Category: Cover Reveal

Ben Aaronovitch’s TALES FROM THE FOLLY Now Available in Czechia!

Posted on Friday, May 27th, 2022

Ben Aaronovitch‘s collection of short stories, set in the Rivers of London world, is now available in Czechia! Published by Argo as HISTORKY Z ROZMARU, here’s the synopsis…

Další výprava do světa Řek Londýna, tentokrát ve sbírce povídek! Ben Aaronovitch svůj fantastický svět dosud představoval v románech, novelách a komiksových příbězích. Už léta však mimo tento hlavní proud píše kratší i delší povídky, v nichž rozvíjí dílčí nápady, popisuje dosud opomíjené osudy, vypráví anekdoty, které doplňují mozaiku jedné z nejpodmanivějších sérií současnosti. S Peterem Grantem, Abigail, agentkou Reynoldsovou, Nightingalem i Tobiasem Winterem z německé obdoby londýnského Rozmaru se zde vydáme zjistit, co skrývá dálniční čerpací stanice uprostřed noci, kdo stále bloumá mezi regály populárního londýnského knihkupectví, co přesně se stalo s řekou Lugg… Každý tento střípek je doplněný autorovým úvodem a pro snadnější orientaci se u něj udává, ve které fázi série se odehrává.

S předmluvou Charlaine Harrisové

TALES FROM THE FOLLY is published in the UK by JABberwocky (print & digital) and Orion (audio); in North America by Subterranean Press; and in Germany by DTV — covers below.

Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Return to the world of Rivers of London in this first short story collection from bestselling author, Ben Aaronovitch. Tales from the Folly is a carefully curated collection that gathers together previously published stories and brand new tales in the same place for the first time.

Each tale features a new introduction from the author, filled with insight and anecdote offering the reader a deeper exploration into this absorbing fictional world. This is a must read for any Rivers of London fan.

Join Peter, Nightingale, Abigail, Agent Reynolds and Tobias Winter for a series of perfectly portioned tales. Discover what’s haunting a lonely motorway service station, who still wanders the shelves of a popular London bookshop, and what exactly happened to the River Lugg…

With an introduction from internationally bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series, Charlaine Harris.

This collection includes the following stories:

  • The Home Crowd Advantage
  • The Domestic
  • The Cockpit
  • The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Granny
  • King of The Rats
  • A Rare Book of Cunning Device
  • A Dedicated Follower of Fashion
  • Favourite Uncle
  • Vanessa Sommer’s Other Christmas List
  • Three Rivers, Two Husbands and a Baby
  • Moments One-Three

Roger Zelazny’s FOR A BREATH I TARRY Now Available in France!

Posted on Monday, May 23rd, 2022

A new, French edition of FOR A BREATH I TARRY by Roger Zelazny is out now! Published by Le Passager Clandestin as LE TEMPS D’UN SOUFFLE JE M’ATTARDE, it was translated by Jean Baihache. Here’s the synopsis…

« — Je t’ai déjà dit que l’Homme possédait une nature fondamentalement incompréhensible. Ses perceptions étaient organiques ; les tiennes, non. Ses perceptions lui procuraient des sentiments et des émotions […]. L’Homme ne sentait pas les miles ou les mètres, les kilos ou les litres. Il sentait le chaud, Il sentait le froid. Il sentait la pesanteur et la légèreté. Il connaissait la haine et l’amour, la fierté et le désespoir. Toutes ces choses ne sont pas mesurables. Donc toi, tu ne peux pas les connaître. […] Il n’existe pas de formule pour mesurer un sentiment. »

Comment ne pas être touché par l’histoire de Gel, cette machine toute-puissante qui veut devenir humaine ? Gel est une intelligence artificielle qui oeuvre à la reconstruction d’une Terre sur laquelle ne subsiste plus aucun être humain vivant. Mais Gel a un hobby : il étudie les vestiges de l’humanité disparue, découvre les livres, le cinéma, l’art, si bien qu’il se met à désirer devenir lui-même humain, et ce à n’importe quel prix…

Au fil de la quête de Gel, ce Faust de métal tenté par l’impossible, Roger Zelazny explore à sa manière ce qui fait le propre de l’humain et proclame par avance la défaite des prétentions à la numérisation du cerveau humain et autres lubies des Folamour de la Silicon Valley.

You can read an excerpt from the novel, here.

First published in 1966, here’s the English-language synopsis…

Taking place long after the self-extinction of Man, “For a Breath I Tarry” recounts the tale of Frost, a sentient machine (“…a silver-blue box, 40x40x40 feet,… featured in whatever manner he chose.”) Though Man has disappeared, his robotic creations (and their creations in turn) continue to function.

Along the way, the story explores the differences between Man and Machine, the former experiencing the world qualitatively, while the latter do so quantitatively. “A machine is a Man turned inside-out, because it can describe all the details of a process, which a Man cannot, but it cannot experience that process itself as a Man can.” This is illustrated by a conversation Frost has with another machine named Mordel.

