Safe State Anniversary Update

Is it really twelve months since Safe State's release? Apparently it is, and apparently it's also sold 3,500 copies in that time. Which means it's reached approximately a thousand times as many people as I expected it to, and some of them even appear to have liked it! Here's a few highlights from the reviews: 

“I haven't been this blown away by an author's achievement since House of Leaves. I'm on my second read, revelling in the prose, characters, and world. Buy this book. It's one of the best you'll read.” ★★★★★ 

“Safe State’s world is an absolutely standout creation, full of fascinating ideas—the Storybirds, the Hoffman-Schwarz syndrome, those emotion inductors—and such clever extrapolations of current tech that, reading it, this future seems not only possible but somehow likely.” ★★★★★ 

“This is gripping, fresh cyberpunk with relatable, clearly defined characters, each with their own arc, and an ending that will make your head spin.” ★★★★★ 

I wasn't expecting that kind of reaction. I also wasn't expecting to see Safe State rising up in the paid charts to briefly rub shoulders with my all-time faves Neuromancer and Gridlinked either. That was a particular highlight of the year. I am not 'an author' and have no pretensions to be, but I can't deny I smiled when I saw this:

What's next? A sequel hot on the heels of Safe State to capitalise on all that interest? Um... no.

There is a follow-up in the works. It's called Null Trigger and it'll bring together a cast of characters old and new, five years on from where Safe State left off. I hope it'll be a worthy sequel, just don't expect it anytime soon. If everything goes to plan it'll see the light in 2028, but nothing ever goes to plan when it comes to my writing, so any talk of dates is pissing in the wind. In the meantime there should be a novella, Edge Case, with a neat little extra twist that might be appreciated by those who've read Safe State or Calibration Run. Look out for that later this year. Maybe.

Anyway, that's the update. It might be a year before the next one. If you're here reading this because you bought Safe State, thank you for your support. And if you're here looking for more... thank you for your patience!

Safe State: #1 Cyberpunk Bestseller!

Yay, Safe State has now broken through 2,500 copies shifted since release and is currently riding high at the top of the Amazon Bestseller list for 'Cyberpunk Science Fiction', as well as top three placings in the Post-Apocalypse and Dystopian lists.

Okay, yeah, so those chart positions are a fleeting high brought on by a promotional weekend. And, um, nobody's actually paying for it right now, either. But we don't talk about that...

Because, look at it. It's NUMBER ONE!!!!11!!

New Release: Calibration Run

Oh come on now, this can't be right. Another new release? 

Yep, Calibration Run is finally here! A seedy cyberpunk novella, set in a morally derelict England where the only business left is entertainment, and even the vilest depravity can be monetised.

It's set a few years after Safe State, in the same world. Be warned, it does plumb the depths of human - and posthuman - degeneracy even more than usual. 

It'll be the last release for a while, there's nothing else in the immediate pipeline. If you want it, throw your money here.   

New Release: Safe State

What's this? Another new release, less than 5 years since the previous one? I know right, and this one's actually a proper full-length novel!

Yes, Safe State is finally here and ready to read. It's The Truman Show’s grimy British cyberpunk cousin, set in a claustrophobic town packed with swarming cyborg insects, reanimated corpses, and a power-crazed mayor with a penchant for sable robes and illegal biotech. 

This is market town Lincolnshire like you’ve never imagined: where emotions are artificially induced, personalities rewired with synapse sculpts, and the grim ‘shitspace’ of reality obscured by an augmented veneer of retinal projection. 

It's the world one traumatised, disfigured girl must survive if she’s to take on the embryoshaped sociopaths messing with her life. Her dad used to say, living dangerous is living right. She’s about to find out just how wrong he really was.

Get it here if you want it. And if you don't fancy paying, just wait around for a bit - it's sure to go free for a couple of days here and there. 

New Release: Segmentation Fault

Good news! My new short story, Segmentation Fault, is now available on Amazon. 

Yeah, I know, it's been five years, and if you're still looking for a sequel to No Good Deed... this isn't it. But if you fancy a grittily poignant blend of British cyberpunk-by-the-sea and tragic teen romance, set in a near-future Skegness on the edge of collapse, have at it. It might be the best seventy-seven pence you spend this month.