More inexpensive ebook goodies!


You can now download Cixin Liu's The Three-Body Problem for only 2.99$ here. There is a price match in Canada.

Here's the blurb:

The Three-Body Problem is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience the Hugo Award-winning phenomenon from China's most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin.

Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.

Crowfall


Despite certain flaws, I felt that Ed McDonald's Blackwing was a promising debut. The kind of work Joe Abercrombie and Glen Cook would come up with if they ever teamed up to collaborate on a novel. And even though the second volume showed marked improvement regarding certain facets, it did suffer from some of the same shortcomings that had plagued its predecessor. In my review of Ravencry, I opined that the author needed to elevate his game if he was to finish this trilogy with panache and if he wanted to take his place among the best grimdark writers out there.

And though Crowfall isn't perfect, I feel that McDonald stepped up to the plate and delivered a compelling finale. The talent and the potential were definitely there and it was up to the author to bring it on. Which he did!

Here's the blurb:

In the third gritty installment of the Raven’s Mark series, Blackwing Captain Ryhalt Galharrow finds that all power comes with a price…

A sorcerous cataclysm has hit the Range, the final defensive line between the republic and the immortal Deep Kings.

Tormenting red rains sweep the land, new monstrosities feed on fear in the darkness, and the power of the Nameless, the gods who protect the republic, lies broken. The Blackwing captains who serve them are being picked off one by one, and even immortals have learned what it means to die. Meanwhile, the Deep Kings have only grown stronger, and they are poised to deliver a blow that will finally end the war.

Ryhalt Galharrow stands apart from it all.

He has been deeper into the wasteland known as the Misery than ever before. It has grown within him–changed him–and now the ghosts of his past, formerly confined to the Misery, walk with him everywhere.

They will even follow him–and the few surviving Blackwing captains–on one final mission into the darkness.

Although McDonald doesn't divulge as much information as I would have liked, the worldbuilding was once again my favorite aspect of this book. As mentioned in my previous reviews, I love the concept behind the Misery, a dangerous post-apocalyptic wasteland where reality itself unraveled when a magical weapon detonated. In Ravencry, the author took Galharrow to the very heart of it. All the way to the Endless Devoid, the epicenter of the Misery. The place where the Heart of the Void created a fault line in existence. And the Misery's taint changed Galharrow in a profound way. More than we saw in that novel, I believed. And I was right. By the beginning of Crowfall, the Blackwing captain has spent the better part of six years living in isolation and traveling the length and breadth of the Misery. The man is part of it and the Misery is now part of him as well.

Since reviewing the first installment, I've bemoaned the fact that Ed McDonald came up with lots of interesting concepts and ideas, yet he continues to play his cards very close to his chest and does not elaborate a whole lot on them. Thankfully, he wasn't as parsimonious regarding information in the second volume. He didn't reveal much, mind you, but we did learn more about Crowfoot and the other Nameless, the Deep Kings and their objective, and more. We finally discovered some things about the world at large, and the conflict that opposes the Nameless and the Deep Kings. Still, nothing that explained why what is occurring at what appears to be the ass end of the world was of capital importance. For better or worse, Crowfall continues in the same vein. We are taken on a magical journey to another continent across the ocean and we witness the Heart of the Void being deployed all those years ago, but for the most part the back story remains shrouded in mystery.

As a matter of course, Crowfall features the first person narrative of Captain Ryhalt Galharrow. As I said in my other reviews, as battle-hardened veteran whose past nearly unmade him, his perspective once again made for a captivating read. One the one hand, he remains a kick-ass, no-nonsense kind of officer, so not always the most likable of fellows. But on the other, he is also a broken man who continues to drink himself into a stupor so he won't dream about his past and fall from grace. It took me a while to get used to his idiosyncrasies, but now it's impossible for me not to root for the poor guy. McDonald made an effort to humanize Galharrow in Ravencry and this is paying dividends in Crowfall. Bringing himself to care for other people is not easy for the main protagonist, for it makes him vulnerable. That vulnerability is once more in evidence in this third installment and Galharrow shows yet more character growth. I don't want to spoil anything, so suffice it to say that the supporting cast consists of a number of familiar faces, some of them surprising while others were expected. By now it is obvious that Ed McDonald has a knack for creating engaging protagonists, which serves him well in this final volume.

And now that the Deep Kings have an Emperor and their forces are on the march to end this war once and for all and there's little the Nameless can do about it, the proverbial shit is about to hit the fan and an all but powerless Crowfoot sends Galharrow on one last mission to try to save mankind. But it is unclear whether or not the Nameless wish to unveil another weapon akin to the Heart of the Void and which could rend the world asunder, or if something more sinister is afoot. Meanwhile, Ryhalt Galharrow and his allies have their own plan, but they may not live long enough to see it through.

Both Blackwing and Ravencry suffered from an uneven pace. At times, the rhythm could be quite sluggish, and then it was balls-to-the-wall action. These pacing issues didn't take much away from the overall reading experience, but they could be off-putting. Not so with Crowfall, however. The rhythm remains fluid enough throughout the novel and the pace is never a problem. And once again, Ed McDonald closes the show with style. As was the case in the second volume, the endgame was thrilling and led to a rousing finale which packed a surprisingly powerful emotional punch. McDonald would like us to believe that he's this badass sword-wielding grimdark writer, but deep down he's probably just a hopeless romantic.

McDonald now has three quality grimdark yarns under his belt. Which bodes well for whatever comes next. There have been glimpses of a bigger, more ambitious story arc in all three installments of the Raven's Mark trilogy, yet the author seemed satisfied with offering readers just a few tantalizing hints about it. I have a feeling that he simply needs to up his game a little more.

Ed McDonald has the potential to be the next Joe Abercrombie. Let us hope that like Abercrombie, having written an gripping trilogy will give him the confidence to push the envelope a little further and elevate his writing to another level. Time will tell if he can do that. . .

The final verdict: 7.75/10

For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe

Peter McLean Interview


With the release date of Peter McLean's Priest of Lies (Canada, USA, Europe) just around the corner, I took the opportunity to have a chat with the author about the novel, the series, and many other things.

Enjoy!
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- Without giving too much away, can you give potential readers a taste of the tale that is the War for the Rose Throne series?

