Adrian Tchaikovsky's Blog, page 17

Coming soon to an Eastercon near you

So EightConSquared, a.k.a. Eastercon 2013, is on the horizon, and I finally know what I'm doing at it, so for those who are coming (or thinking of it) the programme can be found by following the links here. For me, my contribution can be measured thusly:

Friday 29th at 7-8pm is the fantasy Genre Get-Together which is your best opportunity to get books signed, meet fantasy authors etc. The author list is here and I'd assume most of them will pitch up when their genre gets poked.

On Saturday 30th at 11-12am I'm on the panel "The Stories in Games" discussing what it says on the tin with Mike Cule, Ian McKenna, Emma Newman and Marcus Rowland.

Same day at 8-9pm I'm on a rather technical panel "Law and New Technology". I'm not an IP specialist, alas, but hopefully I'll have something to contribute on the legal side. I'm sharing this one with Jennifer Delaney, Simon Bradshaw, Caroline Gomez-Lagerlof and Sarah Groenewegen.

Finally, on Sunday at 5–6 my personal favourite "Revolutionary Fantasy", discussing politics and fantasy fiction, a personal axe of mine (as per recent post on the Tor UK blog). This one is with Juliet McKenna, Kate Keen, Francis Knight and Gaie Sebold.

In other news, I am interviewed by Ethel, the genius loci of Aethernet Magazine, here.

Hope to see you there.

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Seventeen flavours of news

Firstly, regarding the advent of the Great Aethernet Adventure, if you hop over to its site you can see fellow author Ian Whates getting a grilling.

Also, the regular paperback sized Air War is out and to mark it, my usual blogging has been somewhat diverted to the Tor UK site. Therefore, there's a double dose of bloggery goodness, and I invite you to:

Epic Steam — Shadows of the Apt and Steampunk.

The Politics of Insects — fantasy, conservatism, feudal systems and a little David Brin thrown in for good measure.

I am currently working through the final proofs of War Master's Gate, always the most gruelling part of the business. Necessary, though, as I suspect Seda wouldn't appreciate being described as the "Emopress".

I have it in mind to do a sciency post next, but that's going to take some time to work up to, given current commitments. But serious bloggation is likely to be perpetrated soon.

And finally: my next engagement, Eastercon in Bradford. If you're there, please don't hesitate to grab me for a chat, to sign books, buy me drinks, whatever.

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Brave New World

Not the new series this time. Instead, I bring you:

Aethernet, the return of serialised science fiction and fantasy.

Serialised genre fiction has been pretty much confined to the fossil record for a while, but what with all the changes going on in publishing — and especially e-publishing — it's something that's been talked about as a possible Next Big Thing. The rise of e-books has all sorts of intriguing possibilities for short stories, and especially for episodic stories where — like the physical magazines of old — the reader buys the next issue because theywant to know what happens next.

The name to conjure with for the Aethernet magazine is Tony Ballantyne, whose  unique and superbly written Penrose novels are some of my favourite SF. Aethernet is currently planned to run for 12 episodes and you can get a year's subscription for £20 from the link above. Even if I weren't in it, I'd be exhorting you to go take a look (1). However, Tony has lined up a remarkable stable of writers for the first year, including:

- Juliet E. McKenna, most recently published with the Hadrumal Crisis series, and a past master at epic and political fantasy.

- Chris Beckett, whose Dark Eden I have rhapsodised about, and who is gifting Aethernet with a sequel to that work.

- Ian Whates, a man with a foot in both fantasy (City of 100 Rows) and science fiction (Noise series)

- Eric Brown, author of a truly astonishing number of books including Satan's Reach and The Serene Invasion

- Philip Palmer, novellist and writer for radio, author of Artemis and more.

Together with yours truly and Tony himself.

