Release Date: 05/06/14
Publisher: Angry Robot
SYNOPSIS:
Vagandrak is broken, and a new threat has arisen that threatens to defeat even the mighty Iron Wolves. The twisted, deviant Elf Rats have gathered in the toxic realm beyond the White Lion Mountains - swiftly they invade the troubled land of Vagandrak, killing for profit and pleasure. The now-disgraced Iron Wolves are the realm's only hope, but there's a problem: they've been sentenced to death by the insane King Yoon for the dark sorcery in their blood. In the mountains of Zalazar lie the White Towers, pillars of legend said to contain the Heart of the Elves. The Iron Wolves must journey north to steal the Heart, and purify the evil in the land, but the land belongs to the Elves - and they won't give it up without a fight!
REVIEW:
Andy returns with his hard hitting fantasy world bringing no nonsense action to the reader wrapped up in cracking prose and stunning pace as our heroes seek to not only survive but face the gratitude of kings for all their hard work. It’s a cracking title and for me, I love the way that characters interaction really helps bring the world to life.
All in a great second title for a top notch series and one that really does help establish Andy as perhaps fantasy’s bloodiest author with high body count.
Release Date: 31/12/13
Publisher: Angry Robot
SYNOPSIS:
Thirty years ago, the Iron Wolves held back mud-orc hordes at the Pass of Splintered Bones, and led a brutal charge that saw the sorcerer Morkagoth slain.
Now, a new terror stalks the realm. Orlana the Changer has escaped from the Chaos Halls and is building an army, twisting horses, lions and bears into terrible, bloody hunters, summoning mud-orcs from the slime and heading north to battle the mighty region of Vagandrak where, it said, the King has gone insane.
General Dalgoran searches to reunite the heroes of old for what he believes will be their final battle. But Dalgoran discovers the Iron Wolves are no longer the heroes of legend, and they might just be more dangerous than the invading hordes.
REVIEW:
OK, you want something to really round off the years end or to kick start your 2014 reading resolutions so what are you looking for? Well if you want top notch fantasy with realistic characters, hard hitting battle sequences, bloody gore soaked ground where life and death is measured in skill then you really have to get Andy Remic's new title, The Iron Wolves, the start of his cracking new series.
As you come to expect with Andy, he's an author who likes to keep it not only hardcore with the action but with the language and fans of David Gemmell will see many a homage within. Add to this cracking prose with spartan descriptive's which when added to a unique style will more than satisfy the fan within. All round a great offering and with the emotional context built in, goes to show that Andy's writing is not only flourishing but adding new strings to his bow all the time. Great stuff.
Release Date: 08/12/11
SYNOPSIS:
It’s better than sex! It’s better than drugs! If you haven’t been sick yet, you soon will be...
Welcome to Theme Planet, an entire alien world dedicated to insane rides, excessive hedonism and dangerous adventure. Operated by the Monolith Corporation, Theme Planet is the No. 1 destination for fun-seeking human holidaymakers Galaxy-Wide! Amba Miskalov is an Anarchy Android, an assassin/torture model fitted with a Quantell Systems v4.7 KillChip. She is beautiful, merciless and deadly, and blends perfectly with her human superiors. Sent to Theme Planet on a dangerous assassination mission, Amba stumbles upon a plot to undermine and destroy Earth’s all-powerful Oblivion Government – and its Ministers of Joy. But Amba is twisted, damaged and decadent – and this rebellion poses Amba a problem: to remain loyal to her creators and tormentors, to support the enemy – or annihilate them all.
REVIEW:
Here we have a new title from Andy where the idea originated back in 1995 which expounds not only the themes that he's become well known for but also a tale that is delivered with gusto, which, as usual with a Remic novel is accompanied by tight fully rounded characters and of course, in some cases, completely insane although their own form of logic does permeate through to the reader.
Add to this a kick ass plot, top notch twisted entertainment which when backed with Andy's spartanesque prose keeps the reader reaching for more to keep their own sanity intact. Finally add to the mix, great dialogue, a wonderfully rounded world and a title that keeps you guessing to the end and the reader is in for a real treat. Definitely a book to enjoy with a few beers.
Release Date: 05/05/11
SYNOPSIS:
Legendary warrior Kell must choose to flee the conquered land of Falanor, or fight for its people in this triumphant conclusion to the epic Clockwork Vampire Chronicles!
REVIEW:
To be blunt I wasn’t a fan of Andy’s first Clockwork Vampire tale (Kell’s Legend) and whilst I did enjoy the second outing I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to get from the third. Yes I expected hard combat, with Howardesque blood and guts everywhere, yes I expected harsh language and also a whole host of villains to be minced and I also expected a kick ass overall plot to keep me glued to the last page through the viscera.