War for the Rose Throne is a gangster family saga set in a fantasy secondary world roughly analogous to Tudor England. Tomas Piety is the Godfather figure, gangster turned soldier turned priest. Tomas grew up dirt-poor in the northern city of Ellinburg, where he and his younger brother turned their backs on their father’s trade of bricklaying and instead set themselves up as businessmen. This initially entailed running protection rackets around the Stink, the slum neighbourhood they grew up in, and progressed to owning taverns, inns, brothels and gambling dens across their patch. When war came they were conscripted along with every other man of fighting age, and they were dragged through the horrors of the campaigns in Messia and Abingon. Promoted to priesthood in the army against his wishes, Tomas survived the war and returned home to find his business empire stolen from him by foreign gangsters. He didn’t take that lying down, and that’s where Priest of Bones begins.

- What can fans expect from the latest instalment, PRIEST OF LIES?

Consequences, primarily. The events of the end of Priest of Bones have far-reaching consequences for everyone involved. That aside, you’ll see more of Tomas’s world in Priest of Lies, travelling with him to the capital city of Dannsburg, home of the Rose Throne. And the Queen’s Men. Priest of Lies is the story of a man who has regained what was taken from him, through the sweat of his brow and the blood of his enemies. It’s the story of a man who is now richer and more powerful than he had ever dreamed of being before. It’s the story of what that wealth and power does to him, and those around him.

- How well-received has PRIEST OF LIES been thus far?

Well it’s very early days but the reception has been extremely positive so far, and I’ve really been blown away by the early reviews. It’s great to see so many readers and bloggers loving this series.

- What can readers expect from the upcoming sequels? Any tentative titles and release dates?

We’re still in discussions with the publishers so there’s nothing I can tell you on that front at the moment, I’m afraid. However, in terms of the story itself the theme of consequences continues to run through it to the very end. No one acts in isolation, and even minor deeds can trigger repercussions far beyond the perpetrator’s expectations.

- What was the spark that generated the idea which drove you to write the War for the Rose Throne series in the first place?

I’ve always loved gangster stories like The Godfather, Goodfellas, Peaky Blinders and Gangs of New York, and I’ve always loved what I call “swords and horses” fantasy too. Mashing the two together just seemed like something I was meant to do. The setting itself was heavily inspired by my wife’s home city of Edinburgh in Scotland. Edinburgh is all hills and, in the Old Town at least, narrow winding closes and steps and tall, looming tenements. There’s something about the place, the sense of history and dark deeds, that just speaks to me, and that became Ellinburg in the books.

- The reasons behind the war between the Queen and the Skanians have remained relatively nebulous thus far. Will upcoming sequels shine more light on the conflict and its origins?

Oh yes, definitely. The reason for the Skanian hostility it an absolutely key plot point, which is why my cards are very close to my chest indeed on that subject. Tomas certainly has no idea, as yet, what that reason is.

- The same can be said of the cunning and magic in general. PRIEST OF LIES hints that magic will play a bigger role in the struggle to come, so will the plot unveil more secrets about the magical arts in the next installments?

The House of Magicians and what goes on in there does become important, yes. It’s something I wanted to play with in this series – the Magicians practise something very similar to real historical medieval magic, which amounted to philosophy, astrology, astronomy, mathematics, and chemistry. What Billy and Old Kurt and the other Cunning Folk have is something much more primal and mysterious.

- Although the trilogy is being billed as epic fantasy/grimdark, the War for the Rose Throne is a more tightly focused tale than most novels/series in those subgenres. In a market full of sprawling works that are vast in scope, was this your objective from the start?

Yeah it was. I enjoy reading a sprawling epic fantasy as much as the next person, but I’m a thriller writer at heart. I like the pacing of thrillers, the thing that keeps you turning the pages and putting off going to bed for just one more chapter. You don’t get the same depth and detail of worldbuilding as you do with a really Big Fat Fantasy like say Wheel of Time or A Song of Ice and Fire, admittedly, but I do think you can often end up with a more fast-paced and exciting story.

- Have the plotlines diverged much since you began writing the series, or did you have the entire plot more or less figured out from the very beginning? Were any characters added or further fleshed out beyond your original intention? Have you made any changes to your initial plans during the course of the writing of the series?

I had the main plot points of the story arc worked out in advance, and those haven’t changed and I very much doubt that they will. Everything you’ve read so far is leading to a very specific ending that I’ve been set on from the beginning. That said, everything I write ends up growing arms and legs in the process and sometimes characters turn around and do or say something unexpected that means I need to tweak a sub-plot here, a pace anchor there. I like that, and it keeps the creative process feeling fresh, but I do keep them largely in line.

- You first made a name to yourself with the Burned Man urban fantasy series. How would you describe those books?

They’re kind of urban fantasy noir, a sort of a mixture of Raymond Chandler and a 1970s crime show like Callan set in London. With demons. Our hero (I use the word loosely) is Don Drake, a demon-summoning hitman who quite literally works for the underworld. Throw in a murderous, chain-smoking angel who hasn’t fallen, just slipped a bit, and light the fuse. They’re thrillers too, obviously, but much more rooted in the tradition of Mickey Spillane.

- Do you have a different approach when you write grimdark and urban fantasy projects?

My approach has definitely changed since I was writing the Burned Man books. When I wrote Drake I pretty much made it up as I went along, but I’m much, much more of an outliner now than I used to be. I’ll sit and plot out the whole thing before I start writing. I probably won’t stick to the letter of that outline, as things develop in writing and as I say my characters have an annoying habit of deciding to go off-script and do their own thing sometimes, but at least now I always know where I’m going, where the end point of each book is.

- Last year, you released "Baphomet by Night," a military science fiction tale set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Do you have any other short fiction pieces in the pipeline that fans can look forward to?

I’ve done quite a few short stories for Black Library and Warhammer Horror now, the most recent being Blood Sacrifice which came out in June as a digital direct download and acts as a sequel to Baphomet by Night. I’ve also written about the Tallarn Desert Raiders and the Imperial Navy in various formats, and have a story in the Age of Sigmar spin-off Warcry anthology which is out later this year. Other than that, I have one War for the Rose Throne short story called Hunger and the Lady. It’s a Billy the Boy origin story, published in Grimdark Magazine #18 earlier this year: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07MQP1176

- What do you feel is your strength as a writer/storyteller?