New Cast-Adaptation of FINGERHUT-SOMMER Out Now!

Posted on Friday, May 20th, 2022

There’s a new, full-cast audiobook edition of FINGERHUT-SOMMER! The fifth novel in Ben Aaronovitch‘s Die magischen Fälle des Peter Grant series (Rivers of London/Peter Grant), it is available exclusively from Audible. Here’s the synopsis…

Die magischen Fälle des Peter Grant von Ben Aaronovitch sind internationale Bestseller und absoluter Kult. In seinem fünften Roman führt der ausgebildete Buchhändler und ausgezeichnete Drehbuchautor (Dr. Who) seine Hauptfigur Peter Grant erstmalig in die ländlichen Gefilde außerhalb Londons, um die mysteriöse Entführung zweier Kinder aufzuklären.

Leominster ist eine verschlafene Kleinstadt 150 Meilen nordwestlich von London und nicht gerade bekannt für seine hohe Kriminalitätsrate. Trotzdem verschlägt es Police Constable Peter Grant in den kleinen Ort in Herefordshire, denn zwei kleine Mädchen sind verschwunden und die Umstände lassen Rückschlüsse auf eine übernatürliche Beteiligung zu. Unterstützt von der Flusstochter Beverley Brook und dem ortskundigen Polizisten Dominic Croft wird Peter in ein verworrenes Netz aus Dorfintrigen, lokalen Legenden und UFO-Mythen verstrickt. Doch damit nicht genug: Peter erfährt einiges über die militärische Vergangenheit seines Mentors Thomas Nightingale. Auch der Verrat durch seine ehemalige Kollegin und Freundin Leslie May und ihr anschließendes Verschwinden nagen weiterhin an ihm – zumal sie über Peters Provinz-Aktivitäten ausgesprochen gut informiert zu sein scheint.

Audible/DTV have also published full-cast adaptations of the first four novels in the series: DIE FLÜSSE VON LONDON (RIVERS OF LONDON), SCHWARZER MOND ÜBER SOHO (MOON OVER SOHO), WISPERN UNTER BAKER STREET (WHISPERS UNDERGROUND), and DER BÖSE ORT (BROKEN HOMES).

The print and digital editions of FINGERHUT-SOMMER are published by DTV (who also publish the rest of the series in Germany).

FOXGLOVE SUMMER (as it’s titled in English) is published in the UK by Gollancz and in North America by DAW Books. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

In the fifth of his bestselling series Ben Aaronovitch takes Peter Grant out of whatever comfort zone he might have found and takes him out of London – to a small village in Herefordshire where the local police are reluctant to admit that there might be a supernatural element to the disappearance of some local children. But while you can take the London copper out of London, you can’t take the London out of the copper.

Travelling west with Beverley Brook, Peter soon finds himself caught up in a deep mystery and having to tackle local cops and local gods. And what’s more, all the shops are closed by 4pm…

The latest novel in the series, the #1 Bestselling AMONGST OUR WEAPONS is out now in the UK (Gollancz), Germany (DTV), and North America (DAW Books).

More Details for Brandon Sanderson’s THE LOST METAL Revealed!

Posted on Thursday, May 19th, 2022

In case you missed it on Monday, Waterstones has unveiled UK cover for Brandon Sanderson‘s upcoming seventh Mistborn novel, THE LOST METAL! Due to be published in the UK on November 15th, by Gollancz, here’s the synopsis…

For years, frontier lawman turned big-city senator Waxillium Ladrian has hunted the shadowy organization the Set — with his late uncle and his sister among their leaders — since they started kidnapping people with the power of Allomancy in their bloodlines. When Detective Marasi Colms and her partner Wayne find stockpiled weapons bound for the Outer City of Bilming, this opens a new lead. Conflict between Elendel and the Outer Cities only favors the Set, and their tendrils now reach to the Elendel Senate — whose corruption Wax and Steris have sought to expose — and Bilming is even more entangled.

After Wax discovers a new type of explosive that can unleash unprecedented destruction and realizes that the Set must already have it, an immortal kandra serving Scadrial’s god reveals that Harmony’s power is blocked in Bilming. That means the city has fallen under the influence of another god: Trell, worshipped by the Set. And Trell isn’t the only factor at play from the larger Cosmere – Marasi is recruited by offworlders with strange abilities who claim their goal is to protect Scadrial… at any cost.

Harmony’s vision of future possibilities comes to an abrupt halt tomorrow night, with only blackness after that. It’s a race against time, and Wax must choose whether to set aside his rocky relationship with God and once again become the Sword that Harmony has groomed him to be. If no one steps forward to be the hero Scadrial needs, the planet and its millions of people will come to a sudden and calamitous ruin.

