Welcome to a different kind of Twilight

When certain types of fantasy novel become popular, you often see a rush to capitalise and slake the thirst of these new readers with more of the same. But are you tired of the same old fantasy titles? Weary of cookie cutter fantasy worlds which peddle the same old clichés?

Then you need a change of scenery. Welcome to a different kind of Twilight.

Twilight of Kerberos is one of Abaddon’s original shared worlds – a realm like no other, rocked by war and religious schism, its lands surrounded by impassable mountains and impenetrable storms, dimly lit by a distant sun.

It is dominated by great Kerberos, an azure gas giant that fills the sky. To some, Kerberos is a god. To others, it is another world. Its nature is a mystery, and uncovering its secrets – as, it is whispered, the Elder Races strove to do before they were wiped out – has rocked the world of Twilight to its core.

The Twilight of Kerberos: The Wrath of Kerberos by Jonathan Oliver is the first chapter in the end of the Twilight saga.

Suddenly stranded in a desert by a magical storm, Silus Morlader must lead the crew of the Llothriall across the harsh landscape in search of civilisation. What they find will change their view of the world forever. A new race reveals to Silus that his god, the planet-deity Kerberos, is not all he appears to be; that everything they understand about life on Twilight may be wrong.

It’s also is the first time Abaddon Books has published a brand new title only as an ebook.

At just £4.99 from the Rebellion store you’d be daft not to pick it up! Treat yourself to a whole new world and catch the beginning of the final chapter in the story of Kerberos.

And with the success of the recent series omnibuses – including the The Best of Tomes of the Dead and Afterblight: America – and capitalising on the growing US readership who are discovering Abaddon’s startlingly fresh shared-worlds, Abaddon Books has decided to focus the Twilight range on this format.

The long-awaited third book of the Lucius Kane Trilogy by Matthew Sprange, Legacy’s Price, will see print this March as part of the first Twilight of Kerberos Omnibus, with two more omnibuses in the series to collect the titles by Mike Wild and Jonathan Oliver.

All the titles in the Twilight of Kerberos series are available as ebooks through the Rebellion store…

The final chapter in the story of Kerberos begins

The Twilight of Kerberos:
The Wrath of Kerberos
by Jonathan Oliver

£7.99 (UK) ISBN 978-1-907992-35-3
$9.99/12.99 (US & CAN) ISBN 978-1-907992-36-0

An ebook-only release from Abaddon Books

Suddenly stranded in a desert by a magical storm, Silus Morlader must lead the crew of the Llothriall across the harsh landscape in search of civilisation. What they find will change their view of the world forever.

A new race reveals to Silus that his god, the planet-deity Kerberos, is not all he appears to be; that everything they understand about life on Twilight may be wrong.

The ninth and latest in the Twilight of Kerberos series, The Wrath of Kerberos is the first time Abaddon Books has published a brand new title only as an ebook.

And with the success of the recent series omnibuses – including the The Best of Tomes of the Dead and Afterblight: America – and capitalising on the growing US readership who are discovering Abaddon’s startlingly fresh shared-worlds, Abaddon Books has decided to focus the Twilight range on this format.

The long-awaited third book of the Lucius Kane Trilogy by Matthew Sprange, Legacy’s Price, will see print this March as part of the first Twilight of Kerberos Omnibus, with two more omnibuses in the series to collect the titles by Mike Wild and Jonathan Oliver.

About the Series
Twilight of Kerberos was Abaddon’s fifth shared world, launching with Matthew Sprange’s Shadow Mage in February 2008. Rocked by war and religious schism, Twilight is a fantasy world like no other, a land girt by impassable mountains and impenetrable storms, dimly lit by a distant sun and dominated by great Kerberos, an azure gas giant that fills the sky. Or is it? To some, Kerberos is a god. To others, another world. Its nature is a mystery, and uncovering its secrets – as, it is whispered, the Elder Races strove to do before they were wiped out – is sure to rock the world of Twilight to its core.

About the Author
Jonathan Oliver is the editor-in-chief of the Solaris and Abaddon Books imprints. He has previously had stories published in a variety of magazines and anthologies, including Pandemonium: Stories of the Apocalypse. The Wrath of Kerberos is his second novel.

The Birth of a Dragon

Writing my second novel for Abaddon, it certainly felt like a bit of a beast at times. With my first novel, The Call of Kerberos, I had learnt so much and the trick with Wrath, was taking all that knowledge and doing it all over again. I believe it's known as Difficult Second Album Syndrome. Also, there was the added complexity of writing in a shared-world universe. This isn't a grumble, it's genuinely been great fun bouncing ideas off the other Twilight of Kerberos authors, it does however mean that everything you write has to chime true for everything the other authors are writing in the same world. Sometimes I'd hit on what I'd think would be a fantastic scene, only to find it would do things with the world that wouldn't carry well into future novels.

