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Three Big Announcements: PW*, Paperback, Pathfinder!

Good afternoon, Starfighters, and I hope your weeks have all progressed awesomely, with ruination to your foes, glory to the cause of Justice, et cetera. This week: announcements!

First: LAST FIRST SNOW got a starred review in Publishers Weekly!

Gladstone’s gift for vivid storytelling, his deep empathy for his characters, his sly satire of current socioeconomic issues, and the rich, diverse world of his novels have become reliable pleasures, always enthralling and somehow consistently improving with every book.

Bam. Last First Snow drops on July 14th, Bastille Day, which amuses me for Reasons. This book is about protest, and communities trying to change themselves. I described some of the key themes on Tor.com a while back. You can pre-order it now wherever fine books are sold! For example: Indiebound, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. Pre-orders are golden: they help bookstores identify interest in a forthcoming title, which leads to more orders and excitement around the book. Do what you can for the cause!

Second: FULL FATHOM FIVE is out in paperback this week!

Paperback release is a beautiful time in a book’s lifecycle. I say this every time my books make paperback, but—when I was a kid, I never bought hardcover. One hardcover book cost a night’s wages at the pizza joint! Paperbacks won my heart on price efficiency; I could wait, albeit with great difficulty, for the softcover edition. So, teenage Max, wherever you are, you can afford this one now. Locus and the Lambda Award jury liked the book. You probably will too! Same link parade: Indiebound, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.

Third: I’m writing a PATHFINDER novel!

This is long range news—like, I won’t break ground on this book until 2016—but I thought you might like to know! I’m really excited about this project. I’ve been tabletop gaming since I was a kid; it’s how I learned to talk, like in a group with people, and how I formed my closest and earliest bonds with friends. I’m itching to do something fun with the Pathfinder world’s almost but not quite medieval modes of production, murder hobos, planar travel, elves, and sideways transhumanism, with mystically reified morality axes, Vance-adjacent magic, chance-dependent physics—god, consider the sheer potential for shenanigans, and that’s just talking about the ruleset! Then we get into dead gods, kingdoms ruled by demonic contracts, undead stuff, yes yes yes. This gnarled conceptual space has so much storytelling potential—so many dark corners and intriguing tangles to explore, Planetary style. I’ve played with and pondered these concepts in my own tabletop games since Time Immemorial, as veterans of the Faerun Insurance and Recovery Corporation well know, and now I get to share the fruits of those ponderings with y’all, Dear Readers. We’ve all been playing in the same woods since we were kids, but follow me and I’ll show you what I found there. This will be a fun ride. Don’t buckle your seatbelts. It’s more entertaining for me that way.

*buckles his own seatbelt surreptitiously*

I’m grateful to James Sutter and the rest of the team at Paizo for loaning me their toys. I promise when I return them all of the heads will be on the proper bodies. Probably. Wherever they’ve spent the meantime.

Oh, and if your reaction to this news is but Max what about your other books, first, thank you for your support, and second, have no fear, Dear Reader. Tor already has a manuscript for Craft Sequence Book 5, which, because I so dearly love making my editor’s life easier, is numbered Four, tentative publication date 2016 sometime. Even with my tight schedule and overlapping Seekret Projekts for the rest of the year, I don’t anticipate breaking pace on the Sequence. More news on that front as soon as I have anything firm to report, of course.

Okay, that’s all for now! Enjoy your days. Vote in the Locus Awards. Find someone cool and give them a high-five. Peace.

In Which I Am All Over The Internet

I have many essays for you this week!

As per usual, I am roughly speaking all over the internet writing stuff for FULL FATHOM FIVE’s launch. I’m hearing lots of great noise about it, too—my favorites being notes from people who say the book has encouraged them to think generatively, to break out of imaginative ruts. Little could please me more than hearing that.

After a crazy launch / convention week, I’ve finally got back into stride on Book 5. This morning I wrote three scenes that have needed writing for a while. Pretty soon I reach the All Hell Breaks Loose segment of our adventure, not that All Hell hasn’t been breaking loose already—but Our Heroes are in a slight calm before the storm. Seven plot cards remain (Or six?), but that could be anywhere between 15 and 30,000 words, probably closer to the later given that one of the cards basically says “THERE WAS A FIREFIGHT!”

So yeah, that’s what’s up with me lately.

First order of business: I’m signing this evening at 7 PM in the Framingham, MA Barnes & Noble, so if you’re in the region get thee to the store!

