We are moving: permanently!

Very soon, this site will be no more, but the Aether Age universe continues. Due to many factors that we will elaborate on over at Fantastique Unfettered, we are consolidating AeA into FU. Please update your bookmarks and check us out over there.

Fantastique Unfettered #5 (Shifgrethor) & Aether Age

Cover art and layout by M.S. Corley

When we did the first AeA anthology, Helios, our reasons were simple: wouldn't it be cool to create a shared world like Medea or Murasaki?  What if we 'open sourced' that world and made it a thing not owned by anyone?  As we became more familiar with the milieu these thoughts became more defined.  What is the least amount of impetus to change everything?  Helios has that answer* and extrapolating from this starting point, the authors created an alternate history ranging from frontier-America-era technology, to a steampunk-ish in-between of airships, primitive rockets, and mechanized ground vehicles, to a late era of 'aetherships', artificial habitats, and asteroids spun to create more earth-like environs inside.

We included stories about civilizations beyond Greece and Egypt, creating a multicultural backdrop sometimes lacking in the Steampunk stories AeA has been compared with.  Stepping beyond that much-noted similarity Steampunk, Aether Age from the start presented a swath of history that lended itself to a range of story types and modes, from the purely (alt)historical, fantastic, to more agressively alternate histories verging into steampunk & dieselpunk, to pulp SFnal adventures in a space where ships could, rightly, bank and manuever and explode.

Attached to the skeleton of these modalities is the alternate history itself, wherein Egypt is freed from Pharoahic rule, only to lapse, a few generations later, into a totalitarian state.  Both Greece and Egypt excel technologically, while inequality persists as the default mode of civilization.  Similar themes are explored in North African, Nihon, and Incan societies.

Of course we hope writers and poets will order the Kindle or Nook versions of the book and read about this other history.  And then fill in the gaps.  But we also intend that authors not have to fit their story into someone else's creation, but that they are the creator of this world.  If your steampunk, planetary romance, or any multitude of fantastic tales can be breathed into life via these cultures instead of the typical Victorian set (etc.), then we hope what you will find is writing in the AeA setting is not a daunting challenge, but a fun way to add a twist to your story or poem.

And about that image above.  We sure hope to learn more about these two aetherati and what it is they are doing out there among the arboreal rings of earth.  One of the works submitted will be sent upstairs for inclusion in the next issue of Fantastique Unfettered.  The other point to keep in mind is that Hadley Rille remains interested in seeing the next AeA anthology, Tartaros, through to publication.  But we aren't satisfied with hashing through the same old ground.  We want to take it to a whole new level, and to do so, we need dreamers to show us the way.

We look forward to your contributions.


*nah, you need to get the book if you care, dude!

SOPA: What, Why, and Taking Action

What is SOPA?

Why is SOPA Dangerous?

What can I Do?

Aether Age: Helios available on Kindle

Readers can now read the anthology on their Kindles for just 2.99.  Find it here.

Millennia ago, Greece, Egypt and other ancient civilizations underwent industrial revolutions beneath a sky that, in a blink of history, burgeoned into life and mystery... Take flight on airships, balloons and wooden rockets. Soar with winged hoplites, exiled princesses, explorers and philosophers. Witness the struggle for equality, freedom and power like you never have before.



---------------------------------------------------------------------

19 tales

The Earth has passed into a breathable aether,

Egypt, Greece, and beyond are mechanizing

Join the alt-historical journey into the world of...

The Aether Age: Helios

Book One of the Aether Age Codex

____Available NOW____

Something is Coming...

"It is 100BCE and the ancient world has mechanized itself.
The Earth passed into a breathable aether several centuries before.
Now something is coming, out of the dark, out of the aether..."

New Aether Age Fiction Available Now!

Ed W. Robertson shares a new adventure of the titular character from his Helios story, The Inspiration of Philocrates.  Featured in Fantastique Unfettered #2 (Unless), The Kemetian Husesen Craze arrives in the latest issue of FU along with an AeA-inspired cover and more great stories, articles, and art.  Please check it out: available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell's, and more.

Tor.com mentions The Aether Age

We were pleased to see this reference to The Aether Age over at Tor.com.

If you are fan of steampunk, please get your copy of Aether Age: Helios today.  Check it out. 

