Heute schreibt Marc Gascoigne, Publishing Director bei Angry Robot, dem neuen HarperCollins-Ableger, über das erste Programm des jungen Verlages:
„As Spring rapidly threatens to turn into Summer, a pesky voice in the Angry Robot office keeps counting down just how long it is till we launch. The voice belongs to Lee Harris, AR’s inimitable assistant editor, and today he said the terrifying words, „Nine weeks!“ In that short time, our first titles will hit the stores in the UK (September in the US) and our mission to create a new imprint devoted to best in SF, F and WTF?! will be unveiled. Which means that, after months of passionate discussion and sinister plotting, we can unveil these beauties to the world at last:
Moxyland – Lauren Beukes
One of the premises behind Angry Robot is that we want to find books for what, for want of a better phrase, we’re calling „Post-YA“ readers. This near-future thriller is very much in the mould of recent books by Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross. It features a bunch of digital native young folks who don’t realise how much their lives depend upon being connected – to credit, communications, personal ID – until they find themselves disconnected. Very smart writing from a new South African writer who’s now spending her free time in refugee camps researching her next AR novel, about a shaman who will arise a few years from now to promise freedom to the stateless.
Slights – Kaaron Warren
Everyone asks the question: Kaaron, you look like a perfectly pleasant mother and wife, so how the hell do you come out with these incredibly disturbing tales of everyday terror? We don’t know either, but we’re delighted and amazed that she does. From her temporary home in Fiji, Australian native Kaaron’s been attracting attention and awards in equal measure for her short fiction, but the incredible power of her writing in her debut novel is almost overwhelming. Using the now-familiar structure of a „misery memoir“, she explores life after death, the violence of grief and just what you’re meant to do when you realise that not only was your father a serial killer, you might be turning into one as well. The atmosphere of isolation and life out of kilter, of the rituals that her heroine Stevie creates to try to make sense of her life, has only one comparison point, that of The Wasp Factory. I think this book is more than worthy of standing next to that landmark. And dare I add, it’s just the first of three from Kaaron that we’re publishing.
Kell’s Legend – Andy Remic
We’re releasing two books a month from our launch in July, so there are already close on a dozen Angry Robot babies I should be boosting to you here, but press me for just one more, and it’s got to be this explosive fantasy. Andy Remic has a reputation as the hardman of military SF thrillers, but when I discovered his first love was the epic heroic fantasy of David Gemmell it was obvious we had to help him explore that side of his writing further. Kell, the eponymous protagonist, is a fabulous creation, far from the hero he’s asked to be. And the bad guys? Let’s just say two words: clockwork vampires. Immense stuff, with great characters and incredible battle scenes. A fantasy trilogy with everything turned up to 11.
That’s just a taster of what’s wearing us out right now. But damn, this is such fun, and to be honest we keep chuckling maniacally as we contemplate all the reactions we’re going to get when our range hits the streets. If you’re interested, see angryrobotbooks.com for more. Must dash now. Got more nefarious plots to hatch.“
Halbzeit bei den Frühlingsbüchern.
Memesis Virtualis 