As well as the complexities of writing Wrath, it was the period during which my wife and I were awaiting the birth of our first child. Maia Rose Oliver was born on the 10th of February, 2011, about halfway through writing the novel. It's true what they say, being a parent changes everything and you can see some of my fatherly concerns channelled through my hero. In fact, Silus is accompanied by both his wife and child on much of his adventures.

And adventure is really the key to this novel. When I first started writing all those years ago, I actually saw myself as being a moody horror writer. (Think of an emo Garth Marenghi and you wouldn't be far wrong). Horror is still my first love (although I think I've grown out of that emo phase) but it was in my early twenties that I first started reading the pulp fantasies of Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber and Clark Ashton Smith. It was also in my early twenties that I first started gaming, starting with Call of Cthulhu, but soon moving onto Dungeons & Dragons. The fantasy worlds of the American pulp writers and the adventure games I had started to play had as big an influence on my writing as Ramsey Campbell and Stephen King when I first started. When I sat down to write my first novel, I wanted to give some of the joy back I'd had reading the pulps and rolling a D20. I'm not hugely keen on world building, so with Call of Kerberos I set it almost entirely on the sea or beneath it, giving me a sort of blank watery canvas. With Wrath I started with a world in its infancy and explored pre-history. Both of these gave me great scope to do pretty much what I pleased.

And I decided that I'd do the dragons.

Dragons had been mentioned in the previous Twilight of Kerberos novels, but neither Mike, Matthew or David had gone into too much depth (aside from some scenes in Mike's novels). I decided then, with Wrath, that I wanted to do the dragons. I'm still really pleased with the scene depicting the creation of these awesome monsters and a great deal of the book follows the adventures of the eunuch, Emuel, as he travels across the desert with his dragon companion. Not the easiest creatures to write, as they're so iconic, but I had a lot of fun with them.

Anyway, if you like your Sword and Sorcery redolent with Leiber, Lovecraft, Howard and Ashton Smith and packed full of adventure and monsters, then I present to you my final novel for the series. Head over to the Rebellion store and check it out.

'Twilight' series sees an e-book first for Abaddon

Abaddon Books is to publish its first ever ebook-only title, while capitalising on the recent success of its series omnibuses.

The next book in the Twilight of Kerberos series – The Wrath of Kerberos by Jonathan Oliver – will be the first time the imprint has published a brand new title as only an ebook.

The Twilight of Kerberos is a shared-world fantasy series set on a planet inhabited by the remnants of lost civilisations, orbiting the gas giant Kerberos. The Wrath of Kerberos will be the series’ ninth book.

With its READ ANYTHING campaign and commitment to producing first rate genre fiction, the Abaddon Books team are firm believers in new forms of publishing. The Twilight of Kerberos series is a perfect fit for experimenting with an ebook only release.

And with the success of the recent series omnibuses – including the The Best of Tomes of the Dead and Afterblight: America – and capitalising on the growing US readership who are finding our shared-worlds through them, Abaddon Books has decided to focus the Twilight range on this format.

The long-awaited third book of the Lucius Kane Trilogy by Matthew Sprange, Legacy’s Price, will see print in March 2012 as part of the first Twilight of Kerberos Omnibus, with two more omnibuses in the series to collect the titles by Mike Wild and Jonathan Oliver.

Jonathan Oliver said: “It’s great to be part of this experiment in publishing, and Wrath of Kerberos is a perfect fit.”

“A remarkably creative debut.” – Un:Bound on The Call of Kerberos

A book what I is writing

Hello

As some folk know, early this year my first novel was released to the world: Twilight of Kerberos: The Call of Kerberos. Some of you will hopefully be thrilled that I'm currently working on the sequel, Twilight of Kerberos: The Wrath of Kerberos, which will see publication in January 2012. I'm half way through it and beavering away in my spare time to get in done. Anyway, here is the cover and the blurb:

Silus Morlader and the crew of the Llothriall find themselves beached in the middle of a desert after a magical storm envelops their ship. Stranded with dwindling supplies, and half their crew missing, Silus leads his companions across the harsh landscape in search of civilisation. What they find will change their view of the world forever. A new race reveals to Silus that his god, Kerberos, is not all he appears to be; that everything they understand about life on Twilight may be wrong.

When the truth is finally told, Silus and his companions must fight their way across a dying world, facing Final Faith fanatics, orcs and dragons. They must find a way to return home and deliver a very important message to Katherine Makennon, head of the Final Faith, before war tears Twilight apart.

