Category: Cover Reveal

MOTHERWHELMED now out in PB!

Posted on Thursday, April 2nd, 2020

Anniki Sommerville‘s fantastic debut novel, MOTHERWHELMED is out now in a new paperback edition! Published by One More Chapter, here’s the synopsis…

Rebecca is 42, has a beautiful child and a wonderful husband. But she just hasn’t been feeling herself recently…

Rebecca thinks a great night out should involve a packet of Marlboro’s, six double vodkas and snogging a colleague. Not gormlessly drinking a zero-alcohol No-hito while Instagramming a vegan chicken wing.

Rebecca wants to ride on a Harley Davidson, to crowd surf till dawn, then collapse in a heap after swigging from a bottle of Jack Daniels… not sit in a soul-destroying meeting surrounded by ‘blue sky thinking’ and men half her age who interrupt all the time.

She’s had enough of commuting to an office that is so cold people have to wear blankets all day. And she can’t help asking herself why her adorable daughter must spend all week in a containment zone for pre-schoolers.

Rebecca wants to feel that there’s MORE coming her way, rather than less…

In short – Rebecca wants out.

But where to?

‘Hilarious. Makes me feel like I’m not the only one.’ — Cherry Healey

‘Had me rolling about laughing…I read this in one sitting it was that good.’ — Chells & Books

New Algis Budrys Ansible Edition!

Posted on Wednesday, April 1st, 2020

We’re very happy to report that Ansible Editions has published a new collection of essays by Algis Budrys! Including essays written between 1955-96, BEYOND THE OUTPOSTS is out now. Here’s the synopsis…

Beyond the Outposts: Essays on SF and Fantasy 1955-1996 brings together a great many of Algis Budrys’s standalone essays, reviews, appreciations, state-of-the-art reports, personal memoirs and thoughts on the mechanics of writing.

Beyond the Outposts includes the introduction and five essays published in the long-out-of-print and now very scarce Budrys collection Outposts: Literatures of Milieux (Borgo Press, dated 1996, released 1997). Those items form only a small part of this very substantial compilation of the author’s writings on sf and fantasy, most of the rest never having been previously collected. Except for part of one Galaxy magazine article that Budrys chose to reprint – in edited form with a new commentary – there is no overlap with the two long series of review columns for Galaxy and F&SF collected in Benchmarks: Galaxy Bookshelf (1985), and the three-volume Ansible Editions set Benchmarks Continued (2012), Benchmarks Revisited (2013) and Benchmarks Concluded (2013).

Among the major pieces here are “Paradise Charted”, a tour-de-force potted history of the science fiction genre that filled some seventy pages of the special SF issue of TriQuarterly magazine; “Literatures of Milieux”, a highly individual attack on the problem of defining our genre; the long series of “On Writing” columns written for Locus magazine; “Non-Literary Influences on Science Fiction”, exploring in disquieting depth how magazine stories were routinely cut, padded or rearranged for production reasons beyond the control of author or editor; and “Obstacles and Ironies in Science-Fiction Criticism”, casting a cold eye on the very thing that Budrys did best. Lighter notes are struck by mordant book and film reviews plus touches of sheer personal fun.

This is the fourth collection of Budrys’s essays published by Ansible Editions. The other three make up Algis’s BENCHMARKS series: CONTINUED, REVISITED, and CONCLUDED.

Zeno represents Algis Budrys on behalf of the Budrys Estate.

Lavie Tidhar’s ADLER #3 arrives in two weeks!

Posted on Friday, March 27th, 2020

The third issue in Lavie Tidhar‘s acclaimed ADLER comic series is due to be published by Titan Comics in two weeks! Here’s the synopsis…

From the World Fantasy Award-winning writer Lavie Tidhar and artist Paul McCaffrey (DC’s Men of War, TMNT) comes an all-new story written in the vein of Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen!

Irene Adler and her team of Victorian heroines encounter a mysterous villain, even more dangerous that Moriarty!

