British Science Week

Seeing as how this week is British Science Week, it seemed like as good a time as any to plug my Pax Britannia steampunk books.

Early on in writing the series I made the decision not to include anything supernatural or magical in the books. Yes there are vampires and werewolves, but these are a form of genetic mutation.

However, having said there's no magic, there's actually magic aplenty in the books, it just goes under the catch-all term of 'mad science'. The crazy inventions and experiments of various characters have the same affect as magic on the narrative, helping to drive the plot into unexpected places and generally causing Ulysses Quicksilver and his friends no end of grief.

If you've not tried the books out for yourself yet, there are eight in total, plus various short stories, and the first six novels have been collected in two omnibuses.

     

Talking of mad science, Mary Shelley's original Frankenstein* text is published today, complete with husband Percy’s corrections of her misspellings.

Frankenstein inspired Stan Lee when he was creating the Incredible Hulk, and both of them inspired my own take on the Creature that appears in the Weird War Two adventure Anno Frankenstein.

* And first published 200 years ago this year.

Pax Britannia - New Reviews!

Even though the first Pax Britannia novel was published almost ten years ago, some people are still coming to the series for the first time. And when it's someone who enjoys the stories they devour the lot pretty quickly, thanks to the wonder of eBooks.

One such reader is Bob Marlowe who has recently posted reviews of all the Pax Britannia books - Al Ewing's as well as mine - and here's what he has to say about them.

Unnatural History
"A readable style which flows along nicely with enjoyable characters... Very enjoyable evocation of a pulp style and there are plenty more to come. A recommended read."

Leviathan Rising
"Here we have a cocktail of Agatha Christie, Titanic, The Poseidon Adventure, the X-Files and dear old Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and with Green's enjoyable pulpy style, it's a good read."

Human Nature
"The story itself is quite simple but well structured (things in the prologue that seem irrelevant are revisited later) and the good pulpy style of Green makes for a well paced roller coaster."

Evolution Expects
"As ever, a cocktail of monsters, steam punk and nods to well know characters & stories etc. including this time a Bond like board meeting scene, a character named Brundle after the 1987 version of The Fly and a bit of Talons of Weng Chiang amongst others... This series shows no signs of letting up, both novel and novella are a well-paced read, guaranteed to liven up any journey to work."

Blood Royal
"The writing is of the usual high standard with a monster infested St Paul's Cathedral especially well described... I love this series -and am sad I've less than halfway to go to the end."

Dark Side
"I had the feeling Jonathan Green had as much fun writing this as I had reading it. There's the usual tributes to films, book et al that he's enjoyed , the First men in the Moon and Voyage dans la Lune and every chapter takes its name from a film e.g. The First Men in the Moon, Sphere... These stories will never be on the Booker Prize shortlist but the Booker winners I've read were never this much fun!"

Anno Frankenstein
"Naturally this is a blockbuster mix that we have come to expect of monsters and set pieces and does not disappoint, Green handling all the ingredients with his usual skill."

Time's Arrow
"The influences here are Edgar Allen Poe's Murder in the Rue Morgue, The Island of Dr Moreau and The Phantom of the Opera, characters names including Moreau and Leroux. The new characters work well and the story races along at Green's usual pace."

If you're yet to sample the delights of the Pax Britannia steampunk universe, you can buy the books and eBooks here.

Happy Birthday, Mr Wells!

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the British Father of Science Fiction, Herbert George Wells. Wells is, of course, most well known, in the modern era, for his novels The Time Machine (1895) and The War of the Worlds (1898).

Wells' original stories have been adapted time and time again, and have inspired countless other tales, including my own. I have an idea for a spin-off from The War of the Worlds that I would like to start work on in the next year or two, but The Time Machine has already massively influenced an already published work of mine - or should I say works?

What started off as a fun idea for a one-off short story expanding the world of Pax Britannia, back in 2008, ended up becoming the core element of trio of Ulysses Quicksilver novels - Dark Side (2010), Anno Frankenstein (2011) and Time's Arrow (2012). I hadn't realised just how much The Time Machine had influenced Anno Frakenstein in particular until I re-watched the 2002 movie version recently, as I introduced it to my children for the first time.

