Angry Robot, the publisher of cutting-edge SF, F and WTF?! fiction, is delighted to announce the signing of a two-book World English Plus Translation deal with science fiction author Jay Posey.

The deal, concluded by Angry Robot Editor Lee Harris and Jay Posey, is for two books in the Duskwalker Cycle – a dark science fiction saga set in a post-apocalyptic America; a dying world where might prevails.

In Three, the first book of the Duskwalker Cycle, the world has collapsed, and there are no heroes any more. But when a lone gunman reluctantly accepts the mantel of protector to a young boy and his dying mother against the forces that pursue them, a hero may yet arise.

The first instalment, Three, will be published worldwide in Autumn 2013, with the second book to follow in 2014.

Jay Posey said: “I’ve spent entirely too long sitting here, trying to come up with something clever to say and the fact is, I’m simply too excited about working with the famed Robot Overlords to say anything else about it.

“It’s incredibly gratifying to have been invited to work with such an amazing group of hyper-intelligent and almost painfully attractive people, and it also conveniently completes Phase Three of my five-phase plan for world domination, so it’s clearly win-win. For me, I mean.”

Lee Harris said: “I’d been hoping to find a great new post-apocalypse series for some time, and when Jay’s manuscript hit my desk I couldn’t have been more delighted. It has everything you want from a novel – a great story, great setting and a fantastic cast of characters.”

Jay is a narrative designer, author, and screenwriter by trade. He started working in the video game industry in 1998, and has been writing professionally for over a decade. Currently employed as Senior Narrative Designer at Red Storm Entertainment, he’s spent around eight years writing and designing for Tom Clancy’s award-winning Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six franchises.

A contributing author to the book Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing, Jay has lectured at conferences, colleges, and universities, on topics ranging from basic creative writing skills to advanced material specific to the video game industry.

You can find Jay online at his website as well as on Twitter (@HiJayPosey).

THE DEAD OF WINTER by Lee Collins

Angry Robot, p/b, £8.99/ebook, £5.49, 

http://angryrobotbooks.com/

Reviewed by David Brzeski

The cover blurb describes this book as “True Grit meets True Blood”, which is pretty close. There are no good vampires fighting for their rights to live in peace among humans here though. There aren’t even any bad vampires pretending to be good. The only real similarity with ‘True Blood’ is that the existence of vampires and other supernatural beasties does seem to be fairly commonly accepted knowledge.

Cora Oglesby and her husband Ben are supernatural bounty hunters. They travel from town to town ridding the local populaces of any supernatural threats… for a price. Cora can out-fight, out-gun and out-drink any man. Ben would rather read a good book. Along the way to deal with their latest job, they meet the English occult scholar James Townsend, who later offers them a second commission, involving a nest of vampires in a nearby mine.

Cora comes over a bit like Calmity Jane, from the TV show, ‘Deadwood’, albeit somewhat cleaner and not quite so drunk. This makes for an interesting contrast with James, who is more knowledgable, but with no real hands-on experience in fighting monsters. Cora soon sorts that out for him. The relationship between Cora and her bookish husband, Ben is nicely handled. The author cleverly slips in clues regarding one major plot element, but it still took me a little while to get suspicious that something was not quite right, and I didn’t see the actual denoument coming.

Lee Collins captures the feel of the period pretty well and the characters are well-rounded. I will certainly be picking up the next book in the series.

Angry Robot is delighted to announce that, due to the immense popularity of Paul S. Kemp‘s The Hammer and the Blade - the first in his Tales of Egil and Nix series of sword and sorcery fantasy adventure novels – we have signed Paul up to write a third book starring our favourite tomb robbers.

Tentatively titled A Conversation in Blood, the book is scheduled for Summer 2014. To sate readers’ appetites for more great sword and sorcery action, the second in the series, A Discourse in Steel, will be published in June of next year.

Paul S. Kemp said: “I don’t know about you, but my pink parts are all tingly! Wait, is that too much information? Uh, sorry. So, anyway, continuing my relationship with the metallic overlords? Check. Writing more stories in the sword and sorcery sub-genre I love? Double check. The long and short of it? I’m smiling. Hugely. I’ve had so much fun writing about Egil and Nix, and have had such positive feedback from readers who’ve had a blast, too, that I’m just delighted to have the opportunity to write more of their adventures. Huzzah!”