Gollancz has published all of Brandon’s Mistborn series in the UK…

The first three novels in the series are also available in special hardcover editions in the UK…

Gollancz also publishes Brandon’s Stormlight Archive and Skyward series in the UK, in addition to a few of the author’s stand-alone novels and novellas.

Zeno represents Brandon Sanderson in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

DEFYING THE DRAGON Audiobook Out Tomorrow!

Posted on Monday, May 16th, 2022

We’re happy to report that the audiobook edition of Stephen Vines‘s acclaimed DEFYING THE DRAGON is out tomorrow! To be published by Tantor Media, the book is read by Kathleen Li. Here’s the synopsis…

Defying the Dragon tells a remarkable story of audacity: of how the people of Hong Kong challenged the PRC’s authority, just as its president reached the height of his powers. Is Xi’s China as unshakeable as it seems? What are its real interests in Hong Kong? Why are Beijing’s time-honored means of control no longer working there? And where does this leave Hongkongers themselves?

Stephen Vines has lived in Hong Kong for over three decades. His book shrewdly unpacks the Hong Kong-China relationship and its wider significance — right up to the astonishing convergence of political turmoil and international crisis with Covid-19 and the 2020-21 crackdown.

Vividly describing the uprising from street level, Vines explains how and why it unfolded, and its global repercussions. Now, the international community is reassessing relations with Beijing, just as Hong Kong’s rebellion and China’s handling of the pandemic have exposed the regime’s weakness. In a crisis that has become existential all round, what lies ahead for Hong Kong, China and the world?

The print and eBook editions of the book are published by Hurst Publishers (UK) and Oxford University Press (North America).

Here are just a few of the reviews the book has received so far…

‘A detailed chronicle of Hong Kong’s fight in the face of repression. Anyone who cares about Hong Kong and China will definitely want to read this book.’ — Joshua Wong, Hong Kong’s most famous democracy advocate

‘A definitive, compelling account of a drama that has gripped the world. Vines interweaves frontline reporting, insights from key players and a local’s knowledge to chronicle Hong Kong’s defiant challenge to the might of Xi Jinping’s China.’ — Philip Sherwell, Asia correspondent, Sunday Times

‘A superb book about Beijing’s ruthless and depressing efforts to stamp out Hong Kong’s freedoms, erode its rule of law and attack its identity as an open society. Vines, a brave and distinguished journalist, sets this sad story of a great international city within the brutal politics of the Chinese regime.’ — Lord Chris Patten, last British governor of Hong Kong

‘One of the most important stories of our times of the fight against authoritarian regimes. The best way to understand China is through the lens of Hong Kong’s struggles.’ — Nathan Law, leading democracy activist

‘A compelling narrative set against two major crises facing China —control of Hong Kong and unprecedented international pushback. With his signature dry wit and razor-sharp pen, Vines skewers Quislings, dysfunctional bureaucracies and self-interested elites, arguing that we shouldn’t bet against Hongkongers just yet.’ — Sharon Hom, Executive Director of Human Rights in China and Adjunct Professor, New York University

‘Written with honesty and integrity, [DEFYING THE DRAGON] chronicles a critical moment in Hong Kong’s history as the city prepares for an unclear future.’ — South China Post Magazine

Italian Edition of THE MENACE FROM FARSIDE Out Now!

Posted on Tuesday, May 10th, 2022

A new Italian edition of Ian McDonald‘s THE MENACE FROM FARSIDE is now available! Published by Urania/Mondadori as MINACCIA DA FARSIDE, it’s a prequel novella to the acclaimed Luna series. Here’s the synopsis…

Preparatevi a tornare nel mondo dei Dragoni, i signori della celeberrima trilogia Luna creata dalla penna di Ian McDonald.

A Regina Sud, città della famiglia Taiyang, la società è organizzata tramite “anelli”, ovvero famiglie poliamorose. E per Carid, figlia di un “matrimonio anulare”, l’arrivo di una nuova sorellastra in famiglia è una tragedia.

Sidibe non è solo bella d’aspetto e altera di carattere, ma possiede delle rarissime ali con cui incanta tutti, compresi Jair e Kobe, i fratellastri di Carid. La ragazza ha solo venti giorni di tempo prima che venga sancito ufficialmente il nuovo legame della sua famiglia allargata. E di certo non ha intenzione di restarsene con le mani in mano.

Con la scusa di un originale regalo di nozze, trascina la nuova arrivata e i due fratellastri in un’avventura… alla ricerca della prima impronta umana sulla Luna, lasciata cento anni prima nel Mare della Tranquillità dallo stivale di Neil Armstrong.

Cosa potrebbe andare storto?

Conoscendo Ian McDonald, il George R.R. Martin dello spazio, tutto…

In addition to THE MENACE FROM FARSIDE, the volume also includes translations of two short stories in the same setting: IL QUINTO DRAGONE (THE FIFTH DRAGON, originally published in 2014) and CADUTA (THE FALLS, 2015).

