In addition, this is the final cover art for Century of the Soldier, the second of the two Monarchies omnibuses:
Great stuff.
Showing posts with label the ten thousand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the ten thousand. Show all posts
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.
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Paul Kearney update and cover art
Solaris Books, under the new management of Rebellion Entertainment, are making a big push for Paul Kearney's work at the end of this year.
First up, Kearney's classic Monarchies of God series is being reissued in two volumes. Hawkwood and the Kings will be released on 5 August 2010, followed by Century of the Soldier on 2 September.
This series was originally published as five volumes: Hawkwood's Voyage (1995), The Heretic Kings (1996), The Iron Wars (1999), The Second Empire (2000) and Ships from the West (2002). The storyline sees the Merduks of the east invading the continent of Normannia, where the Ramusian faith holds dominance over the kingdoms known as the Monarchies of God. As the eastern-most kingdom of Torunna fights for its life, the Ramusian church seems more interested in burning heretics than in helping to battle the heathen invaders. In the far western kingdom of Hebrion the young king bristles under the rising power of the church, whilst a sailor named Richard Hawkwood is convinced to embark on a dangerous ocean voyage beyond the setting sun.
The result is a rich and satisfying epic fantasy series, notable for its extreme ruthlessness towards its characters (at times Kearney makes GRRM read like David Eddings), its relative conciseness (the five books combined only just scrape past 1100 pages) and its Renaissance-influenced setting. It's an excellent series, and it's great to see it reaching a new audience this year.
In terms of new material, Kearney's latest novel Corvus will also be published on 28 October 2010. A self-contained follow-up to The Ten Thousand, the new book sees the soldiers of the Macht unified by a charasmatic new leader, Corvus, who seeks out the famous warleader Rictus to aid him in his mission, but Rictus wants nothing more than to retire peacefully.
Great news for fans of Kearney's work.
Update: Paul has confirmed the split between the two books. Hawkwood's Voyage and The Heretic Kings make up the appropriately-titled Hawkwood and the Kings, whilst The Iron Wars, The Second Empire and a somewhat rewritten Ships From the West comprise Century of the Soldier. The books will also feature new maps as well as new cover art.
First up, Kearney's classic Monarchies of God series is being reissued in two volumes. Hawkwood and the Kings will be released on 5 August 2010, followed by Century of the Soldier on 2 September.
This series was originally published as five volumes: Hawkwood's Voyage (1995), The Heretic Kings (1996), The Iron Wars (1999), The Second Empire (2000) and Ships from the West (2002). The storyline sees the Merduks of the east invading the continent of Normannia, where the Ramusian faith holds dominance over the kingdoms known as the Monarchies of God. As the eastern-most kingdom of Torunna fights for its life, the Ramusian church seems more interested in burning heretics than in helping to battle the heathen invaders. In the far western kingdom of Hebrion the young king bristles under the rising power of the church, whilst a sailor named Richard Hawkwood is convinced to embark on a dangerous ocean voyage beyond the setting sun.
The result is a rich and satisfying epic fantasy series, notable for its extreme ruthlessness towards its characters (at times Kearney makes GRRM read like David Eddings), its relative conciseness (the five books combined only just scrape past 1100 pages) and its Renaissance-influenced setting. It's an excellent series, and it's great to see it reaching a new audience this year.
In terms of new material, Kearney's latest novel Corvus will also be published on 28 October 2010. A self-contained follow-up to The Ten Thousand, the new book sees the soldiers of the Macht unified by a charasmatic new leader, Corvus, who seeks out the famous warleader Rictus to aid him in his mission, but Rictus wants nothing more than to retire peacefully.
Great news for fans of Kearney's work.
Update: Paul has confirmed the split between the two books. Hawkwood's Voyage and The Heretic Kings make up the appropriately-titled Hawkwood and the Kings, whilst The Iron Wars, The Second Empire and a somewhat rewritten Ships From the West comprise Century of the Soldier. The books will also feature new maps as well as new cover art.
