Glorious Angels

Science, adventure and a ponder on the nature of biology, destiny and power – it must be Glorious Angels!

 The groundbreaking new novel from one of the genre’s most respected authors comes into paperback: a thrilling mix of science, magic and sexual politics.

News

Glorious Angels was shortlisted for the BSFA Best Novel Award for 2015. It didn’t win but hey, the shortlist is where the winning really is! Thanks to everyone who voted for it.

At the moment there is no sequel planned, other than the one on my hard drive, although people ask all the time about a second book so if you really want some more let me know!

 Reviews

“A taut thriller swimming in high concepts.” (The Independent on Sunday)

“an intriguing…tale of war, internecine politics and ancient technologies” (The Financial Times)

15 thoughts on “Glorious Angels”

  1. Hi Justina,

    I just finished Glorious Angels and loved it. Big fan of yours, I’ve reread the Quantum Gravity series several times already.

    Also, I’ve got an sf novel coming out this fall, and Jeff VanderMeer suggested I contact you to see if you wanted to receive an ARC and maybe give me a quote?
    If you’re interested, drop me a note with your email addy and my publisher will send you an ARC.

    Cheers,

    Bo

    1. Hi Bo, thanks for your support! I don’t know if I will have time to read your book but I can try. I’m on a deadline atm. I will email you. best wishes, Justina.

  2. Just a hundred pages into Glorious Angels. It has done nothing to damage my feeling that you are one of the most lyrical, humane and meaningful writers I have ever read. So many ideas carried per inch !

    I tell everyone to read your books, like a slightly wild acolyte, and I just can’t understand a world where you are not Iain M Banks famous. That is a thing one sees occasionally, a “hip” sci-fi reviewer saying “This is the new Banks” . . . and I want to be standing too close to them and smiling hard enough to make them uneasy, and explaining in detail how Mr Banks had a contemporary all along, there ain’t no “place” laying vacant.

    Writing characters not ones own gender seems to be hard for most authors. I don’t pretend to judge how well men do writing women ( for a start, I have never understood women that well myself the next ten times I am wrong won’t be the first ten times I was ) but I know for a fact the majority of the men written by women that I have read are slightly or strongly “off”. No doubt in my mind that it is a skill few humans have.
    You and Lois McMaster Bujold however, have it down. Your male characters are totally, viscerally, believable, you never seem to stretch to do it, it seems like no work or effort or artifice on your part, there seems to be the same “truth” to all your characters. Like the swan swimming I don’t doubt.
    The Zharazin character and the guards having the visual “fuck you” contest?. Totally a thing I have done when visiting an opponent Dojo, where we were all under strictest discipline not to offend proprieties but totally despised and hated one another because of previous entanglements. You even got the “unrealistic supreme confidence that the outcome will be in my favour” that every male combatant always in his mind before a fight. “Of course, you fools will be off to hospital, or the morgue, if it ever erupts” both sides are thinking.

    When I saw your book on the shelf, I grabbed it with both hands and exulted, Ms Robson. I had no idea it was coming, and it made me thrill with anticipation. You good thing you, as we say down here. 🙂

    Thanks mate.

    1. Dear Ant, Thank you for taking the time to write such a generous letter. It makes my entire year 🙂 I hope that you continue to find joy in books for many years to come. All the best.

  3. How do I purchase Glorious Angels because I’m in the U.S.? I really want to read it but I could never find it in iTunes.

    1. I’m sad to say that Glorious Angels has not yet found a US publisher so your only way to get it is to either order it from the UK or to use a US bookstore which deals in foreign imports and order it that way. Hopefully if you are reading in ebook formats this should be a bit easier than paperback. I hope this helps you. All best wishes, Justina.

  4. It Kicked Ass. Write a sequel, please!

    The vitality and character of the QG series kept me going when I was in a very dark place in my teens; thank you, it made a big difference.

    Best, Chris

  5. I love your books and I find myself on this page having just written to a friend that you are “currently writing the UK’s most complex and fascinating science fiction, and probably the most beautiful science fiction written in English”. I’m writing to say that I am *longing* to read the sequel to Glorious Angels. I do hope that it one days see the light. I have already ordered The Switch, but I do want to know more where the Glorious Angels story goes.
    All best wishes, Catherine

    1. Hi Catherine,

      Thanks so much for your lovely comment. Sadly I don’t know how long it will take me to put out the sequel to Glorious Angels but I suspect I’ll have to self-pub it. Creatively it’s in the queue but I have to put paid-for projects online first. It means a lot that you’re keen to see it and definitely makes me much more keen to write it 🙂

      best wishes, Justina.

  6. I’ve been enjoying your novels a great deal ever since ‘Silver Screen’ back in 1999, although I never manage to say that sort of thing coherently or convincingly in person. But thank you.

    Now a friend – who, like me, often encourages other readers who like complex, compelling and thought-provoking SF to read your books in general and ‘Glorious Angels’ in particular – just pointed out to me your comment above: ‘…at the moment there is no sequel planned, other than the one on my hard drive, although people ask all the time about a second book so if you really want some more let me know!’

    So I’d just adding mine to the evident chorus of voices letting you know that I do…

    1. Hi Claire,

      Thanks for your vote. I have put one more notch on the muse-oscillation device 🙂

      best wishes, Justina.

  7. Hello Justina, I loved Glorious Angels – read it a couple of years back and just spent about 2 months trying to find it again as I could remember the plot but not enough distinguishing features! 🙂 Anyway, if you ever plan to write a sequel, I’d love more of the story! 🙂

    1. Funny you ask. I just launched my Patreon today, on which you can get sneaky peeks at the just-started Glorious Angels 2 – or, if you’d rather wait it out, I think it will likely be finished this time next year. I will, of course, post updates here to let you know 🙂

  8. Firstly…I adore your books! I read everything I can get my hands on….there’s just not enough! You’re my favourite writer along with Arthur C Clarke.
    I was sent the first QG book by Gollanz to read and review. I still remember reading it one summer, on my hammock and my head nearly exploding with images. No one has come close to putting such clear pictures in my head since ACC. I was hooked!
    I’ve just read Glorious Angels & wasn’t sure I’d like it as I’m more of a hard sci-fi kinda gal. However, having loved the Quantum Gravity series sooooo much, I trusted your writing!!
    Must admit, I was left wanting at the end…..so many questions. What happened to everyone? Did ‘they’ come from the stars? I NEED TO KNOW!!!
    We must have a sequel….please!

  9. Thanks so much, Karen. I appreciate your curiosity and support. I am very slowly writing the sequel to Glorious Angels and I intend to publish it next year (2024). It’s been…a thing! I hope it will be worth the wait.

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