Here's the cover of one of
the three titles launching for Tor UK this year.
If this title and cover does not grab you, how
about this:
"Outlink station Miranda has
been destroyed by a nanomycelium, and the very
nature of this sabotage suggests that the alien
bioconstruct Dragon -- a creature as
untrustworthy as it is gigantic -- is somehow
involved.
Sent out on a titanic Polity
dreadnought, the Occam Razor, agent Cormac must
investigate the disaster, and also resolve the
question of Masada, a world about to be subsumed
as the Line of Polity is drawn across
it.
But the rogue biophysicist
Skellor has not yet been captured, and he now
controls something so potent that Polity AIs
will hunt him down forever to prevent him using
it.
Meanwhile on Masada, the
long-term rebellion can never rise above-ground,
as the slave population is subjugated by orbital
laser arrays controlled by the Theocracy in
their cylinder worlds, and by the fact that they
cannot safely leave their labour compounds. For
the wilderness of Masada lacks breathable air
… and out there roam monstrous predators
called hooders and siluroynes, not to mention
the weird and terrible gabbleducks."
When Neal Asher deploys the
gabbleducks, I will be there. You should as
well, but you'll likely want to read
'Gridlinked'
and 'The
Skinner' (one of my
top
ten, no twenty, no twenty
one) first.
Next up we have a "lyrical
fantasy". Yep, that first gave me a bit of the
willies, but when I found out the premise, I was
much more interested....
Here's the
blurbology:
"The Meq are a rare and
ancient and enigmatic race who originated in the
Basque Pyrenees. While some of them may be
hundreds - even thousands - of years old, they
retain the physical appearance of
twelve-year-olds. Over the course of time they
have played witness and catalyst to some of the
most glorious and shameful events in
history.
This is the story of Zianno
Zezen &endash; commonly known as "Z" - and it
commences in 1881, on an ill-fated train journey
through the Rocky Mountains. Rescued by a
bearded stranger, befriended by orphans,
beguiled by kin and burdened by revenge, Z
begins his quest to understand the Meq, their
purpose, and their secrets. From the midwestern
city of St. Louis all the way to China, Africa,
England, and many points in between, Z's pursuit
is a classic adventure of spirit and
imagination.
This first novel of a trilogy
introduces a race of people who behave entirely
like humans, yet always, first and last, remain
themselves &endash; the Meq. Never predictable,
full of insight, marvel, and surprise, it is a
beautiful chronicle of endless discovery. And,
as the young at heart know, it is never too late
for that."
Yes, you might worry about
that young at heart -- I'm as old as the
goddamned hills these days -- but the premise
has lots of promise. We'll see if the text lives
up to the potential. Steve Cash was a songwriter
for the Ozark Mountain Daredevils -- and he's
stayed at home raising the kids, writing songs
and reading ever since. I like that portion of
the resume.
And finally, there's this --
small picture as I don't have the final cover
yet....
But, now (one hour later)
thanks to the magic of the Internet and the
dilligence of those folks at Tor UK, we have the
real cover -- and it's rather nice. This is one
I'm definitely looking forward to.
They also described this as
fantasy. Again, at first my heart sank a bit.
But the blurbology tells a different
story....
"The Final Conflict is about
to erupt on Hove's bowling green
A diabolical book spoke of
shellfish falling from the sky, and men in
skirts on Brighton beach, and all the while a
monster, unstuck in time, clattered around the
universe …
The Prophecy has come to
pass, and eternal night is over! For the first
time in over a thousand years, the sun rises
over the battlements of Castle Limbo, and the
King realises he's in big trouble. For he is one
of the few to have read the full text of The
Prophecy -- and the awful fate predicted for him
should a newborn child survive until its first
birthday.
So now the Great Terror is
about to commence. And to add to the King's
troubles, his long-banished brothers, the
fiendishly cunning Gildroy and the totally
hideous Norval, are planning their murderous
come-back …
Meanwhile, a different type
of mayhem is erupting on Brighton seafront
… where newsagent and fantasy enthusiast
Rex Boggs is about to emerge as the unlikely
hero in this time of chaos. It all begins with
giant garbage-eating clams - and spacewoman
Serena Kowalski - plummeting to earth …
Otherwise it's just another
day of fun at the seaside."
Andy Secombe is an actor who
had some success in a movie titled 'Star Wars'.
OK, now to my mind, twenty
years ago, these titles would have been marketed
as horror, 'The Meq' fitting in with the Anne
Rice vampire vibe, and Secombe's novel mapping
into the 'Good Omens' vibe. Today they're
fantasy. Whatever label you want to slap on
them, they look intriguing and the Asher to my
mind has a good chance of being one of the best
novels of this year.
The Tor UK roster includes
Justina Robson and Phil Rickman. That's some hot
stuff. Could they conquer the world? If nought
else, it's a fascinating match up with Victor
Gollancz's titles -- which you'll be seeing here
shortly. Call your credit card companies and get
them to raise your limits. Do your part to both
help lift and escape from this sagging economy.
