What I Did In 2016

*phew*

I kept busy...

NOMAD paperback is out tomorrow!

Earlier this year I took a chance on writing something outside the wheelhouse of my more usual sci-fi and genre stuff with Nomad, an original thriller novel published by Bonnier Zaffre books; and I am pleased to say that it has done pretty well out there, hitting the Sunday Times hardback bestseller list for a few weeks with over 50,000 copies sold!

Now I'm getting another shot as Nomad returns for its paperback edition, which starts rolling out from tomorrow in high street stores like WH Smith, Asda and Tesco, with Waterstones, Morrisons and Sainsbury's later in the month.

 

 

 Marc Dane is a MI6 field agent at home behind a computer screen, one step away from the action. But when a brutal attack on his team leaves Marc as the only survivor - and with the shocking knowledge that there are traitors inside MI6 - he's forced into the front line.

But when the evidence seems to point towards Marc as the perpetrator of the attack, he is accused of betraying his country and must race against time to clear his name.

With nowhere to turn to for help and no one left to trust, Marc is forced to rely on the enigmatic Rubicon group and their operative Lucy Keyes. Ex-US Army, Lucy also knows what it's like to be an outsider, and she's got the resources that Marc is sorely lacking.

A terrorist attack is coming, one bigger and more deadly than has ever been seen before. With the eyes of the security establishment elsewhere, only Lucy and Marc can stop the attack before it is too late...

A DEVASTATING TERRORIST ATTACK IN CENTRAL BARCELONA.
AN ELITE UNIT FATALLY AMBUSHED IN NORTHERN FRANCE.
A SINISTER ORPHANAGE IN THE HEART OF THE DESERT.
A TRAITOR BURIED IN THE BRITISH SECURITY SERVICES.

Only one man can unmask the conspiracy - but only if he survives long enough...

This edition also includes an author's letter from me and an excerpt from Exile, the next book in the Rubicon series.

If you didn't pick up Nomad in hardback, now's your chance! The book is also available in digital and audio versions, all of which you can find online here.

Black Library Advent Calendar 2016

An update this weekend from the Black Library Live! 2016 event - BL are continuing their tradition of an advent calendar release for the month of December, publishing 18 eBook short stories and 6 audio dramas from December 1st to Christmas Eve.

The stories will hail from the world of Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, The Horus Heresy and Blood Bowl, and a you'll be able to pick them up individually or opt in now and get a subscription for reduced cost.

I've got a Horus Heresy short story in the mix, but for now we're keeping stuff under wraps with regards to title and content...

 

 

Across the battlefields of the Horus Heresy where brother fights brother, to the humanity's final days ten thousand years later, and from the war-torn Mortal Realms where brave heroes fight to save all from the pervasive grip of Chaos, to the astrogranite where teams of skilled Blood Bowl players vie for glory (and gold), there is one constant: great stories packed with action and drama.

That's what you'll find in the 2016 Black Library Advent Calendar, with eighteen short stories and six audio dramas telling tales from all four of these diverse worlds, filled with heroes, monsters and mayhem.

To subscribe, visit the BL website Here.

GARRO: WEAPON OF FATE cover reveal!

Another week, another cover!

I've been writing the adventures of Battle Captain Nathaniel Garro for a while now, ever since I picked up his story in my Horus Heresy novel The Flight of the Eisenstein, and over the years those tales - told in audio drama form - have become fan favourites in the saga. Last year I mixed things up a little with the publication of Vow of Faith, a novella-length prose story, but people have been asking for some time to see more of Nathaniel in book form...and so here he is.

Once again, m'colleague Neil Roberts outdoes himself with another awesome cover for Weapon of Fate, the "complete" (at least for now) saga of Garro's post-Eisenstein stories all in one volume. Important point to make here - this isn't a script book or a collection of short fiction. Weapon of Fate is a full-length novel in the Horus Heresy series that gathers together and adapts all of the audio stories (Oath of Moment, Legion of One, Burden of Duty, Ashes of Fealty, Sword of Truth and Shield of Lies) and the Vow of Faith novella into a seamless whole with new connective material and an author afterword.

Here's the blurb:

From out of the shadows of the Silent War, a hero emerges. Clad all in grey, an errant warrior of the Legiones Astartes kneels before the Regent of Terra, and accepts a solemn new duty – Battle-Captain Garro, once commander of the Eisenstein, now Agentia Primus of Malcador the Sigillite.

From the desolation of Isstvan to the halls of the Imperial Palace itself, he stands as a paragon of loyalty and protector of the innocent, ever ready to strike back at the traitorous allies of the Warmaster.

But Garro is walking a path of his own, one that may lead him to question his own place in the Imperium... and what if he, too, should falter?

The hardback edition of Garro: Weapon of Fate will be available from Black Library in February next year and you can pre-order it here; and if you want to wait for the paperback edition, that'll be out around late Summer.

And if that's not enough? Here's a bonus cover - although it's just a temporary one for the moment...

2017 will also see Black Library re-releasing my Warhammer 40,000 Sisters of Battle stories in a new omnibus edition - more on that in the months ahead...

EXILE cover reveal (and more!)

So it turns out that October has been a crazy-busy month, with me working on a bunch of new projects for cool folks (including but not limited to new Black Library fiction, a to-be-announced Triple-A videogame project and the novelization of the live-action Ghost in the Shell movie) - but by far the most nifty of things has been finalizing edits on the sequel to my original Sunday Times bestselling thriller Nomad; check out the cover for Exile, the next novel in the Rubicon series!

