Samit Basu's Blog: Newsletter!, page 7

Turbulence in the US Part 8: They Live!

(Previous Turbulence in the US posts here, here, here, here, here, here and here.)

Will this be the last round of Turbulence reviews? I don’t know. Will there be a Pirates of The Caribbean 17? Yes.

First up, Turbulence is covered in a very entertaining comics webcast on Investcomics. It’s on from minute 31 or so but do watch the whole thing.

Also, a couple of really kind reviews:

“All-in-all, Turbulence is sometimes funny, sometimes tragic, sometimes bizarre, but always compelling and definitely worth a read. You won’t want to put this book down.” – Fanboy Comics

“…if Samit Basu is any indication of the quality of writers on the Subcontinent, then look out world, because we’ve been missing some real talent.” – NerdTrek

You know what, I actually do think this might be the last round of reviews, and I just want to say (again, I know) that I’m very, very grateful and overjoyed about the response to Turbulence in both the US and UK. Do take a look at the collected reviews before you go.

Turbulence in the US Part 7: The All-Star Game

So here we are again, with what is probably the last review/interview collection post about Turbulence for now. It’s been a delightful couple of months, and thank you for bearing with this power-blast of posts.

To start off this collection of superkind reviews off with a bang,

“What is the best superhero novel of all time?… it’s time to add another book to our list.” – superheronovels.com

And that’s not all:

“What’s amazing about Turbulence is that while it does a great job of paying proper homage to the many superhero stories from comics’ past, it also presents a story that feels very unique and original.” – The Geek Hard Show 

“…Basu’s light touch is also deceptive; the writing here is often very good, and the super-powers — like that of the multiplying (and then reintegrating) Tia — consistently well-presented. Impressive, too, is how well he realizes his characters in just short descriptions and snappy dialogue.” – The Complete Review

“Well-rounded characters, a gripping plot, rippling with great writing.” – Popculture-y

“I’ve felt like Turbulence is a perfect sibling to Misfits, another great take on the superheroes genre, and as such I would recommend it to anyone looking for a original superheroes tale with a bit of a twist.” – upcoming4.me

I’m not sure if this counts as an official review, but as I was wandering through westeros.org in order to find more Winds of Winter previews I found this post about about Turbulence by a senior user.

“It’s a funny book, reminds me of Neil Gaiman at his wittiest in some ways, but it’s also sad, joyful, angry, tense… the characters are engaging, and the action is skillfully executed.” – westeros.org

Hopefully George R R Martin is reading his fan forums! The people there seem to have excellent taste.

Also, a few more interviews and an essay:

Interview at Popculture-y

An essay at military.com about superhuman tech and the military mind.

Unleash the Fanboy interview.

That’s all for now, folks, and thanks for being with me on this ride. And if you’d like to see the whole lot, collected reviews page here. Interviews page here. Articles/posts here.

Tagged: books, turbulence

Audiobook rights!

Delighted to report that we’re selling rights for five books – Simoqin, Manticore, Unwaba, Turbulence and Resistance – to Audible to make audiobooks. Thanks to John Berlyne at the Zeno Agency, London.

Tagged: books

Casting call: Voice actors!

As part of a new consultant job thing I’m doing, we’ll be doing short animation projects for the Internet and potentially other media, and I thought I’d harness the power of the Internet for this. So, here’s what I need:

 

- Voice actors, ladies and gents, who are available to regularly record from script and email their recordings to me. We’re talking about once a week. It should just be a few lines, whenever it is, for an animated piece of max five minutes, so it certainly won’t cut into any other job you do at all.

 

- We don’t need studio-quality sound: just clear voices and no background noise will be fine. So turn off that AC/power drill/vocal lover/pet when you do this.

