JG at The Greatest Steampunk Exhibition

I spent a very enjoyable few hours at The Greatest Steampunk Exhibition yesterday, meeting some proper steampunks and chatting with fans of my Pax Britannia books. I'd barely even set up my table of wares when I sold my first book, and left without any at all.

It's always very pleasing when somebody walks up to you and the first thing they say is, "Love your work." Among those steampunks I met were Willoughby Chase (who was wearing a fine fez), Ken (who's read all my PB books already), Jason (who bought all of my PB books there and then), and Herr Doktor (a.k.a. Ian, whom I believe is the equivalent of steampunk royalty although I think he might actually be Ulysses Quicksilver). I was also asked which of my books I would like to be taught as part of an American university science-fiction course!

I also had a chance to quickly look around the exhibition myself which looks fantastic within the setting of the museum steam hall and elsewhere.

Towards the end of my time there I gave a brief talk about the Pax Britannia series and read a chapter of Dark Side which was very well received. So it just remains for me to say thank you to all those who listened to my reading, thank you to Stuart at the museum and thank you to Tinker for having me along.

And maybe I'll see you at Asylum in September...

Steampunk Creators Day at Kew Bridge Steam Museum

Just a reminder that I will be at the Steampunk Creators Day at Kew Bridge Steam Museum in Brentford tomorrow from 11.00am until around 3.30pm. I will be there selling and signing my Pax Britannia books. I will also be reading from one of my books at 1.00pm with a Q&A session to follow afterwards.

If you're in the area, why not drop by? A number of the steam engines in the Steam Hall will be running during the day and there is the The Greatest Steampunk Exhibition to visit of course.

Maybe I'll see you there...

JG and Pax Britannia on SFX.co.uk

If you check out the front page of SFX.co.uk right now (as in Sunday night) you'll see that top of the latest articles list (above one about detestable Doctor Who companion Melanie Bush) is an interview with me about The Ulysses Short Story Collection.

Dave Bradley (editor of SFX magazine) conducted the interview with me earlier this week via email and you can read the results here. I don't only talk about writing short stories during the course of the interview; there's also stuff about steampunk, novel writing and eBooks.

I'm very proud of the three stories in the collection - Fruiting Bodies, Vanishing Point and White Rabbit - which were all especially selected by myself, and it would appear that other people are discovering they like them as much as I do. And for 69p you can't really go wrong, can you?

Hannibal - the pachyderm-droid

I forgot to mention in my last post (about this review of Anno Frankenstein) that David Drage posted a picture of his own fantastic Iron Mammoth as part of his review of the book in response to Hannibal, the pachyderm-droid, that appears briefly towards the end of Anno Frankenstein.

I post a cropped version of it here, but to see more you should really check out the Iron Mammoth website itself.

Hannibal, the pachyderm-droid?

Anno Frankenstein - yet another great review!

They just keep on coming! This one's by David Drage of Pulp Zen! You can read the whole review by following this link, but I've posted just a few of the highlights here.

I really thought that Jonathan Green couldn’t possibly top his last two Pax Britannia novels, Blood Royal which took the steampunk down a gothic horror path and then Dark Side which combined a Noir detective story with H.G. Wells' First Men on the Moon. However, Anno Frankenstein takes us to a whole new level...

The tension that builds over the length of the novel leads wonderfully through to the big finale, even with Green’s small injections of humour, references to Star Trek, The Incredible Hulk, The Six Million Dollar Man and Quantum Leap all stick in my mind, without ruining the pace at all.

Anyway, back to Anno Frankenstein. If you’re picky about your steampunk, you may find it moves to far out of the genre for you, but if you want a rollicking good adventure and you like the Weird War genre, you are going to love this book!

I hope Green returns to the Weird War setting for some of his future Quicksilver stories, he is clearly right at home writing in this genre. If he doesn’t want to tie Ulysses down to the Weird War setting, a spin off series with Hercules Quicksilver or the Monstrous Regiment (i.e. the burlesque dancing infiltration squad) would suit me down to the ground...

A spin off series... Now there's an idea!

One of the most exciting things for me about this post, in terms of its potential, stems from this comment:

I think I can safely say this book has finally inspired me to seriously get back into figure sculpting. It has given me so many ideas for steampunk style figures and no-one else makes them yet, so I guess I am going to have to do it myself, after all, there are many excellent characters in the Pax Britannia stories, they really need to be realised as miniatures…

Believe me, if David makes good on his promise I'll let you know more as soon as I can!

During the course of the review David also says:

Jonathan, if you read this post, please hurry up with the next book, you’ve left so many teaser threads left open from recent books that I really can’t wait too long...

