Blade Itself

SFFWorld’s Favorite Books of 2007

SFFWorld’s readers have voted for their favorite books of 2007, and we’re thrilled that Before They Are Hangedtops the list (this refers to the UK edition, as the US edition was just released). What’s more, Joe Abercrombie appears twice, with The Blade Itselftying with the wonderful Scott Lynch’s The Lies of Locke Lamora at # 5. Here’s the full list:

  1. Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie (105 points)
  2. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (96 points)
  3. Reaper’s Gale by Steven Erikson (63 points)
  4. Renegade’s Magic by Robin Hobb (54 points)
  5. The Lies of Locke Lamora* by S. Lynch & The Blade Itself* by J. Abercrombie (41 points)
  6. The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien (32 points)
  7. Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch (31 points)
  8. The Thousandfold Thought* by R. Scott Bakker (28 points)
  9. The Orphan’s Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice by Catherynne M. Valente

Also delighted to see that The Devil’s Right Hand author Lilith Saintcrow praises The Blade Itself on her blog, Writer on the Dark Side: “This is fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, but without the complete lack of verite most fantasy is infected with… There’s wizards, mythology, kings, princes, a self-absorbed nobleman, ancient legends, fencing–all written so well I was grinding my teeth with envy whenever I HAD to put the book down. This is a fantastic start to a trilogy, and I can’t wait to get the next two books so I can see what happens next. There are some tropes, true, but they’re handled so deftly and characterised so beautifully they take on the status of old friends instead of worn-out archetypes. In short, I can’t say enough good things about this book, and I highly recommend it.”

Thank you, Lilith. Wait till you get to book two!

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A Trio of Pyr Positives

Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist calls Kay Kenyon’s Bright of the Sky,“another quality read courtesy of Pyr,” and suggests, as others have done, that the book will appeal to readers of both science fiction and fantasy. He further say, “High stakes, skilled worldbuilding, good characterization, adroit pacing: Bright of the Sky is a superior read.

Tomas L. Martin’s Darrkeworld posts two Pyr reviews originally destined for SFCrowsnest.

Of The Blade Itself, by Joe Abercrombie, he says, “Many have compared his work to that of Tad Williams and George R. R. Martin and the comparisons are not reaching. The books have a strong sense of plot, that there is an intricate plan behind the events of the book, something rare in a first novel. The main characters are a huge draw…The dark characterisation brings new life to the fantasy genre and the complex moralities of the protagonists is a real joy. Even the minor characters seem colourful and realised, with strong dialogue and difficult choices for all involved.”

Meanwhile, turning to David Louis Edelman’s Infoquake,Tomas says, “although at first I doubted his choice of protagonist, the ambitious and ruthless business figure of Natch becomes a hero rather than antihero through clever use of flashback and other characters’ point of view. The story is developed well and the business side of this biotech based future is astonishingly believable. It’s remarkable to have a novel that’s packed with action, excitement and tension when the action itself is more what you’d see in the Financial Times or Wall Street Journal. With the sequel, MultiRealout later in 2008 you’d be well advised to pick this one up and refresh your memory on one of 2006’s great debuts. Pyr continue to release excellent and above all fresh content. Long may it continue.”

Thanks, guys!

Update: Jeff Vandermeer comments on his Locus Best of the Year recommendations on Amazon’s Omnivoracious blog. Speaking of Bright of the Sky: “This one’s for readers who loved Ringworld by Larry Niven but also for fantasy readers who love great fantasy quests. How can that be, you might ask? It’s set primarily in a strange alternative universe but also in the future of our universe. I think the cover, in this case, says it all: the book is exotic, beautiful, and daring.”

See?

Update Update: Graeme’s Fantasy Review also chimes in on Bright of the Sky, calling out the Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist review above, and calling the work, “a remarkable beginning to a series that I am looking forward to seeing more of. Great stuff!”

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Locus Online: Best of 2007

Jeff Vandermeer has posted his 2007: The Best of the Year list over on LocusOnline. I’m thrilled to see a few Pyr mentions.

From the Best Novels list:

“On the science fiction side, Ian McDonald reaffirmed his excellence with Brasyl,which contains three separate narrative strands describing the Brazil of past, present, and future. The novel is a tour de force of storytelling momentum, with a level of invention that represents a master at the top of his form. McDonald is an amazing stylist, yes, but here it’s all about motion. He does a wonderful job of including his trademark detailed and inventive description while making sure nothing in this complex, often beautiful novel is static.”

and

“Kay Kenyon’s Bright of the Sky,after a slow first seventy pages, knocked my socks off with its brilliant evocation of a quest through a parallel universe that has a strange river running through it. Unique in conception, like Larry Niven’s Ringworld, this is the beginning to what should be an amazing SF-Fantasy series.”

