Excellent news for fans of Paul's work.
Showing posts with label solaris books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label solaris books. Show all posts
Monday, 30 July 2018
New Paul Kearney novel announced
Or rather re-announced with a new title and new cover art. In an (I believe) exclusive scoop, I can reveal that the sequel to the excellent The Wolf in the Attic (2016), formerly known as The Other Side of Things, is now called The Burning Horse. It will be released in autumn 2019 from Solaris Books.
Excellent news for fans of Paul's work.
Excellent news for fans of Paul's work.
Thursday, 26 May 2016
The Wolf in the Attic by Paul Kearney
Oxford, 1929. The Great Depression is looming. Anna Francis is a Greek refugee, one of many forced to flee the fighting between Turkey and Greece in the aftermath of the First World War. She lives with her father, who continues to campaign on behalf of his countrymen. Whilst Anna's father hosts meetings and writes to politicians, Anna explores Oxford and the surrounding countryside. One night she sees something in the fields that she wasn't supposed to, irrevocably changing her and the course of her life.
Paul Kearney is, very easily, the most underread author in modern fantasy. He has written epic fantasy with vast armies clashing, heroic fantasy about the tribulations of a flawed hero and several "slipstream" stories about people who cross from one world to another. He has also written a personal novel about the real world's intersection with the fantastic. He's even written a Warhammer 40,000 novel about Space Marines (although that's currently on hold due to legal issues). Kearney has an ability to switch gears and voices to tell many different kinds of story that is highly enviable.
The Wolf in the Attic represents another such gear shift. This is a story about a young woman coming of age in a country that treats her like a foreigner, despite her fluency in the language and her father's attempts to integrate. The notion of being a refugee and trying to find a home after your own is destroyed is a powerful one, and Kearney tells this part of the story extremely well. There is also an impressive mastery of POV and characterisation: Anna idolises her father whilst also being honest about his flaws, but even so the reader may pick up on things about him that Anna herself does not (or is in denial about).
These musings on identity, home and growth sit alongside a couple of scene-stealing cameos from C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Lewis and Tolkien had met and become friends in the mid-1920s and would remain in contact for the rest of their life. They appear very briefly, but Kearney has clearly done his research about the two men, their characters and the times they lived in.
So richly and vividly drawn is 1929 Oxford that the reader may even forget they're reading a fantasy novel until the supernatural enters the fray. First slowly and then with a growing presence, Kearney presents a sort of magical shadow world intersecting with our own, with people and factions represented as one thing in our world but having another role in the other. A mid-novel twist brings the supernatural element much more to the fore and this transition is successful as the book becomes more of a quest or road trip that takes Anna from her comfortable life into something more mystical and primeval.
Kearney has always had an excellent grasp of character and no-nonsense writing, but his writing skills in this book reach new heights with easily the most accomplished prose of his career to date. He handles the transition from the earlier, more grounded chapters to the later, more fantastical ones very well and he makes Anna a compelling protagonist, young but not foolish, inexperienced but not naive. If there is a weakness it might be that some secondary characters are not developed as strongly (Luca most notably) but in a first-person narrative that may be expected.
Overall, The Wolf in the Attic is an unusual book. It has YA hallmarks but isn't really YA. It has elements of fantasy and mythology and history but is more than the some of those parts. The movement between realistic childhood issues and fantasy reminded me somewhat of Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane, but The Wolf in the Attic is an effortlessly superior novel which has more to say.
The year may only be half over, but The Wolf in the Attic (*****) makes a bold claim to be the best SFF novel released this year (contested, at least so far, only by Guy Gavriel Kay's Children of Earth and Sky). It is a rich and unputdownable read and increases its already-talented author's range and capabilities even further. The novel is available now in the UK and USA.
