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Echo City

by Tim Lebbon (Goodreads Author)

3.4 of 5 stars 3.40 · rating details · 172 ratings · 29 reviews

Surrounded by a vast, poisonous desert, Echo City is built upon the graveyard of its own past. Most inhabitants believe that their city and its subterranean Echoes are the whole of the world, but there are a few dissenters. Peer Nadawa is a political exile, forced to live with criminals in a ruinous slum. Gorham, once her lover, leads a ragtag band of rebels against the ru...more

Paperback, 496 pages

Published October 26th 2010 by Spectra

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Feb 01, 2011 Marcus rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: did-not-finish

This book was a struggle to get into - a struggle I ended up losing I might add.

Lately I've been in a mood for post-apocalyptic stories and the attractive cover of Echo City coupled with the intriguing concept hooked me. Unfortunately after the opening sequence - dark, foreboding, heavy, etc - nothing else happened to keep me going. I tried to keep reading but it was a chore. Unlike other books where I look for any excuse to keep reading, Echo City was like a term paper you keep putting off. I...more

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Jan 28, 2012 Noelle McCoy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

in general, I enjoyed this book...it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, but it did satisfy my sci-fi craving...I liked the characters who, I felt, where realistic...they weren't all good and all bad, but at varying degrees of both like real folks tend to be...the narrative voice was beautifully descriptive, even poetic at times...however, there were segments of the narrative I felt were overly detailed and somewhat slow in pace...removing about about 75 pages would move the story along a litt...more

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Mar 01, 2013 Ross Evans rated it 3 of 5 stars

Echo City by Tim Lebbon caught my eye after I saw it's awesome cover online. The story is a stand alone novel and I hate to say it but it's almost refreshing to see an author in the fantasy genre tell a good story in one book! Echo City is essentially a place in the middle of a vast desert. The city itself is a pretty depressing place and it's inhabitants are all plagued with political, social, and religious differences. It's here where we meet the Political outcast Peer Nadawa who lives life on...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Ruth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: spec-fic

C2010. FWFTB: toxic, desert, stranger, experiments, deadly.This book was well received out in cyber space and the extracts that I read were very enticing. IMHO this is a very well written book with an authentic plot and characters. Pacy and exciting. The author has managed to draw some superb characters without clogging up the story with unnecessary world building. It is not a barrel of laughs though and there is very little, if any, humour to lighten the mood. “To most people, history is a dead...more

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Oct 12, 2011 Ashley Dawn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Echo City is literally surrounded by danger. All around is a poisonous desert and there is something definitely lurking under the city soon to rise and destroy it! This city is thought to be the only human existence remaining since the desert surrounds it and no one has ever survived crossing it nor has anyone come out of the desert…until now.
A group of ‘revolutionaries’—the Watchers—take it upon themselves to protect this stranger from across the desert, though he seems to have lost most of his...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Jason rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books, read-2012

5 Stars

Wow, 2012 is the year that I really found the awesome writing and worlds created by Tim Lebbon. Echo City will stay with me for a long time. I am having a really hard time comprehending how Lebbon does not have a huge following and his works are not rated as high as I believe they should be. If you have not read him before, I will state a disclaimer that he manages to mix all my favorite genres into his writings which make me a biased reviewer. Echo City is a true dark fantasy with a touc...more 5 Stars

Wow, 2012 is the year that I really found the awesome writing and worlds created by Tim Lebbon. Echo City will stay with me for a long time. I am having a really hard time comprehending how Lebbon does not have a huge following and his works are not rated as high as I believe they should be. If you have not read him before, I will state a disclaimer that he manages to mix all my favorite genres into his writings which make me a biased reviewer. Echo City is a true dark fantasy with a touch of horror in it too (like all his works are). It is also a science fiction novel with a touch of the new weird in it as well. Religion, Gods, and the beliefs of what it means to be a man are pervasive throughout this macabre tale. His books are thought provoking and will stir your imagination. I like that many compare this book to Mieville’s PSS, but their writing styles are unique to themselves and are great for different reasons.

Like his other books this is a book that is rich and dense with atmosphere. Echo City itself is an amazing piece of imagination and fiction and can stand on its own along with other fictional greats like New Crobuzon, and Ambergis. Echo City is a city that is both literally and figuratively built upon its past and upon its history. The Echoes are under the city, walking the city, and filling every nook and cranny. It is a place surrounded by an endless, deadly desert, and is an island that may be the whole world. Phantoms are a present reminder of the past.