THE MENACE FROM FARSIDE is published in the UK and North America by Tor.com (cover above). Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Ian McDonald returns to his elegantly wound solar system of the twenty-second century, full of political intrigue and complicated families.

Remember: Lady Luna knows a thousand ways to kill you, but family is what you know. Family is what works.

Cariad Corcoran has a new sister who is everything she is not: tall, beautiful, confident. They’re unlikely allies and even unlikelier sisters, but they’re determined to find the moon’s first footprint, even if the lunar frontier is doing its best to kill them before they get there.

Urania also publishes the three Luna novels: LUNA NUOVA (NEW MOON), LUNA PIENA (WOLF MOON), and LUNA CRESCENTE (MOON RISING). An omnibus edition (or, ‘Titan Edition‘) is also available in Italy.

The Luna novels are published in the UK by Gollancz, in North America by Tor Books.

The series has also been published in Poland, Spain, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Romania, Hungary, Russia, Croatia, China, Taiwan, and Serbia. Here are the covers for NEW MOON…

New LORD OF LIGHT Audiobook Out in Three Weeks!

Posted on Friday, May 6th, 2022

In three weeks, Recorded Books are due to publish another Roger Zelazny classic in a new audiobook edition! The Hugo Award-winning LORD OF LIGHT, narrated by Matt Godfrey, is due to be released in North America on May 24th. Here’s the synopsis…

Earth is long since dead. On a colony planet, a band of men has gained control of technology, made themselves immortal, and now rule their world as the gods of the Hindu pantheon. Only one dares oppose them: he who was once Siddhartha and is now Mahasamatman. Binder of Demons, Lord of Light.

A UK print edition of LORD OF LIGHT is available as part of Gollancz’s SF Masterworks series.

Recorded Books also publish two other Zelazny audiobooks in North America, both also narrated by Matt Godfrey: ROADMARKS and CREATURES OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS.

The audiobook edition of ROADMARKS is published in the UK by W. F. Howes.

Coming Soon: UNTO THE GODLESS WHAT LITTLE REMAINS by Mário Coelho

Posted on Wednesday, May 4th, 2022

Announced recently by the publisher, we wanted to draw your attention to the upcoming new novella by Mário Coelho: UNTO THE GODLESS WHAT LITTLE REMAINS! Published as the part of the next series of Satellites Novellas from Solaris, here’s they synopsis…

The internet is a lonesome god.

Liverloin is a fractured man, a collection of personas — artificial constructs of wants, fears and needs — created by underground science-artists to help him hide in a hyper-connected world. But he can’t hide from Big Momma.

She is the living internet, a benevolent AI who knows everything and everyone… and somehow is in love with Liverloin.

Agent Stevly works for DAIS, an AI on the other side of the internet: the darkness to Big Momma’s light. DAIS’s agents manipulate news, information and media and pull the strings behind world events, but DAIS cannot control Big Momma or understand why she loves Liverloin. Agent Stevly, bound body and soul to DAIS, will stop at nothing to find the answer.

The novella will be published on September 14th, and will be available as an eBook and a limited, signed special edition.

Coming Soon: AN OCCUPATION OF ANGELS by Lavie Tidhar!

Posted on Wednesday, April 27th, 2022

This summer, JABberwocky are due to publish a new edition of AN OCCUPATION OF ANGELS by Lavie Tidhar! With a gorgeous new cover by Paul McCaffrey (who also worked with Lavie on his comic series, ADLER), here’s the synopsis…

A British secret agent is caught in a plot to assassinate archangels who settled Earth after WWII in this classic thriller from the World Fantasy Award winning author!

In 1945, the Archangels materialised over the battlefields of Europe, ushering in a new Cold War. Fifty years later, they are being killed off… one by one.

But who – or what – can kill an angel?

Killarney is a shadow executive for the Bureau, British Intelligence’s most secret organisation. She is the best – and she always works alone. Sent on a desperate mission to locate a missing cryptographer who may prove the key to the murders, Killarney finds herself running for her life, from London to Paris to Moscow, leading to a confrontation with a very human evil in the frozen wastelands of Novosibirsk.

Plagued by dreams of a different world, and haunted by a swastika adorned with angel wings, it could take all of Killarney’s resources to survive, when Heaven itself may be threatened, and God herself may be walking the earth…

AN OCCUPATION OF ANGELS will be available from June 7th.

Here are some of the great reviews the novella has received so far…

‘Sharp, brutal, cool — yet also stunningly imaginative and perfectly realised.’  — Michael Marshall, bestselling author of The Straw Men trilogy

‘Fast moving, powerfully phantasmagoric fantasy.’ — Adam Roberts

‘A novella of blistering, ballistic energy and ferocious cleverness.’ — James Lovegrove

‘A breathless adventure story, finely crafted and rammed home with the assured confidence of an author very much in his stride.’ — SFRevue.com

Next Week: Italian Edition of THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Vol.1!