Paul Kearney is, very easily, the most underread author in modern fantasy. He has written epic fantasy with vast armies clashing, heroic fantasy about the tribulations of a flawed hero and several "slipstream" stories about people who cross from one world to another. He has also written a personal novel about the real world's intersection with the fantastic. He's even written a Warhammer 40,000 novel about Space Marines (although that's currently on hold due to legal issues). Kearney has an ability to switch gears and voices to tell many different kinds of story that is highly enviable.
The Wolf in the Attic represents another such gear shift. This is a story about a young woman coming of age in a country that treats her like a foreigner, despite her fluency in the language and her father's attempts to integrate. The notion of being a refugee and trying to find a home after your own is destroyed is a powerful one, and Kearney tells this part of the story extremely well. There is also an impressive mastery of POV and characterisation: Anna idolises her father whilst also being honest about his flaws, but even so the reader may pick up on things about him that Anna herself does not (or is in denial about).
These musings on identity, home and growth sit alongside a couple of scene-stealing cameos from C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Lewis and Tolkien had met and become friends in the mid-1920s and would remain in contact for the rest of their life. They appear very briefly, but Kearney has clearly done his research about the two men, their characters and the times they lived in.
So richly and vividly drawn is 1929 Oxford that the reader may even forget they're reading a fantasy novel until the supernatural enters the fray. First slowly and then with a growing presence, Kearney presents a sort of magical shadow world intersecting with our own, with people and factions represented as one thing in our world but having another role in the other. A mid-novel twist brings the supernatural element much more to the fore and this transition is successful as the book becomes more of a quest or road trip that takes Anna from her comfortable life into something more mystical and primeval.
Kearney has always had an excellent grasp of character and no-nonsense writing, but his writing skills in this book reach new heights with easily the most accomplished prose of his career to date. He handles the transition from the earlier, more grounded chapters to the later, more fantastical ones very well and he makes Anna a compelling protagonist, young but not foolish, inexperienced but not naive. If there is a weakness it might be that some secondary characters are not developed as strongly (Luca most notably) but in a first-person narrative that may be expected.
Overall, The Wolf in the Attic is an unusual book. It has YA hallmarks but isn't really YA. It has elements of fantasy and mythology and history but is more than the some of those parts. The movement between realistic childhood issues and fantasy reminded me somewhat of Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane, but The Wolf in the Attic is an effortlessly superior novel which has more to say.
The year may only be half over, but The Wolf in the Attic (*****) makes a bold claim to be the best SFF novel released this year (contested, at least so far, only by Guy Gavriel Kay's Children of Earth and Sky). It is a rich and unputdownable read and increases its already-talented author's range and capabilities even further. The novel is available now in the UK and USA.
Sunday, 8 May 2016
Paul Kearney's new novel out now
Paul Kearney's new novel, The Wolf in the Attic, is out now (UK, USA). This is the author's first new novel in four years, since he completed his Macht Trilogy with Kings of Morning in 2012.
This book is set in Oxford in 1929 and sees the protagonist, a young Greek refugee named Anna, drawn into unusual events involving her father, the loss of her home in Smyrna and two Oxford dons named Lewis and Tolkien. It's a move away from the epic fantasy series that Kearney is perhaps best-known for, and more of a return to his early stand-alone novels that melded the fantastic with the real world.
There's been some good coverage of the book and some excellent reviews:
Guest blog from Paul at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist.
Interview at Sci-Fi Bulletin.
Interview at Rising Shadow.
Review at Living For Books.
Review at My Books, My Life, My Escape.
Review at Lipstick and Libraries.
Review at Bastian's Book Reviews.
Review at Queen of Blades.
Review at Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing.
Review at Bookhaunt.
Review at City of Lost Books.
Review at My Bookish Ways.
Review at The Quidnunc.
I am currently about halfway through the novel and hope to bring you all a review shortly.
This book is set in Oxford in 1929 and sees the protagonist, a young Greek refugee named Anna, drawn into unusual events involving her father, the loss of her home in Smyrna and two Oxford dons named Lewis and Tolkien. It's a move away from the epic fantasy series that Kearney is perhaps best-known for, and more of a return to his early stand-alone novels that melded the fantastic with the real world.