 

A vicious Serbian gang whose profits come from fake nuclear weapons.

A disgraced Russian general, with access to the real thing.

A vengeful Somali warlord, with a cause for which he'd let the world burn.

A jaded government agency, without the information to stop him.

Only one man sees what's coming. And even he might not be able to prevent it . . .

Racing breathlessly from secret CIA black site prisons to the skyscrapers of Dubai, from stormbeaten oil rigs off the African coast to the ancient caverns beneath the city of Naples, Marc Dane returns in the explosive new thriller from the internationally bestselling author of Nomad...

Exile will be available from Bonnier Zaffre in hardcover format, export trade paperback and Kindle editions in July next year - and you can pre-order a copy right Here!

But before that, the first novel in the Rubicon series Nomad will be out in a mass market paperback edition on December 29th, and that'll feature an excerpt from the first chapter of Exile bound in. In addition, the unabridged audiobook version of Nomad is available now from Bolinda - you can check out all the versions of the book Here.

 

Destination Star Trek Europe!

It's a little short notice, but I will now be appearing at the Destination Star Trek Europe this coming weekend, at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham!

 

Right now, the plan is for me to be on the Voyager Stage on Saturday 8th October from 2.45pm to 3.20pm, along with Jon Van Citters of CBS Licensing and Chris Cooper of Star Trek Magazine to talk about "Star Trek in print and the world of the novels".

Straight after the panel, I'll be off to the retail area to sign books and I'm told there will be copies of Star Trek - The Latter Fire, Star Trek: Titan - Sight Unseen and Star Trek: The Fall - The Poisoned Chalice for purchase there - but I'm happy to sign any of my stuff if you bring it along! (And for those who asked, I *never* charge for autographs)

Other bits of the schedule are still in flux, but it looks like I will also be joinging Ben Robinson from the Eaglemoss team on the Voyager stage on Sunday morning, where we will be talking about Star Trek in comics.

You can check out the full event timetable here.

DAN DARE poster reveal!

Kicking off this week with a gratutious image post of this neat piece of art for Dan Dare: The Audio Adventures...

 

Great work here by Brian Williamson and Pete Hambling on this “movie poster” for “The Red Moon Mystery”, my episode of the forthcoming Dan Dare audio drama.

Coolest touch? I like how Dan is holding one a pistol modelled after the original Lone Star “Dan Dare Space Gun” toys from the 1950′s...

Visit Big Finish's website Here to pre-order a copy of Dan Dare: The Audio Adventures - Volume 1 or check out the trailer Here.

HALO: FRACTURES breaks out!

Back in May I posted a cover reveal for a brand new anthology of fiction based on the Halo videogame universe, and this week - tomorrow to be exact - the book arrives out in the world in trade paperback, eBook and unabridged audio editions.

Halo: Fractures is nearly a dozen shots of action, adventure and high drama from this epic and deep science fiction mythos, and I've written one of them. "Breaking Strain" is set toward the end of the events of Halo 3, on a distant colony planet where the shadow of the Human-Covenant war falls dark and deep. 

 

My story joins fiction from a whole bunch of other cool folks, including my fellow Black Library writer Matt Forbeck and Star Trek novelists Christie Golden and John Jackson Miller, as well was Tobias Buckell, Troy Denning, Kelly Gay, Kevin Grace, Morgan Lockhart, Frank O’Connor and Brian Reed.

 

I've been hooked into the Halo games since I first ventured into the halls of the Silent Cartographer, back in the day of the original game on the Xbox, so it was a tick off my geek bucket list to be able to write some fiction for the series - and it's great to be part of such a stellar line-up.

Here's the back-cover blurb for the Halo: Fractures anthology...

A sensational short story collection in the expansive universe of Halo, the New York Times bestselling series!

Launch once more into galaxy-spanning conflict and legendary heroism…shards of an ever-expanding journey where human and alien alike find their finest hours in facing their greatest challenges.

These scattered stories span untold millennia, from the age of the ancient custodial race known as the Forerunners to the aftermath of the Covenant’s bloody war against humanity and even the shocking events surrounding the resurrection of the mysterious Guardians.

Halo: Fractures explores mythic tales of bravery and sacrifice that blaze brightly at the very heart of the Halo universe.

Check out the publisher page Here or read the official announcement on the Halo Waypoint blog Here!

Dan Dare Returns!

When the Galaxy's Greatest Comic 2000AD arrived in the late 70's to rock my young pre-teen mind, one of the things that came with it was a revival of a classic British space hero - Dan Dare, star of the old Eagle comics that had been the equivalent entertainment for my dad's generation. The UK's Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon, Dare was a two-fisted interplanetary adventurer in the mould of an RAF fighter ace or jungle explorer - and while his 1970's incarnation was different to his original 1950's version, he remained the very model of True Brit, with a stiff upper lip, a line in cool banter a steady hand on the stick.

Dan's been reinvented a bunch of times, not just in comics but also in cartoons and for radio - and so when B7 Media decided to tackle the character for the 21st century, I was delighted to be asked to take part!
 

 

As announced this week, Dan Dare: The Audio Adventures will be released in a few months time by the folks over a Big Finish (with whom I've previously worked on Doctor Who, Stargate and Highlander audio dramas); two box sets are on the way, with volume one featuring my episode The Red Moon Mystery coming out in December and volume two due in February 2017.