Below are the two variant covers that the issue will be available in…

Lavie’s latest novel, BY FORCE ALONE is out now in the UK (Head of Zeus) and due out in June in North America (Tor Books).

Aliette de Bodard Returns to the Xuya Universe in SEVEN OF INFINITIES!

Posted on Thursday, March 26th, 2020

Aliette de Bodard has a new Xuya novella on the way! SEVEN OF INFINITIES is due to be published by Subterranean Press in October 2020. Check out that gorgeous cover, above! Here’s the synopsis…

Vân is a scholar from a poor background, eking out a living in the orbitals of the Scattered Peals Belt as a tutor to a rich family, while hiding the illegal artificial mem-implant she manufactured as a student. 

Sunless Woods is a mindship — and not just any mindship, but a notorious thief and a master of disguise. She’s come to the Belt to retire, but is drawn to Vân’s resolute integrity.

When a mysterious corpse is found in the quarters of Vân’s student, Vân and Sunless Woods find themselves following a trail of greed and murder that will lead them from teahouses and ascetic havens to the wreck of a mindship — and to the devastating secrets they’ve kept from each other.

Subterranean Press also publishes Aliette’s THE TEA MASTER AND THE DETECTIVE and OF WARS, AND MEMORIES, AND STARLIGHT, which are also part of the award-nominated Xuya Universe. The eBook edition of THE TEA MASTER AND THE DETECTIVE is published outside of North America by JABberwocky.

Aliette’s latest series, Dominion of the Fallen, is also out now — published by Gollancz in the UK, and Roc Books (1-2) and JABberwocky in North America.

Two Weeks: Anniki Sommerville’s MOTHERWHELMED in paperback!

Posted on Friday, March 20th, 2020

In two weeks (April 2nd), One Chapter More will be publishing the paperback edition of Anniki Sommerville‘s hilarious debut novel, MOTHERWHELMED! Here’s the synopsis…

Rebecca is 42, has a beautiful child and a wonderful husband. But she just hasn’t been feeling herself recently…

Rebecca thinks a great night out should involve a packet of Marlboro’s, six double vodkas and snogging a colleague. Not gormlessly drinking a zero-alcohol No-hito while Instagramming a vegan chicken wing.

Rebecca wants to ride on a Harley Davidson, to crowd surf till dawn, then collapse in a heap after swigging from a bottle of Jack Daniels… not sit in a soul-destroying meeting surrounded by ‘blue sky thinking’ and men half her age who interrupt all the time.

She’s had enough of commuting to an office that is so cold people have to wear blankets all day. And she can’t help asking herself why her adorable daughter must spend all week in a containment zone for pre-schoolers.

Rebecca wants to feel that there’s MORE coming her way, rather than less…

In short – Rebecca wants out.

But where to?

‘Hilarious. Makes me feel like I’m not the only one.’ — Cherry Healey

‘Had me rolling about laughing…I read this in one sitting it was that good.’ — Chells & Books

Two Weeks: James P. Blaylock’s GOBBLIN’ SOCIETY!

Posted on Friday, March 13th, 2020

In just two weeks, James P. Blaylock‘s latest Langdon St. Ives novella will be out! Due to be published on March 31st by Subterranean Press, here’s the synopsis…

The story begins with an inheritance. Following a protracted legal battle, Alice St. Ives, Langdon’s wife, has come into full possession of Seaward, the house left to her by her late Uncle Godfrey, a man with a number of bizarre proclivities. Heartened by this good fortune, Alice, Langdon and their surrogate son Finn prepare to take possession of the house. From this point forward, events spin out of control, taking on a madcap logic of their own that is exhilarating and — in typical Blaylock fashion — often quite funny. 

What follows is, in a sense, a tale of two houses. The first, of course, is Seaward, a “rambling, eccentric old house” with it its history, its secrets, its priceless accumulation of volumes of arcane lore. The other is a neighboring house known, for good reasons, as “Gobblin’ Manor,” home base of The Gobblin’ Society, a “culinary establishment” with its own peculiar — and very dark — traditions. In the course of an event filled few days, St. Ives and his cohorts will encounter smuggling, mesmerism, kidnapping, cannibalism and murder. It is, in other words, a typical — and typically eccentric — Langdon St. Ives adventure.

