Yes, Yes, Yes! The most ambitious epic science fiction series of the current decade!

From SFRevu:

Kay Kenyon's epic series, The Entire and the Rose, grows stronger with each new volume. This may well be the most ambitious epic science fiction series of the current decade. While clearly science fiction, the atmosphere and feel of the series has many of the qualities of fantasy and can be enjoyed by readers of that genre who do not like much science fiction.... If you are not already reading this series and you are at all interested in current science fiction, you really should be. Start with the first book, Bright of the Sky. (Ignore the way it seems to jump in the middle as if there was an earlier volume, Kenyon chose to put much of the early history in as flashbacks and information revealed to an amnesiac hero.) There is one book left of this four-book series, Prince of Stormswhich will come out January 2010. I am really looking forward to seeing how Kenyon is able to resolve everything. Very highly recommended.

A Conversation with James Enge

Tor.com has just uploaded my conversation with James Enge, author of the just-released Swords & Sorcery novel, Blood of Ambrose.I'm fascinated by Enge's world building, and his views on fantasy fiction in general. Check out the whole post, but here's a taste:

About elves... I love Tolkien’s work, but I think the elves of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings are the weakest parts of his world-building. He too obviously has his thumb on the scale. Everyone is beautiful and sings and loves learning? All the children are above average? The elves of the First Age are more plausible because they’re more fallible. But I couldn’t see introducing elves into Morlock’s world without giving them more realism: showing the ugly elf, the ill-tempered lazy elf, the tone-deaf elf. At that point it becomes less like sword-and-sorcery and more like Bored of the Rings.

Roberson and Sturges: Underrated and Awesome

Quotes like these have to be shared.

Two for Chris Roberson's End of the Century:

“Roberson’s imagination is in full force, and the results are magical, although a tad too epic. He deserves praise for being able to keep each section true to its genre without having the novel feel schizophrenic. Roberson is an underrated name in the field of fantasy and science fiction; this effort was no easy undertaking, but it’s ingenious and spirited, and he pulls through with his head held high.” -Bookgasm, March 27, 2009

“…suffice to say that if this is your first experience of Roberson, I guarantee it won’t be the last. Challenging the stability of the often-thin line between fantasy and sci-fi, End of the Century is a unique experience that latches on from the first page and doesn’t let go.” -Total Sci-Fi, March 30, 2009 (formerly Dreamwatch magazine)

And two for Matthew Sturges's Midwinter:

"If one were to envision a fairy tale as a high octane action movie you might get something close to Sturges debut novel, Midwinter… a fantastic read. The narrative is quick and packed with action…Midwinter keeps things diverse and always fresh. Sturges’ background in comics is (at least for me) reflected in the strong visual presentation of his writing, in particular the scenes involving Mab’s flying cities created some strong mental imagery that was absolutely dripping in awesome.” -King of the Nerds blog, March 30, 2009

"Having read and enjoyed some of Mr. Sturges’s comic book work with Bill Willingham, I was looking forward to see how well he could tell a story in prose form. If Midwinter is any indication of what his novel-writing future has in store, I’ll be a happy reader.... Sturges does a lot of things very well in his first novel– the sense o’ wonder of a fantastic multiverse, likeable characters and an engaging plot. Fans of caper-ish plots and solid action would do well to give Sturges’s impressive debut effort a try." - Rob H. Bedford, SFFWorld, March 30, 2009

Free Online Reading: "Fire and Sleet" by James Enge

James Enge's forthcoming novel Blood of Ambroseis epic swords and sorcery starring his enigmatic creation, Morlock Ambrosius, wandering swordsman, master of all magical makers, and dry drunk. Before his novel debut, Morlock already featured in many works of short fiction appearing in the pages of Black Gate and elsewhere.

This morning we posted "Fire and Sleet" at the Pyr Sample Chapters blog, an original novelette "published" there for the first time anywhere. Although it stands on its own and makes a wonderful introduction to Enge's fascinating character, it is also a sequel of sorts to the earlier tale, "A Book of Silences," originally published in Black Gate and now also appearing on our blog. Read and enjoy!

Batman R.I.P. - over and good riddance!

My review of Grant Morrison's convoluted, misguided, and incomprehensible Batman: R.I.P.is up at Tor.com.

No, really, Lou, don't hold back. Tell us what you thought.

