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After considerable pressure from his marketing-savvy girlfriend and his techno-savvy daughter, Sean has decided to join the 21st Century and try his latest novel out on the web, a chapter at a time. The Iron Warlock is based on Sean's 2009 medieval steampunk story in Fantasy and Science Fiction, 'The Spiral Briar'. It is 1448, and in a medieval version of Project Apollo, some rather cross mortal victims of the immortal Fae Folk have begun building the world's first steamship at Derwentwater. Upon it they hope to journey to into Boundarie and beyond, there to seek justice for the wrongs done to them with the aid of a very early cannon. Click 'New Books' to read the first chapter.
Chapter 2 is NOW ONLINE.

Sean's latest short story 'The Precedent' was published in Fantasy and Science Fiction (July/August edition). 'The Precedent', which began life as a movie script. This movie script is now on submission, so fingers crossed. The story takes an earlier example of climate change (Europe's Little Ice Age) and applies one of its consequences (witch trials) to us. So, if you think you will be safely in a retirement home by the time climate change gets really annoying, think again. You might be in court, on trial for your life, for using a leaf blower.

Analog is about to publish 'Eight Miles', a ballooning story from the 1840s. Back then they could build balloons to go twice as high as Everest, but humans tended to die at about five or six. 'Eight Miles' is about a man trying to push the envelope, but even with leading edge 1840s life support it is rather tricky. Why eight miles? His passenger has breathing problems at lower altitudes.

Analog has also bought 'Enigma', in which I put forward a rather new method of first contact. First take a planet with an atmosphere of pure oxygen but no life at all, then cover it with a city with no level surfaces and a lot of empty tunnels.

If you prefer your science fiction in French, my 2009 story 'The Art of the Dragon' will be republished in the Canadian magazine Solaris. This will be my first publication in Canada, which is quite exciting. I have always thought that Canada is a bit similar to Australia: very large, very flat, not many people, but cold instead of hot.

At the Aussiecon 4 Worldcon in September an abridged reading of a 1958 play by the Australian Norma Hemming, 'The Matriarchy of Renok' will be performed. My job was to edit it down to 45 minutes and it was a rather unsettling experience, collaborating with an author who had died fifty years ago. Renok is a planet ruled by women, where men are servile drones. Can a single male astronaut from Earth bring the whole system crashing down? In September you can find out at Aussiecon 4.

'The Art of the Dragon' is featured on the cover of Fantasy and Science Fiction for August/September, which begins "I was there when the dragon first appeared - and ate the Eiffel Tower." The two mile long steampunk dragon rests quietly after eating most of the world's significant art.

Art of Dragon

His story 'The Spiral Briar' appeared in the April/May Fantasy and Science Fiction. Although fantasy, Sean invented a new type of steam engine for this story.

"The best story is Sean McMullen's "The Spiral Briar" ... does an entertaining job of merging the atmosphere of fantasy with the hard-edged nuts-and-bolts of engineer SF ..." Locus, May 2009, Gardner Dozois

F&SFcover

The robot seems a bit depressed that 'The Spiral Briar' is the lead story of the April/May Fantasy and Science Fiction. Oh well, you can't please everyone.

'Mother of Champions' is in issue 222 of Interzone: be nice to cheetahs, they are earth's dominant lifeform in this story.

Sean's story 'The Constant Past' features a librarian and a borrower who is a time-travelling serial killer. It appears in 'Dreaming Again' edited by Jack Dann.

Sean's story "A Ring of Green Fire" provides the grand finale in the 'Mammoth Book of Extreme Fantasy' alongside the extreme fiction of 24 of the genre's most popular authors.

To the Cat's great relief, (see pic below) Sean passed his PhD with flying colours and no need for a rewrite! The Cat claims credit for the immaculate references, and now only answewrs to Dr Cat.

the Cat

Before the Storm, Sean's latest novel for young adults, was published in July 2007. Although marketed to young adults, the book has proven a big hit with older adults too. (Check back here for news about a sequel.) Here are just what some reviewers thought about Before the Storm:
"Think Terminator 2 meets Playing Beattie Bow";
" ... an action-packed YA adventure novel, with some lovely characters ... ";
"McMullen's writing just seems to get sexier and funnier with every book." Read more reviews here.

Publisher's promo trailer for Before the Storm: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMszXUGnRTM <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMszXUGnRTM>

Sean's previous Moonworlds novel, Voidfarer, was published by Tor in February 2006 (see Excerpts).

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Time Engine

Featuring a cover by Julie Bell, The Time Engine, the fourth Moonworlds novel, was released in August and completes the series.

"McMullen's skillful blend of fantasy and sf, leavened with his idiosyncratically arch humour, makes this one of the better cross-genre series in speculative fiction."
Booklist, 2008

"... nonstop action ..."
Publisher's Weekly, 19 May 2008

" ... this book is a fitting capstone to a fine tetrology. Like L. Sprage de Camp in his prime, McMullen is an exotic adventurer of authentic, if wayward, genius."
Locus, August 2008 - Nick Gevers

"A very enjoyable tale of swords and sorcery, dragons and derring-do, with plenty of unexpected angles … Inspector Danolorian narrates with a combination of gaucherie and self-confidence that the reader, along with nearly every woman he meets, should find endearing. "
Romantic Times, 2008

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