Queen of the Iron Sands: Scott Lynch to serialize novel

In 1943, Violet DeVere and her fellow WASPs did their part to help destroy an axis of brutal dictators that threatened the future of planet Earth.

In 1950, Violet DeVere will be kidnapped across a hundred million miles of space, to an impossible empire on the ancient planet Mars, where she will rise alone to defy an invincible tyranny that dooms fifty million souls...

Queen of the Iron Sands is a "planetary romance unfolding weekly", from Scott Lynch.

Lynch has joined the ranks of those serializing novels online and for free.

Lynch writes,

So, let's set some ground rules.

First, those of you doing a potty dance for a certain forthcoming novel should know this won't slow down my work on that, because I can't let it. I've taken a couple of hours to set the HTML for this project up, but after this, I won't be writing for Queen of the Iron Sands for some time. I've got five finished installments lined up like bullets ready to be fired, and even with the accelerated pace of my first-week releases those will keep me for a month.

Second, this story is free. It's got nothing to do with any existing contract, it's no publicity stunt for any upcoming project (though it is, for damn sure, a publicity stunt for my work in general, meant to end my long silence in the loudest possible fashion). I have a donation button, for those that wish to throw some coins in the jar, but think of it in those terms-- pay what you like, as a tip, to show that you enjoy the story, and to help me keep presenting it. If you don't like the story, you don't owe me nothin'.

I'll check this out. The two novels he has published were outstanding, so I have high hopes for this while we wait for Republic of Thieves. Because we're waiting for Republic of Thieves, and Lynch is well aware of the score.

The first chapter is up now.

Update! Republic of Thieves Prologue

Folks, the prologue to Scott Lynch's forthcoming The Republic of Thieves is available and out in the wilds of Lynch's website. Check it the hell out. This will be our first glimpse at Sabetha.

Lynch has also provided us patient readers a 40,000 word excerpt from Red Seas Under Red Skies complete with notes after each chapter. Lynch mentions that's something like 140 pages of mmpb. Duuuude.

Lynch's note regarding the excerpts is here. He also mentions that there will be a new, lengthy, Lies of Locke Lamora excerpt next week.

Good stuff, folks. Good stuff.

There is still no announcement regarding a publication date, but I think it's safe to assume that we are actually nearing both an announcement as well as publication.

Thoughts on Hugo Nominees 2008: John W. Campbell Award

Joe Abercrombie (2nd year of eligibility)
Jon Armstrong (1st year of eligibility)
David Anthony Durham (1st year of eligibility)
David Louis Edelman (2nd year of eligibility)
Mary Robinette Kowal (2nd year of eligibility)
Scott Lynch (2nd year of eligibility)


The SFF award I find most interesting is not specifically from one of the three major awards (Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy), and it has nothing to do with any individual story or novel. The award that is most interested is the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. The award is given at Worldcon with the rest of the Hugos, but it isn’t a Hugo. Not really.

The John W. Campbell Award is given to the best new science fiction or fantasy writer whose first work of science fiction or fantasy was published in a professional publication in the previous two years. (via Writertopia)

Past winners include Naomi Novik, John Scalzi, Elizabeth Bear Cory Doctorow, Ted Chiang, Jo Walton, Nalo Hopkinson, Jay Lake, Lucius Shepard, Orson Scott Card, and others stretching back to 1973 (Jerry Pournelle).


I’ll start with Jon Armstrong. Everything I know about Armstrong is that he wrote a novel titled Grey. It was published by Night Shade Books. It’s supposed to be good. I haven’t read it. I’m sure I’ll get to it, but for the moment Armstrong is pretty well taken out of the conversation for the Campbell. As an added bonus, Grey is available for free download. Thanks, Night Shade!

This brings me to David Louis Edelman. Edelman is the author of the much heralded Infoquake (which, naturally, I have also not read) and the forthcoming Multireal. While I haven’t read Infoquake, I have seen a great deal more buzz for Infoquake than I have for Grey. Obviously buzz does not equal quality, but the Campbell nomination does suggest it. Moreso than Grey, I definitely need to read Infoquake. Infoquake was published by Pyr.

Not having read either Jon Armstrong or David Louis Edelman, it is impossible to guess how likely either would be to go home with a Campbell in hand.

David Anthony Durham is a beneficiary of having written three prior novels but no fantasy until he brought us Acacia last year. Durham was able to hone his craft before we got our first taste. But, given that the Campbell is for new SFF authors, Durham qualifies. Lest I come across as being slightly petty or petulant, let me say that this is not my intent. I thought Acacia was a damn fine novel, one of the better releases of 2007, and Durham more than deserves his place on the Campbell list. I only hope that he will be able to turn Acacia II quickly so he is better able to build a readership. If I see Durham’s name on a new fantasy novel, I’ll be sure to read it.

Joe Abercrombie. What can one say about Joe Abercrombie without being assassinated? Thus far I have only read The Blade Itself and thought it was a very strong fantasy debut. Abercrombie is working with some rather stock characters (barbarian warrior, cripple, naïve lordling, etc), but writes the characters in such a way that they feel fresh. Plus, he is putting these stock characters into much grittier situations than we normally see, and given the character perspectives in the novel I think that Abercrombie is starting to twist these stock characters into forms and shapes we do not normally get. Inquisitor Glotka is no mere shade of Tyrion Lannister.