My Wellsian celebrations will continue today with Jeff Wayne's musical version of The War of the Worlds on today's playlist, and possibly a viewing of the 2005 movie adaptation later this evening.

If you happen to be the Woking area today, watch the skies!

"And on the sixth day, God created man."

1816: Anno Frankenstein

Two hundred years ago today, on 17th June 1816, whilst staying on the shores of Lake Geneva during the Year Without A Summer, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley began writing the ghost story that would become the gothic horror/early SF novel, Frankenstein.

On Monday this week, I was fortunate enough to be attend a lecture given by Professor Sir Christopher Frayling at the Science Museum in London. Entitled 'Frankenstein – From Literature to Myth to Bogeyman of Science', Sir Christopher's lecture detailed the circumstances surrounding the creation of the Shelley's infamous story, its influences, and its legacy, separating that which is Shelley's from that which is Hollywood's. (For example, did you know that Shelley makes no reference in the novel to how Frankenstein actually brings the Creature to life?)

Sir Christopher also highlighted one throwaway line from the novel which could well explain why the Creature is eight feet tall, and has given me an idea for a new short story.

The lecture, which featured extracts from Sir Christopher's TV documentary 'Nightmare: The Birth of Horror' as well as the nightmare fuel that are the automata of Neuchâtel in Switzerland, along with references to Fritz Lang's Metropolis, was followed by a round table discussion with the anatomist and top BBC presenter Professor Alice Roberts, the lead curator of the Science Museum's forthcoming Robots exhibition Ben Russell, and the journalist, film critic, and fiction writer, Kim Newman.

Kim Newman, Professor Alice Roberts, and Professor Sir Christopher Frayling.

The panel also threw up some fascinating ideas and story hooks, and we learned that if Frankenstein were to attempt to create a living being today, it would be 3D printed as a collagen framework which would then being colonised by stem cells, with a tiny computer taking the place of an organic brain.

However, as fascinating as the evening was, the highlight for me came at the end when both Professor Sir Christopher Frayling and Professor Alice Roberts, graciously accepted copies of my Pax Britannia novel Anno Frankenstein - my own sort-of-sequel to Shelley's original masterpiece*, which even prompted the following mention on Twitter:

Now, just imagine what a cover quote from Sir Christopher Frayling or Professor Alice Roberts would do for sales of the novel...

* Except that I wasn't 18 when I wrote my novel!

Darmstadt

The scientists who yesterday landed a probe on the back of a comet have their mission control room in Darmstadt, Germany.

Darmstadt in Germany is also where the Nazis were working in secret to bring the dead back to life in my 2011 novel Anno Frankenstein.

Coincidences can be weird like that.

More Pax Britannia Reviews

Unnatural History - 5 stars!

Unnatural History is the first book in the steampunk-flavoured alternative history series Pax Britannia. Author Jonathan Green has crafted a vision of contemporary Britain where Queen Victoria still reigns over a British Empire that covers a quarter of the world.

The police are staffed largely with automata, airships crowd the skies, and London Zoo's Challenger Enclosure is stuffed full of dinosaurs. Against this backdrop, dandy adventurer Ulysses Quicksilver is engaged to investigate an apparently routine break-in at the Natural History Museum...

The pace is quick, and the action exciting. Quicksilver is not a bulletproof hero, and gets thoroughly smashed up on a number of occasions. His principal ability appears to be his sheer dogged tenacity to get the job done even when battered to a pulp... This is an effortlessly entertaining pulpy read, and seems to be pretty much perennially free on Amazon Kindle. Do take a look, chaps.



Anno Frankenstein - 4 stars!

My first foray into the steam punk universe of Pax Britannia, but pleasingly the novel does not require you to have read the previous books, it stands well on it's own... An easy book to get into and a hugely enjoyable read and I will now be seeking out the further books in this series. Packed with action and adventure this is like a novel version of a 2000AD comic and I don't mean that in a bad way.