Oh, that’s always a difficult question to answer. You end up so close to your own work after pouring over it for the best part of a year that it’s hard to remain objective sometimes. Personally I think that characterisation and character voice is probably what I do best, but I’d love to hear other people’s opinions on this one!

- By the same token, what would be your weaknesses, or aspects of your craft you feel you need to work on?

Oddly enough for a self-professed thriller writer, it’s plot. Characters and settings just fall into my lap like gifts from the gods, but coming up with a good story and a solid plot is hard work for me. I mean, obviously I think I can do it, but I always find it’s always the hardest part of any book.

- Were there any perceived conventions of the fantasy genre which you wanted to twist or break when you set out to write PRIEST OF BONES and its sequels? What about the Burned Man books?

With Priest of Bones yes, definitely. I’ve talked about this before, but ultimately it’s about consequences and the importance of them. It really bugs me in any fiction when the heroes return from war and live happily ever after, just like that. Real life doesn’t work like that. War is hell, and it tears soldiers apart mentally as well as physically, and that’s something I really wanted to get into. Tolkien knew it, of course, and his own trauma from fighting in the First World War can be clearly seen in the end of The Lord of the Rings. That’s what I wanted to do here, start at that end point and work forward with characters already broken before their story even begins.

In the Burned Man books I was more playing with the fluffy new-age idea of angels as sparkly do-gooders. Mine’s not. Mine is a proper Old Testament angel with a flaming sword and a killer instinct. Angels are bloody terrifying!

- What comes first for you when it comes time to consider your next novel: themes you wish to explore, a setting you're interested in, or characters you want to write about?

It’s always either settings or characters that come to mind first. When the two come to mind together, the right characters in the right setting, I know that’s an idea worth running with. Themes tend to come later, once I’ve started stitching together the bare bones of a plot, and once I have the themes to explore with the characters in the setting I find the story begins to fall into place around them.

- Characters often take a life of their own. Which of your characters did you find the most unpredictable to write about?

Billy the Boy, without a doubt. When I was writing my original outline for Priest of Bones it wasn’t even going to be Billy who was the one with magical ability; he was really just going to be a motif for the horrors of war. Young Billy wasn’t having any of that though, and he really went off-piste while I was writing him. I ended up loving the end result so went with it and moved a lot of names around in my outline to make it work.

- If your readers could only take one thing away from having read PRIEST OF LIES (apart from enjoying the read) what would you want that thing to be?

I’m an entertainer first and foremost, but I guess the key theme of Priest of Lies is that power corrupts, and in none so much as those used to being powerless. And if it makes you think about war and its consequences, and perhaps about family and what that means, then I’ll be a happy man.

- According to George R. R. Martin, most authors are either architects or gardeners. Which type of writer are you?

A bit of both. I’ll plan everything out in advance as I say, but if a character goes off-script and does something cool I’ll work with them on that and adjust the plan accordingly to make it fit. That said I’m much more of an architect than a gardener these days.

- Given the choice, would you take a New York Times bestseller, or a World Fantasy/Hugo Award? Why, exactly?

Oh the NYT bestseller, any day! I’ve never been invested in awards, and probably couldn’t tell you who won either of those in the last five years. Bestseller means lots of people bought it, and that (hopefully) means lots of people read it, and that’s what I write for. To be read, and to entertain as many people as possible. Awards are incidental to that, in my opinion. And the money wouldn’t suck, either.

- Cover art has become a very hot topic of late. What are your thoughts pertaining to that facet of a novel, and what do you think of the cover that graces your books?

I absolutely adore all my cover art. Katie Anderson at Berkley did a wonderfully evocative job with the War for the Rose Throne covers, and Chris Thornley who did the Burned Man covers perfectly captured the noir, almost graphic novel vibe I was going for. I have framed prints of all of my covers on my library walls at home. People say never judge a book by its cover but we all know that in a literal sense, everyone does. Cover art can make or break a book all by itself, and I’m hugely grateful to both Katie and Chris for the splendid art they made for me.

- Anything else you wish to share with us?

If you want to get in touch or stay up to date with what I’m doing, the best way is to follow me on Twitter at @PeteMC666. I’m far more active on there than anywhere else, although I have an Instagram with the same user name, and a Facebook author page. My website with book details, contact email, and press kit can be found at Talonwraith.com

Lastly, thank you very much for interviewing me, it’s been a pleasure.

More inexpensive ebook goodies!


You can now download Jacqueline Carey's Starless for only 2.99$ here. There is a price match in Canada.

Here's the blurb:

Jacqueline Carey is back with an amazing adventure not seen since her New York Times bestselling Kushiel’s Legacy series. Lush and sensual, Starless introduces us to an epic world where exiled gods live among us, and a hero whose journey will resonate long after the last page is turned.

Let your mind be like the eye of the hawk…Destined from birth to serve as protector of the princess Zariya, Khai is trained in the arts of killing and stealth by a warrior sect in the deep desert; yet there is one profound truth that has been withheld from him.

In the court of the Sun-Blessed, Khai must learn to navigate deadly intrigue and his own conflicted identity…but in the far reaches of the western seas, the dark god Miasmus is rising, intent on nothing less than wholesale destruction.

If Khai is to keep his soul’s twin Zariya alive, their only hope lies with an unlikely crew of prophecy-seekers on a journey that will take them farther beneath the starless skies than anyone can imagine.


You can also download R. F. Kuang's The Poppy War, which many consider the fantasy debut of 2018, for only 2.99$ here. There is a price match in Canada.

Here's the blurb:

A "Best of May" Science Fiction and Fantasy pick by Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Audible, The Verge, SyFy Wire, and Kirkus.

A brilliantly imaginative talent makes her exciting debut with this epic historical military fantasy, inspired by the bloody history of China’s twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic, in the tradition of Ken Liu’s Grace of Kings and N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy.

When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.

But surprises aren’t always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .

Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (June 24th)

In hardcover:

Blake Crouch's Recursion debuts at number 7.

Neal Stephenson's Fall; or, Dodge in Hell is down ten positions, ending the week at number 14.

