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It says available as an eBook but Amazon isn't listing one - will that change in June?

Yup yup. Advance publicity etc.

[Dead of Veridonby Tim Akers9 June 2011 • £7.99 (UK) ISBN 978-1-907519-47-531 May 2011 • $7.99/$9.99 (US & CAN) ISBN 978-1-907519-48-2Also Available as an eBook]

Dead of Veridon
by Tim Akers
9 June 2011 • £7.99 (UK) ISBN 978-1-907519-47-5
31 May 2011 • $7.99/$9.99 (US & CAN) ISBN 978-1-907519-48-2

Also Available as an eBook

Clockwork zombies, criminal families, fallen gods, an ancient horror thirsting for vengeance – when trouble comes looking for Jacob Burn, it doesn't do half measures.

The failed zeppelin pilot and outcast may have saved the city of Veridon from destruction, but that doesn't mean it's grateful. Burn now finds himself on his own, on the wrong side of the law and on borrowed time as he is appointed to investigate the rise of the 'cog-dead.'

Wrapped in a stunning cover from comic book legend Greg Staples, Tim Akers' fantastic hard-boiled Steampunk-Clockpunk story is a thrilling mix of rich characterisation and dramatic action set in a detailed and disturbing world that leaps off the page.

"The book is fantastically imaginative, the dialogue pitch perfect, the story screaming to be an Alex Proyas film." – Lou Anders on Heart of Veridon

About the Author
Tim Akers was born in deeply rural North Carolina, the only son of a theologian. He has been recovering in Chicago ever since, where he lives with his wife, his German Shepherd, and a healthy respect for an internally consistent narrative.
www.shadoth.blogspot.com

http://www.solarisbooks.com/titles/title_details/dead_of_veridon

I was sorely tempted to climb up and nick this incredible banner at the end - wonder where it ended up?

On the shelf next to my desk

I learned that Rob Williams has the cold dead eyes of a serial killer (alledgedly)

I believe I *actually* said "the cold dead eyes of a Welshman"

would it have been too much trouble to get a slideshow for the projector?

That was the plan and the CD I brought was full of artwork, but the computer thing wouldn't work properly. Apologies for that.

According to the expo's Twitter account, the event is sold out and there won't be any door tickets.

Now, you say that, but I can't recall (and I'm mainly citing TNG, rather than DS9, Voyager or Enterprise) times when individual ships have communicated across interstellar distances. Whenever a ship arrives near the Enterprise it's either relatively nearby and within reasonable radio range. All the rest of the comms are between ships and starbases/earth - easily sortable if it's a single particle per line ... I may be wrong though.

also, they can communicate with their ships without making relativistic compensations, probably because that would be shite TV.

That's explicable by the existence of sub-space communications, which ignore or substantial alter the principles of special relativity - otherwise inter-system communication would be effectively impossible.

"In principle, it should make no difference whether the correlation between twin particles occurs when they are separated by a few meters or by the entire universe,"

http://www.jlab.org/news/internet/1997/spooky.html

I'm afraid not, no. If people thought they could just wait and get the free download it would undermine the whole point of the event, which is to get them into their local comic book store. We've had a few people ask why we're not supplying copies to subscribers - retailers pay for these copies as part of an effort to boost their businesses. If we cut them out of the loop, even after the fact, they wouldn't be too happy and it would probably scupper any attempt by us to build on this success with future FCBDs.

However, it's worth adding that we already have a free sampler of 'first episodes' available for download through Clickwheel: http://www.clickwheel.net/features/285

Another FREE 2000 AD preview at CBR - Mike Carroll and Bryan Talbot's Dredd story 'Caterpillars' http://tinyurl.com/2000AD1728-31

[21 years after first publication, new The Horned God special edition arrives]

21 years after first publication, new The Horned God special edition arrives

It's the comic book that changed comic books forever – exquisite painted artwork and imaginative characters creating a breathtaking showcase of the new direction of adult storytelling in comics.

Twenty-one years ago, Pat Mills and Simon Bisley's Sláine: The Horned God took the Celtic barbarian in a stunning new direction. And now this magical, violent classic is blazing its way to the US in a new hard-cover dust-jacket edition – complete with commentary from Mills, and sketches by Bisley.

