Set in a post-war galactic civilisation, Embers of War delivers classic space opera action whilst feeling like a true 21st century novel. The Trouble Dog is a sentient warship, now decommissioned and run by a skeleton crew of misfits. The war is over and it’s a time of reconciliation and redemption so these days the […]
Review – Embers of War
Recommended… and recruited.
So far 2018 has seen various pleasing developments on the writing front. One of these is finding that my interplanetary heist novella, ‘The Martian Job‘ has made it onto Locus’s Recommended Reading List. Another is being accepted as a writer for the marvellously named Black Library, the fiction arm of Games Workshop. My first piece for […]
The Last Jedi – review
I’ve left it a while to post this review, for two reasons. Firstly, I needed to see the film again to gather my thoughts. Secondly: here be spoilers, so I was waiting until most of those who have an interest had probably seen it. Overall, I wasn’t that impressed. This was, in part, because the […]
The Martian Job
Happy Book birthday to me. I went off a bit early, announcing the release of my new novella from Newcon Press a couple of weeks back, but it really is out today. I loved writing it, given my brief was just to write a story set on Mars, an idea which then collided with my […]
Some thoughts on Bladerunner 2049 (with spoilers clearly marked)
This isn’t a comprehensive review, more an attempt to record my initial impressions after seeing the film last night. I’m sure there’s plenty of stuff I missed or misinterpreted on first viewing. First off, there will be further viewings, because – thank ghu! – it was essentially sound. I liked it. I did not love […]
Double Story Release Bonanza!
I’ve not had much news to share here recently – OK, I could have gone on about winning the BSFA Award, but I kind of blanketed social media with my joy over that at the time – but in the last week I’ve had not one but two stories see print. Actually, one of them […]
The Worm Within – book review
The Worm Within is a story of loyalty, intrigue and extra-dimensional threats set in a future so far distant it looks a lot like a mythical past. The protagonist, Iago, is a sorcerer’s apprentice, of sorts; he is also an orphan with a destiny, who goes on what could be seen as a quest. These […]
Eastercon schedule
I missed last year’s Eastercon, so I’m really looking forward to this year’s. As it’s only just over a week away it’s time to post my schedule: Friday 19:00 – 20:00 – Emotional Storytelling Through Music. The trailer for Logan, the third solo Wolverine movie, was backed up by Johnny Cash’s cover of Hurt. It immediately […]
A year of patronage
More good stuff to celebrate, although not unexpected; I’ve now been on Patreon for a full year. It still gives me a genuine warm and fuzzy feeling to know people are willing to give up some of their hard-earned dosh to help me get my stories out there. Partly in general exuberance, but mainly because […]
Recorded … and shortlisted!
Picocon was excellent. It’s one of those small-but-perfectly-formed one-day cons, in this case with added student silliness (may contain fish). This year’s programme was live-streamed via periscope, and my talk is now out there for posterity (or however long these things last). May I also recommend the talks from the other three Guests of Honour, […]