If you can't stand steampunk, then I'd suggest steampunk has become the moniker of the moment for alt history tales of a certain mode.  Our tales happen to feature industrial and social revolutions in the ancient world, including Egypt, Greece, and Persia, and thus look like steampunk to those eager to find such tales.  And for readers wanting steampunk that is a little less WASPy, Aether Age has quite a bit of attraction.  But beyond those readers, fans of the classic alt history tale will find much to enjoy in AeA, as well as fans of space opera, weird horror, and fantasy stories that derive from various world cultures.

I said to Alt Hist's editor that The Aether Age is so much cooler than mere steampunk, and I stand by that statement.  Steampunk is a fairly specific mode, aesthetic, milieu.  Insofar as stories go beyond that mode, they cease to be 'mere steampunk'.

Steampunk isn't bad or a waste of time.  It just got its own bible thanks to M. VanderMeer.  I do think its a phase, like the New Weird or New Space Opera of recent times.  I've always wondered, where did the old end and the New begin?  So while there's nothing wrong with these monikers and a lot right about them --insofar as they attract readers familiar and digging items they've found via these handy labels-- I'm an old-school sort, and I'm happy to accept the association with the New, but have doubts about any summation of Aether Age that ends in 'punk.'

Either way, happy reading!

Fantastique Unfettered, Free Preview and Reminder!

Below you can click on the cover of the magazine to read a free electronic version of the first issue of Fantastique Unfettered, another publication from the editors that brought you The Aether Age: Helios.  Readers will be interested to know that the second issue, due by May of 2011 will feature an Aether age inspired cover by Luis Beltran (you might even get a preview of that in issue one!)  Writers might recall that FU also accepts AeA fiction... hhhhhhmmmmmmmmm.....

Fantastique Unfettered Issue #1 (Kalpa)

Publish at Calaméo or browse others.

Aether Age: Helios, 2010 Awards-Eligible Fiction

If you are reading for awards this year and would like access to a reader copy of The Aether Age: Helios please email mbranesf at gmail.com or editors at fantastique-unfettered.com.

The below stories appeared in The Aether Age: Helios, Published by Hadley Rille Books, Edited by Christopher Fletcher & Brandon H. Bell)

Best Editor, Short Form:

• Christopher Fletcher (Aether Age: Helios, M-Brane SF, The Little Death of Crossed Genres, et al.)  NOTE: Brandon is not eligible for this award.

Best Artist (I do not find clarification on the Hugo site as to definitions of 'Professional Artist' vs. 'Fan Artist'):

• M.S. Corley, Aether Age Traveler (The Aether Age:Helios Cover art, Hadley Rille Books)

Best Short Story (Less than 7,500 words):

• "Advance Gratitude" by Jeff Kozzi
• "The Apprentice" by Christopher Fletcher
• "The Arms of the World" by Edward W. Robertson
• "The Birth of Hellas"  by Regan Wolfrom
• "The Bounds of Set"  by Heather McDougal     
• "Bringing the Waters"  by Theresa Crater
• "Dreamer of Protocol 13"  by Georgina Bruce
• "First Step, Last Breath" by Jaym Gates
• "Flight of the Ibis"  by Fadzlishah Johanabas bin Rosli
• "Goga's First Law" by Rick Novy
• "Heart of Carnelian" by Christine Lucas
• "The Inspiration of Philocrates"  by Edward W. Robertson
• "Looking Down on Athena" by Guy Stewart
• "Margin of Error" by William Wood
• "New Beasts"  by Brandon H. Bell
• "The Oracle" by Quin Battreal
• "Orion's Dawn" by Christine Lucas
• "Phobos" by Cliff Winnig
• "The Shadow of Phrixos" by Fadzlishah Johanabas bin Rosli and Jaym Gates

Thank you,

--your faithful AeA editors

Aether Age Audio Excerpt available on Podcast

Check out the Outer Alliance Podcast to hear an excerpt of one of the Aether Age stories (Georgina Bruce's Dreamer of Protocol 13, as read by T.C. Parmelee), plus much more good stuff, including an interview with one of Fantastique Unfettered's issue one contributors.

(image is an unused trial run for the title page for the story, credit to William Wood)

Salon Futura Podcast about Steampunk mentions Aether Age

The always gracious Cheryl Morgan at Salon Futura mentions The Aether Age in their latest podcast, in conversation with Karin Lowachee, Lavie Tidhar, and Jeff VanderMeer.  Listen to that conversation HERE.

Thank you, Cheryl and the Salon Futura for the positive words!