Well, the eighth Ulysses Quicksilver adventure, Time's Arrow, will start to be released from October this year. Yes, you read that right - start to be released. But more on that another time.

Until then...

Happy Steampunk Day!

Yes, it's June 14th which means it's International Steampunk Day!

And to celebrate all things steampunk, why not check out the most recent Pax Britannia releases from Abaddon Books?

Follow Abaddon Books on Facebook

Abaddon Books has moved from a Facebook group to a Facebook page!

Here's Michael Molcher, Abaddon's PR guy:

"We want to spread the word about our fantastic titles and authors, so please do head along to our new FB page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Abaddon-Books/169994589729715 , 'like' us and stand by for more genre fiction fun!"

So, what are you waiting for?

Pax Britannia at the Greatest Steampunk Exhibition

The Greatest Steampunk Exhibition is the largest exhibition of Steampunk art, craft and engineering in the UK. It opened last weekend, on Saturday 4th June, at the Kew Bridge Steam Museum in West London. The includes Steampunk exhibits from all over the world, ranging from paintings and artworks through costumes and fabrics to machines and engines, together with sound installations and short films. Many of the exhibits have been specially created for the exhibition and have never been seen before.

The exhibition is running until Monday 29th August, and visitors to the exhibition will be able to enjoy all the other attractions of the Kew Bridge Steam Museum, including the giant Victorian pumping engines which will be operating most weekends. These will all be complemented by a range of Steampunk books and other products which will be available in the Museum shop during the exhibition.

And I'll be there, as part of a Steampunk creators' day, in a fortnight's time, on Saturday 25th June, selling, signing and reading from my Pax Britannia books, which will be available to buy from the museum bookshop.

So if you live anywhere near Brentford, why not pop along and check it out? More details about the exhibition can be found here.

Your own steam-powered desktop

Like steampunk? Fancy having your own steam-themed desktop? Then follow this link to download these steampunk icons.

Anno Frankenstein reviewed at Graeme's Fantasy Book Review

Graeme Flory of Graeme's Fantasy Book Review is a loyal follower, and reviewer, of the Pax Britannia series and has given some very generous marks out of ten to several of my books in the past. And now he's got round to reading my most recent endeavour, Anno Frankenstein.

Here are just a few of Graeme's eminently quotable lines from his review.

I’ve been having a lot of fun with these books ever since the blog began and I don’t see that fun stopping any time soon; I can’t get enough of this series and if you’re a fan of steampunk adventure then I reckon you’ll be the same...

As much as I love to take a chance on new reads, I also love the knowledge that I can pick up certain authors and be guaranteed a good time. That’s just what I got with ‘Anno Frankenstein’, a book that I should have got round to sooner but was polished off in record time anyway...

If you haven’t read any of the preceding ‘Pax Britannia’ novels then this really is the wrong place to get started. Not only is there a lot of back story that you’re missing out on but you’re also missing out on six books worth of devious villains, dashing heroes, well drawn steam punk weirdness and stuff getting blown up. You can’t fail to enjoy this stuff so go find yourself a copy of ‘Unnatural History’ and get going...

Green sets the stakes incredibly high and then has his hero go about his job in the best possible way, all wise cracks and flirting but with a propensity for violence when it’s needed. These are the moments where you look at what’s happening on the page and think to yourself that it wouldn’t be out of place on the big screen, I’d love to see it...

Set pieces flow into cliff hangers which result in more set pieces. It all happens so quickly that this approach doesn’t feel repetitive in the slightest, there’s no time for anything else but being swamped by everything that’s happening on the page...

And the final score? 9 out of 10!

You can read Graeme's review in its entirety here.

The only trouble with reading great reviews like this is that I then worry whether I'll be able to live up to readers' expectations with the next novel in the series which, in this case, is the forthcoming Time's Arrow.

But for now I'm just going to enjoy basking in the warm glow of another radiant review just a little longer...

The Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection

Abaddon Books has put out a press release about The Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection that's now available to download for the e-reader of your choice. Here's the blurb from the back:

Dandy, detective and adventurer Ulysses Quicksilver tackles the enemies of the crown in this thrilling collection of three complete short stories drawn from the steampunk Pax Britannia Ulysses Quicksilver novels.

In 'Fruiting Bodies' a gruesome death leads Ulysses and his manservant Nimrod to the glasshouses of Kew, bringing them face to face with the horrors lurking within. A Hallowe'en séance leads our intrepid duo into a close encounter with the world beyond in 'Vanishing Point', whilst in 'White Rabbit' Ulysses journeys into a world of madness and murder, meeting some sinisterly familiar characters along the way.

