Form an Orderly Queue...

...The countdown to "Triumff" begins here. It's less than a month (October the 1st to be precise) before Angry Robot releases my first novel for them: "Triumff"! I've spoken about this a little before, and I must say, I'm beginning to get very excited about its launch. But you don't just want to hear me banging on about it: I've sent a few PDF copies out to some friends and relations of this blog to solicit their opinions and previews. As the responses come back, I'm going to run them as guest blogs, and today we have the very first. Ladies and gentlemen, let's have a very warm welcome for the indomitable and rather lovely Xhalax!

Take it away, Xhalax:


"I’ve never been much of a fan of history, even though a lot of sci-fi seems to be based on the past in a ‘history repeats itself’ sort of way. But I’m not one to prejudge, so I read “Triumff” with an open mind.

"The concept is pretty straight forward, but I have to admit that I kept forgetting that this was actually ‘modern times’ rather than the 16th century. The idea is that the UK hasn’t ‘progressed’ in a manner we’d recognise since the 1500’s. It is Elizabethan London in all it’s grotty, grimy glory.

"The setting is done to the usual Dan Abnett standard, with broad brush strokes setting up Triumff’s London to the right degree, and, as per usual, I was dropped right into the very middle of the world, and felt like this was a place where the characters could really live.

"The characters all fit the story nicely with elements of Flashman and shades of Blackadder. Not to mention the more contemporary references thrown in for good measure, and a laugh too.

"All in all, I really enjoyed this jolly good romp through London, and found myself laughing out loud on quite a few occasions, especially at the modern media references, which could necessitate another read through to try and spot more. Plus, I liked the little twist at the end, didn’t expect that one!"