Saturday, September 05, 2009

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!"

11 comments:

Rob Rath said...

ZING! First in the orderly queue!

Well, just whets my appetite for more.

Matthew Churchill said...

Good preview Xhalax, well done.

Dan - I haven't picked Triumff up for a few weeks but will try and finish it soon so you can have the final version of my write-up.

Best,
M

Unknown said...

im going to listen to you reading before bed, ive had alittle listen there and it sounds fantastic. I CANT WAIT.

Big said...

Shit...is dosnt look like
"Triumff was Fucking A " is gonna cut it..........back to the drawing board methinks.

cor said...

loving the swords behind dan in the latest you tube video :)

Rob Rath said...

Loved the first chapter of Triumff, good to see you giving your comedic muscles a stretch.

And a note to all you Americans- despite what the video implies ("in the UK on October 1st"), I checked Amazon and the US street date is indeed the same. Great cover too. So you're now officially a "master of action and adventure," eh Dan? I hope there was some sort of elaborate secret ceremony granting you the title. (Or did you have to sneak into the R.E. Howard mausoleum, dodging traps and fighting giant beasts before prying the crown off his head?)

Big said...

Cant wait to actually get Triumff in my hands though, nothing like a new book, their like little,portable doorways to somewhere else!

HiWayRobry said...

Very nice review Xhalax. Concise and informative. Maybe you should review books for a living? Just a thought.

So, October 1st is the release date. Question: Is Triumff coming out in hardback first or straight to paperback? I'm one of those fools who doesn't like hardback books and must wait interminably for the paperback. Oh well, we all have our own crosses to bear!

Xhalax said...

HiWayRobry - I don't think a career as a reviewer would be a good one for me since I found that one difficult to write in only about 300 words.

My reviews are usually 1000 words or more as I'm naturally verbose, which is a bit much really. Plus I'd need an editor too to sort out my lovely broken, dictated English....which Nik was kind enough to do on this review.

Needless to say, I could have tripled the word count of this review without hesitation but I'm very proud of it and my accomplishment of a review in around 300 words as it stands too since it got posted here.

And last but by no means least I will say BUY TRIUMFF COZ IT'S AWESOME! And yes it had to be shouted.

Big said...

Xhalax a 1000 words!?!
mmmmmmmmm 4 DEFINATELY AINT GONNA CUT IT !, and yes i did need to shout....... out of fear..lol

Xhalax said...

Big - Yes....1000 words. Which is also the reason why I don't write to many either.