In paperback:

Stephen King's The Outsider is up one spot, finishing the week at number 4 (trade paperback).

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens is down two positions, ending the week at number 11 (trade paperback).

Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale returns at number 12 (trade paperback).

Provisional Speculative Fiction Top 10 of 2019

Time flies and we've reached the halfway point of the year! And 2019 has been a quality year thus far! Here are the top 10 speculative fiction works published in 2019 I've read. =) Click on each title to read my review. You can expect the one for Ed McDonald's Crowfall to go up soon.

In the history of the Hotlist, only Joe Abercrombie ever managed to end up with two spots on my annual Top 10. As things stand, Mark Lawrence holds three of those spots, with another book coming out before the end of the year. Can he hold on to them, or even snatch another one? Time will tell. . .


1- Tiamat's Wrath by James S. A. Corey (Canada, USA, Europe)

Here's the blurb:

The eighth book in the NYT bestselling Expanse series, Tiamat’s Wrath finds the crew of the Rocinante fighting an underground war against a nearly invulnerable authoritarian empire, with James Holden a prisoner of the enemy. Now a Prime Original series.

Thirteen hundred gates have opened to solar systems around the galaxy. But as humanity builds its interstellar empire in the alien ruins, the mysteries and threats grow deeper.

In the dead systems where gates lead to stranger things than alien planets, Elvi Okoye begins a desperate search to discover the nature of a genocide that happened before the first human beings existed, and to find weapons to fight a war against forces at the edge of the imaginable. But the price of that knowledge may be higher than she can pay.

At the heart of the empire, Teresa Duarte prepares to take on the burden of her father’s godlike ambition. The sociopathic scientist Paolo Cortázar and the Mephistophelian prisoner James Holden are only two of the dangers in a palace thick with intrigue, but Teresa has a mind of her own and secrets even her father the emperor doesn’t guess.

And throughout the wide human empire, the scattered crew of the Rocinante fights a brave rear-guard action against Duarte’s authoritarian regime. Memory of the old order falls away, and a future under Laconia’s eternal rule — and with it, a battle that humanity can only lose — seems more and more certain. Because against the terrors that lie between worlds, courage and ambition will not be enough…


2- The Devil Aspect by Craig Russell (Canada, USA, Europe)

Here's the blurb:

A terrifying novel set in Czechoslovakia in 1935, in which a brilliant young psychiatrist takes his new post at an asylum for the criminally insane that houses only six inmates–the country’s most depraved murderers–while, in Prague, a detective struggles to understand a brutal serial killer who has spread fear through the city, and who may have ties to the asylum.

In 1935, Viktor Kosárek, a psychiatrist newly trained by Carl Jung, arrives at the infamous Hrad Orlu Asylum for the Criminally Insane. The state-of-the-art facility is located in a medieval mountaintop castle outside of Prague, though the site is infamous for concealing dark secrets going back many generations. The asylum houses the country’s six most treacherous killers–known to the staff as The Woodcutter, The Clown, The Glass Collector, The Vegetarian, The Sciomancer, and The Demon–and Viktor hopes to use a new medical technique to prove that these patients share a common archetype of evil, a phenomenon known as The Devil Aspect. As he begins to learn the stunning secrets of these patients, five men and one woman, Viktor must face the disturbing possibility that these six may share another dark truth.

Meanwhile, in Prague, fear grips the city as a phantom serial killer emerges in the dark alleys. Police investigator Lukas Smolak, desperate to locate the culprit (dubbed Leather Apron in the newspapers), realizes that the killer is imitating the most notorious serial killer from a century earlier–London’s Jack the Ripper. Smolak turns to the doctors at Hrad Orlu for their expertise with the psychotic criminal mind, though he worries that Leather Apron might have some connection to the six inmates in the asylum.

Steeped in the folklore of Eastern Europe, and set in the shadow of Nazi darkness erupting just beyond the Czech border, this stylishly written, tightly coiled, richly imagined novel is propulsively entertaining, and impossible to put down.


3- A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay (Canada, USA, Europe)

Here's the blurb:

International bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay’s latest work is set in a world evoking early Renaissance Italy and offers an extraordinary cast of characters whose lives come together through destiny, love, and ambition.

In a chamber overlooking the nighttime waterways of a maritime city, a man looks back on his youth and the people who shaped his life. Danio Cerra’s intelligence won him entry to a renowned school even though he was only the son of a tailor. He took service at the court of a ruling count–and soon learned why that man was known as the Beast.

Danio’s fate changed the moment he saw and recognized Adria Ripoli as she entered the count’s chambers one autumn night–intending to kill. Born to power, Adria had chosen, instead of a life of comfort, one of danger–and freedom. Which is how she encounters Danio in a perilous time and place.

Vivid figures share the unfolding story. Among them: a healer determined to defy her expected lot; a charming, frivolous son of immense wealth; a powerful religious leader more decadent than devout; and, affecting all these lives and many more, two larger-than-life mercenary commanders, lifelong adversaries, whose rivalry puts a world in the balance.

A Brightness Long Ago offers both compelling drama and deeply moving reflections on the nature of memory, the choices we make in life, and the role played by the turning of Fortune’s wheel.


4- Holy Sister by Mark Lawrence (Canada, USA, Europe)

Here's the blurb:

They came against her as a child. Now they face the woman.

The ice is advancing, the Corridor narrowing, and the empire is under siege from the Scithrowl in the east and the Durns in the west. Everywhere, the emperor’s armies are in retreat.

Nona faces the final challenges that must be overcome if she is to become a full sister in the order of her choice. But it seems unlikely that Nona and her friends will have time to earn a nun’s habit before war is on their doorstep.

Even a warrior like Nona cannot hope to turn the tide of war.

The shiphearts offer strength that she might use to protect those she loves, but it’s a power that corrupts. A final battle is coming in which she will be torn between friends, unable to save them all. A battle in which her own demons will try to unmake her.

A battle in which hearts will be broken, lovers lost, thrones burned.


5- Nest of the Monarch by Kay Kenyon (Canada, USA, Europe)

Here's the blurb:

Kim Tavistock, undercover in Berlin as the wife of a British diplomat, uncovers a massive conspiracy that could change the course of the war—and she’s the only one in position to stop it in the electrifying conclusion to the Dark Talents series.