James Enge's Blood of Ambrose has arrived!

James Enge's Blood of Ambrose is now in stock at Amazon,and at B&N.com. Brick and mortar stores will soon follow!

“James Enge writes with great intelligence and wit. His stories take twisty paths to unexpected places you absolutely want to go. This isn't the same old thing; this is delightful fantasy written for smart readers.”—Greg Keyes, New York Times bestselling author of The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series

Behind the king's life stands the menacing Protector, and beyond him lies the Protector's Shadow...

Centuries after the death of Uthar the Great, the throne of the Ontilian Empire lies vacant. The late emperor's brother-in-law and murderer, Lord Urdhven, appoints himself Protector to his nephew, young King Lathmar VII and sets out to kill anyone who stands between himself and mastery of the empire, including (if he can manage it) the king himself and his ancient but still formidable ancestress, Ambrosia Viviana.

When Ambrosia is accused of witchcraft and put to trial by combat, she is forced to play her trump card and call on her brother, Morlock Ambrosius—stateless person, master of all magical makers, deadly swordsman, and hopeless drunk.

As ministers of the king, they carry on the battle, magical and mundane, against the Protector and his shadowy patron. But all their struggles will be wasted unless the young king finds the strength to rule in his own right and his own name.

Free Fiction: "A Book of Silences" by James Enge

April will see the release of James Enge's swords & sorcery novel, Blood of Ambrose,an epic work featuring Morlock Ambrosius, wandering swordsman and master of all magical makers. The book is a stand-alone adventure, but Morlock returns in the (already-delivered) follow-up, This Crooked Way, and we've just signed for a third Morlock novel, the wonderfully-titled The Wolf Age. But Morlock Ambrosius already has a significant following, as Enge has been chronicling his adventures in short fiction for some time prior to his novel debut. One such tale,"A Book of Silences," first appeared in the pages of Black Gate magazine. We are pleased to reprint it in its entirety at the Pyr Sample Chapters page. What's more, we will shortly be presenting "Fire and Sleet," which follows directly on the events of "A Book of Silences" and is an original novelette that will debut at the Pyr website for the first time anywhere. So, read and enjoy!

if you're just joining us: iphone, tricorders and the batmobile

Jon Armstrong has uploaded the latest episode of his stupendous podcast, if you're just joining us, and this one features an interview with Yours Truly. Jon says, "Lou and I talked about the iPhone, tricorders, the batmobile, writing, earings, and his wife’s cooking among other things."

You can listen to or download the episode right on the site at the link above, or listen to it via iTunes.

NPR, Battlestar Galactica, and Me

My piece on NPR's All Things Considered is online. "At The U.N., 'Battlestar' Troops Talk Ethics Of War," by Lara Pelligrinelli, using the occasion of the Whoopi Goldberg-moderated, Battlestar Galactica panel at the United Nation and the show's just-aired finale to talk about politics in science fiction television. You can listen to the audio online, and read the article here. There is also a link on the page to a Realplayer video of the entire panel.

The 2009 Hugo Awards Final Ballot

The 2009 Hugo Awards Final Ballot is out. I'm honored, thrilled, and tickled several shades of pink to be nominated in the Best Editor, Long Form category for the third year in a row. I'm just as thrilled (okay, almost as thrilled, and really by a hair's breadth) to see two stories from Fast Forward 2on the ballot. A huge congratulations then to Benjamin Rosenbaum & Cory Doctorow for their Best Novella nomination for "True Names," and Paolo Bacigalupi for his Best Novelette nomination for "The Gambler." (And those are links to both stories online, for those who haven't read them yet and would like to do so before voting in the final round.)

Meanwhile, a huge congratulations to Pyr authors Charles Coleman Finlay, Ian McDonald and Mike Resnick on their Hugo nominations (for non-Pyr work,but no less thrilled for them), and to the artists we've worked with on various Pyr covers - John Picacio, Daniel Dos Santos, and Bob Eggleton.

And, really, a huge congratulatons to everyone on the ballot. I'm happy for so many folks. What a year! And, of course, you know I'm loving that The Dark Knight is on there too, as it should be. See you all in Montréal.

Update 3/20: Since it's come up, here's a list of the books I edited in 2008.

