HARD SPELL / EVIL DARK by Justin Gustainis, Angry Robot, p/b £7.99 each, ebook £4.49 each, http://angryrobotbooks.com/

Reviewed by David Brzeski

Books set in an alternate reality, where vampires, werewolves, witches and other supernatural beings are not only real, but are known to exist by the general populace, are not uncommon these days. They are rarely this well handled. Gustainis cleverly rewrites our history in the light of the existence of “supes”. The McCarthy witch-hunt, for instance, was actually a witch hunt. The civil rights movement fought for the rights of supernatural beings. There are endless cultural (and pop cultural) references which help in creating a believable background for these books.

‘Hard Spell’, introduces us to Stan Markowski of Scranton PD’s Occult Crimes Unit. We also have meth addicted goblins, a vampire wizard and a serial killer who is targeting “supes”. As the book progresses, we meet the new partner he has to break in, the department’s consulting witch, a very different sort of SWAT team and eventually find out just why Markowski hates vampires.

It’s fast paced, witty and scary and would get a good review from me on its own.

‘Evil Dark’, however, is even better. Despite all the fantasy supernatural elements, Gustainis never loses the authentic feel of the Scranton Police department and the people who work there. They act like real cops, working in a real precinct. The story is as hard-bitten and scary as any classic serial killer novel.

Someone is making a truly twisted variant on “snuff films”, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Markowski has to deal with his partner’s new status, the FBI, neo-nazi human supremacists and a new top dog in the supernatural community, all the while trying to avoid being murdered himself.

Things get genuinely nasty and Gustainis builds the tension brilliantly. Gripping hardly covers it. I simply couldn’t put the book down until I’d finished it. It has to be said that Gustainis has a slightly annoying habit of not bothering with numbered, or titled chapters, which means every time you get to a point where you might have stopped reading for a bit, you’ve already gone beyond it without noticing.

I think he does that on purpose!

Angry Robot is pleased to announce its newest venture – a sister imprint, Exhibit A, which will publish crime genre fiction.

The imprint will launch in late Spring 2013, with two titles appearing in each of the first two months, before settling down to one book each month. Exhibit A will follow Angry Robot’s strategy of co-publishing its books simultaneously in the UK and US, in both paperback and ebook formats, backed up by strong online marketing and community activity.

Exhibit A’s ambition is to become a new home for addictive crime fiction. It will be looking for authors with original, gripping voices. Exhibit A books – whether they’re procedurals, mysteries, thrillers, or something entirely new – will aim to divert readers from their everyday lives into an exhilarating world of drama, fear and suspense.

Joining the company to run the imprint is Emlyn Rees. He published his first crime novel aged twenty-five, his second a year later, and then co-wrote seven comedies with Josie Lloyd, including the Sunday Times bestseller Come Together. In his time, Emlyn has also worked for the Curtis Brown Literary Agency and run a manuscript editing service.

The launch of Exhibit A is the latest in a wave of expansion by parent company, Osprey Group, following investment by Alcuin Capital Partners in 2011. Osprey recently won the IPG Award for Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year 2012.

THE ALCHEMIST OF SOULS (NIGHT’S MASQUE VOLUME 1) by Anne Lyle

Angry Robot, kindle edition, £4.49

Reviewed by Carl Barker

Upon reading the blurb for Alchemist Of Souls, one might be forgiven for initially attempting to directly compare it with the first of Marie Brennan’s Onyx Court Series. Certainly, it’s true that both books revolve around a common theme – that of otherworldly creatures (here the Skraylings) inhabiting an alternate Elizabethan England – but to so pigeonhole Anne Lyle’s debut novel as ‘more of the same’ would be to do it a grave disservice. This first volume in a planned series is an entirely different animal, in that it chooses to downplay the fantastic side of its tale to an almost unnoticeable level, choosing instead to concentrate on embellishing the more recognisable trappings of history with an attention to detail and characterisation.

The three central characters of Mal, Coby and Ned are each well fleshed out in their own right, allowing the story to lightly dance between several different viewpoints as what begins as an absorbing drama slowly evolves into something more akin to a whodunnit by the end of the book. Many of the more well-known characters from the period are introduced at various points in the book, as down-on-his-luck swordsman Mal is recruited into the service of Sir Francis Walsingham and made bodyguard to the Skrayling Ambassador. Forced to repel both physical and political threats from a variety of sources, Mal must uncover the secrets of the Skraylings whilst at the same time attempting to unravel both his own past and that of his twin brother Sandy.