What I actually got was a tale that continued the bloody no quarter asked or given war against the Vamp Warlords (who’ve now been released) with various factions coming through, how they’re going to interact once the threat is over is anyone’s guess but there is a whole host of options open to Andy. Finally add to this solid combative prose in a spartaneque writing style and it’s a title that will pretty much tick the boxes for all fans of his writing.
Hail Mighty Readers,
Andy Remic, part time author, full time "fruit and nut bar" let us know all about his latest project, Anarchy Books.
Here's the blurb:
Are you feeling lucky, punk?
ANARCHY BOOKSA fusion of writing, music, game and filmANARCHY BOOKS is a radical new publishing company. Our focus is on multi-strand publishing projects, concepts which combine different media to present a wider experience for the entertainment junkie.Our first project, SERIAL KILLERS INCORPORATED, is a thriller novel by Andy Remic, author of Spiral, Quake, Warhead, War Machine, Biohell, Hardcore, Cloneworld, Kell’s Legend, Soul Stealers and Vampire Warlords, with the music album provided by th3 m1ss1ng (featuring Jon Bodan from Atlanta’s Halcyon Way) and short film shot and chopped by Grunge Films. The novel and album release 1st April 2011, with the SERIAL KILLERS INCORPORATED short film June 2011.Following SKINC comes SF novel SIM by Andy Remic, SF/horror novel MONSTROCITY by Jeffrey Thomas, the anthology VIVISEPULTURE featuring such notable authors as Neal Asher, Lauren Beukes, Eric Brown, Ian Graham, Vincent Holland-Keen, James Lovegrove, George Mann, Gary McMahon, Stan Nicholls, Andy Remic, Jordan Reyne, Ian Sales, Stephen Saville, Wayne Simmons, Jeffrey Thomas, Danie Ware, Ian Watson, Ian Whates, Conrad Williams, and with artwork by Vincent Chong, then horror novel RAIN DOGS by Gary McMahon. Each “project” is a work in progress, and will ship with varying degrees of album, game and film components.ANARCHY BOOKS is looking to collaborate with musicians, video game creators (any platform) and filmmakers. Please read our SUBMISSION guidelines.Welcome to our little corner of ANARCHY…Finally, there’s ANARCHY in the UK!
Release Date: 03/03/11
SYNOPSIS:
Junks, an ancient evil alien scourge, are flooding Quad-Gal with terror as they spread their toxic plague. Combat K, proficient in infiltration, assassination and demolition, are sent on a mission to find an elusive alien retrovirus which can be used against an enemy. SLAM-dropped to CLONEWORLD, a planet ravaged by violent civil war, not only are Combat K hunted by elite junk assassins, but they get caught in a global conflict between ORGS, huge augmented mechanised war machines, and GANGSTERS, slick, genetically modified humans who have the ability to ganger, or clone themselves at will.
Through a mash of constant battle and vast, war-torn landscapes, through mechanised ORG factories and G.U.N. workshops, through GANGER SlushPits and CloneCities and SexVats, Combat K must think and fight their way to victory, to save the planet, and save the Four Galaxies. But how can Combat K possibly succeed, when their main foe are their own elite and deadly clones?
REVIEW:
Andy is one of those authors that treads the fine line of twisted combat junkie and action obsessed nut job as he cluster bombs the readers brain with seriously hard-core fight sequences, devilishly complex missions and finishes it with a cocktail of fully formed characters, full throttled adrenaline, seat of the pants rocket fuelled plotline and twists it off with few drops of Nitro-glycerine as he shakes this mix and waits for the explosion as Combat K face off against the greatest threat imaginable, themselves.
It’s definitely a new outlook and with each of the characters having a nightmare of a story struggling to survive it does leave you wondering where he can go from here. Prior to this, I have called him either a genius or a madman, and the way that this f-bombed outing seems we can firmly state that Solaris has him safely under lock and key awaiting the next manuscript. I just hope that they’ve managed to keep the chemicals away from Andy as otherwise he may well escape in a MacGyver inspired Haggis manner and then who knows what will happen.
Release Date: 07/10/10
BOOK BLURB:
THE CLOCKWORK VAMPIRES THIRST FOR BLOOD-OIL. The land of Falanor has fallen. On his way to recruit reinforcements to launch the counter-attack, the mighty hero Kell finds himself the prey of two beautiful but deadly vampire assassins. Their bronze fangs are coming for him.