Like its predecessors, this latest extravaganza is fast-paced, unpredictable, and a thorough delight to read. Few novelists evoke the essence of Victorian England as successfully as Blaylock. Fewer still bring such wit, style, and propulsive narrative talents to the task. In The Gobblin’ Society, Blaylock has given vibrant new life to one of his signature creations. The result is a gift both for Blaylock’s longtime fans, and for newcomers lucky enough to come along for this astonishing — and thoroughly enjoyable — ride.

Subterranean Press has also published limited editions and North American eBook editions of Blaylock’s previous Langdon St. Ives novellas: THE EBB TIDE, THE AFFAIR OF THE CHALK CLIFFS, THE RING OF STONES, THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF LANGDON ST. IVES, and RIVER’S EDGE.

The first three novellas are also available as eBooks, published by JABberwocky:

The Langdon St. Ives novels are published in the UK and North America by Titan Books: HOMUNCULUS, LORD KELVIN’S MACHINE, THE AYLESFORD SKULL and BENEATH LONDON.

Ian McDonald’s Восставшая Луна out now! (Luna: Moon Rising)

Posted on Thursday, March 12th, 2020

The third novel in Ian McDonald‘s acclaimed Luna series, MOON RISING is out now in Russia! Published by ACT as Восставшая Луна, here’s the synopsis…

Финал грандиозной научно-фантастической саги

Пять Драконов – пять семейных кланов, контролирующих ведущие промышленные компании Луны,– ведут между собой настоящую войну. Соперники не гнушаются ничем, чтобы проложить себе путь на самый верх пищевой цепочки – ни браками по расчету, ни корпоративным шпионажем, ни похищениями людей, ни массовыми убийствами. Теперь эта битва подошла к концу, и тот, кто, казалось, потерял все, кто поднялся из руин корпоративного разгрома, захватил контроль над Луной благодаря изощренным манипуляциям и невероятной силе воли. Но война никогда не заканчивается, и теперь против победителя выступает его родная сестра. Вот только мир вокруг не стои т на месте, Луна и Земля никогда не будут прежними, неумолимые силы истории придадут бесконечной борьбе за власть совершенно иной масштаб, а человечество уже готово двигаться дальше – за пределы Солнечной системы.

ACT has also published the first two novels in the series, NEW MOON and WOLF MOON — as Новая Луна and Волчья Луна, respectively. They have also published a handful of Ian’s other acclaimed novels.

The Luna series is published in the UK by Gollancz, in North America by Tor Books, and in a growing number of translated editions around the world. Here’s the English-language synopsis for MOON RISING…

A hundred years in the future, a war wages between the Five Dragons — five families that control the Moon’s leading industrial companies. Each clan does everything in their power to claw their way to the top of the food chain — marriages of convenience, corporate espionage, kidnapping, and mass assassinations.

Through ingenious political manipulation and sheer force of will, Lucas Cortas rises from the ashes of corporate defeat and seizes control of the Moon. The only person who can stop him is a brilliant lunar lawyer, his sister, Ariel.

Witness the Dragons’ final battle for absolute sovereignty in Ian McDonald’s heart-stopping finale to the Luna trilogy.

If you haven’t yet had the chance to try the series, and are daunted by the prospect of a full-length novel, Ian has also written a prequel novella, which is out now via Tor.com, THE MENACE FROM FARSIDE.

