Books
Original Sin
(2022), a novelisation of the Marvel graphic novel of the same name.
Uatu the Watcher, a mysterious being who observes mankind from the Moon, is dead. Nick Fury leads a cosmos-spanning investigation into the murder, forging unlikely alliances and sending Marvel’s mightiest heroes to the farthest corners of the universe.
To uncover the truth, Doctor Strange and the Punisher must cross deadly dimensions, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Moon Knight and the Winter Soldier head into deep space, and Emma Frost, Ant-Man and Black Panther journey to the center of the Earth. All the while, Unseen forces gather, and just when the Avengers think they’ve cornered their murderer, everything explodes—unleashing the Marvel Universe’s greatest secrets and rocking the heroes to their core!
In this novelization of the epic storyline by Jason Aaron and Mike Deodato Jr., truths will come tumbling into the light and the original sins of our heroes will be exposed for all to see.
“A cosmic murder mystery! Gavin Smith [corrals] an army of characters, each clamouring for their own space, and gives us a beautiful wending road that takes us to the sensational conclusion.”
-Tade Thompson, Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author of Rosewater Trilogy and Far From the Light of Heaven
Spec Ops Z
(2021), a reissue of Special Purposes.
When Vadim Scorlenski and his elite Spetznaz squad are sent to New York at the height of the Cold War, they’re told it’s a ‘training exercise.’ They discover, too late, that the ‘practice’ chemical weapon they’re carrying is all too real. They go to their deaths…
…and awaken to a city overwhelmed by the walking dead, even now spreading across the globe. Somehow holding onto their identities amid the mindless monsters, Scorlenski and his squad of zombie commandos set out to return to Russia.
Someone’s going to pay.
Spec ops Z is a handsome re-issue of the high-octane military-SF, Special Purposes: First Strike Weapon (2017).
“A thrilling ride.”
-British Fantasy Society
Bloodshot
(2020), novelisation of the Sony pictures film of the same name.
The official novelization to the hotly anticipated movie, Bloodshot, based on the bestselling Valiant comic series and starring Vin Diesel, Guy Pearce, Sam Heughan, and Eiza Gonzalez, and directed by Dave Wilson.
BEING A HERO IS IN HIS BLOOD.
After he and his wife are murdered, Marine Ray Garrison is resurrected by a secret team of scientists. Enhanced with nanotechnology, he becomes a superhuman, biotech killing machine – “Bloodshot” – without any memory of his previous life.
But some things can’t stay buried, and Ray refuses to back down when his memories begin to surface. Haunted by the face of his family’s killer, he will stop at nothing to take his revenge. And discovers a conspiracy going deeper than he could have possibly imagined…
CONTAINS EXCLUSIVE SHORT STORY ‘INTO THE FIRE’
Bastard Legion Series
Bastard Legion Book 1
(2017), the first book in an on-going military science fiction series.
Four hundred years in the future, the most dangerous criminals are kept in suspended animation aboard prison ships and “rehabilitated” in a shared virtual reality environment. But Miska Corbin, a thief and hacker with a background in black ops, has stolen one of these ships, the Hangman’s Daughter, and made it her own. Controlled by explosive collars and trained in virtual reality by the electronic ghost of a dead marine sergeant, the thieves, gangsters, murderers, and worse are transformed into Miska’s own private indentured army: the Bastard Legion. Are the mercenaries just for fun and profit, or does Miska have a hidden purpose connected to her covert past?
‘Gloriously action-packed and often brutal military SF adventure . . . This series launch will keep readers turning pages, eager to see what bloody adventure awaits and how the legion develops into a force to be reckoned with’ Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW
“High octane SF adventure with Smith’s trademark twist.”
-Jamie Sawyer, author of The Eternity War and Lazarus War trilogies.
Friendly Fire: Bastard Legion Book 2
(2017), the second book in an on-going military science fiction series.
In FRIENDLY FIRE, the Bastard Legion are hired to pull off a daring power-armoured heist of propriety tech.
Getting the tech will be hard. Getting off the planet, deadly.
Four hundred years in the future, the most dangerous criminals are kept in suspended animation aboard prison ships and “rehabilitated” in a shared virtual reality environment. But Miska Storrow, a thief and hacker with a background in black ops, has stolen one of these ships, the Hangman’s Daughter, and made it her own. Controlled by explosive collars and trained in virtual reality by the electronic ghost of a dead marine sergeant, the thieves, gangsters, murderers, and worse are transformed into Miska’s own private indentured army: the Bastard Legion.