November, 1936. Kim Tavistock is in Berlin on her first Continental mission for SIS, the British intelligence service. Her cover: a sham marriage to a handsome, ambitious British consul. Kim makes the diplomatic party circuit with him, hobnobbing with Nazi officials, hoping for a spill that will unlock a secret operation called Monarch. Berlin is a glittering city celebrating Germany’s resurgence, but Nazi brutality darkens the lives of many. When Kim befriends Hannah Linz, a member of the Jewish resistance, she sets in motion events that will bring her into the center of a vast conspiracy.

Forging an alliance with Hannah and her partisans, Kim discovers the alarming purpose of Monarch: the creation of a company of enforcers with augmented Talents and strange appetites. Called the Progeny, they have begun to compel citizen obedience with physical and spiritual terror. Soon Kim is swept up in a race to stop the coming deployment of the Progeny into Europe. Aligned against her are forces she could never have foreseen, including the very intelligence service she loves; a Russian woman, the queen of all Talents, who fled the Bolsheviks in 1917; and the ruthless SS officer whose dominance and rare charisma may lead to Kim’s downfall. To stop Monarch and the subversion of Europe, she must do more than use her Talent, wits, and courage. She must step into the abyss of unbounded power, even to the point of annihilation. Does the human race have limits? Kim does not want to know the answer. But it is coming.


6- The Plotters by Un-Su Kim (Canada, USA, Europe)

Here's the blurb:

From the novelist dubbed “the Korean Henning Mankell” (The Guardian) comes a fantastical crime novel set in an alternate Seoul where assassination guilds compete for market dominance. Perfect for fans of Han Kang and Patrick deWitt.

Behind every assassination, there is an anonymous mastermind–a plotter–working in the shadows. Plotters quietly dictate the moves of the city’s most dangerous criminals, but their existence is little more than legend. Just who are the plotters? And more important, what do they want?

Reseng is an assassin. Raised by a cantankerous killer named Old Raccoon in the crime headquarters “The Library,” Reseng never questioned anything: where to go, who to kill, or why his home was filled with books that no one ever read. But one day, Reseng steps out of line on a job, toppling a set of carefully calibrated plans. And when he uncovers an extraordinary scheme set into motion by an eccentric trio of young women–a convenience store clerk, her wheelchair-bound sister, and a cross-eyed librarian–Reseng will have to decide if he will remain a pawn or finally take control of the plot.

Crackling with action and filled with unforgettable characters, The Plotters is a deeply entertaining thriller that soars with the soul, wit, and lyricism of real literary craft.


7- Priest of Lies by Peter McLean (Canada, USA, Europe)

Here's the blurb:

Tomas Piety has been many things: soldier, priest, gangster…and spy. As Tomas’s power grows, the nobility better watch their backs, in this dark and gritty epic fantasy series.

People are weak, and the poorer and more oppressed they are, the weaker they become–until they can’t take it anymore. And when they rise up…may the gods help their oppressors.

When Tomas Piety returned from the war, he just wanted to rebuild his empire of crime with his gang of Pious Men. But his past as a spy for the Queen’s Men drew him back in and brought him more power than he ever imagined.

Now, with half of his city in ashes and the Queen’s Men at his back, the webs of political intrigue stretch out from the capital to pull Tomas in. Dannsburg is calling.

In Dannsburg the nobility fight with words, not blades, but the results are every bit as bloody. In this pit of beasts, Tomas must decide once and for all whether he is truly the people’s champion…or just a priest of lies.


8- Crowfall by Ed McDonald (Canada, USA, Europe)

Here's the blurb:

In the third gritty installment of the Raven’s Mark series, Blackwing Captain Ryhalt Galharrow finds that all power comes with a price…

A sorcerous cataclysm has hit the Range, the final defensive line between the republic and the immortal Deep Kings.

Tormenting red rains sweep the land, new monstrosities feed on fear in the darkness, and the power of the Nameless, the gods who protect the republic, lies broken. The Blackwing captains who serve them are being picked off one by one, and even immortals have learned what it means to die. Meanwhile, the Deep Kings have only grown stronger, and they are poised to deliver a blow that will finally end the war.

Ryhalt Galharrow stands apart from it all.

He has been deeper into the wasteland known as the Misery than ever before. It has grown within him–changed him–and now the ghosts of his past, formerly confined to the Misery, walk with him everywhere.

They will even follow him–and the few surviving Blackwing captains–on one final mission into the darkness.


9- One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence (Canada, USA, Europe)

Here's the blurb:

In January 1986, fifteen-year-old boy-genius Nick Hayes discovers he’s dying. And it isn’t even the strangest thing to happen to him that week.

Nick and his Dungeons and Dragons-playing friends are used to living in their imaginations. But when a new girl, Mia, joins the group and reality becomes weirder than the fantasy world they visit in their weekly games, none of them are prepared for what comes next. A strange—yet curiously familiar—man is following Nick, with abilities that just shouldn’t exist. And this man bears a cryptic message: Mia’s in grave danger, though she doesn’t know it yet. She needs Nick’s help—now.

He finds himself in a race against time to unravel an impossible mystery and save the girl. And all that stands in his way is a probably terminal disease, a knife-wielding maniac and the laws of physics.

Challenge accepted.


10- Limited Wish by Mark Lawrence (Canada, USA, Europe)

Here's the blurb:

One choice. Two possible timelines. And a world hanging in the balance.

It’s the summer of 1986 and reluctant prodigy Nick Hayes is a student at Cambridge University, working with world-renowned mathematician Professor Halligan. He just wants to be a regular student, but regular isn’t really an option for a boy-genius cancer survivor who’s already dabbled in time travel.

When he crosses paths with a mysterious yet curiously familiar girl, Nick discovers that creases have appeared in the fabric of time, and that he is at the centre of the disruption. Only Nick can resolve this time paradox before the damage becomes catastrophic for both him and the future of the world. Time is running out—literally.

Wrapped up with him in this potentially apocalyptic scenario are his ex-girlfriend, Mia, and fellow student Helen. Facing the world-ending chaos of a split in time, Nick must act fast and make the choice of a lifetime—or lifetimes.

Game on.