Airship Friday: The Longest Aircraft in the World

Here's a question for all you fans of Pax Britannia and Steampunk in general. Where would we be without our airships? Airships feature predominantly throughout Steampunk literature and in the case of my own Ulysses Quicksilver novels, they have a vital part to play in Unnatural History, Blood Royal and Anno Frankenstein. And now it looks like they're on their way back in the real world too! Click this link to find out more.

Steampunk Week: The Inaugural Victorian Steampunk Society Awards 2012

This year's Weekend at the Asylum features the inaugural Victorian Steampunk Society Awards for works released during 2011. Nominations came from the general public with the shortlist being drawn from the nominations.

I am very pleased to be able to announce that I have been nominated in the BEST NOVEL category... not once, but twice! Here's the shortlist:

BEST NOVEL

Heartless – Gail Carriger

Cyrus Darian and the Technonomicron – Raven Dane

Anno Frankenstein – Jonathan Green

Red-Handed – Jonathan Green

Awards will be made following a popular vote of all AVSS members attending The Asylum. (Voting slips will be available when you register and collect your wristband.)

So, if you're going to Weekend at the Asylum and you happen to enjoy my Pax Britannia books, you know what you have to do. ;-)

Hannibal the Pachyderm-Droid

OMGGM* it's Hannibal, the pachyderm-droid from Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein!

Actually it's The Machines de l'Ile's Great Elephant.

12 metres high, 8 metres wide and 21 metres long, this incredible contraption weighs 48.4 tons. Constructed of wood and metal, motive power is provided by a 450 horsepower engine. It includes an indoor lounge with French windows and balconies, and there is a terrace accessible by stairs.On, and it travels at a speed of ​​1-3 km per hour.

And while we're on the subject of all things steampunk, and  Anno Frankenstein in particular, don't forget that the Victorian Steampunk Society is launching a series of awards voted for by UK Steampunks attending The Asylum each year.

These are awards for work first published/released between January 1 and December 31, 2011, and will be made for a tangible piece of work, which means that Anno Frankenstein is eligible.

But even if you're not attending The Asylum yourself this year, you can still suggest a category and nominate in it. The best suggestions will incorporate into the awards. These forms will be used to draw up a shortlist of nominees, and of course being shortlisted is of course an accolade in itself. The voting form will be made available to all Asylum convention adult attendees and results will be announced at the Empire Ball.

Just so you know...



And lastly, there still time to vote for your preferred story ending to Time's Arrow: Black Swan.


Simply head over to the Abaddon Facebook page and post 'A' or 'B' after the status update that starts 'WHAT WILL COME OF OUR DASHING HERO NEXT?'

Or, alternatively, you can email your choice of 'A' or 'B' to abaddonsolaris@rebellion.co.uk.

You have until 25 June 2012 to cast your vote.


* A vernacular term meaning 'Oh my goodness gracious me'.

The Inaugural UK Steampunk Awards

The Victorian Steampunk Society has from its formation recognised excellence in the world of Steampunk and is now launching a series of awards voted for by UK Steampunks attending The Asylum each year.

These are awards for work first published/released between January 1 and December 31, 2011, and will be made for a tangible piece of work be it a book, artwork or piece of music etc, which means that my novel Anno Frankenstein is eligible.

But even if you're not attending The Asylum yourself this year, you can still suggest a category and nominate in it. The best suggestions will incorporate into the awards. These forms will be used to draw up a shortlist of nominees, and of course being shortlisted is of course an accolade in itself. The voting form will be made available to all Asylum convention adult attendees and results will be announced at the Empire Ball.

Just so you know...

Happy International Steampunk Day!

Anno Frankenstein - a new review

A new review of my seventh Pax Britannia novel Anno Frankenstein has emerged over at the City Book Review. And here it is...

Anno Frankenstein by Jonathan Green is the seventh book in the Pax Britannia alternate-reality series featuring Ulysses Quicksilver, agent of the Crown. This book has us traveling back in time to 1943 when Magna Britannia has entered the war against Hitler’s Germany. Our hero is to infiltrate Germany with the assistance of Dr Jekyll, and not to return until maximum destruction has been caused. On the way, we meet a Russian vampire, a German werewolf, regiments of dead soldiers reanimated in Castle Frankenstein, and troves of other supernatural and horror characters.