Shamelessly displaying the potential for full colour painted artwork, The Horned God spawned thousands of imitators and remains one of 2000 AD's greatest exports – a sweeping epic that incorporates Celtic mythology with Game of Thrones-style dynastic politics and good old fashioned barbarian violence.

Sláine the Barbarian – created by Mills and his then-wife, Angie Kincaid – first stomped onto the pages of 2000 AD in 1983, accompanied by the duplicitous dwarf, Ukko, and his faithful stone axe, Brainbiter. Witty, dynamic and unashamedly brutal, the series soon became a fan favourite and went on to feature artwork from some of the top names in the industry – Glenn Fabry, Mick McMahon and Greg Staples. However, Bisley was one of the first to popularise the fully-painted style pioneered by Argentinian artist Alberto Brecchia.

Sláine's saga continues until this day, with Clint Langley's lush computer-based art creating an impressive counterpoint to the slick painting of The Horned God.

[The Noise Revealed by Ian Whates12 May 2011 • £7.99 (UK)ISBN 978-1-907519-53-6OUT NOW • $7.99/$9.99 (US & CAN)ISBN 978-1-907519-54-3]

The Noise Revealed by Ian Whates
12 May 2011 • £7.99 (UK)
ISBN 978-1-907519-53-6
OUT NOW • $7.99/$9.99 (US & CAN)
ISBN 978-1-907519-54-3

Also Available as an eBook

When mankind made 'first contact' with the Byrzaens, the age old question of whether we are alone in the universe was finally answered ...

But black ops specialist Jim Leyton and scientist-cum-business-mogul-turned-AI Philip Kaufman both begin to suspect that this profound moment in human history is not what it seems – as they find themselves pitted against the vested interests of human and alien, in both the real world and in the realm known as Virtuality.

In the follow up to his acclaimed novel The Noise Within, Ian Whates cements his position as a major new voice in science-fiction with a thrilling tale of deadly games played for high stakes amid vast conspiracies.

"Unreasonably enjoyable. 24 meets Starship Troopers. If you read Reynolds, Hamilton, Banks – read this." – Stephen Baxter on The Noise Within

About the Series
In a world of posthumans, powerful AIs, virtual worlds and faster-than-light travel, there is little left that can truly challenge humanity's grip on their world... except the discovery of alien life. Billionaire industrialist Philip Kaufman and top government black-ops agent Jim Leyton have their lives turned upside-down by the mysterious pirate vessel The Noise Within, which seems to be able to do the impossible: to travel between the stars without the wormholes that the ULAW's own ships require. Hunted and betrayed, the two men eventually make the discovery that will change the human race forever, and make first contact with intelligent life from another world.
The Noise Within established Ian Whates as a talent to be reckoned with, blending hard SF and high-octane space opera in an explosive mix reminiscent of Alastair Reynolds or Iain M. Banks at their best. A thrilling and original setting of life-changing technology and murderous intrigue, the United League of Allied Worlds is a place you'll want to come back to.

"The Noise Within is an A+ for me ... I expect it to develop to be among the best space opera series around." – Fantasy Book Critic

About the Author
Ian Whates is a director of both the Science-Fiction Writers Association and the British Science-Fiction Association. He is also the proprietor and editor of NewCon Press. The Noise Revealed is his second novel with Solaris.

Also, we don't need to think about Molch-R having sex. We really don't.

Who said anything about sex, you filthy-minded fish?! I meant going to the loo!!

It's also pretty much impossible to have sex in plate mail ... no really

How our ancestors managed to procreate when they used to wear such ridiculously awkward clothes is beyond me. Britches, for an example, require far more time to remove than is practical in certain ... er ... situations.

You know all those movies where people shoot someone from far away with a matchlock/flintlock musket? I do English Civil War stuff and someone once tried to hit a set of pikeman's armour from 100 yards using a matchlock. After half a day they moved it a bit closer. And it still took them two hours to even wing it.

*and before the pedants take that apart, I *know* there were rifled 'fowling pieces' but not on general issue