“Robots! Robots were marching . . . Robots were marching, and were about to spread havoc and destruction across the earth, and as yet the sleeping earth knew nothing of their coming.” – Robert Lionel Fanthorpe

These days, of course, we do know about their coming in advance, because we have the Internet. The guys at Angry Robot have been telling us that they are coming for months now. But finally they are here. The imprint is officially launched, and the first books should be in the shops, at least in the UK and Australia (all except Darkest Somerset, were it takes the native bearers some time to deliver goods through the part-flooded fields to the little hilltop cow shed cum general store where we locals shop).

Given that Angry Robot is headed up by my long-time friend, Marc Gascoigne, whose good taste and commercial sense I am in awe of, I’m sure that they will do very well.

US and Canadian readers will, I think, have to wait for Worldcon, but I’m sure that spectacular things will happen there. I, for one, welcome our new metal overlords.