Steampunk Thursday: New Pax Britannia Reviews!

Even though the first Pax Britannia novel was published almost ten years ago, some people are still coming to the series for the first time. And when it's someone who enjoys the stories they devour the lot pretty quickly, thanks to the wonder of eBooks.

One such reader is Bob Marlowe who has recently posted reviews of all the Pax Britannia books - Al Ewing's as well as mine - and here's what he has to say about them.

Unnatural History
"A readable style which flows along nicely with enjoyable characters... Very enjoyable evocation of a pulp style and there are plenty more to come. A recommended read."

Leviathan Rising
"Here we have a cocktail of Agatha Christie, Titanic, The Poseidon Adventure, the X-Files and dear old Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and with Green's enjoyable pulpy style, it's a good read."

Human Nature
"The story itself is quite simple but well structured (things in the prologue that seem irrelevant are revisited later) and the good pulpy style of Green makes for a well paced roller coaster."

Evolution Expects
"As ever, a cocktail of monsters, steam punk and nods to well know characters & stories etc. including this time a Bond like board meeting scene, a character named Brundle after the 1987 version of The Fly and a bit of Talons of Weng Chiang amongst others... This series shows no signs of letting up, both novel and novella are a well-paced read, guaranteed to liven up any journey to work."

Blood Royal
"The writing is of the usual high standard with a monster infested St Paul's Cathedral especially well described... I love this series -and am sad I've less than halfway to go to the end."

Dark Side
"I had the feeling Jonathan Green had as much fun writing this as I had reading it. There's the usual tributes to films, book et al that he's enjoyed , the First men in the Moon and Voyage dans la Lune and every chapter takes its name from a film e.g. The First Men in the Moon, Sphere... These stories will never be on the Booker Prize shortlist but the Booker winners I've read were never this much fun!"

Anno Frankenstein
"Naturally this is a blockbuster mix that we have come to expect of monsters and set pieces and does not disappoint, Green handling all the ingredients with his usual skill."

Time's Arrow
"The influences here are Edgar Allen Poe's Murder in the Rue Morgue, The Island of Dr Moreau and The Phantom of the Opera, characters names including Moreau and Leroux. The new characters work well and the story races along at Green's usual pace."

If you're yet to sample the delights of the Pax Britannia steampunk universe, you can buy the books and eBooks here.

Steampunk Thursday: The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus - Vol. 2

I've got three books out this week, and they're all Steampunk-related - Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland the gamebook, the Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland Colouring Book, and The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus Volume 2!

In his ongoing adventures in the services of the Empire, Ulysses Quicksilver - hero and dandy - is increasingly confronted with the darkness at the heart of Britannia.

This worthy tome collects three tales of desperation:

Steampunk Thursday: The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus - Vol. 2

Look what arrived in the post today!

13 Halloween Horrors

Inspired by the warmest Halloween in recorded history? Fancy a little more horror-inspired reading? Then why not try one of these?

1. The Serpent's Egg
13 short horror stories, including the Cthulhu mythos novella The Serpent's Egg, available now!

2. Human Nature
The Whitby Mermaid has been stolen from Cruickshank's Cabinet of Curiosities and consulting detective Gabriel Wraith is on the case. But what does the theft of the mermaid have to do with the mysterious House of Monkeys? And what of the enigmatic criminal known as the Magpie? But there are worse things lurking under the moors outside Whitby than mermaids... David Cronenberg-style body horror in the world of Pax Britannia, including a highly warped version of the Hound of the Baskervilles.

3. Evolution Expects
More than ever before, the realm of Magna Britannia needs a saviour - a man like new Prime Minister, Devlin Valentine. But while London prepares for the launch of the Jupiter Station there are those who want this longed-for change to come about more quickly - people who are willing to give evolution a helping hand.

4. Blood Royal

St. Paul's Cathedral entertains a new congregation, one driven by its own unholy creed, while a coldly clinical killer is carving a name for himself across the city - a name that has been whispered upon the streets of Whitechapel for over a hundred years.