This is all terrific fun, and truth be told, even more amusing if you know a little history and have a geeky interest in horror and supernatural literature. There are many references to characters and creatures, both real and fictional, and it’s blended together with some equally fascinating steampunk. Anno Frankenstein starts off at high speed and accelerates as we approach dead man’s bend. If you enjoy a white-knuckle ride and laugh in the face of danger, this is the book for you.

You can read the original review here, and buy your copy of Anno Frankenstein here.

Anno Frankenstein - A Swash and a Buckle

Here's yet another review in praise of my Weird War 2 Pax Britannia novel Anno Frankenstein, this time from Ginger Nuts of Horror.

Ulysses Quicksilver Agent of Magna Britannia, has jumped into a time vortex in pursuit of madman Daniel Dashwood, who is hell bent on sharing modern technology with Hitler and his Nazi army.

Welcome to Pax Britannia's version of World War Two, where steampunk armies battle the reanimated soldiers of The Frankenstein Corps, Dr Jekyll is a hero and The Ladies of The Monstrous Regiment strike fear into the hearts of the enemy.

This is a fun read, littered characters with names like Dashwood, Ulysses, Hercules, the swash and the buckling have ramped up to the extreme. There is a danger with novels of this type that the nods to, and insertions of popular characters can lead to a novel that is too sly for it's own good. Not the case here, this is my type of novel, the sort of story that has me grinning from ear to ear from the sheer enjoyment and thrill of the ride.

You can pick up your copy of Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein here. And remember Part 2 of Pax Britannia: Time's Arrow is coming to an eReader near you soon!

Could this be the best review ever?

"Just finished reading Anno Frankenstein... Nazis, Vampires, Werewolves, Time Travel, Steampunk, Mr Hyde, and tons more... Jonathan Green, my good man, you are a fecking genius."

You can order your copy of Anno Frankenstein here. And in other news, I handed Part 2 of Time's Arrow - Black Swan - to Abaddon's dark editing overlords this very afternoon.

Anno Frankenstein - another review

This time from SFRevu. It's short and sweet, and to the point...

Anno Frankenstein by Jonathan Green... is the new title in Abaddon's likable and popular dark steampunk series Pax Britannia, created and admirably maintained by Jonathan Green.

Green's latest addition to the series is Anno Frankenstein and is similar to Newman's [Anno Dracula] in that it's an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink type book - there's time travel, evil Nazis, characters 'borrowed' from various other works all bound together with lashings of swash-buckle and high-jinx. Much dark fun.

You can pick up your copy of Anno Frankenstein (if you don't own it already) here.

Friday the 13th... Unlucky for some

Yes, I know it's not Friday the 13th today, but last Friday (which was the 13th) the shortlists for The Kitschies 2011 were announced*.

Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein was put forward for consideration by my publishers but it wasn't to be this time, although fellow steampunk author** Lavie Tidhar did make the shortlist for Best Novel - the coveted Red Tentacle - for Osama: A Novel.

The winners of the Red Tentacle, the Golden Tentacle (for best newcomer) and Inky Tentacle (for best cover artist) will be announced on Friday 3 February at the SFX Weekender***.

However, all is not lost as far as Anno Frankenstein is concerned! Oh no!

You see the Tor.com 2011 Readers’ Choice Awards are now taking votes, until until 11:59 PM Friday, 20 January.

Notice the word 'Readers' in the title? That's right, it means that you the book buying (and presumably reading) public get to choose. Basically it's a popularity contest but one that Anno Frankenstein, with the right backing, might just have a shot at.

So whaddya say? Simply click this link and in the comments section after the blog post about the awards, type the title of the novel (Anno Frankenstein), the author's name (Jonathan Green), and if you want to the name of the publisher (Abaddon Books) as well.

And it's not just Anno Frankenstein that's eligible. In the Best Short Fiction category, I have a couple of stories published by Black Library that were both published last year, the 40K story But Dust in the Wind and the Warhammer tale Sir Dagobert's Last Battle.

So, what are you waiting for? If you vote for me I'll be eternally grateful. ;-)

* Provoking no end of Internet interest such as here, here and on the Guardian website here.

