From the Viking undead to zombie knights and Napoleonic revenants: this is the Secret Zombie History of the World

The Secret Zombie History of the World

by Paul Finch, Matthew

Sprange & Toby Venables

Coming to life on 10^th Dec

in paperback (US & Can)

and ebook (worldwide)

$12.99/$14.99 ISBN 978-1-78108-160-0

Northern Europe, 976 AD: a Viking crew find themselves in a bleak land of pestilence, where the dead return as draugr to feed on the flesh of their kin and a dark castle in a hidden fjord hides a terrible secret.

Britain, 1295 AD: A young English knight joins a force sent to capture a castle from Welsh rebels, but druids summon an army of the undead, bent on revenge. Will the stronghold – once thought impregnable – hold out?

The Cape of Good Hope, the 1820s: Captain Havelock discovers his ship and the French frigate he has been ordered to hunt down are not alone as an enemy thought long since vanquished rises from the deeps...

This is The Secret Zombie History of the World – an omnibus of historical zombie stories, released in this new format for the North American market, that reveals the outbreaks that have plagued mankind for hundreds of years. From Viking ‘draugr’ to the medieval undead and Napoleonic corpses, this trio of tales from the popular Tomes of the Dead series will keep you awake at night wondering just how close humanity has come to joining the hordes of the infected!

Toby Venables, Matthew Sprange, and Paul Finch each weave historical fact into thrilling tales of rotting revenants and cutthroat cadavers!

About the Series

Rotten bone and raddled flesh, shuffling perils and moaning menaces – Tomes of the Dead re-imagines the zombie genre not as an endless retread of the same tired themes, but as a prism crack’d, exploring the gut-churning, flesh-biting world of the shambling dead from new, different and unexpected directions!

About the Authors

Paul Finch is a former cop and journalist, now turned full time writer. He first cut his literary teeth penning episodes of the British TV crime drama, THE BILL, and has written extensively in the field of children's animation. However, he is probably best known for his work in horrors and thrillers. He has won two British Fantasy Awards and the International Horror Guild Award, and has written Doctor Who audio dramas for Big Finish as well as scripts for several movie adaptations of his own stories and novellas. Paul lives in Wigan, Lancashire, with his wife Cathy and his children, Eleanor and Harry.

Matthew Sprange has a solid history in roleplaying design as well as writing over two dozen gaming books, including the Babylon 5, Judge Dredd and Starship Troopers games, and has won two Origins Awards for his work in miniature wargames. Death Hulk is his second novel, with his first being a trip into the Babylon 5 universe, entitled Visions of Peace.

Toby Venables is a novelist, screenwriter and lecturer in Film Studies at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge. He has since worked as a journalist and magazine editor – launching magazines in Cambridge, Peterborough, Oxford and Bristol – and once orchestrated an elaborate Halloween hoax for which he built and photographed a werewolf. He still works as a freelance copywriter, has been the recipient of a radio advertising award, and in 2001 won the Keats-Shelley Memorial Prize.

FREE EBOOKS!

YO THIS IS SOME CRAZY SHIZ RIGHT HERE.

So we're so keen to get you into our critically-acclaimed Afterblight Chronicles and Pax Britannia series that we're offering the first book in each series, Simon Spurrier's The Culled and Jonathan Green's Unnatural History, absolutely free!

They're free on our own website, and on as many online stores as we can manage. GET THEM! YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN WE'LL CHANGE OUR MINDS!

The Abaddon/Solaris signing schedule for next week's World Fantasy con is now up!

Well, World Fantasy Con is almost upon us, when the genre publishing world descends upon Brighton and makes it 27.1% more crazy...

