Coming this year from Gollancz in the UK, and Orbit in the US (imprints owned by Hachette) is a new novel by Miles Cameron, The Red Knight.
Both publishers are taking very different paths in planning how to best sell this book to their markets.
Gollancz (due November 2012):
The Red Knight
Traitor Son #1
By Mile Cameron
A violent, fast-paced and compelling debut fantasy novel, in a world where heroes and monsters are not quite as they seem…
This is a world dominated by The Wild.
Man lives in pockets of civilisation claimed from The Wild. Within men’s walls life is civilised, the peace punctuated by tournaments, politicking, courtly love and canny business. Beyond those walls men are prey – vulnerable to the exceptionally powerful and dangerous creatures which populate the land and even more vulnerable to those creatures schemes.
So when one of those creatures breaks out of The Wild and begins preying on people in their homes, it takes a specialist to hunt it down or drive it out…and even then, it’s a long, difficult and extremely dangerous job.
The Black Captain and his men are one such group of specialists. They have no idea what they’re about to face…
Forget George and the Dragon. Forget Sir Lancelot and tales of Knightly exploits. This is dirty, bloody work. This is violent, visceral action. This is a mercenary knight as you’ve never seen one before.
Okay….and here’s Orbit (due December 2012):
The Red Knight
Traitor Son #1
By Miles Cameron
Twenty eight florins a month is a huge price to pay, for a man to stand between you and the Wild.
Twenty eight florins a month is nowhere near enough when a wyvern’s jaws snap shut on your helmet in the hot stink of battle, and the beast starts to rip the head from your shoulders. But if standing and fighting is hard, leading a company of men – or worse, a company of mercenaries – against the smart, deadly creatures of the Wild is even harder.
It takes all the advantages of birth, training, and the luck of the devil to do it.
The Red Knight has all three, he has youth on his side, and he’s determined to turn a profit. So when he hires his company out to protect an Abbess and her nunnery, it’s just another job. The abby is rich, the nuns are pretty and the monster preying on them is nothing he can’t deal with.
Only it’s not just a job. It’s going to be a war. . .
So. Which would you buy?
Personally I think Orbit’s approach works much better than Gollancz’s – and that’s not because I favour one publisher over another, they both do stellar jobs. But given my tastes I wouldn’t even look at the back of the UK edition, where I would definitely pick up the US…
What do you think?