“”The Echoes are … nebulous. The deeper you go, the older the Echo, the more uncertain the geography becomes.”
“But they’re just levels.” Gorham was becoming frustrated and a little angry, and he supposed it was due to fear.
“Just levels? Gorham, the past is a living place. The deeper you go, the further into history you travel. The city doesn’t deal with history. It builds over its past, encloses it, shuts it off, and while tradition might persist, the real histories are soon forgotten. It’s the present that matters to Echo City, while the past echoes below it, in some cases still alive. If you read the history books, one will contradict another, particularly as you go further back. So why should the Echoes be any different?””

The city itself is crafted so deeply that it is itself another of the many points of view that Lebbon gives to us the reader. I was taken away and brought down under the streets of Echo City as the story was being told. I felt like I was there, that I bared witness to the events, and that I walked among the echoes along with our protagonists. The feel reminded me of a cross between Mieville’s New Crobuzon and set in the world of The Descent by Jeff Long.

The opening chapter of this novel is among the very best of any book that I have ever read. It is an amazing journey and it provides us with a taste as to what the novel is and what it will bring. The creatures as hideous as they are, are also filled with hope and determination and in this book that is a real treat…Awesome stuff!

Lebbon writes books like this as dark fantasy novel for adults. They are bloody, graphic, serious, and filled with depth and character. Echo City is filled with a great cast of colorful protagonists, chopped people, and scary beasts. Religion plays a major role as does faith and prophecy. The characters made this book work and made Echo City remember able. The “chopped-ones”, made by The Baker are similar in scope and science to the Remade freaks of Mievilles. There are Humans with extra appendages, blades for hands, and armor for skin. Freakish chopped-ones that fulfill specific roles that will scare you, make you feel dirty, and leave you in awe and wonder. Nophel, one of the main POV’s was a chopped-one himself, being that he is the true son of “The Baker”.

“Nophel lowered his hood and smiled at his image. The single pale eye, his other eye a blood-red ruin. The dark skin split and bubbled with fungal growths; they would need pricking and bathing again later. His teeth were good, bright and even, and that made his smile the most monstrous aspect of all.”

The writing style of Lebbon is unique in today’s market. I have really come to love and appreciate his meticulous building of tension and suspense, and the slow build he crafts. To some this will come off as too slow and too long, but to me it is what makes him special and makes Echo City so worth a read. His prose is as dark and well-crafted as the landscapes that he portrays. His action scenes are equal to the task.

“They know this is death, he thought, but they keep fighting. I’m fighting for Echo City, but they’re fighting for me. Forme! He screamed and ran forward, reversing the direction of their retreat and engaging three Dragarians. These were regulars—unchopped but still trained for war—and they came at him with swords and knives, throwing stars and weighted wires that would take his head from his shoulders. He ducked and stabbed, kicked and bit, slashed and thrust. Something struck his shoulder and pain flared, but his scream was one of fury. Wetness splashed across his throat and chest, and he was unsure whether it was his. A sword jabbed at him and he fell back, straight onto another. It pierced his hip and he turned, kneeling, twisting the knife from the owner’s hand, smashing his head forward, and feeling cartilage crunch beneath his forehead. The man stepped back, holding his nose, eyes watering as he looked in comical surprise at the blood pooling in his hand. Dane jabbed, and his sword’s tip entered the man’s left eye, wide blade jamming in his skull.”

I want to gush on and on about this book and about Lebbon. I will summarize this by saying that those of you who are tired of books tailored to the young adult crowd might find this there cup of tea. He writes exceptionally thought provoking dark fantasy that really is not for the faint of heart. This book as well as his other works will sit with you long after you are finished with them. I am a huge Tim Lebbon fan and cannot recommend him highly enough.
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Nov 05, 2010 Stefan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, www-fantasyliterature-com-review

Echo City is a vast and ancient city in the middle of a huge, deadly desert. Its inhabitants have been isolated for thousands upon thousands of years and have come to believe that the city is actually all of the world, because venturing out into the surrounding desert is certain death. During its immense history, the city has renewed itself countless times by building new layers on top of the old, not like layers of sediment but more like floors in a building, with the old “echoes” of its past s...more Echo City is a vast and ancient city in the middle of a huge, deadly desert. Its inhabitants have been isolated for thousands upon thousands of years and have come to believe that the city is actually all of the world, because venturing out into the surrounding desert is certain death. During its immense history, the city has renewed itself countless times by building new layers on top of the old, not like layers of sediment but more like floors in a building, with the old “echoes” of its past slowly decaying in underground vaults.

