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Jul
15
Richard Morgan West Coast US Tour, July 23rd - 29th
Posted in: UKSFBN Talks To, What's On on 15th July 2007 by UKSFBN admin
Richard Morgan's new novel, Black Man (UK) / Thirteen (US) has been out for just over a month in the US (two months in the UK) and it's certainly made the reviewers think; reactions have focused on the political, racial and social elements of the book's considerable layer of subtext, whilst acknowledging that this is still very much an action novel in the vein of Morgan's earlier Takeshi Kovacs novels and Market Forces, the deeply satirical bastard offspring of Mad Max and The Office.
Morgan will be jetting to the US next weekend for a mini-tour that takes in several major cities on the Pacific coast (or the 'Rim States', as they have become in Black Man / Thirteen). We dropped Richard a line to quickly ask him about the tour and his next book project; a (planned so far) three-volume fantasy saga entitled Land Fit For Heroes (tour dates follow at the end of the article).
UKSFBN: Given what you've done to America's body politic in Thirteen and the sub-textual criticism of the current political system and social structures that it rather implies, what sort of reception has the book had so far in the US?
Richard M: "Well, my US editor certainly seems happy. The hardcover for Thirteen has just had its first reprint, and that's only two weeks after publication. Critical response has been largely very positive, with two starred reviews from Publisher's Weekly and Booklist and a lot of general enthusiasm in genre circles.
"But then again, America has always been very good to me. Both the literary awards I've been honoured with so far have come from the US, not the UK, and I sell a lot of books on the other side of the Atlantic despite (or maybe because of) the overt political content my work has stamped through it.
"I think it just proves that there is a whole side to America politically that we are never allowed to see, mainly because the US media makes sure that that particular constituency gets little or no coverage. But those guys are out there in their millions: politically aware and concerned liberal Americans with an intensely critical attitude to what their nation is currently doing to itself."
UKSFBN: Can't help noticing that there are no 'Jesusland' destinations on the itinerary... care to comment on that one?
Richard M: >>grin<< "Yeah, but coming soon: a series of eight well-attended book burnings across the south and mid-west...
"No, seriously though, my two previous US tours have always concentrated on the West Coast and New York, with a couple of Midwest stops where audiences have tended to be small (though hugely enthusiastic, I have to say). But this time around, the real factor has been San Diego Comicon, where I'll be spending three days – that's really eaten into the time available for the rest of the tour, so we've had to cut out a lot of other stuff we might otherwise have done, including New York and any heartland gigs."
UKSFBN: Will you be making any appearances in the UK in the near future?
Richard M: "Unfortunately not – time constraints are really pressing me this time around, and the travel is problematic. I think if I was based in or around London, it might be feasible to come in and do casual bookshop gigs more often, but Glasgow to London and back is a major commitment in terms of time and money, and gigs elsewhere seem to be going out of fashion because unless you're someone like J K Rowling or Ian Rankin the return on that kind of touring just doesn't justify itself to the publisher.
"That's not to say I wouldn't consider appearing at local bookshops up here in Scotland or northern England, just for the fun of it, but again, once you acknowledge that it's purely for the pleasure of the event, then factors of time and money do start to tug at your sleeve. Glasgow or Edinburgh is feasible – Inverness or Manchester starts not to be."
UKSFBN: Black Man / Thirteen has been hailed as your strongest book to-date and must surely be the pinnacle of your dystopian sf-noir writing so far. Why then the decision to switch to a fantasy setting for your next three books?
Richard M: "Well, you've got to stay fresh, somehow. I have this horror of becoming a series writer – this comfy, middle-aged churner-out of Takeshi Kovacs adventures 1 thru 96, same-old, same-old, give-the-people-what-they-want etc, etc, unto the grave. Shudder.
"...the novel I'm working on now is sword and sorcery, but after that I'll be back to SF.""That's why each Kovacs book was somewhat different in tone and sub-genre, it's why I wrote Market Forces, it's why I went out and invented a whole new universe for Black Man – and it's why I'm now having a crack at fantasy. But it won't be the next three books all at once, not your classic three brick fantasy trilogy – the novel I'm working on now is sword and sorcery, but after that I'll be back to SF (and in all probability a novel set in the same universe as Black Man, exploring some of the other variant options). Then I'll go back again and do the second sword and sorcery book, then back to SF, and so on.
"The three fantasy novels will be a nominal trilogy, in the sense that they'll have the same setting and some of the same characters, but I'm very concerned to make each one a standalone novel as well, much as the Kovacs books were, and with a bit of luck there'll be similar variations in tone as well. Though, at this stage, it's really too early to predict – which of course is exactly what I'm after.
"Despite having the book deals laid out, I'm never entirely sure what I'll be writing next, and that's what's so envigorating. And a bit scary too, sometimes, but I guess that's healthy – watch this space!"
More information on the author at the official Richard Morgan website at www.richardkmorgan.com, which has recently been lightly revamped and will shortly undergo a full re-design. More information on Black Man at Amazon.co.uk and Thirteen at Amazon.com.
And those West Coast tour dates are:
Monday, July 23 - SEATTLE, WA
Time: 7:00pm
University Bookstore
4326 University Way NE
Tuesday, July 24 - PORTLAND, OR
Time: 7:30pm
Powell's Books
1005 W. Burnside
Thursday, July 25 - SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Time: 7:00pm
Booksmith
1644 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
Friday, Saturday & Sunday July 27th, 28th & 29th - SAN DIEGO, CA
Comic Con International
San Diego Convention Center
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Tagged With: book signing | comics | convention | Portland | Richard [K] Morgan | San-Diego | San-Francisco | science fiction | Seattle | thriller | US-Tour
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[...] One of the finest of our new crop of Brit science fiction writers, Richard Morgan, will also be at the SDCC over the weekend. Although Richard hasn’t returned to comics since his two Black Widow mini-series for Marvel (Homecoming and The Things They Say About Her) he has been very busy on the writing front, with his powerhouse new SF novel Black Man (re-titled Thirteen in the US) just out and a move into fantasy (with a Noir twist) going on too, so do say hi to him and if you haven’t picked up Black Man yet I really can’t recommend it enough - it is also a standalone book, set much earlier than his brilliant Takeshi Kovacs stories, so if you are new to Richard’s novels it offers a good place to start. Richard’s website has also had a small revamp, with a major overhaul planned for later on (via Ariel at the UK SF Book News). [...]