Carpathia | Forbeck.com

More Carpathia Reviews

Feb 202012

With the release of Carpathia only eight days off, more and more reviews for it have cropped up. Here’s a summary of those that I’ve seen over the past week or so.

At the Opinionator, David Marshall enjoyed the book. He writes:

Forbeck imparts a pleasingly relentless quality to the narrative as the humans slowly realise they may just have been demoted in the food chain… Carpathia is a stripped-down thrill ride as humans and vampires are set on a collision course thanks to the accident of an iceberg. It’s well worth picking up.

Meanwhile, at the Founding Fields, we have a double feature, with Bane of Kings and Djinn24 tag-teaming the book. Bane of Kings writes:

Carpathia is fantastic. A page-turner that will keep you hooked right the way through the novel. Not to be missed.

While Djinn24 says:

This book has it all, a touch of romance, horror, adventure with a bunch of vampires which equals one kick-ass page turning story.

Finally, at Love Vampires, there’s a lot of affection for Carpathia. The reviewer there writes:

Carpathia is fast-paced, easy reading and, whether you pity the vampires or not, there is plenty of dramatic entertainment and exciting action here

Carpathia Reviews and Interviews

Carpathia No Responses »

Feb 012012

My historical horror novel Carpathia is due out at the end of the month. It hits most of the world on February 28, which is the release date for the ebook edition as well. The UK print edition reaches shelves a couple days later on March 1. There’s also an audiobook edition in the works for June 1.

Today, L. Dean Murphy interviewed me about the book for The Big Thrill, the International Thriller Writers’ webzine. In it, I chat a bit about how I work and one of the scenes in the book that stuck with me for weeks.

Last week, over at Libris Leonis, Daniel Franklin raved about Carpathia. Among many kind things, he wrote:

Carpathia doesn’t have the kind of emotionless hero who is simply brave, but nor does it have heroes who are terrified but act despite it without reason, instead being blessed by Forbeck with Lucy, Quin and Abe, a trio who are brave because it is what they feel they ought to be, or because of each other. It’s a real strength of the novel, because it makes it much more plausible; these are characters who feel human and alive…

Intelligent, well-written and enjoyable fiction that doesn’t take itself too seriously without descending into farce. Carpathia is definitely a novel to watch out for.

Also, over at Terror Tree, Theresa Derwin gets a real charge out of the book. She writes:

Part historical drama, part romance, part adventure, Carpathia revamps (groan) the vampire genre and there are absolutely no sparkles in sight. Laced with wit, irony and gallows humour, this novel boasts a decent amount of blood and guts, a large dose of humour as mentioned and a dash of romance. The chapters are short and sweet aiding pace and the characters are well drawn.

To top it all off, as I wrote this post, Ranting Dragon released its list of its five most anticipated books of the month, and Carpathia made the cut! Its summary says:

When a novel is published by Angry Robot Books, you know you’re in for a weird and exhilarating ride. When that novel is written by Matt Forbeck, author of great novels like Vegas Knights and Amortals, you know it’s a must-read.

I can’t wait for the rest of you to read it. Less than four weeks to go!

Cross Those Contest Streams!

Carpathia No Responses »

Feb 012012

Throughout the month of February, I’m taking part in a huge multi-author contest set to give away dozens of free books. It’s the brainchild of my friend Ari Marmell, and it’s called Crossing the Streams.

Each participating author (like me), is going to run a contest and give away a couple of books. For myself, I’m putting up autographed ARCs (advance reader copies) of my upcoming novel Carpathia, which hits stores on February 28.

In the end, though, one contestant will take home a book from every author involved in the contest. If you’d like to join in all the fun, check out my Crossing the Streams contest page and get going!

New Reviews for Carpathia

Carpathia 2 Responses »

Jan 242012

Carpathia — my upcoming historical horror novel that mashes up vampires and the Titanic — picked up a hat trick of glowing reviews over the past week. The book won’t be out until the end of February, but these reviewers got their hands on advance reader copies, and I’m happy they did.

First, Nibbles at Fantasy Nibbles gives the book four out of five stars. Her harshest complaint is “It wasn’t long enough,” but she goes far beyond that, saying:

It’s no end of fun. Pure crucifix-wielding, stake-plunging goodness. With icebergs. Brilliant!

Second, Shadowhawk at Founding Fields raves over the book. As he says:

Verdict: Matt Forbeck is bloody brilliant.

Third, over at Famous Monsters of Filmland, Wesley Chu loves the book too.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. But by the next morning, after barely sleeping a wink, I can honestly say I am now a fan of both historical fiction and horror, as long as Matt Forbeck is the author.

Thanks to each of them for taking the time to read the book and for not being shy with their praise. That kind of support makes me grin.

Review Roundup

Carpathia, Guild Wars, Professional No Responses »

Dec 222011

A few reviews of my work — both past and future — have come in from different quarters over the past week. Here’s a quick roundup.