Peer Nadawa is a political dissident, living in exile in an isolated prison district in the city, recuperating from the shock and torture she endured in the hands of the Marcellans, Echo City’s religious rulers. After all, before her capture, Peer was a member of the outlawed Watchers, who believe that there’s more to the world than just Echo City. Gorham, her former lover, is still a Watcher fighting against the theocracy of the Marcellans and its military arm, the Scarlet Blades. His new lover is Nadielle, a woman living beneath the city and creating new, mutated forms of life in a process called “chopping.” Finally, there’s Nophel, a disfigured servant of the Marcellans, under the protection of Dane Marcellan, a degenerate member of the ruling class.

This disparate group of characters is about to go through a shocking change in their lives, because early on in the story, Peer is witness to the impossible: a stranger walks out of the bone-strewn and poisonous desert wastes and arrives on the city’s outskirts. She quickly realizes that she has to bring the visitor, who is the first person ever to survive exposure to the desert, to her former colleagues in the Watchers, despite the fact that he appears to have lost most of his memory...

So begins Echo City, the newest dark fantasy novel by Tim Lebbon — and “dark” is definitely an appropriate term for this sometimes disturbing story. A feeling of hopelessness and loss permeates the entire book, from the ancient city, resting on countless millennia of isolated history and mercilessly ruled by a corrupt theocracy, to most of its characters who are, almost without exception, defined by what they have lost rather than what they are. Echo City is a gritty and at times unpleasantly dark novel that might remind some readers, at least in atmosphere, of China Miéville’s BAS-LAG novels: Echo City somewhat resembles New Crobuzon, with its underground political dissidents fighting the heavy-handed leadership, not to mention the similarity between the “chopped” and the Remade.

There are many more differences than similarities, though, and Echo City is a unique and impressive fantasy setting. Tim Lebbon excels in his ability to make the city seem like a real place, with several districts that have a unique atmosphere, including some that are ruled by vicious criminal gangs and, maybe most strangely, one that appears to house several huge domes in which an entire mysterious race has been isolated for centuries. There’s also the fact that the entire city’s history is literally buried underground to be explored, Journey to the Center of the Earth-style (although I found it almost impossible to suspend disbelief to such an extent that I could really accept those huge vaults remaining upright for thousands of years). There are also some seriously bizarre mutated creatures, such as the Bellowers and the Scopes, that take Echo City to a whole new level of weirdness. In terms of setting, this novel is a huge and memorable success that made me wish the book included a map and some illustrations.

Unfortunately, there are some issues with pacing. The second half of Echo City contains a few chapters that barely advance the story, making it drag a bit towards the end. Trimming these down would have improved the reading experience tremendously. Some of the characters could have used more depth and back story, including main characters Peer and Gorham, but fortunately this is balanced out by some truly fascinating ones such as Norphel and especially Nadielle. Finally, the whole concept of “chopping” (creating strangely modified humans and monsters) is introduced by briefly showing a chopped prostitute: she has three legs and two sets of genitalia, allowing her to make twice the income. Given the wonderfully innovative things Tim Lebbon does with “chopping” later on and for most of the novel, I felt that using a “twin-muffed whore” to introduce the concept was unnecessarily shocking.

Regardless, Echo City is a memorable dark fantasy novel with an impressively rich setting that could well be developed further in a prequel. Readers who (like me) sought out this novel based on the strength of the short story “The Deification of Dal Bamore” (in the recent Swords & Dark Sorcery anthology) will, despite some minor issues, probably not be disappointed.

(This review was also published on 11/5/2010 on www.fantasyliterature.com)(less)

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Dec 28, 2010 Ranting Dragon rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: stephan

http://www.rantingdragon.com/echo-cit...

“Something’s coming…”

That one line summarizes Echo City, a stand-alone novel by Tim Lebbon. This is a work of very dark but slightly epic fantasy that sometimes borders on the horror genre. It is about a huge city called Echo City, named after its Echoes which are layers of old parts of the city built over by new parts but left intact beneath the surface. From deep down there, down beneath the earliest of Echoes, something is slowly rising. Fortune-tellers...more

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Jun 18, 2011 Jessie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

This was my first Tim Lebbon book, and I enjoyed the world building, especially for what seems to be a standalone novel. I've gone back and forth, giving it 3 and 4 stars, but I think I'll settle on 3.

