The 12 Days of Christmas - Day 8: Christmas Past

Twelve years ago I wrote a festive-themed Ulysses Quicksilver short story, which was published with my third Pax Britannia novel Human Nature.

Christmas Past, as the story was called, featured a murder mystery set in Oxford, or at least the Pax Britannia universe version of the City of Dreaming Spires.

You can still read Christmas Past, as it appears in the Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus Vol. 1, which is still on sale from Amazon.

Steampunk Thursday: Mad Science in Pax Britannia

Seeing as how this week is British Science Week, it seemed like as good a time as any to plug my Pax Britannia steampunk books.

Early on in writing the series I made the decision not to include anything supernatural or magical in the books. Yes there are vampires and werewolves, but these are a form of genetic mutation.

However, having said there's no magic, there's actually magic aplenty in the books, it just goes under the catch-all term of 'mad science'. The crazy inventions and experiments of various characters have the same affect as magic on the narrative, helping to drive the plot into unexpected places and generally causing Ulysses Quicksilver and his friends no end of grief.

If you've not tried the books out for yourself yet, there are eight in total, plus various short stories, and the first six novels have been collected in two omnibuses.

     

Talking of mad science, Mary Shelley's original Frankenstein* text is published today, complete with husband Percy’s corrections of her misspellings.

Frankenstein inspired Stan Lee when he was creating the Incredible Hulk, and both of them inspired my own take on the Creature that appears in the Weird War Two adventure Anno Frankenstein.

* And first published 200 years ago this year.

Steampunk Thursday: Long to reign over us...

Today marks another milestone achieved by our beloved monarch Queen Elizabeth II. Not only is she the longest-reigning monarch of the United Kingdom ever, she is also 90 years-old today.

Of course, in the world of Pax Britannia, in 1998 (which is as far as we've got so far in that alternate reality) Queen Victoria is still on the throne. If you've not caught up on all the adventures in print so far, you could do a lot worse than pick up the two ominbuses currently in print.

I sometimes wonder if anyone famous has read any of my books, someone in the royal family, perhaps, who enjoys my alternate steampunk universe. So, just in case someone does...

Happy Birthday, your Majesty!

God save the Queen!

Tie-in Tuesday: Public Lending Right loans - 2014/2015

It's rather appropriate that this particular blog post about my PLR earnings for the last year should appear on a Tie-in Tuesday, since the books that boost my income the most, thanks to PLR, are tie-in titles.

It turns out this is my ninth year of doing this, so here's the list of my top ten most library-loaned books for July 2014 - June 2015 (with last year's placings in brackets):

1. (2) Monstrous Missions (Feb 12)

2. (5) The Great Moshling Egg (Dec 13)

3. (3) Zack Binspin (Mar 13)

4. (1) The Night Before Twistmas (Sep 12)

5. (4) The Horror of Howling Hill (Mar 08)

6. (6) Moshi Music Stars (Jan 13)

7. (7) Crisis on Coruscant (Jan 10)

8. (8) Stormslayer (Sep 09)

9. (12) What is Myrrh Anyway? (Oct 08)

10. (9) Moshi Monsters: Moshipedia (Nov 13)

5 Moshi Monsters titles, 2 Doctor Who titles, 1 Star Wars title, 1 Fighting Fantasy gamebook, and 1 non-fiction book.

My most borrowed Fighting Fantasy gamebook was clearly Stormslayer, and my most borrowed Pax Britannia novel (or rather omnibus) was The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus Vol.1.

Steampunk Thursday: Abaddon X, Tempus Fugit, and The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus Volume 2!

Two weeks ago* I was fortunate enough to attend Abaddon Books' 10th birthday party, although unfortunately I was also late enough to miss the speeches at the start. On the up side there was cake, great company, and copies of Abaddon X available to the guests, a slim volume that features my first new Ulysses Quicksilver story in three years, Tempus Fugit.

 And lo, there was cake. With little Abaddon 'A's on top.

Writers, editors and their ilk. A sober bunch.

Pax Britannia: Tempus Fugit.

You can read more about the event here, as well as see a rather embarrassing photograph of Yours Truly. Apart from catching up with the likes Pat Kelleher, Lavie Tidhar, Jonathan Oliver, Jasper Bark, Jenni Hill, Scott Andrews and Rob Power (to name but a few) one of the highlights of the evening was meeting long-time Pax Britannia fan Matt Zitron.

Matt and Pat.