Musical Interlude



Bought that album at the start of 7th grade and probably went through 3 or 4 tapes because I listened to it non-stop. Doesn't make me feel any younger. . . ;-)

Michael J. Sullivan contest winner!

This lucky winner will get his hands on my advance reading copy of Michael J. Sullivan's Age of Legend! For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

The winner is:

Bill Cooper, from Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Many thanks to all the participants!

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (June 17th)

In hardcover:

Neal Stephenson's Fall; or, Dodge in Hell debuts at number 4.

In paperback:

Stephen King's The Outsider debuts at number 5 (trade paperback).

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens debuts at number 9 (trade paperback).

More inexpensive ebook goodies!


You can now download Nalo Hopkinson's Sister Mine for only 2.99$ here.

Here's the blurb:

We'd had to be cut free of our mother's womb. She'd never have been able to push the two-headed sport that was me and Abby out the usual way. Abby and I were fused, you see. Conjoined twins. Abby's head, torso, and left arm protruded from my chest. But here's the real kicker; Abby had the magic, I didn't. Far as the Family was concerned, Abby was one of them, though cursed, as I was, with the tragic flaw of mortality.

Now adults, Makeda and Abby still share their childhood home. The surgery to separate the two girls gave Abby a permanent limp, but left Makeda with what feels like an even worse deformity: no mojo. The daughters of a celestial demigod and a human woman, Makeda and Abby were raised by their magical father, the god of growing things--a highly unusual childhood that made them extremely close. Ever since Abby's magical talent began to develop, though, in the form of an unearthly singing voice, the sisters have become increasingly distant.

Today, Makeda has decided it's high time to move out and make her own life among the other nonmagical humans--after all, she's one of them. In Cheerful Rest, a run-down warehouse space, Makeda finds exactly what she's been looking for: an opportunity to live apart from Abby and begin building her own independent life. There's even a resident band, led by the charismatic (and attractive) building superintendent.

But when her father goes missing, Makeda will have to discover her own talent--and reconcile with Abby--if she's to have a hope of saving him . . .

Limited Wish


You may recall that I was intrigued when Mark Lawrence made the announcement that he was releasing a science fiction series. With nine fantasy works under his belt and a well-deserved reputation as one of the best speculative fiction authors writing today, I wondered if he'd manage to make the jump to science fiction and wow readers in a different subgenre. Well, I should have known not to show any doubts. Though it was a very short book, One Word Kill delivered on pretty much all fronts.

Time would tell if Lawrence could maintain this level of quality and originality throughout the trilogy, which brings us to this sequel, Limited Wish. It's very similar to its predecessor. Some might say too similar, what with familiar plot devices used yet again. But overall, everything works quite well and this second volume avoids the many pitfalls of the middle book syndrome. Hence, if you've enjoyed One Word Kill, you should feel the same way about Limited Wish.

Here's the blurb:

One choice. Two possible timelines. And a world hanging in the balance.

It’s the summer of 1986 and reluctant prodigy Nick Hayes is a student at Cambridge University, working with world-renowned mathematician Professor Halligan. He just wants to be a regular student, but regular isn’t really an option for a boy-genius cancer survivor who’s already dabbled in time travel.

When he crosses paths with a mysterious yet curiously familiar girl, Nick discovers that creases have appeared in the fabric of time, and that he is at the centre of the disruption. Only Nick can resolve this time paradox before the damage becomes catastrophic for both him and the future of the world. Time is running out—literally.

Wrapped up with him in this potentially apocalyptic scenario are his ex-girlfriend, Mia, and fellow student Helen. Facing the world-ending chaos of a split in time, Nick must act fast and make the choice of a lifetime—or lifetimes.

Game on.

One of the aspects that made One World Kill such a memorable read was how Lawrence conveyed the pain, the fear, and the helplessness of dealing with any form of cancer. The scenes occurring at the hospital during chemo treatments in particular, and how they affect people physically, psychologically, and emotionally, were quite powerful. I feel that he captured the essence of the disease and its effects on the patient and everyone around him. With Nick now in remission, Limited Wish is more about a young genius adapting to university life, the teenage angst he experiences along the way, and the mind-boggling and gut-wrenching drama of boy-girl relationships. But cancer has changed him and may yet rear its ugly head again at any time. Because of that, even though he must deal with the same issues as any other teenager his age, life is different for Nick. And I'm not even talking about time travel.

As a matter of course, the author's worldbuilding is only there to provide the tale's backdrop and doesn't intrude on the storytelling. Once again, quantum physics, the multiverse theory, and time traveling are at the heart of this sequel, but this is by no means a hard scifi novel. Mark Lawrence spent years working as a scientist and he does his best to dumb down the science regarding the time paradox and once more I'd say he succeeded in doing so. So far, the Impossible Times series remains Lawrence's most accessible works to date.

And although the universe is doing its best to kill Nick while he spends the week at Cambridge University, every weekend he takes time to meet up with the rest of the gang back home to play Dungeons and Dragons. Mia is now Dungeon Master and to Nick's dismay she brought her new boyfriend along for this new campaign. And as if this situation is not complicated enough, the guy plays a do-gooder paladin which threatens to be the death of them all. It's now obvious that each book title has to do with a particular spell or something similar, and that these role-playing game sessions have repercussions on the plot at large. One Word Kill was Nick and Mia's tale for the most part, but the supporting cast from the first installment plays kind of a lesser role in this one. Understandably, Nick takes center stage yet again, but he's joined by fellow student Helen and another strange girl who may hold the key to solving this world-shaking puzzle.

As was the case with its predecessor, Limited Wish is another short science fiction work. Lawrence keeps everything moving at a good clip and the rhythm is never an issue. Once again, this interesting tale makes for a quick read, one you wish could last longer. For some reason, the endgame of One Word Kill was inexplicably rushed. I felt that it robbed the ending of the emotional impact the author probably wished to convey. Not so with Limited Wish, which features a much better paced ending and which sets the stage for what should be a compelling finale in the third volume.

As things stand, Mark Lawrence now has three novels on my provisional speculative fiction top 10 of 2019, with a possible fourth work ending up on the shortlist if Dispel Illusion is as good as its two predecessors. We'll have to wait and see if all four of Lawrence's works published this year can make it to my top 10, but one thing's for sure: It's been a great year so far for the author.