This collection is the perfect starting point for readers new to the exciting world of Pax Britannia! 'Fruiting Bodies' was first published in the novel 'El Sombra', 'Vanishing Point' was first published in the novel 'Leviathan Rising' and 'White Rabbit' was first published in the novel 'Blood Royal'.

You can read the press release for yourself here.

Just in case you need persuading that you really should get hold of The Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection for yourself, watch the following video:

RMS Titanic gets its own Haynes Manual

Having seen this (and the various versions for the Apollo moon lander, USS Enterprise and Dalek) I'd love to see a mock-up cover for one for The Neptune from Leviathan Rising, or the Apollo XIII from Dark Side - or Oddfellow's Sphere, the Jotun-class steam-powered tank Siegfried, the Iron Eagle or the bipedal Stalkers from Anno Frankenstein.

Anyone fancy having a go?

Unnatural History - dividing opinion

I came across these reviews of Pax Britannia: Unnatural History the other day, and they make for interesting reading (from my point of view at least). You know how people say, "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" Well let's go with the bad. (I'll just give you the choice highlights - you can read the whole thing for yourself here.)

What makes reviewing this book complicated is the difficulty in discerning whether the campy, cliché-ridden, pulp-ishness of the book is intentional as an homage to earlier adventure novels, or simply an example of the standard of writing that is normally applied to multi-author paperback fantasy series, such as the Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, or Halo series...

Green's writing style evokes clichés practically non-stop...

While there is style, and a lot of flash, Jonathan Green's contribution to the Pax Britanniaseries possesses very little substance...

I like that last bit. My contribution to the series "possesses very little substance." Really? After almost eight books, several novellas and with more story arcs planned, I'd beg to differ. But anyway, on to the good news.

Ulysses Quicksilver, is a dashing young man of not inconsiderable daring do. He's equal part Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, d'Artagnan, Allan Quatermain and Batman (sans the gimp suit)...

The writing is solid - I've read a few of Green's Warhammer books and they were usually pretty readable (I thoroughly enjoyed the two Armageddon ones) - with some nice flourishes...

As a series it has promise and the world is an interesting setting with echoes of many pulp sci-fi tropes showing up with the promise of a fun ride ahead.

You can read the rest of this review at The Steampunk Review.

Don't forget, you can now buy Unnatural History as part of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus (Vol.1).

Alice - Madness Returns

Alice: Madness Returns is the long-awaited sequel to American McGee's Alice. Watching the following trailer, I couldn't help but be reminded of my own Pax Britannia novella White Rabbit, which just happens to be available now for the Kindle and other e-readers
as part of The Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection.

Hi! I'm a writer, and this is what I write...

I had a great time at the UK Games Expo in Birmingham this weekend just gone (thanks and kudos to all concerned for organising such a great event) and met all kinds of people - some who knew about my Fighting Fantasy stuff, some who knew of my Pax Britannia books, and some who didn't know me from Adam*.

So, bearing that in mind, if you're one of those people who picked up a bookmark or a postcard and thought you'd check out the websites listed there, first of all "Hi!" Second of all, I'm a writer and have been for almost 19 years, and here's what I write...

Fighting Fantasy
This series of gamebooks is where my writing career began and to date I've written seven Fighting Fantasy titles. Howl of the Werewolf topped a recent fan survey as the fan favourite whilst my most recent, Night of the Necromancer, has garnered great reviews from all over the place.

Black Library
I've written six novels in total for the Black Library - three Warhammer and three 40K, two of which have recently been re-issued as The Armageddon Omnibus. To date I have also written sixteen short stories set within the two Games Workshop universes.

Pax Britannia
I've recently started writing the eighth Ulysses Quicksilver adventure, which - along with the six novellas I've written - will bring my contribution to the steampunk alternative history sci-fi series I created to close on three quarters of a million words. And that's only the beginning...

Doctor Who
I've recently finished my second official Doctor Who tie-in. The first, The Horror of Howling Hill was a gamebook (of sorts) but Terrible Lizards is a fully-fledged chapter book.

Other tie-in work
I've also written for Star Wars The Clone Wars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Non-fiction
I've penned four non-fiction books so far (with hopefully more to come) that have been published in different editions around the world. I'm probably most well-known in this field for my Christmas books.

So there you go. And don't forget, if you have any pressing questions you'd like answered about the writing process or the books I've written, you can do so here.

* One of the stars of my latest Pax Britannia release Anno Frankenstein.