In other Steampunk Thursday-related news, this has been seen in the wild. Or rather, in captivity at the Abaddon offices.

Now that's one chunky book!

And that's a whole lotta Steampunk action right there!

The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus: Volume 2 will be published on 3 December 2015.


* On a Steampunk Thursday, as it so happens.

Steampunk Thursday: Pax Britannia at the MCM Expo, London

I shall be attending the MCM Expo again this weekend and, as usual, I will have some of my Pax Britannia books with me to sell.

If you've not picked up one of my Steampunk novels before, and you're going to be at London's Excel Centre on Saturday, why not stop by the authors area and grab yourself one?

Steampunk Thursday: Unnatural History - a new review

It might be more than seven years since my first Ulysses Quicksilver novel was published, but there are still readers discovering it for the first time. One such is Black Library fan Abhinav Jain.

"Unnatural History is an extremely fun and fast-paced action-adventure... We have Charles Babbage’s difference engines. The Challenger Enclosure at the London Zoo (reference to the Lost World!), and more such things. There is an Overground instead of the Underground in London. You’ve got car chases and dirigibles and what not. There’s a lot to take in here and Jonathan also takes the time to point out the more era-related stuff as well, especially with regards to the whole... Britishness of the whole thing, I suppose. That’s what really completes the novel I think."

You can read his full review here, but what I've taken away from the review are two things in particular. The first is that he scored the book 8.5/10*! The other was this:

"Unnatural History itself proved to be a far better novel than I had expected, considering my ambivalence towards Jonathan’s Warhammer work for Black Library, and that’s a good thing because he did manage to surprise me and made me a fan in the end."

So, someone who wasn't particularly a fan of mine, converted to the joys of JG books by the steam-powered world of Pax Britannia. Happy. With. That.

You can pick up Pax Britannia: Unnatural History for your eReader (for free) here, or you can buy it in the tried and tested processed tree carcass format as part of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus: Volume 1.


* And if he liked Unnatural History he's going to love the books that come after.

Steampunk Thursday: Vampires, Dinosaurs, and Resurrection from the Dead

That's how the latest 5-star review of the German edition of Pax Britannia: Unnatural History begins. It goes on to say "an excellent, well thought-out Steampunk world" and ends with "for Steampunk fans there can hardly be a better novel". Which is nice.

You can pick up the German edition from LUZIFER-Verlag here, and the original English edition from Abaddon Books here. Or you could wait and purchase a signed copy of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus (which contains not only Unnatural History, but also Leviathan Rising and Human Nature) from me at the Sci-Fi Weekender in North Wales at the end of the month.

Steampunk Thursday: Germany loves Pax Britannia!*

What more do I need to say? It would appear that German readers have taken Ulysses Quicksilver and his exploits into their hearts.

My first steampunk novel has only been out for five minutes in its brand-spanking-new German edition, and yet it has already received three 4 star and two 5 star reviews on Amazon.de which say nice things like this**:

"Exciting! Unnatural History is like a colourful bag in terms of genre, there are some horror elements that make a hair stand on end, but to also enjoy the classic adventure novel, with a wink. In addition, the allusions are gorgeous."

"Pax Britannia is a rather ingenious homage to Pulps. It is a real pleasure to see the many allusions... Whether because dinosaurs are shipped from the Lost World in the London Zoo, the personal physician of Queen Victoria, a certain Doctor Moreau is, it's just funny."

"Quicksilver looks like a cross between James Bond and Indiana Jones and rushes from one action scene to the next, without the story suffering. The novel is a summer blockbuster in book format."

"Steampunk + agent + London seems almost to be a standard for the genre. But the big difference to other novels is the year in which the action takes place. Not the end of the 19th Century, but in 1997. It is a completely different approach."

"The book offers a colourful action-packed story with witty and wacky ideas. I have enjoyed reading it and look forward to continuing with the series."

"Unnatural History is not easily pigeonholed. It is a blend of Steampunk, Thriller, Adventure and Horror, topped with a good sense of humour."***

You can pick up your German edition of Unnatural History here, or the old-fashioned English original as part of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus Vol. 1 here.


* Which is ironic when you consider what happens later on in the series...

** At least that's what Google Translate tells me they say.

*** A bit like me really.

Steampunk Thursday: Unnatural History - a new review

It may be over six years old now, but Unnatural History is still wowing readers for the the first time. Here's the latest review of the book that started it all...

"Very good read of a boy's own type plot, intriguing till the end, the type of book that you don`t want to put down. In the end you feel you know the central character and liken him to James Bond and in the tradition of all good books a good lead in to further adventures."

