Wednesday, 4 December 2019

Enjoy the Silence

My third "Revenger" novel, BONE SILENCE, is now in production for an intended publication in the UK on January 30th. I'm pleased to say that an American edition will follow in April. It's a much longer novel than its predecessors, I have to say, but there's a lot in it and it does round off this particular set of adventures in the lives of the Ness sisters. Some, but not all, of the mysteries hinted at in the first two novels are resolved. I have greatly enjoyed exploring this setting, with its thousands of little worlds and age-of-sail aesthetic, and I would hope to revisit it at some point. That won't be for a little while, though, as there are other books in need of writing.

Since the summer, when I delivered BONE SILENCE (or BS, as I was about to write), I've been at work on two projects. One was the short story I mentioned in "Recent Things" back in October, which has also now been proofread, and the other is my next novel, which is a return to the setting of REVELATION SPACE. Next year will be the twentieth anniversary of that novel, astonishingly. In fact, advance reader copies were kicking around at the end of 1999, and the book itself appeared early in the year. Is it really twenty years? Yes. Deal with it, Reynolds.

As always, I'll say very little about the book-in-progress until much later in its gestation, other than to say that it is not a Prefect Dreyfus title.


19 comments:

  1. Great news re: Bone Silence! I'll certainly be ordering from the UK as I know I'll lack the patience to wait for April when the American edition is released.

    Glad to hear there'll be another RS novel. In my view, the RS universe is one of the most singular and memorable settings in science fiction.

    Also, the title of this post gives me an excuse to share one of my favorite Depeche Mode tracks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1JAwLrQy9k

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  2. AWESOME. I am definitely ready for more Revelation Space!

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  3. 2020. Two new AR novels including one set in Revelation Space. Lordy don't take me now!

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  4. Excited to read it and even more excited for a new book in the RS universe! You've created such a rich universe that the potential stories within it seem limitless.

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  5. I ordered my UK edition a few months ago and have really enjoyed reading the adventures of the Ness sisters.

    I re-read my Revelation Space novels last year and actually enjoyed them more than I had the first time. I guess some things get better with age.

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  6. How about a title for the new RS book, "Starless and Bible Black"? Or "The Mincer"?

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  7. Great news all around! I have enjoyed the "Revenger" series immensely, and am eager to see where you jump back into Revelation Space, sans Prefect Dreyfus. Thank you for your twenty years of writing.

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  8. The fact you're returning to the Revelation Space universe fills me with wonderful dread. Thank you.

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  9. The Revenger books have been ripping yarns with a lot of heft and swashbuckling adventure. Some of your best work. Can't wait for Bone Silence.

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  10. A new novel from my favourite author is always a reason to celebrate. Can't wait.

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  11. Great News. This is something to look forward to in the new decade.

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  12. Revelation Space and Revengers! Enter the Hades Matrix? Well, just joking. I can't wait to see what surprises you will give us next year!

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  13. Although I live in a sleepy subtropical American backwater, I can very much see myself ordering Bone Silence out of the UK next month. With transoceanic shipping, it'll come down to something like pay 12-15 bucks extra or wait three months. Simple choice, that, given the quality of the work. :-) Thanks very much for a wonderful and exotic series.

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  14. Thanks all - what lovely readers.

    To clarify, there'll only be one new novel in 2020, with (if all goes to plan) a new RS book in 2021.

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    1. Well, shit really hit the fan this year Al! Hope you're safe. My two fav sci-fi novels were supposed to be released in 2021 but with our 2020 version of melding plague, the future seems bleak.

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  15. It seems that 20 years ago was that time in life! I discovered my 2 great loves - The Revelation Space universe (and from it a deep and enduring desire to read all of your work!) and the voice of J.R. Richards (at the time lead singer of Dishwalla). Twenty years (which seem to have passed in the blink of an eye) and I still love re-reading the Revelation Space series. It is one of those books (and series) which has aged incredibly well. Here's to the next 20 years of stories :)

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  16. I just finished Shadow Captain today. Glad to find out I don't have to wait that long to see what the Ness sisters get up to next. :) And as with all your work, I enjoyed it immensely,

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  17. Ten years a fan. Read Elysium Fire last year, and am currently reading Chasm City, which is blowing my mind. I was elated to see Hospice Idlewild and the Ice Mendicants making an appearance. It's incredible, the cross referencing of characters and events in your Revelation Space universe. Makes it living and breathing. Thank you for your hard work!

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  18. Looking forward to the new RS novel! Without knowing it was in the works, I'm rereading for the second time all six novels based in it. Well, first reread of the second prefect book. Can't wait for the new one!

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