Al Ewing's Gods of Manhattan

Al Ewing's second Pax Britannia novel Gods of Manhattan has quite rightly garnered all sorts of praise from all over the place. But one of the most well composed reviews I've read of it is this one over on the Pornokitsch website:

Ewing has written, in just shy of 250 pages, one of the best superhero pastiches I've ever read. From his dry take on the old pulp heroes stories to his disturbingly sinister version of Marvel's flagship hero, this is not something I ever expected to find outside of an Alan Moore graphic novel. He's used prose to describe comics (already something tricky), done so with a great deal of rewarding satire, and, most importantly, written a bloody enjoyable book. Gods of Manhattan is a terrific, inescapable book - in which absolutely anything can happen and, quite often, does.

To read the rest of this review click here.

Jared the reviewer finishes up with this eminently quotable quote about the Pax Britannia series itself, which I'll be looking to use elsewhere from here on:

... both authors have an infectious sense of humor and a commitment to raw, unfettered joy that make Pax Britannia one of the best ongoing series today. This is a lunatic world where the imagination runs wild - where steam-powered squid co-exist with face-changing super-villains - and the reader can delight in it all.

Pax Britannia at the UK Games Expo

Just to let you know, I'll be at the UK Games Expo in Birmingham this weekend helping to promote Advanced Fighting Fantasy (as well as traditional un-advanced Fighting Fantasy), but also selling some of my Ulysses Quicksilver Pax Britannia novels at a knock-down price.

Individual novels will be going for a fiver whilst you'll be able to buy all seven UQ releases to date for £25! So, if you're missing any PB titles from your collection, why not drop by the Arion Games stand on Saturday or Sunday and pick them up from me direct. I'll even sign them for you!

I look forward to seeing you there.

PS - If you can't make it up to Birmingham this weekend, I'll also be at the BFS Open Night at the Mug House, Tooley Street in London tonight. So, if you're around, do pop over and say "Hi!"

Pax Britannia: Evolution Expects on Scrolls

At the SFX Weekender back in February I was interviewed by Dion Winton-Polak for the Scrolls podcast. (You can read about it here.)

Well I get a mention on the most recent Scrolls podcast too, over at the Geek Syndicate. The subject under discussion is 'Heroes' and Ulysses Quicksilver, along with my fourth Pax Britannia adventure Evolution Expects gets an honourable mention.

UQ is described as 'a wonderfully built character' whilst my writing is described as 'like watching a film', which is very flattery and very satisfying to hear.

If you want to listen to the podcast yourself, follow this link and listen from about 44 minutes in.

The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus (Vol.1) - a new review

Reviewer Nathan Brazil has contacted me to let me know that he's posted a (very detailed) review of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus (Vol. 1).

He has very positive things to say about Unnatural History and Human Nature but clearly loved Leviathan Rising.

Here are a couple of my favourite bits from the review:

On Unnatural History: "Throughout this work the author amuses with alternate tech, such as Ulysses Quicksilver's personal communicator; a brass and leather mobile phone, an Overground train network in Londinium Maximus, mechanical bobbies, and Beefeater-drones with clockwork craniums."

On Leviathan Rising: "...the real star here is the story behind the man-made Kraken. This has been well thought out, and has a terrific pay off. Leviathan Rising was, for me, streets ahead of its predecessor in terms of storytelling, and was just about perfectly paced."

On Human Nature: "From this point the story rattles along like a British Rail train with imminent brake failure, incorporating a desperate industrialist trying to escape the prison of his disease-riddled body, and a mad German vivisectionist. Some of what is portrayed is on the vomit-inducing side of gruesome, but definitely serves to keep attention glued to the page."

And on Vanishing Point (the novella that appears at the back of Leviathan Rising): "The best of these is... "Vanishing Point" which shows what the author is capable of when he allows himself to write more tightly, and with a sharper clarity of focus."

You can read the whole thing for yourself here, or here.

Nathan's soon going to be reviewing the rest of the Pax Britannia books, from Evolution Expects onwards and I can't wait to see what he makes of those...

The Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection - available now!

All you eBook readers out there might like to know that The Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection is available to download now for your Kindle. Here's the blurb from the back:

Dandy, detective and adventurer Ulysses Quicksilver tackles the enemies of the crown in this thrilling collection of three complete short stories drawn from the steampunk Pax Britannia Ulysses Quicksilver novels.

In 'Fruiting Bodies' a gruesome death leads Ulysses and his manservant Nimrod to the glasshouses of Kew, bringing them face to face with the horrors lurking within. A Hallowe'en séance leads our intrepid duo into a close encounter with the world beyond in 'Vanishing Point', whilst in 'White Rabbit' Ulysses journeys into a world of madness and murder, meeting some sinisterly familiar characters along the way.