You can pick up a copy of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus, which includes Unnatural History (along with Leviathan Rising and Human Nature) here.

Steampunk Thursday: Pax Britannia Reviews

A couple more reviews for you today, found on the Internet...

Time's Arrow

Originally published as part of the three-part literary experiment where readers themselves were asked to decide where the plot will go next, Time's Arrow collects all the instalments in one handy package. Now, reading it all together, I can't help but wonder how amazing is the fact that the story works at all, let alone so well. It serves as the best testament you will ever need to the skill of Jonathan Green as a writer. [Read the whole review here.]



The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus

Green writes action like no one else I have ever read. He sustains the longest action sequences without losing momentum, without ceasing to make sense, or it in any way becoming dull. This impressed me. There are moments of total poetry in his writing, and some grim humour. Here is an author who knows how to relish the moment when an unspeakable thing tears a victim into little pieces. Oh yes, did I mention the monsters? There are monsters. People die. [Read the whole review here.]

Steampunk Thursday: Pax Britannia reading order

 A number of people have asked me recently, now that there are almost eight Ulysses Quicksilver adventures (not to mention three El Sombra stories by Al Ewing) what the correct reading order is.

For the novels it's as follows:

1) Unnatural History*
2) Leviathan Rising*
3) Human Nature*
4) Evolution Expects
5) Blood Royal
6) Dark Side
7) Anno Frankenstein
8) Time's Arrow

However, I have also written a number of short stories featuring Mr Quicksilver. If you add those in to the chronology then the correct reading order is:

1) Unnatural History*
2) Leviathan Rising*
    Fruiting Bodies **
    Vanishing Point ***
3) Human Nature*
    Christmas Past ****
4) Evolution Expects
5) Blood Royal
    White Rabbit *****
    Proteus Unbound ******
6) Dark Side
7) Anno Frankenstein
8) Time's Arrow

Now the eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that Conqueror Worm (which appears in Evolution Expects) and Silent Knight (which was posted on the Abaddon Books blog for free) do not appear on the list. The reason for Conqueror Worm not appearing... well, for those of you who've read the story, it would just give the game away, wouldn't it? And the reason for Silent Knight not appearing... well you'll just have to wait to find out. ;-)

And just for completeness, Al's El Sombra books stand apart from the Quicksilver ones; the order they should be read in is:

1) El Sombra
2) Gods of Manhattan
3) Pax Omega






* These three books are now collected in The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus (Vol.1)

** Published in El Sombra and The Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection

*** Published in Leviathan Rising and The Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection

**** Published in Human Nature and available to download free from the Abaddon Books website

***** Published in Blood Royal and The Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection

****** Published in Dark Side

Steampunk Thursday: Pax Britannia Reviews

It would appear that some people are still only just discovering the joys of my Pax Britannia series of steampunk novels. And here's what some of them have been saying...

The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus: Volume 1

I started reading these books for something to do whilst waiting for my spouse in a local public record office and library and got hooked... I'm going to work my way through the whole series in every anticipation of a feast of steam-punk mayhem, monsters, and mystery... So, jolly good show we say to Mr. Green, the Empire is with you!

Pax Britannia: The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibusexplores the modern world, had England embraced technology and out-invented the United States. The Babbage Machine was built, and steam really did get the world ahead. Into this world of brass and teak jumps Ulysses Quicksilver, a man with abilities straight out of comic book’s Golden Age... It reads as a literary version of the old serials that used to play in cinemas before the main feature. There is a lot of high-flying adventure backed by some solid plot and characters. The world itself is fully-developed, with a number of really nice touches, and technology is embraced here, unlike a lot of steampunk where the technology is the enemy at best. Fans of Doc Savage and Indiana Jones will love this book, and it’s a great read for everyone else.

Anno Frankenstein

I admit it, was was predisposed not to like this book for the most shallow of reasons: its title reminded me too much of one of my favourite novels, Anno Dracula by Kim Newman... Despite my early misgivings, it is my favourite in the series so far... This book is one you could easily read without having read any of the others in the series; while there are references to events in the other stories, it's not critical to the plot that you know any of them. And if you like foolish but fun adventure stories, I recommend it.