“Fluid, fast, and excellently written.”
-Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author of The Children of Time series.
War Criminals: Bastard legion Book 3
(2018), the third book in an on-going military science fiction series.
Dirty, gritty and action-packed adventure featuring the galaxy’s deadliest mercenaries, THE BASTARD LEGION
MILITARY SCIENCE FICTION AT ITS BEST.
It was the kind of dirty, violent work the Bastards were made for. Protect a bunch of colonists in the Epsilon Eridani system, whose moon had become a war zone as megacorp-backed mercenaries fought a brutal proxy war. Just the kind of fight the penal mercenary legion liked.
But a hundred headless corpses are hard to explain, even for the Bastard Legion, and soon they are on the run, abandoned by their allies, and hunted by their most dangerous foe yet . . . but Miska’s going to play them at her own game.
The Bastard Legion: the galaxy’s most dangerous criminals controlled by implanted explosives and trained by the electronic ghost of a dead marine.
“Gloriously action-packed and often brutal military SF adventure…”
-Publishers Weekly
Age of Scorpio Trilogy
The Age of Scorpio
(2013), a space opera.
Praised by Stephen Baxter and Adam Roberts, reviewed ecstatically by SFX magazine, Gavin Smith’s first novel VETERAN announced an exciting new voice on the SF scene. WAR IN HEAVEN, set in the same universe, followed. Now comes a new standalone SF thriller.
Of all the captains based out of Arclight only Eldon Sloper was desperate enough to agree to a salvage job in Red Space. And now he and his crew are living to regret his desperation.
In Red Space the rules are different. Some things work, others don’t. Best to stick close to the Church beacons. Don’t get lost.
Because there’s something wrong about Red Space. Something beyond rational. Something vampyric…
Long after The Loss, mankind is different. We touch the world via neunonics. We are machines, we are animals, we are hybrids. But some things never change. A Killer is paid to kill, a Thief will steal countless lives. A Clone will find insanity, an Innocent a new horror. The Church knows we have kept our sins.
Gavin Smith’s new SF novel is an epic slam-bang ride through a terrifyingly different future.
“The Age of Scorpio announces loud and clear that in Gavin Smith an exceptional talent has arrived to uplift SF.”
-Peter F. Hamilton
A Quantum Mythology
(2015), the second book in the Age of Scorpio trilogy.
Praised by Stephen Baxter and Adam Roberts, reviewed ecstatically by SFX magazine, Gavin Smith is one of the brightest stars of space opera.
In the far future, many years after the loss of earth, humanity has changed. Strength is the only way to survive. And the most vicious man alive has a new con in mind…
Here and now, a man with unnatural powers hunts down a killer with impossible abilities. Infused with a barely-understood alien technology, the two are merely pawns in a bigger game…
A long time ago, the last tribes of Northern Britain face an unimaginable enemy. Demons risen from the sea, absorbing and twisting everything they touch. But there are some among the tribes who have power, who will fight…
And all of these times are connected…
Gavin Smith’s new epic space opera is a wide-ranging exploration of the past, present and future of mankind.
“Gavin Smith’s writing is a brutal kaleidoscope of imagination.”
-Hannu Rajaniemi, Locus and John W. Campbell Award winning author of The Quantum Thief trilogy and Summerland.
Beauty of Destruction
(2016) the third and final book in the Age of Scorpio trilogy.
In the far future, after the Loss of Earth, war has begun and an unknowable alien race has awakened, intent on the destruction of everything.
Here and now, the end of the world has come. And the only way our species will survive is if two augmented humans can fight their way through apocalypse to a faint glimmer of hope.
Long ago, the seeds of that apocalypse were resisted by the warrior tribes of Britain, with devastating consequences for them and their lands.
And all three of these times will meet on another world . . .
As Gavin Deas with Stephen Deas
Empires: First Battle
(2016), an action SF novel is released under the pseudonym Gavin Deas as part of the Empires shared world series.
Two alien invasions. Two heroes. One Story. Collects EMPIRES: EXTRACTION and EMPIRES: INFILTRATION in one volume!
This groundbreaking collaboration between two Gollancz authors tells of the invasion of Earth by two different alien races – at the same time. Two men become aware of the threat, and must work to sabotage the invasion plans and see off the aliens.
Each book follows one hero, uncovering the threat to humanity and the world from their point of view. Each book can be read on its own, and will give the reader a complete, kinetic, fast-paced military SF story. But read both books and the reader gets something else – another view of (some of) the same events and crossover points, culminating in a bloody battle at Canary Wharf.