We have a host, no, a bevvy of book-writing braves attending the con who will be furiously scribbling their monikers into books thrust beneath their clever noses. The Abaddon and Solaris signing schedule looks thusly:

THURSDAY	AUTHOR
16.00-16.30	Lou Morgan
16.30-17.00	Jonathan Green
FRIDAY	AUTHOR
10.30-11AM	Steve Rasnic Tem
11-11.30AM	Guy Adams
14.00-14.30	Jonathan Strahan
14.30-15.00	Jan Siegel (Amanda Hemingway)
15.30-16.00	Paul Kane
16.00-16.30	Clifford Beal
16.30-17.00	Gareth L. Powell
SATURDAY	AUTHOR
14.00-14.30	Geoffrey Gudgion
14.30-15.00	James Lovegrove
15.30-16.00	Ian Whates
16.30-17.00	Gaie Sebold
SUNDAY	AUTHOR
10.30-11AM	Simon Bestwick
11-11.30AM	Ben Jeapes

We're looking forward to it - hope to see you there!

Phrases That You Almost, But Don't Quite Use Correctly

So I was doing some editing the other day and reflected that there are a bunch of phrases in English - quotes, popular coinages and so on - that are widely (but generally only by a small degree) misunderstood. So widely, in fact, that the distorted meaning is the generally accepted one, and most people don't know the original sense at all. They don't irritate me - English is a wonderful, fluid language, and usage changes all the time - but they fascinate me nonetheless.


So I thought, heck, I'll just blog about it. Here are four of my favourites: 

Nature, Red in Tooth and Claw

Where It's From: Tennyson's In Memoriam A. H. H., a lengthy elegiac to his friend Arthur Hallam, who'd died suddenly in 1833. It's a long, meandering discourse on love, loss, and human nature. 

How It's Used: Usually to describe the violent and impersonal nature of Nature; them animals, they do so love to bite and scratch and stuff. Grr.

What It Really Means: It's actually about people! Tennyson was struggling with humanity's tendency to selfishness, and the growing materialistic worldview that was doing such a good job of explaining what it saw. If we are all driven by the simple mechanisms of evolution, then where can we see proof that love - God's ultimate law - does or should govern us?

Who trusted God was love indeed
And love Creation's final law
Tho' Nature, red in tooth and claw
With ravin, shriek'd against his creed 

Turn the Other Cheek

Where It's From: A little thing I like to call The Bible. Matthew, chapter 5. It's from the middle of Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount," where he passes down the law on how people are gonna behave from now on. 

How It's Used: This is something your mum or teacher used to tell you if you were bullied or provoked at school. It suggests stoicism and self-discipline; just look away ("turn your cheek") and ignore them.

What It Really Means: Jesus was going a bit further than just "don't rise to their bait." He's telling you to actively participate in your own victimisation; if a man hits you on one cheek, he says, then turn the other cheek so that he can hit that one too. Your mum should not be telling you to do this. The Sermon is famously one of the most challenging parts of Christian doctrine, presenting such an extreme model of virtue that it's usually seen as rhetorical rather than intended literally.

I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

The Game is Afoot

Where It's From: Shakespeare, baby. Specifically, Henry IV Part 1, Act 1, Scene 3. Although it's also probably Sherlock Holmes's most-quoted line (from The Adventure of the Abbey Grange) after "Elementary, my dear Watson."

How It's Used: Generally, to suggest a game - you know, with dice and a board, and cards or something. It means something interesting and challenging has begun in earnest.

What It Really Means: It's a hunting metaphor. The "game," in this instance, is an animal hunted for its meat (as in "game bird" or "game pie"). When the game is "afoot," it's on the run and the hunt has begun. Holmes most certainly used it in that sense - his "game" being Sir Brackenstall's murderer - but hunting is less relevant to most of us than it used to be, and so nowadays we mostly assume he's talking about chess or something. He liked chess, right?

"Come, Watson, come!" he cried. 

"The game is afoot. Not a word! Into your clothes and come!"

(Good) Samaritan

Where It's From: The Bible, natch. Luke, chapter 10. It's one of the "Parables," which were sort of moral riddles that Jesus used to tell his followers. He was crazy about riddles.

