Archive for January, 2008

The Great Debatable Space Debate

Philip PalmerPhilip Palmer (who is not as malevolent in person as this photo suggests) stopped in at the Book Swede’s blog to talk about Arthur C. Clarke’s famed observation on magic and technology.

Philip’s debut novel just got a great review at Science Fiction Weekly, which observed:

“Debatable Space is clearly one of the best first novels to appear in the science-fiction field in recent years, and it marks Philip Palmer as a writer to watch for SF readers seeking innovative, cutting-edge space opera…”

You may have noticed the color difference between the US and UK editions. Is it because American readers respond well to orange? Is it because UK readers like their type to match the glow of their spaceship engines? Honestly, we’re not sure – but the inside is excellent whichever version you get.

Debatable Space UK Debatable Space US

It’s All In The Execution

The shortlist for the 2007 BSFA Awards has recently been announced, and we’re absolutely delighted to see Ken MacLeod‘s wonderful The Execution Channel in the running for the Best Novel. 

The Execution Channel

Fighting has spread across the Middle East and Central Asia to the borders of China. In the US, refugees from climate-change disaster subsist in FEMA camps. Images of official executions circulate on the Internet like al Qaeda videos. State agencies sponsor conspiracy theories as cover-ups. As the troops of the last superpower stand astride the last of the oil, China and Russia aren’t the only states considering their options: certain nations of Old Europe are quietly preparing for the worst.

The war on terror is over. Terror won.

 As with all of Ken MacLeod’s novels, The Execution Channel has garnered great critical acclaim.  The Times calls it ‘Politically engaged, speculative fiction at its finest, with a conclusion that’s absolutely mind-blowing’; noted critic Paul Kincaid, writing for Strange Horizons, says ‘A very good book, perhaps the best Ken MacLeod has written to date . . . an extraordinary novel’; while SFX sums it up as ‘Jaw-droppingly audacious’.

The BSFA Awards will be presented on 22nd March at Orbital, this year’s Eastercon, where a very smartly attired paperback edition will be available for your reading pleasure!

Hmm. . . ‘Orbital’, eh?  Dare we see that as an omen . . . ?

Early Reviews for Matter

Matter by Iain M Banks

We’ve been getting some great advance reviews for Iain M. Banks’ Matter. In this weekend’s Scotland on Sunday, Stuart Kelly says:

If I said this novel was a searing inquiry into justified warfare and the dangers of imposing your ideas of civilisation, told at a rattling pace with breathtaking set pieces and oodles of wit and charm, I’d hope that you’d continue reading and decide, in a few hundred words’ time, to buy the book…

…It’s exhilarating to see what he can do when he goes full-throttle into the form: to my mind, he’s simply the finest and most consistently challenging writer in that genre.

And over at SFFWorld, Mark Yon is saying:

As with any of Iain’s books to date, in Matter he deals with the material with wit and intelligence, as well as his trademark complexity and violence. It does manage to mix genres with aplomb, and there are some pleasingly jarring cultural moments when aliens intermix…I suspect that, despite its release early in the year, this one will be high on many best-of lists by the end of 2008.

We couldn’t agree more! You can read an excerpt of Matter here.

Iain M. Banks UK Tour Details!

Iain M. Banks will be reading and signing copies of his new book, Matter, the last week in February. Get your tickets now!

City Books
When: Monday 25 February, 6:30pm
Where: The Old Market, Upper Market Street, Hove
Tickets: £6, including a complimentary glass of wine
Contact: info@citybookshove.co.uk

Waterstone’s Bristol
When: Tuesday 26 February, 7:00pm
Where: Waterstone’s, 11a Union Galleries, Broadmead, Bristol
Tickets: £3, redeemable against the purchase of a book
Contact: enquiries@bristolgalleries.waterstones.com

Waterstone’s Norwich
When: Wednesday 27 February, 7:00pm
Where: Waterstone’s, Castle St, Norwich
Tickets: £3, redeemable against the purchase of the book
Contact: enquiries@norwich-castlestreet.waterstones.com

Waterstone’s Lincoln High Street
When: Thursday 28 February, 7:00pm
Where: Waterstone’s, 297A High St, Lincoln
Tickets: £3, redeemable against the purchase of the book
Contact: enquiries@lincoln-highstreet.waterstones.com

Halting State is #1!

Halting State by Charles Stross

And so is Charles Stross!

The 2007 SciFiNow awards have been announced in the latest issue. As you might have guessed from the title of this post, Charles Stross and Halting State, his latest novel, have been voted the fan favourites in the Best Author and Best Novel categories. Hurrah!

You can check out all the fantastic things Starburst, DeathRay and The Book Swede are saying about it here and pick it up at bookshops near you this month.

The Bestselling SFF Debut of 2007

The Innocent Mage by Karen MillerWe’re delighted to announce that the UK’s bestselling SFF debut of 2007 was Karen Miller’s The Innocent Mage. It was a great year for new authors, but it was clear from the start that The Innocent Mage was something special. It went straight to the top of the SFF charts when it was first published, and the buzz has continued to build, with a stack of rave reviews, particularly online. All seemed to echo the same sentiment: that Karen Miller was an author with an incredible gift for creating characters that leap off the page — and for telling a story in a way that makes it ridiculously difficult to put the book down (and incredibly difficult to resist The Awakened Mage, the second book in the two-part series, which came out shortly after).

Congratulations from all of us to Karen, a new star of fantasy fiction.

And for all Karen Miller fans out there, three words: Empress, April, amazing.