Working from the original take on Dare, we've written stories that are inspired by the classic Eagle comics tales - here's the blurb for mine:

The Red Moon Mystery - Unable to return to Earth, Dan Dare and the crew of the Anastasia head to the desolate planet Mars, where Dan's estranged Uncle Ivor is part of a research team working on a top-secret archaeological dig; but when they find the base wrecked and the scientists missing, Dare, Digby and Professor Peabody soon discover that the Red Planet is not nearly as dead as everyone thought and that Ivor’s expedition has woken an army of deadly insect-creatures that threaten to swarm and engulf the Earth… Dare must stop the aliens, but can he really resort to genocide in order to save the human race?

Read the full press release from B7 Media Here or visit Big Finish's website to pre-order the box sets Here.

Star Trek 50

50 years ago today, Star Trek premiered on television, and it's really not an exaggeration to say that a phenomenon was created.

There's going to be a galaxy of think-pieces out there about this over the next few days, some of them thoughtful and some of them mocking, but I'm not likely to read the majority because I know exactly what Star Trek means to me. 

And I'm not going to get starry-eyed about this (well, maybe a little bit) because we are just talking about a TV show...but the fact is, Star Trek has exerted a huge influence on my life, both personally and professionally, and continues to do so to this day. And I love that.

I found this picture of me as kid a while ago; a photo taken on the morning of Christmas Day 1976, and I'm sitting on the sofa in front of some hideous flock wallpaper in my little Arthur Dent dressing gown, holding my new Dinky Toys U.S.S. Enterprise on the verge of some imagined adventure. I look that kid in the eyes and I think of how he has no idea where that ship is going to take him. I think about the exciting places he'll go to, the challenging ideas that will open up to him, the cool things he will get to see and do, the amazing people he will meet...all thanks to this one space show off the telly.

Ten years ago, I wrote about my thoughts on what was the 40th anniversary - here's what I said then and it still holds true:

Star Trek has been good to me. Through it's fandom I made at lot of friends, had good times and I met the most important woman in my life. It helped me earn my living over the years, helped me kick-start my professional scriptwriting career, kept my journalistic endeavours afloat during lean times, and - oh yeah - it gave me plenty of great stories that kept (and continue to keep) me entertained.

I've been watching bits of the original series in recent weeks and rediscovering some of what it was that made me love this saga. Yeah, it has dated all right, but there's still stuff at the core of that show that shines through, decades later. Let's be honest, if there wasn't something unique about Trek, we wouldn't still be talking about it. Some observers might think that in these troubled times it's naive to hold on to a mythology that talks about unity of purpose and a better tomorrow, but last night I watched a documentary about 9/11 and it made me realise that we need these kind of aspirational stories, now more than ever. Star Trek, like Star Wars and Superman et al, are the heroic myths of our era; reinvented, retold, but always with the same intention.

A decade after writing that, I don't have a lot to add. Star Trek is still here, with its original tales backed up by new books and comics, new movies and very soon a new TV series with a new crew on a new starship. I can't wait to see it. I've been lucky enough to tell a dozen stories in Star Trek's mythos, giving back to something that has - and continues to - mean a lot to me. I hope to carry on...maybe for another fifty years.

Once again, here's to all the continuing voyages...

Warhammer 40,000 Legends Collection

Partworks are a thing over here in the UK - handsome collections that build week-by-week into something you will treasure forever, so the adverts say. When I was a kid, I got the massive New Oxford Illustrated Dictionary and The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft that way, and later when I started writing for a living I worked on The Official Star Trek Fact Files, the 007 Spy File and The Official Star Wars Fact File magazines - each issue is part of a larger whole and by the end of the run you usually have a impressive amount of material for your subscription.

Earlier in the year, the people at Hachette Partworks teamed up with Black Library to test-market The Warhammer 40,000 Legends Collection in a similar vein - each issue reprints a hardcover novel from the universe of Warhammer 40,000 and The Horus Heresy in a new larger format with bonus content, subscriber premiums and more. The test was a success, so this week (on Wednesday 7th to be exact) the full release for the collection kicks off, and you can learn all about it at the official website Here.

The Warhammer 40,000 Legends Collection is planned to run for 80 issues and it will feature a few of my novels, alongside work from m'colleagues Dan Abnett, Graham McNeill, Guy Haley, Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Chris Wraight, Gav Thorpe, Rob Sanders and others - check it out at your local newsagent or use the link to subscribe direct...

You Are Hearing Me Talk...to Front Row

Radio 4's Front Row is one of the BBC's most popular and well-regarded magazine shows on arts and entertainment, so it was pretty neat to be asked to come on and talk about writing for videogames for an audience of listeners who are likely to be outside the wheelhouse of most things games related...

This month has seen two big new releases in the video gaming world: the highly anticipated No Man Sky, which promises an infinite, constantly regenerating universe for players to discover, and the latest instalment in the sci-fi blockbuster franchise Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. From an economic perspective, games have outperformed other creative industries for years, and they're also nurturing the best creative writing talent. 

 

So how do writers fit in to this multi-billion pound industry? Novelist and scriptwriter James Swallow, whose game writing credits include Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and No Man's Sky, and scriptwriter and story designer Rhianna Pratchett, whose credits include Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, discuss.

 

Samira Ahmed interviewed m'colleague Rhianna Pratchett and I on last Friday's show, where we talked about our work on the Tomb Raider and Deus Ex games, as well as the nature of narrative design and the future of game stories; check out the show here via this Link - Rhi and I are on from the 13:26 mark...

DEUS EX DAY!

The wait is over; it's time to get augmented and return to the dark world of cyberpunk and conspiracy in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided....