Second order of business: listening to me talk about things! What kinds of things have I been discussing around the internet? Well, to date…

Place as Character in the Craft Sequence! (Featuring dragons and other strangeness) on The Qwillery
First Drafts Suck, an exhortation on Chuck Wendig’s blog about the relative quality of basically every first draft I’ve ever written or seen, with few exceptions.
Of Meat Hooks and Desire, being a discussion of why action sequences sometimes, but not always, accelerate a story, and an application of action scene technique to subtler pacing. It makes sense. I swear. Hosted by the estimable Brian Staveley!
Tangled Up in Heroes, an essay on Bob Dylan, the Indigo Girls, heroism, and diversity in story.
And, on Tor.com, my answers to The Pop Quiz at the End of the Universe, which is about as cool as it sounds.
Oh! And, for your listening pleasure, I was a guest on Fran Wilde’s Cooking the Books podcast, in which I discuss food and Full Fathom Five, and provide an excellent recipe for Chinese-style fried egg and tomato.

Third order of business: surprise! I’ll be participating in an AMA on r/Fantasy Thursday afternoon / evening. Bring your questions! I will answer them! My answers may be neither correct nor complete, but I’ll probably have some scotch at my side, so I’ll have that much going for me at least.

Happy reading!

New Story! Full Fathom Five Signing Pics! Yay!

First things first: JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO GO BACK IN THE, um. INTERNET. I have a new short story out today on Tor.com! For free! Go read it!

Still here? Why?

Okay, fine, you probably want the low-down on the events of yesterday’s crazy awesome book launch!

Well. It was great.

First things first, I have essays like all over the internet now. I stopped by Mary Robinette Kowal’s blog to talk about My Favorite Bit in Full Fathom Five. On SF Signal, I stop by Sarah Chorn’s Special Needs in Strange Worlds column to discuss how I used to cheat on eye exams, and (more seriously) the relationship between disability and worldbuilding. And more to come!

Yesterday culminated in an amazing reading / signing / million dollar bash at Pandemonium Books and Games. Here are some pictures from the event, courtesy of Amy Eastment!

And here’s another one, more serious:

There was wine. Much good craic, book signing, and board game purchasing (I am now the proud owner of Mage Knight? We’ll see how that turns out.) ensued. Also ice cream! As a result I’m a bit staggered today, but making progress toward normal, non-release-addled human engagement.

Be well! Enjoy the short story! And the book, for that matter.

FULL FATHOM FIVE in Stores Today!

THE BOOK EXISTS. IT IS ON SALE. I AM TALKING IN MY INCREDIBLE HULK VOICE.

You can find it on shelves! You can find it on the internet! You can find it anywhere and everywhere!

… Okay, maybe not everywhere. But still.

Read this glowing review (Liz Bourke at Tor.com)! Or this glowing review (Tammy Sparks at Books, Bones, Buffy)! Or this other glowing review (by Dan/i/el at Intellectus Speculativus)!

Or read this cinematic-style trailer I wrote for the book!

Want signed copies? Order them here! Or come see me this evening at Pandemonium Books and Games, at 7pm!

Me, I’ll be busy collapsing in a corner somewhere. Or baking cookies. Cookies are good.

Though I should probably wait to start baking cookies until I stop being all

But, you know, for now:

FULL FATHOM FIVE Appearances at Readercon

As I write this I have one week before FULL FATHOM FIVE hits shelves. Time’s ticking down until you all read my strange book about false gods, nonprofit funding difficulties, slam poetry, golems, and murder. Fun stuff!

We’ll celebrate the launch at Pandemonium Books and Games in Central Square on Tuesday the 15th, at 7 pm. In the days leading up to that, you can best find me at ReaderCon, New England’s premier convention for People Who Read Stuff. Most likely I’ll be working up the urge to tell Samuel R. Delany that I really really enjoyed Dhalgren.

(You ever have one of those feelings, like you just read this masterpiece and want to talk to the author about it, but you feel like a dolt trying to do so because the book came out like thirty years ago and they’ve heard it already? Then again, if thirty years from now someone comes up to me saying they read and loved Full Fathom Five, I’ll fully expect an “Achievement Unlocked” dialogue to appear, so maybe I shouldn’t sweat it so much.)

If you’re wondering what I will be up to at Readercon, then have no fear! Schedule is here—and weirdly Friday-loaded:

Friday July 11

1:00 PM G The Difference Between Magic and Science . Max Gladstone, Lev Grossman, Andrea Hairston, Kenneth Schneyer (leader), J.M. Sidorova. In an interview with Avi Solomon, Ted Chiang proposed that “The difference between magic and science is at some level a difference between the universe responding to you in a personal way, and the universe being entirely impersonal.” How can we complicate this statement? Are there magic systems that are entirely impersonal, and if so, are they indistinguishable from science and technology? Is science only possible in an impersonal universe? How do we make allowances for the personal applications of science and the impersonal applications of magic, and where do the boundaries between them lie?

