Posted in: Books, Comics | Tagged: Robert Rankin, tony lee

Robert Rankin Fantasy Novels Get E-Book Revival With Hooded Man Media

Robert Rankin's Sci-Fi and Fantasy Novels get an E-Book Revival with Hooded Man Media and Tony Lee for July 2024

Alongside the likes of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, the British writer Robert Rankin was known for writing series of fantasy/sci-fi comedies, including the likes of the Brentford and Armageddon trilogies. Despite his popularity however, his digital releases haven't enjoyed the same success as his print novels. This July marks a significant shift, as Robert Rankin's publishing imprint, Far-Fetched Books, collaborates with the digital-first, Amazon-exclusive publisher Hooded Man Media to re-release all of Rankin's classic novels in a revised and reformatted electronic format on Amazon.

"I've been a fan of Robert Rankin since I was twenty-one," explained Hooded Man Media founder, comic book creator/publisher and comic-con organiser Tony Lee. "After a serious accident, I was in the hospital for several weeks and discovered Armageddon: The Musical on the bed next to mine. Reading it introduced me to Rankin's incredible style and profoundly influenced my writing. Over the years, I've had the privilege of meeting Robert many times, and when I learned at the London Comic Con this spring that his digital books weren't getting the attention they deserved, I knew we had to do something about it."

"After discussing it with Robert and his partner Raygun, we decided to update the books with new covers matching the original novels and launch a fresh advertising campaign. It's astonishing that a whole generation of readers, familiar with authors like Jasper Fforde, Terry Pratchett and Tom Holt, hasn't experienced the unique brilliance of Robert Rankin."

Robert Rankin added, "When I signed the original book deals, electronic books weren't even a concept! But as the technology became accessible in 2012, my oldest son, Robert suggested we could prepare and release our own editions on Amazon. So, with his expertise on the technical side and Raygun, the lovely wife helping with editing and art direction, we created a little cottage business called Far Fetched Books. We are very proud of what we achieved, and not only did we release my first twenty-three novels previously published by Pan, Corgi and Transworld but we also published eBook editions of new books including a Final Brentford Trilogy and my autobiography I, Robert. However, we are thrilled to be taking our catalogue to the next level in collaboration with Tony and Hooded Man Media with these fantastic new editions. He and his team have worked their magic on my texts to create books that we hope can stand alongside the best-selling ePubs available today."

Hooded Man Media is beginning with two series: the twelve-book Brentford Trilogy (yes, we know), four trilogies of the fantastical adventures of Brentford locals Omally and Pooley, and the Armageddon Trilogy, which features a time-travelling Elvis Presley and a time-sprout named Barry.

"The Brentford Trilogy and the Armageddon Trilogy were the first series I read, and it's fitting that these should be the books new readers discover first," Tony said. "We've already reformatted and revised the first four books of the Brentford series and the first two of the Armageddon series, with brand new covers. These will be available in July, and we plan to continue this process throughout the year, aiming to have every single Robert Rankin book revised and reformatted by year's end."

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