An outstanding debut and Lyle is certainly a name to watch for the future. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

DEAD HARVEST (THE COLLECTOR: BOOK 1) by Chris F. Holm

Angry Robot, p/b, £7.99

Reviewed by Craig Knight

Sam is a Soul Collector, a courier of damned souls bound for Hell. When he’s sent to collect the soul of a young woman charged with the horrific murder of her family, Sam is convinced she is innocent and refuses to take her soul. His actions break an ancient treaty and an epic war between Heaven and Hell looks set to begin.

Dead Harvest is a strange mix – part detective novel, part supernatural story – and it works well. The idea of Soul Collectors has been done before but Dead Harvest puts a refreshing take on the concept by telling this story from the viewpoint of the Collector. Sam is a great character, a decent guy forced to do a job he hates because of crimes he committed when he was alive. Sam’s self-deprecating style and realistic acceptance of his fate allows the reader to warm to him very quickly.

Kate is the victim who has been targeted for collection. She is a sassy and strong female character who doubts her innocence. This works well in keeping the reader guessing as to whether she really is innocent or not.

Dead Harvest is told in the first person which gives the story the tone of a diary. Holm’s use of foreshadowing further encourages this but it is handled well and is by no means a bad thing. There are flashback scenes to Sam’s life every few chapters and although interesting as backstory, they tend to break up the flow of the main narrative and could perhaps have been placed a little better.

My only real gripe, and it isn’t that big a gripe, is the ending. The realisation of who is behind the events comes too suddenly and out of the blue that it threatens the believability of the story. If there had been a few more hints dropped from time to time, it would have been more realistic but as it stands it comes across as a little rushed.

Dead Harvest is a great story. Original, fascinating and absorbing from the onset, it captures the reader and describes an interesting supernatural world that sits alongside our own. If you like supernatural ‘who-dunnits’ then this is the book for you.

BLACKBIRDS by Chuck Wendig, Angry Robot, p/b, £7.99, eBook, £4.49, http://angryrobotbooks.com/

Reviewed by David Brzeski

Chuck Wendig is one of those rare authors with such masterful use of language, and such a good ear for dialogue, that he engages the reader from the first page and never lets go.

Miriam Black is a tough young woman. She knows how to look after herself. She’s getting by, considering her special circumstances. You see, Miriam has a special ability… a curse, if you like.

Miriam knows when people are going to die. She doesn’t know where, but she knows how and when down to the second. It only takes the briefest skin on skin contact. If she as much as brushes against someone, she knows.

It doesn’t take a genius to think of dozens of ways that this could turn out to be not such a good thing. In fact it turns out to be quite a bad thing. It’s bad enough before others learn of her ability and try to use her to further their own ends.

What we have here is by no means the sort of romantic urban fantasy one normally finds populated with angst-ridden young people of the paranormal persuasion. It’s laced with enough real horror to satisfy the darkest of tastes. It’s also as much a crime thriller, as it is fantasy, urban or otherwise.

I was reminded of some of the darker crime/supernatural novels of John Connolly, except Miriam doesn’t have a Charlie Parker, or any hit men with hearts of gold to look out for her. She’s on her own.

I can say little more for fear of spoilers, other than to proclaim this a very good book indeed.

Following the hugely successful launch of his debut novel Empire State earlier this year, Angry Robot has signed Adam Christopher for another two titles. Christopher revisits the world of the Empire State in a sequel, The Age Atomic, to be published in May 2013, with Hang Wire – a tale of ancient gods and serial killers – to follow within a year.

The deal included world English rights in physical and electronic formats and was negotiated by Angry Robot editor Lee Harris and Christopher’s agent Stacia Decker of the Donald Maass Agency. New Zealand-born Christopher, who now lives in the UK, said: “I’m delighted to be back for another visit to the Empire State! Rad Bradley is a character close to my heart, and as soon as he reappeared on the page and started throwing punches, I felt like an old friend had returned… albeit one I’m obliged to put through the wringer again! Angry Robot continue to impress with a kick-ass roster of authors and titles, and I’m thrilled that The Age Atomic and Hang Wire will be part of it.”

Empire State was launched in January 2012 to widespread acclaim. Christopher’s second novel – Seven Wonders – will be published worldwide in September 2012.

Photo © D.C. Sterne 2010

Strange Chemistry – the YA imprint of award-winning independent genre fiction publisher Angry Robot – has announced its first two titles:  Shift by Kim Curran and Poltergeeks by Sean Cummings.  Details HERE

Strange Chemistry have also announced an Open Door period, where the usual submission guidelines are relaxed to allow authors who are unagented to send in a manuscript. Full details HERE

Angry Robot have also announced its second Open Door submissions window. For two weeks in April, they will be accepting un-agented manuscripts from epic fantasy writers.