How It's Used: A Samaritan, "good" or otherwise, usually means someone who helps a stranger - especially one in dire need, who others are ignoring - with no expectation of reward or recognition. Aww. There's even a suicide charity called The Samaritans - without the "Good," which makes me insanely suspicious of them.

What It Really Means: The Good Samaritan of the parable behaved in exactly that way, sure enough. But the point of the story was that Samaritans were famed for their selfishness and officiousness; "good Samaritan" was intended as a surprising dichotomy. A bit like saying "good investment banker" or something (of course, the Samaritans are an ethnic and religious community that exists to this day, but I guess it's okay to be a bit racist when you're quoting the Bible).

And a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.

So those are four of my favourite slightly misused phrases. What are yours?

WEEKEND AUTUMN FLASH SALE!

If you missed out on this summer’s best books from Solaris, Abaddon and Ravenstone, now’s your chance to catch up with all of these recent releases at just £4 each!

Act now! This sale is only on this weekend!

SAXON’S BANE by Geoffrey Gudgion 

AGE OF GODPUNK by James Lovegrove 

PHOENICIA’S WORLDS by Ben Jeapes 

PLASTIC by Christopher Fowler 

BLOOD AND FEATHERS: REBELLION by Lou Morgan 

CRASH by Guy Haley 

WEIRD SPACE: SATAN’S REACH by Eric Brown 

LUPUS REX by John Carter Cash 

FICTIONAL MAN by Al Ewing 

GODS AND MONSTERS: UNCLEAN SPIRITS by Chuck Wendig

The Solaris and Abaddon Books Mob gear up for World Fantasy Con...

It is now a month until the crème de la crème of genre publishing meet in Brighton for World Fantasy Con. We're VERY much looking forward to this veritable bacchanal of book bods - last year's event in Toronto was a blast and now that it's come back to Britain 

We here at Solaris and Abaddon have gathered together a tip top table of talent for the weekend's festivities, ranging from debut authors to old hands. We're very pleased to announce that the following authors will be appearing at WFC13:

Guy Adams (The Good The Bad and the Infernal)
Clifford Beal (Gideon's Angel)
Simon Bestwick (The Faceless and Tide of Souls)
Chaz Brenchley (Desdaemona)
Ellen Datlow (Poe)
Jetse de Vries (Shine)
Paul Finch (Stronghold)
Jonathan Green (Pax Britannia)
Amanda Hemingway (The Devil's Apprentice)
Ben Jeapes (Phoenicia's Worlds)
Paul Kane (Hooded Man trilogy)
James Lovegrove (Pantheon series)
Juliet McKenna (Hadrumal Crisis series)
Lou Morgan (Blood and Feathers)
Libby McGugan (The Eidolon)
Gareth L. Powell (Ack-Ack Macaque)
Gaie Sebold (Babylon Steel)
Lavie Tidhar (Osama)
Jonathan Strahan (Edge of Infinity)
Steve Rasnic Tem (Deadfall Hotel)
Ian Whates (Solaris Rising)
Conrad Williams (Loss of Separation)
Geoffrey Gudgeon (Saxon's Bane)

To celebrate the coming storm, we'll be giving away books all month on our blogs and Twitter - so stay tuned!

Everything you think you know about Robin Hood is a lie - this is the Hunter of Sherwood!

Hunter of Sherwood:

Knight of Shadows

by Toby Venables

A legend will be rewritten on 29^th Sep

(US & Canada) and 10^th Oct (UK)

£7.99 (UK)

ISBN 978-1-78108-161-7

$9.99/$12.99 (US & CAN)

ISBN 978-1-78108-162-4

Robin Hood is a cold blooded killer and Richard the Lionheart is a ruthless butcher who cares nothing for England – Toby Venables is taking one of the most beloved English folk legends turning it on its head.

This is the story of Guy of Gisburne. Portrayed in legend as a lackey to the Sheriff of Nottingham, Knight of Shadows reveals Guy as an outcast, a mercenary, and now newly knighted, an honourable servant of King John in his intrigues against the vicious and bloodthirsty Lionheart.

