Two major new projects for Tor UK

From the press release...

HEAVEN’S SHADOW

 

From filmmaker/writer/producer David S. Goyer and author Michael Cassutt comes The Heavens Trilogy, an epic science fiction/adventure series that finds mankind fighting for survival in a new world plagued by an alien menace.  Heaven’s Shadow begins with the discovery of an object of unknown origin headed toward Earth. Speculation as to what it might be runs high, and leads to an international competition to be the first to land on it, to claim both the prestige and whatever other benefits there might be. Thus, two rival teams of astronauts begin a thrilling and dangerous race – but what they find when they reach their goal will turn out to be unlike anything they could have imagined…

The first book has already received high praise from Guillermo Del Toro, author of the New York Times bestseller, The Strain and writer-director of Pan's Labyrinth: ‘David Goyer always delivers thoroughly imagined, minutely researched worlds, spun around the most outlandish premises. Goyer acknowledges and understands genre while turning it over its head in this trippy, pulse-pounding tale’. The film rights to the trilogy have been optioned to Warner Bros in a seven figure deal.

 

Julie Crisp, Editorial Director of Tor UK, pre-empted UK and Commonwealth rights in the trilogy from Penguin US in a mid-Frankfurt deal. ‘Heaven’s Shadow reads like Michael Crichton channelling Arthur C Clarke. It’s everything I loved about science fiction written in the 1950s bought up-to-date for a contemporary audience. We’re thrilled to add such an exciting trilogy and these hugely talented authors to the Tor UK list’.

The first book in the trilogy HEAVEN’S SHADOW will be published in hardback in July 2011.

Not too sure about this one.  I'll probably give it a go but, 'aliens invading Earth'... Again? They'd better pull something pretty impressive out of the hat for this.

The next Tor UK project is more like it though...

THE WALKING DEAD

Tor UK recently pre-empted a trilogy of zombie novels based on Robert Kirkman’s successful and critically acclaimed Walking Dead comic book series.  The books were acquired in a mid-Frankfurt deal by Julie Crisp, Editorial Director of Tor UK, from Thomas Dunne books in the US . A TV series based on the comics will be released in the US on the AMC network on 31^st October 2010 and on the FX channel in the UK on 5^th November 2010.  The series, starring UK’s Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually, Teachers and This Life) and written, directed and produced by Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption and Green Mile), follows small town sheriff Rick Grimes as he travels across a post-apocalyptic US plagued by zombies in an attempt to find his wife and son. Watch the The Walking Dead trailer.

 

Based on entirely new stories, Robert Kirkman is co-writing the books with horror novelist Jay Bonansinga, author of Perfect Victim and Shattered. The first book, The Walking Dead, will be released in November 2012 alongside the second season of the TV series.

 

Julie Crisp said, ‘From George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead through to Simon Pegg’s Shaun of the Dead, Zombies have always held a unique place in contemporary culture. Robert Kirkman has offered a fresh and exciting perspective on the zombie storyline through his series of comics and Tor UK is hugely excited to be able to work with him on the novelizations based on the world and characters he created in The Walking Dead’.

It's a long time to wait but you can bet I'll be first in the queue in November 2012 :o)