Sean Williams

While I'm immensely flattered at My Elves Are Different implying that I'm a "Science Fiction Master", I must report that this isn't the means by which I come up with character names, in Astropolis or any other series.

It is, in fact, a carefully-crafted system of mythological references, obscure words, friends, and in-jokes impossible to explain, and sometimes even to remember.

I'm on the road again for the next ten days or so.  Here are some things I've been meaning to post properly about but hadn't got around to.  My apologies.  See you when I get back!

• an Astropolis reviewing contest
• an interview with me and a couple of awesome Writers of the Future winners in LA, on Starship Sofa
• another interview, this time about the SA Writers' Festival
• Karen Lee Field and I talk about stuff
• my favourite science books of recent times
• once upon a time, I had a quote of the day on my favourite spec fic news site, io9

(It's raining here in Adelaide at the moment, and I'm really going to miss it.  Could be the last we see for a while.)

The Grand Conjunction continues to be treated very kindly.

Not Free SF:
"Resexed rising redux. ... A complex and psychologically dense work. Some of Williams' space operatic counterparts could probably take a lesson or two in bloat trimming from this gentleman." (Ouch!)

HorrorScope:
"...a vast, many chambered volume that actually manages to surpass its predecessors Saturn Returns, Cenotaxis and Earth Ascendant. ... A continuation of those novels? Yes. The same philosophical and cordial prose we have come to love? Yes. But what lies at this novel's heart is more layered in its transparency. Like a Russian Doll, the revelations slide away in a manner that the author himself probably found unexpected and even humorous." (True.)

Terra Incognita:
"This is a tale of unimaginable span. ... It doesn’t seem possible that a series of books could do or contain more. The Grand Conjunction concludes a grand achievement. Five stars."

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I don't want to inundate you with the full reviews, but I'm very pleased at how people have responded to the characterisation, the ending, and my little noir experiment. It reinforces my belief that, in SF, anything is possible.

One quick thing before I go.  Gary of Concept Sci-fi has given me my second review of The Grand Conjunction, and it's as exciting as the first.  Not just for lines like "epic space scenes spanning portions of time that the mind can barely comprehend" and "the words just seem to flow so easily that you're halfway through the book before you even realise it" and "an absolute winner and a joy to read", although they are of course wonderful on every level.  I'm excited for two other reasons.

One: Gary liked the ending.  "All of the loose ends are tied up nicely, and you're left with a nice warm 'cosy' feeling rather than a 'is that it?' feeling."  That concurs with Liviu Suciu's "the ending is pitch perfect", and suggests that I nailed at least one of my objectives (perhaps two, counting the humungous space battles).  After being criticised for leaving readers unsatisfied in previous series, I was determined to do it differently this time. I listen to feedback, and I know there's always room to improve. Looks like I did something right here.

Two: Gary again echoes Liviu, who said about the beginning, "I had to close the book and look at the cover to make sure I am reading the right book and then flip some pages to make sure pages from another book were not inserted inside by mistake - so great was the cognitive dissonance I suffered".  Gary's response was similar: "My initial reaction on pages one and two was 'what the hell has this got to do with Astropolis?' But the truth is that this bit of the book was actually the best bit for me."  He concludes: "Sean really has proved that he's an exceptionally talented writer who doesn't just do sci-fi and fantasy - Sean, if you're listening, you REALLY should write a detective novel!"

I'm listening, and I'm very pleased indeed.

Seven reasons I'm proud of The Grand Conjunction:

• It contains the biggest kick-arse space battle I could imagine.
• There's more than a hint of film noir.
• I had fun dicking around with structure.  For instance: the "Previously in Astropolis" intro contains an important hint as to both the identity of the series narrator and the ultimate fate of our hero.
• All the important questions (why Imre was reborn female in book one; what his other self has been doing all this time; etc) are answered at the end, so no one's going to be left scratching their heads.  I hope.
  
• The Gothic text I chose for inspiration was Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.  Predictable, but still a wonderful text to work with.
• The main characters literally go through a wringer.  Literally.  (Not really.)
• It's dedicated to Gary Numan.

Oh, and the last line is possibly my favourite from all my novels to date.

(Okay, that's eight, but I liked the alliteration of the subject line.  So sue me!)

The UK cover of The Grand Conjunction has been out for a while, but for some reason I forgot to post it here. Not for any reason; I'm just forgetful. Here it is in all its glory:



Technically there are three moons in this cover (foreground, background, and creating the eclipse). Could that be any cooler?

( Here's the blurb. )

Meanwhile Mark Chitty Hub reviewed Saturn Returns in its latest issue, concluding: "a great Space Opera novel... Highly recommended."

BBC Focus thought Earth Ascendant "admirably rich and baroque, bringing to mind Iain M. Banks's Culture novels."

And Bookspot Central recommended Saturn Returns to "anyone who likes dark, epic-scale space opera, stories with intense action, or science fiction about subjects such as slower-than-light interstellar societies and the technological transformation of the human mind. ...an excellent combination of atmospheric power, thoughtful speculation, and visceral excitement that I recommend highly."

No need to comment, unless you're moved to by the awesomeness of my lovely Lunatic trio. :-) I post reviews and stuff here for my own record, mainly. Much easier to search LJ than my hard drive.

