Sam Sykes lands new novel deal…

Fantasy-Faction are big fans of Sam Sykes. His books are like playing video games: non-stop, chaotic and oh so fun. Fantasy is a genre where an author should feel free to let their imagination run wild, disembark from real-life and – from time to time – give the reader something that isn’t simply history re-written. Sam does all this and so, so much more: Dragonmen: check, HUGE battles: check, Gods and Demons: check, insanely powerful magics: check. It’s all there.

My only real problem with Sam is that is output isn’t as high as Brandon Sanderson’s. If it were I imagine I’d have torn through far more than his current 4 books in 5 years (Note: reading that back, knowing the length of Sam’s books and reflecting on it all I have to admit his pacing is pretty admirable… I’m forced, therefore, to admit it’s my desire for ‘more Sykes’ as opposed to a slow writer. Damned).

Anyway, like other fans I was delighted to hear last year that Gollancz had signed Sam up for at least another two books in his ‘Bring Down Heaven’ series (I will point out this is still 593 days until publication of the next -_-), but some exciting news came in this morning through Sam’s blog:

The people at Paizo asked me to do a novel for their Pathfinder series…

For those unfamiliar with Pathfinder, it is a tabletop board game that ‘puts you in the role of a brave adventurer fighting to survive in a world beset by magic and evil. To borrow from the website’s description, it allows you to:

Take on the role of a canny fighter hacking through enemies with an enchanted sword, a powerful sorceress blessed with magic by the hint of demon blood in her veins, a wise cleric of gods benevolent or malign, a witty rogue ready to defuse even the deadliest of traps, or any of countless other heroes. The only limit is your imagination!

That description right there sounds tailer-made for Sam Sykes. Very few authors make characters as interesting or diverse as Sam does and, should he indeed be invited to ‘use his imagination’, you can be assured that Sam will come up with some intriguing stuff.

Indeed, on Sam’s blog he points towards this fellow:

This guy is a Gorilla King who rules a jungle empire within the Pathfinder world. Just one of the many possible characters and locations Sam could visit across the huge pre-built world, should he choose to indulge readers with something they’ve already experienced. As a fan of Sam’s – Sam doesn’t say it himself – there is no denying that this Gorilla dude versus the Dragon dude below (Gariath, one of Sam’s most favoured characters in his previous four books) show a compatible vision:

All that is just my speculation and wishful thinking though. What does Sam himself say we should expect? Well:

First of all, this is a Sam Sykes novel. It’s going to have everything you love about a Sam Sykes novel: humor, action, adventure, awkward romances, people filled with horrible emotional damage and relentless fun. All that and maybe a Gorilla King, if I can swing it (a fucking Gorilla King, guys).

I can’t wait. Head over to Sam’s blog for a much more in-depth post and ensure you follow him on Twitter for hourly laughs.

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