All posts in Empire State

2012 leftovers, Angry Robot ebook sale, and the year ahead

by on January 3, 2013 in awards, Blackout 77, comics, Empire State, Hang Wire, Lucifer, Seven Wonders, Shadow's Call, The Sentinel with 1 Comment Permanent Link to 2012 leftovers, Angry Robot ebook sale, and the year aheadPermalink

Hello 2013! We’re back to an odd-numbered year, during which I will turn an odd-numbered age. I like odd numbers.

Anyway.

There are a few leftover bits and bobs from the end of 2012:

  • At WarpCoreSF, Empire State was named the Best Superhero Noir of 2012.
  • At The Founding Fields, Seven Wonders came in at number 9 of their best books of 2012.
  • Empire State came in at number 3 on Angel of Retribution’s list of best debuts of 2012, while Seven Wonders made it to number 3 on their Best of the Best list.
  • The Eloquent Page named The Age Atomic among their top ten books to look forward to in 2013
  • The Ranting Dragon have compiled a might list of 50 titles to look forward to in 2013, with The Age Atomic at number 19. Also featuring a shout-out to Hang Wire, although I’d argue whether one book is more important than the other!

Today is the last day of Angry Robot’s ebook sale, which features 25% off all their ebooks (including, of course, Empire State and Seven Wonders). You can find details of the sale here. All Angry Robot ebooks are DRM-free too!

Couple of award things – the BSFA Award nomination period is only open until January 11th (details here), and the Hugo Awards are now open for nominations until March 10th.

New Zealand’s Sir Julius Vogel Awards are also open from now until March 31st.- notably, anyone can nominate for these, regardless of membership of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of New Zealand.

If anyone is so inclined, my list of eligible work is here.

And finally a quick update to my year ahead – actually, this is all likely to take me well into 2014. So my projects are: Shadow’s Call (to be renamed – now scheduled for publication in March 2014), Hang Wire (out in November 2013) Lucifer, Blackout 77, and an untitled urban fantasy project.

Um, yeah. That should keep me going! I should also have an update on my comic debut, The Sentinel, shortly. I’m looking forward to showing off some new art from that!

EMPIRE STATE and SEVEN WONDERS hit more “Best of 2012″ lists, and a Christmas competition!

by on December 23, 2012 in Competition, Empire State, Review, Seven Wonders with 5 Comments Permanent Link to EMPIRE STATE and SEVEN WONDERS hit more “Best of 2012″ lists, and a Christmas competition!Permalink

A nice pre-Christmas surprise – Seven Wonders gets a stonking review over at the Ranting Dragon, who give it 5/5 stars and say:

If you are a fan of comic books and superheroes, Seven Wonders may well be your perfect read. Its grand scale and impressive prose will definitely appeal to anyone who enjoys comics. Its flamboyant action and incredible characters will entertain you for hours. I dare say that—if done well—this may make one of the best film adaptations ever. I would love to see Christopher Nolan or Joss Whedon take a swing at this.

Practically the whole review is quotable, and it really blows me away – thanks!

Seven Wonders was also named the “best novel of 2012” by SuperheroNovels.com, who say:

Christopher has written a book that explodes off the page like gamma ray grapeshot. And that’s a good thing. The author’s enthusiasm and commitment to his muse has made superheroes fun again. Mission accomplished. Seven Wonders wins our prize for best novel of 2012.

My book tops a fine list of five novels which includes one of my favourites of 2012, Prepare to Die! by Paul Tobin, and another from Angry Robot, Costume Not Included by Matthew Hughes. Although I’m bound to say it, SuperheroNovels.com really knows their onions, so to be crowned their number 1 novel really means a lot.

Empire State has also been making some more appearances – over at The Eloquent Page, it’s Book of the Month for June 2012 (closing a three-month run for Angry Robot, with Alchemist of Souls by Anne Lyle and Blackbirds by Chuck Wending coming in as books of the month for April and May, respectively).

At Angel of Retribution, Empire State comes in at number 3 on their list of Best Debuts of 2012 – Angry Robot has a strong showing here too, with The Dead of Winter by Lee Collins (#1), Dead Harvest by Chris F. Holm (#5), Pantomime by Laura Lam (#6 – although this Strange Chemistry title is out in February 2013), and The Alchemist of Souls by Anne Lyle (#8) filling out the list.