I haven't read any Pax Britannia before and after reading this I am actually wondering why, it's a mesmerising alternative universe that manages to blend Victorian era Steampunk within a more modern setting and with a resulting richly detailed world that keeps enough real elements to suspend the disbelief while still clearly being very different. There is a real dark edge to the novel but this is lightened by the clever use of subtle humour (the author is also clearly a star trek fan) while the plot bounds along at breakneck speed. It's another of those books that I just couldn't put down and read nearly the whole novel in one sitting... There is an almost movie-like, visually acute style to the prose that really drags you in to the story and the relentless, energetic pace doesn't let up through the whole of the novel. The story too is very engaging with plenty of action and a tight dialogue... Anno Frankenstein is a rambunctious, effervescent story full of Victorian steampunk grandeur and James Bond style action, suitable for anyone with a pulse.

A Most Memorable Jubilee

Over the extended weekend of 2-5 June 2012, Great Britain and the Commonwealth (along with various other sovereign states and supporters of the British monarchy from around the world) are celebrating 60 years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

But fifteen years ago, in an alternate England, people gathered to celebrate the 160th jubilee of Queen Victoria,  ruler of the vast empire of Magna Britannia.

Queen Victoria is celebrating the 160th year of her reign, but all is not well at the heart of the empire. An eminent professor of evolutionary biology goes missing. A catastrophic Overground rail-crash unleashes the dinosaurs of London Zoo. Is this the work of crazed revolutionaries, or are more sinister forces at work? For Ulysses the game is afoot!

So why not mark our Queen's Diamond Jubilee by remembering what happened during Queen Victoria's 160th jubilee by picking up a copy of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus Vol.1?

Steampunk Thursday: The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus

I found this great review of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus on Amazon Canada.

Quicksilver Strikes Gold


Picked up a copy of The Quicksilver Omnibus from a bookstore in Toronto. All I have to say is WOW. The world Green has created is breathtaking, his hero Ulysses Quicksilver is part Sherlock Holmes, with a dash of James Bond thrown in for good measure,and all the fictional characters from the Victorian past are mentioned or play a big part in the plots. I was never really all that interested in Steampunk. Night of the Morlocks proved to be a huge disappointment. So I was rather wary of picking up this volume. I am glad I did. Once again Abaddon Books has outdone themselves, when it comes to finding books to publish under their banner... 

May the Adventures of Ulysses Quicksilver never end. 

LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!

You can pick up your own copy of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus here.

Unnatural History - 5 years old but still going strong!

The first Pax Britannia novel Unnatural History was published more than five years ago but I'm still finding new reviews being written about it online.

I'm not sure when the following first appeared, but I'd not read it myself until the other day. It's by one Jacob Malewitz:

One day a dead man, the next a crime solver and a drinker of cognac, Ulysses Quicksilver has to be one of the more interesting fantasy characters in some time. The story of “Unnatural History” isn’t always consuming, not always fun, but it sure is nice to see a character come alive within the pages of a novel. And Ulysses isn’t clichéd; he has his vices, as the story tells. And the story …

A lawyer with a unique name, Screwtape, consults with Ulysses’s brother in the opening pages of “Unnatural History.” Screwtape is there to tell the brother that all of Ulysses’ assets are his. A problem arise: Ulysses, as one would expect, is far from dead, and shows up at the door during this meeting.

Ulysses quickly becomes involved in society again. After disappearing for over a year after an expedition into a mountain, he finds himself involved in a mystery. It seems minor, but the scope is big. A night watchmen at a major museum is murdered. He wasn’t just killed; he was killed brutally. The police think a thief did it, but Ulysses thinks something else is afoot—and has many questions. The second mystery comes when a professor at the museum is found to have disappeared as well. “The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that he had been sent two different crimes committed by two different culprits.”

The world of Pax Britannia is different. The queen is in her 160th year of reigning over the still strong British empire, space travel is common, and the sciences have sped ahead at an alarming rate. But, the destitute are more numerous, and the slums darker than ever. The factories have turned much of the empire into wastelands. The history of this world is described in detail early. Jonathan Green holds nothing back in detailing it.

In Europe Britannia is powerful, even with many enemies like Socialist Germany. However, the true villains of Unnatural History come from within the empire. What follows is more than mystery. Unnatural History has plenty of futuristic views, plenty of action, and just the right amount of characterization. It stands as another classic from publisher Abaddon books.

You can buy Pax Britannia: Unnatural History here, or as part of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus (Vol. 1) here.

