Fantasy Flight Games

Low Gravity

Published 18 July 2011 | Android Fiction

Low Gravity

Presenting the third chapter preview of Free Fall, an upcoming novel

I heard that once, maybe twenty years ago, a beanpod started up-Stalk and they had the deck set to display the view down–nothing but emptiness beneath the passengers’ feet–down, down, down all the way to the clouds far below, then the cloud-shadowed mountains below that. One passenger reportedly went into a panic attack, injured two other passengers who tried to help him, then went into cardiac arrest and died. They reversed the pod and brought them back down, of course, but by the time the med-assist personnel arrived, the man was brain dead, beyond the reach of even the best resus-techs. –Free Fall, William H. Keith

Welcome back to our third and final chapter preview of Free Fall! In Free Fall, by New York Times bestselling author William H. Keith, it is the future, and murder is still an all-too-common occurrence. When an influential lawyer is brutally murdered at the top of the Beanstalk, Earth’s towering exoatmospheric elevator used for interplanetary trade, Captain of Detectives Rick Harrison finds himself on the hunt for a killer. At the center of a deep conspiracy, Harrison’s investigation leads him from the megapolis of New Angeles to the moon base of Heinlein and face to face with a question he never expected: what is the true definition of humanity?

The world beneath his feet

Stay on the case with Captain of Detectives Rick Harrison as he travels closer to Midway Station, the next stop on his hunt for a killer. During his travel up-Stalk, Rick interacts with a moon-based soldier, and has an intriguing conversation with a clone who doesn’t seem to be as simple as he says.

Free Fall’s third chapter (pdf, 628 KB) is available for download from the Free Fall support page (where you can also download the first and second chapters).

Keep reading

Fantasy Flight Games has a growing catalog of novels that devoted fans can read, immersing themselves in their favorite game settings or learning about a new exciting world for the first time. We recently announced two more additions to our catalog of Books and Graphic Novels section: The Identity Trilogy and The Lord of Nightmares Trilogy.

Golem, based in the Android universe, is the first novel in The Identity Trilogy. This exciting book follows New Angeles Detective and bioroid Drake 3G12RC as he attempts to solve a high profile murder investigation while struggling to understand his own artificial identity. This downtown New Angles murder investigation quickly escalates into a tangled web of intrigue, love, and betrayal as Drake and his partner work to solve this brutal crime before the killer strikes again.

Dance of the Damned is the first novel in The Lord of Nightmares Trilogy, based in the Arkham Horror universe, and is a suspenseful, breathless ride from cover to cover. When Miskatonic University librarian Daisy Walker receives a letter from an estranged friend, she will be forced into a deadly search as she attempts to solve a dark mystery. Meanwhile bounty hunter Tony Morgan is tasked with a dangerous job by a secretive employer. Their fates will soon intertwine as together they come face to face with otherworldly horror...and living nightmares.

Discover these and more of our wonderful offerings in our Books and Graphic Novels section.

Keep checking back for more previews and pre-order Free Fall today!

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Events Fall into Place

Published 6 July 2011 | Android Fiction

Events Fall into Place

Announcing the Free Fall Event card for Android the board game

The future depicted in the board game Android is a delicate balance between hope and desolation. Its immersive atmosphere is a combination of a recent civil war, class divisions, and ethical dilemmas. This complex setting is further delineated through Android’s unique Event card mechanic. Event cards represent events that take place in the Greater New Angeles region during the investigation players are tasked with.

Anyone who has enjoyed Android’s narrative experience, as well as anyone who loves good science fiction, will enjoy the rich and captivating landscape of Free Fall. Now this upcoming novel can even become a part of your games of Android through the Free Fall Event card!

On the case

Captain of Detectives Rick Harrison’s hunt for a murderer in New Angeles contains many dramatic and exciting events, and now you can include one of them in your games of Android. Your printed copy of Free Fall will feature a form in the back of the book that you can fill out and mail in for the exclusive Event card. (This offer excludes electronic copies and is available only to customers who pick up the paperback version.)

