'Newtons Sleep' puts Wellington back on sci-fi map

'Newtons Sleep' puts Wellington back on the sci-fi map
Press Release: Random Static Ltd
Monday 7 January 2008

First Peter Jackson proved you can make blockbuster movies in Wellington; now Random Static are doing the same for science fiction literature.

Random Static are launching their first book - 'Newtons Sleep' by Daniel O'Mahony - this Saturday. The novel is set in 17th century England - a time of civil war, religious upheaval, and scientific breakthroughs. A complicated and dangerous era, and even more so when agents from other times and other worlds interfere. A historical spy thriller with a sci-fi twist, 'Newtons Sleep' is a tale of love and magic at the dawn of the Age of Reason.

'Newtons Sleep' takes place in the universe of Faction Paradox, although it's a completely stand-alone story that does not assume any prior knowledge of the Faction. "Acquiring the rights to Faction Paradox is quite a coup for New Zealand," said editor Kelly Buchanan. "It's an ideal shared universe, as it has such a rich background to build on while still giving the writers a huge amount of freedom - they have all of history to play in. Each story stands on its own, much as 'The Lord of the Rings' can be read with no knowledge of 'The Silmarillion' which serves as its foundation."

Faction Paradox was created by Lawrence Miles for his acclaimed 1997 Doctor Who novel 'Alien Bodies', and has since featured in a number of stand-alone novels by various authors, and in an ongoing series of audio plays. The Faction universe has developed an avid cult following independent from its Whovian origins, thanks to its combination of brilliant imagination and first class writing.

Random Static are particularly delighted to have an author of Daniel O'Mahony's calibre to relaunch the Faction Paradox novel range. O'Mahony's previous work has been described as "sumptuously written, with every sentence like a piece of music", "one of the greatest examples of modern fiction I've read", and "a book that you'll probably enjoy more and more with every reading" (full reviews are available at http://www.gallifreyone.com/review.php?id=tel-9). His professional writing credits include several novels, short stories, and audio dramas.

The book will be officially launched at 1pm on Saturday 12 January, at the Toi Pōneke Gallery, Wellington Arts Centre, 61 Abel Smith Street. Mr O'Mahony will be attending the launch via video linkup, and works by local cover artist Emma Weakley will be displayed.

'Newtons Sleep' can be purchased online at http://www.randomstatic.net, or write to Random Static Ltd, PO Box 10104, Wellington 6143. It will also be available from good bookstores.

ENDS

Notes:

* Cover Art: http://www.randomstatic.net/NewtonsSleep.png
* Format: 288pp trade paperback
* ISBN: 978-0-473-12498-4
* RRP: NZ$29.95
* The lack of an apostrophe in the title is intentional
* For further details, email info@randomstatic.net or phone 021 685 768