Phil Edwards over at Live for Films has a little competition running (from which I swiped the picture here):
Just wondering if you could possibly mention the Robocop Poster Redesign Challenge I set up. There have already been a few cool posters.
And bearing in mind art competitions, don’t forget the competition to produce artwork based on my stuff — you’ll find it through the Subminds link down on the right-hand side here.
Here’s a couple of question that have come up on Twitter: what kind of cover puts you off a fantasy or science fiction book? I also wonder about the reverse: in both genres, what kind of cover catches your eye and makes you turn the book over to take a look at the blurb, or maybe read a bit of the first page?
Here’s a section from an interview I’m doing now for the Mad Hatter, which seems relevant:
MH: Tor UK has been recently re-releasing many of your books with new cover art, which I must say are usually outstanding. I’ve noticed they’re usually going with some sort of crazy looking monster-alien creature popping off the page. Before I had read The Skinner I thought they’d be a crazy Horror/Sci-Fi mash-up, while they are clearly more than that were you going for a Horror feel at all. Do many of the stories involve monsters of a sort?
Neal Asher: Yes, many of my stories involve monsters, some of which, of course, are human. I don’t think the intention was to go for a horror feel to the books, since the horror market is not exactly in the rude health it was in twenty or so years ago. I think here we have more of a case of unashamed cover design. This is science fiction, this is science fiction with aliens, big guns and weird robots and, no matter what any myopic twits in the publishing industry might think, we are not going to have a still-life cover featuring a rose and a handgun.
MH: I think fans appreciate it. You can only have so many ephemeral space stations and ringed world covers…
And here’s some Facebook replies, fantasy first:
Jesper Krogsgaard: If it’s all light, bright and glamour I usually stay 100 miles away. It has to be at least a bit gritty – unless it’s a comedy.
Colin Strawbridge: Generic ‘bodice ripper’ type pictures are a big turn off.
Stuart McMillan: Heaving bosoms and demure damsels keep my wallet *in* my pocket. Saying that, great chested men with giant weapons are equally a turn-off.
Andy Plumbly: Typical bright colours and a generic character on the front. Saying that….Gridlinked originally caught my eye because of it’s snazzy cover (the green one). Loving all the newer covers of yours too!
And now SF:
Jesper Krogsgaard: Ewoks. Cute and fuzzy. Using conventional pictures doesn’t provide enough mystery unless you twist it. Again, like with fantasy, I like it gritty, dark and dangerous.
Colin Strawbridge: I think the typefaces used are more important than pictures; Gollancz have managed pretty well all these years without resorting to lurid graphics.One thing i find especially disconcerting is when they put celebrity reviewers names in much larger print than the actual author.
What do all you reading this think?
Mr Sullivan has done the book proud:
Jeff Johnson here has been pondering how to occupy his time between reading my books:
After having read a number of Asher’s books about the Polity Universe, it occurred to me that this would be an excellent backdrop for a massive online game. Much like how World of Warcraft brings people together online to interact and battle monsters, I think a similar game could be fashioned for the Polity Universe, albeit much larger.
The first place to start is the character that the player would use throughout the game. One could choose between playing the game as a human, golem or war drone, with different advantages depending upon which was selected. Then select a few specialized skills and place personal touches on the appearance of their character. Once in the game, the player will have to rely on those skills to survive, gain additional points to increase their current skills or gain new ones, and of course earn credits to purchase equipment.
During game play, the player could travel to any number of planets within the polity, primarily through runcible gates. Once there they could interact with local inhabitants or deal with the local fauna. Depending on the location, a number of different scenarios could be open to the player. On some worlds, the player could engage in battling the Prador, while on other worlds they could hunt down separatists. For example, the player could opt to travel to Masada and help the rebels fight against the Theocracy government, all while dodging hooders and gabble ducks.
As mentioned before, it would be a large universe within which the player could explore, preferably a large number of planets with vast areas to explore and interact with fauna. Among those, the planets of Spatterjay, Cull and Masada would be an absolute must. Space stations such as Elysium, Miranda and Ruby Eye could be destinations.
