I am delighted to have signed contracts with Anarchy Books for the publication of my first two books in electronic formats.

Anarchy Books Press Release >..

It is with great pleasure Anarchy Books would like to announce the acquisition of digital rights to not one, but TWO works of SF by the wonderfully talented Gareth L. Powell, author of fabulous SF novel THE RECOLLECTION (published by Solaris Books), Guest of Honour at 2012’s BristolCon and regular contributor to a host of anthologies including Shine, Conflicts, Further Conflicts, 2020 Visions, Future Bristol, Dark Spires, Illuminations and The Sixty.

First we have an incredible collection of SF short stories entitled The
Last Reef containing everything from alien insect invasions to high-octane roller-coaster rides packing enough concepts and inventions to make any lesser SF author weep!

Second, we have Silversands, set in an age when interstellar travel is dangerous and unpredictable, and communications officer Avril Bradley is sent to re-contact lost souls… After an explosion, she is left stranded in a world of retired cops, political intrigue, digital ghosts and corporate assassins, fighting for possession of computer data that will allow them to reach out towards the stars…

Both novels will be available to download from Anarchy Books in PDF, MOBI and EPUB formats during Q1 of 2012 for just £2.49.

Visit www.anarchy-books.com and www.garethlpowell.com for updates.

Message ends >>.

On his Muskets and Monsters website, Matt F.W. Curran gives Silversands one of its best reviews so far:

… I admit to feeling a little nervous about reading Gareth L. Powell’s debut novel, Silversands, especially in light of his first collection of fiction, The Last Reef. In my opinion, The Last Reef was the best and most exciting short story SF collection in recent years (and you can read my review of it here) and one of the few collections I still go back to even now (amongst them Hope by James Lovegrove and Barker’s Books of Blood).

So when Silversands was announced I was excited, nervous yes, but excited. I mean, what delights could the writer construct over the course of a novel? Could it match the dizzying heights and imaginations of The Last Reef?

Silversands’ universe requires little introduction; the science fiction tropes within the story are familiar without being unoriginal. There is no plodding back-story to labour over and it keeps that sense of wonder that all good science fiction has. This has its own advantages as we get into the plot from the off and the story rattles along at a good pace. Powell’s writing skills are explicit and direct, creating mood and character through economical prose and without exposition. Each scene is lovingly created and you can tell the writer is enjoying his craft here.

The world building is gritty, frontier SF at its best, with the feel of a society not far away from implosion which adds it’s own sense of tension, while the action is also typically dazzling and dynamic – it has its pulpy moments but nothing that the great SF writers such as Harrison or Asimov would be worried about. It’s utterly compelling, and there’s a feeling of crescendo, of sub-plots merging for a big bang somewhere down the line …

… this is a thoroughly accomplished piece of writing; not one I’d class as a ‘novel’ (novella, probably, and something that could form the back bone of a collection someway down the line), but I’m glad it’s been published and published lovingly (beautifully bound with a great cover) by Pendragon Press. I’m not sure I’ll return to it as much as the well-thumbed Last Reef, but Silversands sits proudly on my bookshelf with other acclaimed genre authors (Dick, Bradbury, Baxter, Banks etc)…

…And you know, Gareth L. Powell doesn’t look out of place amongst them.

Read the original post here.

On 6 October William Gibson, the author of Neuromancer and Zero History, will be appearing at the Watershed in Bristol, as part of the city’s Festival of Ideas, and I have tickets to see him! This is a big deal for me, as the freewheeling spirit of Gibson’s short story collection Burning Chrome was one of the inspirations for my short story The Last Reef, which helped me break into Interzone and led in turn to the publication of my first short story collection, The Last Reef and Other Stories.

This morning, I found a link to a website offering free downloads of the audio version of my book, The Last Reef and Other Stories. It claims the audio book has so far been downloaded 2590 times.

Since being published just under two years ago, the book has sold out in hardback and paperback. Electronic copies are available, but it’s a shame it’s no longer in print, as these download figures show there’s obviously a market for it.

Some time ago, Colin Harvey wrote a review of my short story collection The Last Reef for the Internet Review of Science Fiction. Now that the IROSF has ceased publication, Colin has posted the review on his own website.

This is my favourite part:

Powell shares with Clarke and Stapleton a sense of humanity’s insignificance in the universe … but Powell is as reminiscent of J.G. Ballard as of Clarke — from the moment when the narrator embraces his infected wife in ‘A Necklace of Ivy,’ to the rising waters and fleets of refugee container ships of ‘Flotsam,’ echoing Ballard’s The Drowned World and his visions of drained swimming pools and abandoned Cape Canaveral … But unlike Ballard, whose protagonists were cold, damaged men, Powell’s heroes turn and face their catastrophes prompted by love or a sense of what’s right — duty, to use an unfashionable word. At their best Powell’s stories fuse the traditional ideas driven British-fiction with detailed characterization, and action.

To read the full review, click here.

My short story collection, The Last Reef and Other Stories, is now available on the Amazon Kindle: click here to buy.

The following article appears in the new issue of Focus, the BSFA’s magazine for writers:

What I Learned From My First Book Launch
By Gareth L Powell

Elastic Press published my first short story collection, The Last Reef, in August 2008. Now, a year and a half later, I’m looking back at the process of releasing the book, and the lessons it taught me.
Continue reading “What I Learned From My First Book Launch”

My ebook experiment is featured on SF Signal:

www.sfsignal.com/archives/2009/11/wanna-buy-gareth-powells-the-last-reef-name-your-price/

Following my recent experiment in online short story selling, I am now in a position to offer you a PDF copy of my first short story collection, The Last Reef And Other Stories.

The Last Reef was originally published in hardback and paperback by Elastic Press in August 2008. It contains 15 short stories, and received glowing reviews from Interzone, Prism, Sci-fi Online, and The Fix.

In order to get a PDF copy of the book emailed directly to you from me, simply click on the big yellow button on the right (you may need to scroll up or down a bit).

This will take you to PayPal. All you have to do then is enter your payment details and decide how much you’d like to pay.

Yes, I’m putting the ball in your court. You decide what you think is a fair price for a 60,000 word book, pay me, and I’ll email you a copy.

It’s that simple.

I put a lot of work into this collection and I’m glad to now have the opportunity to make it available to a wider audience.

And as a special bonus, when you order a copy of The Last Reef, I’ll throw in a PDF copy of my short story “What Would Nicolas Cage Have Done?”, which isn’t normally included in the book.

So when placing your order, please remember to include your email address and state whether you’d like me to send you the PDF versions of the book, the short story, or both.

Many thanks!

This has been knocking around on YouTube for a while: