The Very Last Vlog of the Year!

Wotcher peeps,

Quick Christmas video.



Enjoy.

David

Reviewspam!

Wotcher all!

Hope you've all enjoyed "Blue Portal," the free ebook sample chapter from Eric Brown's upcoming The Kings of Eternity (if not, go now and read).

And now, some reviewspam.


Alice Wybrew at Total Sci-Fi Online has posted a very warm review of Paul Kearney's Corvus, awarding 8/10:

"Kearney’s effective mix of carnage and gut-wrenching moments mean you’ll be thinking about Corvus long after you’ve finished it."

Keith Harvey at Hub Magazine also included a detailed and very respectful review (warning - PDF) of Corvus:

"Corvus is a jewel of a novel and easily meets the challenge of the very successful The Ten Thousand. It feels very much like a Gemmell novel but... harder, sharper, and tighter."

Patrick Mahon at SF Crow's Nest was very impressed by Eric Brown's Engineman:

"I thoroughly enjoyed Engineman. Like most of Brown’s stories, the SF plot and setting are used to explore the lives of a set of complex, three-dimensional characters."

So some good results, there. Glad to see.

David

A Very Solaris Christmas! Free ebook from Eric Brown...

To wish you a very happy Christmas (and/or shiny happy gift-giving winter festival of your choice) Solaris Books are giving away a free short ebook from Eric Brown!

DOWNLOAD 'The Blue Portal' HERE [.epub fomat]

If you don't have an e-reader, you could download some .epub reading software like this free and easy-to-use Firefox add-on, or you could read 'The Blue Portal' in PDF format.

Also available for free download on Apple's iBookstore.

'The Blue Portal' is an extract from the beginning of Eric Brown's upcoming novel The Kings of Eternity.

1999, on the threshold of a new millennium, the novelist Daniel Langham lives a reclusive life on an idyllic Greek island, hiding away from humanity and the events of the past. All that changes, however, when he meets artist Caroline Platt and finds himself falling in love. But what is his secret, and what are the horrors that haunt him?

1935. Writers Jonathon Langham and Edward Vaughan are summoned from London by their editor friend Jasper Carnegie to help investigate strange goings on in Hopton Wood. What they discover there - no less than a strange creature from another world - will change their lives forever. What they become, and their link to the novelist of the future, is the subject of Eric Brown’s most ambitious novel to date. Almost ten years in the writing, The Kings of Eternity is a novel of vast scope and depth, full of the staple tropes of the genre and yet imbued with humanity and characters you’ll come to love.

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Interview: Juliet McKenna

Issue #4 of science fiction and fantasy magazine Salon Futura features this interview with Solaris author Juliet McKenna. Cheryl Morgan conducts the interview.

You can find out about Juliet's all-new fantasy trilogy for Solaris Books, The Hadrumal Crisis, on our website. Here's the cover for the first instalment, Dangerous Waters, coming out in August next year.

Cover (TBC) by Clint Langley

The Archmage rules the island of wizards and has banned the use of magecraft in warfare, but there are corsairs raiding the Caladhrian Coast, enslaving villagers and devastating trade. Barons and merchants beg for magical aid, but all help has been refused so far.

Lady Zurenne’s husband has been murdered by the corsairs, and a man she doesn’t even know stands watch over her and her daughters. Corrain, former captain and now slave to the corsairs, knows that Zurenne’s guardian is a rogue wizard.

If Corrain can only escape, he’ll see justice done. Unless the Archmage’s magewoman, Jilseth, catches the renegade first...

Dangerous Waters is the start of a stunning new fantasy trilogy by highly-respected fantasy writer, Juliet E. McKenna.

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Greetings from your editor

Good Morning All

I post so rarely here, that you can almost consider this my Christmas address. If you picture me on my throne of obsidian, surrounded by the blackened and shattered bones of authors who have displeased me, then you'll get the general picture. Just add tinsel.

Anyway, as you may well have heard we are delighted and honoured to announce that in 2012 we will be publishing a novel by Christopher Fowler called Hell Train.



This wonderful cover, by the way, is by Mr Graham Humphreys himself, artist behind such classic movie posters as The Evil Dead and A Nightmare on Elm Street. I've been a fan of Chris's work for a long time, so I'm thrilled to bits to be working with him on this project.

In other news, I have recently completed the line-up for my next horror anthology, House of Fear, which will feature stories on the theme of the haunted house. I'm delighted to be able to announce the following as contributing to this collection: Joe R. Lansdale, Stephen Volk, Nicholas Royle, Robert Shearman, Terry Lamsley, Sarah Pinborough, Tim Lebbon, Rebecca Levene, Paul Meloy, Christopher Priest, Adam L. G. Nevill, Eric Brown, Jonathan Green, Nina Allan, Chaz Brenchley, Stephen Volk, Gary Kilworth, Weston Ochse, Lisa Tuttle and Christopher Fowler.

I love a good ghost story and judging by the manuscripts I've had in so far, this anthology is going to deliver the chills. Again, I give you the cover by our brilliant designer Luke Preece:



This has been my first full year as the Solaris editor-in-chief and I've loved every moment. It's a real delight to work with such a talented stable of authors, while seeking out new voices in genre. I'm also indebted to my team of David, Jenni and Ben who help keep things rolling. I'm hoping to have more exciting news for you on commissions in the near future. In the meantime, why not tell us what have been your Solaris highlights of the year?

Have a splendid Christmas all.

Jon
(editor-in-chief)

The Press Release That Wasn't: Mr Pickles

Hello all,

Many of you will have by now received the official Press Release for The End of the Line, in the new exciting format (if not, and you feel you should be receiving our press releases, just email us to ask to be added to the list).

If you have, you may have noticed the tragic oversight: Mr Pickles the cat isn't mentioned! Not anywhere! Not even once!

This is, of course, a tragedy that may not be tolerated. Pickles, of Stockwell (pictured), was very proud to receive a starring role in a major horror release, and was hoping to be asked his opinion on the book and its impact on the publishing world. It's certainly being widely talked about in both the small-animal-murdering and bottom-licking communities.

He read the book carefully, and discussed it with all his friends, and waited for the phone to ring. Imagine his disappointment when no calls came.

Well, all that has been corrected now! Your fearless blogger has been able, with heartfelt apologies and the offer of a slaughtered vole, to secure Mr Pickles' forgiveness and a brief quote.

Pickles says:

"End of the Line is set to be a classic of urban horror. And I should know - I die in it. Two paws up. Better than sitting on a stack of clean laundry."

So, there you go, newspaper-people and blog-writers. Put that in your pipes and smoke it. Probably the pundit of the year. Anyone not listening to Mr Pickles, basically, can't hear.

Profound thanks to Mr Pickles' people, Jared and Anne at Pornokitsch, for allowing us to interview Mr Pickles and sending us their photo of him.

Cheers,

David

Remic vs McMahon

Wotcher all,

Just a quickie. Andy Remic, the hardest man in SF (and fantasy), author of the Combat K novels (including the upcoming Cloneworld, launching at the SFXWeekender in February), has drawn our attention to a video of an interview he conducted with the equally rambunctious Gary McMahon, whose Concrete Grove series is launching next summer, in a pub at the World Horror Convention.

(The interview, that is. Was conducted in a pub at the WHC, I mean. I mean to say, the launch won't be conducted in a pub at the WHC - Hell, you'll probably be able to pick up a copy, and say Hi to Gary, 'cos he's usually there, but I don't think there are any firm plans - so much as the interview between Gary and Andy was. At a pub at the WHC. Look, just watch it.)

Check it out here.

Cheers,

David