REVIEW:
Andy is perhaps best known for his hardcore science fiction tales and recently has expanded into the realm of Fantasy with his last two titles. Whilst I had a number of problems with the first story, this second one feels like it fixed a number of the problems with the characters coming more into their own over being so similar to another authors. They grow, they claim a higher body count and their continual survival against the odds will appeal to readers who love the graphic combat that Andy is famed for. Add to the mix a good dollop of battlefield humour, a good handful of Howard’s style backed up with a stark descriptiveness and it’s a tale that gives Remic a firm footing within the genre. I look forward to seeing how he builds the next offering.
BOOK BLURB:
Sick World was a planet dedicated to the ill, the deformed, the dying and the dead...
Humanity as an organism was not the most durable chassis. After mixing it up with aliens, the human shell developed a host of unwanted and incurable ailments . . . esoteric diseases, curious viruses, life-changing bugs, vomit-inducing deformations. So a beautiful planet, Sick World, was terraformed with limitless funding, state-of-the-art research centres, gleaming wards and towering operating theatres providing unparalleled care, a perfection of medicine and a pinnacle of repair for the plethora of grotesque diseases and mutating conditions. However, a thousand years ago something happened, and the planet was evacuated in totality. Today, it lies uninhabited.
Combat K—Keenan, Franco and Pippa—are forced by implanted logic cubes into an unholy alliance of cooperation. Their mission: to infiltrate Sick World and carry out a simple fact-finding reconnaissance prior to SLAM excavations to research the new Junk threat. It should have been safe, simple, secure.
As the first day fades, so a long hibernation ends. For the Medical Staff of Sick World—the doctors, the nurses, the patients, all those abandoned long ago—have been undergoing a thousand year gestation of hardcore medical mutation and accelerated healthcare technology. Now they can smell the fresh meat and are beginning to awake...
HARDCORE. You’ll never look at a nurse the same way again.
REVIEW:
The latest offering in Andy’s Combat K series and one that continues to build upon the success of the previous. Here, Combat K must inevitably seek a way to fight against mankind’s biggest threat and whilst they seek answers must also cease from infighting on a scale never before seen. Great combat sequences, alongside fun characters, leave the reader with a feel for Andy’s style of hard-wired combat with each violent sequence. Add to the mix character traits that many authors would not dream of touching and you have a large keg of explosive just waiting to set itself off.
Whilst this might seem pretty strange its these touches that leaves you wondering if he really is a mad man on the scale of a certain “Haggis” or a genius for the sheer scope and depravity that he manages to inject within his tightly bound pages. Add to the mix a weird dystopia of supporting cast alongside a deviant’s cast of villains and you get something that’s either going to repel or satisfy you. Good solid fun, but definitely not a novel for the younger reader.
NEWS: Andy's Book Trailer for this novel will soon be available however please visit either Andy's site or Grunge Films for Production Stills.
BOOK BLURB:
They came from the north, and the city fell. It is a time for warriors, a time for heroes. Kell's axe howls out for blood. The land of Falanor has been invaded by an albino army, the Army of Iron. A small group set off to warn the king: Kell, a magnificent and brutal hero; his granddaughter, Nienna and her friend, Katrina; and Saark, the ex-Sword Champion of King Leanoric, disgraced after his affair with the Queen. Fighting their way south, betrayal follows battle, battle follows deviation, and they are attacked from all quarters by deadly warriors, monstrous harvesters who drain blood from their victims to feed their masters. As Falanor comes under heavy attack and invasion, only then does Nienna begin to learn the truth about grandfather Kell -- that he is anything but a hero. Ferocious fantasy from a real-life hardman come to claim the post-Gemmell world.
REVIEW:
As a new reader to the genre, I asked Gareth to pass me the next fantasy book to come to through the post. Having read a select number recommended by Gareth previously I was looking forward into my own foray into the genre so when local author Andy Remic’s offering from Angry Robot landed I thought that it would be a good place to start.
What I found was an interesting tale that had a vibrancy of its own, had big fight scenes and brought some new villains to the fore, the Clockwork Vampires. It was fast paced and above all the plot was pretty smooth, however once you take that into consideration it starts to fall apart as my major gripe (and one that I think a lot of genre fans will recognise) was that the principle cast member is very similar if not a carbon copy of Gemmell’s Druss the Legend. Which, whilst could be seen as a “homage” to the sadly lamented King of British Heroic Fantasy, it did keep coming back to me that the principle character wasn’t as fresh or vibrant as David’s and sadly lacked what I had come to expect with this type of book. Had Andy changed the character enough to make it his own would have made the book something special instead of something that blends in with the other multitude of fantasy fare on the market.