As for what I'm contributing, I shall be debuting an all-new novella/short novel by the title of Spiderlight. This is a completely new epic fantasy, humorous in places, deadly serious in others, that serves as something of a deconstruction of the traditional prophecy-journey-dark lord narrative. A band of five heroes who should be immediately recognisable to any habitual RPGer or fantasy reader are on a quest, following the lead of ancient divination. Except that the words of the prophet back them into a corner where their only way to their goal is to take on an unwelcome sixth companion, a Mirkwood-style giant spider. I'm having great fun writing it, and hopefully the same, or more, can be had from reading it.

So, think of this as a bonus novel, slipped into the usual release schedule and brought out in instalments. I shall be in 10 of the 12 issues of Aethernet this year, and if it's a hit I hope to be involved in later years as well. Please do hop over to the Aethernet site and take a look, and if your purse can stretch, please do subscribe. You could be at the very forefront of the genre literature of tomorrow.

(1) Maybe not quite so enthusiastically, but…

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Tor Q&A and Edge Lit

Quick post to say that I'm now confirmed for Edge Lit at the Derby Quad on 13th July 2013  for those that fancy it. It's a very pleasant, quite varied, small-scale literary event, and there are usually a decent crop of writers there.

Also, in the lead-up to the release of the paperback (or anyways smaller paperback) of The Air War, there's a mini-interview up on the Tor site here.

Sorry for nothing more substantive, but I currently have mad quantities of short stories with deadlines looming, plus the first of the new series just hitting the 1/3 way point, so time is currently tight.

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Busywork

Although the Elder Scrolls Online trailer has given me sufficient food for thought for a second stab at the MMO genre, I'm still weighing the wisdom of taking up arms against that particular sea of troubles. However, I did want to set out the various conventions and other shenanigans I'm down for this year, in case anyone wanted to grab me for a signing:

16th February 2012 — Fantasy February, Derbyshire (writing weekend, doing a section on world building with a Q&A)

1st to 3rd March 2012 — Science Fiction Weekender, Wales.

29th March to 3rd April 2012 — EightConSquared (Eastercon 2012)

14th July 2012 — Edge Lit, Derby — may or may not be doing it this year as I've not been specifically tapped for it.

10th to 11th August 2012 - Nine Worlds Geekfest, London — this is a new one, just starting up this year. From the website it's in Kickstarter mode at the moment.

October 31st to November 3rd 2012 — the big one — the World Fantasy Convention is coming to the UK, Brighton to be precise.

And, somewhat more advance warning: 14th to 18th August 2014 is LonCon3, a.k.a. the World Science Fiction Convention, which is also landing in the UK, London this time.

On a separate tack, and mostly for reasons of personal vanity, I have at last got around to producing a bibliography that lists the various short stories I've had published, which can be found here.

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Bibliography

Bibliography

Novels

Shadows of the Apt (Tor UK)

Empire in Black and Gold (2008)

Dragonfly Falling (2009)

Blood of the Mantis (2009)

Salute the Dark (2010)

The Scarab Path (2010)

The Sea Watch (2011)

Heirs of the Blade (2011)

The Air War (2012)

War Master's Gate (upcoming, 2013)

Seal of the Worm (upcoming, 2014)

Short Stories

2011

The Dissipation Club (Dead But Dreaming 2, Miskatonic River Press) — Walther Cohen mystery

Pipework (Vivisepulture, Anarchy Books) — Walther Cohen mystery

Season of Sacrifice and Resurrection (Horror for the Holidays, Miskatonic River Press)

The Indecipherables (What a Long, Strange Trip it's Been, Immanion Press — also includes the article "Can I Keep Him")

2012

The Fall of Lady Sealight (Dark Currents, Newcon Press)

21st Century Girl (Nature magazine, v486 no.7403 21/6)

Not a Cat Person (Hauntings, Newcon Press)

Good Taste (Now I Lay Me Down To Reap, Siren's Call)

Saint George and Saint Giles (Tales ofthe Nun and Dragon, Fox Spirit)

Bones (The Alchemy Press Book of Ancient Wonders, Alchemy Press) — Shadows of the Apt story

The Mouse Ran Down (Carnage: After the End, volume 2, Siren's Call)

Lost Soldiers (The 13 Ghosts of Christmas, Spectral Press) — Walther Cohen Mystery

Feast and Famine (Solaris Rising 2: The New Solaris Book of Science Fiction, Solaris) — March 2013

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Apologies

…for no post recently. It's in a good cause: I'm getting well and truly stuck in to the new series, and having enormous fun with it.