I enjoyed reading it, and I don't think I had the uphill climb that some others had. However, it was a little anticlimactic to me, with the somewhat "deus ex machina" effect of Vex at the end (even though it *was* explained within the context of the limited knowledge of the characters). He's in go...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Richard rated it 3 of 5 stars

A very interesting dark fantasy with some well developed characters, in what appears to be a post apoclyptic setting, one city remains cut off from the remainder of the world by a seemingly impassable toxic desert that will turn your organs to mush, until the day someone walks in from that desert with organs unmushed, except maybe for his brain.

Loved the twist of magic effectively being a combination of human cloning and attaching extra things you want to them, though was surprised how few ethic...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Stephen Glover rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oh dear...I'm really having a love/hate relationship with Tim Lebbon's work at the moment. I've read 5 of his Fantasy novels so far: the Dusk/Dawn duology was OK, I loved 'Fallen', 'The Island' didn't inspire me and I really struggled with Echo City.

The ideas are nice but it is a similar kind of story to some of his other work, dark and broody and normally with some kind of sleeping god in it. I just found this too long with too many uninteresting chapters and little action. None of the backgrou...more

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Feb 09, 2011 Wm rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction-and-fantasy

A nice blend of horror and urban-ish/post-apocalyptic-ish fantasy. The characters and world are much more interesting than the action, though. Which is too bad. In fact, the overall plot is kinda good, it's just how we get to the main plot points isn't quite as interesting as it should be. It also meanders too much in the middle and compresses too much in the end.

But it still gets three stars because the characters -- from a gene-splicer to a freak to a rebel leader to the woman he betrayed --...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Brandon Ostrom rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

If anything else, even though its set in a post apocalyptic style world, this book leans towards fantasy. I say that because its society and culture are easily the sort of thing you'd find in the gritty fantasy novels of Stephen Erikson, Clen Cook, Richard K. Morgan, R. Scott Bakker etc. You know, there's taverns, diseased whores, shop fronts with glistening, shining or acrid smoking somethings in them and malicious city guards. Most people walk around with knives and shifty eyes and basically e...more If anything else, even though its set in a post apocalyptic style world, this book leans towards fantasy. I say that because its society and culture are easily the sort of thing you'd find in the gritty fantasy novels of Stephen Erikson, Clen Cook, Richard K. Morgan, R. Scott Bakker etc. You know, there's taverns, diseased whores, shop fronts with glistening, shining or acrid smoking somethings in them and malicious city guards. Most people walk around with knives and shifty eyes and basically everyone is covered with piss, blood, sweat or poop, but just maybe off in the distance every now and again you'll notice a smiling parent buying an apple for their saintly child. That ity bitty ray of sunshine and/or hope. Of course that stuff by itself is blurring the edges of traditional fantasy (i.e. Lord of the Rings and all the people trying to rewrite it since forever.) The edge blurring continues with the book having all these "chopped people" and "chopped creatures," which are pretty much physically modified so they have more arms, armor skin, etc. Magic is alluded to, though very briefly of its of little importance. There's alternate races, but for the most part these are explained as being derivatives of humans who've modified themselves over time. Really, I don't think it matters what genre a book fits into as long as its it's well written (which this book is.) But, while it's a stretch, this is fantasy,

This book reminded me of China Mieville's Perdido Street Station in a many ways. There's the dark, gritty tone, the political-cultural upheaval stuff, how there's a lot of wandering from one scene to the next without a sense that it's all related somehow and serves to escalate towards the climax. But that's like, traditional storytelling, and I understand that neither China or Tim are going for that. Really, it doesn't much matter anyway. It doesn't much detract from them. Other similarities include the new races/creatures made out of Frankensteined people/animal parts, (which is pretty cool.)

Tim's characters I have to say I could tolerate more, as, unlike most of the characters in Perdido Street Station, the people in Tim's book are not all barely redeemable assholes. Anyway, enough of the comparing of these two books. Tim's book is a well written piece of fiction that I enjoyed for its being well written, all the 'neat' stuff going on (how are Franksteined people, postapocalypses and human body fluids not interesting?), and the characters.

So what's the book about other than the stuff I've already said? Well, it involves various people's getting redeemed for what at first seems unredeemable things and also a giant goddamn titan monster that wears a coat made of dead bodies that lives underneath the city. So. Sweet!

So this book is great if you like gritty, unflinching fantasy stuff. In tone, like China, or Stephen Erikson, Clen Cook, Richard K. Morgan etc. If all you read is Terry Brooks, Robert Jordan or Patricia A. McKillip, do not read this. You will cry and poop, or at least not like it much at all.

