The Lowest Heaven - Out now!
Wednesday, July 03, 2013
Launch day!
There's a tendency to bust out the Oscar speech, but I'll save that for the third pint. Suffice it to say, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the authors, Joey Hi-Fi, the National Maritime Museum & Royal Observatory Greenwich, handebooks.com, Joey Hi-Fi again and a zillion other wonderful people for their sharing, reading, shouting, helping and general amazeballishness.
So, hey - we're partying at Forbidden Planet tonight! Come by and join us (and, more importantly, many of the authors) at London's geekiest megastore. We'll be there from 6 pm to 7 pm, signing, shmoozing and generally being underfoot.
The Lowest Heaven is a new anthology of contemporary science fiction published to coincide with Visions of the Universe, a major exhibition of space imagery at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
Each story in The Lowest Heaven is themed around a body in the Solar System, from the Sun to Halley's Comet. The stories are illustrated with photographs and artwork selected from the archives of the Royal Observatory, while the book's cover and overall design are the work of award-winning South African illustrator Joey Hi-Fi.
The contributors include Sophia McDougall, Alastair Reynolds, Archie Black, Maria Dahvana Headley, Adam Roberts, Simon Morden, E.J. Swift, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Mark Charan Newton, Kaaron Warren, Lavie Tidhar, Esther Saxey, David Bryher, S.L. Grey, Kameron Hurley, Matt Jones and James Smythe, plus an introduction from Marek Kuluka, the Public Astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
Where to buy it:
Paperback (£9.99 / $14.95):
Forbidden Planet [Signed!] <-- it is Independent Booksellers Week, start here!
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Plus, while you're in Greenwich, admiring Visions of the Universe, you can pick up a copy at the National Maritime Museum!
Kindle / Kobo (£4.99 / $7.49):
Have some reviews:
"Visually beautiful with an incredibly high quality of fiction. Highly recommended." - The List
"A perfect snapshot of the the state of current science fiction.... There's a lot to relish here, a lot to enjoy, and nothing that doesn't display both thought and talent." - ARC
"The tales act as a portrait of the different voices and approaches in today's SF, as well as proving the genre hasn't run out of ways to explore our dreams" - SFX
"This back and forth between the actual and the fantastic underpins The Lowest Heaven's exploration of space, both as we know it and as we can only imagine it.... There can be no questioning the value of this artful anthology: it's as inspiring as it is inspired." - Tor.com
"The whimsical, the hard-core science stories and the outright strange; overall it is a well-crafted ensemble and the solar system theme never seems like a constraint... Starburst has no hesitation in recommending it to any serious reader of science fiction." - Starburst Magazine
"What stories. What imagination. What tales of wonder.... This idiosyncratic collection that fits together, somehow, like family, only without the awkward holiday dinners. Make it a point to get this ebook." - 100 Word Reviews
And, you know, stuff:
An interview with cover artist Joey Hi-Fi about his inspiration, with the Collections Blog of the Royal Museums Greenwich
J for Jetpack hosted a series of interviews with many of the anthology's contributors, including Alastair Reynolds, Adam Roberts, Kameron Hurley and Joey Hi-Fi.
An in-depth look at the cover art with A Dribble of Ink
[Update - 3 July: Thanks to everyone who came to last night's signing at Forbidden Planet! There were a lot of pre-orders, which made us all sorts of proud - thank you! If you haven't ordered your copy, there are still a few signed & bookplated paperbacks left!]
[Update - 4 July: We're giving away two copies over on Goodreads (UK only, I'm afraid) - enter now for a chance to win.]