The Quiet War makes Clarke Shortlist

I'm thrilled for Paul McAuley, whose novel The Quiet War, just made the Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlist. The Quiet War was one of my favorite reads of the past year. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I acquired US rights to it, and Pyr will be publishing it in September, with a new cover from the magnificent Sparth (who just turned in his illustration last week; I'll debut the cover on the Pyr blog in a few.)

Meanwhile, the prize of £2009, along with a commemorative engraved bookend, will be presented to the winner on Wednesday, April 29th, at an award ceremony held on the opening night of the SCI-FI-LONDON Film Festival. Congrats to all the nominees.

(And yes, those of you in the US should wait for our edition, as I'd really like to be able to publish the sequel, Gardens of the Sun, which I'm about to start reading shortly. If you can't wait, you could always read the UK edition, vote for it for the Hugo, then gift the US one when it comes out to that friend you're trying to get into smart, literate, award-calibre SF. It's just a suggestion...)

Watch that Man, Honey, Watch that Man!

My review of Watchmen up at Tor.com.

David Louis Edelman: One Last Adventure Before the End

I'm still reeling under the news that one of my favorite podcasts, Adventures in Sci Fi Publishing, is closing up shop, if not forever, at least for the indefinite future. Shaun's podcast is essential listening in my book, and I think I'd say that even if I wasn't his most frequent guest (learned that recently, and now no one can take my crown away! But I'd rather they still had the opportunity to try.)

Meanwhile, I'm honored that Shaun is going out on a string of Pyr-related interviews. First he interviewed Yours Truly (jointly with Joe Mallozzi), then Chris Roberson, and now David Louis Edelman. I know he's recently recorded an interview with Kay Kenyon, so that should still be forthcoming, though I'm assuming the planned talk with James Enge didn't make the cut.

But I'm grateful for the years of support Shaun Farrell has shown us, as well as the window into the rest of the SF&F community he's provided me over the years (I don't get to read much outside my own list, so podcasts are how I stay informed). I'm going to miss this show terribly, and I hope Shaun returns in 2010 as promised. It's going to be a long wait!

This makes me smile...

From Pat's Fantasy Hotlist: "With Bright of the Skyand A World Too Near,Kay Kenyon established herself as one of the most underrated science fiction authors out there. In my opinion, The Entire and the Rose is without a doubt one of the most fascinating scifi series on the market today. In City Without End,Kenyon elevates this series to new heights.... Kay Kenyon's latest is full of surprising twists and turns, and the plot moves forward at a crisp pace. No offense to Peter F. Hamilton and other scifi authors in the middle of ongoing series, but The Entire and the Rose could well be the best game in town right now. I commend this series to your attention. Can't wait to see how the author will close the show!"

The Evolution of Batman's Icon

Via Chris Roberson:

Conventions: Where I'll Be in the Spring/Fall

I'll be holed up here for most of the spring, but starting late summer, my convention attendance is really going to ramp up. Here's what's scheduled so far:

Anticipation / 67th World Science Fiction Convention
August 6th - 10th
Montréal, Quebec

DragonCon
Sept 4th - 7th
Atlanta, Georgia

Con*Stellation XXVIII
September 18th - 20th
Huntsville, Alabama

Appearing in my capacity as art director, I'll be speaking and doing portfolio reviews at:
IlluXCon 2009
Nov 12th - 15th
Altoona, Pennsylvania

And I'm really pleased to be Editor Guest of Honor at:
OryCon 31
Nov 27th-29th
Portland, Oregon

Sadly, I won't be at WFC this year - just too much travel in November to squeeze it in, and, frankly, I'm tired of missing Halloween.

Midwinter: Like Tolkien meets Abercrombie meets Chadbourn

Just added a sizable excerpt from Matthew Sturges' Midwinter to the Pyr Sample Chapters blog, making it the 43rd book to go up there (where there are also four complete short stories, one of them original to the site. What are you waiting for?)

And speaking of Midwinter,over at Fantasy Book Critic, Robert Thompson and Liviu C. Suciu have done a joint review of Matt's debut fantasy. In their intro materials they write, "think Tolkien meets Joe Abercrombie meets Mark Chadbourn." This thrills me, not just because I publish two of the three writers above (you can work out which), but also because "Abercrombie meets Chadbourn" was how I described it to my dark masters when presenting the book in the first place. (I also mentioned some similarities to Justina Robson's Quantum Gravity universe in the way the various dimensions are aligned.)