Hail Mighty Readers,
We've been doing a round up of our blog pals to see which of them are where shortly to sign thier books for you. Here's what we've uncovered:Andy Remic: There are some impending book signings coming up, starting with Waterstones, Bury, on 12th September at 1pm, to mark the launch of Kell’s Legend. Woo! Can’t wait. (This is followed by signings and readings at Nottingham (including FantasyCon), Leeds, York, Manchester and London… dates TBA)… unless that scoundrel Lee adds some more to my already bulging timetable!!Bernard Cornwell: I will be appearing at the Tank Museum on Thursday 15 October 2009 as part of their evening 'Out of Hours' programme. The programme begins at 7.30 pm and the entry fee is £12.50.Bill Hussey: Will be hosting the meeting at Waterstones Boston (16th September, 7-8pm) as local fans digest his latest offering. For more information ring: 01205 360002Charlie Higson: Will be doing signings at: Waterstone's Reading Oracle on Friday 11 September at 6pm (0118 9503400)Dacre Stoker: Will be "misting" into Waterstones Picadilly on Monday 28th September at 7PM (Sunset is interestingly enough 6:38pm) to sign his new novel, the official sequel to Dracula entitled "Dracula: The undead" More details: 020 851 2400Dan Abnett: Will be doing a massive tour of the north, dates are: Friday 16th October, Games Workshop Metrocentre, Gateshead, 0191 461 0950Saturday 17th October: 11-12.30 Games Workshop Edinburgh 0131 220 6540 1-2pm Waterstone's Edinburgh West End, 0131 226 2666Sunday 18th October 11.30 - 12.30 Games Workshop FalkirK, 01324 624 553 3-4pm GW Glasgow, 0141 221 1673 Monday 19th October 1-2pm Waterstone's Leeds 0113 244 4588 3 - 4pm TravellingMan. 0113 242 7227 Derek Landy: Will be appearing at Waterstones Liverpool One on Tuesday, 13 October 2009, 4:30PM - 5:30PM to sign the latest offering in his Skulduggery Pleasant series. For more info call: 01517099820Eoin Colfer: Will be appearing all over the place in order to promote the new Hitchhiker novel "And Another Thing":11/10/09, London Hitchcon’09 12/10/09 Glasgow, 18.40-19.30 Glasgow Film Theatre 0141332812813/10/09 Birmingham, 13.30 Borders (Bullring Shopping Centre) 01216161094 19.15 The Inkpot, Cheltenham Literature Festival 0844576897914/10/09 Cambridge, 13.00 The Cambridge Union Society, 0122335168 18.00-19.00 Forbidden Planet 0207803190015/10/09 Manchester 13.00 Waterstones Deansgate 01618391248 20.00 The Contact Theatre, Manchester, 01612740600Iain M Banks: Will be appearing at the following locations to promote his new book Transition: 10/09/09: Horsecross, Perth 19.00 0738 62103114/09/09: The Roundhouse, London, 19.30 15/09/09: St Etheldreda's Church, Ely, 19.3016/09/09: Topping and Company, Bath, 19.3003/10/09: Forbidden Planet, London 13.00Ian Rankin: Will be appearing all over the country, some to sign his first Hellblazer Graphic novel, Dark Entries:11/09/09: Waterstones Perth 13.00-14.00 01738630012 University of Dundee. 19.00 0138220032212/09/09: WH Smiths, Gyle, Edinburgh 12.30-13.30 01313398855 Borders Kiniard, Edinburgh 15.00-16.00 0131657404114/09/09: Stirling Festival Open Night Event, Tolbooth Theatre, Stirling, 19.30 01786431239101/10/09: Richmond Walking Festival, Zetland Centre, 20.00 0174882536206/10/09: Inverness Book Festival 07/10/09: Inverness Book Festival15/10/09: Waterstones Edinburgh, 18.0017/10/09: Belfast Festival, waterfront Studio 18.30 0289097119722/10/09: Biggar FestivalJoseph Delaney: New Blog Pal Joseph will be appearing at the Lancaster Waterstones on 03/10/09 at 14.00 01524 842561Simon Scarrow: Blog Pal Simon will be appearing at Nottinghams Waterstones on 10.09.09 to sign his new novel The Gladiator.
Angry Robot, the new SF/F/WTF print from Harper Collins, have a couple of announcements, firstly that they've signed J Robert King (for two Metaphysical Suspense novels) and Falcata Times friend/author, Andy Remic (who's first book for AR, The Angel of Death will be released in September with the follow up, Death's Disciples released early next year.)
Secondly Angry Robot have also announced a competition where if you win, the grand prize is a copy of the first seven books released by them. What do you have do? Quite simply visit their site at:
http://angryrobotbooks.com/name-that-droid/
And name thier mascot/logo.