Tears up the clichés of the Robin Hood myth to reveal the deeper issues between this chaotic period of English history, Knight of Shadows will delight readers of Bernard Cornwell and the Flashman series, as it deftly weaves history and legend into a brand new pattern, with Gisburne firmly at the heart of events.

Guy’s mission is to intercept the jewel-encrusted skull of John the Baptist from the clutches of the Knights Templar before it can reach Philip, King of France. Gisburne’s quest takes him and his world-weary squire Galfrid into increasingly bloody encounters with ‘The White Devil’: the fanatical Templar de Mercheval.

Relentlessly pursued back to England, Gisburne battles his way with sword, lance and bow. But if he survives there lies ahead an even more unpredictable adversary!

About the Author

Toby Venables is a novelist, screenwriter and lecturer in Film Studies at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge. He grew up watching old Universal horror movies when his parents thought he was asleep, reading 2000 AD and obsessing about Beowulf. There was probably a bit more to it, but he can't quite remember what it was.

He has since worked as a journalist and magazine editor – launching magazines in Cambridge, Peterborough, Oxford and Bristol – and once orchestrated an elaborate Halloween hoax for which he built and photographed a werewolf. He still works as a freelance copywriter, has been the recipient of a radio advertising award, and in 2001 won the Keats-Shelley Memorial Prize (both possibly due to typing errors).

His first novel (for Abaddon) was The Viking Dead – a historical-zombie-SF mashup which has been described as "A fantastic mix of history, violence and horror" and "ludicrous fun".

Con Report: LOOOONE STAAAARRR Con 3

Hey everyone!

So me and Jon have just (Well, not just; about a week ago. I was tired. It was a long flight, okay? Just shut up about it already.) got back from San Antonio, TX and the nerdapalooza that was LoneStarCon 3. And it was epic.

First off, San Antonio is hot. Like, hot. Like, okay, I'm from a pretty hot place myself, but this was actual, for real, fuck-you hot. It hit 105 degrees, and while I'm pretty sure that's some sort of crazy Imperial measurement, I wouldn't, having lived through it, put actual money on that.

But San Antonio is a place where "profligate waste of energy" ran into "oppressive subtropical heat" and broke. The convention took place in colossal indoor spaces, whole cathedrals of glass and steel, that were nevertheless cooled to bone-chillingly cold temperatures. I should, on behalf of whales and dolphins and Greenpeace protesters everywhere, have been affronted at this, but as you opened the door and this blast of frigid air hit you, all you could think was, "It's worth it. Never say it isn't."

But they have this whole semi-wonderland called the "River Walk" (pictured above). It's this spectacularly artificial tree-bedecked network of walkways, bridges and balconies built just below street level lining the river, and it's kind of shaded and lined with shops and cafes, and it really is quite lovely, even if it makes you feel like you're at Center Parcs.

And never mind all that, because for the first time in my life, dear readers, I was in the United States. So I got to all kinds of stupid shit that really don't matter, but are in their tiny way kind of amazing. Like ride in an actual yellow taxi (there's Arianne "Tex" Thompson, one of Solaris's writers, on the left); it's just a fucking taxi, but it's a proper Murican yellow taxi and I was in it and it was cool and shut up.

And we ate a lot. Texans do not believe in small portions, and that really isn't just a colourful reputation or the kind of rubbish boasting people do when they're being a bit jingoistics. We didn't have a small meal all weekend. We actually took to ordering bar snacks. And not eating them all.