You'd probably also like this if you enjoy Stephen King, Peter Straub, maybe Joe Hill. I don't know a ton about horror, but while this is no horror book, is has that edge to it at times, and then the grittiness again. Mr. Lebbon I am told also writes horror, so that makes sense.

And the fluids. If you love hearing about people ejecting or being covered in fluids of any kind, this is the book for you.
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Feb 21, 2012 J K rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It took me a while to get through this, and I posted plenty of messages on my Goodreads page wondering/whinging out loud why this was. The further I waded through it, though the clearer it was that something was missing.

However, I want to start with things I really liked about it. Because that’s the sort of positive person I am. Sometimes. When the coffee kicks in. There were great ideas here. Right at the start, as a strange creature walks across the lethal desert, shedding outer layers like a...more It took me a while to get through this, and I posted plenty of messages on my Goodreads page wondering/whinging out loud why this was. The further I waded through it, though the clearer it was that something was missing.

However, I want to start with things I really liked about it. Because that’s the sort of positive person I am. Sometimes. When the coffee kicks in. There were great ideas here. Right at the start, as a strange creature walks across the lethal desert, shedding outer layers like a Russian doll, I was immediately intrigued. The concept of

As far as I could make out, it was a little too long, and I feel that a good chunk of the endless walking could be whittled down. The descriptions of the city and the characters both needed more passion, as I felt quite detached from them and the decaying city and only gradually pieced the visuals together. That said, the twisting of terminology was great. I loved the concept of the Baker and the body ‘chopping’. I feel that the writer did too!

There was noticeably more focus on the fantastic monsters than there was on most of the ‘normal’ characters, and I feel there was too much explanation of ‘what each character thought of every other character and why they thought that and how it affected them’. Gasp. I feel the narrative hopped around between viewpoints too much, and I didn’t feel especially close to any of the characters because the story kept shifting. However I really liked the chap with the diseased face, who had a vendetta, as he had compassion and had been royally screwed over. I just didn’t feel much for the characters involved in a rather passionless love triangle. I felt that we’d sort of entered the story at the wrong point, there. The Baker was also a fascinating character but everyone seemed too scared to get to know her. Lots of bits I liked, and even the levels of the city, the ‘Echoes’ were interesting. Perhaps it would have worked better carved up into smaller pieces with more mini climaxes, and having the destruction of the city much earlier. There is a bit of a cliffhangar ending, so it’ll be interesting to read any followups to this story.

Despite my grumbles, this was quite an effective start and I’ll pick up something else by the author. I just feel the whole tome needed significant streamlining, and a bit more of an ‘oomph’ (to use the technical writerly term) when it comes to description, action and pacing. I was glad to visit Echo City, but the trip got a bit laborious after the first two hundred pages. (less)

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Dec 18, 2010 Daniel rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: did-not-finish

I do not want to finish this book. I suspected this might happen back at page 80, when I realized that Lebbon was telling far more than he was showing in his writing. Now, at page 225, I've read enough to put it down for good. Lebbon does put some good ideas into play, and I am still a little curious - just not enough to continue. For me, the mysteries of Echo City will remain as such.

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Mar 08, 2011 April rated it 4 of 5 stars

A long slow uphill climb, but the view from the top was wonderful! Again, Mr. Lebbon's story seems slow and long, but enthralls and intrigues and keeps you busy the whole way.... kinda like that day that is busy, busy, busy, but seems to take forever to be done. Enjoyed this one muchly, not as dark as some, but definitely not fluffy. Four out of five for this one.

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Feb 20, 2013 Jason rated it 4 of 5 stars

Took me a while to get into it, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed the imagery .. in fact, the imagery is what kept me going until the character became more interesting, and more human. Can't wait to see some Echo City steampunk costumes at the next Dragoncon (or whatever)!

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Sep 12, 2011 Kendall rated it 3 of 5 stars

Here is a world that deserves much more exploration. Past, present, and future. If it turns into a series, I say pick it up. If not, you might not bother.

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Sep 01, 2011 Claire rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A man walks towards a "city" and all hell breaks loose. In the city there is no concept of anyone being able to live outside as the surrounding desert is deadly. When he is found by a "Watcher" she must get him to safety as various factions will kill the man. The city has been building on top of itself for as long as people can remember. The old layers are the echos of the title and may or may not be haunted. This is a low technology world apart from the people/monsters who seem to have been gen...more

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Jun 01, 2011 Jonathan Wood rated it 3 of 5 stars

Good dark fiction, but I had trouble connecting with the characters for some reason. A lot of the action seemed to happen at a distance.