5. Anno Frankenstein
1943 ~ The Nazis are battling the empire of Magna Britannia, cooking up necrotic super-soldiers in the gothic towers of Castle Frankenstein. In the forests outside the castle, other forces are gathering, including Dr. Jekyll and the ladies of the Monstrous Regiment. But there may be other gothic monsters waiting in the hills around Darmstadt...

6. Spellbreaker
Rassin Abbey has guarded its arcane treasures for centuries. But when their Black Grimoire spellbook is stolen, the land of Ruddlestone is plunged into a crisis of epic proportions. Should the legendary Casket of Shadows be opened, the Infernal Beast will be unleashed to wreak its terrible carnage across the Old World. On the night of Shekka's Moon, scant days away, this will surely come to pass, unless YOU can retrieve the Black Grimoire in the nick of time... Witches, demons and devilry abound in my first ever published book.

7. Curse of the Mummy
Beware the Curse of Akharis! When an ancient tomb in the Desert of Skulls turns out to belong to Akharis, a legendary ruler from a previous age, YOU discover some of his followers are trying to return the evil pharaoh to life. Soon you will have to learn the true meaning of The Curse of the Mummy!

8. Bloodbones
Bloodbones lives! The dread pirate-lord Cinnabar, scourge of the twelve seas, terrorised the seafarers of the Old World in a bloody reign of terror until a brave adventurer put an end to his evil. But now Cinnabar is back from the dead, seeking revenge and with the dark powers of voodoo at his command. Only YOU can stop the pirate captain and his crew of bloodthirsty cut-throats.

9. Howl of the Werewolf
Lupravia is a cursed land. Only the foolhardy or insane would willingly pass beyond its borders and enter that benighted realm of predators, but enter you must after a vicious wolf attack sets you on the path to murder and madness. Steadily succumbing to the call of the wild and the beast within, YOU must seek out a cure to your condition before the next full moon. But how long can you survive in a land where the powers of darkness hold sway and all live in fear of the Howl of the Werewolf?

10. Night of the Necromancer
Death is not the end...Returning to your ancestral castle having been away fighting a crusade against the forces of darkness in the Mauristatian principality of Bathoria, you are struck down by a band of murderers within sight of home. Driven by the need to know why you have been killed, and on whose orders, YOU rise again as a ghost and set out to solve the mystery of your own murder.

11. Shadows Over Sylvania
YOU are the Vampire! A blood war has been declared between the life-leeching bloodlines of the cursed county of Sylvania. As a thrall of one of the bloodthirsty rulers of this benighted land, you will be forced to battle numerous enemies who would stand against you, both mortal and Undead.

12. Warlock's Bounty: Revenge of the Sorcerer
You are a mighty wizard, once apprenticed to the sorcerer Corax Whiteraven, guardian of the lands of Lloegyr. When Whiteraven’s familiar appears out of the blue carrying an urgent message from its master, you embark upon a mission that will test your mettle and magical abilities to the full. For Lloegyr’s guardian – the greatest sorcerer of them all – is in danger, and needs your help!

13. Temple of the Spider God
Temple of the Spider God sees YOU uncovering the schemes of an horrifying spider-worshipping cult. Arachnophobes, beware!

Steampunk Thursday: Pax Britannia reviews

Some more, rather pleasing, reviews of my various Pax Britannia books have appeared online recently, which are all the more pleasing when you consider that the first book in the series was published seven years ago! Here are just a few of them:

Unnatural History
"Jonathan Green is most surely one of the futuristic-steampunk heroes the literary world has. His writing is fantastic fantasy that has you gripping the edges of the book to prevent yourself from being sucked in. Quicksilver is the sort of hero OTHER heroes look up to. He's dashing, suave and can give and take a good kicking like the best of them. This entire series is fabulous. Buy them. BUY THEM ALL."

Leviathan Rising
"I bought this book as something to read that night in the hotel. I could not put it down. I stayed awake in delight reading into the early hours to discover if my guess about the villain was correct - no I did not 'get it' immediately, but it dawned on me as I read onward. The whole reminded me of the adventure movies I used to watch in the late 1950's on a Saturday morning when I was a child. I loved it. Well done, Mr Green. I shall now look for the next book with interest."