Here are just a few examples of the praise the series has received so far…

‘McDonald concludes his Luna space opera trilogy in triumphant style… The political intrigue never feels too abstract or removed from 21st-century Earth. Readers will appreciate the care McDonald takes with both worldbuilding and characterization, and will enjoy little touches such as giving an assassin the job title of Corporate Conflict Resolution Officer… fans of the prior books will find this wrap-up rewarding.’ — Publishers Weekly on MOON RISING

‘McDonald’s richly imagined Lunar culture and interplanetary poleconomy make for a superb backdrop for literally dozens of richly realized human dramas, and it’s hard to say which is more fascinating. McDonald’s wildly imaginative worldbuilding (present since his debut novel, the utterly wonderful standout OUT ON BLUE SIX) and his ability to spin out intrigues are both in full flight in this final volume.’ — Boing Boing on MOON RISING

‘… cinematic set-pieces… so much fun to read… these entertaining, and intelligent novels, capped off by the very satisfying Luna: MOON RISING, have been about establishing a society, a community, a family that looks to the future, that lives and prospers in an environment that must always be treated with respect.’ — Locus (Ian Mond)

‘The fights and vengeance that follow are more vicious and intricate than anything in Game of Thrones, full of great acts of self-sacrifice and viciousness alike, brave cavalry charges and last stands, cowardice and avarice. McDonald’s great gift is to hold the micro- and macro-scale in his hand at once. Starting with his debut novel, 1988’s Desolation Road, McDonald has used his intense, finely crafted and small personal stories of his vast casts of characters as the pixels in an unimaginably vast display on which he projects some of the field’s most audacious worldbuilding — never worldbuilding for its own sake, either, but always in the service of slyly parodying, critiquing or lionizing elements of our present-day world.’ — Boing Boing on WOLF MOON

‘A Howling Good Read… No one builds a world like Ian McDonald does. Piece by piece and brick by brick. Spare, simple, elegant when he needs to be…, deep and meaty when he wants to be…, he does his work like an artisan pulling a sculpture from stone. There are no wasted moves, nothing that isn’t vital because, in the end, everything is vital. Everything matters… it is fascinating, all of it. Because McDonald has made a world that is ruthless in its consistency and living, breathing reality, and then made characters who are not just living in it, but wholly and fully of it… McDonald’s corporate war is a gorgeous thing, fought with every tool available… McDonald is able to wrap the biggest events in constellations of the smallest so that a cocktail party here, a discussion of ’80s retro fashion (all mall-hair and WHAM! T-shirts), a love story and a day at work for a guy who cleans solar panels all build and coalesce to form the background radiation of life in this unstable future. Every moment with his characters makes them precious, real and alive.’ — NPR on WOLF MOON

‘Luna: New Moon was a “magnificent bastard of a book,” as I put it in my review. Part two, it’s my pleasure to tell you, is just as awesome, and just as masterfully nasty.’ — Tor.com on WOLF MOON

‘Smart, funny, passionate and at times quite dark, McDonald brings the touch we’ve seen in RIVER OF GODS and DERVISH HOUSE to an entirely new culture as it evolves in a distant hostile place where business or family rules all… it’s terrific. My only complaint: it leaves you wanting the second book right now!’ — Jonathan Strahan on NEW MOON

‘McDonald… begins his superb near-future series… scintillating, violent, and decadent world. McDonald creates a complex and fascinating civilization featuring believable technology, and the characters are fully developed, with individually gripping stories. Watch for this brilliantly constructed family saga on next year’s award ballots.’ — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) on NEW MOON

‘Mafia-style mining families clash in a compelling fantasy that offers up all the pleasures of a cut-throat soap opera in space… That McDonald is able to spin a compelling story from this unforgiving set-up is testament to his skill as a writer… One thing Luna does exceptionally well is to puncture Old Heinlein’s assumption that a frontier society based on the primacy of the family and a disregard of conventional laws would end up like idealised smalltown America. Luna argues that any realistic future colonisation of the moon will be much more The Sopranos than The Waltons. LUNA is as gripping as it is colourful, and as colourful as it is nasty.’ — Guardian on NEW MOON

This May, get in on the LOW ACTION…

Posted on Friday, March 6th, 2020

On May 12th, Titan Books are due to publish LOW ACTION, the highly-anticipated fifth novel in Andrew Cartmel‘s acclaimed Vinyl Detective series! Here’s the synopsis…

Semi-retired god of rock guitar and local poseur Erik Make Loud has got himself a new girlfriend. Helene Hilditch – formerly known as Howlin’ Hellbitch – of all-girl punk outfit Blue Tits is a mean guitarist, someone is trying to kill her.

