Author: Neal Asher

Kardashev Scale

Posted on by Neal Asher

Noting this article on Next Big Future reminded me about the Kardashev Scale, and reading up on it again can certainly be a stimulus for the imagination.

The Polity, I suspect, is merely a Type I civilization, perhaps sliding into Type II territory with the construction of a Dyson sphere. The Heliothane, of Cowl, are also edging into Type II territory with New London sitting over the sun and tapping energy from it. Go check out the links to get your mind blown … so to speak.

The picture here is one from Halo, which seems to have some seriously cool artwork.

Books in Foyles.

Posted on by Neal Asher

Caroline nipped off shopping to the huge new shopping centre Westfield in Stratford and, as is becoming traditional now, she found a book shop and took photos of my books. Oddly there was no Waterstones there and she found these in Foyles. I have to wonder what Christina Foyle would have thought of this. Many years ago I used to cut a field of grass beside Beeleigh Abbey where she lived. I even got invited in once for a cup of coffee and it was like stepping back a hundred years: manual worker invited into the big house to be inspected by the lord and lady, led through by a maid into an enormous room full of antiques and ancestor paintings. I managed to suppress the urge to tug my forelock, dip my head and clutch my cheesecutter hat against my chest.

More From Crete.

Posted on by Neal Asher

Just during the last few days I asked Mikalis, the guy who built our ruin, to do some work on the walls surrounding our house. It’s nice to have someone we can trust to get things done and who sticks to an agreed price (something of a rarity there). Here’s the pictures he recently emailed me of work in progress and completed

I’ve now managed to send him the money for this work, and I wonder if he’ll immedately be pulling out of his bank and putting it under his bed, which seems advisable considering the state of the Greek economy…


Petrol Price

Posted on by Neal Asher

Oh isn’t George Osborn generous in not putting up the tax on petrol. Now, when you buy a litre of fuel at the pump for £1.40 you’re only paying at tax rate of 142% – that’s 83p in tax. But of course you need to pay such huge rates to finance all those enormous and completely unfair public sector pensions. But we must also not forget the billions the DFID is throwing at other countries, what we are paying for more fucking useless windmills and for another climate change jolly somewhere, or the billions thrown at the corrupt and totalitarian EU, or that biased advocate of leftwingery the BBC, or the lazy fucks on welfare, or the overpaid jerks in our councils, or the… ok, I’ll stop there.

Back to work so I can pay for all those dicks out there.

Foreign Editions

Posted on by Neal Asher

An email from one of my German readers has reminded me that I’m being neglectful of my foreign readers. I do have numerous books that can be bought, signed, in German and French, and a smaller number of them in Russian, Czech, Portugese and Japanese. Here’s a selection:

Of course, perfectly demonstrating just how multilingual some nationalities are, an awful lot of my German readers don’t bother with the versions in their own language and read them in English.


Thanks!

Posted on by Neal Asher

It’s been quite surprising to read what those who have been buying books in the recent sale have been saying. Some of them read my books from the library and now want their own copies. Some bought them for kindle and now want the material thing. A few have thanked me for how open I am on my blog, and I am also ‘the man’ or ‘I rock’. And one of the killers is those who have worn out their copy of their favourite and now want a replacement. Also, actions speaking louder than words, I’m astounded how some American readers are quite happy to pay extraordinary postage.

It’s quite humbling to have become an indelible part of some people’s lives. I know what that means when I open up one of my collection and remember the reading pleasure. It is quite an honour to be in that position. Aw, I’m getting all soppy now. Thanks people!

Now, I need to have a rant about something…

Books For Sale

Posted on by Neal Asher

Here’s a reposting of my reply (slightly edited) to one Neil who asked in the comments on a previous post why so many books are sent to the author:

It’s in the contract, Neil: 10 hardbacks on first release and 20 paperbacks a year later when the mass-market paperback comes out. In my case the hardbacks go to family and friends but the paperbacks linger. I then get up to 10 of the foreign editions when I only really need 1. Tor US send me the 10 & 20 of my British contract on top.