New anthology news (1) is that I have a proper SF piece in Solaris Rising 2, a rather nice-looking anthology whose pages I share with such luminaries as Paul Cornell and Nick Harkaway, out in March.

Proper post soon, hopefully.

(1) New news? Ah yes, the elegant touch of the wordcrafter.

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Writing for a Good Cause

Just a very brief post to announce that a couple of Shadows of the Apt stories have found a wider audience.

Firstly, I am in some shockingly good company in the anthology Triumph Over Tragedy, now available on Amazon. This contains my story Spoils of War, originally debuted on this site, and I am joined by the remarkable ensemble cast of: Elizabeth Bear, Mark Lawrence, Robert Silverberg, Tobias Buckell, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Philip Athans, Michael Stackpole, Timothy Zahn, Bradley P. Beaulieu, Michael James Sullivan, Alex Bledsoe, Tim Marquitz,  Jean Rabe, Ari Marmell, Erik Scott de Bie, Rick Novy, R.T. Kaelin, Donald J. Bingle, Alex Shvartsman, Maxwell Alexander Drake, SM Blooding, Jaym Gates, T.L. Gray, C.S. Marks, Marian Allen, Bryan Young, Vicki Johnson-Steger, Sarah Hans, Janine Spendlove, Bryan Thomas Schmidt, C.J. Henderson, Steven Saus, Addie King, Doris Stever, Matt Bone, Elisabeth Waters, Rob Rogers, Tracy Chowdhury, and Gregory Wilson, which is a pretty all star line-up. The important thing about this anthology is that it's for the benefit of the victims of Hurricane Sandy, so its a genuine good cause that all of these writers are contributing to — hence you should definitely click the link and partake.

I should also note that my story Fallen Heroes has been included in Newcom Press's sampler along with the work of Nina Allan, Tony Ballantyne, Chris Beckett, Gary McMahon, Mercurio D. Rivera and Lisa Tuttle. Newcon publishes some of the best new SF and fantasy, and I've found them a joy to work with, and so if you fancy a good read for the princely sum of 77 pence, I can heartily recommend this introduction to Newcon's wares.

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New Year, New Beginnings

I confidently expect the final proofs of War Master's Gate to land on my doorstep any day now, which is always the most rushed and least fun part of the whole publishing circus. However, that will be my last farewell to the book until it hits shelves in August this year. It should be a good one: it brings together the more mystical goings-on of Heirs of the Blade with the epic conflict of The Air War, so something for everyone I hope.

As noted, I'm somewhat ahead, so Seal of the Worm has been completed and submitted, and the standalone scheduled to come after that, my pseudo-Napoleonic fantasy currently entitled Guns of the Dawn, is also done. However, after a few months pottering about on private projects, I'm now turning my attention to the Next Big Thing. After Guns of the Dawn the next series starts, and I've now finished a considerable amount of world-building and cultural design in order to get the first words down. It's a big thing — although there have been other things in between this feels like the first big step for me after finishing Shadows of the Apt. Let's see how it goes.

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Heterotrumpetry, part 2

…does not sound any better than the original. Anyway:

Five Things that  they haven't filmed yet, but should

Not necessarily Things from this year, admittedly, and my heart has been gladdened by news that Lauren Beukes' Zoo City is actually getting attention in this way, as is Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (and supposedly the rights to that other great Napoleonic fantasy, Novak's Temeraire went a while back, but no movement on that front that I'm aware.) However, why not:

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

Ben is, after all, a TV writer amongst his other talents, and the current vogue for cop shows and urban fantasy surely meets up nicely in this one. This first in the series was one of the biggest sensations of last year, and deservedly so. Preferred format: BBC 6-parter. Come on, now. In all honesty, of the items on this list, this is the one I'd put money on their being some sort of negotiations already in place over.