Steampunk as a jumping off point for Aether Age is great, but it's worth noting, perhaps adding to the conversation, that AeA was never envisioned as a steampunk milieu.  In fact, in the Aether Age Manifesto we specifically stated that AeA is a punk of no sort:

"Cyberpunk, splatterpunk, steampunk, stickpunk, greenpunk, clockpunk, dieselpunk... It would be easy to slap the punk suffix onto “aether” and pronounce it something new.

But that'd be a lie.  

While we enjoy the steampunk stories, we have some trepidation about that label, as we do with “New Weird” or “New Space Opera.”  Where does the old end and the new begin?  Are nihilism and disaffection constituent parts of the sub-genre in the case of all these “punks?”  Sometimes, yes --as is the case with cyberpunk--, and the label fits.

As for the rest... we remain skeptical. But we always dig a good story; call it what you will.

So why would “aetherpunk” be a lie?  One, there is no philosophical orthodoxy behind these stories.  So, if we believe a word has meaning and that it needs to be used appropriately, “punk” is out for the count.  There may be Aetherati stories that could be called “punk,” but that mode is not a default one.  More, we don't think we want to (or should) represent these stories as something wholly new.  In fact, we suggest that what make the Aetherati stories special as a sort of sub-genre is a return to the past when stories belonged to no one.  Or when, through a different lens, they belonged to everyone.

These stories, their artwork, and the multimedia explosion that surrounds them represent a revision of history on two levels: meta-historical and actual.  We are imagining a time-line alternate to ours.  Ok.  Could be cool, or not.  Been done before, right?  But we are also creating a thing that is owned by any and all.

It's not new.  It's old.  Hence the neat juxtaposition we perceive when we think about the Aether Age.  It is science fiction about a past that might have been.  And it exists as stories existed going back into the recesses of our history.  As things to share freely, remix, redo, or build upon.

Now how cool is that?"

Again, thanks to Cheryl and Salon Futura.  We'd love to hear your perspective too.

Review Watch

If you come across a review of The Aether Age: Helios, leave a comment on this post to enter in a drawing for the hardcover version of the anthology and maybe some other goodies (we'll see what we can get together: possibly a copy of the premier issue of FU, our new periodical.)

No purchase necessary, just leave a comment with a link to a review of The Aether Age: Helios.  So, it is the person who posts the comment, not the writer of the review who is entered (unless you are the same person, which is fine).  Contributors to the anthology are excluded from the drawing unless you are posting on the behalf of the reviewer.

Thanks!

AeA Links

Click on the above image to access an excerpt from Jaym Gate's Aether Age story, First Step, Last Breath.  Mysterious!

And Fadz (as he is affectionately referred to in the AeA offices) has an interesting post (click the above image).  Half a world apart, and he and I used a book in common in our research: very interesting.

The images above are credited to William Wood, and are trial runs for each story's title page.

Aether Age: Helios Released Today

November 29th, 2010 marked the publication date of the trade paperback edition of The Aether Age: Helios from Hadley Rille Books, available via Amazon.  The hardback will be available in coming days.  Edited by Christopher Fletcher of M-Brane SF and weird fiction writer Brandon H. Bell, the anthology presents stories taking place in a shared world in which the Earth passes into the titular aether, prompting industrial (and social) revolutions and a subsequent space race.

The book features a detailed timeline, period quotes, a book club guide, and is framed as though only the first third of a translated codex, promising more journeys into the aether in future Aether Age volumes, Tartaros and Cline.

The Writers and their stories:

•          Introduction: Eric S. Raymond
• Advance Gratitude                     Jeff Kozzi
• The Apprentice                           Christopher Fletcher
• The Arms of the World               Edward W. Robertson
• The Birth of Hellas                     Regan Wolfrom
• The Bounds of Set                      Heather McDougal     
• Bringing the Waters                   Theresa Crater
• Dreamer of Protocol 13              Georgina Bruce
• First Step, Last Breath                Jaym Gates
• Flight of the Ibis                         Fadzlishah Johanabas bin Rosli
• Goga's First Law                        Rick Novy
• Heart of Carnelian                      Christine Lucas
• The Inspiration of Philocrates    Edward W. Robertson
• Looking Down on Athena          Guy Stewart
• Margin of Error                          William Wood
• New Beasts                                Brandon H. Bell
• The Oracle                                 Quin Battreal
• Orion's Dawn                             Christine Lucas
• Phobos                                       Cliff Winnig
• The Shadow of Phrixos             Fadzlishah Johanabas bin Rosli and Jaym Gates

A book trailer (featuring the music of the Chameleon Chamber Group), press kit, and more may be found at http://www.aether-age.com .  Other interesting, related projects like T.C. Parmelee's audio versions are to follow as well.