With a rare pressing of their first album to find, the Vinyl Detective and Nevada are soon called into to help but this time the question is who isn’t a suspect. With a trail of grudges behind her, the list of people who could want Helene dead includes her ex-bandmates, their former producer turned record label mogul, the TV presenter that Helene got fired – even their old roadie could be in on it. The only person who isn’t a suspect is Delia Lispector, the Blue Tit’s bass player who has already been murdered…

Titan has published all four of the previous novels in the series, in the UK and North America: WRITTEN IN DEAD WAX, THE RUN-OUT GROOVE, VICTORY DISC, and FLIP BACK.

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

‘This charming mystery feels as companionable as a leisurely afternoon trawling the vintage shops with a good friend.’ — Kirkus on WRITTEN IN DEAD WAX

‘… fast-paced, lighthearted adventure… marvelously inventive and endlessly fascinating…’ — Publishers Weekly on WRITTEN IN DEAD WAX

‘Part of the fun of the series is the obsessiveness of record collectors, the contradictions between the mundane places in which they hunt their treasures — charity shops, church bazaars — and the sophisticated sound systems they have set up to play what they find… the Vinyl Detective is proving to be a very amenable companion to have on a treasure hunt. This is one vinyl nerd you won’t mind spending time with.’ — Kirkus on THE RUN-OUT GROOVE

‘… entertaining second record-spinning mystery… Cartmel treats music and records seriously, plays his strange characters for laughs, and provides a bit of danger and some unexpected twists in this affectionate nod to the vagaries of rock stardom.’ — Publishers Weekly on THE RUN-OUT GROOVE

‘… effectively integrates the lead’s unusual specialty of searching out rare records into an intricately constructed plot… the clever resolution of the story lines is impressive. Fair-play fans, even those without an interest in music, will be pleased.’ — Publishers Weekly on VICTORY DISC

‘VICTORY DISC works beautifully both as a sequel and as a standalone novel… The story is splendid, continuing the fine tradition of the series to date of weaving fascinating fact with thrilling fiction… Andrew Cartmel is a fine mystery (and comedy) writer, keeping his readers smiling while never letting the elements of humour obfuscate the more serious moments… if you enjoyed the first two books, you’ll undoubtedly enjoy this one too. The unsolved murder mystery is highly intriguing, the characters introduced throughout are fully formed and a delight to uncover more about, and the chemistry between the Vinyl Detective and his friends is absolutely spot on. In short, VICTORY DISC is beautifully orchestrated and well worth taking for a spin this summer.’ — Alternative Magazine Online

DAWNRISE: Christopher Husberg’s Chaos Queen Quintet Draws to a Close in June!

Posted on Friday, February 28th, 2020

Christopher Husberg‘s acclaimed fantasy series, the Chaos Queen Quintet draws to a close this summer! DAWNRISE, the fifth and final novel is due to be published by Titan Books on June 2nd, 2020, in the UK and North America. Here’s the synopsis…

Nothing is as it seems.

Sfaera-shattering revelations reveal there is more to the Nine Daemons — and Canta — than anyone could have imagined, and deep in the heart of Triah, a threat that has lurked below the surface for years finally rises, gathering unimaginable power.

Knot, still reeling from a shocking death, tries to put himself back together in time to fight. Two ex-Nazaniin assassins, Code and Kali, form an unlikely alliance. Cinzia, more suspicious than ever of her sister Jane Oden — Canta’s prophetess — rallies as many people as she can to save the Sfaera from imminent destruction. And Winter, the Chaos Queen herself, realizes she must finally choose sides and face the greatest test of her life: finding the humility to seek help.