Gary is back after 29 years and I am going to see him play in Melbourne tomorrow.



I caught him for the first time during WorldCon in 2006. I had just finished Saturn Returns so his lyrics and music were very much on my mind. You know how sometimes you're afraid that the reality won't live up to the dream? Well, I felt exactly like that. (Sharing a suite with that trio of mockers--Simon Brown, Garth Nix, and Jonathan Strahan--certainly didn't help.) I shouldn't have worried. He was amazing.

If you're thinking "Cars" and "Are 'Friends' Electric?" then you've got some catching up to do. Here's a taste of his latest album, a song I've quoted many, many times through the Astropolis books. ( The last line is a killer. )

Gary Reynolds has revamped his already awesome Concept Sci-Fi site, in the process making Earth Ascendant the book of the month for December. He also reviewed it, saying nice things like: "Earth Ascendant is one of the best space opera releases of 2008. It is well-written, enjoyable and leaves you wanting to find out what happens next! Roll on book three!"

The legendary Matthew Tait also reviewed Earth Ascendant, this time over at HorrorScope: "...Earth Ascendant is a remarkably good ride. The prose is how first-rate space opera should be: lyrical, philosophical and poetic. ... Truly unexpected villains greet us toward the conclusion as the story runs riot with Doppelgangers, parasites, and a broken higher intelligence. The third in the series, The Grand Conjunction, promises to be an epic thrill ride tapering off a remarkable journey that might well be the author’s greatest achievement."

I am extremely chuffed.

Meanwhile Shawn Speakman, mastermind of Del Rey's new Suvudu site, put five questions to me the other week, and the answers are at the other end of that link.

The Force Unleashed was reprinted ahead of the paperback release next year.

And doesn't this look like fun?

Want an excerpt from The Grand Conjunction? What about reviews, interviews and shameless plugs? I am brimming over with links today, so I'm posting them all at once. Here's your chance to find out what my name looks like in Bulgarian (me, I've been dying to find out) and to learn which novella legendary Lou Anders recommends for the Hugo.

First up, the Book Show interview I mentioned a couple of weeks back is available as an MP3 download here. For readers outside Australia, I should explain that is about as big as non-paid promotion gets for writers down here. Almost literary, you could say.

On the other side of the world, Gary Reynolds at Concept Sci-Fi has been wallowing in Astropolis. The fruits of his labour (to confuse a metaphor or two) are now online. First, there's an excerpt from and a review of Saturn Returns:

"really good space opera that is a joy to read"

Then there's a review of Cenotaxis:

"superbly written...either as a standalone story or as part of the Astropolis series"

In his latest Ezine, Gary has reprinted "The Seventh Letter" with original artwork.

And on his website, right now, is an exclusive preview of The Grand Conjunction, the third and last of the Astropolis novels. Enjoy.

Gary promises a review of Earth Ascendant soon (to sit alongside this excerpt) but for now I have just one to post, and it's a corker.

A couple of weeks ago I received advance notice of a Jan '09 review in F&SF by Chris Moriarty, which I've been sitting on like a wriggly kid. It contains this wonderful line:

"Words like riveting, gripping, and page-turning get tossed around pretty cavalierly, but they all apply to the Astropolis series."

It can't get much better than that, can it? Actually, it can. This is one of those reviews that had me nodding along, going "yes...yes...YES" at every other line. Chris gets what I'm trying to do, and I'm grateful for it. I'll post more of the review next year, or whenever the issue is in print.

Meanwhile Mark Chitty of Walker of Worlds "recommend[s] Cenotaxis without hesitation" and Stuart Mayne in the latest aurealisXpress waxed somewhat lyrical regarding The Dust Devils, saying that it "works on all fronts". Stuart also gave me my first ever review of a workshop, specifically a weekend intensive I ran at the Victorian Writers' Centre while everyone else partied at Conflux. He says: "It was an absolutely fantastic workshop and can whole-heartedly recommend a workshop with Sean Williams as an experience that will help your writing immeasurably." I am blushing at such kind words.

To round out this enormous list of links, Robert Thompson emailed this morning to say that The Grand Conjunction is on his list of 2009 highlights, while Lou Anders, guest blogging on Tor.com, chided everyone in the US for not buying more of my books:

"His stand-alone novella, Cenotaxis, published by independent press Monkeybrain Books, was one of my favorite reads of the year and my personal choice for the Best Novella Hugo in 2008. It ably demonstrates why some people feel the novella is the ideal length for SF, and I say that because it’s true, not because he kindly set the novel’s resolution in my own home town (albeit of the far future.)"

And Bulgaria? I was very pleased to be interviewed by Darth Sparhawk for Citadelata.com. You can see the results here.

I'd end on the exciting news I have to impart, but that can wait until next time. No one will read down this far anyway. :-)

(Today's titles, btw, from the songbook of hell are: "Disconcert 1-6", "Praedeludium 1", and "Disconcerto for Violin, No. 1 (occasionally in G Mixolydian)".)

I've just added some excerpts to my official site, specifically opening chapters of every book in the Broken Land series (including The Scarecrow, not due until March next year) and excerpts from Astropolis up to The Grand Conjunction (May):

"Real life was always more boring and deadly than fiction."

And to make this post more visual, I offer my contributions to Scalzi's LOLCreashun Thread, from way back when:



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