2:00 PM F When the Magic Returns. John Chu, Max Gladstone, Daryl Gregory, Lev Grossman, Victoria Janssen (leader). The “return” of magic into a mundane world is one of very few ways in which we see fantasy set in the future. Why is this? What makes fantasy and futurity so incompatible? Why is the return of magic so often associated with apocalypse, while its banishment is usually the consequence of scientific or industrial progress? From Aarne-Thompson tale types like Richard Corbet’s “The Fairies’ Farewell” to Kim Harrison’s Hollows series, panelists will talk about the ways in which magic-as-technology can be explored.

6:00 PM E Autographs. Felix Gilman, Max Gladstone.

8:00 PM CL Kaffeeklatsch. Max Gladstone, Lev Grossman.

9:00 PM ENV Reading: Max Gladstone. Max Gladstone. Max Gladstone reads excerpts from Full Fathom Five, his next novel (out July 15.)

Saturday July 12

1:00 PM CO The Shiny, Candy-like Zombie: Commoditizing the Undead. Scott Edelman, Max Gladstone, Catt Kingsgrave, John Langan, Sarah Langan (leader). On Twitter, M. John Harrison wrote about the appeal of zombies: “You can hate them without feeling wrong. You can kill them like eating sweets. Then you’re hungry again & you can kill more. They’re fully dehumanised. There’s no off-season, no moral limitation. They’re the *enemy*. What’s not to love? They’re what we really want.” So do we like zombies because they’re the consumer-friendly, ambiguity-free face of implacable evil? Are they, in fact, the most perfectly commoditised monsters?

So, basically I’ll be trying not to look like an idiot in front of a bunch of very smart people, including Lev Grossman and Felix Gilman. Yipe. Wish me luck!

The lead up to con and launch, as usual, has involved psychic heavy lifting—writing of essays, trying to say smart things on the radio with people, etc. (To wit, check out this interview I did with Justin Landon and Tabitha Pabkins for tor.com’s Rocket Talk podcast!) Mindwise I’m a bit short on surplus analysis, but here’s a rundown of recent consumption:

EDGE OF TOMORROW. It’s great. Tom Cruise gets shot repeatedly in the face for Buddhism. Emily Blunt is excellent. Action scenes never gratuitous, always comprehensible—no mean feat when your bad guys are amorphous metal squidmonsters. See in theaters if possible. I saw it twice in one day. It was a very hot day, but still.

THE RHESUS CHART. Charlie Stross’s Laundry Files continue their long and awesome build. The latest installment is worth reading the four preceding volumes—though I don’t think you have to. CHART contains both the funniest moment and the strongest gut-punch in the series so far, at least by my lights. Also there is a vampire investment bank. No, I mean, like, there are investment bankers who actually drink people’s blood. I’m not being metaphorical, they have sharp teeth and cannot go out in daylight, and- oh, just read it, it’s excellent.

THE FIRE NEXT TIME. James Baldwin, and yes I’ve never read this before. You should if you haven’t yet. It’s about a hundred pages, brilliantly written, and Vital Reading, especially for US-Americans. Makes me want to reread Ellison’s (Ralph, not Harlan) INVISIBLE MAN, but that’s a bigger project for a later day. Harrowing and intense. As necessary now as when it came out.

WAR FOR THE OAKS. Emma Bull. A trip to the wellspring of modern urban fantasy (as a marketing category I mean, technically Lankhmar is urban fantasy, but that’s another panel). Remarkable how much this book is about cities and bands and love and sex as opposed to Faerie Magick; there’s capital S Sorcery here, sure, but music’s the heart. Watch for a garden party illusion contest that (unless I’m very much misreading it) throws a glove to the whole fantasy genre, in the kindest way.

ECLIPSE: RISE OF THE ANCIENTS. I wrote about Eclipse back in winter, but this was the first game I’ve played with five players and all the new expansion material. Rise of the Ancients massively improves (to my mind) the tactical picture of Eclipse by dislodging the slightly overpowered missile boat build from its throne and altering (via warp portals) the game’s topology to prevent hyperspace turtling. If you don’t know what those words mean, just play this game. Further endorsement: bearded guy with cute bulldog puppy saw us walking to our game, came up to us: “ECLIPSE my favorite game EVER, I love it so much!” Don’t doubt the bulldog puppy. Or disappoint it. Or else it will come for you wif its cute ickle TEETH and sweet JAWS.

(I like board games and I kind of idolize the SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN folks, so I’ve been thinking about reviewing board games around here more frequently. Not sure I have sufficiently broad experience with games to be able to review them, though…)

Meanwhile, on the TBR pile:

THE CAUSAL ANGEL, Hannu Rajaniemi. The Quantum Thief was one of my favorite books of the last few years. I look forward to seeing how he finishes the series!

MY REAL CHILDREN, Jo Walton. Nuff said.

THE KILLING MOON, NK Jemisin. A long overdue read. Looks wonderful and weird. First few pages very tightly written.