Angry Robot Editor Lee Harris added: “The Hammer and the Blade has proven to be one of our most popular titles of 2012, so it was an easy decision to ask Paul to write more in that world. Sword and Sorcery is alive and well and living in Paul S Kemp’s brilliant Tales of Egil and Nixseries.”

Find out more about Paul S. Kemp, who also writes for the Star Wars and Forgotten Realms universes, at his website: www.paulskemp.com and follow him on Twitter @PaulSKemp.

CROWN THIEF by David Tallerman

Angry Robot Books, p/b, £7.99

Reviewed by Elloise Hopkins

Lovable rogue Easie Damasco survived the trials of stealing a giant, and then stealing him again, cheated death, and cheated pretty much everyone else, just about beat the bad guys, and lived to tell the tale. Reunited with the giant Saltlick, all is peaceful for Easie and he longs for no more than a comfortable bed for the night. Unfortunately his companions and his conscience may have other ideas.

Alvantes is in crisis, minus a hand, but he is determined to do something rather than sit around moping. News of the dead prince must be delivered to his father, the king, and Alvantes and the equally determined Estrada have no intention of letting Easie off this mission. The thief finds himself marching back to Altapasaeda: the greatest city of the Castoval and, of course, the very city where Easie is a wanted thief. Against our hero’s will his responsibilities are stacking up.

Crown Thief picks up where Giant Thief left off and continues Easie’s journey to save the giants and undo the wrongs that the dread warlord Moaradrid inflicted on their culture. An old foe rears his head and injects some immediate tension into the story. Tallerman continues to leave us with a cliffhanger or a reveal at the end of each chapter that ensures were keep on turning those pages to see what scrapes Easie will get himself into next.

There are some great supporting characters in this sequel, some of them almost as witty as Easie himself, though none can quite match up to our hero’s comical interactions with his allies, his foes and some unsuspecting horses.  Even in the face of grave danger the protagonist somehow manages to lighten the mood; the result is that we are rooting for him even more, hoping he can once again talk or wriggle his way out of danger.

The main strength of this book is that the reader is given much more a sense of Easie’s characterisation and it is a delight to discover that the infamous thief may have a conscience after all. When faced with opportunity to ‘do the right thing’ Tallerman grants an insight into Easie’s thought process placing the reader more firmly within the story and the almost impossible situations he finds himself in. This book is above all a fun read and stands out for that reason.

Strange Chemistry, the YA imprint of Angry Robot Books, is delighted to announce the signing of Eliza Crewe, in a two-book World English Rights (excluding the Indian subcontinent) deal for her YA novel, Cracked, for publication in November 2013.

The deal was concluded by Strange Chemistry’s editor Amanda Rutter and Victoria Marini of Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents.

Meet Meda. She eats people.

Well, technically, she eats their soul. But she totally promises to only go for people who deserve it. She’s special. It’s not her fault she enjoys it. She can’t help being a bad guy. Besides, what else can she do? Her mother was killed and it’s not like there are any other “soul-eaters” around to show her how to be different. That is, until the three men in suits show up.

They can do what she can do. They’re like her. Meda might finally have a chance to figure out what she is. The problem? They kind of want to kill her. Before they get the chance Meda is rescued by crusaders, members of an elite group dedicated to wiping out Meda’s kind. This is her chance! Play along with the “good guys” and she’ll finally figure out what, exactly, her “kind” is.

Be careful what you wish for. Playing capture the flag with her mortal enemies, babysitting a teenage boy with a hero complex, and avoiding a bad-ass cripple that doesn’t trust her are bad enough. But the Hunger is gaining on her.

The more she learns, the worse it gets. And when Meda uncovers a shocking secret about her mother, her past, and her destiny… she may finally give into it.

Eliza Crewe said: “Writers are supposed to be good with words, but I can tell you that when the offer came in from Strange Chemistry, I couldn’t seem to find a single one. I read the email and just sat there blinking for a minute, then got in my car and drove home.

“About halfway through my commute, it finally hit me. I’m pretty sure I screamed out loud, started bellowing along with the radio, and flailed around like an idiot – all while stopped in traffic with my windows down, naturally.

“I think that pretty much sums up how I feel about signing with Strange Chemistry: windows down, top-of-my lungs singing, and fist-pumps.  I can’t wait to see what this next year brings.”