If you’re a writer who writes one book every two or three years, then that’s probably okay. Since through Macmillan I’ve done about 15 books in 11 years (I think) I’ve built up a bit of a backlog.

Here are some pictures of that backlog, and why I fear the ceiling might collapse at some point.

So, it’s time I cleared a few of these out. If anyone wants to buy a signed copy of any of my books, well, my email is over on the right here at the bottom of my profile. I’m selling them at cover price (if $ then converted to £) plus postage and packing. Just detail what you want and I’ll check to see if I’ve got it – my aim in the end is to retain just two copies each of my English language books and one each of the foreign language ones.

Also, I’ve had requests for signed photos, so I can only assume someone wants something to scare their children with. I’ll be printing and laminating some of these shortly should anyone want to do likewise.

UPDATE
I’ve just checked on stuff in the loft and this is what remains available:

GRIDLINKED
6 copies USA Paperback £6
8 copies USA Bookclub Hardback £14
5 copies USA Hardback £17

SKINNER
3 Copies UK Trade Paperback 2nd Edition £12
4 Copies USA Bookclub Hardback £14

COWL
7 Copies UK Paperback £8
1 Copies UK Trade Paperback £12
8 Copies USA Paperback £6
10 Copies USA Trade Paperback £12

BRASS MAN
4 Copies UK Paperback £8
1 Copies UK Trade Paperback £12
13 Copies Sullivan paperback £8
20 Copies USA paperback £6
7 Copies USA Bookclub hardback £14
20 Copies USA Trade paperback £12

THE VOYAGE OF THE SABLE KEECH
9 Copies UK Paperback £8
10 Copies Sullivan Paperback £8

POLITY AGENT
7 Copies UK Paperback £8
13 Copies Sullivan paperback £8

LINE WAR
5 Copies UK Paperback £8

ORBUS
10 Copies Sullivan Paperback £8
9 Copies Limited Edition

PRADOR MOON
3 Copies UK Hardback £15
7 Copies UK Paperback £7
25 Copies Nightshade edition £10

SHADOW OF THE SCORPION
13 Copies Sullivan Paperback £8
4 Copies Trade Paperback £12

HILLDIGGERS
7 Copies UK Hardback £18
14 Copies UK Paperback £8

THE GABBLE
14 Copies UK Paperback £8

THE TECHNICIAN
20 Copies UK Paperback £8

Space Ships

Posted on by Neal Asher

There’s an interesting article over at the Register about the progression of the design of spaceships in science fiction. This comment struck me:

“The silliest thing about alien spacecraft, which are designed only to travel in space, is that they are made to look aerodynamic, which is of course unnecessary, since there is no air… remember the Apollo LEM? That is how aerodynamic a spacecraft needs to be…”

Well, no, actually. In fact that statement in and of itself shows a lack of imagination. Certainly, something that’s travelling slowly through vacuum doesn’t need to be aerodynamic, but if you’re nudging the speed of light it’s probably not a good idea to present a large flat profile to even disperse interstellar matter, in fact streamlining seems like a good idea. And who says ‘designed only to travel in space’? Why shouldn’t these ships also be designed to enter all sorts of atmospheres, penetrate dust clouds, even surf in the fire of a sun?

And let’s not forget that the statement above is all about utility, about what ‘needs to be’. If you are capable of building interstellar vessels I submit that you’ve probably moved a bit beyond that. Why shouldn’t you do the Klingon thing and make your vessel in the shape of a hawk or similar. Why shouldn’t you, if you want, build your starship in the shape of a sailing ship, a shark or even a Ford Fiesta?

There is a large gap between what you must do and what you can do. And, let’s face it, when it comes to interstellar flight, we’re a long way from knowing what needs to be incorporated.

Update

Nice interview here at the Register on the same (sort of) subject: Gavin Rothery was visual effects supervisor on the British sci-fi smash Moon, and has been a creative force on a welter of hit video games, and so has a lot to say on the subject of spacecraft design.