Matt Forbeck's Blog, page 58

The InSpectres Teaser Trailer

Darren Orange and the rest of the crew at Reactor 88 Studios wrapped up principal shooting on the InSpectres film (base on Jared Sorensen's RPG) last fall and have been hard at work in post-production since. The plan is to have a premiere of the film at Gen Con this summer, and to whet your appetite for that, they've put together a teaser trailer for you. Check it out below. I think it looks fantastic, but since I'm one of the writers and producers on the film, I'm bound to be biased.

Vegas Knights Is Here!

Today, Vegas Knights goes on sale in print in the UK and as an ebook worldwide! Those of us in the US who want a bound copy have to wait until March 29, but the rest of us can dig right in today.

For your sampling pleasure, here are the first five chapters of the book, absolutely free. If it catches your fancy, I'd appreciate if you buy or pre-order the book straight away. Thanks in advance for all your support! I hope you enjoy reading Vegas Knights as much as I did writing it.

Danforth on eBay

My son Marty has been selling off bits and pieces of my game collection over the past year or so on eBay. He's done a decent job of it, made a bit of money, and learned something about how such things work at the same time, so I count that as a solid win. Just this week, he took on his second client: Liz Danforth.

Liz is a wonderful artist, writer, and even a librarian, and I've been proud to count her as a friend for many years. She's probably most famous for her artwork on various Magic: The Gathering cards, but I always remember best the beautiful line drawings she created for the Middle-earth Roleplaying game back in the days I worked on it in the early '90s.

As with my stuff, Marty's going to put up Liz's old treasures a few at a time, as she ships them out to us. There are some real gems in the first box that showed up on our doorstep the other day, including some old Talislanta, Torg, and Ars Magica books, plus the old Espionage boxed set from Hero Games. Look for those and more on my eBay page soon.

More Vegas Knight Reviews

Vegas Knights hits the UK as a paperback tomorrow and should be available worldwide as an ebook too. (See the list of major sales outlets for one near you, and please place a pre-order if you can!) Lots of reviewers have already gotten their hands on the book and loved it (as the list of praise shows). Three more cropped up over the past few days.

Over at SFBook.com, Ant gives the book FIVE STARS! He name checks Genestealer, a Space Hulk supplement I worked on for Games Workshop waaay back in 1990, then says many kind things about me and my work, including:

The quality of the writing is quite exceptional with such an easy reading, friendly yet clever style that immediately puts you at ease and grabs your attention in a vice-like grip from the very first chapters… It's fantastic entertainment, and I loved every minute of it. Viva Las Vegas (Knights)!

At Magpie Diaries, Magpie likes Vegas Knights a lot too. She says:

Vegas Knights is a fast-paced, good-humoured caper of a book… Packed with all the excitement, violence and glamour you'd expect of old-school Vegas — including a nail-biting chase through the halls and walls of a casino — Forbeck delivers a novel that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat… [I] would say it's more Tim Powers' Last Call meets 21than Harry Potter meets Ocean's Eleven… but the novel is not haunted by its predecessors. It has its own voice, and Forbeck puts his own stamp on the narrative.

Gareth Wilson of Falcata Times gives a short, happy review on Amazon.co.uk (which might presage a longer one on his site). It appears right next to a copy of the five-star review Tony Lane gave elsewhere earlier. Gareth writes:

[T]his has to be one of my favourite titles by this author. Not only is the plot cleverly woven but the characters rely on smarts rather than outright power which makes a serious change for the genre… Some seriously devious work has gone on underneath, and I'm starting to wonder which devil Matt did a deal with to be so creative.

You can read the opening five chapters of Vegas Knights for free right here. I hope you enjoy them as much as these fine people liked the rest of the book.

The Angry Robot Song

Today, John Anealio released "Angry Robot," a song I helped him write. You can find it available for free on his website as a single or as part of his brand-new The Robot E.P., which includes "Angry Robot" and covers of "Mr. Roboto" and "The Transformers Theme."

I met John at the World Fantasy Convention last October, and we hit it off. Our virtual paths crossed again when he wrote the original "Angry Robot" chorus as the theme song for Angry Robot, which publishes my novels Amortals and Vegas Knights. The omnipresent and awesome Mur Lafferty uses it as the lead-in for the official Angry Robot podcasts she hosts.

John wanted to turn the chorus/jingle/intro into a full song, and he asked me if I'd be interested in helping him write the lyrics. I didn't just jump, I rocketed at the chance. Who wouldn't love to have a talented musician like John set your words to music?

The chorus was already perfect, so I wrote a first draft of the verses. We went back and forth with it a few times, polishing it to a high gloss, and then John strode off to set it all to the perfect tune.

Give it a listen! It's free to stream or download, contains no DRM, and both John and I hope you enjoy it.

Lester Smith Reviews Amortals

My Alliterates pal, world-famous game designer Lester Smith, went out and paid his own hard-earned money to pick up a copy of Amortals and then did me another solid by taking the time to write up a review of it. Although he's bound to be biased, Lester loved the book and is more than eloquent enough to say why.

It spins into a veritable tourbillion of a plot that delivers wilder and wilder revelations, as security and freedom (aka law and chaos) do battle, with the main character unwittingly poised at their center. This is a plot that will remain with me, among my favorites.

(Thanks, Les!) Go read the rest of it, and check out the rest of Les's site while you're at it.

Amortals is already on the shelves of better bookstores and available as an ebook worldwide.

Vegas Knights in the Big Thrill

L. Dean Murphy recently interviewed me on behalf of the International Thriller Writers for a piece for their online newsletter, The Big Thrill. The conversation covered a lot of ground but, of course, mostly concerned itself with Vegas Knights. Head on over and give it a read.

Vegas Knights in the House

A big box of the UK edition of Vegas Knights just showed up at my house today, courtesy of my publishers at Angry Robot. It is a thing of rare beauty, and I'm thrilled with it. Although it doesn't show up on the photograph too well, the cover features a spot varnish on the Las Vegas sign and the Angry Robot logo on the cover and on the name, title, and logo on the spine, giving the book a razor-sharp look.

Vegas Knights hits the UK on March 3 and releases worldwide as an ebook that same day. That's this Thursday!

Print copies reach the US in a slightly smaller frame on March 29. If you have a UK Kindle, though, the book apparently slipped through there a bit early, and you can grab it right now. Can't wait for you to read it!

Weirdmage Loves Vegas Knights

Over at WeirdMage.com, reviewer Ole A. Imsen got a crack at an advance copy of Vegas Knights, and he liked it from cover to cover. As he writes:

I was hooked by the end of the first chapter… You always feel that there is more to be revealed, and that makes this a book that is hard to put down once you have started it… It is great entertainment, and if you have a taste for fantasy in a contemporary setting this is definitely worth checking out.

Thanks, Ole! The rest of you, head on over and check out the entire review.

Steamfortress Victory, Ahoy!

My co-writer on the script for the InSpectres movie, Jeff Dohm, is launching a new tabletop roleplaying game this year, called Steamfortress Victory. Jeff describes it as American steampunk, and it fits that bill like a set of clockwork goggles. The first product for it — a prequel dime novel/adventure called A Day at the Fair — debuted at Archon last year, and it's now available for sale in print direct through publisher Industrial Dream Mills and as a PDF through DriveThruRPG.com.

If you like your steampunk wrapped in an American flag, be sure to check it out. It'll give you a good taste of what you can expect from the full game when it premieres this summer.