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, 27 April 2009
Paul Kearney on his current projects
Over on Chronicles Network, Paul Kearney has commented on his current projects. At the moment, the Monarchies of God reprints are going ahead after a delay due to the publishers not being able to get hold of the original manuscripts. However, the final Sea-Beggars novel and the two new Macht books are currently up in the air due to the ongoing sale of Solaris. Once Solaris' fate is decided, there should be some more news on that front.
On a happier front, Paul also has some good news about his foreign sales in the same post, notably that a Spanish version of Monarchies is on the way (and given that Spain is an influence on some aspects of Monarchies, that is appropriate).
In the meantime, Paul is now also working on a new, non-fantasy novel.
On a happier front, Paul also has some good news about his foreign sales in the same post, notably that a Spanish version of Monarchies is on the way (and given that Spain is an influence on some aspects of Monarchies, that is appropriate).
In the meantime, Paul is now also working on a new, non-fantasy novel.
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
The Ten Thousand is now available
Just a reminder to let people know that Paul Kearney's very fine epic fantasy novel The Ten Thousand, is now available in both the UK and USA.
Sunday, 15 June 2008
The Ten Thousand by Paul Kearney
A few months back I noted The Ten Thousand as being one of my hot tips for 2008. Reading a lengthy preview that the author sent me a while back reinforced this feeling, and now reading the complete novel has confirmed my initial guess. Probably the most underread author in epic fantasy has delivered his strongest novel to date.
The Ten Thousand is based on The Anabasis, the best-known work of the Greek writer Xenophon. In that book Xenohpon relates how a Greek mercenary force of ten thousand warriors was hired by Cyrus the Younger, a Persian prince seeking to supplant his brother. When Cyrus was killed, the Greek army had to fight its way out of the now-hostile empire and find its way home.
In this novel the setting is the world of Kuf, which is divided between two humanoid species: the Macht and the Kufr. The Macht live in a mountainous peninsula made up of feuding city-states (reminsicent of Greece), whilst the Kufr inhabit the vast Assurian Empire to the south-east which dominates a huge continent. Many of the most famous mercenary companies of the Macht are summoned to the capital where a vast host is being assembled to sail across the sea and join the armies of the Assurian pretender Arkamenes, who seeks to usurp his brother, Ashurnan. Amongst these are Gasca and Rictus, two young warriors who join up for very different reasons, the former to see the world and fight, the latter to forget the horrors of the destruction of his city and family. As the story proceeds we meet other characters: Jason, the young and charasmatic commander of one of the mercenary companies; Vorus, a Macht living amongst the Kufr who is an advisor to Ashurnan; and Tiryn, Arkamenes' consort.
The story unfolds similar to the events of history, with the Macht fighting their way into the very heart of the Empire where Ashurnan awaits them with a vast host. There, at the Battle of Kunaksa, the hinge of the world will turn, with dire consequences for everyone involved.
As normal, Kearney anchors the story on his characters: Rictus, the young warrior lost in his grief and rage who finds opportunity and responsibility thrust upon him; Jason, the popular commander who doesn't know what he wants from life until, amidst the blood and mud, he finds it; Vorus, the exiled warrior who finds his loyalties and admiralties torn; Ashurnan, a ruler desperately trying to be a great king but not knowing how, whilst his brother believes he is great and worthy and doesn't realise the truth; and Tiryn, whose own preconceptions and believes are put to the ultimate challenge. They are flawed people, but the reader cannot help empaphising with them and the increasingly harsh challenges they face.
Kearney has previously attracted the reputation of doing battle sequences better than almost any other writer in the genre, better than Bakker, Martin or Erikson, with perhaps only Gemmell and Cornwell at the very height of their powers challenging him. The battles here are hard, brutal affairs but they are also used to make the characters change and grow, with every engagement also reflecting some revelation or advancement in the characters. It is an excellent device, perhaps not a conscious one, but handled superbly.