Forbidden Planet, the mighty retailer of all things wonderful, has released their Best Books of 2012 list, with Empire State in at number 6, among some very heavyweight title and authors indeed. Woot!

And finally, Empire State gets another Italian review over at Space of Entropy. Unfortunately Google’s translation doesn’t really give a good pull-quote, so I’d recommend you check it out for yourself – in short, they liked it a lot! Incidentally, the Italian edition of Empire State is on the way – more information as I have it. I’m dying to show off the cover!

Now, time for a competition! I have one signed copy of the UK paperback edition of Seven Wonders, and one signed 12-CD audiobook of the same. Although I can’t get them to the winners by Christmas, I’ll draw the competition on Christmas Day – all you need to do is to add a comment to this blog post indicating your entry, and my magical random contest plugin will then draw the winners. The first person to be drawn gets the audiobook, the second person to be drawn gets the signed paperback. The competition is open worldwide.

EMPIRE STATE in the Financial Times Best of 2012 list!

by on December 3, 2012 in Empire State, Review with No Comments Permanent Link to EMPIRE STATE in the Financial Times Best of 2012 list!Permalink

Well now.

Hot on the heels of being named SciFiNow’s magazine’s Book of the Year 2012, Empire State has made it into the Financial Times Best of 2012 list, alongside three other science fiction and fantasy novels. The full list is online here, and it also appeared in print this past Saturday:

All I can say is: oh hell yes. I’m chuffed to bits! Woot! Four books on that list and two of them by someone named Adam. Rock. On.

Congrats to Adam Baker, Tim Powers, and Danie Ware!

The Financial Times reviewed Empire State way back in January (where the heck has this year gone?), which you can read here, and in July the book appeared in their Best of 2012 So Far list.

Wheee!

EMPIRE STATE is SciFiNow magazine’s book of the year 2012!

by on November 21, 2012 in awards, Empire State with 1 Comment Permanent Link to EMPIRE STATE is SciFiNow magazine’s book of the year 2012!Permalink

On the news stands today is issue 74 of SciFiNow magazine, featuring their 2012 end-of-year awards. And if you turn to page 52, you’ll find their run-down of the five best novels and five best comics of 2012. And at number 1 for books: my debut novel, Empire State!

Like, wow.

Rounding out the list of five best novels is The Game is Altered by Mez Packer (2), Red Country by Joe Abercrombie (3), The Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton (4), and Intrusion by Ken MacLeod (5).

Needless to say, I’m thrilled to bits, and honoured to be even mentioned in the same list as those mighty authors.

Of Empire State, they said:

The smoky bars and ceiling fan intrigue of Raymond Chandler meets the neurotic, beer-gut superheroics of Alan Moore at his height (as opposed to his post-From Hell esotericism), Adam Christopher’s genre-merging debut swept skyward seemingly from nowhere, its cape trailing in the wind, and brought with it an incredible sense of wonder.

To celebrate, my publisher Angry Robot are running an ebook promotion – you can get 25% off both Empire State and Seven Wonders (DRM-free epub) at the Robot Trading Company from now until Monday 26th November by entering the code sfnow2012 at checkout.

Feel free to share the code around – tweet it, blog it, spread the word!

And don’t forget, the sequel to Empire State, The Age Atomic, is out in April next year, and is now available for pre-order.

Writerly update, Morley Lit Festival, and more SEVEN WONDERS reviews

by on October 2, 2012 in Empire State, Events, Seven Wonders, Shadow's Call, The Age Atomic with No Comments Permanent Link to Writerly update, Morley Lit Festival, and more SEVEN WONDERS reviewsPermalink

And I’m back from FantasyCon, which was three super-duper days hanging out with my favourite people talking about books. I apologise for the brevity of my convention report, but when you’re on a deadline like I am, such things tend to fall by the wayside. But it was good times, trust me.

I’m still on deadline for The Age Atomic, which means I’m back in the word bunker for this month. And then after that is handed in I need to work on Shadow’s Call for Tor… which means, I suspect, another lockdown. But it’s all worth it, in the end. It’s just a rather busy last quarter of the year.

