Good News, Bad News
Ah, the lord he giveth and the lord he taketh away.
Some bad news first, I always like to start with the bad news, don’t you? I am abject to report that UK publication of the Heroes has been delayed. The good news? It’s only by a week. Yes, indeed, due to a scheduling issue on the part of my dark masters at Orion, and totally not my fault at all honest, The Heroes will now descend screaming, heavily-armed and frothing at the mouth upon your local bookstore on January 27th, and not a day before. US publication date of February 7th is, to the best of my knowledge, unaffected. I apologise. All I can do is mercilessly blame others and hope to duck all responsibility. It’s the approach that’s got me where I am today…
Moving swiftly to more good news! The first review of the Heroes has surfaced over at the Wertzone, and it’s a goodun!
“The Heroes is the first major fantasy release of 2011, and it looks like the new year is already off to a cracking start … Joe Abercrombie doing what he does best but better than ever before: gritty, violent, morally ambiguous and darkly funny fantasy with a streak of intelligent cynicism.”
The bad news? I’m not China Mieville.
“Criticisms? Well, Abercrombie is evolving as a writer, developing a more varied prose style with some nice descriptive touches (even if they are being applied to a soldier’s first encounter with the horror of field latrines), but he isn’t exactly turning into China Mieville here.”
Why the hell did no one tell me I’m supposed to be turning into China Mieville! I mean he’s a darned fine writer, and from my brief encounters with him a very nice fella, and a dashedly handsome man to boot, as all kinds of women and Mark Charan Newton are forever telling me. But the world already has a Mieville, must I truly be another? Who would write Joe Abercrombie books then? Mieville? Aaargh! It boggles my mind so much I cannot even summon up a nice descriptive touch to describe it. But the good news? It’s a five star review! For those kind of marks I’ll be whoever you want me to be…
Copy-Edited
Ring out the bells, for The Heroes is finished! Well, not entirely finished, of course. I still need to proof-read it once it’s been typeset, its maps need to be checked over and perhaps corrected a little, and the promotional efforts of blogging, interviewing, talking about it and reading from it will no doubt go […]
Comic Con and Other Appearances
To flesh out some details on the shortly forthcoming New York Comicon: I shall be appearing on a panel that no self-respecting New York-living fan of fantasy will want to miss, with Naomi Novik, Jim Butcher, Peter V. Brett, and Brandon Sanderson, moderated by Betsy Mitchell, editor-in-chief at Del Rey. The subject matter will be […]
Half Price Heroes
You guys know how I hate personal promotion, but allow me to let slip for just a moment my shiny creative veneer and proudly display the rotten commercial heart that beats within. I note that amazon.co.uk are now offering The Heroes for pre-order with a 50% discount. That’s right, I can hardly believe it either, […]
Enhanced E-Book of the Heroes
So, my enhanced e-book consultation threw up some interesting suggestions. Several were those who said the digital revolution would only happen over their suppurating corpses. No problem, for you there will be various paper-based editions. Several were those who said they would never be interested in extras of any kind. You are more than welcome, […]
Updates, Extras, Extract, New York
It’s all good news! Some overdue updates to the site over the last few days, which include an updated home page, a fully fledged information page for The Heroes, with space for all the glowing reviews which will no doubt appear over the next few months (ahem) and, some among you will no doubt be […]