The year is 2029, and mechanically augmented humans have now been deemed outcasts, living a live of segregation on the fringes of society. Adam Jensen is now an experienced covert operative, forced to work in a world that has grown to despise his kind. Armed with a new arsenal of state-of-the-art weapons and augmentations, he must find a path through a wilderness of secrets and learn who to trust, if he is to unravel the vast conspiracy that threatens to control the future of all humanity...

Back in 2008 I was recruited to work on Deus Ex: Human Revolution with the Eidos Montreal studio, starting a working relationship with the EM team that I am proud to still be a part of eight years on. DXHR was a hit that earned us great criticial acclaim, including several award nominations (among them a personal BAFTA nom for Best Story!); I got to follow that up with original fiction in the novel Deus Ex: Icarus Effect and the eBook novella Deus Ex: Fallen Angel, along with story work on the mobile title Deus Ex: The Fall.

But now the next iteration of stories in the Deus Ex world have arrived, and it has been my pleasure to contribute to the critical path storyline for Mankind Divided - available today on PC, Playstation 4 and XBox One platforms. Also officially available today is Deus Ex: Black Light, my original novel that spans the gap between DXHR and DXMD, and Deus Ex: Hard Line, an exclusive digital novella available with the DXMD Day One and Collector's Edition releases.

 

For more information about the world of Deus Ex, check out the official site Here.

Deus Ex: Black Light is available from Titan Books Here.

DEUS EX: BLACK LIGHT is out next week!

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided hits next week on August 23rd, but that's also the official release date for Deus Ex: Black Light, the prequel novel I wrote that connects the storyline of the new game to the shattering conclusion of the previous game, Deus Ex: Human Revolution...

At the conclusion of Human Revolution, cybernetically-enhanced ex-cop Adam Jensen was driven to stop a global conspiracy against his fellow augmented - an act that plunged the world into turmoil and threw Jensen into an uncertain future. Months later, he awakens in a secure medical facility with missing memories and new dangers to face.

Black Light takes Jensen back to where it all began, on the mean streets of Detroit, and sets up the events that will lead him into Mankind Divided...

 

 

The year is 2029, and the shining promise of a new age of human augmentation is in ruins in the wake of the devastating ‘Aug Incident’ – a horrific catastrophe triggered by a cabal of shadowy power brokers, where millions of cybernetically-enhanced people suffered a forced psychotic break.

Awakening in the aftermath of a changed world, with gaps in his memories and suspicion on all sides, augmented ex-cop and former security operative Adam Jensen struggles to piece his life back together, in a new reality where ‘Augs’ have become the targets of hatred, fear and violent discrimination.

Now the dark forces behind the Incident are gathering once again, reaching out to manipulate the course of global events through terror and intimidation. To find the answers that he seeks and the people who destroyed everything he knew, Jensen must return to the ashes of the past, reconnect with old allies, and risk all to expose a deadly conspiracy – but in a world shattered by secrets, can the truth be brought into the light?

Deus Ex: Black Light is published by Titan Books in the UK and US in both dead-tree and ebook editions on the 23rd (details Here), and Milady Books will be releasing a French-language edition a few days later on the 26th (details Here).

Check out a sneak peek at the first few chapters of Here, or if you'd like to see more of the work by the novel's cover artist (one of the senior concept artists at Eidos Montreal), visit the online portolio of Bruno Gauthier LeBlanc right Here.

DEUS EX: HARD LINE cover reveal

We're just over a week away from the release of the next iteraton of the Deus Ex videogame franchise on August 23rd, and I've been very proud to be a part of the writing team behind Deus Ex: Mankind Divided! But working on the story and script for the game hasn't been my only contribution to the world of this conspiracy-laden cyberpunk future - the 23rd will also see the release of Deus Ex: Black Light, a prequel novel that fills in some of the missing time between the end of the previous game Human Revolution and the start of Mankind Divided.

But that's not all: I've also authored the new original eBook novella Deus Ex: Hard Line (featuring the backstory of the character Alex Vega) which will be available as part of the Collector's Edition and Day One Edition releases of DXMD.

 

I love this moody, noir-inspired cover for Hard Line by Nicolas Lizotte, one of the senior concept artists at Eidos Montreal! You can see more of Nicolas's work Here at his online portfolio.

You can learn more about everything else in the Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Collector's Edition by checking out this unboxing video with producer Jean-Francois Dugas Here.

 

Your Universe Awaits

No Man's Sky is here!

Today's that day the hype becomes real and the gateway to a galaxy of 18 quintillion explorable planets opens; I've been fortunate enough to write some of the lore for No Man's Sky, contributing key text to the game itself and writing "Ashes & Iron", an original short story for Adventures In No Man's Sky, a pulp SF collection that comes packaged with the game's Limited Edition release - and I am hugely excited to have been part of this ambitious new gameworld.

Check out my earlier posts about working on the project Here and Here.

You can pick up No Man's Sky on the PS4 in the ordinary or Limited Edition versions Here, via Steam for the PC Here, or get the exclusive Explorer's Edition Here.

Writing Under No Man’s Sky

August is going to be a packed month for cool videogame releases (certainly for me!), and it kicks off next week with the arrival of No Man’s Sky, the hotly-anticipated science-fiction exploration epic from Hello Games.

I’ve talked about NMS previously, because of my involvement with Adventures in No Man’s Sky, an original fiction collection published by Dark Horse Comics that comes packaged with the game’s PlayStation 4 Limited Edition collection.

