"Car chases and dirigibles and what not." - Unnatural History, a new review

It might be more than seven years since my first Ulysses Quicksilver novel was published, but there are still readers discovering it for the first time. One such is Black Library fan Abhinav Jain.

"Unnatural History is an extremely fun and fast-paced action-adventure... We have Charles Babbage’s difference engines. The Challenger Enclosure at the London Zoo (reference to the Lost World!), and more such things. There is an Overground instead of the Underground in London. You’ve got car chases and dirigibles and what not. There’s a lot to take in here and Jonathan also takes the time to point out the more era-related stuff as well, especially with regards to the whole... Britishness of the whole thing, I suppose. That’s what really completes the novel I think."

You can read his full review here, but what I've taken away from the review are two things in particular. The first is that he scored the book 8.5/10*! The other was this:

"Unnatural History itself proved to be a far better novel than I had expected, considering my ambivalence towards Jonathan’s Warhammer work for Black Library, and that’s a good thing because he did manage to surprise me and made me a fan in the end."

So, someone who wasn't particularly a fan of mine, converted to the joys of JG books by the steam-powered world of Pax Britannia. Happy. With. That.

You can pick up Pax Britannia: Unnatural History for your eReader (for free) here, or you can buy it in the tried and tested processed tree carcass format as part of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus: Volume 1.


* And if he liked Unnatural History he's going to love the books that come after.

Nine Worlds Geekfest 2014

I shall be attending the Nine Worlds Geekfest 2014 (at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Heathrow) on Sunday 10 August, as part of the Steampunk stream, taking part in a panel at 11.45am (in Room 12) called 'Female characters in Steampunk: strong women in Steampunk get an audience'.

My Pax Britannia novels will be on sale at the 'All of the Books' stand in the trading room all weekend, but on Sunday you'll be able to get them signed.

Maybe I'll see you there...

Geekfest, Loncon3, and Fighting Fantasy Fest 2014

I shall be attending various different events over the next month or so.

On Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 August, I shall be appearing as part of the Steampunk strand at the Nine Worlds Geekfest in London.

On Friday 15 August, I shall be appearing on a couple of panels at Loncon3, the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention, which is also being held in London (funnily enough).

And then on Sunday 7 September I shall be appearing at, signing books at, launching YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, and generally running Fighting Fantasy Fest 2014, the world's first dedicated Fighting Fantasy convention. You can buy your tickets for the event here.