While not being blind to problems he chalks up to first-novel-itis, Robert concludes, " I really enjoyed the book and thought it was a fun, entertaining and imaginative new entry in the fantasy genre. I was also quite impressed with Matthew Sturges and believe he has the talent and creativity to make a name for himself outside of comics. Definitely looking forward to the sequel!"

And Liviu says, "Midwinter is a page-turner and a very exciting novel which managed to surprise me with unexpected twists and turns despite its seemingly straightforward plot.... Overall, Midwinter is the best pure genre debut of 09 so far for me and I highly recommend it."

I'm thrilled, further, to see that the comments section includes some love for the wonderful cover illustration from Chris McGrath. He's currently working on the art for, and Matt is currently writing, the follow-up, The Office of Shadow, about which more later.

This is so wrong

Kindle Me This, Lou Man

Really geeked about the Kindle ap for the iPhone. I just bought the Kindle version of The Graveyard Book as a way to check it out. Personally, I will probably still do most of my reading with Stanza, but that's because most of my reading is manuscripts - not finished books - and Stanza makes it really, really easy to upload Word documents. But if I were a big consumer of other publisher's books, Kindle for iPhone would probably be my preferred reader. Anyway, I'll report back when I've read a book on it.

Meanwhile, my good friend Stephenson just bought a Kindle 2. He sends me this screenshot, which warmed up my morning:

And did you hear that B&N just bought Fictionwise?

Artwork: Age of Misrule One

Mark Chadbourn's World's End (Age of Misrule 1)

Cover illustration © John Picacio
Cover Design by Nicole Sommer-Lecht

My Locus Interview is Up

The wonderful Nick Gevers interviews me for his new SF Quintessential column on Locus Online, where we talk about my anthology Fast Forward 2and science fiction in general. Here's a clip:

Anders: Well, first and foremost, science fiction has to be entertaining if it is to work at all. I recently read an anthology (won't say which) that I thought was just one sanctimonious lecture after another on how bad our contemporary lifestyle is and how we've all got it coming. And frankly, I had to slog through the book, and it's made me quite angry, because I don't think this sort of thing is doing anyone any favors. "Action," "Adventure," and "Fun" aren't dirty words and never should be.

Free Ebook: Sean Williams' The Crooked Letter

As you've probably already heard on Boing Boing or SF Signal or Bookspot Central, and as I've already Tweeted and Facebooked:

For the first time ever, Pyr Books is making one of our novels available for free as an eBook. Sean Williams' The Crooked Letter: Books of the Cataclysm: One is available now, in its entirety, as a PDF.

When mirror twins Seth and Hadrian Castillo travel to Europe on holidays, they don’t expect the end of the world to follow them. Seth’s murder, however, puts exactly that into motion.

From opposite sides of death, the Castillo twins grapple with a reality neither of them suspected, although it has been encoded in myths and legends for millennia. The Earth we know is just one of many “realms”, three of which are inhabited by humans during various stages of their lives. And their afterlives...

In the tradition of Philip Pullman and Ursula K. Le Guin and inspired by numerous arcane sources, the Books of the Cataclysm begin in the present world but soon propel the reader to a landscape that is simultaneously familiar and fantastic.

See why SFFWorld said:

"[E]xplores the nature of life, death, and reality. Big subjects, but with the precision of an archaeological expert, Williams is more than up to the task. There is a lot to admire in Williams' epic fantasy, the wide range of global religions and myths of which his afterlife is comprised, to the characterization of the protagonists. The story has the mythic resonance of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman and American Gods, the dark fantasy/horror one might associate with something like Stephen King’s Dark Tower saga, the multiple universes/realities of Moorcock’s Eternal Champion mythos, and the strange, weird creatures one might associate with China Miéville’s Bas-lag novels. Williams imagined world is equal part those novels which preceded his, but fortunately, there is enough newness to both the approach and vision to make this the work of a singular vision...." [R]eading many of the other titles Lou Anders has published with Pyr, I shouldn’t have been surprised with both the quality of the writing and the breadth of Williams’ imagination. Like a lot of the other books published by Pyr, Williams captures what makes a tried and true genre like Epic Fantasy so popular and enjoyable of a genre and spins a tale with his unique voice. This is the type of book you finish and can’t wait to read the sequel."

Download your copy here, and thanks for helping us spread the word!

