Lies and Firsts
I note in passing that my dark masters at Gollancz have re-issued Scott Lynch’s The Lies of Locke Lamora with a retro yellow cover reminiscent of the early 60s in order to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the imprint: THE fantasy debut of 2006, other than mine. The book, of course, is a wretched tissue of […]
Flowers and Plaudits
It seems I am now able to add another name to the ever-lengthening list of awards I haven’t won, for I duly note that my short story, The Fool Jobs, is one of five finalists for a Locus Award. It’s actually not a short story apparently, as at some 8,000 words (yes, I can’t even write […]
Swords and Lasers
A couple of interviews lately. In print (or at least on screen) with the mushroom-meister himself, Jeff Vandermeer, at Amazon’s Omnivoracious, focusing on The Heroes. And a very nice podcast over at Sword and Laser covering quite a bit of ground, including worldbuilding, influences, approaches to writing, and wee. Reviews of The Heroes and other […]
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 […]
Twinterview
People keep telling me twitter is a wonderful thing, but I have given it a wide berth lest the quarter of my life that is not spent on the internet ends up spent, well … on the internet. Or perhaps the twinternet. But next week, to celebrate the release of The Heroes and etc. I […]
The Heroes Minus Nineteen Days
Don’t know if you’re aware of this, but there’s this book coming out at the end of January called The Heroes. As one would hope, a veritable tornado of publicity is beginning to sweep across the parched dustbowl that is the January sf&fnal press, both print and internet. I always like to hear the good […]
Publishers Weekly
That esteemed organ of the American book trade, Publishers Weekly, have spoken out on the subject of The Heroes, with a starred review, no less: “This blood-drenched, thought-provoking dissection of a three-day battle is set in the same world as Abercrombie’s First Law Trilogy (The Blade Itself, etc.), but stands very well alone. Union commander […]
Brash, Funny, Brutal and Wise
In much the same way as the first few touches of brightness mark the sable heavens well in advance of a glorious dawn, a couple more early reviews of The Heroes have lately brought nourishing light to the inky void that is the internet. The first from Simon Appleby at Bookgeeks: “Abercrombie’s take on fantasy has […]
Proof-Reading, Short Stories, Review
Back in the UK, and now in the final phase of work on The Heroes – proof-reading. This is when you check through the finished pages, fully typeset as they will appear in the finished hardcover. Generally any changes are at the spelling or setting level, though it is surprising how often you’ll come upon […]
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 […]
