This is the website of Simon Morden, author of the Metrozone series, published by Orbit Books in the UK and USA.
Here you can read Simon’s latest News and Blog Posts, find information on his books, read published essays and get in touch with the author.
If you’re here for the Heart project, this is the main page.
News from Greenwich is that not only are the hardback books going quickly (reserve your copy here), but the tickets to the exclusive ‘after dark’ extravaganza are also disappearing fast – get them here.
And there’s been two reviews of the anthology so far, both of them, er, stellar. The first was from Starburst, which mentioned me by name (which was nice), and the second from Tor.com (which unfortunately blows the cryptic meaning of my title out of the water – so, spoilers).
Niall Alexander on the Tor blog puts it very well – and is certainly the mood which I was going for.
There can be no questioning the value of this artful anthology: it’s as inspiring as it is inspired. But The Lowest Heaven is also a timely and ultimately touching reminder of what we stand to lose by turning inwards as opposed to venturing again into the unknown. Granted, the universe is vast—and vastly dangerous, I dare say—but consider the wonders we stand to discover; the places, the races!
I will definitely be there – the train tickets are booked, and I’ll be dashing about the South like a dervish for three days – I’ll have my signing pen with me.
Posted in: From the Author, News and Updates by Simon Morden on May 23rd, 2013
Leave a comment
Pandemonium’s latest is almost on us, and, (selects random accent from data bank – settles on cod Northern) “By ‘eck, lad, it’s reet grand.”
You all know from his work on Thy Kingdom Come what a fantastically awesome artist Joey HiFi is. The cover for The Lowest Heaven is utterly wonderful. If you look very closely at Mars, you’ll even see a tiny representation of the Pacific in orbit around it, from my story WWBD. Joey talks more about the process on the National Maritime Museum’s blog, and how the anthology ties into the Visions of the Universe exhibition by the Royal Observatory.
The table of contents is, er, impressive. I think that’s the right word. Behold:
Arts by Joey, edited by Jared Shurin and Anne C Perry. That’s not the end of the Joey HiFi love, either. The limited edition hardback version has a fold-out map of the solar system. It is a thing of wonder and beauty, and I can’t wait to see it for real.
There is a launch, on the 13th June, at Greenwich, at which I will (with luck and a following wind) be signing, along with as many of the others who can make it. The limited edition hardcover is only available from the Royal Maritime Museum. Accept no substitutes! After the 13th, the paperback and ebook will be released through the usual outlets. But you want that hardback, don’t you?
Posted in: From the Author, News and Updates by Simon Morden on May 9th, 2013
Leave a comment
It’s all fairly self-explanatory: a Freezone logo is something I’ve been toying with for a while, and finally came up with a design I was both happy with and thought reflected the ethos of the Freezone. It’s on a Creative Commons licence, so you’re free to put it pretty much anywhere you like – it has a permanent page here, and a link to the 640×640 image.
Posted in: From the Author, Metrozone by Simon Morden on April 10th, 2013
2 Comments
“The Curve of the Earth successfully opens a whole new chapter for Petrovitch in the best possible way by exploring whole host of new avenues, hopefully leading to many more adventures.”
http://upcoming4.me/news/book-news/review-simon-morden-the-curve-of-the-earth
“Morden peppers the swiftly moving story with high energy action scenes, some of which are impressively original. To the extent that The Curve of the Earth feels like an extended set-up for the next novel in the series, it at least whets my appetite for whatever might be coming next.”
http://www.tzerisland.com/bookblog/2013/3/23/the-curve-of-the-earth-by-simon-morden.html
“Great dialogue, great characters, great settings – this takes post-apocalyptic worlds to a new height, with sensational results. Absolutely riveting!”
http://www.booksmonthly.co.uk/adfan.html
“I just slammed through it, and it’s a blast.”
http://www.sfrevu.com/php/Review-id.php?id=14414
Posted in: From the Author, Metrozone, News and Updates, Reviews by Simon Morden on April 7th, 2013
Leave a comment
(now with added hyperlinks!)
There are very good reasons why I didn’t do a day-by-day blog of Eastercon. The first reason is because the convention hotel and the one I was staying at were separated by a bus journey, and nipping back to my room to file a report would have taken a significant chunk of time out of every day. The second reason is allied to the first, in that I didn’t want to lug my steam-powered laptop around with me (and in the event, the con hotel wifi was taking a beating without me adding to the bandwidth). The third reason is probably the most important, however: I was having too good a time to stop.
So – sunny Bradford. For me, denizen of the wild north, that meant a journey of less than two hours, door to door. Which was nice. And the recent heavy snows hadn’t affected the travel arrangements of anyone, as far as I could tell. The Jury’s Inn hotel was a stone’s throw from the station, was clean, comfortable, quiet, had an ethernet connection for fast, free internettery, and the breakfasts were excellent. The bus service (laid on by the con) was frequent, even though misjudging the traffic density on Saturday morning did mean I was late for my slot in the ‘genre get-together’. Fortunately, it wasn’t a panel, and I wasn’t left too embarrassed. The con hotel food was, er, limited. Probably not much anyone could have done about that, and the drinks were reasonably priced, and the wonderfully skiffy-named Clarks’ beer – traditional and blond – were more than acceptable brews.
I could give you a blow-by-blow account: I’d rather you came and experienced an Eastercon yourself (next year in Glasgow). Suffice to say, there were many highlights, and no lowlights. People kept on coming up to me to say how much they liked my books – which doesn’t get old, and is actually quite sweet. With the news about Iain Banks ringing loudly in our ears, realise that all of us are mortal, and my writing heroes and heroines won’t be around for ever. Say nice things to them while they’re still here – which is why sitting next to Chris Beckett on a panel and talking to him about how much I enjoyed Dark Eden and The Holy Machine is important.
I inevitably launched two books – and inevitably not my own – for Clarion Publishing. Due to Ben Jeapes‘ indisposition (he was the centurion in the Abingdon Passion Play), he’d asked me to stand in for him. Not the weirdest request I’ve ever had, but very close. I did a reading, and signed the books – there are now copies of His Majesty’s Starship and Jeapes Japes from such unlikely luminaries as Mary Shelly and Jerry Cornelius, Engels and Ursula Le Guin. Seriously.
I was on panels, which were good and educational and entertaining, and I got to hold forth about my favourite subject, the state of science education in British schools…
I got to talk to an awful lot of lovely people. I got to witness a light-sabre duel between Francis Knight and Anne Lyle. I had a very nice curry thanks to the lovely crowd at Gollancz, and then drank whisky into the small hours with Simon Ings. I didn’t get up to collect a BSFA award for Joey HiFi’s cover of Thy Kingdom Come, but did see Ian Sales‘ Adrift on the Sea of Rains – which I very much liked – win the Short Story catagory. I signed books (which I had written myself), and bought books, too.
Special mention has to go to the organising committee. The fact that most people didn’t even notice that there was a committee was a testament to how good the con was. It was brilliant. See you all again in Glasgow.
Posted in: From the Author, News and Updates by Simon Morden on April 5th, 2013
Leave a comment
The Curve of the Earth
March 2013