Eliza Crewe always thought she’d be a lawyer, and even went so far as to complete law school. But as they say, you are what you eat, and considering the number of books Eliza has devoured since childhood, it was inevitable she’d end up in the literary world. She abandoned the lawyer-plan to instead become a librarian and now a writer.

While she’s been filling notebooks with random scenes for years, Eliza didn’t seriously commit to writing an entire novel until the spring of 2011, when she and her husband bought a house. With that house came a half-hour commute, during which Eliza decided she needed something to think about other than her road-rage.  Is it any surprise she wrote a book about a blood-thirsty, people-eating monster?

Eliza has lived in Illinois, Edinburgh, and Las Vegas, and now lives in North Carolina with her husband, her hens, her angry, talking, stuffed dwarf giraffe, and a sweet, mute, pantomiming bear. She likes to cook, partially-complete craft projects, free-range her hens, and take long walks.

Cracked is her first novel.

You can visit Eliza’s website: at www.elizacrewe.com and follow Eliza on Twitter @ElizaCrewe.

Angry Robot is reeling with the news that maniac fantasy author Andy Remic is returning with a brand new series.

The Iron Wolves is the first of at least two novels set during a time of war and invasion. Riffing on The Dirty Dozen and The Magnificent Seven, the novel sees a disparate band of ruffians and renegades being reunited one last time to defend a key stronghold against overwhelming odds. But when they fight as one, the veteran warriors have a hidden power, and unleashing it one last time will have extraordinary consequences.

Andy Remic’s previous Clockwork Vampire trilogy for Angry Robot earned him the nickname “the Tarantino of epic fantasy” and the new novels will be loosely set in the same setting.

The first novel will be published in January 2014 in paperback, ebook and audio editions. The deal was done direct with Andy Remic by Marc Gascoigne, Angry Robot’s MD and publisher.

Andy Remic said: “After the success of my previous Angry Robot titles – Kell’s Legend, Soul Stealers and Vampire Warlords – I’m absolutely thrilled and vibrating to be revisiting the fantasy genre.

“Based loosely in the same universe as Kell’s Legend, The Iron Wolves will take traditional fantasy elements and stir them violently in a big pot with a barrel of whiskey. We’re talking gruesome battles, nasty anti-heroes, hardened soldiers, bloody enemies, twisted deviants and gritty realism so damn gritty you’ll be spitting blood, teeth and gristle by the bloody violent end!”

Find out more about Andy Remic at his website: www.andyremic.com and follow him on Twitter (if you dare…)

Strange Chemistry, the YA imprint of Angry Robot Books, is delighted to announce the signing of Bryony Pearce, in a one-book World English Rights deal for her YA novel, The Weight of Souls.

Sixteen year old Taylor Oh is cursed: if she is touched by the ghost of a murder victim then they pass a mark beneath her skin. She has three weeks to find their murderer and pass the mark to them – letting justice take place and sending them into the Darkness. And if she doesn’t make it in time? The Darkness will come for her…

She spends her life trying to avoid ghosts, make it through school where she’s bullied by popular Justin and his cronies, keep her one remaining friend, and persuade her father that this is real and that she’s not going crazy.

But then Justin is murdered and everything gets a whole lot worse. Justin doesn’t know who killed him, so there’s no obvious person for Taylor to go after. The clues she has lead her to the V Club, a vicious secret society at her school where no one is allowed to leave… and where Justin was dared to do the stunt which led to his death.

Can she find out who was responsible for his murder before the Darkness comes for her? Can she put aside her hatred for her former bully to truly help him?

And what happens if she starts to fall for him?

Bryony had this to say on being signed to Strange Chemistry: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining the Strange Chemistry family with my new YA novel, The Weight of Souls, and so excited to see the team bring Taylor, a girl cursed to see the dead, to life next year.”

The deal was concluded by Strange Chemistry’s editor Amanda Rutter and Juliet Mushens of PFD.  Amanda said: “The Weight of Souls is a fantastic book, and every girl will be able to identify with Taylor. Bryony is a genuine talent and I’m delighted that she has signed to Strange Chemistry.”

Strange Chemistry, the YA imprint of Angry Robot Books, has announced the signing of  T.L. Costa, with her debut novel Playing Tyler. This one book deal for World English Rights was concluded by Strange Chemistry’s Editor Amanda Rutter and Jenny Bent of The Bent Agency.

About Playing Tyler:
When is a game not a game?

