Archive for Extracts

You need to know RULE 34

I feel like announcing this with some kind of roar or perhaps a drum roll as I’ve been waiting for this for so long and today is actually LAUNCH DAY! But as we’re open plan and I’m highly unmusical I’ll let this do the job …

Charles Stross’s Rule 34 (UK | ANZ) is many amazing things. It’s a fast-paced Edinburgh-based crime novel set a few years into the future. It also displays lashings of Charles Stross’s wry humour and I enjoyed more than a few winces and chuckle-out-loud moments. Another aspect I really enjoyed was Stross’s extrapolation of our current technology, where our usual gadgets have been moved on a step or three.  The BBC’s Click technology programme covered augmented reality just last month, but in Rule 34 it’s a useful, fully-fledged reality.

But perhaps most importantly, I found myself completely caught up in the colourful characters (a detective inspector, a young scalleywag called Anwar and a master criminal showing signs of psychosis known as the Toymaker). There’s not the space here to revel in the bizarre crimes DI Liz Kavanaugh has to investigate (domestic appliances in unlikely places …), or talk about the highly suspicious Eastern European bread-mix young Anwar is peddling. But you can sample for yourselves by reading this plot summary or by enjoying chapter one here. (more…)

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages

It’s at last time to release Tom Holt’s Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages (UK | USA | ANZ) into the wilds of the bookosphere. And this  imaginative comedy is pure Tom Holt magic — a tale of our world but not as we know it, featuring pigs and parallel worlds. And look no further than this free extract and handy plot outline  to find out more:

Polly, an average, completely ordinary property lawyer, is convinced she’s losing her mind. Someone keeps drinking her coffee. And talking to her clients. And doing her job. And when she goes to the dry cleaner’s to pick up her dress for the party, it’s not there. Not the dress – the dry cleaner’s. And then there are the chickens who think they are people. Something strange is definitely going on – and it’s going to take more than a magical ring to sort it out.

Tom Holt’s previous books have scored highly when it comes to praise, being called: ‘Clever, funny, tirelessly inventive (Christopher Moore), ‘Dazzling’ (Time Out) and ‘Uniquely twisted’ (Guardian). And here are some reviews in already for the latest book itself:

A great mix of the fantastical and the funny … another great satirical offering from Tom Holt that entertains thoroughly while effortlessly moving between the silly and the smart”
Bookgeeks.co.uk

“Crazy, absurd, complex and hilarious … His writing is in the same mould as that of Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams and Jasper Fforde”
TheBookBag.co.uk

“I loved this book … prepare to have a wild ride that doesn’t always make sense, has lots of twists and turns and craziness but is good, clean, mind-bending fun”
LifeWithBooks.com

The Ascendant Stars cover art wow

There has been plenty of wow-ing (a technical term we use round these parts) about this glorious visual for Michael Cobley’s next book – The Ascendant Stars. Illustrator Steve Stone and designer Peter Cotton have done us proud with this one and the content is no less exciting I promise you!

This is the culmination of an SF trilogy packed with invention and adventure and you can check out extracts from Seeds of Earth (book 1, UK | ANZ) and The Orphaned Worlds (book 2, UK | ANZ) with more to come in due course on book 3, published in November. Can’t wait. If  you can’t wait either, keep an eye on Mike’s website too for hints, tips and updates.

Butcher is back, and this time it’s… ghostly

Out now in paperback
Available in August

We recently asked Jim Butcher fans to tell us why they loved reading The Dresden Files as part of a competition to win a load of great books, and we were innundated (in the best possible way!) with positive feedback.

We knew there was a lot of love out there for Jim Butcher and the world of Harry Dresden P.I., and his fans have definitely delivered. We’ve shared some of the responses below. Congratulations to Kieran who was randomly selected as the winner of our nineteen-book prize!

We also heard from all of you that the end of Changes – which is out in paperback this month – left most people at the edge of their seats for the next book, so when the first trickles of text from Jim Butcher’s upcoming book Ghost Story came in this week, we wanted to get it up for you as soon as we could.  You can now read chapter one of Ghost Story here (note: you should probably read Changes first if you haven’t already). (more…)

Give in to your GREEN-EYED DEMON . . .

Now unleashed in all territories: a big whopping Green-Eyed Demon (UK/ US/ ANZ). No need to get jealous – you can now get your hands on your very own copy of the latest addictively-compulsive instalment in the Sabina Kane series. Jaye Wells is bringing us more from the eternally feisty vamp-mage Sabina Kane, more from the sexy badass mage Adam Lazarus, more from the fiendishly ridiculous cat-demon Giguhl – AND more of her trademark ‘faboulous snarkiness’ – as Book Chick City puts it . . .

Jaye Wells: ultimate Queen of Snark – we salute you!

The clock is ticking for Sabina Kane. With her sister taken by mysterious captors, the Dark Races on the brink of war and a sinister order manipulating everyone behind the scenes, she’s really got her work cut out.

