Andy Remic - author of the military SF novels Spiral, Quake, Warhead, War Machine and Biohell - has confirmed on his blog that he's signed a deal with Angry Robot (the new HarperCollins genre imprint) for a trilogy of "hardcore vampire(ish) heroic fantasy novels."Remic elaborates: "Kell's Legend is already finished, and just undergoing editing - it's a kick ass new angle on heroic fantasy which should appeal to readers of David Gemmell and Raymond Feist."
Sounds promising. The official word from Angry Robot is as follows: "We’re delighted and just a little scared to welcome ANDY REMIC to our ravening horde. His reputation as the hard man of British SF is well-deserved. Now he’s taking the tough guy stylings of Quake, Spiral and his recent Combat-K novels into fantasy, for a brand new trilogy that sees him, in one mighty bound, become the natural successor to the much-missed David Gemmell.
KELL’S LEGEND, due September 2009 in mass-market paperback, introduces Kell, grizzled veteran warrior much at odds with a civilised world where humanity has become soft. When a new foe arises to threaten the city of Jalder, only Kell remembers that to live, you have to fight, and fight dirty. But how can one man hold off against the Vachine, the terrifying clockwork vampires of legend?"
Natural successor to David Gemmell? Fighting talk from Angry Robot, not to mention bold - David Gemmell's passing has left a gulf in British heroic fantasy that is yet to be filled, and to do so will be no easy task. However, Remic seems undaunted by the expectation placed on his shoulders by the comparison, stating, "I was very proud of the David Gemmell bit, as Dave was the man who started me off writing when I first read Legend in 1987. I corresponded with David many times, which culminated in a drinking session after a book signing in Manchester. So, I am proud to say, I got drunk with David Gemmell."
I'm looking forward to seeing how Kell's Legend turns out, not to mention seeing how Remic handles fantasy after making his name as a writer of SF. It certainly sounds like it has echoes of Gemmell, and if it does then it should be right up my street...
6 comments:
I'll be interested to see. I read his novel Warhead. It was enjoyable and packed full of wall to wall carnage and on the stregth of it I bought his first Combat K novel. Although since my reading pile is slowly elevating my bed to the ceiling I haven't quite got around to it yet. I have no doubt that he can 'do' action. As for him replacing David Gemmell I will reserve judgement until I have read his first fantasy novel.
Min you clockwork vampires are bound to be interesting.
I'm not sure there's any 'need' to be the next David Gemmell. Can't authors just be themselves?
That said, if there was a next David Gemmell we already have him in the shape of Paul Kearney. And if there needs to be some official anointment of the mantle, it'll come at the first Gemmell Awards in two months (where I suspect Joe Abercrombie will pick it up, but we'll see).
I got drunk with David Gemmell and Terry Pratchett once at a hotel bar in Sydney in 98. It was AWESOME!
This could be an intriguing trilogy indeed, I wonder when it will be published in the states??? Thanks for the post and the update! : )
It'll be published in the US at the same time as the UK, I believe. So - September 2009 for the first book. :-) And yes, Abercrombie is very good.
I think the whole 'Gemmell successor' thing is meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek; I mean, I'm not sure you can replace Gemmell - the man was a legend and he was a wonderful storyteller. I think it's suggesting that Andy is writing in similar style and tradition, and that's good enough for me.
The Ten Thousand certainly is very Gemmell-esque, no doubt.
I agree - I think Abercrombie will walk away with the Gemmell award, mainly because he has the biggest online fanbase and the award is purely an online award. So it's all a bit pointless. The whole 'spirit of David Gemmell' thing goes out of the window - it's about votes, not about the type of novel (or even how good it is).
Actually, I might have a bit of a rant about the Gemmell award, because I think it's going down the toilet...
Post a Comment