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Apr 11, 2013 Ruth Fox rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was impressed with this book - starting it, I wasn't sure where it would lead. However as I progressed I found the characters to be realistic and the way Echo City is portrayed and developed is fascinating. The ending is the type that my boyfriend would call 'unresolved', but I actually think it was perfect. A very enjoyable read.

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Nov 08, 2012 Nicholas Mastrodicasa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not the most engrossing read but I give it points because it did something different and created an interesting world.

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Dec 30, 2012 Laura Blair is currently reading it

pretty wierd

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Feb 17, 2013 ZombieApocalypse rated it 4 of 5 stars

It was slow to start but really made up for it in the end. Very entertaining

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May 31, 2012 Mark rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Like many before me, this book defeated me. Just too hard to get into, too hard to develop any empathy with the characters.

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Jul 20, 2012 Bob rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed Tim's world and characters, they reminded me a bit of Mieville's Bas-Leg stories, weird fiction and steampunkish. If he does a sequel I'd probably buy it.

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Jan 03, 2012 James added it

Tim Lebbon is a great writer. Echo City was agreat combo of horror, fanyasy and steam punk sci-fi that kept me turning pages until the climactic end.

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Oct 29, 2011 Ian Thomas rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: unfinished

I quit reading after 100 pages of beautiful writing but next to no story development. Gave up looking for a plot and went to read the next book.

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Jun 11, 2012 Gunnar Bangsmoen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Pretty interesting world building, but the narrative is too chaotic and distant to make an impression.

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Jul 01, 2012 Brian Kish rated it 3 of 5 stars

Started good and faded at the end

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About Tim Lebbon

I was born in London in 1969, lived in Devon until I was eight, and the next twenty years were spent in Newport. My wife Tracey and I then did a Good Thing and moved back to the country, and we now live in the little village of Goytre in Monmouthshire with our kids Ellie and Daniel. It’s a lovely place – pub, shop, chip shop, school – and we’re very happy here. Two minutes’ walk in any direction a...more I was born in London in 1969, lived in Devon until I was eight, and the next twenty years were spent in Newport. My wife Tracey and I then did a Good Thing and moved back to the country, and we now live in the little village of Goytre in Monmouthshire with our kids Ellie and Daniel. It’s a lovely place – pub, shop, chip shop, school – and we’re very happy here. Two minutes’ walk in any direction and we’re in the countryside, and the area has featured, intentionally or not, in much of my writing.

I’ve been writing ever since I can remember. The first story I recall actually finishing was when I was nine years old. It involved a train hijacking (yeah, a train has about ten thousand doors and is probably the hardest moving vehicle to hijack … but I was nine years old!), and one of the hijackers being clumsy enough to drop his gun. Naturally my hero found the gun and went on a killing spree. Die Hard on the 10:17 from Paddington.

In my teens I began about nine million novels, and finished none of them. They varied from World War Two action adventures to ’70s style disaster novels. Some had spooky elements, some did not, and it wasn’t until I was twenty that I wrote my first horror story, “Black Heart”. I still have it somewhere … and I suspect it will remain hidden away forever!

My first published story was in the UK indie magazine Psychotrope in 1994, and in 1997 Tanjen published my first novel Mesmer. Since then I’ve had over almost thirty books published in the UK and US by Bantam Spectra, Allison & Busby, Night Shade Books, Simon & Schuster, Leisure Books, PS Publishing, Necessary Evil Press, Cemetery Dance and many others, with many more due soon. Check out the Library section for details.

Quite a few of my novellas and novels have been optioned for the screen, including White (written by Stephen Susco), Exorcising Angels, Until She Sleeps, Face, In Perpetuiry, and The Nature of Balance. They’re all ‘in development’ right now, which means anything from ‘We’re trying to find a writer’ to ‘We have major studio interest and it’s only a matter of time’. There are several others projects about to enter such a stage of development. One day …

Late in 2006 I took the plunge into full-time writing and it’s going well. There’s plenty of exciting news on the horizon – new book deals, film options and other stuff – and you’ll find details posted at this site as and when they happen.(less)

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The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Movie Novelization

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7980199-echo-city?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344253724l/7980199.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7980199-echo-city?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Echo City by Tim Lebbon[/url]

Echo City

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