 

- You won’t be working for free, but we haven’t fixed budgets on this yet. If you’re a professional voice actor and have a fixed rate let us know. If you’re an amateur and eager to do some regular work for fun and profit, you’ll be happy with what we’ll come up with: it’ll pay better than writing for most newspapers, definitely

 

- If you’re an actor/aspiring actor and want to send us video things as well for other projects (and there will be several) then that’s fine too, but we want a separate audio file with just your voice on it. The clarity of audio will be as important as the quality of your voice (and we’re not looking for the next Bachchan/Balan here, just interesting voices we can assign to a range of interesting characters).

 

- You need to be fluent in English and Hindi. If you aren’t, then one will do, but we’ll clearly prefer people who can do both, since it saves us time and money and keeps character voice consistent.

 

- So read a sample of at least a minute, one in English, one in Hindi, and email your recording to me at samit@graphicindia.com. Give the email the subject ‘Voice sample’.

 

- If you can do a range of voices, showcase that as well, in separate bits. If you can do several characters, it works out best for all of us.

 

- Do this quickly! And do share with any friends of yours who might be interested. These series might  just turn out to be really big and we plan to do a lot of them, so you never know.

Turbulence in the USA Part Six: Revenge of Turbulence

A month in, and I have to say I’m incredibly grateful to the American readers and critics of Turbulence: the reaction in the US has been beyond anything I’d hoped for. Five more really kind reviews and an interview in this post:

‘A strong contender for novel of the year, Samit Basu’s Turbulence races along at lightspeed and leaves you breathlessly demanding more.’ - One Metal

‘Samit Basu does characterization incredibly well, bonding the reader with the characters as quickly as a television show. His visual descriptions give a focused picture of the action, with the reader filling in the small details to complete the characters.’ - Fanboy Nation

‘That action – which isn’t always physical or literal – makes the book really exciting.  There were times I had trouble putting it down to go to bed.’ - With An Accent

‘Turbulence covers it all: action, romance, politics and moral dilemmas.  And it will definitely leave you wanting more.’ - Fangirl Confessions

‘There’s a Superman, and he’s Indian! As much as that hurts my red, white, and blue (American!) pride to write, it does actually make for one hell of a good story.’ - Atomic Moo

Interview at Fanboy Comics  

(Previous Turbulence in the US posts here, here, here, here and here.)

Tagged: books, turbulence, usa

Turbulence in the USA Part Five: Just When You Thought The Franchise Was Finished

Previous Turbulence US posts here, here, here and here. 

And here we are again. Two very heartwarming, kind and sharp reviews this week, one at The Geek Girl Project, and another at Popcorn Reads.

“It’s funny, smart, touching at times and horrifying at others, and it definitely speaks to the universality of human nature… I loved every minute of it and I think you will too.” – Popcorn Reads

“Its view is unrelentingly lofty, and its tense is an eternal present in which everything seems to be happening at once… Basu’s flair for character extends to a real understanding of what makes each character funny, both intentionally and unintentionally on their part.” – The Geek Girl Project.

Also, an interview at Geek Mundo.

And an excerpt out at horror megasite Bloody Disgusting. Note: This is NOT a review.

Will there be more? Is this it for our beloved capeless super-caper? Only one way to find out…

http://www.thegeekgirlproject.com/2013/07/24/book-review-turbulence/

http://popcornreads.com/fiction/turbulence-by-samit-basu-book-review-giveaway/

Turbulence in the USA Part Four: Son of Turbulence

For previous Turbulence in America posts go here, here and here.

Last week, was most honoured to be in a site I’ve been a huge fan of for years: a Turbulence excerpt was published in Boing Boing.

Two very kind reviews in the Los Angeles Beat and The Pull Box

” …between his plot/story-scaffolding, his descriptive action sequences and a high-octane ending, Mr. Basu will leave no comic book fan wanting.” – The Pull Box

“Basu blends tongue-in-cheek humor with philosophical questions about what obligations (if any) people would have if suddenly blessed with super powers… The book is a treasure trove of funny moments and one-liners.” – The Los Angeles Beat

And a lot of me talking, I’m afraid. Here are interviews in:

Culture Mass

The Geek Girl Project

My Bookish Ways

Vox Magazine

Tagged: books, turbulence, usa

Turbulence in the USA Part 3: Return of Turbulence

The Turbulence America saga continues: for previous episodes go here and here.