 

 

I was lucky enough to be invited to contribute to the lore of the NMS universe along with famous artists like Angus McKie and Dave Gibbons.I got to write a short story called “Ashes & Iron”, for which Dave has drawn some fantastic illustrations in the style of the old classic SF pulp magazines like Galaxy, Astounding and Amazing Stories.

 

But what I haven’t talked about until now is that I was also invited by Hello Games producer Sean Murray to join his team and contribute some writing to the game itself.

The universe of No Man’s Sky contains many mysteries for players to unravel and much to explore – I am reliably informed that the game contains 184446744073709551616 planets. As much as that number looks like I just mashed my hand on the keypad, I am assured it is accurate (!)

I got to write a little of the material that intrepid explorers will find in abandoned locations across these myriad worlds, as well as lore that will peel back some of the unknowns around the strange phenomena known as the Atlas – and I can’t wait to get in there myself and start visiting some alien vistas.

No Man’s Sky is out on PS4 on August 9th, and PC a few days later. Check out the official website here.

New Book Day - Deus Ex: Black Light

Nomad: One Month Later

It's been a month now since my new thriller novel Nomad hit bookstores and I'm pleased to say it's doing well! Three weeks to date in the Sunday Times hardcover bestseller list (charting highest at #5) and making the top six Kindle titles on Amazon's Crime & Thriller list means a lot of people have been giving it a read, and to one and all I would like to say a heartfelt thank you!

 

 

Nomad was a real roll of the dice for me as a genre writer to try something new in the thriller mould and it's been great to see the surge in audience interest. My thanks to the team at Bonnier Zaffre and United Agents for all their hard work on the launch - and more so to all my friends, family and colleagues who have been so supportive in these past few weeks; I <3 you guys!

Around the launch of Nomad, I did a few blogs, Q&A's and the like - and so for your interest, here's a full list...

I talk about inspiration with the Writing.IE website.

I share my Top 5 Fictional Espionage Agencies with Nudge.

Here's a transcript of the Live Twitter Q&A I did with Bonnier Zaffre Books.

I discuss the Enduring Appeal of Espionage Fiction with Foyles.

Another Q&A, this time with the Bibliomaniac blog.

This guest post at The Civilian Reader blog talks about the music of Nomad.

I talk about some of the Exotic Tech in Nomad with The Crime Warp blog.

Over here I chat to the Irish Times about writing locations.

And of course, if you'd like to buy a copy of Nomad, look for it in your local bookstore, supermarket or right Here!

 

New Book(let) Day: No Man's Sky

New book day is always the best day!

Check out the cover art for Adventures In No Man's Sky, an exclusive anthology featuring the comic strip "Cargo" by industry legends Dave Gibbons and Angus McKie, and the prose story "Ashes & Iron" by me...

 

Adventures In No Man's Sky will be available as part of the No Man's Sky Limited Edition release for the PlayStation 4, and you can learn more about that Here.

Nomad Updates!

I don't think I've deluged all you good people with quite enough promo madness for my new novel just yet; and so I've got a couple more updates for your entertainment...

First, Here I am appearing on my good friend Adam Rosser's Game On show talking about Nomad (even reading a bit) and a little about Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

Then, Here's me talking to The Irish Times about the importance of locations in writing and when writing.

And however you want to slice it, it seems that all this bloggage has been doing the trick, because I am very pleased to say that Nomad has leapt from the #12 slot in last week's hardcover bestseller list to #5 for this week (and #6 in the Sunday Times!)

So to everyone out there who bought my book, please accept a big thank you from me! You support is very much appreciated! (And for anyone who hasn't yet picked up a copy, allow me to gently remind you that Nomad is available online and at all good bookstores!)

You Are Hearing Me Talk...to Arena

It's now been a full week since my new thriller novel Nomad hit bookstores and I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has been picking it up over the last few days - the book is doing well in hardcover format and the ebook edition made it to #6 in the Amazon Crime Thriller charts in just a couple of days, so your support is greatly appreciated!

In the meantime, my mission to promote Nomad far and wide included a brief interview with Arena, a show on Ireland RTE 1 radio station on Friday, and you can check out the show's page on the RTE site right Here.

I talk about the main characters and the themes in Nomad, high energy radio frequency weapons, truth being stranger than fiction, the significance of April 18th in my career and more besides...

And as ever, Nomad is available for order online or at your local bookstore....

Talking Exotic Tech with Crime Warp

Today's Nomad blog - as part of my ongoing promotion for my new thriller novel - is a short piece I did for the Crime Warp blog talking about the research into Exotic Tech that I did for the book.
 

Check it out Here!

Meanwhile, Nomad is available Here in hardcover, trade paperback and ebook editions...

The NOMAD soundtrack

Continuing my daily blogging run as part of the promotion for my new thriller novel Nomad, today's entry is a guest blog over at The Civilian Reader.

 

Check it out Here; I talk about using music as an aid for writing and my choices while writing Nomad, and I've selected a few cuts from my playlist that for the novel's soundtrack...

Nomad is available Here.

Talking NOMAD with BiblioManiac

Today's promo piece for the new release of my thriller novel Nomad is an interview I did for Katherine Sunderland's BiblioManiac blog, and you can check it out right Here.

I talk about my inspiration for the book, the character of Marc Dane and the unique challenges of writing for novels and videogames...

And meanwhile, Nomad is on sale now in all bookstores and online Here...

The Enduring Appeal of Espionage Fiction

My global(ish) blog tour continues today with another brief piece for Foyles, and this time it's a collection of thoughts on the Enduring Appeal of Espionage Fiction - just what is that unique quality makes spy stories so compelling?