THE SECOND WORLD WAR, Anthony Beevor. I know more about the Opium Wars and the Taiping Revolution than I know about The War. Time to fix that. If I ever want to write that God Wars novel, it would help to know how a war that reinvented the technology of warmaking was fought.

And that’s all I have for now. Go listen to that podcast. Or enjoy your summer. Or buy my book. Hopefully all of the above! I’ll see you here next Tuesday, for *drumroll* Launch Day.

FULL FATHOM FIVE—Book, Events, and More!

But by “more” I mostly mean “Book and Events”—wait, hold on, before you leave LOOK AT THIS:

Isn’t the cover beautiful? Don’t the designs, drawing, and expression all work so well together? Doesn’t the ink glisten fuliginously?

If fuliginosity isn’t enough for you, check out all these people who say nice things about me!

And:

If you can’t read, you probably won’t be able to parse this blog post. But if you can’t read from jpgs but can parse text for some reason—say, perhaps, you’re a robot—in the upper left we have Elizabeth Bear: “I’m having Max Gladstone killed. He’s too good already to be allowed to live. If this is early work, the rest of us are out of a job.”

And Brian Staveley: “A story in which characters jump off the page as though they’re real people, every one of them ready to gut you or con you, nurse you back to health or steal your dreams.”

It’s real.

Look—I don’t kvetch much on this blog or in public. But this was a tough book to write. Nothing’s easy, but damn. So seeing this as an actual, honest-to-goodness BOOK, with, you know, PAGES—this is a good feeling. And I’m really excited for this one.

And you get to read it in just under a month. You can, in fact, preorder it right now—from your local bookstore, from Barnes and Noble, from Amazon, from anywhere you so choose! (Actually, pre-orders help a lot—since pre-orders help stores determine how many copies of the book they want, which in turn determines how many copies of the book the publisher prints. Buy early, buy often! Or borrow from your local library. As you will.)

Also, starting this weekend: CONS and SIGNINGS!

June 20-22: Fourth Street Fantasy in Minneapolis, MN. I’ll be on two great panels: Shifts in Historical Narrative, at 8pm on Saturday, and Influence, Tropes, and Prior Art at 11:30 am on Sunday. Come see and say hi!

July 11-13: Readercon in Burlington, MA. I’ll be on two panels Friday, back to back and on similar topics: The Difference Between Magic and Science at 1:00pm, and When the Magic Returns at 2:00pm. At 9:00 pm that evening, I’ll be reading, maybe from Full Fathom Five, maybe from my forthcoming tor.com story, maybe from something else entirely. Come see!

July 13: Barnes and Noble in Burlington, MA at 7:30 pm. As I’m given to understand it, Hizzonna Paul Park, Brian “the Estimable” Staveley, Felix-motherf***n-Gilman, and I will be playing either QI or Numberwang at the Burlington Barnes and Noble. Madness may ensue. Strike that. Will definitely ensue. Come for the madness, stay for EVEN MORE MADNESS.

—–July 15: FULL FATHOM FIVE LAUNCH PARTY! at PANDEMONIUM BOOKS AND GAMES at 7:00 PM! This is Launch Day. It will be Awesome.

July 23: Barnes and Noble in Framingham, MA at 7:00 pm—I will demonstrate the mysterious caffeinated arts!

August 14-18: WORLDCON! I’ll be at LonCon 3 having a grand old time and not at all thinking about the Campbell Awards oh my god it is a competitive slate this year isn’t it well at least I get to share it with such excellent people!

And then probably more cons to follow!

I have also, shock and horror, updated my events page with the information above! Watch out, world.

I have a book.

Also, Godzilla.

Full Fathom Five Trailer!

Last week Tor.com posted the first five chapters of Full Fathom Five, my next book, due out July 15. This is obviously great! Go ye forth and read.

Though…

Look, maybe this is just my inner millennial talking, but I do wish books had a better equivalent of the modern trailer—something that gave you a sense of the overall story in a single package complete with aggressively edited footage and dialogue that isn’t actually part of the final feature. Book trailers exist, of course, and some of them are great, but that’s not what I mean. Film and print are hugely different media. It makes sense to take a finished movie and cut together a trailer, but creating an audiovisual book trailer that actually works is a process of adaptation all its own. Harder, even, since a trailer-creator has to take the textual world of the book and recreate it in visual language in three minutes or less. AV book trailers suggest that the movie of the book actually exists, and try to sell that.

(And, let’s be honest—a proper AV trailer for one of my books would cost, and if you think I have cost-in-italics kind of money lying around, you obviously haven’t read John Scalzi’s deal size descriptions.)

My solution: I have written a book trailer for your entertainment, in screenplay format. (I did this with Two Serpents Rise last year, too.) Warning: in proper trailer form, this contains spoilers, and is only tangentially representative of the actual book. Read it through, close your eyes periodically, and envision the future with the limitless budget of your imagination!

Just don’t expect any of this dialogue to be in the final cut.