In this one novel (The Ten Thousand is a stand-alone, although Kearney does not rule out other works set in the same world) Kearney successfully encapsulates all of his strengths as a writer, making for his tighest, most satisfying novel to date, and may possibly have just given us the best epic fantasy of 2008.
The Ten Thousand (*****) is an engrossing, superb novel of war and its impact on humanity with a fitting ending. It will be published by Solaris on 1 September 2008 in the UK and in October in the USA.
Speculative Horizons reviews the novel here. Realms of Speculative Fiction reviews it here. Graeme's Fantasy Book Review covers it here. A Dribble of Ink has a two-part interview with Paul Kearney here and here.
The Ten Thousand is based on The Anabasis, the best-known work of the Greek writer Xenophon. In that book Xenohpon relates how a Greek mercenary force of ten thousand warriors was hired by Cyrus the Younger, a Persian prince seeking to supplant his brother. When Cyrus was killed, the Greek army had to fight its way out of the now-hostile empire and find its way home.
In this novel the setting is the world of Kuf, which is divided between two humanoid species: the Macht and the Kufr. The Macht live in a mountainous peninsula made up of feuding city-states (reminsicent of Greece), whilst the Kufr inhabit the vast Assurian Empire to the south-east which dominates a huge continent. Many of the most famous mercenary companies of the Macht are summoned to the capital where a vast host is being assembled to sail across the sea and join the armies of the Assurian pretender Arkamenes, who seeks to usurp his brother, Ashurnan. Amongst these are Gasca and Rictus, two young warriors who join up for very different reasons, the former to see the world and fight, the latter to forget the horrors of the destruction of his city and family. As the story proceeds we meet other characters: Jason, the young and charasmatic commander of one of the mercenary companies; Vorus, a Macht living amongst the Kufr who is an advisor to Ashurnan; and Tiryn, Arkamenes' consort.
The story unfolds similar to the events of history, with the Macht fighting their way into the very heart of the Empire where Ashurnan awaits them with a vast host. There, at the Battle of Kunaksa, the hinge of the world will turn, with dire consequences for everyone involved.
As normal, Kearney anchors the story on his characters: Rictus, the young warrior lost in his grief and rage who finds opportunity and responsibility thrust upon him; Jason, the popular commander who doesn't know what he wants from life until, amidst the blood and mud, he finds it; Vorus, the exiled warrior who finds his loyalties and admiralties torn; Ashurnan, a ruler desperately trying to be a great king but not knowing how, whilst his brother believes he is great and worthy and doesn't realise the truth; and Tiryn, whose own preconceptions and believes are put to the ultimate challenge. They are flawed people, but the reader cannot help empaphising with them and the increasingly harsh challenges they face.
Kearney has previously attracted the reputation of doing battle sequences better than almost any other writer in the genre, better than Bakker, Martin or Erikson, with perhaps only Gemmell and Cornwell at the very height of their powers challenging him. The battles here are hard, brutal affairs but they are also used to make the characters change and grow, with every engagement also reflecting some revelation or advancement in the characters. It is an excellent device, perhaps not a conscious one, but handled superbly.
In this one novel (The Ten Thousand is a stand-alone, although Kearney does not rule out other works set in the same world) Kearney successfully encapsulates all of his strengths as a writer, making for his tighest, most satisfying novel to date, and may possibly have just given us the best epic fantasy of 2008.
The Ten Thousand (*****) is an engrossing, superb novel of war and its impact on humanity with a fitting ending. It will be published by Solaris on 1 September 2008 in the UK and in October in the USA.
Speculative Horizons reviews the novel here. Realms of Speculative Fiction reviews it here. Graeme's Fantasy Book Review covers it here. A Dribble of Ink has a two-part interview with Paul Kearney here and here.
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