Check out the blog Here.

Meanwhile, my new thriller novel Nomad is available Here, with a limted time deal on the eBook edition for just 99p...

NOMAD Twitter Q&A Transcript

Last week, on launch day for my new thriller novel Nomad, I took over my publisher’s Twitter feed for a live Q&A session about the book – you can follow them at @BonnierZaffre – and here’s a transcript of the conversation...

 

 

Hi everyone, James Swallow here! I've hacked @BonnierZaffre's twitter feed(!), so we have an hour before security track me down...

I'm here to answer any questions I can about my new thriller novel #Nomad, so ask away!

First off, John Deane on email wants to know: 'Who are your favourite writers?'

For thrillers: I'm a fan of Robert Ludlum, Ian Fleming, Tom Clancy, Greg Rucka, James Cobb + many more!

I've always liked action-adventure & I wanted to embrace the challenge of writing in a different genre. And also thrillers are cool.

That last answer was to @misshelved's question: 'What made you decide to write this story?'

@Emily_BookPR asks 'Can you describe #Nomad in 5 words?'

Betrayal. Explosions. Fugitive. Revelation. Redemption.

Marc Dane & I are both technophiles, so I had fun getting into the weeds a little with all that stuff!

Whoops, did that again; last answer was to @NicoLondon1985 'What part/angle of the book did you enjoy writing the most, and why?'

@robcox85 asks 'If you had a Stan Lee-style cameo in the #Nomad film, what would you be doing?'

Ha! That's a great question! I think I'd like to be the guy who sells Marc Dane his high-tech spy-gear laptop...

An email Q from Ron Sinterklaas: Would you like to make #Nomad into a video game?

An action-rpg in the style of Mass Effect, Deus Ex or the underrated Alpha Protocol would be very cool.

@LaurieGoulding asks 'You're known as a champion of tie-in fiction - how did writing #Nomad differ from those sorts of projects?'

With original work, you don't have the safety net of an established world, but you do have "reality" to draw from. Both are challenging!
Following on from that...

@cynicalcylon asks 'Tie-in stories have their history ready for referencing, but how do you research a story of this type?’

I read everything I can get my hands on - tech blogs, security reports, stuff about digital security and hacking groups.

@MadeleineReiss asks 'You have written so much over the last 15 years do you ever worry that you will run out of ideas?'

Actually, I'm more worried I'll get too old to type before I have a chance to write all the stories I have kicking around!

@ThePeterJEvans sez 'Most of your previous work has been SF – did writing a real-world story feel restricting in any way?'

Yes & No! Restrictive because you can't invent new stuff so easily, but helpful because the real world is your resource.

@budding_author asks 'have you ever written a scene based in a country you've never visited? If so how do you make it authentic?'

Nothing beats having been there, but if you can't - research, research, research! Authenticity is all about getting the feel right.

@p_s_clarke wants to know my 'biggest influences while writing the story?'

Definitely the works of Ludlum, Fleming etc.

We've got 15 mins left on the clock, so post your questions to @BonnierZaffre using the #Nomad hashtag & I'll try to get to them all!

Another from @misshelved 'If Nomad was turned into a film - who would you see as Marc and Lucy?'

Maybe @Liam_J_McIntyre for Marc Dane. In my head, Lucy looks like Josette Simon circa 1981!

@rose_mannering asks 'how long did it take you to write it and what changed when your first idea to the finished book?'

I started building the plotline for #Nomad in 2008; it was probably 4 months of writing spread out over a couple of years.

I did a lot of work on the plot before I wrote anything, so the final version didn't change much.

@BraD_lutz asked 'Have you already fleshed out ideas for future adventures with Marc Dane?'

@NessHolly asked 'Will #Nomad be a standalone or are you hoping to revisit the characters?'

The answer to both questions is yes, Marc will return in follow-up story in 2017, and I have more stories to tell beyond that (I hope!)

@BashayerBebita asked 'Why did you choose the Arabic in ur cover, do you speak the language?'

I wish I did! I have little skill with languages! The Arabic text on #Nomad's cover was a design idea from the art team.

@char_zine asked 'What's your favourite gadget ever invented and why?'

That's a tough one. I'd say the Walkman & later the iPod, because I like having my music with me wherever I go. Smartphone for 2nd.

Okay, the firewalls are cracking so I'll making my escape soon...

Thanks to everyone for participating in the #Nomad Q&A! Some excellent questions there! It was a pleasure to talk to you all!

If you have more questions, follow me over at @jmswallow or my blog at http://jamesswallow.blogspot.co.uk/ & check out #Nomad!

Nomad is on sale now, and you can order a copy Here.

 

My Top 5 Fictional Espionage Agencies

Over at Nudge, the website for the NewBooks magazine for readers and book groups, there's a competition runnign to win one of five copies of my new thriller novel Nomad, and as a run in for that, they asked my to write something about things I enjoy in the spy genre.
 

So, I chose to write a Top 5 of my favourite fictional espionage agencies and what makes each of them so interesting...

Read the piece Here; and feel free to suggest your own Top 5 Spy-Fi organizations in the comments.

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Talking Inspiration with Writing.ie

Writing.ie is one of Ireland's foremost resource sites and discussion blogs for authors and readers, and I was very pleased to be asked to write a blog entry for them as part of my ongoing promotional effort for Nomad, my new novel.

They asked me to jot down something about "inspiration" and what came out the other end was an honest ramble through a bit of my own personal backstory and some of the motivation that made me want to write my thriller...

Check out my words Here...

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NOMAD is out today!

