Adam Roberts's Blog, page 15

Tollund

It's been quiet around here for a little while. Awards seasons has been in full spate and *sigh* it's been an awards season without room for anything I published in 2013, so there's been nothing to report. But just when I thought it was going to pass me by entirely came the rather wonderful news that my short story 'Tollund' has been shortlisted for the 2014 Sidewise Awards. The Sidewise, as you know very well, is dedicated to alternate-history, and this year's shortlists look very strong. I'm delighted to be in such company. Winners will be announced at Loncon.

'Tollund' was written for Jared Shurin's excellent collection of original Mummy fiction, The Book of the Dead. That link will take you to purchasing opportunities, of which you should definitely avail yourself. My story's title, of course, makes reference to the single Seamus Heaney released with Madness back in the 1980s:

"Some day I will go to Aarhus

In the middle of our street

Aarhus

In the middle of our street,

To see his peat-brown head."

Such a great poem.

Twenty Trillion Variants

Courtesy of the estimable Mahendra Singh, two could-have-been never-were alternate timeline variant covers for Twenty Trillion Leagues Under the Sea. Cool, no?

In related news, check out this excellent Ron Miller essay on Mahendra's superb artistry from i09.

Noir

Edited by Ian Whates. Available now. Classy stuff, you know.

The Brick Moon/Another Brick in the Moon

Lovely cover, there, from Gary Northfield. The book itself is coming soon:

Jurassic London is delighted to announce The Brick Moon, a new edition of the classic tale from Edward Everett Hale.

Hale’s prophetic novel, first published in 1869, is the first to imagine the launch of an artificial satellite – making it the perfect fictional pairing with Stars to Satellites and Longitude Punk’d, two new exhibitions at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

The new edition comes complete with “Another Brick in the Moon”, a sequel to Hale’s original tale, penned by award-winning science fiction author Adam Roberts.

“The Brick Moon is a fascinating tale that touches on themes of immediate relevance to the Royal Observatory and its history: the quest for longitude, the Greenwich Meridian and satellite technology. And Adam Roberts’ short-story response, ‘Another Brick in the Moon’, has recast the tale in his characteristically beguiling way,” commented Richard Dunn.

The book is decorated by Greenwich artist, Gary Northfield, who selected – and re-imagined - a classic view of the Royal Observatory from the archives of the National Maritime Museum.

The Royal Observatory’s Stars to Satellites exhibition tells the story of satellite navigation technology, from the origins of the idea in Hale’s story to today’s GPS systems and smartphone apps. Meanwhile, Longitude Punk’d takes the historic story of the quest to determine longitude at sea and retells it in a playful fashion through the prism of the Steampunk movement.

Nine prominent Steampunk artists and writers have filled the Royal Observatory’s historic Flamsteed House with fantastical drawings, objects and costumes that evoke a science-fiction version of the 18th 19th-centuries, reflecting the retro aesthetic of The Brick Moon.

Naturally enough, my sequel involves a big climactic scene at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. Pleasingly, I got feedback from the RMG people tweaking the practicalities of this, and was able to incorporate their comments. In all, writing this one was a blast.

Tolkien lecture, Pembroke Oxford May 2

More details here.

Edge Hill Robots

I'm very pleased that my short story collection Adam Robots has been long-listed for the Edge Hill Short Story prize, an award uniquely targeted at collections of original short fiction. Shortlist announced in May.

SFX reviews “Riddles of the Hobbit”

Five stars, no less!

Jack-din-Sticlă

The Trei website has just posted this rather handsome cover-art snap of their upcoming (or, wait: is it out now?) brand new Romanian translation of Jack Glass. Exciting!

And the blurb! "Într-un viitor, în care deplasările prin sistemul solar sunt controlate de o oligarhie nemiloasă, Jack-din-Sticlă este căutat pentru activităţi teroriste. Jack crede că supravieţuirea lui este vitală pentru supravieţuirea speciei şi de aceea trebuie să comită mai multe crime… Cele trei părţi ale cărţii sunt tot atâtea intrigi SF poliţiste, străbătute de un fir comun. Prima se petrece într-o închisoare spaţială sumbră şi abundă în accente de disperare şi horror. Este practic o introducere pentru partea a doua, care utilizează tema cyberpunk clasică a războiului dintre corporaţii supranaţionale."

Help me, Google translate!

"In a future where traveling through the solar system are controlled by a ruthless oligarchy, Jack-in-Bottle is wanted for terrorist activities. Jack believed that his survival is vital for survival of the species and therefore have to commit more crimes ... The three parts of the book are all detective fiction intrigue, crossed by a common thread. The first takes place in a grim prison space abounds in accents of despair and horror. It's basically an introduction to the second part, using classic cyberpunk theme of war between supranational corporations."

That's even better than the story I actually wrote! Hurrah!

Guildford Library Talk, Sat 23 Nov

Here be the details of my upcoming talk at Guildford Public Library: Saturday 23 November 2013 13:30 -- 15:00. And the title of the talk be: "Can science fiction become science fact?" And that image, at the top of this post, be a photograph of Guildford Public Library itself.

Bête

Black Sheep are, what can I say? Artist-designers of genius, that's what they are. Here's Bête:

Simon, my editor, talks a little bit about how he commissioned this gorgeous cover on the Gollancz blog today. He also notes that the novel itself includes a talking cat. It's true. However felinophobic I may, myself, be, I figured it was time. And, you know: Sabrina the Teenage Witch features a talking cat. Bulgakov features a talking cat. Considering the kind of writer I am, you can probably guess whereabouts on the scale strung between those two felines my own talking cat comes. Besides, there's a lot more than just a cat. For example, the novel starts, as does the Quran itself, with a cow.