Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books - Fantasy Book Picks - January 2015 (Older Reads)

Samantha Shannon - The Mime Order (The Bone Season) - Published by Bloomsbury Publishing (27 Jan. 2015)

Paige Mahoney has escaped the brutal prison camp of Sheol I, but her problems have only just begun: many of the survivors are missing and she is the most wanted person in London...

As Scion turns its all-seeing eye on the dreamwalker, the mime-lords and mime-queens of the city's gangs are invited to a rare meeting of the Unnatural Assembly. Jaxon Hall and his Seven Seals prepare to take centre stage, but there are bitter fault lines running through the clairvoyant community and dark secrets around every corner.

Then the Rephaim begin crawling out from the shadows. But where is Warden? Paige must keep moving, from Seven Dials to Grub Street to the secret catacombs of Camden, until the fate of the underworld can be decided.

Gareth L. Powell - Macaque Attack (Ack-Ack Macaque) - Published by Solaris (15 Jan. 2015)

This is the amazing conclusion to the award-winning series. The dangerous but charismatic Ack-Ack Macaque finds himself leading a dimension-hopping army of angry monkeys, facing an invading horde of implacable killer androids, and confronting the one challenge for which he was never prepared: impending fatherhood! Meanwhile, former journalist Victoria Valois fights to save the electronic ghost of her dead husband and reclaim his stolen soul from the sands of Mars.

Michael Moorcock - The Whispering Swarm: Book One of the Sanctuary of the White Friars - Published by Tor Books (13 Jan. 2015)

Now return to London just after the war, a city desperately trying to get back on its feet. And one young boy, Michael Moorcock, who is about to discover a world of magic and wonder. Between his first tentative approaches to adulthood - a job on Fleet Street, the first stirrings of his interest in writing - and a chance encounter with a mysterious Carmelite Friar, we see a version of Moorcock's life that is simultaneously a biography and a story. Mixing elements of his real life with his adventures in a parallel London peopled with highwaywomen, musketeers and magicians, this is Moorcock at his dazzling, mercurial best.

Andy Serkis (The Lord Of The Rings - Brand New Q&A about The Bone Season By Samantha Shannon

                   

                   

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books is really pleased to share the Q&A with Andy Serkis (The Lord of The Rings) on his acquisition and development of Samantha Shannon's internationally bestselling debut novel, THE BONE SEASON, which was published by Bloomsbury in August.

Serkis, whose Imaginarium Studios are currently in the process of adapting the book for the big screen, talks specifically about THE BONE SEASON - the first novel in this phenomenal new seven part fantasy series, which flung 22 year-old author Samantha Shannon into the spotlight when she was hailed as 'the next J K Rowling' by the international press.

'We all immediately saw its potential as a fantastic feature film,' Serkis told us of THE BONE SEASON. 'She’s very warm and a passionate storyteller - dedicated beyond belief. We’re working very closely with her on all aspects of bringing the world of the book to the screen. We’ve been involving her with all the early concept artwork that we’re beginning to put together. Obviously it’s her world so we want to make sure we bring it to life in the way that she wants.'

Serkis also talks about other upcoming projects, how working with Peter Jackson has influenced his career, and of course, about Gollum and The Hobbit

ANDY SERKIS Q&A

1. What is it about The Bone Season that compelled you to include it in The Imaginarium Studio's very first slate of films?

We first came across the manuscript at the London Book Fair and immediately fell in love with the scope, the scale and the exceptional detail of the world Samantha had created. It’s a really compelling story with such a great central character – we all immediately saw its potential as a fantastic feature film.

2. Have you met Samantha Shannon and how involved will she be in the film's production?

Yes of course – she’s a delightful, incredibly intelligent person. She’s very warm and a passionate storyteller- dedicated beyond belief. We’re working very closely with her on all aspects of bringing the world of the book to the screen. We’ve been involving her with all the early concept artwork that we’re beginning to put together. Obviously it’s her world so we want to make sure we bring it to life in the way that she wants.

3. Can you tell us about how the creative process for adapting a story like The Bone Season begins?

It begins with knowing the story you want to tell. There are thousands of stories contained within the world that Samantha has created- we have to be very disciplined about opening up the world in a way that will lead us on to further investigation in the rest of the series. We need to find the emotional heart of the story; the relationships; the tension; the suspense and the drive, and of course working closely with Samantha is going to make it much easier.

At this very early stage it’s about finding the right writer and the right approach to telling the story. Hand in hand with developing the screenplay it’s also about developing the visual world and bringing that to life, finding the right visual effects team who understand Samantha’s concepts.

4. You have been part of bringing some of the world's most famous and well-loved fantasy worlds to contemporary audiences. Which of your experiences across film, tv, stage and video games would you say has been most helpful in preparing you to produce The Bone Season?

It would be impossible to single out any one single experience, it’s an accumulation of all my experiences to date, but obviously having worked on The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien’s extraordinary world with Peter Jackson is incredibly useful. Peter basically gave me the opportunity to work on a lot of extraordinary characters in a lot of extraordinary worlds and has opened up my eyes to a genre that I knew very little about before.

5. Will performance capture will come mostly into play when portraying Shannon's Rephaim race on screen in The Bone Season? Can you give us any insight into how you'd like these characters to appear?

We’re in very early stages of designing how we want to portray these characters, and are exploring a variety of avenues to bring these characters to life. We’re certainly not tied to any one production technique at this early stage.