And so, after travelling a long, long road, I am very proud to announce that my new thriller novel Nomad is on sale!

Published by Bonnier Zaffre, it's available in hardcover and export trade paperback - and for a limited time, you can snatch it up on eBook for just under £1!

 

 

 FIND THE TRUTH BEFORE THEY FIND YOU

WHERE DO YOU TURN WHEN YOUR COUNTRY TURNS ON YOU?

Marc Dane is a MI6 field agent at home behind a computer screen, one step away from the action. But when a brutal attack on his team leaves Marc as the only survivor - and with the shocking knowledge that there are traitors inside MI6 - he's forced into the front line.

But when the evidence seems to point towards Marc as the perpetrator of the attack, he is accused of betraying his country and must race against time to clear his name.

With nowhere to turn to for help and no one left to trust, Marc is forced to rely on the enigmatic Rubicon group and their operative Lucy Keyes. Ex-US Army, Lucy also knows what it's like to be an outsider, and she's got the resources that Marc is sorely lacking.

A terrorist attack is coming, one bigger and more deadly than has ever been seen before. With the eyes of the security establishment elsewhere, only Lucy and Marc can stop the attack before it is too late...

A DEVASTATING TERRORIST ATTACK IN CENTRAL BARCELONA.
AN ELITE UNIT FATALLY AMBUSHED IN NORTHERN FRANCE.
A SINISTER ORPHANAGE IN THE HEART OF THE DESERT.
A TRAITOR BURIED IN THE BRITISH SECURITY SERVICES.

Only one man can unmask the conspiracy - but only if he survives long enough...

--ADVANCE PRAISE FOR NOMAD--

'An intelligent, likable and, above all, believable hero is faced with a frighteningly credible threat in a thriller that hits the tarmac running and doesn't stop accelerating until its terrifying conclusion.'
-    Ben Aaronovitch, author of the Sunday Times bestselling PC Peter Grant novels

'A terrific white-knuckle, lip-chewing thriller. Marc Dane is the British Jason Bourne. About bloody time!'
-    Rhianna Pratchett, WGA Award-winning writer of Tomb Raider and Mirror's Edge.

'Exciting and thought-provoking in equal measure, Nomad is a thinking reader's thrill ride. James Swallow has written a benchmark technothriller for the 21st century, one that's as engrossing as it is plausible.'
-    Richard Dansky, Central Tom Clancy writer on Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six and The Division.

To order a copy of Nomad, click Here! And if you enjoy the book, a positive review over on Amazon and Goodreads would be much appreciated!

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Tags: nomad

 

Advance reviews for NOMAD

5 Days From Now: NOMAD is coming!

You Are Hearing Me Talk...to BAFTA Guru

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) have been doing a lot over the past few years to make videogames an important part of their organization, and most recently there was a whole day of games-related events as part of the BAFTA Guru program - as the official site Here says, "Guru is bursting with advice from the best creative minds in the industries so whether you're an actor, a games developer or a cinematographer, we've got something for you."

I was pleased to be part of the Guru Live event last month, where I took part in a panel called "The Storytellers", along with Meg Jayanth (80 Days) and Rob Yescombe (The Division), hosted by Guy Cocker, where we talked about the various challenges of writing for interactive media. You can click on the panel below or go Here to listen.

 
BAFTA Guru have now put up all the audio recordings from the games day and you can check out the rest of them Here.

HALO: FRACTURES cover reveal!

When I first saw Halo, the game that would become Xbox's killer app was still in deep prototype and the console that would make it a hit hadn't even been announced yet; but even back then I saw the potential for awesomeness in the saga, and when Halo: Combat Evolved arrived in 2001, I was on board. Drawn in by the epic scope and the visceral, dynamic gameplay, I was in for the long haul - and a decade and a bit later, I'm still engaged in Master Chief's world.

So naturally, when I learned that Simon & Schuster (with whom I've worked on Star Trek fiction for several years) were picking up the license to produce all-new original stories in the Halo universe, I knew that was a flag I had to capture. I pitched myself to S&S and the folks at 343 Industries and the end result was an opportunity to write a story set deep in the continuity of the saga, as part of a new anthology called Halo: Fractures. The book will release this September under the Gallery Books imprint in trade paperback, eBook and unabridged audio editions.

 

 

I'll be joining a literary strike team of writers that also includes Tobias Buckell, Troy Denning, Matt Forbeck, Kelly Gay, Christie Golden, Kevin Grace, Morgan Lockhart, John Jackson Miller, Frank O’Connor and Brian Reed - and I'll talk more about my work in the collection in the months ahead.

Launch once more into galaxy-spanning conflict and legendary heroism…shards of an ever-expanding journey where human and alien alike find their finest hours in facing their greatest challenges.

These scattered stories span untold millennia, from the age of the ancient custodial race known as the Forerunners…to the aftermath of the Covenant’s bloody war against humanity…and even the shocking events surrounding the resurrection of the mysterious Guardians.

Halo: Fractures explores mythic tales of bravery and sacrifice that blaze brightly at the very heart of the Halo universe.

For more about Halo: Fractures, check out the posting on the official Halo Waypoint blog Here, or for pre-order information, go Here.

DEUS EX: BLACK LIGHT cover reveal!

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is the next release in the Deus Ex videogame saga, due out on August 23rd - and as well as writing for DXMD, as part of the expanding franchise I've written a new tie-in novel - Deus Ex: Black Light.