Throughout their travels and battles, the player’s character will gain experience that will help boost their skills to higher levels. Should they choose to join a faction, their exploits can earn them a higher rank. While not required to join a faction upon first entering the game, the player will have the chance to work for ECS, one of the Hive minds or even become a separatist.
Of course there is one problem I can foresee should such a game become available. When would I ever sleep again?
LARRY NIVEN | THE WORLD OF THE PTAVVS TALES OF KNOWN SPACE NEUTRON STAR THE PATCHWORK GIRL A GIFT FROM EARTH THE FLIGHT OF THE HORSE COVERGENT SERIES A WORLD OUT OF TIME LIMITS THE LONG ARM OF GIL HAMILTON A HOLE IN SPACE |
LARRY NIVEN & JERRY POURNELLE | OATH OF FEALTY FOOTFALL |
EDGAR PANGBORN | DAVY |
PAUL PARK | SUGAR RAIN SOLDIERS OF PARADISE |
JERRY POURNELLE | BLACK HOLE |
TIM POWERS | THE ANUBIS GATES |
CHRISTOPHER PRIEST | INDOCTRINAIRE |
Ok so I finally got my thumb out of my bum and wrote something coherent (well almost) for you, Neal…
My name is Dan and I am 31 years old, married with a 2 1/2 year old son who I named Gaius after Gaius Baltar in new Battlestar Galactica (hopefully he won’t grow up and destroy our society, though)
I am currently an Export Manager at a small fuel company, after doing stints working in IT for HSBC and then the MET/Essex Police as a project manager, before coming to my senses and getting out of the latter before the bureaucracy and political meddling drove me completely insane. I did actually come from a science background, my youthful obsession with dinosaurs turning into a Degree in Palaeobiology and Evolution after University, but sadly there are no jobs in hard science fields these days not already taken by entrenched minds and beings…
I guess I have my mother to thanks for my interest in Science Fiction – she is a big Alan Dean Foster fan – so I read a lot of his stuff from a young age (Cachalot and Sentenced to Prism being ones I remember). I never really left science fiction, though my continued interest in hard science meant most of my time was spent reading journals throughout my teens and 20s, so I dropped a lot of literature, coming back to it eventually several years ago.
I am also a keen gamer – rarely watching TV these days (since BSG went down the tube in season 3 I haven’t watched anything except The Shield and the odd Fringe episode), but thankfully there are plenty of science fiction games to be had these days – Mass Effect 2 being a standout for any science fiction nut.
As for Neal’s stuff, well I often looked at the cover of Line of Polity in my local Waterstones not long after it came out, but it was actually after I read Peter Hamilton’s awesome Pandora’s Star that I actually snatched up Gridlinked looking in desperation for something similar, and never looked back. Reading Gridlinked I was blown away by the quality of the writing and science fiction and I immediately went back and bought as many as I could in the same shop (including that copy of Line of Polity which I enjoyed even more).
After that, well there’s no looking back I guess – found Neal’s site, went to his signing in Lakeside (which he probably remembers as I dragged my wife and son along and we were the first ones there) and then went out for beers with the man himself at the next signing in London.
To date my favourite book is still probably Prador Moon, closely followed by all of the Polity series – it really defines how I think about science fiction now, the fact that I’ve met Neal and discussed it all in person is the absolute awesome sauce on top.
Well finally I guess, I do run a blog: http://jebelkrong.blogspot.com/ which focuses a lot on gaming, but I do post the occasional bit of Asher news and the odd review (but nothing like Walker of Worlds site, which is awesome, btw) – just something to keep me sane at work more than anything, but I like it!
If anyone games on XBL, my gamertag is, yep: Jebel Krong; and you will currently find me playing the hell out of Mass effect 2 most nights!
Regards
Dan
p.s. I can’t submit a photo of my book collection because I still don’t have a bookcase. I keep them all in boxes, as between kids and life, a nice bookcase is always at the bottom of the priority list… *sigh* maybe this year…