This collection is the perfect starting point for readers new to the exciting world of Pax Britannia! 'Fruiting Bodies' was first published in the novel 'El Sombra', 'Vanishing Point' was first published in the novel 'Leviathan Rising' and 'White Rabbit' was first published in the novel 'Blood Royal'.

I'm very excited about the release of this Kindle-only collection and am looking into releasing some more of my work via Kindle in the not-too-distant future. My only problem now is that I need to buy myself a Kindle to see how the book's turned out in digital format.

And just in case you need persuading that you really should get hold of The Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection for yourself, watch the following video:

Dark Side - another great review!

David Drage of Pulp Zen! is clearly on a roll. Having recently read and reviewed Pax Britannia: Blood Royal (you'll find a link to his review here) he was inspired enough to quickly get stuck into the sixth Ulysses Quicksilver adventure Pax Britannia: Dark Side. Here's a taster of what he has to say about the book:

With Green’s usual flair for pulling in all of the related Steampunk tropes (I

hate to keep using that word, but it is better than saying clichés), he has once again picked a subject and injected it with the usual dose of steam powered high jinx, “Wellsian” Victorian Science Fiction, James Bond style espionage, and good old fashioned high adventure...

One of the joys of Green’s Pax Britannia books is his development of some of the supporting cast of characters, in particular in this book I was taken by the Billie, the street “urchin” cab driver, who’s cab happens to be a steam powered ex-military war droid!

You can read David's full review here.

I am reliably informed that he's already started Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein, so expect a link to another review soon.

Which reminds me - I really need to crack on with Pax Britannia: Time's Arrow, or David (and others) are soon going to run out of stuff to read!

Have you tried the latest addictive Steampunk game?

I have, and I've already spent far too long battling to solve its many puzzles.

You can find the game here, and good luck getting anything else worthwhile done this evening now!

A Pax Britannia round-up

Anno Frankenstein

I stumbled across this last night, written by a reader who's never picked up a Pax Britannia novel in his life, until Anno Frankenstein came along that is.

I haven't read any Pax Britannia before and after reading this I am actually wondering why, it's a mesmerising alternative universe that manages to blend Victorian era Steampunk within a more modern setting and with a resulting richly detailed world that keeps enough real elements to suspend the disbelief while still clearly being very different. There is a real dark edge to the novel but this is lightened by the clever use of subtle humour (the author is also clearly a Star Trek fan) while the plot bounds along at breakneck speed. It's another of those books that I just couldn't put down and read nearly the whole novel in one sitting.

The book manages to successfully blend steampunk with James Bond, Nazis, Frankenstein monsters and even the old anti-hero(s) Jekyll and Hyde topped off with a slight hint of the Alan Moore League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. This fusion of disparate elements works surprisingly well, not least due to the light-hearted and pervasive humour and intelligent characterisation, which isn't just confined to the protagonists - the antagonists too are wonderfully coloured and richly portrayed.

There is an almost movie-like, visually acute style to the prose that really drags you in to the story and the relentless, energetic pace doesn't let up through the whole of the novel. The story too is very engaging with plenty of action and a tight dialog.

Anno Frankenstein is a rambunctious, effervescent story full of Victorian steampunk grandeur and James Bond style action, suitable for anyone with a pulse.

So, as you can now understand, last night I went to bed happy. ;-)

To order your copy of Anno Frankenstein, click here.

The Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection

You might also like to know that The Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection is available to download now for your Kindle. Here's the blurb from the back:

Dandy, detective and adventurer Ulysses Quicksilver tackles the enemies of the crown in this thrilling collection of three complete short stories drawn from the steampunk Pax Britannia Ulysses Quicksilver novels.

In 'Fruiting Bodies' a gruesome death leads Ulysses and his manservant Nimrod to the glasshouses of Kew, bringing them face to face with the horrors lurking within. A Hallowe'en séance leads our intrepid duo into a close encounter with the world beyond in 'Vanishing Point', whilst in 'White Rabbit' Ulysses journeys into a world of madness and murder, meeting some sinisterly familiar characters along the way.

This collection is the perfect starting point for readers new to the exciting world of Pax Britannia! 'Fruiting Bodies' was first published in the novel 'El Sombra', 'Vanishing Point' was first published in the novel 'Leviathan Rising' and 'White Rabbit' was first published in the novel 'Blood Royal'.

I'm very excited about the release of this Kindle-only collection and am looking into releasing some more of my work via Kindle in the not-too-distant future. My only problem now is that I need to buy myself a Kindle to see how the book's turned out in digital format.