Blood Royal
"So many characters, plots and more that speed you towards an extraordinary action-packed finale. If you like a smidgen of Steampunk in your library make it this series!"

Of course, you could pick up the next Pax Britannia book for your collection at the forthcoming Steampunks in Space event at the National Space Centre in Leicester. Maybe I'll see you there...

Steampunk Thursday: New Pax Britannia Reviews

One of the things I love about being a writer, is that there is always somebody discovering something you've written for the first time, even if you originally wrote that particular book years ago.

Lately, there have been more new reviews of my Pax Britannia books going up online. Here are just some of the pleasing things people have been saying about the stories.


Blood Royal
I just love steampunk as long as it's done reasonably well, and this is. I've now read all of the series out in paperback and am eagerly awaiting the next one.They're all good although... Hell man, don't just sit there, go out and buy the damned things will you? For the good of the Empire!





Anno Frankenstein
I've now read all of the Pax Britannia series,including this stomach churning special, and I'm starting to turn into a bit of a steampunk fan-boy. I won't attempt to describe the plot, as it's as complicated as only a time-traveller's tale can be. Suffice it to say there's the usual mixture of SF, fantasy, and horror, and if you liked the other Quicksilver novels, you'll like this. Roll on the next one!*




The Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection
This was my first taste of steampunk, and I've read Jonathan Green's Black Library books. This was a great introduction to the world of Pax Britannia. The last story is by far the best of the lot, well written and full of intrigue. Worth a read as it is just a fun read for all.





If these reviews have picqued your interest, you can check out the entire Pax Britannia series (and buy the books) here.

* And just for your information, the 'next one' in question is Time's Arrow, available now!

This is Horror - a.k.a. The Blood Fudge Incidient

So, on Friday night I was one of the guests at the launch of Joseph D'Lacey's new novel Blood Fugue, along with Pat Cadigan (who has once the coveted Arthur C Clarke award not once, but twice). The event was organised by Michael Wilson of This is Horror, and Den and Amelia of the Charing Cross branch of Blackwell's where the event was held.

Jasper Bark regaling the audience.

Jasper Bark - a.k.a the Voice of Horror - was compere for the evening and a very good job he did of it too. His research was thorough, his questions incisive and his faked allergic reaction to vegan Blood Fudge extreme. I know several people had 999 ready to go on their mobiles, until Jasper went completely 'zombie' and attacked Joseph. At that point, they just let him get on with it. (My copies of Blood Royal and Time's Arrow will never be the same again!)

Jasper Bark again, post 'zombie'.

I was first up and read an extract from White Rabbit - a certain Ulysses Quicksilver story of mine that earned me my commission for Jonathan Oliver's House of Fear - before Jasper probed me about my authorial voice, writing for different genres and properties, and the medium of short fiction.

Pat was up next. She gave an amazing reading of The Power and the Passion, which proved why she was never asked to write for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And then it was Joseph, an extract from Blood Fugue and the now already notorious Blood Fudge Incident.

Joseph D'Lacey reading from Blood Fugue.

It was my first This is Horror event and it was a bit of a baptism of fire, but I had a great time. The evening concluded with a panel discussion, about taboos and the breaking of them, and a few questions from the audience before Joseph got busy with his signing pen.

The authorial discussions continued down the road at the Spice of Life where I met Joseph's charming wife, Fiona, and got chatting with Robin the Pirate, Richard the Generous, and James De Carteret about everything from the human race as descendants of the most successful psychopaths to Mary Poppins as trickster deity, via zombies, fungi and dinosaurs.

The Unusual Suspects: (l-r) Pat Cadigan, Jonathan Green, Jasper Bark and Michael Wilson.

It just remains for me to thank Michael, Den, Amelia, Jasper, Pat and Joseph and I sincerely hope that there will be many more This is Horror events to come.

You can see more photos of the evening's shenanigans here.

Pax Britannia at the MCM Expo - 18 hours to go

I'm now counting down the hours until the MCM Expo where I shall be promoting my Pax Britannia books (as well as Temple of the Spider God if anyone's interested).