There's been some good coverage of the book and some excellent reviews:
Guest blog from Paul at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist.
Interview at Sci-Fi Bulletin.
Interview at Rising Shadow.
Review at Living For Books.
Review at My Books, My Life, My Escape.
Review at Lipstick and Libraries.
Review at Bastian's Book Reviews.
Review at Queen of Blades.
Review at Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing.
Review at Bookhaunt.
Review at City of Lost Books.
Review at My Bookish Ways.
Review at The Quidnunc.
I am currently about halfway through the novel and hope to bring you all a review shortly.
Saturday, 30 August 2014
New Paul Kearney cover art
Solaris Books have released an early working version of the cover art for Paul Kearney's new novel, The Wolf in the Attic. The novel is due for publication in late 2015.
An early description of the book:
Kearney also has a Warhammer 40,000 novel entitled Umbra Sumus due out before then from the Black Library, but the Black Library is infamously close-mouthed about its release schedule so it is unclear when that will be published. Paul also reports that he has started work on a new novel, something he has been wanting to write for four or five years.
An early description of the book:
The novel is set in very early 1930′s Oxford, features Tolkien and Lewis as characters, and is told from the point of view of a lonely 11 year old girl. She’s Greek, a refugee from the sack of Smyrna, and one day discovers a Romany boy in her attic. The boy is a shape-shifter, and becomes her friend. The two begin to explore the world around Oxford, discovering things they never imagined existed. The girl, Anna, is obsessed by the Odyssey, and likens the Romany boy, Luca, to Odysseus.
Kearney also has a Warhammer 40,000 novel entitled Umbra Sumus due out before then from the Black Library, but the Black Library is infamously close-mouthed about its release schedule so it is unclear when that will be published. Paul also reports that he has started work on a new novel, something he has been wanting to write for four or five years.
Friday, 14 February 2014
Two new novels from Paul Kearney
Paul Kearney has two new novels in the pipeline. First up is Umbra Sumus, a Warhammer 40,000 novel about Space Marines, which is a stand-alone right now but has sequel potential. The novel features a new chapter of Space Marines and is tentatively planned for publication by the Black Library at the end of 2014 or start of 2015.
Paul has also been contracted for a new novel by Solaris. The Wolf in the Attic is a stand-alone fantasy novel and will be set in Oxford in the 1930s. From the sound of it, it marks Kearney's return to the stand-alone, less epic kind of storytelling of his first three novels. The blurb is as follows:
The Wolf in the Attic will be published in Autumn 2015.
Paul talks about the process that led to the writing of the new novel here, and discusses his recent backlist reissues and Umbra Sumus here.
Paul has also been contracted for a new novel by Solaris. The Wolf in the Attic is a stand-alone fantasy novel and will be set in Oxford in the 1930s. From the sound of it, it marks Kearney's return to the stand-alone, less epic kind of storytelling of his first three novels. The blurb is as follows:
The novel is set in very early 1930′s Oxford, features Tolkien and Lewis as characters, and is told from the point of view of a lonely 11 year old girl. She’s Greek, a refugee from the sack of Smyrna, and one day discovers a Romany boy in her attic. The boy is a shape-shifter, and becomes her friend. The two begin to explore the world around Oxford, discovering things they never imagined existed. The girl, Anna, is obsessed by the Odyssey, and likens the Romany boy, Luca, to Odysseus.
The Wolf in the Attic will be published in Autumn 2015.
Paul talks about the process that led to the writing of the new novel here, and discusses his recent backlist reissues and Umbra Sumus here.