Embedded by Dan Abnett[image error]

This is one of the best pieces of military SF I've read, and it has a whole toolkit of interesting stuff beyond the usual 'band of brothers' business, not least having a lead who, rather than a squaddie, is a war reporter. The book manages to be both cynical, gritty, inspiring and with a true sense of wonder, whilst dealing with concepts immediately accessible to most viewers. Preferred format: intelligently-handled action movie.

Top Ten by Moore, Ha and Cannon

Alan Moore is renowned for many things, including his utter indifference (verging on hostility) to those of his creations that get filmed. This, though, is my personal favourite of his works — not Watchmen or League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, excellent as they are, but another cop show — this time a US precinct drama, save that the cops, and everyone else in the whole city, have superpowers. But it's not a stock superhero comic romp that ensures, rather a down-to-earth, seedy, often uncomfortable examination of real crime and human nature, seen through the distorting lens of the superpowered world. Preferred format: I guess this would probably have to be animated, to get it all in. Also, it would likely lose a lot of the sly references in translationn, sadly.

The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt

The concept of steampunk, that not long ago was fringe even for genre readers, now seems to be virtually a mainstream phenomenon (witness the way it gets shoehorned into all sorts of movie properties these days, like the recent Musketeers business). Hunt's Jackelian series, of which this is the first, would be a more challenging pitch to bring to the big screen in that — in much the same way as Shadows of the Apt — it has a higher concept bar, being set on another world entirely (or, well, probably…). However there are enough echoes of history to carry an audience through the journey of discovery they'd need to make, and the books are excellent. Preferred format: A decent budget TV 2-parter (in the same way that the Sci Fi channel did Dune way back when) might have the time to do it justice. Alternatively, it would make a great anime.

Declare by Tim Powers

Ah, Tim Powers, one of the most skilled and elegant people in the business. I was heartbroken when On Stranger Tides basically got hit by the intellectual property equivalent of organ thieves for a quick back-street titlectomy, because it would have made a great supernatural pirate film in its own right, and now it never will be. Other Powers properties are also sitting there Not Being Filmed, including what is perhaps still his most well known piece, The Anubis Gates (1). However, my favourite Powers of all time is also probably the most filmable. It's a thriller, a spy story set during WWII and the cold war, dealing with real, documented history in Powers' inimitable way, by weaving a subtle, detailed and utterly convincing supernatural web that sits just below the surface, tying it all together.  Preferred format: Big budget supernatural spy thriller.

So… and yet we're missing something, surely? Where's the epic heroic fantasy entry? No, this isn't an attempt to get my own trumpet out and wave it around (2). Well, I seriously thought we were set, a decade ago, for a renaissance of… well, actually no, cos there was never a golden age in the first place in all honesty. For a First Age of good fantasy films, then. After all, Jackson's Lord of the Rings was so good and did so well and, crucially, made everyone concerned so much money(3). But no, a few desultory and unmeritorious efforts, then silence. And of course this year cinema had two goes at bringing the pulp fantasies to life, and neither seemed to work.  Right now, of course, we have the glory that is HBO's Game of Thrones trying out the same game in a different medium, and I would be delighted to see someone else step up to the plate and try, for example, Brett's The Painted Man, or maybe some Rothfuss or Erikson (4), but if someone is eyeing Game of Thrones' ratings figures, or maybe paying attention to The Hobbit's box office takings… please, take the time to do it well. Don't just do that thing where the only thought is "this has a shallow and passing similarity to the successful X and ticks at least 3 out of the 7 boxes we the committee imagine are important. Let's do a half assed job."

(1) which as, as a key plot element, major characters changing bodies, which would be a challenge for any film-maker — although I reckon Terry Gilliam might be up to it.

(2) I am seriously giving up this figure of speech for the new year. It gets less savoury every time.

(3) Which, in a manner very similar to the dwarves, elves and men in the Hobbit, they then almost came to blows over.

(4) Yes, yes, or me! I admit it! Despite all the high concept difficulties and general arachnophobia issues and all. *parp!* There, the trumpet is blown.

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