Reviewspam for Tea

Hey doods,

Two quickies, both for Mike Wild's Twilight of Kerberos: Engines of the Apocalypse.

Jonathan Howard at the San Francisco Book Review has offered up a very warm review of the new Kali Hooper book:

"Unashamedly pulp, reminding me of the works of such greats in the genre as Michael Moorcock and Edgar Rice Burroughs... If you like pulp fiction, especially if it’s a little darker than the norm, Engines of the Apocalypse isn’t a bad choice."

And Pornokitsch's Jared Shurin has also delivered a review of the archaeological adventure:

"Kali Hooper's like Lara Croft, except, you know, if Lara Croft was actually who she was supposed to be, and not just digital masturbation fuel... I, for one, can't wait to see where the series is going."

That is all.

David

Aggressive Archaeology

Oh! Forgot to mention, Mike Wild has a blog now! Glad to see you've caught up with the rest of us, Mike. ;-)

http://www.mikewild.blogspot.com/

Mike Wild is the author of the Kali Hooper novels for Abaddon Books, an arc in our Twilight of Kerberos fantasy series.

I was filling in keywords for Amazon the other day, and one fo the ones I typed for Kali Hooper was 'aggressive archaeology.' I think it fits. She's a bit like Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider, except she'd kick Lara Croft's ass any day, and still have time to whisk Indy away for a dirty weekend...


You know she would.

-

Pornokitsch interviews Jonathan Oliver

Those folks at the dodgy-sounding geek culture website, Pornokitsch, have interviewed our very own Editor-in-Chief, Jonathan Oliver.

Read the interview:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three

To see some of their previous interviews with Abaddon authors such as Paul Kane, Scott Andrews and Rebecca Levene, take a look over here.

Gemmell Award: Vote Now!

Hi all,

As I'm sure I mentioned, Mike Wild's Twilight of Kerberos: The Crucible of the Dragon God (cover by Mark Harrison) and Matthew Sprange's Twilight of Kerberos: Night's Haunting (cover by Greg Staples) have both been longlisted for the David Gemmell Award, in both the Legend (for best heroic fantasy) and Ravenheart (for best cover art) categories.

Current voting is for the short-list, to be published in April, and ends on March 31st; there will be another round of voting, the details for which will be given when the shortlist comes out.

The Gemmell Award is relatively new - this will be the second award - but already well supported and quite widely recognised, and winning either category will be a great coup for the author or cover artist (and for us). So be sure and jump on the website, sign up and get your votes in!

Cheers,

David

An Announcement

MORE exciting than today's release of the new Apple tablet!!*

Tomorrow, we will release the very first Abaddon and Solaris Books Podcast! iPods at the ready, folks!

The first installment, EVIL FISH DEMONS!, features news on upcoming books, our thoughts on life and general nonsense, David Moore being a cheeky bugger, and an interview and reading from Jon Oliver, author of Twilight of Kerberos: The Call of Kerberos and Editor-in-Chief of Abaddon and Solaris.

*Abaddon Books can neither confirm nor deny rumours that Steve Jobs, reduced to tears by the fear that our podcast release would eclipse the release of his Tablet, begged us to delay our podcast until tomorrow. Thanks for the flowers, chocolates and escort girls, Steve.


-

Call of Kerberos!

Hey all,

I'm now holding a copy of Twilight of Kerberos: The Call of Kerberos in my hot little hands. Not actually at this moment, of course; I'm typing. I'd have to type one-handed, and that would be awkward. Look, why am I even explaining myself to you? It's a figure of speech. Don't judge me.

Anyway, it's even now winging its way through the tortuous labyrinth that is the contemporary distribution system, and will be hitting the shelves in a week or so, so all you Kerberos fans dying to get your hands on the next book can take a measured breath. Not long yet.

Our busy little eBook elves are frantically adapting it to electronic format as well, so it should be available in our Mobipocket shop at the same time as it hits the shelves! Vive le Revolution Electronique!

Kick ass.

David

"A Very Abaddon Christmas" Part 4: 'Twas the Night Before Giftfest

Hey all,

Right, we're not quite onto brandy and mince pies yet, so let's call this... the cheese course. Yeah, that's right. The cheese course.

Actually, it's pretty appropriate.

For the fourth instalment in that noted, ground-breaking guest-blogging event, A Very Abaddon Christmas, Mike Wild has given us a little ditty from Twilight of Kerberos.

"What's that?" I hear you cry. "Surely there's no Christmas on Twilight! It's, like, a fantasy world! David, what can you be saying?"

Think again, my good man. Think again.