A reminder for this coming Saturday, where I’ll be appearing on the Science Fiction and Superheroes panel as part of the Morley Literature Festival, alongside Samit Basu, David Hine, and Justina Robson. Steve Morris (perhaps better known as the drummer from Joy Division and New Order) is looking forward to seeing us, which I think deserves a What In The Actual Heck (Joy Division being a favourite band of mine), and event curator Mark Johnson gives us the big ups in the Give Me Comics Or Give Me Death podcast, which you can listen to here.

The panel is this Saturday at 2pm at the Morley town hall. Tickets are £4, and full details can be found here, and after the panel there will be a book signing. I hope to see you there!

Seven Wonders reviews continue to come in-

At The Founding Fields, Shadowhawk gives the book 9.5 out of 10 and says:

Adam Christopher has struck gold, again. If any SF novel this year deserves a sequel, it’s Seven Wonders!

The Fiction Stroker gives Seven Wonders four strokes out of five and says:

A love letter to comics… Seven Wonders is another thrilling roller-coaster ride from an author who is quickly becoming a master of multi-genre adventure.

Philip Norris says:

Seven Wonders ticks all the right boxes, it is a thrilling rollercoaster ride where the reader feels the wind in their hair, and their cape flapping behind them.

At I Will Read Books, Erik Lundqvist says:

…[T]he atmosphere, and the world building, is spot on… Adam Christopher has once again brought something new to a old genre.

And a little bonus, The Fiction Stroker also reviewed my debut novel, Empire State, giving it four strokes out of five and saying it is:

…An immersing, entertaining and atmospheric journey into another world.

Back to the editing, and see you on Saturday in Leeds!

Quick update: EMPIRE STATE Italian edition and Waterstones in-store appearance

by on September 13, 2012 in Empire State, Events, Seven Wonders with No Comments Permanent Link to Quick update: EMPIRE STATE Italian edition and Waterstones in-store appearancePermalink

Editing editing editing The Age Atomic. Phew!

I’m pleased to announce that La Ponga Edizione will be publishing the Italian edition of Empire State, my debut novel. I’m not sure what the title translates to exactly – something like Stato Imperio, perhaps – but I’ll post more information when I have it. The book will be released in Italy in November/December this year, and I’ve been helping the translator with a few bits and bobs. Exciting!

This Saturday I’ll be at the Macclesfield Waterstones, signing Seven Wonders and generally hanging around. It’s a small branch but close to Manchester (on the fast train too), and I’m looking forward to it as that used to be “my” store when I lived in Macclesfield. Both Empire State and Seven Wonders were written literally just down the road, and a couple of days a week I’d walk up into town to browse the store, then grab a coffee and go home to write. Little did I know that a couple of years later I’d be having my own event in that very store! The staff there are also hugely supportive – you can follow them on Twitter at @waterstonesmacc.

So, if you’re around, pop along and say hello. I’ll be there from 11am to 2pm. Details are up on the Waterstones website and at Angry Robot.

Chicago versus the Seven Wonders

by on August 29, 2012 in Empire State, Seven Wonders with No Comments Permanent Link to Chicago versus the Seven WondersPermalink

I’m in Chicago, a fact which I can prove later once I’ve got a US SIM card in my phone and can post photos. But while I was travelling yesterday, Seven Wonders came out in paperback in the US/ROW, and as an ebook and audiobook worldwide (including the UK). Yay! And also: Eeep! You can find order links, blurbs, etc, here.

To mark the release date, over at Benito Corral Reviews you’ll find an interview with me, and a review of the book, in which he says:

I firmly believe that Christopher has written the standard against which other superhero novels will be held… The author’s love for the genre is stamped on each page and he has even left room for a sequel (or better yet, sequels!) as any good superhero adventurer should. YES, believe all the hype, run to your favorite bookstore or click your favorite link and buy this book!

Thanks!

Speaking of reviews, one for Empire State cropped up the other day, notable in that it is from a New Zealand blogger, Cat, who gave it 4/5 and said it was a “fresh and enjoyable read.”

Yay!