Sunday, 25 August 2013
Update on Paul Kearney's SEA-BEGGARS series
As long-term readers may recall, back in 2007 Bantam Books decided to drop Paul Kearney's nautical fantasy series The Sea-Beggars after two books, citing disappointing sales. Kearney was picked up by Solaris who published a new trilogy (the excellent Macht series) and reprinted his earlier, classic Monarchies of God series. The expectation was that, in time, Solaris would also be able to both reprint and complete The Sea-Beggars.
In March 2011 it was announced that this would indeed be the case: Solaris would reprint the two existing books, The Mark of Ran and This Forsaken Earth, in an omnibus complete with the brand-new third and concluding volume, provisionally entitled Storm of the Dead. To make this possible, the Bantam editions had to go out of print and Bantam had to agree to give the rights back to the author.
Unfortunately, since then there has been radio silence on the matter. It can now be confirmed that the Sea-Beggars omnibus is on indefinite hold, and may not appear at all. This is due to additional contractual and legal wrangling. Whilst Bantam UK gave up the rights as planned, Bantam Spectra in the USA refused. A check of Amazon.com reveals that the two existing Sea-Beggars books are still in-print and selling in the United States, which is presumably why Bantam Spectra have decided to hold onto the rights.
If the books are still selling well enough in the USA for Bantam to want to hold onto them, this would theoretically suggest that they might be interested in publishing the third and concluding volume as a stand-alone novel. However, this is apparently not the case. If the books are not selling well enough to warrant Bantam publishing a third volume, then it is unclear why they would want to hold onto the rights to prevent the series being completed elsewhere. If the series is selling well enough to warrant hanging onto the rights, then it is unclear why Bantam would not be interested in publishing a third volume as well. As it stands, it appears that the fans who have been waiting seven years for a conclusion to this series will have to keep waiting due to the inscrutable machinations of publishing houses.
On the bright side, Solaris are reprinting Paul's first three, stand-alone novels starting in January. Here's an art blog where they talk about the process of the creating the splendid cover art to A Different Kingdom. We may also get some news on new material next year as well.
In March 2011 it was announced that this would indeed be the case: Solaris would reprint the two existing books, The Mark of Ran and This Forsaken Earth, in an omnibus complete with the brand-new third and concluding volume, provisionally entitled Storm of the Dead. To make this possible, the Bantam editions had to go out of print and Bantam had to agree to give the rights back to the author.
Unfortunately, since then there has been radio silence on the matter. It can now be confirmed that the Sea-Beggars omnibus is on indefinite hold, and may not appear at all. This is due to additional contractual and legal wrangling. Whilst Bantam UK gave up the rights as planned, Bantam Spectra in the USA refused. A check of Amazon.com reveals that the two existing Sea-Beggars books are still in-print and selling in the United States, which is presumably why Bantam Spectra have decided to hold onto the rights.
If the books are still selling well enough in the USA for Bantam to want to hold onto them, this would theoretically suggest that they might be interested in publishing the third and concluding volume as a stand-alone novel. However, this is apparently not the case. If the books are not selling well enough to warrant Bantam publishing a third volume, then it is unclear why they would want to hold onto the rights to prevent the series being completed elsewhere. If the series is selling well enough to warrant hanging onto the rights, then it is unclear why Bantam would not be interested in publishing a third volume as well. As it stands, it appears that the fans who have been waiting seven years for a conclusion to this series will have to keep waiting due to the inscrutable machinations of publishing houses.
On the bright side, Solaris are reprinting Paul's first three, stand-alone novels starting in January. Here's an art blog where they talk about the process of the creating the splendid cover art to A Different Kingdom. We may also get some news on new material next year as well.
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
More Paul Kearney news and cover art
Excellent news. With the two Monarchies of God omnibuses due for release in a matter of weeks and the second Macht novel, Corvus, following in October, Solaris have confirmed that the third and final (for now) Macht book, The Kings of Morning, is being fast-tracked for release in July 2011. Solaris have already prepared a cover for the novel:
In addition, this is the final cover art for Century of the Soldier, the second of the two Monarchies omnibuses:
Great stuff.