Deep in the heart of Triah, a threat that has lurked below the surface for years finally rises, gathering unimaginable power. Only the unlikely alliance formed between the two former Nazaniin assassins, Code and Kali, stands in its way.

Characters old and new join forces to preserve life as they know it. The darkest night the Sfaera has ever known is about to end, but whether it ends in daylight or destruction remains to be seen…

Titan Books has published the first four novels in the series, too: DUSKFALL, DARK IMMOLATION, BLOOD REQUIEM and FEAR THE STARS.

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

Freda Warrington’s GRAIL OF THE SUMMER STARS now available as an eBook!

Posted on Wednesday, February 26th, 2020

We shared the news recently that the first two novels in Freda Warrington‘s Aetherial Tales trilogy had been released as eBooks. Today, we’re happy to report that the final novel, GRAIL OF THE SUMMER STARS is also now available! Published via the JABberwocky eBook Program, here’s the synopsis…

An eerie, spellbinding contemporary fantasy in which a small mystery builds to an epic confrontation.

Stevie Silverwood’s quiet life as the manager of an arts museum is disrupted when a painting depicting haunting scenes of a ruined palace and a scarlet-haired goddess in a fiery city arrives with a cryptic note saying, “The world needs to see this.” Stevie soon realizes that Daniel, her ex-boyfriend from art school, painted the image, but her attempts to contact him reveal that Daniel has gone missing. Concerned, Stevie rushes to his studio where she bumps into a stranger, Mist — an Aetherial from the Otherworld — who has mysteriously risen from drowning in the depths of the ocean. Together they are determined to find out what has happened to Daniel — and the meaning behind the haunting image.

Stevie and Mist must uncover their lost past in order to understand the greater secrets the painting holds, and what cataclysmic events it might portend. A twisty, perilous journey awaits as they encounter friends and enemies both old and new, charming and dangerous. Who can they trust? Entwined histories reel them towards a single path, a spire of ice and a conspiracy older than humankind.

In Grail of the Summer Stars, a haunting, powerful tale of two worlds and those caught between, Freda Warrington weaves an exciting story of suspense, adventure and danger that fulfills the promise of the Aetherial Tales as only she can.

GRAIL OF THE SUMMER STARS is available from all major eBook retailers. Here are some relevant links:

All three of the novels — the first two are ELFLAND and MIDSUMMER NIGHT — are available from all major eBook retailers.

Here are just a few of the great reviews that the Aetherial Tales novels have received…

‘This dreamlike, nuanced and sensual novel is reminiscent of the best of early Charles de Lint and is compulsively readable. Rose is a memorable, unique and wholly sympathetic protagonist, and the supporting cast is equally well drawn. The story of Rose and Sam is compelling, enchanting and utterly enthralling. This is simply one of the best fantasy novels of the year.’ — RT Book Reviews on ELFLAND

‘ELFLAND… is an exhilarating, wondrous read. The scope of the imagination is breathtaking, as is Ms. Warrington’s evocative writing… a fabulous, remarkable, literary modern fairy tale. Absolutely recommended…’ — Book Smugglers

‘a distinctive spin on human/nonhuman relations in this sensuous, relationship-driven story… Solid wordplay, great pacing and a thrilling conclusion will definitely earn Warrington some new American fans.’ — Publishers Weekly on ELFLAND

‘unlike the urban fantasy books that have taken over most of the fantasy section, this is old school fantasy. Magic that’s full of awe and wonder. It reminds you why we love this kind of story in the first place… Each book [MIDSUMMER NIGHT and ELFLAND] is a stand-alone volume and an absolute delight… I have a lot of fun with the kinds of fantasy/supernatural books that dominate the field at the moment, but none of them can match a novel such as either of these two — for storytelling that takes you where you don’t expect to go, and for that exquisite sense of wonder that makes the heart of this old reader sing.’ — Charles de Lint

‘moody and spine-shivering sequel… Warrington doesn’t miss a beat with this sinister, ghostly tale of some of the darker aspects of the Aetherial world and its denizens’ dealings with humanity.’ — Publishers Weekly on MIDSUMMER NIGHT