From the Best Anthologies list:

” Another first volume of a new original series, the Lou Anders-edited Fast Forward 1 featured thought-provoking speculative takes on making sense of our (post)modern world by, among others, Ken MacLeod, Gene Wolfe, and Nancy Kress. Consistently interesting, this SF anthology fills a gap, as most of the current spate of anthologies seems skewed toward the fantasy side of things.”

And from Notable Reprints:

“…The Blade Itselfby Joe Abercrombie, a rough-and-tumble, bold new voice in the heroic fantasy ranks.”

All good to read!

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Thoughts on The Blade Itself and Infoquake

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Four stars for Joe Abercrombie’s The Blade Itselfup on SF Signal. JP writes, “The Blade Itself is Joe Abercrombie’s first novel, and it’s a darn fine one at that. And as a self-professed fantasy hater, that’s saying something.” He praises the action and the pacing, and adds, “Each one of these characters is well thought out and well presented and each one has a role to play in the story. While you may not be sympathetic to them all, Abercrombie has a knack for creating believable characters.”

Meanwhile, Calico Reaction isn’t sure what she thinks of David Louis Edelman’s Infoquake,but is intrigued enough to want to know more: “I’m interested in the world, the situation, and where the story might be going. No doubt, it’s complex, and while this volume has its own story arc, it does not even begin to answer every question raised. Which is why, of course, I’m looking forward to the sequel, to learn what’s really happening, even if some of it flies over my head. 🙂 Boardroom SF, people. Who knew? I think Edelman has definitely made a splash in the genre, and I think those interested in the worlds and technologies found in Charles Stross’s works and Vernor Vinge’s (mind you, I’ve only read Accelerando and Rainbows End respectively) will be entertained by this book, which–for the record–will be re-released as a Solaris mass market paperback this June, a month before Pyr’s release of the sequel, MultiReal.”

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Not Your Average Joe

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Aidan Moher interviews Joe Abercrombie on his website, A Dribble of Ink. They talk about his debut fantasy novel, The Blade Itself,out this September from Pyr. And the lack of the obligatory fantasy world map.

“I wanted my readers to feel like they were right there with the characters – right inside their heads, if possible – part of the action rather than floating dispassionately above it. I wanted to tell a story as close-up as possible, so you can smell the sweat, and feel the pain, and understand the emotions. I want a reader to be nailed to the text, chewing their fingernails to find out what happens next, not constantly flipping back to the fly-leaf to check just how far north exactly Carleon is from Uffrith, or whatever. The characters often don’t know what’s going on – they don’t have a conveniently accurate map to hand, why should the reader?”

Meanwhile, check out Joe’s new website, and lookee here, we’ve put the first 63 pages of The Blade Itself online!

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The Blade Itself

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Fantasy Book Critic is holding a contest. Twenty lucky winners will be awarded an advance reading copy of Joe Abercrombie’s fantasy debut The Blade Itself. The USA release date for The Blade Itself is September 30, 2007 and in support of the book, readers can look forward to a review and an interview with author Joe Abercrombie from Fantasy Book Critic in late August/early September. Giveaway ends Friday, July 27, 2007 – 11:59AM PST.

Meanwhile, here is the final full jacket of the book. This was composed by Jaqueline Cooke, following the original design by Laura Brett. Astute readers will notice font changes from the UK edition, though we share the letter “h.” Also the final printed version will see gold foil used to limn the title and author’s name, with the arrow design and the words “the first law: book one” in solid foil.


“If you’re fond of bloodless, turgid fantasy with characters as thin as newspaper and as boring as plaster saints, Joe Abercrombie is really going to ruin your day. A long career for this guy would be a gift to our genre.”- Scott Lynch, author of The Lies of Locke Lamora

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The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

I’m very pleased to announce that B&N.com has just picked three titles for inclusion in their Editor’s Choice Top Ten SF&F Novels of 2006 list, prompting our publicity department to issue the following press release:

For Immediate Release

January 3, 200

“The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread Story of the Year”
Several Year-End “Bests”Cap 2006 for SF&F Imprint
Including Barnes & Noble’s SF&F Book of the Year!

Amherst, NY — Barnes & Noble online today posted their Editor’s Choice lists for the best science fiction and fantasy books of 2006. Three books by Pyr, an imprint of Prometheus Books, are in this Top Ten Novels of 2006 list, including the top spot!