I've turned the flat into a veritable cottage industry, producing cakes as if I'm working in some kind of Victorian factory. Let me tell you, I'm glad I'm a writer and not a baker! Anyway, if you buy a book tomorrow or on Sunday, you can have a cake for free - until they run out that is!

Edible cupcake toppers produced (at very short notice and a very high standard) by Cake Topper Designs

As I mentioned the other day, I shall also have a small number of flash drives to sell which come pre-loaded with my last three Pax Britannia novels - Blood Royal, Dark Side and Anno Frankenstein - and the first part of Time's Arrow, Red-Handed.

If you'd like one, just come and find me in the Steampunk village at the sign of the French terrorist.

Pax Britannia at the MCM Expo - 3 days to go

As I posted the other day, I shall be at the London Comic Con MCM Expo (held at Excel London) this coming weekend - Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 October. I will be attending as part of the steampunk contingent and promoting my Pax Britannia books. And today I have a rather exciting announcement to make...

I will have a limited number of memory sticks for sale, each one loaded with my three most recent Pax Britannia titles - Blood Royal, Dark Side, Anno Frankenstein - and Red-Handed, part one of my new novel Time's Arrow.

These all come in Kindle readable files and standard epub files. There are also two free short story ebooks, Eric Brown’s Blue Portal and Juliet McKenna’s The Wizard’s Coming. So there's plenty of content and on top of that you'll have a new memory stick with most of its 1 gig of memory still free!

So, if ebooks are your thing, why not drop by my table this weekend and pick up a memory stick loaded with more than a quarter of a million of Pax Britannia goodness and two bonus stories to boot?

Pax Britannia review round-up

Over the last couple of months there have been three Ulysses Quicksilver releases - The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus, Anno Frankenstein and The Ulysses Short Story Collection. And earlier titles such as Dark Side and Blood Royal have been getting a fair bit of interest too.

Anyway, I'm very pleased to say that Anno Frankenstein has been reviewed in the latest issue of SFX magazine (#211, the one with Captain America on the cover). The reviewer only gave the book three stars, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed (I was hoping for a four at least). But to my mind three stars does tell you something - that you can write; that you can craft a story.

The reviewer's not too keen on all the pop culture references in the book (which have become a bit of a feature of my Pax Britannia titles) but he does say that "It's a gleeful, agreeably paced mash-up" which also highlights another of the features of my books - and that's that they are, at the root of everything, primarily fun.

I actually met up with Dave Bradley, editor-in-chief of SFX Magazine, this week, along with editorial assistant Rob Power... as well as the guys and gals of Abaddon Books... and we discussed all sorts of potentially exciting things. Now that I've finished re-writes on another project I'll be able to get the ball rolling on these. But more on that another time.

Picture by Dave Bradley. Inane grin by Old Speckled Hen.

While we're on the subject of reviews, here are a few more for you.

The Ulysses Short Story Collection has earned a couple of five star reviews on Amazon and has also received one of the weirdest reviews I've ever read of my work. It manages to be incredibly positive whilst also being unnecessarily nasty at almost every opportunity. Anyway, you can read it here at Tor.com.

Meanwhile, The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus has earned a five star review on Amazon.co.uk and another on Amazon.com.

Remember, if you've recently read one of my Pax Britannia books (and more importantly you enjoyed it) you can also post a view via this blog. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Dark Side - another great review!

David Drage of Pulp Zen! is clearly on a roll. Having recently read and reviewed Pax Britannia: Blood Royal (you'll find a link to his review here) he was inspired enough to quickly get stuck into the sixth Ulysses Quicksilver adventure Pax Britannia: Dark Side. Here's a taster of what he has to say about the book:

With Green’s usual flair for pulling in all of the related Steampunk tropes (I

hate to keep using that word, but it is better than saying clichés), he has once again picked a subject and injected it with the usual dose of steam powered high jinx, “Wellsian” Victorian Science Fiction, James Bond style espionage, and good old fashioned high adventure...

One of the joys of Green’s Pax Britannia books is his development of some of the supporting cast of characters, in particular in this book I was taken by the Billie, the street “urchin” cab driver, who’s cab happens to be a steam powered ex-military war droid!

