The Prince of Soul and The Lighthouse

The Prince of Soul and The Lighthouse was launched on Wednesday evening at Lamason cafe in Wellington. Written by Dunedin-based Swede Fredrik Brounéus, The Prince of Soul is the first novel from Steam Press, a new publisher that specialises in New Zealand science fiction and fantasy.

The launch was a huge success, with people overflowing the venue and enjoying one of the nicest evenings Wellington has put on all summer.

"It was great that so many people came tonight," said Stephen Minchin, the owner of Steam Press. "The Prince of Soul is a great novel, and kiwis are big readers of science fiction, so I'm looking forward to sending it out to everyone."

Early reviews of the novel have been outstanding. One blogger wrote that she “would buy more paper books if they looked like this,” while the Sunday Star Times said that “despite being from Sweden, Brounéus (right) comes perilously close to having written the great New Zealand visionary fiction novel.” 

The Prince of Soul and The Lighthouse follows Dunedin high school student George, his zombie grandfather, a Tibetan special mission monk, and the world’s most beautiful (and possibly evil) Finnish exchange student as they try to figure out what why everyone seems to think that George needs to save the world.

“It’s a story about what happens before and after death,” Fredrik Brounéus says, “and how to deal with the unexpected consequences of something that seemed like a good idea at the time.”

For more information please contact Stephen Minchin at stephen@steampress.co.nz or on 021 127 3925.