NB. This is pretty comprehensive round-up of the UK scene though necessarily arbitrary in some inclusions and omissions. As mentioned elsewhere we tend to assume that anyone looking for their next paranormal romance and / or vampire-werewolf led read will know exactly where to find it. This isn’t an attempt to define the sub-genre and while we’re more than happy to hear about obvious omissions we all have to draw a line somewhere. |
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Just what is it about London? The number of people? A history so rich it becomes a mythos also? That it’s the capital? Well all of the above and more – including the fact they say ‘write what you know’ and there’s more than a few writing types in the Big Smoke. |
Somewhere between highlights and exhaustive compilation, here’s our compilation of extraordinary London titles: fantastical and speculative, the cultural, subcultural and political, historical and mythological, steampunk and urban fantasy, the mercurial and the liminal… Title copy is the publishers; just click the hyperlink in the month field to see what we had to say on the title and other (non-London) titles published that month. | |
Here’s to the Big City – Enjoy! |
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Last year saw the debut of original, canonical stories of Ben Aaronovitch‘s bestselling Rivers of London in comic form, courtesy of the author, Dr Who show-runner Andrew Cartmel, comic artist and veteran of Who strips Lee Sullivan and Titan Comics. Titled Rivers of London: Body Work (our preview page of that volume), it was released as a collection in March of this year (brought forward a little from April). | ![]() |
But that’s not the end for the comic adventures of policeman and wizard Peter Grant – because Ben, Andrew, Lee and co have gone almost straight into the sequel. So here it is – issue 2 now just published at time of writing – our series preview page for the latest, Rivers of London: Night Witch! Check out the interior art and check back for more which we’ll add as and when we receive it… |
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I sighed loud enough that my horse, Benny’s, ears flicked back at me. Perhaps that was an overly dramatic summation of my current situation, but then life had taken some dramatic turns of late. Not so long ago, Nate Sixkiller of the US Marshal Service had joined Parks Southern as my colleague. I hadn’t welcomed the coupling, but I was beginning to tolerate it a little better than at first. I worked better alone, and so, I decided, did he.
Together, he and I were supposed to be assisting the Global Joint Intelligence Commission (GJIC) in their preparation to halt some kind of Other Worldly coup. Read the rest of this entry »
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In 2011 Ben Aaronovitch stole London’s supernatural stage with the debut of the first volume of his PC Peter Grant urban fantasy series. Now with five out, the sixth coming this November, TV rights optioned and over a million copies sold worldwide, it’s been nothing short of a phenomenon. | ![]() |
Another author would happily sit on their nicely defined prose career, with a safe mainstream following: not so Ben A. | ||
Because courtesy of the author, Dr Who show-runner Andrew Cartmel – Ben himself having two episodes to his name – and comic artist and veteran of Who strips Lee Sullivan, comes an entirely canonical Peter Grant comic series from Titan Comics! |
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“I’ve been a massive fan of the series for a long time and it’s always a dream to bring something you revere to life as a comic, especially when you’re working with such an incredible team of creators!” says Steve White, Titan Comics Senior Editor.
Set between Broken Homes and Foxglove Summer (books 4 and 5) Rivers of London: Body Work arrives as a collected graphic novel in December, but the first comic of five was released on the 15th July for those who simply can’t wait – and why should you?
Here’s a trailer and a taster from Titan as to what you can look forward to…
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www.tompollock.com (The authors site & blog) |
www.skyscraperthrone.com | |
@tomhpollock | |
Trope-forging urban fantasy author of the London-based adult / YA Skyscraper Throne trilogy |
About (from Jo Fletcher Books / the author himself):
Tom Pollock is a graduate of the Sussex University Creative Writing Programme, and a member of the London-based writers’ group The T-Party. A longtime fan of science fiction and fantasy, Tom Pollock has spectacularly failed to grow out of his obsession with things that don’t, in the strictest sense of the word, exist. He has his master of fine arts degree from Sussex University and also holds a master’s degree in philosophy and economics from Edinburgh University. He has lived everywhere from Scotland to Sumatra, but the peculiar magic of London has always drawn him back.
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www.mikeandpeter.com – Mike Carey and Peter Gross |
Mike Carey’s Goodreads page | |
On Wikipedia | |
On Comic Book DB (Database) | |
@michaelcarey191 | |
(Photo by Luigi Novi) |
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www.benedictjacka.co.uk |
On Little Brown (Orbit author) | |
On Goodreads | |
On Wikipedia | |
@BenedictJacka | |
About (from Orbit / Little Brown): Benedict Jacka became a writer almost by accident, when at 19 he sat in his school library and began writing in the back of an exercise book. Since then he has studied philosophy at Cambridge, lived in China and worked as everything from civil servant to bouncer to teacher before returning to London to take up law, but has always found the time to keep writing. | ![]() |
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www.the-folly.com |
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www.temporarilysignificant.blogspot.co.uk |
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On Gollancz |
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On Wikipedia |
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@Ben_Aaronovitch |
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Bestselling Urban Fantasy author of the RIVERS OF LONDON and the PC PETER GRANT sequels!
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www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static |
www.facebook.com/charlesstross | |
On Wikipedia | |
@cstross | |
“I tell lies for money. (Author, not politician.)” | |
(Photo by Cory Doctorow – EasterCon 2012) |
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(Condensed intro – read in full HERE)
It’s a real A-List zone in February – hard to get down to something approaching a concise shortlist of recommended titles, and selecting a Book of the Month is more or less impossible…
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The first month of 2015 brings readers a superb list from which to pick their next read, and anyone attempting to recommend an unenviable task in trying to pick the best – one we couldn’t quite achieve without allowing ourselves a joint award. Read the rest of this entry »