Before They are Hanged – Limited
My copies of Subterranean Press’ ultra-exclusive, tray-cased, leather-bound, lettered edition of The Blade Itself came through the mail yesterday, and let me tell you those guys can make a book. I think it’s about the nicest book I own. I could just sit there for hours and smell it.
But work on the limited edition of Before They are Hanged is also underway, and I thought I might share one of the interior illustrations with y’all, my favourite of those that artist Alexander Preuss has produced so far…
Heh. Heh heh. It’s a strange and sometimes frustrating experience, letting an artist loose on your work, because you’ll rarely see something that you feel really encapsulates your vision (which, after all, you rarely have a clear idea of yourself), and generally you have to allow them to interpret and put their own spin on the material. Otherwise what’s the point? Sometimes you look at what comes back and don’t necessarily feel it sums up the mood and tone of your work at all. But occasionally you feel moved – even a little awed – to have provided the starting point for something so frakking cool. Incidentally, Alexander’s concept art for this one is here:
Which ain’t exactly bad of itself. The other rough that I’ve seen looks pretty darned promising too. You can order copies of Before They are Hanged here, although at the moment they’re not taking orders from anyone who doesn’t already own The Blade Itself limited (which I’m afraid to say sold out prior to publication. Actually, come to think of it, I’m delighted to say it).
In other news, The Heroes has sadly dropped from the UK Hardcover Bestseller list after three weeks in the top 10, mixing it up with the likes of James Patterson, Jo Nesbo, Clive Cussler, Dean Koontz. That’s mainstream, my friends, and a testament to the hard work put in by folks in every part of my publisher. Still need convincing to buy it? There’s a nice in depth review from Niall Alexander over at Strange Horizons:
“In short: Joe Abercrombie is a lean, mean, killing machine, and The Heroes is his best yet. Smarter, funnier, and harder than The First Law, more considered than Best Served Cold by a great, gory swathe, miss this one and heads could very well roll.”
And I’m talking about the book, among other things, on the first edition of Orbit’s new podcast. Apologies for the slightly dodgy line. And any of my dodgy lines. Phone interviews can be difficult, and you don’t always get your point across quite as you’d like to. I also seem to have a strange habit of talking in an incoherent rush, then pausing in odd places to gather my breath, before babbling off again. It doesn’t sound like that in my head, honest. Still, here it is. If you prefer your interviews in written form, there’s another over at Total Sci-Fi.
Bankrupt Nihilism
Those of you who’ve followed this blog for a while (I am reasonably confident there are at least two) will be aware that at times in the past I’ve picked up and examined negative criticisms from around the web, but always in a positive and respectful way (ahem), using them as a springboard for a […]
Job Done
With Edinburgh and Glasgow visited yesterday, my whirlwind tour of the UK is now finished. My thanks to my publicist Jon for his organisational skills and staunch support throughout, and my thanks to all of you who turned out to the fifteen or so events. Those who didn’t manage to make it (Boo, hiss) we […]
Have. Some.
So, I’m extremely pleased – if not to say insufferably smug – to announce that The Heroes made the Sunday Times bestseller list last week for hardcover fiction, in 3rd place with some 4,100 copies sold, well above Clive Cussler and just behind Scandinavian wunderkind Jo Nesbo and the ubiquitous James Patterson. This is indeed […]