Pyr's McDonald, Edelman & Roberson: Too Much to Keep Track of

You go out of town for a week, and look what happens:

Ian McDonald's Brasylhas made the short list for the Nebula Awards!! Meanwhile over on Boing Boing, fellow-nominee Cory Doctorow (Little Brother) reviews Ian McDonald's Cyberabad Days:

"Ian McDonald is one of science fiction's finest working writers, and his latest short story collection Cyberabad Days, is the kind of book that showcases exactly what science fiction is for. ...Cyberabad Days has it all: spirituality, technology, humanity, love, sex, war, environmentalism, politics, media -- all blended together to form a manifesto of sorts, a statement about how technology shapes and is shaped by all the wet, gooey human factors. Every story is simultaneously a cracking yarn, a thoughtful piece of technosocial criticism, and a bag of eyeball kicks that'll fire your imagination. The field is very lucky to have Ian McDonald working in it."

And Nick Gevers interviews McDonald on SciFi Wire:

"The title Cyberabad Days is a deliberate echo of the Arabian Nights. The stories are fairy tales of New Delhi. River was an Indian—novel, fat, many-voiced, wide-screen; Cyberabad Days is tales. Mumbai movies tell stories in ways that challenge our Western aesthetics and values. They're not afraid of sentiment, they're not afraid of big acting, or putting in song and dance, because Bollywood cinema's not supposed to be a mimetic art form. It's not about realism—that most pernicious of Western values—it's a show."

On io9, Charlie Jane Anders interviews Infoquakeand MultiRealauthor David Louis Edelman:

"I began with a vision of a futuristic world, and worked backwards to figure out how everything came together. Most of the backstory came about when I was writing the early chapters of Infoquake and just started randomly filling things in. When I'd get stuck writing the story proper, I'd just spend some time writing background articles. This kind of thing has always been attractive to me. I was the kid who bought AD&D modules just because I liked to read them, even though I didn't have anyone to play AD&D with. I'm the guy who always liked The Silmarillion better than The Lord of the Rings."

On the Adventures in SciFi Publishing podcast episode 75, host Shaun Farrel interviews End of the Centuryauthor Chris Roberson! Here's the direct download link. (And, as a reminder, here is part one and part two of my massive Tor.com piece on Roberson's entire career. Part two wasn't up when I left town.)

These guys are making it hard for me to get caught up!

Niagara Falls in Winter

The Myriad Worlds of Chris Roberson, Part One

My massive post covering all of Chris Roberson's Celestial Empire stories to date is up on Tor.com. And guess what? This is only part one of a two-part post.

Check it out, ya' hear.

Coming next is my massive post covering all of his Bonaventure-Carmody universe work, as well as his media-tie in, stand-alone, and forthcoming comic book work. Took me friggin' forever.

Fast Forward 2: The Pulse of Sciece Fiction

I haven't seen the issue yet, but thanks to Shirt'n'Tie, I learned that Death Ray issue #17 has a very positive review of Fast Forward 2.

The review, by Thom Hutchinson, apparently says:

“May the series continue – while other anthologies look to check the pulse of SF, Anders seems determined to be the pulse, and that alone demands celebration.”

Works by me! And thanks to Shirt'n'Tie for pointing it out.

Two New Fantasy Novels Unleashed!

Two epic fantasy novels, Matthew Sturges' Midwinter and Tom Lloyd's The Twilight Herald (Book Two of the Twilight Reign quintet) are now shipping from Amazon and other online vendors. They should showing up in physical stores in a week or so as well.

Midwinter: Winter comes to the land only once in a hundred years. But the snow covers ancient secrets: secrets that could topple a kingdom. Mauritaine was a war hero. Then he was accused of treason and sentenced to life without parole at Crere Sulace, a dark and ancient prison in the mountains, far from the City Emerald. But now the Seelie Queen – Regina Titania herself – has offered him one last chance to redeem himself, an opportunity to regain his freedom and his honor.

The Twilight Herald: Lord Bahl is dead and the young white-eye, Isak, stands in his place; less than a year after being plucked from obscurity and poverty the charismatic new Lord of the Farlan finds himself unprepared to deal with the attempt on his life that now spells war, and the possibility of rebellion waiting for him at home. The Twilight Herald is the second book in a powerful new series that combines inspired world-building, epic battles, and high emotion to dazzling effect.