Give these books a shot! And don't forget: Kiss the girl!

The final verdict: 7.75/10

For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe

More inexpensive ebook goodies!


Just saw that you can now get your hands on the digital edition of Sylvain Neuvel's excellent Sleeping Giants for only 1.99$ here.

Here's the blurb:

A page-turning debut in the tradition of Michael Crichton, World War Z, and The Martian, Sleeping Giants is a thriller fueled by an earthshaking mystery—and a fight to control a gargantuan power.

A girl named Rose is riding her new bike near her home in Deadwood, South Dakota, when she falls through the earth. She wakes up at the bottom of a square hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings. But the firemen who come to save her peer down upon something even stranger: a little girl in the palm of a giant metal hand.

Seventeen years later, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains unsolved—its origins, architects, and purpose unknown. Its carbon dating defies belief; military reports are redacted; theories are floated, then rejected.

But some can never stop searching for answers.

Rose Franklin is now a highly trained physicist leading a top secret team to crack the hand’s code. And along with her colleagues, she is being interviewed by a nameless interrogator whose power and purview are as enigmatic as the provenance of the relic. What’s clear is that Rose and her compatriots are on the edge of unraveling history’s most perplexing discovery—and figuring out what it portends for humanity. But once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result prove to be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction?

Anthony Ryan contest winner!

This lucky winner will get his hands on my Advance Reading Copy of Anthony Ryan's The Wolf's Call! For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

The winner is:

Robert Perry, from Burlington, Vermont, USA

Many thanks to all the participants!

Suyi Davies Okungbowa Interview


When I began to read Suyi Davies Okungbowa's Nigerian god-punk fantasy debut, David Mogo, Godhunter (Canada, USA, Europe), I knew I'd need to do an interview with the author. He was kind enough to accept the invitation, so here it is!

Enjoy!
-------------------------------------

- What's the 411 on Suyi Davies Okungbowa? Tell us a bit about your background?

Thanks, Pat! I was born and raised in Benin City, Nigeria. And when I say born and raised, I mean I didn’t live anywhere else until my early twenties. I grew up in the University of Benin, basically having all my education there up to tertiary level. My parents are both academics there, so that’s expected. I studied Civil Engineering for my bachelors, but only worked in the field for a year after. Since then, I’ve worked in professional services, graphic design, marketing communications and digital learning. Now, I teach writing at the University of Arizona, while earning my MFA in Creative Writing.

- Your soon-to-be-released debut is being billed as a Nigerian godpunk novel. Without giving too much away, can you give us a taste of the tale that is DAVID MOGO, GODHUNTER?

I’d say DMG is Lagos like you’ve never quite seen it. There are a lot of stories about the city and its tenacity, but nothing stretches this city like the invasion of thousands of supernatural beings. Lagos receives over a hundred thousand migrants every day, so what happens when you suddenly find gods in the mix, and only one guy, who happens to be a demigod, can help ease the frictions that arise? Worse yet, what if his attempts only exacerbate these problems? Find out in the book!

- How well-received has DAVID MOGO, GODHUNTER been thus far?

DMG has received lots of love from press sources like Publishers Weekly and WIRED Magazine, so that’s good! There have been those who’ve messaged me to say how they felt seen by this book, how it represented them, which makes me glad because that was the aim. I mostly wrote this book for Nigerians first, and everyone else after, just like we have always been secondary audiences for most books out there. In the same vein, a bit of discomfort and unfamiliarity with certain approaches from these secondary audiences won’t surprise me.

- What was the spark that generated the idea which drove you to write DAVID MOGO, GODHUNTER in the first place?

A number of things, actually. I’ve always been fascinated by the gods of the Yoruba cosmology, which is very close to the Edo cosmology (Edo is where I’m from). Then, the characters of David Mogo and Papa Udi have been with me for a while in earlier forms. When I moved to Lagos in 2014, it became clear to me that this was a city about which thousands of stories could be told, and we still wouldn’t have scratched the surface. Throw all of these into the boiling pot that was my subconscious, and DMG was born.

- Nigerian myths and legends are at the heart of DAVID MOGO, GODHUNTER. Was it your intention all along to weave those myths and legends into the story?

Not quite. Sure, I knew there were going to be gods, and David was going to be a freelance godhunter who took on a bad job that sparked major conflict in an already failing city. However, I realised that as the narrative took him further into his journey, he would have to interact more with the nonhuman part of himself, and that required a deeper dive into these myths and legends as the story went on.

- Can you tell us a little more about the road that saw this one go from manuscript form to finished novel published by Abaddon Books?

Well, I workshopped a small part of the book at Milford SF Writers Workshop in 2017 and got a lot of encouragement to finish it. I was right in the middle of that when Rebellion advertised an open subs period and I submitted a sample and synopsis. I’d already forgotten about it when David Moore called me up in late 2017 and said, “Hey, I’d like to publish this.” The rest, as they say, is history.

- Were there any perceived conventions of the fantasy genre which you wanted to twist or break when you set out to write DAVID MOGO, GODHUNTER?

Well, for starters, I wanted to paint a portrait of a people who had adjusted to a semi-apocalyptic event without too much fanfare. Some have described The Falling in the book as a gopocalypse, but I like to quickly point out that today’s Lagos isn’t too different from what’s described--there’s still government gentrification, police brutality, housing crisis and segregated real estate matters, et cetera. I also didn’t want to fit into either camp of magic with clear rules or magic with no rules; I wanted something in-between, because I think if magic were a thing, it’d be weird and unpredictable and barely ever neat.

- Cover art has always been a very hot topic. What are your thoughts pertaining to that facet of a novel, and what do you think of the cover that graces your book?

Yoshi Yoshitani did an awesome job in capturing the essence of the book. I think covers are almost as important as the text, if not even from an artistic perspective, then from a completely business one. Covers help sell books, to be frank. To shy away from that fact would be naive. I, in particular, am glad the DMG cover ticks all those boxes.

- You have been a prolific short fiction writer these last few years. Do you have a different approach when you write short stories and novel-length projects?