In addition, this is the final cover art for Century of the Soldier, the second of the two Monarchies omnibuses:
Great stuff.
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
News on Paul Kearney
The ongoing saga of Paul Kearney's publishing woes - which at this point would make a pretty good story by itself - has reached a (hopefully) happy conclusion: the author has just signed a new two-book deal with Solaris for two books set in the same world as his excellent The Ten Thousand. The Monarchies of God omnibuses remain contracted to Solaris and will hopefully surface next year, although Paul hasn't commented on the situation so far since Solaris got its new owners (Rebellion, the guys who handle the comic 2000AD and associated media).
The new books had previously been unveiled and titled as Corvus and Kings of Morning, but negotiations were put on hold whilst Solaris underwent its change of management. With that transition completed, we can hopefully look forward to additional news from Solaris about new books in the near future.
The new books had previously been unveiled and titled as Corvus and Kings of Morning, but negotiations were put on hold whilst Solaris underwent its change of management. With that transition completed, we can hopefully look forward to additional news from Solaris about new books in the near future.
Jonathan Oliver, the commissioning editor for Solaris Books since it was acquired by Rebellion has confirmed a two book deal with Paul Kearney. The novels, entitled Corvus and Kings of Morning, are due for delivery in 2010 and early 2011 respectively and are set in the same universe as Paul's successful The Ten Thousand, previously published by Solaris.
Paul's agent, John Jarrold, was quoted as saying "The immediacy of Paul’s prose and characterisation always puts me in mind of David Gemmell, who I was lucky enough to publish in the mid-1990s...With The Ten Thousand he has created a world ripe for re-visiting. Can’t wait to read these books! And I’m very pleased to have concluded my first deal with Jon Oliver and the 'new' Solaris."
Monday, 2 March 2009
Solaris Books Up For Sale
Solaris Books, an offshoot of Games Workshop and their Black Library publishing wing who publish in both the UK and USA, have been put on sale, according to Mark Chadbourn's blog.
The imprint will publish all its books planned up until the start of 2010, but what happens beyond that is uncertain.
The imprint was launched in February 2007 with a remit to publish original and fresh science fiction and fantasy. They scored an early success with an epic fantasy series by Gail Z. Martin and several very well-received anthologies. Chris Roberson, Brian Lumley, Adam Roberts and Ed Greenwood also all had works published by Solaris. However, one of their biggest coups was in securing the books of Paul Kearney after he had been dropped by Bantam, and Kearney's first book for them, The Ten Thousand, was my book of the year for last year. The fate of Kearney's two follow-up novels, Corvus and Kings of Morning, and his much-anticipated Monarchies of God omnibus reprints, remains unclear at this time. Hopefully another publisher will pick up the list, but in these uncertain times that may or may not be possible.
EDIT: According to Paul, the Monarchies reprints will be going ahead as planned. The new books are on hold for the time being. Solaris will issue a statement on their website in the next day or two expanding on the situation.
The imprint will publish all its books planned up until the start of 2010, but what happens beyond that is uncertain.
The imprint was launched in February 2007 with a remit to publish original and fresh science fiction and fantasy. They scored an early success with an epic fantasy series by Gail Z. Martin and several very well-received anthologies. Chris Roberson, Brian Lumley, Adam Roberts and Ed Greenwood also all had works published by Solaris. However, one of their biggest coups was in securing the books of Paul Kearney after he had been dropped by Bantam, and Kearney's first book for them, The Ten Thousand, was my book of the year for last year. The fate of Kearney's two follow-up novels, Corvus and Kings of Morning, and his much-anticipated Monarchies of God omnibus reprints, remains unclear at this time. Hopefully another publisher will pick up the list, but in these uncertain times that may or may not be possible.
EDIT: According to Paul, the Monarchies reprints will be going ahead as planned. The new books are on hold for the time being. Solaris will issue a statement on their website in the next day or two expanding on the situation.
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