This Event card entitled “We’re tracking you in free fall” will make the Beanstalk a dangerous place to be...

The thin line between man and machine

Free Fall is the first novel based in the dystopian world of Android, written by New York Times bestselling author William H. Keith. In Free Fall it is the future, and murder is still an all-too-common occurrence. When an influential lawyer is brutally murdered at the top of the Beanstalk, Earth’s towering exoatmospheric elevator used for interplanetary trade, Captain of Detectives Rick Harrison finds himself on the hunt for a killer. At the center of a deep conspiracy, Harrison’s investigation leads him from the megapolis of New Angeles to the moon base of Heinlein and face to face with a question he never expected: what is the true definition of humanity?

The Beanstalk, the Earth, and the Moon

If you’ve never had the chance to experience this intriguing board game...

Android is a board game set in the distant future in which 3-5 players take on the roles of competing investigators attempting to solve a case and unravel a conspiracy amidst their own personal struggles. Played against the backdrop of two cities, New Angeles and the Moon colony of Heinlein, investigators must learn the lay of the land, avoid threats and temptations alike, and weigh their options as their own personal story unfolds, all while on the hunt for a killer. In this engrossing journey where balance is crucial and every choice has repercussions, will you be the first to crack the case?

Don’t miss out on more previews in the coming weeks, and pre-order Free Fall today!

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The Plaza del Cielo

Published 13 June 2011 | Android Fiction

The Plaza del Cielo

Presenting the second chapter preview of Free Fall, a novel by William H. Keith

“‘Rick! Rick Harrison!’ I turned and saw a young woman running toward the slide-walk, elbowing her way through the crowds with consummate and practiced skill. Legs up to here and auburn hair down to there...and as deadly as fifty-eight kilos of antimatter in a leaky containment field. ‘Hello, Lily,’ I said.” -Free Fall, William H. Keith

Reexamine the case of a murdered lawyer with Captain of Detectives Rick Harrison, in this preview of Free Fall’s second chapter! New York Times bestselling author William H. Keith’s Android-based novel will be available in the third quarter of 2011.

Can Rick Harrison, the wry and reluctant detective assigned to a high-profile murder, solve the case? In the dystopian future that is Free Fall’s setting, Rick will travel from the megapolis of New Angeles to the moon base of Heinlein and search for clues through an uncooperative assortment of bioroids, clones, and disgruntled human laborers. Drawn into a deep conspiracy Rick must attempt to finish his investigation and find an answer to the question he never expected to face: what is the true definition of humanity?

Examining the case

Free Fall’s second chapter begins Rick Harrison’s investigation, and introduces you to the potential obstacles Rick will face in his pursuit of justice. In the city of New Angeles the relationship between full-humans and androids is taut with animosity.

Don’t hear about this adventure secondhand from a biased newsie, download the second chapter (pdf, 591 KB) from the support page (where you can also download the first chapter).

Scan the news rags for more previews in the coming weeks, and pre-order Free Fall today!

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The Cooperative Clone

Published 31 May 2011 | Android Fiction

The Cooperative Clone

Part two of a two-part interview with William H. Keith, author of Free Fall

Welcome back to the second installment of our interview with New York Times bestselling author William H. Keith. His first Android-based novel, Free Fall, will be available during the third quarter of 2011!

In Free Fall it is the future, and murder is still an all-too-common occurrence. When an influential lawyer is brutally murdered at the top of the Beanstalk, Earth’s towering exoatmospheric elevator used for interplanetary trade, Captain of Detectives Rick Harrison finds himself on the hunt for a killer. At the center of a deep conspiracy, Harrison’s investigation leads him from the megapolis of New Angeles to the moon base of Heinlein and face to face with a question he never expected: what is the true definition of humanity?

Interested in the first installment of William H. Keith’s interview? Read Questioning Humanity.