Now, the search for pancakes and bacon continues…

Video interview (!) with The Sword and Laser (!!)

by on August 17, 2012 in Empire State, Interview, Seven Wonders with 1 Comment Permanent Link to Video interview (!) with The Sword and Laser (!!)Permalink

Another day, another interview – and this is a big one. The Sword and Laser is a fortnightly YouTube show about books, hosted by Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt and part of the Geek and Sundry network. And for episode 10, they invited me on to talk about Seven Wonders, Empire State, comics and writing.

…although now I totally need to write a short story about a hard-of-hearing supervillian trying to join the Cow’s gang (thanks, Kim!).

If you haven’t been watching it, I suggest you go back and check them out – The Sword and Laser is basically a TV show about genre fiction. And there’s also a podcast!

Fantasy Bytes interview! EMPIRE STATE in Not The Booker Prize! SEVEN WONDERS at io9!

by on August 4, 2012 in awards, Empire State, Interview, Seven Wonders with No Comments Permanent Link to Fantasy Bytes interview! EMPIRE STATE in Not The Booker Prize! SEVEN WONDERS at io9!Permalink

Some website maintenance today – a switch of fonts (how I love you, Helvetica neue!), an adjustment to the header, and some extra stuff in the side widgets. If anyone strikes a problem, so let me know, because by “maintenance” I mean “randomly hacking the CSS and praying nothing breaks”.

Yesterday I was interviewed over at Fantasy Bytes, where I had some things to say about Seven Wonders, writing, and gingernut biscuits. I am reliably informed that “dunking” biscuits has my US friends in hysterics. So, not a country of dunkers then! As I mentioned the other day, Fantasy Bytes also gave Seven Wonders a rather nice review, which you can see here (and some pre-review comments are here!).

Seven Wonders has also cropped up over at io9, where they list it alongside some fabulous others books as one of the science fiction and fantasy books you can’t afford to miss in August. Add that to the mention over at Kirkus (in their 11 not-to-miss science fiction and fantasy books for August) and Ranting Dragon (top 20 science fiction and fantasy releases of August), and it seems that things are hotting up!

The Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize has reached the longlist stage, where readers can now vote for their chosen title. The longlist – which includes Empire State, and some other fabulous books – and voting instructions can be found here, so go knock yourself out.

And finally, I’m pleased to say I’ll be a guest at the Morley Literature Festival in October, taking part in a panel on superheroes and science fiction with David Hine, Samit Basu, and Justina Robson. The panel is part of the week-long festival, which is held near Leeds here in the UK, and will cost you £4 to attend – you can find links to buy  tickets on the event page.

And… one more thing: the obligatory reminder that you can still pre-order the limited hardcover collector’s edition of Seven Wonders from Forbidden Planet ahead of the official launch on Thursday 6th September. There are only 100 numbered copies of this, so get in while you can! And actually speaking of pre-orders, it seems the audiobook of Seven Wonders will be out at the same time as the print book, and is narrated by Nick Podehl, who I’m rather pleased with, and who also has read a lot of Patrick Rothfuss’s work. Details are here; I’ll update the order links when I get a moment.

SEVEN WONDERS signed ARC Goodreads contest winner

by on July 31, 2012 in Competition, Empire State, Events, Seven Wonders with No Comments Permanent Link to SEVEN WONDERS signed ARC Goodreads contest winnerPermalink

…And I’m back at my desk after three-and-a-bit weeks away. Which is quite a while away from writing, but I did manage to get some outlining on the last third of The Age Atomic done on a couple of train journeys in Europe. August starts tomorrow, and that’s the month I need to get draft zero of the Empire State sequel done. It’s still going to be a long book – 150,000 words at least – but I overwrite the initial draft, and that should be able to be chopped down some.

Anyway, before I get back into it, the Goodreads competition for a signed ARC of Seven Wonders ended while I was away, and the winner was Charity Martinez! Congratulations, and the signed ARC will be heading your way ASAP!

In other news, Empire State appears to have been nominated by someone for The Guardian’s Not The Booker prize 2012, which is kinda neat. You can read about the prize, nominate and vote for works, here.

Finally, you can still pre-order the limited hardcover collector’s edition of Seven Wonders from Forbidden Planet ahead of the official launch on Thursday 6th September – which has made it into the event listings at Visit London. Cool! There’s also a Facebook event page here which you can add yourself to, if so inclined.

Right, time to attack the to-do list.

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