But it was a good opportunity to meet and connect with folk, and enjoy the company of some extremely friendly people, and here's a picture of some of us hanging around at just about the hippest BBQ joint you can imagine (seriously, they had all ethically-produced, locally-sourced meat, and they did things like asparagus icecream accompaniments; it was cool but a bit jarring), with Jennie Goloboy, Tex, Jon, Libby McGugan, Bean Jeapes and John Carter Cash's right arm.*

We also went up the Tower of the Americas, which is mildly famous, although I had to think a bit to make sure I wasn't thinking of Stratosphere or the Space Needle, because all of these observation towers are really terribly similar. At any rate, it turns out it was built for the '68 World's Fair, and it has an obligatory moving restaurant in it, so we could very gradually see all of San Antonio pass beneath us as the sun set, which was lovely. And we had some really very nice food (a lot of it, natch) with Jack Skillingstead, Nancy Kress, Libby McGugan, Ben Jeapes, Brenda Cooper and a friend of Brenda's whose name I didn't catch.

So it was a very good time for walking around, eating, drinking (be very cautious drinking margaritas in San Antonio; or, perhaps, be very cautious ordering a second margarita in San Antonio - they're really quite strong, a fact that you won't fully appreciate until you're already started the second one and realised you should have had a coke). And it was an awesome time for meeting people: authors, agents, members of the SFWA and fans in general, and our esteemed peers and rivals across the pond.

And we got a bit of tourism in! Did you know that San Antonio's where the Alamo is? I didn't. (Okay, you did; I guess you're just a better person than me. Whatever.) Anyway, it's just right there! You can just walk to it. It's not even, like, a bus ride outside town or anything; it was right around the corner from the convention! There's Jon on a terribly pretty fountain, and me by the entrance. That thoughtful expression is me remembering the Alamo, something I gather you are encouraged to do in Texas.


"So shut up about your holiday abroad!" I hear you cry. "What about the con?" Well, I'm glad you ask.


It was immense. Thousands of fans, creators and community people, talking, showing, watching, trading, selling, buying, arguing, discussing, and generally advancing and promoting the genres and media we all love. It was amazing to see the commitment and passion on display everywhere. We sat on panels - our early-morning, still-jet-lagged, still-frankly-kind-of-hungover "Solaris Presents" (which came out as "Abaddon, Solaris and Ravenstone Present" in the end) panel went really rather well given the time and our mental states, the gender parity and economics-of-publishing (mostly about Print-on-Demand and ebooks) panels Jon sat on were a lot of fun, and the horror panel that Lee Harris very kindly invited Jon to step up to was amazing - but mostly we met people, talked about past achievements, future ambitions, and the future direction of our world.

And rather wonderfully there was a full-scale reproduction of part of the bridge of the Enterprise from the original series of Star Trek. Here we are being captains. Are we not masterful (and fat; I kind of look like later-era Kirk, while Jon looks like earlier, sexy Kirk)?

And then there were the Hugo awards. It's actually kind of awe-inspiring being there. It's always nice being invited to any awards ceremony, and it's always very gratifying to be present when the wonderful people who create the stories we read and publish are acknowledged and applauded for their efforts, but there a lot of awards, you know, and you can get kind of used to them. But the Hugo's the first award you hear about, in our circles, and it remains - to me at least - a fairly special accomplishment set out from the rest, however jaded you get. It was awesome to actually go to one.


Huge congratulations go to all the winners and finalists of the prestigious awards (and especially to Pat Cadigan, whose contribution to Jonathan Strahan's Edge of Infinity won the trophy for Best Novelette), and huge thanks to Paul Cornell for a brilliant ceremony. 


After that was the after-party, where I got to meet some of the organisers and members of the SFWA, which was a brilliant opportunity and which I was genuinely excited to be doing.


So, yeah. That was What We Did On Our Weekend. I hope you had as good a time as we did.


Cheers,


David




*And yes, three of the people in that picture are British. Never mind that.

Jon's Worldcon schedule

So, as some of you may know, this week the World Science Fiction Convention comes to San Antonio and myself and the esteemed David Moore will be in attendance. For those what want to know, my schedule while in Texas will be as follows:

Solaris Presents

Friday 10am-11

Join myself, David Moore and a handful of authors as we take you into the intriguing world of Solaris, Abaddon and Ravenstone. Upcoming titles will be revealed and our selection of authors will be on hand to talk about their work.