The two books can be read in any order, but together they tell the story of humanity caught in the crossfire between two deadly alien races, who have made Earth their battleground…
“Co-authors Gavin Smith and Stephen Deas pile on the exotic technology and visceral action, offering military SF grounded in blue-collar soldiering.”
-James Lovegrove (writing in the Financial Times), Arthur C. Clark and John W. Campbell Award-winning author of The Pantheon and The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series.
Elite: Wanted
(2014), a tie in with the Elite: Dangerous computer game, is published under the pseudonym Gavin Deas, co-written by Stephen Deas.
Set in the world of bestselling computer game ELITE, and launched to tie in with the latest version, ELITE: DANGEROUS – a game almost 20 years in the making. One of three very distinct – but subtly linked – novels written by major authors who are fans of the game, this novel will be a must-buy not only for the 25,000+ people who funded the new game on kickstarter, but also for all of those fans of the original game.
When a routine bit of piracy goes wrong, the crew of the Song of Stone realise that there’s a bounty hunter on their tail. One who might, finally, be able to outclass them. The Dragon Queen is feared across space, and for good reason. But even the bounty hunter doesn’t realise what she’s been hired to do. Or what is in the container she’s been sent to retrieve.
And she’s not the only hunter in the game…
Gavin Deas is the pseudonym used by Stephen Deas and Gavin Smith when writing together.
Veteran Series
THE VETERAN OMNIBUS
My name is Jakob Douglas, ex-special forces. I fought Them. Just like we’ve all been doing for 60 bloody years. But I thought my part in that was done with.
Three hundred years in our future, in a world of alien infiltrators, religious hackers, a vast convoying nation of Nomads, city sized orbital elevators, and a cyborg pirate king who believes himself to be a mythological demon Jakob is having a bad day. VETERAN is a fast paced, intricately plotted violent SF Thriller set in a dark future against the backdrop of a seemingly never ending war against an unknowable and implacable alien enemy.
In WAR IN HEAVEN, the high-powered sequel to VETERAN, an unlikely hero makes an even more unlikely return to take the reader back into a vividly rendered bleak future. But a bleak future where there are still wonders: man travelling out into the universe, Bladerunner-esque cities hanging from the ceilings of vast caverns, aliens that we can barely comprehend.
Gavin Smith writes fast-moving, incredibly violent SF thrillers but behind the violence and the thrills lies a carefully thought out story and characters who have far more to them than first meets the eye.
Never one to avoid controversy Gavin Smith nevertheless invites you to think beyond the initial shock of what you have just read. But in the meantime? Another fire-fight, another chase another flight of imagination.
Veteran
(2010), a military SF novel. Shortlisted for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award.
Three hundred years in our future, in a world of alien infiltrators, religious hackers, a vast convoying nation of Nomads, city sized orbital elevators, and a cyborg pirate king who believes himself to be a mythological demon Jakob is having a bad day: “Nothing gets in the way of a hangover like being reactivated by your old C.O and told to track down an alien killing machine. The same kind of killing machine that wiped out my entire squad. And now it’s in my hometown. My name is Jakob Douglas, ex-special forces. I fought Them. Just like we’ve all been doing for 60 bloody years. But I thought my part in that was done with. My boss has other ideas. If I didn’t find the infiltrator then he’d let the Grey Lady loose on me. And believe me; even They’ve got nothing on her. So I took the job. It went to shit even faster than normal. And now I’m on the run with this teenage hacker who’s had enough of prostitution. The only people I can rely on want to turn the internet into God. And now it turns out that They aren’t quite what we’d all thought. I’ve been to the bottom of the sea and the top of the sky and beyond trying to get to the truth. And I still can’t get far enough away from the Grey Lady. All things considered I’d rather be back at home deep in a whiskey bottle.” Veteran is a fast paced, intricately plotted violent SF Thriller set in a dark future against the backdrop of a seemingly never ending war against an unknowable and implacable alien enemy.
“A prosthetic fist driven into the guts of the genre. Hugely inventive, with great set pieces, visceral battle scenes, remarkably complex characterisation, and a compelling mystery at its dark heart. If you read combat SF, you must read this. Gavin Smith changes the rules of engagement.”
-Stephen Baxter, Philip K. Dick, Locus and John W. Campbell Award-winning author of the Xeelee Sequence, The Manifold and Mammoth Trilogies, Flood and Ark.