More information can be found HERE

Angry Robot has signed debut novelist, Lee Battersby for two books in a new fantasy series. The first title – The Corpse-Rat King – will be published in autumn 2012, with the second to follow in 2013. The deal included world English rights in physical and electronic formats.

In the highly imaginative The Corpse-Rat King, readers are introduced to Marius Helles as he plunders the bodies of the dead after a major battle – a crime punishable by death. The dead tell Marius that they need a King – the King is God’s representative, and they need someone to speak to God and remind him where they are, thank you very much! He doesn’t actually want the job, but when the alternative is to deny a legion of angry corpses, it’s that or find a suitable compromise – and quickly: the dead aren’t known for their patience…

The deal was negotiated by Angry Robot editor Lee Harris, and Battersby’s agent Richard Henshaw of the Richard Henshaw Group, after The Corpse-Rat King came to Angry Robot’s attention during their first Open Door Month open submission period, earlier this year.

DARKNESS FALLING: FOREVER TWILIGHT, BOOK 1 by Peter Crowther. Angry Robot £7.99

Reviewed by Mike Chinn

Here’s an interesting slant on the zombie genre: instead of the usual unknown disease animating the dead, there’s a blinding light and everybody on the planet disappears – to reappear some days later … changed. I say everybody, but obviously there have to be some survivors – if that’s the word – the plucky few who slowly gravitate together and find themselves up against the returning population.

The returned neatly defy many of the zombie clichés: initially slow and lumbering, they become more co-ordinated and deadly; all are wearing dark glasses and gloves, even though they tend to come out when it’s dark; and weirdest of all, they exhibit an amazing ability to turn bog-standard cars and buses into flying vehicles straight out of Bladerunner. So where – obviously not on Earth – have they been?

My biggest problem with this introductory volume is the massive hiatus at the beginning. Crowther wastes no time setting up the mass disappearance – but we have to wait some 200 pages before they start to come back again. 200 pages wherein those left behind – for whatever reason – stumble around not doing an awful lot. And if the walking dead avoid stereotype, I’m afraid the same can’t be said for the human cast.

Young girl with psychic abilities: check; murderous psychopath and probable paedophile: check; loving, long-married couple whose close relationship is begging for trouble: check; slightly crazy lady with multiple personalities: check… Though there’s a woman DJ who just has to have been inspired by Adrienne Barbeau from Carpenter’s The Fog.

I was also irritated by the author’s habit of throwing in paragraphs of minor characters’ back-story whenever we first meet them. In one scene a returned deputy sheriff gets a whole page of folksy anecdotes right after he looms menacingly out of the night. It kills all the tension stone dead.

That said, once the action gets going, Crowther doesn’t let up. Chapters barrel past; blood and guts spray in all directions in a suitably OTT manner. A fun take on a familiar sub-genre – just a shame it takes so long to get properly going.

‘Angry Robot are pleased to announce that a deal has been concluded for Film/TV Rights in Lauren Beukes‘ Arthur C. Clarke Award winning novel, Zoo City.

Helena Spring, widely regarded as one of South Africa’s most accomplished motion picture producers, has just been awarded the highly sought after film rights to Zoo City, the SF/cyberpunk thriller penned by South African author Lauren Beukes – who garnered the 2011 Arthur C. Clarke award for Best Science Fiction Novel. In the wake of whopping sales figures, multiple awards and critical acclaim Beukes’ book generated fierce interest from numerous bidders in the entertainment industry, putting Spring alongside major US and UK producers eager to tell Beukes’ unique tale.

Zoo City was published first in South Africa by Jacana Media and, thereafter internationally by Angry Robot. The urban fantasy is set in a futuristic, gritty and hard-core Johannesburg where the eponymous ghetto has been colonised by society’s outcasts – like criminals, drug-dealers and psychopaths – and their animal companions. Like the other residents of the Zoo City slum, Zinzi, the anti-heroine, is animalled, but she is also a shrewd, street-smart girl with the gift (or burden) of finding lost things. Zinzi wears her power animal, a sloth, on her back. When she is hired to find a missing teenybopper star, she hopes that it will be her ticket out of Hell’s waiting room.

Lauren Beukes’ meteoric rise seems unstoppable and last week a new megabucks book deal was announced. The working titles of the two novels – due in 2013 and 2014 – are The Shining Girls and Broken Monsters. They were picked up by publishers in the US, UK, South Africa, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany.’