Human Nature - a new review

Thanks to David Kenyon for this:

Another exciting chapter in the Pax Britannia series by Jonathan Green... Yet again I wasn't let down by a fast paced novel full of action set pieces. I wasn't sure what to expect from this one to be truthful as the first act deals with the theft of the Whitby mermaid and offers some great action as Quicksilver searches for the thief in a pastiche of 'Oliver', but with monkeys and some Holmesian references as well...which I enjoyed.

Jonathan is like a magpie, collecting gems of literature and giving them a steampunk twist... I adored the second act and read it very quickly as I couldn't put it down. I've always loved a monster story and love body horror and this series has given me some great monsters to visualize in my mind.

The author also does some abominable things to his hero... What I loved about this act was that my favourite character Nimrod had a chance to shine...

As I've said before, if you want some fabulous monster writing in a world of steampunk, dashing and daring characters you will love this series. I'm already into the next book Evolution Expects and it's gotten off to a great start.

You can pick up your copy of Human Nature here, or buy it along with Unnatural History and Leviathan Rising as part of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus here.

A new year, a new review of Unnatural History

My thanks go to David Kenyon for this one:

Just finished reading Unnatural History and it was a rip-roaring read with gushings of hot steampunk action. I had been meaning to read this series for years ever since I first saw it on the shelf at the local Waterstones where I worked. Finally I bit the bullet and gave it a go... I must say it delivered exactly what I expected... which isn't a bad thing. When I was reading it I recalled certain movies over the last few years like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Van Helsing coupled with a slice of Weng Chiang and a bit of Sherlock Holmes...

The names of the characters he uses are witty and obvious but I appreciate it the more of Jonathan's unabashed love of this stuff and I got it... anyway it worked for me because I had all this stuff and visuals in my mind that made Unnatural History lush and visually dramatic. The set pieces were amazing and the equal of any movie blockbuster especially the dinosaur escape and the finale...

I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars because I enjoyed it immensely and will devour his other books with gentlemen's relish and a nice warm cup of earl grey... I enjoyed it and recommend it to those who like a quick fun read, with a fun plot and lovely witty language...

You can read David's full review here. Alternatively, if you've been inspired by his review and you've not read Unnatural History yourself yet, you can purchase the book here, or here as part of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus.

The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus (Vol.1) - a new review

From the Department of Awesomology:

A New Age Of Steam: The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus

Full disclosure time: I've never fully 'gotten' steampunk as a genre in fandom... These days it seems the genre is developing it's own voices in fiction and I recently cast my trepidation aside, donned my top hat and monocle, adjusted my sword cane and stepped out onto the foggy streets of a London that never was as I purchased and subsequently devoured Pax Britannia: The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus by Jonathan Green.

...someone has to keep the Empire from slipping off the edge and plunging headlong into chaos and that someone is our hero, Ulysses Quicksilver. Dandy, epicurean, swordsman, rake, and agent of the British Crown. The Omnibus chronicles the first three adventures of this unique hero...

Pure escapism at it's finest, The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus was a helluva good time... These are books that I would love to see adapted to the small screen, though I can't see anyone but David Tennant playing Ulysses and I fear he may already have played a similar role in the recent past. The setting of Pax Britannia is an engaging one, with it's desktop difference engines, robo-bobbies, and submarine cruise liners and overland rail lines. The urban sprawl is equal parts Conan Doyle and Ridley Scott, and the setting is so very much a mixture of the age of steam and the world of cyberpunk that it more than lives up to its genre. The characters are enjoyable, Ulysses himself being our cocky, improvisational, elegant hero who often finds himself way over his head but makes up for being out of his depth with a mixture of guile, pluck, and good old fashioned British ingenuity. His faithful batman Nimrod also deserves a mention, as does the long-suffering Inspector Allardyce, Quicksilver's Scotland Yard nemesis. Green's writing is engaging and fun, moving at a steady clip that makes each adventure great reading for a lazy Sunday or three. As a collected edition, the book is huge (clocking in at 734 pages)...

If you're looking for a fun read for the holidays that has an eclectic mix of the old and the new, I say give The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus a try. Recommended.

Happy. With. That.

You can purchase your copy of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus (Vol.1) here.

The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus (Vol.1) - another good review

This one's from the Portland Book Review.

There is a lot of high-flying adventure backed by some solid plot and characters. The world itself is fully-developed, with a number of really nice touches, and technology is embraced here, unlike a lot of steampunk where the technology is the enemy at best. Fans of Doc Savage and Indiana Jones will love this book, and it’s a great read for everyone else.

To read the whole thing, follow this link.

If you've not picked up The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus for yourself yet, you can do so here.