~Mythago Wood meets a dime Western with an Australian accent ~

What can I say but *love*!

I’ve been blessed to have some wonderful book covers in my career and this one by Joey Hi Fi, commissioned by Angry Robot (and partially inspired by Brigitte Sutherland’s graphic novel illustrations) is right up at the top!

PEACEMAKER is due for release May 1st 2014 in UK and US, and as soon as it ships in Australia.

What do you think?

The eagle’s shadow behind Virgin has great significance in the story and you can see Nate Sixkiller on Virgin’s shirt. The background is the city and the foreground is the Birrimun Park. The park has hints of purple mulla mulla on it.

Perfect!

For those who are wondering what the heck it’s about, the story is a blend of SF, Western, paranormal Australiana. US Marshall Nate Sixkiller, and Park Ranger, Virgin Jackson, have to work together to solve a murder in Birrimun Park. Turns out that co-operation is not a strong suit for either of them. But in this case there is really no option.

I would describe it as Mythago Wood meets penny Western with an Australian accent.

So excited to finally share this news with you all!

*PRESS RELEASE: 21 August 2013: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*
Angry Robot Signs Marianne de Pierres in Two-Book Deal

Angry Robot is thrilled to announce the acquisition of two genre-busting books from Marianne de Pierres.

The World English and Translation rights deal was negotiated by Senior Editor Lee Harris and Curtis Brown’s Tara Wynne. The first of this two-book series, Peacemaker, will be released in May 2014, and the as-yet-untitled sequel will follow in 2015.

A true crossover, Peacemaker is a cracking combination scifi, fantasy, western, and crime.

Marianne de Pierres: “I’m thrilled to be joining the Angry Robot team with the Peacemaker series as I truly admire the kind of books they publish. Not to mention that Trent Jamieson, Kaaron Warren, Lee Battersby and Jo Anderton are some of my favourite Australian speculative fiction authors. It will also be great to work with Lee Harris again, who I first met as editor of Hub Magazine when he published one of my Glitter Rose stories. Angry Robot’s thinking is modern and explorative and a blast of pure oxygen in speculative fiction publishing.”

Peacemaker: In the future, a ranger protects the last remaining piece of parkland in the shadow of a sprawling mega-metropolis.

Lee Harris: “I’ve been a great admirer of Marianne’s work, ever since I started reading her brilliant Sentients of Orion series back in 2007. I’m absolutely thrilled to welcome her to the Angry Robot family and I can’t wait for you all to read Peacemaker.”

Tara Wynne: “Marianne’s Peacemaker series and Angry Robot seem a perfect match. I look forward to nurturing this new relationship and to the books’ success.”

About Marianne: Marianne de Pierres is the author of the acclaimed Parrish Plessis and award winning Sentients of Orion science fiction series. The Parrish Plessis series has been translated into eight languages and adapted into a roleplaying game. She’s also the author of a bestselling teen dark fantasy series entitled Night Creatures. She lives in Brisbane, Australia. Marianne writes award-winning crime under the pseudonym Marianne Delacourt.

www.mariannedepierres.com

www.tarasharp.com

www.burnbright.com.au

@mdepierres

About Angry Robot: Angry Robot is a genre publisher that brings readers the best in new SF, F and WTF?!
All titles are released as paperbacks and major eBook formats. Distribution is through Random House
(North America) and GBS (UK). Angry Robot Ltd is part of Osprey Group.
Contact:

Translation enquiries, contact Rights Executive Suzannah Brooksbank:

SBrooksbank@ospreypublishing.com

Publicity enquiries, contact Publicity Manager Caroline Lambe: caroline.lambe@angryrobotbooks.com

Reviewed by Mandy Wrangles

Tanyana is special. Her career as an architect – a pionner – makes her one of the most highly regarded people in society.  By manipulating pions, the particles that hold all matter together through a blend of ritual and innate talent, Tanyana and her team are working on a giant construction; a prestigious statue named Grandeur in the city of Movac-Under-Keeper. And then something goes wrong. Tanyana is left injured, humiliated and without the ability to see or manipulate pions. She is cast into a world quite the opposite to what she knows – that of a lowly Debris collector.

Tanyana is denied justice at every turn. No one wants to know or listen to her; no one wants to be the one to help her find who – or what – caused her fall from grace. Her critical circle, the nine skilled binders who worked below and in harmony with Tanyana have abandoned her, and sinister undercurrents sweep and still her every movement.  Money ebbs from her bank account, the mysterious collection suit (and its creator) she finds is now part of her physical being is without explanation or an instruction booklet. Blank-faced ‘Puppet Men’ are watching, but no one can tell her why, or who they are. Not only is she is shunned by the society she once knew, she’s not exactly accepted with open arms by the debris crew she’s allocated to. Tanyana is alone, lost and powerless.

Debris collectors are the lowest of the low in the country of Varsnia, but without them, debris – the waste product left behind by pions – threatens to cause some serious damage. It’s when Tanyana finds her feet as a collector that this story really amped up for me. The relationships between the collection team are cautious and real, they trust each other but are innately suspicious of Tanyana – she represents everything they’re not. Each team member is drawn extremely well, and it’s easy to care about them very quickly, particularly the mystifying and childish Lad. The relationship Lad has with his brother Kichlan is an especially beautiful and intriguing bond; one that I’m looking forward to learning more about.

Debris is an exceptional novel. I have to admit, it’s taken me a long time since I finished reading to write this review. There are so many layers (yep,
just like an onion only tastier) I wasn’t sure where to begin. The physical aspect of Tanyana’s fall is the tip of the iceberg; Anderton’s observations of society and class system – and then the layers within that system – are written in a way that stays with you long after the story is finished. This is a story that sits somewhere in between fantasy and science fiction with a good dose of steampunk thrown in, but the themes covered and revelations about humanity are decidedly real. I’m a huge fan of a well-built world, and Debris ticks every box. The reader is treated intelligently, there are no over explanations to the workings of this world, just enough to keep you questioning and looking for the drip-fed answers while the action moves at a fast pace around you.

Debris is the first novel from Australian Jo Anderton, but not her first published work; she has a serious sackful of short fiction credits to her name. I for one will be sourcing those short stories to tide me over until the next instalment in The Veiled Worlds (Suited), is available later this year. I can’t wait to see what else Anderton’s  remarkable imagination has dreamed up.

Debris by Jo Anderton

Published by Angry Robot

Paperback – 408 pages

ISBN – 978-0-85766-153-1