You can read David's full review here.

I am reliably informed that he's already started Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein, so expect a link to another review soon.

Which reminds me - I really need to crack on with Pax Britannia: Time's Arrow, or David (and others) are soon going to run out of stuff to read!

Blood Royal - another cracking review!

David Drage of Pulp Zen! (and formerly of Dial P for Pulp!) has been in touch to let me know that he's finally got round to reading and reviewing Pax Britannia: Blood Royal. And what a great review it is too!

In fact, he's clearly been so inspired and enthused by the book that he's already started on Pax Britannia: Dark Side with Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein to come after that.

Anyway, here are just a few choice morsels from the fine banquet that is his review, which you can read in full here.

This book was one of the most gripping and fun reads I have had in a long time...

There are plots within plots and no-one gives anyone the full story until the very end...

The set piece battle around the “Transylvanian” castle is just wonderful (the most fun I’ve had while commuting for a long time – I usually read while travelling to work)...

Fine praise indeed, I'm sure you'll agree.

The Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection

Rumour has been rife on the Internet of later, after I published a series of 'Coming Soon' posts on the Pax Britannia blog, but today I can finally put those rumours to rest.

Coming soon from Abaddon Books is The Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection, featuring a brand new cover by Simon Parr and re-printing three of the finest Ulysses Quicksilver novellas that first appeared in the back of various other books.

First up is the hard-to-find Fruiting Bodies, that originally appeared in Al Ewing's El Sombra. Then there's Vanishing Point, which first appeared in Leviathan Rising and which long time readers of the series will know has been at the centre of the Dark Side/Anno Frankenstein double-header. And then there's White Rabbit, which my editor believes is the best Ulysses short to date (and which was originally published with Blood Royal).

If you've not read the stories before The Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection is worth downloading to your eBook reader of choice, as the stories contained within add a whole other layer to the world of Pax Britannia.

A is for Abaddon Books

I first contacted Abaddon Books about writing for them back in October 2005. Now, more than five years on, I'm about to have my seventh novel published with them and am starting out on writing the eighth.

The series I created for Abaddon was the steampunk Pax Britannia series. Since then others have written for the series, most notably 2000AD luminary Al Ewing, but the adventures of dandy and agent of the crown Ulysses Quicksilver are my baby.

The first three novels (Unnatural History, Leviathan Rising and Human Nature) have now been collected together in The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus (Vol.1), but there are also another three titles already available (Evolution Expects, Blood Royal and Dark Side) with Anno Frankenstein, Ulysses' seventh adventure, coming this May.

Action and Adventure in a New Age of Steam!
Join Ulysses Quicksilver - dandy, adventurer and agent of the crown - as he battles the enemies of the Empire in this collection of rip-roaring steampunk adventures. This action-packed tome brings you three sensational tales...

Unnatural History
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 if afoot!

Leviathan Rising

It's all aboard the Neptune, the latest in submersible cruise-liners, for a jolly ocean jaunt. But what starts out as a holiday quickly turns into a voyage of terror for Ulysses and his companions. A brutal murder is committed and then an act of sabotage plunges the Neptune into the abyssal depths. There a deadly secret awaits them, as the Leviathan strikes!

Human Nature

The Whitby Mermaid is stolen from Cruickshank's Cabinet of Curiosities and Ulysses Quicksilver is soon on the case. What does the theft have to do with the mysterious House of Monkeys? And what of the enigmatic criminal known as Magpie? Ulysses' investigation takes him to Whitby, where something sinister lurks on the moors, carefully choosing its victim!

Doctor Who to meet Jack the Ripper

It seems incredible that during the course of almost half a century's worth of who that the Doctor hasn't clashed with Jack the Ripper before but it's true*. But that's all about to change with IDW Publishing's Ripper's Curse.

You can read more about this story here as well as peruse some of the pages from the forthcoming comic.

Of course Ulysses Quicksilver has already met Jack the Ripper, after a fashion, in my fifth Pax Britannia novel Blood Royal, and you can find out more here.

* Although of course the Fourth Doctor story The Talons of Weng Chiang was clearly inspired in parts by the legendary serial killer.