Newbury and Hobbes Ghosts of Manhattan The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction Doctor Who novel series
George Mann is a British author and editor, primarily in genre fiction, and is best known for his alternate history detective novel series Newbury and Hobbes (2008-2019) and The Ghosts action science fiction noir novels (2010-2017), a book series set in the same universe.[1]
Mann is the author of The Human Abstract,[5]The Severed Man, a novella in the series the Time Hunter, and co-author of the series finale, Child of Time.[6] He has also written numerous short stories, and original Doctor Who novels. In 2011 he wrote a new Sherlock Holmes audiobook as well.[7] The novels The Affinity Bridge and The Osiris Ritual marked the beginning of his Newbury and Hobbes detective series.
Newbury and Hobbes novel series
Mann has published four novels and several stories subtitled A Newbury & Hobbes or A Maurice Newbury investigation. These are steampunk adventures, set in Victorian England, featuring Sir Maurice Newbury, a gentleman "investigator for the Crown" (reminiscent of Mycroft Holmes), and his assistant Miss Veronica Hobbes who, unbeknownst to him, is an agent of the Queen as well. This is an ongoing series that will consist of at least six novels.[8][9]
In November 2012, Obverse Books released a Newbury and Hobbes Annual, with contents modelled on the World Distributor Annuals which were popular in the UK in the 70s and 80s. The Annual contains new stories, a boardgame, crossword and a comic strip, in the same manner as those earlier annuals.
The Ghosts novel series
Although not part of the Newbury & Hobbes franchise, Mann continued to expand upon its setting with the novel Ghosts of Manhattan and its sequels, Ghosts of War,Ghosts of Karnak, and Ghosts of Empire. Set twenty-five years after Newbury & Hobbes, the stories follow a new cast of characters, initially taking place in New York City in an alternate history version of the Roaring Twenties. Ghosts embraces a Decopunk aesthetic, depicting anachronistic coal-powered future technology and pulp heroes battling eldritch horrors and the occult in the shadows of 1920s Manhattan and beyond. Mann has dubbed this series The Ghosts after one of its lead protagonists, Gabriel Cross, a broken World War One veteran-turned-vigilante who assumes an alter ego called The Ghost and battles organized crime corrupted by supernatural forces, while struggling with the horrors of his own past.[10]
"The Hambleton Affair" (Newbury and Hobbes short story) – appeared in the hardcover edition of The Affinity Bridge, free PDF available for download.[13] Included in The Casebook of Newbury & Hobbes.
"The Shattered Teacup" (Snowbooks, 2010) (free PDFeBook/Audiobook download)[14]* Included in The Casebook of Newbury & Hobbes.
^Harrison, Adelle (17 January 2011). "Alt Fiction Weekender". Left Lion Magazine. Retrieved 24 February 2012. In February, we have... Nottinghamshire's own steampunk writer George Mann taking part