Gender in SF

Saturday 12-13pm

How has SF influenced and reflected the changes in gender and gender roles over the past half century? As we look back to the work of writers such as Ursula LeGuin and Joanna Russ in the sixties and seventies, what can we say about their impact and that of their heirs today?

I will be joining Vylar Kaftan, Eileen Gunn, Tili Sokolov and Lezli Robyn on what promises to be a fascinating panel.

The Changing Economics of Book Production

Saturday 17-18pm

My fellow panelists for this are Tom Doherty, John DeNardo and Steve Silver.

Signings

 Willie Siro's marvelous Adventures in Crime and Space store in the dealer's room will be hosting several of our author's signings over the weekend. These are:

Friday 11am - Ben Jeapes signings Phoenecia's Worlds and other titles.
3pm - Jack Skillingstead signing Life on the Preservation and other titles.

Saturday 12pm - Chuck Wendig signing Gods and Monsters and other titles.
2pm - John Carter Cash signing Lupus Rex.

Anyway, hope to see some of you there!

August! New Books!

Hey kids,

So yeah, it's August. Which means we're all just about ready for summer and it's already half over. Because that's how this shit works. We're British, and there's rules.

So while you're chewing your way through burned hamburgers at your dad's poorly planned barbecue, planning what to sacrifice among the approximately a billion awesome things there are to do on the Bank Holiday weekend, and alternating between complaining about the oppressive heat (when it's sunny) and how basically we haven't had a summer (when it's not sunny), I thought I'd make the days pass a little more pleasantly and announce three new books that came out this week.

Yeah, that's right. Count 'em.

Because I love you, and I want you to be happy.

Boom.

-----

So we'll start with Eric Brown's Weird Space: Satan's Reach, second book in the critically-acclaimed Weird Space series.

Telepath Den Harper did the dirty work for the authoritarian Expansion, reading the minds of criminals, spies and undesirables. Unable to take the strain, he stole a starship and headed into the unknown, a sector of lawless space known as Satan’s Reach. For five years he worked as a trader among the stars – then discovered that the Expansion had set a bounty hunter on his trail.

Following last year's The Devil's Nebula, Eric brings us a new core character - the world-weary telepath Den Harper - and introduces us to a new, seedy neighbourhood in the Weird Space universe. Still lots of horrible aliens to contend with, though, to say nothing of the oppressive Expansion.

Weird Space is available in both paperback and ebook versions right now.

Paperback

Amazon UK  Amazon US

Kindle

Amazon UK  Amazon US

-----

We'll follow up with David Thomas Moore's* Pax Britannia: The Ultimate Secret, a new novella in the long-running Pax Britannia steampunk series.

The Ultimate Reich. The great enemy of Magna Britannia, the unwavering stronghold whose power extends from the depths of Africa to the outlands of Mexico, and even across the barrier of time itself. For more than half a century, the Führer’s empire has plagued the world, but thanks to the efforts of a brave handful, the Reich’s most terrible secret may be on the verge of exposure.

Reaching out across the pond to grasp both Jonathan Green's Ulysses Quicksilver books and Al Ewing's El Sombra tales, The Ultimate Secret shows you corners of the Pax world you've never seen before, from the ancient cobbles of Socialist Rome to the crowded villas of Buenos Aires.

The Ultimate Secret is available exclusively in ebook format.

Kindle

Amazon UK   Amazon US

-----

Finally, we'll swing by Mega-City One for Michael Carroll's Judge Dredd Year One: The Cold Light of Day, the second novella in the wildly successful Judge Dredd Year One series.

2080: All leave for the Judges in Mega-City one has been cancelled: they are needed for crowd-control during the annual Mega-City 5000 motorbike race. the race crosses back and forth across the city, from north to south, and millions of people are expected to line the streets to cheer on their favourite teams and riders.

In the ongoing story of Old Stoney Face's rookie year, Joe Dredd is confronted with a grizzly murder that he could possibly have prevented, five years ago in his cadet days. But can he really be held accountable for another man's crimes? Can you be judged for an oversight you couldn't possibly know about at the time?