Using information provided by an unlikely ally, Sabina and her trusty sidekicks – the sexy mage Adam Lazarus and Giguhl, the Mischief demon – head to New Orleans to begin the hunt for her sister. Once there, they must contend with belligerent werewolves, magic-wielding vampires and, perhaps most frightening of all, humans.

But before Sabina can save those she cares about, she’s got to save herself from the ghosts of her former life. Because the past is haunting her. Literally.

If you want a sneaky peek at what’s in store for you, you can read a juicy little extract here.

THE HAMMER has hit the mark

It’s great to see that others share our extremely high opinion of K. J. Parker’s The Hammer (UK I US I ANZ) which has been getting some fantastic reviews below. K. J. tells a mean tale of justice, betrayal and how far a man will go for his cause. Gritty, tense, fabulously written and you can see for yourselves in our free extract.

Or take a look at what these people of good taste have to say …

This fantasy is less about wizards (of which there are none) and more about morality, family and notions of justice and duty … the small size of the stage makes the enormity of Gignomai’s actions all the more powerful’ SFX

“As a big fan of the author’s work, I had the highest expectations for The Hammer … it was as good as I expected and it’s an early candidate for my best of 2011″ SFFWorld.com

“The dark humor and superb style of the author are on display continually through the novel, while the twists, turns, jaw dropping moments characteristic of a K. J. Parker novel materialize often” FantasyBookCritic blog

“A story with guts, glory and above all else a principle character facing not only personal dilemmas but also overcoming the odds to succeed …  definitely beautifully written” The Falcata Times blog

“The Hammer is vintage Parker – a fascination with, and a central role for, made objects like swords and guns, a revenge plot carried out with clear-eyed viciousness … in a book steeped in moral ambiguity and the complex thought processes of realistic, not fantastical, characters” Bookgeeks.co.uk

BLONDE BOMBSHELL – landing near you now

There is a fizzingly funny, cosmically comic new Tom Holt book available now! This is the UK paperback edition of Blonde Bombshell (UK | US), a heart-warming tale of Armageddon, and you can get a free extract. Looks like reviewers prefer blondes too, as we’ve had a huge amount of praise for this bombshell:

A pacy romp with some beautifully executed set pieces’ Guardian
‘A comic SF caper reminiscent of Terry Pratchett’ Independent on Sunday
‘One of the most ludicrously funny intergalactic shaggy dog stories ever told’
Daily Express
‘From a very clever author, with some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments’
News of the World
‘A nifty comic read, fizzing with one-liners … enjoyably deranged’ SFX
‘Exceptionally well-written’ SciFi Now

You can also play our highly addictive ‘Blondesweeper’ game. A little healthy competition on the scoreboard would be good for our in-house champions  … make them work for their glory!

Shadowheart

With just 2 days to go until the official release date of Shadowheart (UK / ANZ), the final book in Tad Williams’ captivating Shadowmarch series, we thought we’d give you a little preview to whet your tastebuds. Read the prologue here!

Barrick Eddon, prince of Southmarch, is no longer entirely human. He has vowed to safeguard the legacy of the dark Qar race, and must now decide where his loyalties lie.

His twin sister Briony has a difficult choice of her own. Her father, King Olin, is held captive by the Autarch, a mad god-king who plans to use Olin’s blood to gain unlimited power. And the castle of Southmarch still remains in the possession of Hendon Tolly, Briony’s murderous relative. As time runs out, will Briony decide to save her father’s kingdom . . . or her father?

As the foretold Great Defeat draws near, history is stripped of its costume of lies. Poets and players, mortals and fairies, warriors and gods, all will have their roles to play as the fate of the known world hangs in the balance.

And don’t forget that Shadowrise (UK / ANZ) is also out now in paperback . . .

THE WINDUP GIRL – unleashed today in print

We are very excited to announce that the print edition of The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi hits retailers in the UK today, fabulously garbed in it’s wonderful cover as seen in this spiral of windup-ness here …

We released the book in ebook form prior to the print edition, so those of you teched up with e-devices might already have had the pleasure, but it was very exciting to see the print edition enter the office still cold from the warehouse. Not sure what kind of preservation method they use on them there. You can get a FREE EXTRACT here, and in case this multiple award-winning book needs further introduction, here are just some of the highlights below:

Time Magazine named The Windup Girl as one of its ten best novels of the year

The book has also won five of 2010’s major international SF awards: the Hugo (as covered in the Guardian here), Nebula, Locus, Compton Crook Award and John W. Campbell Memorial Award

‘Bacigalupi is a worthy successor to William Gibson: this is cyberpunk without computers’ Time Magazine

‘Not since William Gibson’s pioneering cyberpunk classic, Neuromancer (1984), has a first novel excited science fiction readers as much’ The Washington Post

‘Heart-thudding action sequences, sordid sex, and enough technical speculation for two lesser novels’ Cory Doctorow

‘One of the finest SF novels of the year’ Publishers Weekly

‘It’s ridiculous how good this book is’ Techland