“VETERAN may be a debut but it reads like the work of a veteran. Gavin Smith is a welcome new recruit to the black ops cadre of combat SF.”
-Dan Ablett, author of the Gaunt’s Ghosts series and the Eisenhorn trilogy.
“Propulsive.”
-Paul McAuley, Philip K. Dick, Arthur C. Clarke and John W. Campbell Award-winning author of Fairyland, The Quiet War, Confluence and Four Hundred Billion Stars Series
“A hard-hitting, violent and sometimes darkly comic action-filled rampage. I loved every minute!”
-Andy Remic, filmmaker and author of the Spiral, Combat K, Clockwork Vampire and A Song for No Man’s Land trilogies.
War in heaven
(2011), a sequel to Veteran.
The high-powered sequel to VETERAN sees an unlikely hero make an even more unlikely return to take the reader back into a vividly rendered bleak future. But a bleak future where there are still wonders: man travelling out into the universe, Bladerunneresque cities hanging from the ceilings of vast caverns, aliens that we can barely comprehend. Gavin Smith writes fast-moving, incredibly violent SF thrillers but behind the violence and the thrills lies a carefully thought out story and characters who have far more to them than first meets the eye. Never one to avoid controversy Gavin Smith nevertheless invites you to think beyond the initial shock of what you have just read. But in the meantime? Another fire-fight, another chase another flight of imagination.
“Mind-expanding concepts, imaginative aliens and provocative themes.”
-SFX
Short Stories & Novellas
Black Library
Suffer Not a Human To Live
(2022), tie-in short story for Black Library’s Warhammer 40K range, collected in the Emperor’s Finest Anthology.
Navigator Espern Locarno unravels a gruesome mystery aboard the Blackstone Fortress.
The Last Knight Pts. I & II
(2019/2020), tie-in novella for Black Library’s Warhammer 40K range.
Collected in Inferno! Volumes 5 & 6. On a storm-wracked world, Lacutus, scion of the embattled House Honaratus, seeks to reunite the scattered population of a planet whose technology has reverted to an almost medieval state. But he soon uncovers a deadly threat which has remained hidden for generations… Retreating to Leucosia’s capital, Lacutus must rally the castle’s few defenders against a far superior army. Their only weapons are longbows, trebuchets… and one very ancient but formidible Imperial Knight. Will Lacutus prove himself worthy of piloting Wargod by exterminating the teeming hordes that infest Leucosia?
Apex Predators
(2019), tie-in short story for Black Library’s Warhammer 40K range.
On Turris, an army of the Imperium wages interminable war against the forces of Chaos. Hunger gnaws at the brave defenders as they fortify themselves in the world’s battle-scarred cities, and none have been left unscathed by the horrors they have seen. For Imperial Knight pilot Sethana, the greatest terror is those of her own kind who have fallen under the sway of the Dark Gods. Chaos Knights stalk the darkness, and only by facing them head-on can Sethana master her fear. But when facing those who have piloted their Knights since the Imperium was young, new tactics will be required…
Other Short Stories & Novellas
We Appreciate Power
(2022) a short story in the Night, Rain & Neon cyberpunk anthology.
Released on July 1st 2022, to coincide with the date William Gibson’s genre-defining novel Neuromancer was originally released in 1984, Night, Rain, and Neon is a collection of all new stories written by some of the sharpest and most insightful authors of cyberpunk and post-cyberpunk fiction around, curated by editor Michael Cobley.
“Back in the mid-80s William Gibson remarked that at one point he saw science fiction as a handy tool that he could use to pry open the cranium of the embryonic digital zeitgeist and do a bit of rewiring. Since then, numerous waves of tech, eco-awareness, politics, music, games, and smart gizmos (wearable and driveable) have washed over and through us. Our dwellings have gone from shells veined with broadband wiring to safehouses infused with plumes of wireless connection while our phones speak and ping and offer oblations to the greater networks that enfold us all.” – Michael Cobley
“…this anthology offers something to enjoy here for any cyberpunk enthusiast – especially those who like it urban, grimy, and dangerously plausible.” – Publishers Weekly
“Night, Rain, And Neon is three hundred pages of entertaining, thought-provoking cyberpunk that will give many hours of pleasure and introduce you to new writers you may not otherwise have known. Another fine collection from Newcon Press. Recommended.” – SFCrowsnest
“Night, Rain, and Neon is a solid primer of cyberpunk fiction that offers a broad view of the genre’s aesthetics and its key concerns… genre fans should relish what it has to offer.” – Aurealis
Mötorhead on the Orient Express
(2022) a short story in the No More Heroes anthology of stories inspired by artists who have left us too soon.
