Angry Robot Books launched in July 2009, publishing modern adult science fiction, fantasy and everything inbetween. To celebrate their third birthday we decided to review three of their books in LeftLion Issue 47 (June/July)
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Zoo City
Lauren Beukes
£7.99
Zinki December lives in a run-down area of Johannesburg which has become a ghetto for the Animalled - people intrinsically linked with an animal that has shamanic connotations. We learn that the affliction can be traced back to a plague in the 1980s, but why or how it has come to manifest itself is never made explicit. Zinki has a sloth, perhaps representing her lack of moral self-control after drug addiction and a stint inside prison. But as the Animalled have all killed someone, perhaps their creatures represent the spirits of the dead? Or should we believe ‘Toxic reincarnation theory’ which states toxins in the environment have disrupted the spiritual realm? This is a hard-boiled cyperpunk delight with a real sense of place. Close your eyes and imagine stepping into this bar: “twenties decadence meets electro glam. Great Gatsby by way of Lady Gaga, in shades of white and silver.” James Walker
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Embedded
Dan Abnett
£7.99
On a colony so dull it hasn’t yet chosen a name, the Cold War could finally be hotting up. A cynical journalist with a gammy hip is offered the opportunity to secretly piggy-back the mind of a soldier bound for the heart of what the authorities insist is nothing to be alarmed about. Everything the soldier sees, grizzled hack Lex Falk will also see. Of course, it goes pear-shaped almost instantly, and Falk, his host, and the supporting cast of fist-bumping soldiers soon find themselves up to their eyeballs in bullets, lasers and a blizzard of cool sounding names for futuristic weaponry. Many a 1090 MSGL Rand Dynamik grenade launcher makes an appearance, but Abnett also knows how to put meat on the bones of his characters and keep a breathless pace. If you always wanted to see more of the colonial marines from Aliens, you’ll love this. Robin Lewis
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Empire State
Adam Christopher
£7.99
The book starts out in the classic pulp fiction landscape of mobsters, private dicks and gin-joints in prohibition era New York; then throws rocket-powered feuding superheroes into the mix. And that’s just for starters - it’s not long before we’ve got a casebook stuffed full of double dealings, gasmasked agents and hidden agendas. Its labyrinthine plot takes effort to follow, but fans of classic gangster B-movies will recognise and enjoy the period references and dialogue, and Empire State’s engaging premise of noir-SF and wartime paranoia will hold a genre fan throughout. From its classic art deco style cover onwards, Adam Christopher’s debut novel is another great example of the diverse work coming out of the Nottingham imprint. It’s also their first Worldbuilder project, where fans can explore and contribute to the Empire State mythos beyond the page. I’d tell ya more, but I’d have ta rub ya out foist… Andrew Kells
Read an interview with publisher Marc Gascoigne
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