Rising to Heinlein

FFG: Can you describe your approach to the Android world? WHK: My approach was the same as for any of my novels set in the future: total immersion. There’s a lot about the world-background, culture, language, technology, history, art–that’s going to be new to the reader, and it slows down the pace if I stop and explain too much. I do explain what must be explained to follow the plot...but lots of times I leave interpretation up to the reader. That makes the reader part of the process, and I like that.

FFG: How do you feel your experience writing military science fiction novels like your Galactic Marines series affected your writing for Free Fall? WHK: Well, Harrison, the hero, is ex-military–in fact, Raymond Flint [an Android character] is an old war buddy. He’s also a cop, which means he works under discipline and within a chain of command to protect the public, all of which is familiar to anyone in the military. I’ve not had a cop as a lead character in any of my books up until now, but I felt that I understood Rick Harrison from the beginning–who he was, where he was coming from. And like people in the military, Harrison has to examine who he is and what he believes in a morally ambiguous world.

FFG: What is your favorite section or aspect of Free Fall? WHK: Aside from the Beanstalk? Probably the opportunity to write a science-fiction detective novel, something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. The background of the game is quite reminiscent of the movie Bladerunner, which meant that I got to write in a fairly dark and somewhat seedy dystopia, which I find interesting, but the world also offers the promise of a brighter future through shiny high tech...but not everyone on a very crowded planet is there, yet. Also, Free Fall let me look at a number of aspects of that future including my very favorite: just what does it mean to be human?

FFG: Who is your favorite character in Free Fall? WHK: Rick Harrison, the hero. All of the action centers around him. He’s smart, competent, loyal, dedicated, and badly outnumbered. His name, incidentally, is an homage to Bladerunner, which Android seems similar to, to some degree. In that movie, Harrison Ford played the lead character, Rick Deckard-hence Rick Harrison.

FFG: Do you remember what the first piece you ever wrote was? Did you show it to anyone? WHK: Well, if you discount the scribbles in the family encyclopedia made at age 3, followed by various essays, stories, poems, and so in school...my first novel—actually a trilogy—was written when I was 15. It was...horrible, an epic regurgitation of E.E. Smith’s Lensman saga. I excuse it by pointing out that every writer has at least one bad teenage novel he or she must get out and behind them lest it poison any serious creativity later on. I think I might have showed it to my parents. That might have been why I had to leave home at an early age to join the Navy.

FFG: How would you say your writing style has changed throughout the years? WHK: Well, I sincerely hope it’s gotten better! My very earliest published books were game tie-ins, and while I’ve done a couple more game novels over the years, Free Fall marks the first game-related fiction I’ve done in a heck of a long time. It’s interesting to come back to the field and compare styles. I’m a little more interested in questions of humanity and technology now than I was then, so perhaps I’ve found a little more depth, a little maturity. I’ve had over a hundred novels published so far–I’m valiantly struggling to catch up with Isaac Asimov–so it would be surprising if I hadn’t grown at least a little!

FFG: How do you think fans will relate to your characters? WHK: Well, that’s up to them. If they enjoy the characters in the game, I think they’ll like Captain of Detectives Rick Harrison. As for the other characters in the book, a lot of them are characters out of the game–Raymond Flint, Commissioner Dawn, Floyd 2X3A7C, Lilly Lockwell, the incomparable Eve 5VA3TC–they’re all there. If the fans enjoy the characters in the game, I trust they’ll enjoy learning a bit more about them in the book, and perhaps identifying with them. Certainly, I think they’ll enjoy knowing more about the characters when they set down to play Android.

Thanks, William! Download Free Fall’s first chapter onto your PAD from the support page. Ping Lily Lockwell for more previews in the coming weeks, and pre-order Free Fall today!