Posted on Friday, April 22nd, 2022

Next week, Fanucci is due to publish IL GRANDE LIBRO DELLA FANTASCIENZA MONDIALE, the Italian edition of THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Vol.1. Edited by Lavie Tidhar, it’s a fantastic collection of science fiction stories by authors from around the world. Here’s the synopsis…

Il grande libro della fantascienza mondiale” riunisce ventisei storie provenienti da tutto lo spettro della fantascienza – leggerai di robot, astronavi e viaggi nel tempo, oltre a cose davvero strane – che rappresentano ventuno Paesi e quattro continenti. Lavie Tidhar ha selezionato racconti che spaziano da autori esordienti e mai sentiti prima ad altri vincitori di premi, in ogni momento della loro carriera.

Questi i Paesi rappresentati: Francia, Cina, Singapore, Botswana, Nigeria, India, Giappone, Italia, Cuba, Regno Unito, Brasile, Trinidad e Tobago, Spagna, Messico, Finlandia, Israele, Islanda, Russia, Ghana, Sudafrica, Svezia e Malesia.

Gli autori, quattordici donne e dodici uomini sono Aliette de Bodard, Chen Qiufan, Vina Jie-Min Prasad, Tlotlo Tsamaase, Chinelo Onwualu, Vandana Singh, Han Song, Ng Yi-Sheng, Taiyo Fujii, Francesco Verso, Malena Salazar Maciá, Tade Thompson, Fabio Fernandes, R.S.A. Garcia, Cristina Jurado, Gerardo Horacio Porcayo, Hannu Rajaniemi, Nir Yaniv, Emil Hjörvar Petersen, Ekaterina Sedia, Kuzhali Manickavel, Kofi Nyameye, Lauren Beukes, Karin Tidbeck, Silvia Moreno-Garcia e Zen Cho.

The English-language edition is published in the UK and North America by Head of Zeus. Here’s the synopsis…

The future is coming. It knows no bounds, and neither should science fiction.

They say the more things change the more they stay the same. But over the last hundred years, science fiction has changed. Vibrant new generations of writers have sprung up across the globe, proving the old adage false. From Ghana to India, from Mexico to France, from Singapore to Cuba, they draw on their unique backgrounds and culture, changing the face of the genre one story at a time.

Prepare yourself for a journey through the wildest reaches of the imagination, to visions of Earth as it might be and the far corners of the universe. Along the way, you will meet robots and monsters, adventurers and time travellers, rogues and royalty.

In The Best of World SF, award-winning author Lavie Tidhar acts as guide and companion to a world of stories, from never-before-seen originals to award winners, from twenty-three countries and seven languages. Because the future is coming and it belongs to us all.

Here’s the full table of contents…

  • ‘Immersion’ by Aliette de Bodard
  • ‘Debtless’ by Chen Qiufan (trans. from Chinese by Blake Stone-Banks)
  • ‘Fandom for Robots’ by Vina Jie-Min Prasad
  • ‘Virtual Snapshots’ by Tlotlo Tsamaase
  • ‘What The Dead Man Said’ by Chinelo Onwualu
  • ‘Delhi’ by Vandana Singh
  • ‘The Wheel of Samsara’ by Han Song (trans. from Chinese by the author)
  • ‘Xingzhou’ by Yi-Sheng Ng
  • ‘Prayer’ by Taiyo Fujii (trans. from Japanese by Kamil Spychalski)
  • ‘The Green Ship’ by Francesco Verso (trans. from Italian by Michael Colbert)
  • ‘Eyes of the Crocodile’ by Malena Salazar Maciá (trans. from Spanish by Toshiya Kamei)
  • ‘Bootblack’ by Tade Thompson
  • ‘The Emptiness in the Heart of all Things’ by Fabio Fernandes
  • ‘The Sun From Both Sides’ by R.S.A. Garcia
  • ‘Dump’ by Cristina Jurado (trans. from Spanish by Steve Redwood)
  • ‘Rue Chair’ by Gerardo Horacio Porcayo (trans. from Spanish by the author)
  • ‘His Master’s Voice’ by Hannu Rajaniemi
  • ‘Benjamin Schneider’s Little Greys’ by Nir Yaniv (trans. from Hebrew by Lavie Tidhar)
  • ‘The Cryptid’ by Emil H. Petersen(trans. from Icelandic by the author)
  • ‘The Bank of Burkina Faso’ by Ekaterina Sedia
  • ‘An Incomplete Guide…’ by Kuzhali Manickavel
  • ‘The Old Man with The Third Hand’ by Kofi Nyameye
  • ‘The Green’ by Lauren Beukes
  • ‘The Last Voyage of Skidbladnir’ by Karin Tidbeck
  • ‘Prime Meridian’ by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  • ‘If At First You Don’t Succeed’ by Zen Cho

New Taiwanese Covers for Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series!

