Over at John Scalzi‘s blog Whatever today, I have a guest post in his “The Big Idea” series, in which writers explain what inspired them to write a particular book. For mine, I explain how Amortals got its start with a, um, snuff film. As John writes in his introduction:

In the annals of the dreaded author question “where do you get your ideas?” It’s entirely possible that Matt Forbeck has got the most interesting response, at least when it comes to his novel Amortals.

Go on over there and read the piece, and let me know what you think of it.

[For those few of you who don't know, John's a stellar writer with a huge following for both his blog and his books. He's also the current president of the SFWA. Be sure to check him out and read his stuff. You'll thank me later.]

At Apex Books, Jennifer Brozek—a fine writer whose The Little Finance Book That Could sits on my to-read shelf right now—gives Amortals a sweet review, after which she goes on to interview me about the book. The conversation ranges from the themes behind the book to the kind of music I listened to while writing it. Jenn gives Amortals a strong four out of five Alien Heads and writes:

Forbeck’s ability to world-build on the fly is excellent, his writing is immersive, and his pacing is crisp. Amortals is a good read all the way around.

Over at SFRevu.com, Drew Bittner gives Amortals a rave review. He writes:

Forbeck constructs a near-future Washington DC that seems eerily plausible (to this local, anyway), creating a culture where amortality is widespread and the “life is cheap” ethos is taken to some unusual extremes… But Forbeck’s real genius here is keeping the big and obvious aspect of this biotech miracle [of amortality] front and center, while building a sucker punch in the background.

Forbeck has created an exciting, brilliantly executed novel of action, intrigue and super-science colliding on the banks of the Potomac. It works on every level and is truly a fantastic addition to the realm of cyberpunk thrillers.

Highly recommended.

Those with long memories may recall that Drew co-designed the WildStorms collectible card game with me for Jim Lee (now co-publisher of DC Comics), way back in the early ’90s when Drew worked as an editor for WildStorm. From that experience, I can tell you that Drew’s never been shy of pointing out where my work could use improvements, which is exactly what made him so valuable as a co-designer. That’s makes this review even sweeter. Thanks, Drew!

Last year, in anticipation of the publication of Amortals, I joined the International Thriller Writers. It’s a spiffy organization headlined by some top-named talent, and one of the best parts about it is that it’s free to those qualified to join. The people behind it do an excellent job of aggressively promoting their authors, and as part of that Christine Goff contacted me for an interview about Amortals.

As of this morning, you can now read that interview. I hope you enjoy it.

Today, my first original novel, Amortals, hits shelves in bookstores all the way across America. That includes both big-box and indie stores in the USA and Canada as well as all your favorite internet shops. This is, I believe, my best work to date. If you’ve ever enjoyed anything I’ve written, do both of us a favor and hunt it down and read it.

Amortals is the story of Ronan Dooley, top Secret Service agent and—at nearly 200 years old—the world’s oldest man. After giving his life for his country and being restored into a clone body several times, Ronan is brutally murdered and must now hunt down his killer. Of course, it all spirals out of control from there.

The book has garnered some excellent reviews. The Guardian called it “Chandler by way of Blade Runner, with the pace of an express train.” SFBook.com gave it five stars and made it the book of the month upon its UK release in November. Fantasy Literature called it “one helluva sci-fi thriller.”

In addition to all that, Amortals has been blurbed by a number of fantastic people, including Billy Campbell, John Rogers, Jim Lee, Jordan Weisman, Dan Abnett, Mike Stackpole, Ben Templesmith, Richard Dansky, Monte Cook, Richard Knaak, and Jack Emmert.

So, if you buy one more book before the end of this year, make it Amortals. (If you buy lots of books before then, be sure to check out Zoo City from Lauren Beukes, Walking the Tree from Kaaron Warren, and Pretty Little Dead Things by Gary McMahon, all from Angry Robot too, plus J. Robert King’s Edge of Destiny, the second Guild Wars book. All of these released today too, which makes for a year-end bonanza of reading goodness.)

If you’ve already enjoyed Amortals, please do me just one more favor and tell people how much you enjoyed it, either in person or online. A kind review from good folks like you goes a long way. Thanks!