Over at BlogCritics, Greg Barbrick raves over Book of Extreme Facts. He bought it as a Christmas gift for his son but couldn’t resist reading it himself. I had a wonderful time doing the research for this book and co-writing it with IDW founder Kris Oprisko, and I think it shows throughout.

Guys Lit Wire enjoyed Guild Wars: Ghosts of Ascalon. As the review states up front, “Books based on computer games? It’s the best of both worlds!”

On her blog, Gill Polack gives Carpathia its first non-blurb review I’m aware of. She calls it out for being a bit pulpy in spots — a charge to which I’ll gladly cop — but she winds up loving it despite that. As she says:

Forbeck’s capacity to build tension is wonderful. Where most writers would add one, two or even three lines of worry, he adds a fourth and a fifth and they’re all well-founded and reasoned out. We know that things are going to go wrong (the Titanic, after all, did sink) but in Carpathia it goes wrong in all kinds of new ways. In a typically Forbeckian fashion, characters are not wasted and the story is fast and evil right until the end.

It’s a tribute to Stoker, and a good one.

To top all that off — and to get away from my work — fellow Angry Roboteer Lauren Beukes assembled a wonderful collection of recommended Christmas gift books from many of her worldly and famous writer friends, among which I’m happy to count myself. Check out both Part One and Part Two for the full list. (I chipped in a graphic novel recommendation in Part Two.) It’s a fantastic roundup, and I wish I not only had every one of the recommended books in hand but the time to read them all.

PLUS: Forgot to mention Paul Barrett’s kind review of Vegas Knights on his blog too. “A good book that will keep you engaged and is well worth your time.”

Carpathia Picked

Carpathia No Responses »

Nov 042011

The folks at Fantasy Faction asked the editors at many of the top genre fiction publishers to pick the top five books they’re most excited about bringing out in 2012. Angry Robot skirted the issue of having to pick favorites by choosing five of its novels with interesting stories about them. They highlighted Adam Christopher’s Empire State, Chuck Wendig’s Blackbirds, Anne Lyle’s The Alchemist of Souls, Mike Shevdon’s Strangeness & Charm, and my Carpathia.

About Carpathia, Angry Robot wrote:

April 2012 sees the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic, and the subsequent rescue of the survivors on the RMS Carpathia. Interestingly, the Carpathian mountains are the ones that surround Transylvania. Forbeck’s book posits the question – what if the survivors of the Titanic were rescued by the Carpathia only to find it is inhabited by blood-sucking fiends? (Vampires, in this case, not bankers). Pure B-Movie thrills, where the lucky ones went down with the ship…

Look for Carpathia on shelves in March, just ahead of the 100th anniversary of the loss of the Titanic.

Free Angry Robot Song Remix Album

Carpathia, Professional No Responses »

May 312011

Earlier this year, John Anealio asked me to help him out with some verses for the “Angry Robot” song he’d written as a theme song for the Angry Robot podcasts that Mur Lafferty hosts for Angry Robot, the publisher of my original novels. He posted it on his website for free downloads, and people seemed to like it.

That included the folks at Angry Robot, who suggested we run a remixing contest for the song, with the prize being a death scene for a character named after the winner in my next original novel, Carpathia. We had a lot of great entries, and we recently announced the winners. John then assembled the best of the remixes and has made them available as a free, downloadable album. Be sure to check it out, and enjoy!

Angry Robot Remix Winners Announced

Carpathia No Responses »

May 192011

Earlier today, Angry Robot announced the winners of the contest we ran to remix the “Angry Robot” song I co-wrote with John Anealio. John, Marc Gascoigne, and I listened to and ranked the songs and picked three winners.

David De La Hoya took third place with his mix, Denis Cherryman took second, and David Chase — who blew us away with his overlaid rap — took first. As their prize, I’ll include fictional versions of each of them in Carpathia, the next novel I’m writing for Angry Robot to publish — and then I’ll kill them. (The fictional versions, of course.) To thank all the talented people who took the time to submit a mix, I’m going to include everyone of their names in the book too.

John’s busy putting together an album collecting the various remixes, but in the meantime, you can listen to the winners on the Angry Robot site. They’re fantastic.

My Next Original Novel: Carpathia

Carpathia 2 Responses »

Apr 202011

This morning Angry Robot announced my next original novel: Carpathia. They astutely describe it as Titanic meets 30 Days of Night.

Those familiar with lore about the Titanic know that the ship that hauled the survivors of that horrible disaster out of the icy waters of the North Atlantic was the Carpathia, another cruise ship crossing the Atlantic in the opposite direction. Vampire fanatics should also recognize that the Carpathia is named after the Carpathian Mountains, which border the edges of Transylvania, home of the most famous vampire of all, Count Dracula.

Seems like a natural fit for a historical horror novel, doesn’t it?

As the press release states, Carpathia should be out in March 2012, just in time to be on shelves, e-readers, and MP3 players (yes, there’ll be an audiobook version too!) as the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic arrives. It’s going to be a wild, exciting ride, and I can’t wait for you to read it!