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The Reluctant Detective

Published 2 May 2011 | Android Fiction

The Reluctant Detective

Presenting a chapter preview of Free Fall, a novel by William H. Keith

“The city of New Angeles is big, almost sixty thousand square kilometers tucked in between the coast and the Andes, from the Guayaquil District to Esmeraldas, and following the Guayllabamba Valley east through the Andes del Oeste to the international border at Quito. They say over a billion people live here, and I don’t doubt it. It’s big, it’s sprawling, it’s noisy, it’s crooked as a politician’s view of life, and, unfortunately, it’s home.” -Free Fall, William H. Keith

Today, you are welcomed to delve inside New York Times Bestselling author William H. Keith’s Free Fall, the engaging novel based in the dystopian world of Android, the board game of murder and conspiracy set in the future.

Entering Tommy Liu’s Diner

The rich universe of futuristic corruption is memorably introduced and expanded upon in William H. Keith’s first chapter (pdf, 591 KB), now available for download from the support page.

Preview Rick Harrison’s introduction to a high-profile murder case, reintroduce yourself to a familiar Android character, and prepare for the evidence to start piling up.

Watch for more previews of Rick’s journey through this corrupt world in the next few weeks, and pre-order Free Fall today!

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Questioning Humanity

Published 11 April 2011 | Android Fiction

Questioning Humanity

Part one of a two-part interview with William H. Keith, author of Free Fall

In the Android based novel, Free Fall, it is the future, and while the world has changed, crime has not. When a lawyer is murdered at the top of the Beanstalk, Earth’s exoatmospheric elevator for interplanetary trade, Captain of Detectives Rick Harrison takes on the case. Harrison’s investigation leads him to the center of a conspiracy, and on the hunt for the killer, he is faced with the one question he never expected: What is the true definition of humanity?

Fantasy Flight Games will be releasing Free Fall, the exciting futuristic detective novel, in the third quarter of 2011. Today we’re thrilled to provide you with the author’s own words on the upcoming novel. New York Times bestselling author William H. Keith agreed to join FFG for a two-part interview, answering questions about his writing process and more for inquisitive fans!

Exiting the Earth’s Orbit

FFG: What is your favorite part of the Android world? WHK: The Beanstalk, definitely. This is the first game I’ve ever seen that includes that concept, which is a long-time favorite of mine in science fiction. Space elevators are going to provide us with a relatively cheap means of reaching orbit, and the moon and planets beyond that, as well as let us get heavy industry and power production off the Earth and into space where it belongs. Any game (or book) that spreads the gospel about how cool the space elevator will be is going to be a favorite of mine.

FFG: Who would you say your favorite character is in the Android world? WHK: That would have to be Floyd 2X3A7C, who actually puts in a cameo in the book. I happen to believe that one day soon machine intelligence will match, then surpass human intelligence, and that will vastly complicate our view of what the word “human” means. One of the things I like about Android is the way it looks at clones and bioroids and, most importantly, the human reaction to them. I find Floyd 2X3A7C’s periodic discussions with a priest on what it means to be human a wonderful touch. It makes him so...human.

FFG: What is your favorite aspect of translating the Android board game into a novel like Free Fall? WHK: Any game-related novel has both the luxury and the duty of taking the game universe and expanding upon it. I’ve designed roleplaying games in my checkered past, and can say from experience that you can’t waste the players’ time with dissertations on physics or your love of science or history or anything else except what makes the game work. Android is extremely rich, with a lot of cool detail...but the rules simply can’t fill you in on a lot of the background that’s begging to be experienced. If they were, the rule book would be, well...a novel.

For example, in Android we have the Beanstalk space elevator located in the sprawling city of New Angeles. For the purpose of the game, that’s pretty much all you need to know. The players might assume that “New Angeles” is located where Los Angeles is now, and that’s fine. It doesn’t affect the game play.

But a space elevator, by its very nature, must be located on Earth’s equator. Any place else on the planet simply won’t work, and I’m a nuts-‘n’-bolts science fiction writer who tries to get his science right. So when I wrote Free Fall, I found a mountain directly on the equator - Cayambe, the third-highest peak in Ecuador - and anchored the Beanstalk there, with New Angeles sprawling out to the west across northern Ecuador. That, in turn, suggested a lot of the history behind the place. What was a city that felt like Los Angeles doing in South America? What does that mean for politics, for trade, for population demographics, for local business and industry, for transportation, for how the police force and government work? I got to explore all of that, one way or another, in Free Fall, when it would have simply been a distraction in the game.

