Calling all Jim Butcher fans. Have I got news for you? Well, if you’ll pardon my reappropriation of the name of a popular panel show, you can be damn sure I do!
A year and change on from the publication of Skin Game, the fifteenth and final Dresden File for the foreseeable, Orbit Books has unveiled Chris McGrath’s cover art for The Aeronaut’s Windlass. The Aeronaut’s Windlass, in case you weren’t aware, is the first volume of The Cinder Spires—a shiny new steampunky series that’s a little like “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen meets Sherlock meets Hornblower,” according to the author.
Now we’ve known The Cinder Spires was on the way since Butcher revealed it to Reddit in an Ask Me Anything way back when in November 2012, but of this morning, we know a whole lot more.
Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist-shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace.
Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is severely damaged in combat, leaving captain and crew grounded, Grimm is offered a proposition from the leaders of Albion—to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predator to its fighting glory.
And even as Grimm undertakes this dangerous task, he will learn that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake…
Sounds a little like the Tales of the Ketty Jay to yours truly, with a soupçon of steam and a sprinkling of ancient evil. So: delicious and nutritious! But Chris McGrath’s cover art is more interested in Captain Grimm and his cutlass than in the bigger picture.
Anyone else watching Black Sails out there? I only ask because the resemblance between McGrath’s Grimm and that drama’s Jack Rackham really appeals to me.
In any event, if you have a hankering for “goggles and airships and steam power and bizarre crystal technology and talking cats, who are horrid little bullies”—because of course they are—The Aeronaut’s Windlass will be published in the UK by Orbit Books on September 29th, in advance of at least two sequels set amongst the same Spires.
Time enough to get excited, right?
Niall Alexander is an extra-curricular English teacher who reads and writes about all things weird and wonderful for The Speculative Scotsman, Strange Horizons, and Tor.com. He’s been known to tweet, twoo.
More than time enough for loyal Harry Dresden fans to be p*ssed that he’s ignoring us because of a shiny new idea.
I think changing gears works for some authors – like Jim Butcher or Brandon Sanderson. And even if I did not care very much for Codex Alera I prefer get new Dresdens less often, but possibly fresher. And who knows, I might like the new series!
As for the cover – it’s the same as the Roc one, only with different lettering:
Yea for new Butcher. I liked Codex Alera enough to want to read this. As long as I get new Dresden soon…
I actually attended a Q&A with Jim Butcher about this time last year. He said he had to take a break from Harry every so often because Harry started to talk back and snark at him and it would cause Jim to contemplate killing him or other such horrors he could inflect on him whether it made plot sense or not. It helped him to get away and work on something else and come back refreshed and excited. He said he could try to plow through it but it wouldn’t go any faster and we likely wouldn’t enjoy the result.
He also said the next book title and gave us a little preview of the plot and few other cool tidbits and previews. Was great fun and my level of respect for Jim was increased
Talking cats?! I’m in!! :D
I sat in on a two-hour reading from this book, Jim read the first 8 chapters or so. It was really, really engaging. I want more Harry, yeah, but I’m excited about this book too.
Peace Talks is the next Dresden Book, and it is under contract and is forthcoming.
I’m looking forward to this series; I’ve already got this on my list to buy. The blurb is the same one Amazon has had up for a while now, so that’s not exactly new. Anyone know if there’s a video of said reading? Also, thanks for the news about the next Dresden book! Peace Talks eh? Since things are rarely peaceful in Harry’s world that should make for some interesting conversation. :)
Excited.. yes. Butcher had a youtube reading last year at a con where he read the first chapter or so. I liked it. The second he said that Talking cats are basically a recipe to be the Mob, I saw the potential to be entertained.
Rumor also has it that dresden files 16 is due in within a few months, so soon should be “Peace Talks”
# 17 has already been announced by Butcher to be “Mirror Mirror”.
Jim Butcher has been so awesome for so long, and has given me so many great reads, that as far as I am concerned he can write, or not write, any damn thing he wants, any damn time he wants. A new Dresden book comes out with astonishing regularity and frequency, and they have gone from plain good to unbelievably, ridiculously good and they keep getting better. The whole Dresdenverse is evolving, complex, and compelling. I am looking forward to Peace Talks as hard as anyone, but the idea of being upset that he alternates with another series? A steampunky series with talking cats in it? Come on! MByerly@1, you just can’t be serious.
Love the cover. Big fan of Butcher. Really looking forward to this!
I prefer the placement of the writing in the other (Roc?) version, and the less-blocky font(s), too. Regardless of superficial issues, though, I’m looking forward to this series, and even if I weren’t already a steampunk fan, I enjoyed the Codex Alera more than enough to reassure me that he can do more than one genre well. (I finally decided to try Alera after it was complete, which was convenient, even if I did kick myself for having been reluctant — it was mainly the term “fury”, I think.) Also, thank you Mr. Butcher, for finding a way to avoid attempting beloved-character-cide — A.C. Doyle found out it doesn’t even work!
Honestly – I didn’t get sucked into Dresden until I read the short from Dangerous Women – Bombshells. I really dug the Molly character and was half hopeful Harry really was dead and Molly would be the main character in the Dresden-verse going forward…. I slowly worked my way backwards through the last 4 books in the series, realized that Harry was only mostly dead, but got hooked and read the rest in order….
Like Dresden files, I found myself 2.5 books in finally captivated and needing to read the rest of them. The first few books were slow going, but I’m wondering what he’s got planned in 5 & 6.
Then I’ll get excited about Butcher Steampunk. Never been much interested in the genre – but I’ll give it a shot for Jim’s sake.
changing gears really does work for Jim. When he was alternating between codex alera books and Dresden. He was able to release one Dresden book per year. Summer was Dresden, winter was Alera. The moment he finished alera, his Dresden books started to get delayed first by few months then by half a year and now almost two years. I hope with such different book series he will be able to get back on track again.