Posted on Thursday, April 21st, 2022

The first four books in Ben Aaronovitch‘s acclaimed, internationally best-selling Rivers of London series (倫敦探案系列) have been given new covers in Taiwan! Originally published between 2016-17, by Marco Polo (馬可孛羅文化事業), read on for some more details for each novel as well as the stunning new covers.

RIVERS OF LONDON, the first in the series, is published in Taiwan as 倫敦河惡靈騷動, and is translated by Zheng Yuxin (鄭郁欣). The new cover is above, and here’s the synopsis…

寒冷週二的凌晨時分，柯芬園聖保羅教堂的西門廊前躺著一具沒有頭的屍體。就要結束實習工作、接下來將分派到倫敦警察廳所屬轄區警局的菜鳥彼得．葛蘭特，基於職責在案發現場盤問了一名衣著老派過時的矮小男子，沒想到對方竟一五一十細細陳述了案發經過，其內容可信度非常高，只不過彼得恐怕沒辦法將這段證詞呈報給調查小組──

誰會相信一個平凡人光揮舞一根球棒就能將被害者的頭敲飛？誰又能接受提供證詞的這位老先生，是個死了足足一百二十年、站在光線下整個人變透明的鬼魂？

不過彼得相信，對現代警察來說，「看得見不存在的事物」是個不可或缺的重要技能，沒想到納丁格爾督察長不但願意接受這聽起來像胡謅的說法，還將彼得納入警察廳內最神祕的特殊犯罪部，聯手調查這樁超自然色彩濃厚的謀殺案。

在這個魔法捲土重來、惡靈騷動再起的時刻，暴力與叛亂已在古老的倫敦城內甦醒，想要解決一連串的詭譎怪案，還得有點福爾摩斯的腦袋與哈利波特的能力才行…

The second novel in the series, MOON OVER SOHO, is published in Taiwan as 蘇活月爵士魅影, and is also translated by Zheng Yuxin.

蘇活區，倫敦夜晚最熱鬧的地方，同時也是爵士樂發展的中心。在那裡，你可以找到歷史悠久且風格各異的酒吧和俱樂部，樂手們全都嚮往登上此處的表演舞臺，演奏最道地動聽的音樂。

一具被判定為自然死亡的屍體上，彼得．葛蘭特聽見了經典爵士樂曲的魔法殘跡，經調查後發現，過去一段時間大倫敦地區每年至少有三名爵士音樂家在演出後二十四小時內死亡，很可能是有某個術士或鬼魂、精靈之類的存在，正有計畫地殺害倫敦的爵士樂人──幾天後，再次傳來某個長號手暴斃的噩耗。

棘手的死亡事件不只一樁，就在魔法爵士殺手再度犯案的當晚，一名中年男子陰莖遭割裂、失血過多死在俱樂部裡，英國最後一位巫師警官納丁格爾告訴彼得，這是「陰牙」造成的傷口，很可能是某種超自然生物所為。

這下子彼得可頭大了，一個以爵士樂手為目標的魔法殺手，與一個擁有傷人利齒的超自然生物，該從哪個方向展開調查才好？首先，彼得必須找尋爵士樂專家的幫助，而他心底已經有了最佳人選……

悠揚輕柔的爵士樂聲響起，為流連倫敦街頭的人們帶來多少歡愉，

曲終人散的某個闇暗角落，躺著一具被魔法奪走性命的沉默軀體。

誰能同時扮演福爾摩斯與哈利波特的角色？只有菜鳥警察彼得．葛蘭特！

Translated by Han Yichen (韓宜辰) and Lin Zhaoling (林詔伶), WHISPERS UNDERGROUND is published as 地底城魔法暗湧 in Taiwan.

二次世界大戰後，英國的巫師所剩無幾，魔法逐漸式微、光明隨之遠離，除了納丁格爾與他唯一認可的學徒彼得．葛蘭特之外，再沒有人使用和練習魔法。然而，黑魔法師無臉男的出現，徹底打破了納丁格爾的認知，原來自一九五○年代起，就有巫師在牛津大學祕密教授魔法，更有學員加入黑暗勢力，製造出邪惡的超自然生物，讓倫敦陷入危機。

找出黑魔法師的真實身分，成為菜鳥警察彼得的當務之急，一樁發生在倫敦地鐵站的命案，卻令彼得不得不分心轉向追查，因為殺害死者的凶器，竟是一塊殘留魔法的陶器碎片。同時，命案死者的敏感身分，也招來了美國FBI派探員跨海介入調查。

死者是否又是一名非法學習法術的巫師？沾有魔法殘跡的陶器從何而來？被要求加入凶案調查小組的彼得，不但得全力追查凶器來源與凶手，還不能讓FBI發現任何「不尋常」的異狀。一方面諜對諜作戰，一方面向河神、半妖等超自然生物打聽情報，彼得這才驚異地發現，在倫敦紛亂複雜的地下鐵深處，很可能潛藏了一座不為人知的神祕之城……

And last, but by no means least, the fourth novel in the series, BROKEN HOMES, is published in Taiwan as 天空塔黑巫再現. Lin Zhaoling also translated this novel.