** He'll hate me for saying that.

*** Good luck, Lavie!

Calling all Hugos!

Exciting news!

It's that time of year again when the World Science Fiction Society decides on the nominations for the Hugo Awards. You are eligible to nominate if you attended WorldCon last year, or are to attend WorldCon this year, or have signed up for 2013's WorldCon. Instructions for nomination can be found here and the deadline is 31 January.

The reason I mention this here (and why the news is exciting) is because two of my works are eligible for nomination. They are Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein (novel) and The Doll's House (short story) from House of Fear.

Also eligible for nomination is Al Ewing's Pax Britannia: Pax Omega, the third in his El Sombra trilogy, as are cover artists/designers Mark Harrison (Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein), Simon Parr (Pax Britannia: The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus) and Luke Preece (House of Fear).

So, if you'll eligible to nominate, please feel free (and drop me a line to let me know here).

And while we're on the subject of nominations, if anyone would like to nominate Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein for the Steampunk Awards, feel free!

Special thanks to Drew Northcott (whose DeviantArt page you can find here) for the 'Pax Britannia Needs YOU' poster and to Major Willoughby Chase of the 1st Tea Company.

Anno Frankenstein - It's alive! (Again.)

As my Steampunk/Weird War 2 novel Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein is potentially up for about three awards (at the last count, at least), I thought it wouldn't hurt to draw your attention to another glowing review of the book that was posted online today by Ginger Nuts of Horror:

Ulysses Quicksilver Agent of Magna Britannia, has jumped into a time vortex in pursuit of madman Daniel Dashwood, who is hell bent on sharing modern technology with Hitler and his Nazi army.

Welcome to Pax Britannia's version of World War Two, where steampunk armies battle the reanimated soldiers of The Frankenstein Corps, Dr Jekyll is a hero and The Ladies of The Monstrous Regiment strike fear into the hearts of the enemy.

This is a fun read, littered characters with names like Dashwood, Ulysses, Hercules, the swash and the buckling have ramped up to the extreme. There is a danger with novels of this type that the nods to, and insertions of popular characters can lead to a novel that is too sly for its own good. Not the case here, this is my type of novel, the sort of story that has me grinning from ear to ear from the sheer enjoyment and thrill of the ride.

4/5

Hannibal - the pachyderm-droid

It was a sign of Raffles’ status and rank that he had been afforded the privilege of leading the Magna Britannian forces at Amiens into battle from atop his own personalised pachyderm-droid Hannibal. Before freedom-threatening war had come to the heartlands of Europe for a second time, he had served in India, where the vision of the monstrous robo-phant charging the gates of Bombay had sent many a revolutionary fleeing for his life.

The howdah shading Raffles and his batman from the weak rays of the milky sun – the commander-in-chief’s command post might have looked out of place, had it not been for the Magna Britannian iconography that had been worked into the ornate scrollwork of the giant droid’s flanks.

Raffles eased himself back into his chair. He could feel the comforting rumble of the boiler bubbling in the guts of the metal beast as its own engines were stoked with coke, ready for action. He was going to enjoy this. It was going to be a walk in the park, but he was looking forward to it anyway.

You can read more about Hannibal the pachyderm-droid and General Sir Henry Stamford Raffles's adventures in the Great Second European War within the pages of Anno Frankenstein. You can enjoy more pictures of steampunk animals here.

Ulysses Quicksilver, Hero of the Empire!

Ulysses Quicksilver and his various adventures have inspired a number of artists to produce their take on the character. The latest of them is Kit Cox who recently produced a portrait of the Hero of the Empire and another of Ulysses' loyal sidekick Nimrod, the bare-knuckle boxing butler.

Simon Parr (a.k.a. Pye Parr) has produced several pictures of Ulysses and Nimrod as well. Here are just a few of them.

And then there's Pax Britannia cover artist Mark Harrison's take on the character, most easily seen on the cover of Anno Frankenstein.

There are also a growing number of illustrations of masked vigilante Spring-Heeled Jack. The most recent is by that gentleman caricaturist Kit Cox again but Mark Harrison also produced a portrait of the character back when I was writing Evolution Expects.