Tyler MacCandless can’t focus, even when he takes his medication. He can’t focus on school, on his future, on a book, on much of anything other than taking care of his older brother, Brandon, who’s in rehab for heroin abuse… again.

Tyler’s dad is dead and his mom has mentally checked out. The only person he can really count on is his Civilian Air Patrol Mentor, Rick. The one thing in life it seems he doesn’t suck at is playing video games, and, well, that’s probably not going to get him into college.

Just when it seems like his future is on a collision course with a life sentence at McDonald’s, Rick asks him to test a video game. If his score’s high enough, it could earn him a place in flight school and win him the future he was certain that he could never have. And when he falls in love with the game’s designer, the legendary gamer Ani, Tyler thinks his life might finally be turning around.

That is, until Brandon goes MIA from rehab and Tyler and Ani discover that the game is more than it seems. Now Tyler will have to figure out what’s really going on in time to save his brother… and prevent his own future from going down in flames.

Strange Chemistry’s Editor Amanda Rutter says: “This searing and hard-hitting novel, featuring the truly unique voice of Tyler, had me jumping out of my seat with excitement as I started reading it. It is visceral and gripping, and I think will speak to the teens of today. I’m delighted to welcome T.L. Costa to the growing ranks of our authors.”

Angry Robot has announced the signing of a two-book World All Languages deal with the British Fantasy Award-winning author Joseph D’Lacey.

The deal, concluded by Angry Robot Editor Lee Harris and Brie Burkeman of Burkeman & Clarke Literary Agency, is for two novels that complete a brand new post-apocalyptic duology. The first instalment, Black Feathers, will be published in April 2013, with the second part, The Book of the Crowman, to follow in 2014.

D’Lacey is best known for his shocking eco-horror novel Meat. The book has been widely translated and prompted Stephen King to say “Joseph D’Lacey rocks!”. His other published works to-date include Garbage Man, Snake Eyes and The Kill Crew.

About Black Feathers and The Book of the Crowman:

Black Feathers is a modern fantasy set in two epochs: the Black Dawn, a time of environmental apocalypse, and generations into the future in its aftermath, the Bright Day.

In each era, a child undertakes a perilous journey to find a dark messiah known as The Crowman. In their hands lies the fate of the planet as they attempt to discover whether The Crowman is our saviour… or the final incarnation of evil.

Angry Robot’s Editor Lee Harris says: “I’ve known Joseph’s work for years, and I’m absolutely thrilled to have him join the Angry Robot family. The Black Feathers duology is one of the most exciting series I’ve read in years, and I know our readers will agree.”

Joseph D’Lacey says: “Over the last three years, I’ve watched the stellar rise of ‘The Robot’ with great interest and plenty of wishful thinking. I’m ecstatic that they’ll be the ones to unleash Black Feathers upon the world. Working with Angry Robot is the opportunity of a lifetime for me and I’m grabbing it with both hands.”

Strange Chemistry, the YA imprint of Angry Robot Books, is delighted to announce the signing of Ingrid Jonach, in a one-book World English Rights deal for her debut YA novel, When the World was Flat (and we were in love).

The deal was concluded by Strange Chemistry’s editor Amanda Rutter and Meredith Kaffel of the DeFiore and Company Agency.

Ingrid Jonach was raised in Australia by two artists and spent much of her childhood hiding under tables at art exhibitions, where she would nibble the complimentary cheese over a well-worn copy of The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton.

Her love of reading led to a love of writing. By the time she graduated from high school, Ingrid had decided she wanted to spend her days sitting around in her pyjamas, writing stories.

She graduated from university a few years later with a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing with Honours. She then worked at the local newspaper, where she was able to live out her dream of writing stories for a living, but they never let her wear her pyjamas to work.

About When the World was Flat (and we were in love):

“There is no such thing as imagination.

Your dreams are memories from an alternate dimension.

And that cold shiver down your spine as you sleep means you are already dead.

These are the facts sixteen-year-old Lillie Hart must come to accept when the gorgeous and mysterious Tom Windsor-Smith arrives in her small Nebraskan town. These, and the fact that the two of them, Tom and Lillie, have been in love before – in a different dimension.

In fact, Tom has been sliding between parallel worlds for hundreds of years, falling in love with versions of Lillie over and over again in every world. But when the present Lillie learns the secret of their connection, she learns as well that their love must overcome more than their multiple past heartaches. There is also a powerful enemy who aims to ensure the two will never be together again, in this dimension or the next. “