OT: Announcing ONLY SUPERHUMAN, my first original novel!

There will definitely be a mass-market edition in the coming year. Can't remember the exact date right now.

 

They’re a couple of months late, but I’ve finally completed and posted the annotations for Only Superhuman on my website. The page-by-page annotations and other background notes, artwork, and interviews can be accessed from the main page for the novel:

http://home.fuse.net/ChristopherLBennett/Originalfiction.html#OS

 

Excellent novel Mr Bennett, I love hard sci-fi, especially near-future and body modification. Elements that I loved in Alistair Reynold's 'Revelation Space' and K.S. Robinson's '2312' and to a lesser extent Iain M. Banks Culture novels. I felt your novel stands quite comfortably with these writers. I would love to see more work from this universe.
In fact my only complaint would be that it seems to be more marketed as a superhero book, when it clearly isn't. (much to my relief!)

 

Thank you so much!

Well, it's supposed to be a realistic superhero book as well as a transhumanist space adventure.

 

Excellent news! Thanks Christopher and Greg for the answer

 

Just finished reading Only Superhuman, and liked it a lot. The notion of "mods" initially being created to increase survivability in the sometimes-harsh environments of the outer solar system is intriguing.

I seem to recall you saying previously that this story was part of a "future history" you've created. I'd be interested in seeing other stories, and especially where humanity goes from here. Do you envision writing something soon set further into the future of this universe, or do you hope to write more tales of Emerald and the Troubleshooters first?

Whichever, best wishes for continuing success!

 

Thank you!

My previously published stories "Aggravated Vehicular Genocide," "Among the Wild Cybers of Cybele," and "The Weight of Silence" are all set in that same universe further in the future, though they have no direct ties to OS (beyond the use of the term "cyber" for robots and AIs). The first two are available to read on my website, but "Weight" is currently out of print (the online magazine it was in went under).

I am working on another novel set elsewhere/when in the same universe; hopefully I can sell it soon. As for more Troubleshooter tales, that may depend on how well OS does.

Thanks again!

 

I hope Mr. Bennett doesn't mind me posting this here, but I posted a review of Only Superhuman on my blog http://codylmartin.blogspot.jp/2012/10/book-review-only-superhuman.html
And he was kind enough to grant me an interview. http://codylmartin.blogspot.jp/2013/01/interview-christopher-l-bennett.html

I am really hoping to see more of Emry in sequels.

 

^No problem with posting it.

This evening I had a book signing at Joseph-Beth Booksellers here in Cincinnati, and the folks there were very supportive. It wasn't as well-attended as it could've been, but better than some Shore Leave panels I've been on. And another local genre author I recently met, Laura Resnick, was kind enough to drop by and participate in the conversation. I did a reading from the novel (the same scene I did at Shore Leave in '11) and then did a Q&A. I've had a cold in my throat and my voice wasn't at its peak, but I've been treating it all day with tea & honey and cough drops (which I've already grown so sick of that I can't stand another), so I managed to get through it okay. Anyway, the folks there, both store employees and attendees, had very positive and heartening things to say about the book and its prospects for success. (And they let me keep the banner they printed up for the signing!)

 

^ I was actually in Joseph-Beth over Christmas (they had carolers in). It was my first time going there, and I was very impressed; I don't know how I lived 23 years in Cincinnati without ever visiting. Anyway, they had a few prominent copies of Only Superhuman on display.

Also I love the taste of cough drops.

 

Heck, when they built the Joseph-Beth (and the whole mall) there, I was living just a couple of blocks away. So I was aware of the store from the beginning, though I've gone there less frequently since I moved to a different part of town.

 

The mass-market paperback edition of Only Superhuman is now available for pre-order. The release date is the end of August, about seven months from now. The listed retail price for the MMPB is $7.99, same as the price for Trek MMPBs. Amazon also has a preorder link for the audiobook adaptation from GraphicAudio, which is due out sometime in February. Ordering links are at my blog:

http://christopherlbennett.wordpres...erback-and-audiobook-available-for-pre-order/

 

Just out of curiosity, do you know if it will have no cover art?

 

I hope it has cover art. A blank cover would suck.

 

I'm kind of hoping the paperback version has the same art as the hardcover to be honest.

 

I don't know about the cover art, but I'd be surprised if they changed it. It's certainly an attention-grabbing image.

 

The paperback will definitely feature the same cover art as the hardcover, adapted to fit a slightly different trim size, of course!

 

Cool. I really like it so I was hoping it would stick around.

That was supposed to be new. I don't know why I wrote no.

 

Audiobook ordered, since I haven't had time to read the book-book yet ;-)

I like to listen to audiobooks at the gym. This should be perfect.

 

There’s a sample clip from the audiobook now available at GraphicAudio’s site:

http://soundcloud.com/graphicaudio/only-superhuman

The clip doesn’t feature much dialogue, but the actress they’ve cast as Emerald Blair (not sure if it’s the same woman doing the narration, and the credits aren’t up yet) is reasonably close to what I had in mind. She actually sounds kind of like Tara Strong, one of my favorite voice actresses, who doesn’t sound quite like I imagine Emerald but who’s enough in the ballpark that I’d actually considered her as a candidate for Emerald’s voice if there was ever an audiobook. (Although I think my ideal choice would be Amy Jo Johnson. The voice I originally heard in my head for Emry was Lenore Zann, who played Rogue on the ’90s X-Men animated series, but Johnson’s work on Flashpoint has won me over.) As it turned out, I had no input into casting on the audiobook, so I was a little nervous about whether they’d cast Emerald appropriately. I’m much more reassured now.

I read along in the book as the clip played, and it’s not a complete, word-for-word rendition of the text, but most of it is there. Honestly, there were some bits of description that maybe they could’ve trimmed more. My rather verbose style actually sounded a little odd to me spoken aloud.