The Cold Light of Day is available exclusive in ebook format.

Kindle

Amazon UK   Amazon US

-----

*Yes, me. And while I'm not going to say I'm going to kick a puppy if you don't buy this book and validate me, I'm not going to say I'm not going to, either.

Pax Britannia's Coming Over All German

Hey.

So in international news, the German publisher LUZIFERverlag has purchased the translation rights to Unnatural History, the first book in the Pax Britannia series. They've just finished work, which will be out shortly.

Read Jonathan Green's announcement on his blog.

Cheers,

David

Vote Time's Arrow for the VSS Award

Hey all!

So in case you don't routinely hang out with people dressed in tweed and decorated with brass (and why not, fine body of men and women), you should know that the Victorian Steampunk Society (I'll confess I feel that the qualifier is unnecessary, both because, as a rule, pretty all steampunk is Victorian and because, in the event that a member wants to muck about with some non-Victorian steampunk, nobody's likely to say they can't...) holds what are probably the most important awards in the steampunk community - the Victorian Steampunk Society Awards - every year at the Asylum.

Now, our one and only Jonathan Green, author of the ever-popular Pax Britannia series, has blogged about this fact and about how the ground-breaking readership-led Time's Arrow, eighth book in the oldest still-ongoing steampunk series in the world, is eligible for this year's award. And I thought, "You know what? He's bloody well right! I must remind my internet 'peeps' right away, so they can get a shift on and nominate it so as it gets onto the short list, what?"

So I urge you to jump on the VSS Awards web page (linked above) and nominate it now, get this fine work on its way to a richly deserved award...

David

Space is about to get a lot weirder, with Eric Brown's latest novel from Abaddon

Weird Space: 

Satan's Reach

by Eric Brown

The universe expands on 25 June (US & Can) and July 4 (UK)

£7.99 (UK) ISBN 978-1-78108-130-3

$7.99/$9.99 (US & CAN) ISBN 978-1-78108-121-1

Available in paperback and ebook

“Eric Brown spins a terrific yarn.”

- SFX on Guardians of the Phoenix

“It’s a runaway success.”

- Tor.com on Weird Space: The Devil’s Nebula

Telepath Den Harper did the dirty work for the authoritarian Expansion, reading the minds of criminals, spies and undesirables, for years. Unable to take the strain, he stole a starship and headed into the void, a sector of lawless space known as Satan’s Reach. For five years he worked as a trader among the stars – then discovered that the Expansion had set a bounty hunter on his trail.

But what does the Expansion want with a lowly telepath like Harper? Is there something in the rumours that human space is being invaded by aliens from another realm? Harper finds out the answer to both these questions when he rescues a young woman from certain death – and comes face to face with the terrible aliens known as the Weird.

Eric Brown continues to expand the Weird Space universe, which he created for Abaddon Books, with a fast paced action-adventure that pits humanity against unimaginable terror from beyond.

About the Author

Eric Brown began writing when he was fifteen, while living in Australia, and sold his first short story to Interzone in 1986. He has won the British Science Fiction Award twice for his short stories, has published over forty books, and his work has been translated into sixteen languages. His latest books include the SF novels The Serene Invasion, Satan’s Reach, and the crime novel Murder by the Book. He writes a regular science fiction review column for the Guardian newspaper and lives near Dunbar, East Lothian. His website can be found at www.ericbrown.co.uk

Looking Back: Some Kind of Paul Kane Interview, You Say?

Hey all,

Obviously we're quite excited about the Hooded Man omnibus that's coming soon, in print (US only) and ebook (everywhere) editions, but it's not quite time yet to give it to you.

I know, I know, and trust me, your frustration is like sweet, sweet nectar to me.

At any rate, to whet your appetites, here's an interview that the amazing and lovely Ms Perry and Mr Shurin of Pornokitsch.com conducted with Paul about the trilogy back in 2010.

Part One • Part Two • Part Three

Check it out.

David