Bryan Young is a guy you may have heard of. He’s me. I’ve been writing for Big Shiny Robot! as its founder and editor-in-chief for almost 9 years now. The site has grown quite a bit, not only in look and sophistication, but quality of content and I’m incredibly proud of it.
But most importantly, I’m proud of the discerning tastes of our audience. You’ve been here, year after year, letting us shape your taste with our news and analysis.
But today, I want to talk to you about two books I have releasing, books I’m quite proud of. And these are books I think naturally are of interest to the tasteful readers of Big Shiny Robot!
The first is a collection of short stories called “Escape Vector.” Inside, it contains twelve stories of science fiction adventures. Some were published in collections elsewhere over the last few years, but many were written specifically for this volume. Pictured on the cover is an elusive and mysterious bounty hunter named Blackheart. She features in three stories in the collection And if readers like her as much as I do, they’ll probably be seeing a lot more of her.
As I was putting the book together, I wanted to create a selection of science fiction stories that my 12 year old daughter and my new daughter would want to read, to make them feel included in the genre. To that end, most of the stories feature female protagonists, all of them feature major female characters. And every story has that cool space opera pulp that I had no trouble falling into when I was a kid. But it’s something I tried to do in a way that is accessible to readers of all ages and genders, and I hope you decide to read it.
“Escape Vector” is currently available digitally on Amazon. You can enter to win a signed physical copy from Goodreads. Or you can pre-order a signed copies from my writing website.
The second book coming out is a full length novel called “The Aeronaut.” This is a book that has been gestating inside me for more than a decade and the chance to have an audience finally read it. It’s an alternate take on World War I with a bit of a steampunk flair. Technology is such that jetpacks are in use by the French as a way to leap over the no man’s land between trenches.
My reading tastes expand much further beyond science fiction and fantasy, and I found that two of my favorite writers, Ernest Hemingway and Graham Greene, wrote stories I desperately wanted to read over and over again. Unfortunately, they didn’t produce any genre fiction, either. So, convincing friends to read their work has not always been the easiest challenge. What I set out to do with this book was to create a bridge between the genre elements that we all love reading and the story elements of my literary favorites. This is in no way meant for me to compare myself to them, but if genre fans read this and used it as a stepping stone to “A Farewell to Arms” and “The End of the Affair,” I would consider my mission accomplished.
The book tells the tale of Robert Preston. Preston is an American expatriate who joined the French Aeronautic Corps during World War I. Through his adventures on the battlefield and in the hospital, he meets a woman who cures his death wish, but French Intelligence has other plans for him.
“The Aeronaut” is available for digital pre-order on Amazon right now with a release date of November 11, to commemorate the signing of the armistice that ended World War I. You can enter to win a signed physical copy from Goodreads. Or you can pre-order a signed copies from my writing website.
I hope that you take the time to check out whichever of these books that might strike your fancy. In truth, I hope that both of them interest you. And, as someone who has been reading an independent site like Big Shiny Robot! for so long, it would be my assumption that you’d do your best to support the artist, pick up a copy of the book, and let me know what you think.