FFG: What part of Free Fall was the most exciting to write? WHK: I would have to say the climax, when the hero and heroine are…but do I want to give that part away? Suffice to say a lot is happening all at once, and I got to bring some hard physics into the story without (I hope) getting too geekish about it. I was on the edge of my seat when I wrote it. I hope the fans are too when they read it!

FFG: Who do you find your writing style to be inspired by? WHK: Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and Robert Heinlein. What, you were expecting me to say Ernest Hemingway and Anton Chekov? Those three have been my favorite science fiction authors since I was a kid. In fact, I want to be Heinlein when I grow up.

FFG: Finally, what advice do you have for aspiring writers? WHK: Easy. Write. Write lots. Don’t be discouraged by rejection, even if you find yourself wallpapering your office with rejection slips. Write...no matter what you feel like or what’s on the tube right now or whether you feel like you know what you’re doing or not. Style, wit, and readability all come through practice.

For a time, I was an adjunct faculty member at a local college teaching a master’s degree course in genre fiction. It was a good program, but I often felt a bit dishonest while I was there since my attitude was “don’t waste your money on a writing course; write, fer chrissakes!” What...you want a life? Then maybe this career choice isn’t for you. My life is writing! Oh, did I say? Write!

The second part of the interview with William H. Keith, author of Free Fall, is approaching. Have your clone watch for it in the coming weeks, get ready for the exciting conclusion, and pre-order Free Fall today!

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Blood on the Beanstalk

Published 23 February 2011 | Android Fiction

Blood on the Beanstalk

Announcing the upcoming release of Free Fall, an Android Novel

The room was one of the High Frontier’s finest—luxuriously appointed and quite large by up-Stalk standards. The low, slanted ceiling and one wall were part of the outer hotel dome and were partially made of a curved sheet of transplas rather than titanium steel. That was no digital projected image with the Earth, impossibly blue and white, suspended in the blackness directly overhead, but the real thing. The Beanstalk was a thread-slender dark scratch across Earth’s face, vanishing into her center.

The room was bathed in Earthlight, ethereal and beautiful. That made what the light revealed, somehow, that much more horrific.

There was blood everywhere, including the transplas ceiling directly above the large, square bed. The bed itself, which rose only half a meter above the floor and was covered by what looked like violet silk sheets, was crumpled, burned, and soggy with blood, and there was a pool of the stuff on the floor alongside.

On the Hunt for a Killer

Fantasy Flight Publishing is proud to announce the upcoming release of Free Fall, a novel set in the dystopian world of Android!

It is the future, and while the world has changed, crime has not. When an influential lawyer is brutally murdered at the top of the Beanstalk, a towering exoatmospheric elevator serving as Earth’s hub of interplanetary trade, Captain of Detectives Rick Harrison reluctantly accepts the case. Harrison’s investigation soon leads him from the sprawling megapolis of New Angeles to the distant moon base of Heinlein, where he must search for clues amongst an uncooperative assortment of bioroids, clones, and disgruntled human laborers.

Harrison quickly finds himself at the center of an ever-deepening conspiracy. Why did the killer use a mining laser, an unwieldy weapon even in microgravity? What is the true connection between the victim and a powerful anti-android lobby? And on the hunt for a killer, a hardened cop is faced with the one question he never expected: What is the true definition of humanity?

Free Fall brings all the intrigue, mystery, and moral ambiguity of Android to an exciting new medium. Fans of the board game will find favorite characters and settings brought vividly to life, and newcomers will be drawn into a futuristic world where technology blurs the line between man and machine. Learn more on our description page, then look for Free Fall on store shelves later this year!

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