地底城事件結束後，納丁格爾與他的學徒彼得．葛蘭特體認到，黑魔法師無臉男的勢力已經擴張到他們難以察覺的深處，無論這位黑魔法師真正的目的為何，徹查所有的小鱷魚名單、找出無臉男的真實身分，絕對是當務之急。因此，即便是一樁看似簡單的交通意外，也不能錯過任何線索。

彼得的直覺沒錯，小鱷魚成員的交通意外演變為一件毀屍滅跡的凶殺案；不久之後，竟有第二名可疑的小鱷魚成員在地鐵站內跳軌自殺。一具屍體或許只是意外，但兩具屍體就不可能只是巧合，而且一定與無臉男有關。

為了化被動為主動，彼得決定設下誘餌引無臉男出現，沒想到出現的卻是令他們意想不到的另一個熟面孔，死去的伍德維爾．詹托的看護——凡倫卡，來自俄羅斯的魔法學徒，危險度極高的暗夜女巫。

現在，倫敦有兩名出手凶狠的非法巫師逍遙法外了。最令人擔心的是，暗夜女巫是否與黑魔法師相互聯手？小鱷魚的命案又是何人所為？此時，彼得追查到一本遭竊的德國魔法書，屬於瘋狂建築師艾瑞克．史騰堡所有，更進一步發現這些喪命的死者，都與史騰堡所蓋的空中花園大樓有關……

高掛空中的冠冕，點亮城市的火炬，

魔法與工業的結合，是不切實際的空想，還是真實存在的世紀之作？

The Rivers of London series is published in the UK by Gollancz; in North America by Del Rey (1-3), DAW Books (4-) and Subterranean Press (novellas); in Germany by DTV; and widely elsewhere in translation.

The ninth novel in the series, the Sunday Times #1 AMONGST OUR WEAPONS, was published this month by Orion Books (UK), DAW Books (North America), and DTV (Germany).

Ian R. MacLeod’s SONG OF TIME Out Now in Italy!

Posted on Tuesday, April 19th, 2022

A new Italian edition of Ian R. MacLeod‘s multi-award-winning SONG OF TIME is out now! Published by Urania as LA CANZONE DEL TEMPO, here’s the synopsis…

Durante una passeggiata su una spiaggia della Cornovaglia, l’anziana Roushana Maitland, celebre violinista di fama mondiale, trova un uomo nudo, inerme, riverso sulla sabbia come se fosse stato trasportato lì dal mare.

Sotto le alghe, i graffi e i lividi bluastri, c’è un giovane bello come un dio greco. Ben presto appare chiaro che il ragazzo non è annegato ma è vivo, anche se privo della memoria. Da dove sia arrivato è un mistero; potrebbe essere uno schiavo sfuggito a qualche destino infame, o un criminale evaso.

Roushana soccorre “Adam”, come decide di chiamarlo, e mentre se ne prende cura, gli racconta della sua lunga e incredibile vita, ricca di grandi successi e cadute devastanti: dall’infanzia a Birmingham tra gli incubi del terrorismo biologico, passando per i viaggi in India all’epoca di un grande disastro nucleare, fino alla sfavillante carriera musicale a Parigi e alla sua vita bohemien.

Nel frattempo là fuori, oltre le mura protettive della casa, c’è un mondo morente: un futuro malinconicamente distopico, tra vulcani in eruzione e tempeste di polvere.

Tuttavia la morte non è più una barriera: è possibile caricare la propria memoria in un “cristallo” all’interno del proprio cervello, e raggiungere così l’immortalità digitale.

Un passo che Roushana, in fin di vita, si accinge a fare a breve per raggiungere coloro che ha amato, gli amici che già l’attendono oltre il velo.

Ma un oscuro segreto la trattiene dal compiere il passaggio…

First published in 2009, SONG OF TIME won the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. It is available in the UK and North America, published by JABberwocky (alongside a number of other MacLeod titles).

‘MacLeod’s quiet, meditative novels and stories have been winning critical acclaim for years, and Song of Time sees him at the height of his powers. At the end of a long and eventful life, celebrated violinist Roushana Maitland orders her memories before she passes from the world of the flesh to a virtual afterlife. When she finds a mysterious stranger washed up on the beach of her Cornish retreat, he facilitates the process of remembrance. In flashback chapters we follow Roushana’s turbulent life through the cataclysmic events of the 21st century, taking in the deaths of loved ones, marriage to a conductor-entrepreneur, and a final heartbreaking revelation, SONG OF TIME is a slow, sensitive first-person account of what it means to be human and vulnerable, and confirms MacLeod as one of the country’s very best literary SF writers.’ — Guardian

Ben Aaronovitch’s DIE SILBERKAMMER IN DER CHANCERY LANE Out in Two Weeks!

