The SFF Debut of 2011??? Take two!


A few days ago I blogged about Peter Orullian's The Unremembered (Canada, USA, Europe), first volume in The Vault of Heaven series. This debut is being pushed by Tor Books as the next big thing in the fantasy genre.

However, The Unremembered may have to share the spotlight with another major release, this one coming out in August. Indeed, Mark Lawrence's Prince of Thorns, first volume in The Broken Empire series, is being pushed as aggressively on the other side of the Atlantic by the folks at Voyager. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Every single fantasy publisher in the UK bid for the rights to publish this debut, and Prince of Thorns has been acquired in the US for the highest advance for any debut in this field for the past 7 years. Oddly enough, the US rights were acquired by Ace. . . Ace???

Here's the blurb:

Before the thorns taught me their sharp lessons and bled weakness from me I had but one brother, and I loved him well. But those days are gone and what is left of them lies in my mother's tomb. Now I have many brothers, quick with knife and sword, and as evil as you please. We ride this broken empire and loot its corpse. They say these are violent times, the end of days when the dead roam and monsters haunt the night. All that's true enough, but there's something worse out there, in the dark. Much worse."

Once a privileged royal child, raised by a loving mother, Jorg Ancrath has become the Prince of Thorns, a charming, immoral boy leading a grim band of outlaws in a series of raids and atrocities. The world is in chaos: violence is rife, nightmares everywhere. Jorg's bleak past has set him beyond fear of any man, living or dead, but there is still one thing that puts a chill in him. Returning to his father's castle Jorg must confront horrors from his childhood and carve himself a future with all hands turned against him
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For more information about the author, the book, the characters, and a whole lot more, follow this link to visit the author's website.

For a taste of Prince of Thorns, you can read an extract here.

With many genre heavyweights releasing novels in 2011, it will be interesting to see if Orullian and Lawrence will manage to create waves with their debuts. But one thing's for sure: It sure looks like it's going to be a heck of year for SFF fans!

9 commentaires:

Brett said...

Holy grimdark, batman! I think I'll read a library copy first before buying it. That extract didn't really draw me in.

Anonymous said...

the excerpt poops all over Orullian's. Sure, its not mindblowing, but certainly more than competent. Hard to find in fantasy.

And anyway, when did big promo pushes equate to quality?

chris upton said...

I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but a man in a hood with a sword? Really?
They really thought long and hard about the design didn't they?

Anonymous said...

I agree that the excerpt from Prince of Thorns is not great shakes, but it is more interesting than the excerpts I have read from The Unremembered.

Anonymous said...

It reads very well to me. I'm looking forward to this one.

Anonymous said...

The excerpt may be a little over-written, but there is strong emotion there (or maybe it's strong non-emotion?!?) I'm interested, for sure.

RobB said...

What's the surprise with ACE?

Unknown said...

I liked it. Jorg is an interesting character. I think it will draw a lot of fans.

Mark Lawrence said...

I think we both did alright in the end!