’Twas the Night Before Giftfest

A Twilight of Kerberos: The Crucible of the Dragon God Story

By Mike Wild

’Twas the night before Giftfest, when through Kali’s pub
Not a worgle was stirring, nor Horse for his grub
Hooper’s stockings were slung by the fireplace, oh yeah
Where Slowhand caressed them, his body all bare

Dolorosa, meanwhile, was high up on the roof
There confronting a man and strange creatures on hoof
What’s that you say, fat boy, about goodwill and peace?
You go near that chimney I stabba you like theees!

Kali, through all this, lay betwattled in bed
While visions of Old Races whirled in her head
She hated the holidays, she thought they were crap
And the dwarves and elves called her, from the old map

Suddenly down in her belly there rumbled a groan
She sprang from her blankets and uttered a moan
Away to the window she flew with a “gack!”
Tore open the shutters and threw up her Thwack

Below in the courtyard a man dressed in red
Wiped away vomit from the top of his head
He sighed, all he’d wanted was to empty his sack
But after this, fark ‘em, he’d take it all back

Come the next morning not a present was seen
Once more it seemed the Laughing Lord hadn’t been
From pirates and Slowhand, Kali, Moon and the dragons
A Very Happy Giftfest from the Here There Be Flagons.

Reviews and (Shh... Top-Secret) Competition Teaser...

Hey all,

Two more reviews for Mike Wild:

Graeme's Fantasy Book Review on Twilight of Kerberos: The Clockwork King of Orl, and

Falcata Times on Twilight of Kerberos: Crucible of the Dragon God.


Also, we're going to be announcing our first ever competition on the Abaddon blog tomorrow.

Check in to take part.

Hint: Zombies.

Cheers,

David

Mike Wild - Reviews and Interview

Hi all,

Mike Wild's second Kali Hooper book, Twilight of Kerberos: Crucible of the Dragon God, came out a couple of months ago; if you've not read it (or the first Kali Hooper book, Twilight of Kerberos: The Clockwork King of Orl), you should check 'em out.

At any rate, Mike's directed my attention to this interview he gave Mass Movement Magazine around the time Crucible came out.

While you're at it, Mass Movement also reviews Clockwork King and Crucible on their site.

(And for a sneak peek at the opening chapter of the third Kali Hooper book, Twilight of Kerberos: Engines of the Apocalypse, pick up Twilight of Kerberos: Night's Haunting, out soon; we've given you a sneak preview in the back.)

Cheers,

David

Reviews: Broken Arrow and Barefoot Zombie

Hi all,

Tim of Mass Movement Magazine has been kind enough to write this review of Paul Kane's The Afterblight Chronicles: Broken Arrow, and this review of Jasper Bark's Tomes of the Dead: The Way of the Barefoot Zombie.

Thanks, Tim!

In other news, Matthew Sprange's Twilight of Kerberos: Night's Haunting, the second Lucius Kane adventure, went to press this week. So it'll be in stores as soon as we can get it there. If you haven't read it yet, check out the first Lucius Kane adventure, Twilight of Kerberos: Shadowmage.

Cheers,

David

Update Time!

Hi all,

Right, so two quick updates:

eBooks

Our hard-working assistant Jenni's been frantically working through our eBook back-catalogue, and now every Abaddon book released up to April this year is available from Mobipocket. There's also lots of the old Black Flame books set in the 2000AD universe, so crack on.

Upcoming Schedule

I'm proofing Matthew Sprange's second Lucius Kane book Twilight of Kerberos: Night's Haunting right now, so that's due out next month. Jon's book Twilight of Kerberos: The Call of Kerberos is due out in November as well, as the series draws ever closer to revealing the secrets of Twilight and the ever-present Kerberos, about the fate of the lost Old Races, and about the strange evil that lurks beneath the waves. Sorry for the delay with these books; as you will have seen in our press-release, we've just taken on a load of extra titles, and we're kind of running to catch up right now.

Fans of crown agent and dandy Ulysses Quicksilver will be thrilled to know that Jonathan Green's Pax Britannia: Blood Royal is due out on time in December. It's the perfect gift for the steampunkophile in your life but remember, a steam-powered centenarian senile cyborg queen is for life, not just for Christmas.

In January, we're still expecting to deliver Weston Ochse's coastal horror Tomes of the Dead: Empire of Salt. This is Weston's first book for us, and we're really looking forward to it. Aquatic zombies and bracing sea air; the perfect combination for a getaway.

February will see the release of Cold Warriors, Rebecca Levene's first instalment in our new horror-espionage setting The Infernal Game, and Pat Kelleher's Black Hand Gang, which will kick off our new WWI/sci-fi crossover No Man's World. These are both really intriguing settings, and I'm pretty excited about both of them.

Coming up, we have more Twilight, more Pax, Scott Andrews' third Afterblight book and, as always, more of those hungry, hungry zombies. Watch this space...

Good hunting,

David