Posted on Friday, April 1st, 2022

Ben Aaronovitch‘s highly-anticipated next Rivers of London novel, AMONGST OUR WEAPONS, will be available in Germany on April 13th! To be published by DTV, as DIE SILBERKAMMER IN DER CHANCERY LANE, this edition has been translated by Christine Blum. Here’s the synopsis…

Peter Grant, der Londoner Bobby und Zauberlehrling (sowie neuerdings Praktikantinnenausbilder), hat einen neuen Fall.

In den Silberkammern in der Chancery Lane hat es einen merkwürdigen Todesfall gegeben. Der Tote weist eine große Wunde im Brustkorb auf – als hätte man ihm das Herz herausgerissen. Die Ermittlungen führen zu einem zweiten Toten. Und dann zunehmend weiter über London hinaus – in völlig unerwartete räumliche, zeitliche und extradimensionale Gefilde. Dabei hat Peter eigentlich schon mehr als genug damit zu tun, sich auf ein ganz bestimmtes freudiges Ereignis vorzubereiten, das allmählich die Züge eines hochmagischen und illustren Großevents annimmt…

DTV has published all of Ben’s Rivers of London novels and novellas in Germany to date. The Rivers of London comic series is published in Germany by Panini (1-9 available now).

AMONGST OUR WEAPONS is due to be published by Orion Books in the UK (April 7th), and DAW Books in North America (April 12th). Here’s the English-language synopsis…

There is a world hidden underneath this great city…

The London Silver Vaults – for well over a century, the largest collection of silver for sale in the world. It has more locks than the Bank of England and more cameras than a celebrity punch-up.

Not somewhere you can murder someone and vanish without a trace – only that’s what happened.

The disappearing act, the reports of a blinding flash of light and memory loss amongst the witnesses all make this a case for Detective Constable Peter Grant and the Special Assessment Unit.

Alongside their boss DCI Thomas Nightingale, the SAU find themselves embroiled in a mystery that encompasses London’s tangled history, foreign lands and, most terrifying of all, the North!

And Peter must solve this case soon because back home his partner Beverley is expecting twins any day now. But what he doesn’t know is that he’s about to encounter something – and somebody – that nobody ever expects…

Effortlessly original, endlessly inventive and hugely entertaining – step into the world of the much-loved, Number One bestselling Rivers of London series.

New Russian Edition of Roger Zelazny’s TRUMPS OF DOOM Out Now!

Posted on Wednesday, March 30th, 2022

The sixth novel in Roger Zelazny‘s acclaimed, classic Chronicles of Amber, TRUMPS OF DOOM is now available in a fancy new Russian edition! Published by Эксмо as Карты Судьбы, here’s the synopsis…

Война между Янтарным Королевством и Владениями Хаоса закончена. Но теперь эстафета вечной битвы переходит к юному Мерлину — сыну Корвина и Дары из Хаоса. Юноша разыскивает своего пропавшего отца, когда вдруг выясняется, что за ним идёт охота…

Первая книга Пятикнижия Мерлина культового цикла “Хроники Амбера”!

The first five novels in the series have also been published as part of Эксмо’s Эксклюзивная фантастика collection: NINE PRINCES IN AMBER (Девять принцев Амбера), THE GUNS OF AVALON (Ружья Авалона), SIGN OF THE UNICORN (Знак Единорога), THE HAND OF OBERON (Рука Оберона), and THE COURTS OF CHAOS (Владения Хаоса).

Here’s the English-language synopsis for TRUMPS OF DOOM…

Merle Corey is a brilliant young computer designer in San Francisco, but, he is also Merlin, son of Corwin, vanished prince of Amber, and heir to his father’s wonderous powers. And, someone is determined to kill him. Now he will begin a desperate race through Shadow, not only to escape the mysterious force that threatens his life, but to protect the deadly secret that could destroy both his worlds.

The Chronicles of Amber are getting re-issued this year in the UK — collected as two omnibus editions, in April and August, due to be published by Gollancz.

Alexia Casale’s HOUSE OF WINDOWS Audiobook Out Tomorrow!

Posted on Monday, March 21st, 2022

Tomorrow, Tantor Media are due to publish the audiobook edition of Alexia Casale‘s HOUSE OF WINDOWS! Narrated by Stewart Crank, here’s the synopsis…

“The body is a house of many windows: there we all sit, showing ourselves and crying on the passers-by to come and love us.” — Robert Louis Stevenson

Nick hates it when people call him a genius. Sure, he’s going to Cambridge University aged fifteen, but he says that’s just because he works hard. And, secretly, he only works hard to get some kind of attention from his workaholic father.

Not that his strategy is working.

When he arrives at Cambridge, he finds the work hard and socializing even harder. Until, that is, he starts to cox for the college rowing crew and all hell breaks loose…

Tantor also publishes the audiobook edition of Casale’s THE BONE DRAGON.