 

The year is 2029, and the shining promise of a new age of human augmentation is in ruins in the wake of the devastating ‘Aug Incident’ – a horrific catastrophe triggered by a cabal of shadowy power brokers, where millions of cybernetically-enhanced people suffered a forced psychotic break.

Awakening in the aftermath of a changed world, with gaps in his memories and suspicion on all sides, augmented ex-cop and former security operative Adam Jensen struggles to piece his life back together, in a new reality where ‘Augs’ have become the targets of hatred, fear and violent discrimination.

Now the dark forces behind the Incident are gathering once again, reaching out to manipulate the course of global events through terror and intimidation. To find the answers that he seeks and the people who destroyed everything he knew, Jensen must return to the ashes of the past, reconnect with old allies, and risk all to expose a deadly conspiracy – but in a world shattered by secrets, can the truth be brought into the light?

The novel is set between the end of Human Revolution and the beginning of Mankind Divided; Deus Ex: Black Light will be published in paperback and eBook editions by Titan Books on August 23rd.

Eidos Montreal's offical blog announced the release Here.

 

Breaking the Silence

The newest Horus Heresy anthology collection from Black Library - The Silent War - is now available in hardcover, digital eBook and audio versions!

The Silent War features three stories by me - "Lost Sons", a Blood Angels tale and companion piece to my novel Fear To Tread, and two Knight Errant stories "Ghosts Speak Not" and "Patience". You'll also find tales from C Z Dunn, John French, Nick Kyme, Graham McNeill, Anthony Reynolds, Rob Sanders and Chris Wraight.

Check out the website Here to order whichever version you might care to procure; you can also go Here to listen to an audio clip from my story "Ghosts Speak Not", read by Jonathan Keeble.

One Month From Now: NOMAD is coming!

DEUS EX MANKIND DIVIDED 101 Trailer

August rolls ever closer, and with it comes the release of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the next in the landmark Deus Ex game series; I worked on the script and story for DXMD, and you can hear some of that in this new trailer - six whole minutes of hero Adam Jensen laying out the themes and scenario around the events of Mankind Divided. (Warning: some story spoilers in here for a few early plot elements).

 

 

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is out on August 23rd of Playstation 4, XBox One and PC platforms - as will my new Deus Ex novel Black Light, which acts as a bridge between the end of the previous game Human Revolution and the beginning of DXMD.

NEMESIS Collector's Edition

The ongoing hardcoverfication of Black Library's epic Horus Heresy saga continues apace, and with it this month comes the 3rd of my novels for the series and the 13th overall, the assassin drama Nemesis...

You can pick up editions of Nemesis in the original paperback version, in digital eBook format, as an audiobook read by Jonathan Keeble and now in the hardback "collector's edition", which includes additional illustrations and an afterword by me.

All versions are available at the Black Library website Here, where you'll also find audio, epub and mobi file extracts.

NOMAD hardcover reveal

I'm just posting this 'cos I can; check out the hardcover of my forthcoming thriller novel Nomad, due for release on June 2nd....

MECH: Age of Steel is ALIVE!

Back in July last year I mentioned plans for MECH: Age of Steel, a giant-robot themed anthology in the pipeline (five by five) from the gang at Ragnarok Publications - with whom I previously worked on their 2013 short story collection Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters - and I'm now pleased to say that the Kickstater campaign for the book is underway!

I've always loved mecha - from the early days of stuff like the Megaro Zamac model kits and Micronauts toys, through to anime like Robotech, Mobile Suit Gundam, Metal Armor Dragonar, Patlabor, Martian Successor Nadesico, Neon Genesis Evangelion and right up to date with Pacific Rim - so it was a lot of fun for me to write "Toy Soldier", my original military SF tale for this collection.

I also get to join an all-star strike team of authors for MECH: Age of Steel; edited by Tim Marqutiz and Nick Sharps, along with me M:AoS will feature stories by my Black Library colleagues Graham McNeill and C.L. Werner, as well as Kevin J. Anderson & David Boop, Jody Lynn Nye, Peter Clines, Jeremy Robinson, Martha Wells, Jeffrey J. Mariotte & Marsheila Rockwell, J.C. Koch, Mark Teppo, Ramez Naam & Jason M. Hough, Jeff Somers, Anton Strout, Bill Fawcett, Shawn Speakman, M.L. Brennan, James R. Tuck, Jennifer Brozek, Kane Gilmour, Mallory Reaves, Andrew Liptak and Steve Diamond.

The book has two great covers (see below) - the blue/sliver one is for the paperback/ebook/retail edition and the "cherry blossom" version is a Kickstarter exclusive.

MECH's Kickstarter runs through until Friday May 13th 2016, and we're already past the 30% funded figure after the first 24 hours! If you'd like to sign on, check out the official KS page Here, where you'll find full details of the pledge levels and perks available.

You Are Hearing Me Talk...About Star Trek & Videogames

I've been busy on a bunch of writing projects over the past couple of weeks, so I've been slack on posting some new bits up here on the blog - to redress that balance, here are some linkys to a few interviews I did last month...

First, check out episode 142 ("Star Trek Vs. Godzilla") of Trek FM's Literary Treks books and comics show, where I talk with Dan Gunther and Matt Rushing about my new classic Star Trek novel The Latter Fire. Click here to stream the show.

You can also find me talking about Star Trek, games and a bunch of other stuff on episode 229 of the G & T Show live podcast from the start of the show to the 1:45 mark. Click here to listen.

And lastly, I'm here discussing videogames (specifically the recently released mmo-shooter-rpg hybrid The Division) on BBC Radio 5 Live's Game On show. Click here to listen.