This week, it’s mostly interviews, two of which are in massive SF/fantasy sites I’ve been a fan of for years:

Suvudu interview

SF Signal interview

I really can’t express how honoured I feel to be in these sites. And two sites I just discovered and I’m will be following keenly now:

Retrenders interview

Upcoming4.me post

Also, a top ten superheroes post in Comics Attack: this was great fun to do. Do have a look

Tagged: books, turbulence, usa

Turbulence in the USA: Part Two

For part one of this tale of intercontinental superheroics and shenanigans, go here.

Today’s update:

James Floyd Kelly, who wrote the amazing Wired review in the US when Turbulence was out in the UK, now has a new site and an incredibly generous US release update for Turbulence:

“If you like superhero stories and are looking for some truly unique powers AND a completely new locale, you MUST read Turbulence. It. Is. That. Good.” – Geek Dad

In other review news, Mind of the Geek has given us an A+!

“The challenges his characters face are not just world domination, warped nationalism, and megalomania, but also realistic concerns like their professional goals and self-doubts. Overall, Turbulence is a clever update to the superhero genre, bringing a realistic upgrade to the 21st century that involves more heart and substance than just adding new costumes and cell phones.” – Mind of the Geek

and more kindness from Retrenders:

“Writer Samit Basu has found a great balance of humor and seriousness in Turbulence, but most of all it’s just a fun superhero novel to read and questions to ponder yourself when done reading.” – Retrenders

Also, on the non-review front, a long rambling chat about Turbulence with the mighty Beth Loves Bollywood in The Cultural Gutter where we discuss, among other things, supervillain lairs and Not Explaining India.

 

Turbulence is out in the US

And here we go. Aman, Jai and co are in the superhero homeland. Who knows what happens to them there.

(Well, storywise I do, and it’s all written out in Resistance, large parts of which are set in New York, but that’s some way away yet.)

Excerpts:

Criminal Element (Ch. 1)

MSN Entertainment (Ch. 2)

 MTV (Ch. 4)

Here’s the first lot of American reviews. So much relief and gratitude:

“Turbulence has it all… Solid writing, great character development, humor, personal loss, and excellent points to ponder in every chapter.” - Wired

” …not only should it be the frontrunner in terms of superhero prose going forward, but it might just be a dark horse candidate for genre novel of the year.” - Fruitless Pursuits

“The writing is superb, the characters feel real… I literally had to shut myself in a room during the finale, it was that riveting.’ - GeekNutz

“Set in a raucous India and packed with strange characters, Turbulence promises an exciting, unusual read.” - Book Riot

“Basu doesn’t simply take Turbulence to comic book places as it reads and feels like a novel throughout.  However, if you’re a fan of comics, this book would certainly still quench your literary thirst.” - Immersion Online

“There is a lot of humor here as well as heart; it’s a great character study… The characters are very likable and Samit cleverly addresses many loopholes in typical superhero plots.  I really enjoyed this from start to finish, clever, funny, witty and a great read.” - City of Films

“Samit Basu has written a rare beast among spec-fic books – a book that’s both about something important, and a good story on its own merits.” - Dorkadia

“‘Turbulence’ is entertaining and full of funny, knowing witticisms that could only come from a genuine, longtime fan of comics and superheroes. Besides, it’s refreshing to see the fate of the world, for once, hang in the balance of non-Western characters.” – Pop Mythology

“What makes Turbulence such ideal holiday reading is author Basu’s brisk-paced writing style as well as the novel’s Indian setting and characters…” - Scifi Movie Hype

Here’s a video review from Geek Mundo. My first, and I couldn’t have asked for a better one.

Will update as more come in.

Here’s the Amazon page for the book and Kindle ebook.

Get the book, America! Tell your friends, relatives, colleagues, acquaintances, sworn enemies! Counterspam everyone you secretly wish you could block on every social media site possible! Go! Go! Go make some… you know.