Then there is Scott Lynch. Mr. Lies of Locke Lamora and Red Seas Under Red Skies. As much as I admired Acacia and enjoyed the hell out of The Blade Itself, I think that the two Lynch novels are good enough and popular enough that Lynch has the best chance of winning the Campbell in his second and final year of eligibility. But this is by no means a sure bet. I’m not one of the Hugo voters, so I can’t put down a name. Without having sales figures in hand, I don’t know who sold how many books, but the sense I have is that Lynch outsold the rest...but Durham may have put up solid numbers himself. So who knows? Scott Lynch is by no means a lock (get it? Locke!? Sorry...), but along with Abercrombie and Durham, I would say he is a solid contender. Because we don’t necessarily know the makeup of the voters for the Campbell, it is difficult to say who will take home the award.

I have not forgotten Mary Robinette Kowal. I just saved her for last. Mrs. Kowal is my sentimental favorite. The other five nominees are all novelists. Mary Robinette Kowal is a short story writer. If you have been reading this blog for the last year or so you will know that I think very highly of Kowal’s fiction. Kowal is probably as dark a dark horse as you can get in this category as the Campbell tends towards novelists (with a couple of notable exceptions), but I think Kowal’s short fiction is every bit as strong as the novelists’ in this category. If she comes out with a short story collection, I’d probably buy it. If she published a novel, I know I would buy it. My biggest hope is that MRK gains a wider readership for her fiction as a result of the Campbell nomination.


I would be tickled if Mary Robinette Kowal was awarded the Campbell, but my expectation is that Lynch or Durham will walk away with it. Abercrombie will likely draw the same readers as Lynch and I think that some of those who would otherwise vote for Joe Abercrombie will cast their votes for Scott Lynch. Durham’s the guy who I can see upsetting the proverbial apple cart. I think he has just enough popularity and notoriety to get through.

The most important thing here, I think, is the nomination itself. It gets people (me) talking about the writers and that provides greater awareness of their work...which can only help.

But how cool would it be if Mary Robinette Kowal won? Seriously.

Red Seas Under Red Skies, by Scott Lynch

Red Seas Under Red Skies
Scott Lynch
Bantam / Spectra: 2007

The Lies of Locke Lamora was quite possibly the most exciting novel of 2006. Scott Lynch introduced us to The Gentleman Batards, a small gang of thieves from the city of Camorr with big aspirations to crime. Led by Locke Lamora The Gentleman Bastards attempted daring and complex crime on the highest levels of society for exorbitant sums of money. The Lies of Locke Lamora was fast paced, clever, and exciting. It was a fantastic debut from Lynch, but it set a very high bar for Lynch to meet with his second novel Red Seas Under Red Skies.

Lynch opens Red Seas with an impossible prologue. Impossible because it should not have happened. Impossible because it was inconceivable, except that Scott Lynch conceived of it. Sharing it feels like a spoiler, but because it is the first thing we read, it can't be. Jean Tannen betrays Locke Lamora. Sells him out. And THIS is what we get when we begin Red Seas Under Red Skies. An Impossible Prologue.

After the prologue, when the novel begins, we have no idea when exactly the betrayal happened. It lingers over the entire novel and we wonder when it will occur, and how, and damn it all, why?!

Lynch once again tells two stories: The "present day" and "reminiscence" chapters which brings the reader up to speed as to what happened in the two years after Lies and before Red Seas. Unlike what Lynch did in Lies, he only alternates for the first half of the book leaving the second half for straight storytelling.

Once again Locke and Jean, the surviving Gentleman Bastards from Lies, are working towards an impossibly big score. They seek to rob the Sinspire, an impenetrable gambling house. Cheating at the Sinspire means death. Robbing the Sinspire, well, that just might be worse than death. If this was the only problem Locke and Jean faced we might still have a good novel. But Scott Lynch mixes in pirates, the Bondsmagi, poison, betrayal, battles, fights, deception, and the leadership of Tal Verrar playing Locke and Jean in a game they cannot possibly hope to win.

In short, Scott Lynch packs as much into Red Seas Under Red Skies as he possibly can and still tell a coherent story.

Amazingly enough Red Seas does not get weighed down under a pile of staggering detail. It should, and the occasional digressions Lynch takes to just plop down several paragraphs of description and location should bring Red Seas to screeching halt, and yet it does not. Even with everything Scott Lynch packs into this novel he still tells a rollicking story that moves at a blistering pace while not skimping on description and character or plot. Red Seas has it all.

I had seen criticism that Red Seas could not possibly live up to the hype and excellence of The Lies of Locke Lamora. It is often difficult for a second novel to truly live up to the promise of the first because the first novel had that sense of discovery, but we know the characters and the setting in Book 2. The criticism I have seen mentions that Red Seas was something of a let down from Lies, but still better than most of what has been published this year.

I'll disagree. In no way is Red Seas Under Red Skies a let down from The Lies of Locke Lamora. Scott Lynch is just getting better here, he has improved on Lies, found a way to use the same structure in the first book but make it feel fresh and not be a slave that that same structure. He is possibly far to clever for his own good, but that's what makes The Gentleman Bastards so damn exciting. Reading this novel is pure pleasure. Somehow Red Seas is MORE exciting than the first book, and the new situations Locke finds himself getting into while trying to scheme his way through impossible situations...well, that's just what makes this so much fun.

Highly recommended, but read the first book first.

Lies - Prologue

Haven't read The Lies of Locke Lamora yet? Here's the prologue!