6. Animal Farm is the other film on your inaugural slate. What can you tell us about this project?

We’re extraordinarily excited about Animal Farm. We have been working on the methodology this year, the development of the characters and the story. We’re working with a wonderful character designer and very pleased with how the animals are developing as visual characters.

In terms of story, we’re remaining very truthful to the original book however we are relocating the setting as if Orwell were writing in the present day - we’ve been working very closely with the Orwell estate on this.

7. You're talents are very varied! If you could only do one thing for the rest of your career, which would you choose (stage/tv/film/video game roles, voice roles, director or producer)?

Mountain Climber.

                    

Even a dreamer can start a revolution.....

The year is 2059 and nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, employed to scout for information by breaking into people’s minds. For Paige has an unusual gift, she is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and in her world she commits treason simply by breathing. But outside the repressive boundaries of Scion, a powerful, otherworldly race waits in the shadows. The Season has come and Paige’s life is about to change for ever.

Samantha Shannon - The Bone Season - Quick Q&A - Happy Publication Day!

                                      

To mark the worldwide book launch today, Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books has had the opportunity to ask this rising star the following few searching questions about her exciting debut book and her writing:  

1. You mentioned in your acknowledgements 'Thank you all for taking a chance on a dreamer.' Can you explain how you have 'dreamed up' the projected series of seven instalments and the orders that they have come to exist as? 

The Seven Orders are the result of a lot of research into historical types of divination, from Roman augury to nineteenth-century Spiritualism and Native American spirit walking. I wanted there to be a sense of inheritance to my system, but also to put my own unique spin on each sub-type. I sorted them into seven 'orders' after looking at the similarities and differences between the different kinds and wrote them all up in On the Merits of Unnaturalness, a pamphlet that's mentioned in the book.  

2. What or who has been a strong influential force in forming your writing?

Margaret Atwood, John Donne and Emily Dickinson were all big influences. 

3. How have you managed to combine mythological elements with your own fantasy writing?

I wanted the story to have a mythology that drew together threads from multiple traditions, rather than just one. The two main mythological influences were the Greek pantheon -- particularly the legend of Aphrodite and Adonis -- and the Hebrew Bible.   

4. As you started writing novels at the age of fifteen, how has your style changed and developed to become a published author today?

It's come a long way since I was a teenager, especially under the guidance of my editor, who really helped me bring out the best in The Bone Season. I write very differently now to how I did when I was fifteen. I generally wrote in third-person at that age; I've now taken to writing in first, though I hope to try third again one day. I've learned a lot in the past year from my editors at Bloomsbury,  but I still have plenty more to learn. I hope my style will continue to mature and develop as I become a more experienced writer.   

Book Synopsis: The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people’s minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing.

It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford – a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.

The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine and also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.

This is one of my favourite YA/Adult reads this year, so now it's your chance to read it for yourselves. My book review is here if you would like further confirmation on how good it really is.

Book Review: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon - Bloomsbury

                                                 

Welcome to Scion: No Safer Place and a 'spoil' free review............

At the early age of 19, Samantha Shannon first wrote this debut book 'The Bone Season'. This is the first book as part of an ambitious seven-part series. The rights for this book have already been sold in eighteen languages with the film rights also having been optioned. There is already a great deal of interest and speculation - not only about this book but also the talented debut author herself. With such expectations, I was particularly intrigued to find out whether the hype was justifiable.

This book is an enigma. It's marketed as an adult read but actually it also reads with a Young Adult prowess. Therefore giving it that cross-over appeal. Some people might say that this falls under the New Adult genre. However, I'm not a big fan of this label. Originating from the US, in my opinion, it is another publishing gimmick. With the main characters all over the age of 18+, the nature of the content quite graphic and violent (although this is not necessarily overused) and with various curse words thrown in, I feel that this book is of a definite adult nature with a cross-over to young adult. 

Without doubt, this is one of the best debut pieces of adult fantasy literature that I have read for a long time. The book is so complex that you will have to forgive the author for the information overload at the start. In my opinion, this is necessary, as there is actually quite a lot to get your head around. It's just like turning the light on and then cranking up the dimmer switch once you do. However it's astonishingly good from this point forward. The year is 2059. In this world there are two types of people: Clairvoyants who are made an outcast by society due to their abnormailites and the Amaurotics who are known as the non-gifted. These are people who are generally classed as normal citizens. Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people’s minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing. I don't want to delve too much into the story as I would like to keep this book review free from any 'spoilers' or clues. I really don't want to detract from your reading pleasure. Hence the very eager and early review - I have been so excited to shout about this book that I haven't been able to wait any longer. Especially as this book is not actually published until late August! However, what I will say, is that the author has ventured into the dream world and pulled out an amazing read. It is absolutely breathtaking and a truly thrilling reading experience. I'm under no illusions as to the amount of time probably taken to be able to pull everything together. The actual structure of the 'Seven Orders of Clairvoyance' is absolutely brilliant and a work of art in itself.  I loved every minute of this unique fantasy epic. It is full of wild imagination, thrills, spills and graphic horror that will hit your senses like a runaway train. It has been a very long time since I have truly engaged in such a book. Samantha is definitely a talented author and one to keep an eye out for in the future. In my opinion, this story certainly lived up to the expectations. It will stay within my mind until the next book is published as part of this tantalising series. This is a recommended summer read - just count the days until it's finally out. Bravo!