The Barnes & Noble Science Fiction/Fantasy Book of the Year, Editor’s Choice, is Infoquake by David Louis Edelman—a debut that ingeniously mixes business with pleasure, or as B&N puts it, “equal parts corporate thriller, technophilic cautionary tale and breathtakingly visionary science fiction adventure.”

The other two Pyr books included in this best of the year list are The Crooked Letter by Sean Williams at number four (“prepare to be blown away,” they write) and Resolution, the conclusion to John Meaney’s three-book Nulapeiron Sequence, at number six.

The UK bookseller Waterstone’s also included two Pyr titles on their list of Top Ten SF for 2006: Crossover by Joel Shepherd and Paragaea by Chris Roberson.

Publishing blog Bookgasm posted a Best 5 Sci-Fi Books of 2006 list in which three of the best five books were from Pyr. River of Godsby Ian McDonald topped their list at number one, while Infoquake by David Louis Edelman and Crossover (both first novels) tied for fifth.

According to the science fiction and fantasy reviewer for Bookgasm,

“The biggest story of the year…is Pyr’s rise to prominence as a high-quality sci-fi imprint. Pyr has managed to round up a stable of authors and titles that represents the cutting edge of sci-fi and backs it up with promotion and marketing that pretty much outdoes the other imprints out there. Bravo, Pyr. Here’s hoping for an even greater 2007.”

The imprint will certainly do its best to make 2007 even greater than 2006:

In February, Pyr will launch a new hard science fiction anthology series, Fast Forward 1, dedicated to presenting the vanguard of the genre and charting the undiscovered country that is the future. In March, Pyr will publish Keeping It Real, the first of Justina Robson’s Quantum Gravity titles that are being hailed as her “breakout” books—the most entertaining, fun, and commercial of her novels to date. Promotion for Keeping it Real includes a special music track by The No Shows (www.thenoshows.com)—the hottest rock band of 2021.

In May, it’s “Bladerunner in the tropics” with Brasyl by Ian McDonald, the writer the Washington Post said is “becoming one of the best sf novelists of our time.” McDonald moves from India (River of Gods) to past, present, and future Brazil, with all its color, passion, and shifting realities, in a novel that is part SF, part history, part mystery, and entirely enthralling.

Pyr has already begun developing a reputation for publishing “smart” science fiction. But in September 2007, Pyr gets fantastic with its first straight-up commercial epic fantasy novel: The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie. This book will lead Pyr’s Fall-Winter 07-08 season and be launched at Book Expo America in June 2007.

In other 2006 year-end awards, the blog Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist called Pyr “a breath of fresh air in both the fantasy and science fiction genres” and gave the imprint the creatively named and gratefully accepted “Best Thing Since Sliced Bread Award.”

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Lightening Up the Shadows: An Interview with Joe Abercrombie

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Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist runs an interview with Joe Abercrombie today. Joe is the author of The Blade Itself, the first book in The First Law trilogy, published by Gollancz in the UK and forthcoming from Pyr September 2007.

I’m very excited by this book. First, it’s one of the best fantasy novels I’ve read in a long time, and second, when it debuts in the US next fall, it will mark our first serious foray into epic fantasy. Yes, we’ve done some (I think) excellent fantasy already – more of it than people realize – with books like The Prodigal Troll and The Crooked Letter that I am very, VERY proud of. But those are fantasy plus, in this case fantasy plus wonderfully-realized Tarzan of the Apes pastiche and fantasy plus brilliant metaphysical quantum physics inspired afterworlds. They are tremendous books and you should read them right now if you haven’t already (Go ahead; I’ll wait) – just not what people think of when they speak of the post-Tolkien epic fantasy genre, the sure enough, dyed-in-the-wool fantasy of knights and wizards on a quest in an invented, secondary world. Which I’ve held off on publishing at Pyr until now, because, well, The Blade Itself is the first such work that came across my desk and knocked both my socks off at once. (I’ve had one or the other sock knocked off at a time before, but not both! Not both I tell you!) Because The Blade Itself is brilliant and subversive and imaginative and hysterical and dark, with great, great characters, none of which are entirely good or entirely bad, moments that make you ache and moments that are laugh out loud they are so funny without the book actually being a comedy. And I can’t wait for you to see what I mean. (Of course, if you live in the US, I do urge you to wait. If you live in the UK, go right out and get the Gollancz edition right now, then come tell me what you thought.)

Meanwhile, check out Joe’s interview, where he pontificates on such important concerns as:

“Characters, dialogue, humour, action. And the unfolding of the whole series will hopefully demonstrate that I can put a plot together in a tight spot as well (fingers crossed). The area for which I’ve garnered the most praise, however, is the nice feeling paper in which my books are bound. If you like nice feeling books, you can’t go wrong with The Blade Itself.”

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