The finished anthology includes tributes to megastars and lesser-known figures, to the predictable and the less so, and I’m proud to present each and every one. In these trying times, what could be better than kicking back, putting on your favourite piece of music, and enjoying a good story or two, which may just stir a memory of days gone by?
Chivalry
(2019), stand-alone fantasy novella.
When Sir Thornto Jeness follows his chivalric hero, Lord Philippe Duranton, to war, he soon discovers that heroes are often better worshipped from afar. Betrayed, badly injured, left for dead, Sir Thornto is nursed back to half-life by Gritcham, a ghoul necromancer. Joining forces with Cross, a taciturn professional murderess, he returns to the war, determined to set the record straight.
“Hot damn is it dark and brutal and compelling – somebody offer this man a big fat fantasy trilogy book deal right now!!”
– Cameron Johnston, author of The Age of Tyranny trilogy and The Malefficent Seven
The Beauty of Our Weapons
(2016) is the cover story for the Crisis & Conflicts Anthology.
Fifteen tales of space opera and military science fiction, written to celebrate NewCon Press’ tenth anniversary.
Includes:
*Una McCormack’s “Taking Flight* shortlisted for the BSFA Award for Best Short Fiction*
*Adam Roberts’ “Between Nine and Eleven” selected for Rich Horton’s Year’s Best anthology and for Baen’s Year’s Best Miltary and Adventure SF*
*Allen Stroud’s “The Last Tank Commander” selected for Baen’s Year’s Best Miltary and Adventure SF*
Full contents:
1. Introduction
2. The Last Tank Commander – Allen Stroud
3. Between Nine and Eleven – Adam Roberts
4. Taking Flight – Una McCormack
5. The 10 Second War – Michael Brookes
6. Decommissioned – Tade Thompson
7. Another Day in Paradise – Amy DuBoff
8. Round Trip – Robert Sharp
9. Arm Every Woman – Nik Abnett
10. Hill 435 – Tim C. Taylor
11. The Wolf, The Goat, and the Cabbage – Janet Edwards
12. Pickaxes and Shovels – Christopher Nuttall
13. The Gun – Ian Whates
14. Tactics for Optimal Outcomes in Negotiations with Wergen Ambassadors – Mercurio D Rivera
15. The Story of the Ten – Jo Zebedee
16. The Beauty of our Weapons – Gavin Smith
About the Authors
Smoke Stack Lightning
(2015), a fantasy/western story, is included in the Legends II anthology.
David Gemmell passed away in 2006, leaving behind a legacy of memorable characters, epic settings, and thrilling tales. In 2008 a group of fellow writers and friends led by Deborah J Miller and Stan Nicholls founded the David Gemmell Legend Award in his honour. In 2013, NewCon Press released Legends, an anthology of original stories by some of today’s leading fantasy authors in honour of a man whose work has so inspired them. We are now proud to announce Legends II, featuring an all new cast of distinguished authors in a volume that fully lives up to the high standards of its predecessor.
Welcome to the land of Legends…
Contents:
1. Introduction – Stan Nicholls
2. The Blessed and the Cursed – Gav Thorpe
3. A Rescue – Mark Lawrence
4. The Lowest Place – Edward Cox
5. The Giant’s Lady – Rowena Cory Daniells
6. An Oath Given – John Gwynne
7. The Singer – Stella Gemmell
8. Sandrunners – Anthony Ryan
9. Smokestack Lightning – Gavin Smith
10. Oak – Lou Morgan
11. An Owl in Moonlight – Freda Warrington
12. Heaven of Animals – John Hornor Jacobs
13. The Iron Wolves: Retribution – Andy Remic
14. About the Authors
Crysis Escalation
(2013), a tie-in short story collection for the Crysis 3 computer game.
To tie in to the massive new game CRYSIS 3, coming in February 2013 from EA, Gavin Smith has been signed up to write a selection of connected short stories that will explore and expand the game world. Gavin’s futuristic and punchy fiction is a perfect fit for CRYSIS, and this will be a delight for game-players and SF fans alike.
With stories covering the fan favourite characters of Prophet, Psycho and Alcatraz, as well as introducing themes, enemies and weapons new to CRYSIS 3, this will be a vital part of the game experience. Punchy and kinetic, this is SF with steel at its heart.