I usually don’t have a routine for shorter pieces--I tend to chart the narrative, then write in bursts until I feel I’ve gotten to a good place to stop. With longer projects, however, I tend to be less chained to the narrative I start out with. I give myself more room to deviate, but I keep a stricter routine in order to keep up momentum. I keep weekly word counts in a Google Sheet, and put more effort into maintaining a steady rhythm than with shorter work.

- For anyone interested in giving your material a shot, are any of your short stories available online?

Yes! I keep an updated list of everything I’ve written at suyidavies.com/bibliography

- What do you feel is your strength as a writer/storyteller?

Haha. Tough one. To be honest, I don’t know much about strengths. I find that I usually pay more attention to areas I believe I could be better at. For instance, I tend to leave out a lot of description in my first drafts, and I find beta readers usually coming back to me with, “Dude, what does this look like?” before I remember, “Oh yeah, I had that in my head but not on the page!”

- By the same token, what would be your weaknesses, or aspects of your craft you feel you need to work on?

Well, just as I said above. Another thing I struggle with is articulating character motives. Where I come from, survival, security and the quest for influence/power/respect are such strong motives that it’s almost ridiculous that anyone does anything for any other reason like, say, self-actualization. Yet I find that most of my characters are usually outliers in this way, so I always have to dig deeper to discover what drives them.

- You are a charter member of the African Speculative Fiction Society. Can you tell us a bit more about that organization and your role within its ranks?

Oh, a charter member just means I was invited to be one of its founding members--about fifty or so of us. The ASFS aims to support everything within the bracket of speculative work by African-identifying artists, much in the way the BSFA or SFWA operates. Currently, the ASFS organizes the Nommo Awards, which have so far been successful: big names like Nnedi Okorafor, Tade Thompson and Tochi Onyebuchi have won awards and had the stickers appear on their front covers.The 2019 shortlist is currently out. The awards are funded by philanthropists like Tom Ilube and other anonymous donors. The society also supports the community in other ways like maintaining a frequently updated database of speculative work by African authors, hosting a large Facebook group of enthusiasts of African SFF, and Geoff Ryman writes the “100 African Writers of SFF” over on Strange Horizons. Currently, I don’t do anything other than vote and be a part of the community, but I hope to be able to offer more in the near future.

- Are there any African speculative fiction writers that we should be on the lookout for?

Well, I’d eschew the already known names and point out that folks like Tochi Onyebuchi (Beasts Riot Baby, War Girls), Mohale Mashigo (The Yearning, Intruders), Wole Talabi (Incomplete Solutions), Lesley Nneka Arimah (What It Means When a Man Fall From The Sky), Deji Olutokun (Nigerians In Space, After The Flare), Imraan Coovadia (A Spy In Time), etc, are doing stellar work. The ASFS database has a lot more of these, and I think everyone who’s interested in work from the continent ought to take a look.

- Black authors like David Anthony Durham, Nnedi Okorafor, and N. K. Jemisin have been making waves within SFF circles these last few years. And although things seem to have recently taken a turn for the better, it appears that it's still difficult for writers of color to get the sort of recognition that caucasian authors are entitled to. What needs to change in the industry to help level the playing field?

Honest answer? I don’t quite know. There are a lot of factors turning the gears that run the publishing industry, and many of them are not even caused by publishing at all, but the politics and socioeconomics of the world in general. It would be an easy reach to say, “Oh, it’s a race problem” (and to be honest, it is, at its base), but the actual operations are more complicated than that. What I know, however, is that more non-white bodies on ground in the field, in every position, will help along whatever choices are being made to change this.

- Given the choice, would you take a New York Times bestseller, or a World Fantasy/Hugo Award? Why, exactly?

A Hugo/WFA. Because, a New York Times bestseller lasts for as many weeks as it lasts, but a Hugo/WFA sits on the shelf forever.

- What authors make you shake your head in admiration? Many speculative fiction authors don't read much inside the genre. Is it the case with you?

I read (and even write) both within and outside the genre. While I’ve chosen to pitch my tent at the speculative end of things, I’ve read and loved a lot of work outside the genre. For instance, I just read The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo and found it to be absolutely beautiful writing and a compelling story. Neil Gaiman is one of my all-time faves within the genre, as well as Stephen King, whose mastery of storytelling is simply phenomenal. However, most of my reading of speculative work is with more contemporary authors, and with shorter works. I find myself enjoying a lot of work with Asian influences, like Fonda Lee and Aliette de Boddard, but also work from people like N.K. Jemisin and Rebecca Roanhorse, who bring something completely different to the table. Basically, you could say I’m a chameleon in that way, as I enjoy and admire work from authors from all over in genre, place and time.

- According to George R. R. Martin, most authors are either architects or gardeners. Which type of writer are you?

A garditecht, haha. Or, plantser (plotter + pantser) as most people say. I absolutely need a plan to start out, but I make it as loose as possible, susceptible to changes and diversions. I write with what I call a Waypoints Method, where I only plot the big, set-piece points in the narrative, then pants my way between those points.

- What's next for Suyi Davies Okungbowa? Are you under contract for any other projects?

Am I working on seekrit projects? Yes, of course! My newsletter subscribers get snippets of behind-the-scenes work all the time, but that’s as much as I let out. I like to work in silence, on my own terms, but yes, I am working on my next book.

- What comes first for you when it comes time to consider your next novel/short story: themes you wish to explore, a setting you're interested in, or characters you want to write about?

It depends. For shorter work, something as little as an image of a scene, a character, a line, a title: that’s enough to get me going. For longer work, two to three things usually have to come together. Setting plays a big role for me, because I’m very keen on providing specific African(esque) representation based on my own history and experience. But outside of setting, everything is fair game, from characters to themes to what-if concepts.

- Anything else you wish to share with us?

Uh, subscribe to my author newsletter? Once a month, no spam, and you might win a book!

More inexpensive ebook goodies!


You can now download Brent Weeks' The Black Prism for only 2.99$ here.

Here's the blurb:

Gavin Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. But Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live: Five years to achieve five impossible goals.

But when Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (June 10th)

In hardcover:

George R. R. Martin's Fire and Blood is down four positions, ending the week at number 8. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Terry Brooks' The Stiehl Assassin debuts at number 11.

In paperback:

George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones is down six spots, finishing the week at number 14 (trade paperback).