happy with me right now.

3) Among a sea of epic fantasy novels out there, what would you say makes 'The Traitor God' different?

It's part blood-soaked murder mystery and part grimdark urban fantasy Lovecraftian apocalypse. Big magic, bigger monsters, and the unfortunate magician landed right in the middle of it. It's something that little bit different.

4) Care to divulge a bit more info about your protagonist 'Edrin Walker' beyond the info we got from the book blurb? What do you think will make the readers root for him?

Most of the magi who rule the city hail from the nobles houses and come from old money and power. When Walker's Gift for magic was discovered he was living as a gutter-rat running the streets of the slums, and he has never forgotten his lowly origins. Nor have the other magi. What true friends he ever made he is utterly loyal to, and he would do anything to protect them, or avenge them...

5) Can you tell us a bit about some of your influences regarding this novel?

I would say there are three main streams of influence melded into The Traitor God: old pulp swords and sorcery fantasies like Conan, Elric and Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Hellblazer's John Constantine and film noir, and the cosmic horror of writers like HP Lovecraft and Arthur Machen.

6) From your author bio on Goodreads, we get that you are a student of Historical European Martial Arts, can you tell us a bit about this vocation of yours?

Mostly, I get to play with swords. A large part of it involves going back to the surviving period manuscripts and using those to practice and learn the old swordplay and techniques and why they worked so well. I have done german longsword, Scottish broadsword and a also little quarterstaff work.

7) Read any good books lately?

I've had a really good run with reading great books recently. Some of my highlights have been Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames, The Bitter Twins by Jen Williams, Blackwing by Ed McDonald, Age of Assassins by RJ Barker and Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

8) As a new writer, publishing from a major publisher, would you please say something to the aspiring writers out there?

This will be a long one!

Firstly, a while back I was exactly where many aspiring writers are right now, writing away and sending stories out and not getting anywhere fast. It’s not enough to just keep on writing the same old thing in the same old way. I kept on writing new things and tried different points of view and techniques to improve my skills, got feedback from other writers and readers and used that to improve still further as I got a few short stories published in small magazines. Don't get disheartened if you are just starting out or deep in the slog of submissions - like any other art it takes time to learn and online writing forums like https://absolutewrite.com/forums/ are a great resource.

Secondly, if you want your novel trade/traditionally published then it is not always enough to have a good book, you need to have something different or a fresh take to make it stand out. If twenty people are offering chocolate cake for sale on a table and you rock up with yet another chocolate cake, customers are not exactly going to be enthused even if it is a perfectly good cake. It's exactly the same if you are writing another Lord of The Rings or A Song of Ice and Fire. Having an editor really like your book is not enough, you also need to interest the marketing team who quite possibly won't have read it all. If they can't figure out how to sell and advertise your book then they won't pick it up. Think up an easy sales pitch to go with your novel if you can, something like The Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milán is a great example of a golden pitch that makes editors sit up and the marketing team's eyes gleam: Jurassic Park meets Game of Thrones. Knights riding dinosaurs! Now that's a chocolate cake with added sparkly sprinkles.

9) Please do tell us about your future projects? May I expect more books featuring 'Edrin Walker'?

Funnily enough, right about now Angry Robot have given me the go-ahead to say that there will indeed be a book two! It will end Edrin Walker's duology with some world-shattering revelations, dastardly tricks, and epic magical confrontations.

About 'The Traitor God' -

A city threatened by unimaginable horrors must trust their most hated outcast, or lose everything, in this crushing epic fantasy debut.
After ten years on the run, dodging daemons and debt, reviled magician Edrin Walker returns home to avenge the brutal murder of his friend. Lynas had uncovered a terrible secret, something that threatened to devour the entire city. He tried to warn the Arcanum, the sorcerers who rule the city. He failed. Lynas was skinned alive and Walker felt every cut. Now nothing will stop him from finding the murderer. Magi, mortals, daemons, and even the gods - Walker will burn them all if he has to. After all, it wouldn't be the first time he's killed a god...

The books is being published on June 5, 2018 from Angry Robot.








About Cameron Johnston -

Cameron Johnston is a Scottish writer of speculative fiction (usually a mix of fantasy and horror) and a member of the Glasgow Science Fiction Writers' Circle since 2010.

He is also a swordsman, gamer, enthusiast of archaeology and history, a fine ale drinker, builder of LEGO, a cat-slave, and owns far too many books to fit on his shelves. 

Links - Website, Twitter, Goodreads

New Book review - The Last Sacrifice

Book - The Last Sacrifice   
Writer - James A. Moore   
Series - Tides of War #1    
Published By - Angry Robots
 
Grim dark as a genre has become quite predictable now a days. There is some quality writing by quality authors yet it is becoming more and more difficult to find original works. We all love some gore and name calling and graphic sex yet it does get tiring at times as the storyline keeps getting similar. But ‘James A Moore’ did dive into the new series with his unique sense of characters & built up the story to achieve new concepts while taking elements from some other subgenres to enrich the experience for his readers.