News from AeA Contributor Theresa Crater

Theresa Crater’s First Book is Set in Egypt

Anne Le Clair, a successful, young attorney, has always managed to remain free from her family’s gothic past—until now. When she inherits her eccentric aunt’s antique necklace though, she finds no escape from its secrets. Anne is immersed in a crash course of forbidden wisdom, secret societies, and her family’s own legacy. She soon discovers that her aunt’s necklace is one of just six powerful “keys” that, when combined with the other five at the appointed time, unlocks the legendary Hall of Records. However, another group, the shadowy Illuminati, is working behind the scenes to uncover the same powerful secrets—and make them their own. Double Dragon will rerelease Under the Stone Paw in 2011.


Theresa Crater’s Next Novel Due out April 2011

In Beneath the Hallowed Hill, Anne Le Clair travels to Glastonbury to investigate a house she has inherited from her aunt—only to find trouble waiting. White Spring, one of Avalon's twin sacred springs, is failing. Traveling with her is Michael Levy, Egyptologist, mystic and her fiancée. Together they try to restore the water flow, but discover they must stop their rival, the Illuminate master Alexander Cagliostro, who activates an ancient crystal tower that opens a hole in time and threatens much more than White Spring. In the ancient past, Megan, priestess of the Crystal Matrix Chamber, flees the destruction of her world with a vital artifact and, as she is dying, passes the secrets of its use to her daughter.

(The art is an unused trial run for Crater's AeA story.  Image credit: William Wood)

News from AeA Contributor Jeff Kozzi

 AeA’s "Advance Gratitude" is part of a successful season for Providence Rhode Island writer Jeff Kozzi. A mainstream story "Smokestacks" is currently available online in the Fall 2010 issue of Breath and Shadow at http://www.abilitymaine.org/breath/f10b.html. Other stories are slated to appear in two other anthologies scheduled for publication before the end of winter 2011. Whitlock Publishing’s Our Haunted World will feature "Ghost in the Rear-View" and his story "Love, Refinished" is one of 25 stories in the Malicious Deviance anthology by Library of Horror Press. Both anthologies should also be available at Amazon.com.

(The image is an unused trial run for Kozzi's Aether Age story.)

AeA Flyer

Alt Hist Premier Issue features AeA interview

We encourage our readers, waiting for November 29th to arrive, to order their copy of Alt Hist's premier issue.  Available in print and a several ebook editions, it includes an interview with one of the Aether Age editors.

Fiction in Alt Hist issue one:

• The Silent Judge by David W. Landrum
• Easter Parade, 1930 by Rob McClure Smith
• HolyWater by Andrew Knighton
• Lament for Lost Atlanta by Arlan Andrews
• The Bitterness of Apples by Priya Sharma
• Travelling by Air by Ian Sales

The Aether Age Pre-Order is Now Live! Plus: HR 5K & Kindle

You may now pre-order your copy of The Aether Age: Helios HERE, in soft or hardcover!  Please call your mom, grandma, aunt, and that dude you talk to on the bus and get them to order their copy, too.

 Our release date of November 29th is the 5th birthday of Hadley Rille Books.  We are honored at the treatment Hadley Rille has given Aether Age, and in all seriousness, we hope you'll take this opportunity to buy our book from them, or if not AeA, then anything from their catalog: there is something to suit about any taste.

Hadley Rille is running a book drive to sell 5k books in celebration of this event, and we want AeA sales to comprise a good chunk of that goal.  As an added bonus To You, Hadley Rille will give away a Kindle.  So GO! Order your AeA copy (discounted since you are buying direct from the publisher), and check out the Hadley Rille Library ) and register to win the Kindle.  Hadley Rille 5K, for the win!

Aether Age Helios Release Date

The Aether Age: Helios will be released on November 29th, 2010, commemorating the 5th birthday of Hadley Rille Books.  We are excited about the release date, and expect to make pre-orders available soon.

More to come about the pre-orders and a huge push/celebration for Hadley Rille.  Have you checked out the updated site?  So many awesome books.

C & B