‘This is the second book in Warrington’s Aetherial Tales series, and while it is only loosely connected to the first volume, it is every bit as evocative and compelling. Gill is an intelligent and prickly protagonist and the mystery at Cairndonan is one of family secrets, great art and magic.’ — RT Book Reviews on MIDSUMMER NIGHT

‘Freda Warrington deftly weaves together contemporary art and ageless magic in this vivid, atmospheric fantasy.’ — Tricia Sullivan on GRAIL OF THE SUMMER STARS

‘A classy, beautifully rendered tale that persuasively builds from low-key beginnings into a complex enterprise with real heft, a rich back story and characters that grow with the narrative. A must for existing fans, while being easily accessible to newcomers.’ — Kirkus on GRAIL OF THE SUMMER STARS

Warrington is also the author of the Blood Wine series, published by Titan Books in the UK and North America.

Anne Griffin’s WHEN ALL IS SAID Out Next Month in US Paperback!

Posted on Tuesday, February 25th, 2020

Anne Griffin‘s critically-acclaimed, best-selling debut novel, WHEN ALL IS SAID is due to be published in a new paperback edition next month in North America! The new edition is due out from St. Martin’s Press on March 24th. Here’s the synopsis…

“I’m here to remember — all that I have been and all that I will never be again.”

If you had to pick five people to sum up your life, who would they be? If you were to raise a glass to each of them, what would you say? And what would you learn about yourself, when all is said?

At the bar of a grand hotel in a small Irish town sits 84-year-old Maurice Hannigan. He’s alone, as usual ­– though tonight is anything but. Pull up a stool and charge your glass, because Maurice is finally ready to tell his story.

Over the course of this evening, he will raise five toasts to the five people who have meant the most to him. Through these stories — of unspoken joy and regret, a secret tragedy kept hidden, a fierce love that never found its voice — the life of one man will be powerfully and poignantly laid bare.

Beautifully heart-warming and deeply felt, the voice of Maurice Hannigan will stay with you long after all is said and done.

WHEN ALL IS SAID is published in the UK and Ireland by Sceptre, and has been widely published in translation. Here is just a small selection taken from the aforementioned critical acclaim…

‘Griffin’s portrait of an Irish octogenarian provides a stage for the exploration of guilt, regret, and loss, all in the course of one memorable night.’ — Kirkus

‘Maurice’s humor, his keen observations on class and family, and his colloquial language, as well as Griffin’s strong sense of place, create the feeling of a life connected to many others by strands of affection and hatred.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘… an admirable, likable novel. Griffin’s protagonist, flawed and sad, is a good guy who’s decided to address some long-hidden wounds. Fortunately, he has all night.’ — Star Tribune

‘Anne Griffin’s debut novel is a must read. Beautifully observed, masterful story telling – stunning!’ — Graham Norton

‘An extraordinary novel, a poetic writer, and a story that moved me to tears… There is something special here.’ — John Boyne

‘A hugely enjoyable, engrossing novel, a genuine page-turner. Maurice is a fabulous character, wonderfully flawed and completely engaging; his voice is familiar and real, full of sadness and regret and defiance, and unexpected tenderness.’ — Donal Ryan, award-winning author of The Spinning Heart

‘[An] impressively confident debut … Maurice Hannigan emerges as an engaging, compassionate creation’ — Guardian

‘Beautifully written, unhurried and thoughtful, a lonely man truthfully wrought and a character you love from the off, in spite of his flaws or maybe because of them… a terrific debut.’ — Kit de Waal

ADLER’s Adventures Continue in 3 Weeks!

Posted on Friday, February 21st, 2020

The first issue of Lavie Tidhar‘s ADLER comic series was met with a veritable tsunami of praise, so there is no doubt plenty of excitement about the second issue. Today, we share with you the three fantastic variant covers for ADLER #2! Due to be published by Titan Comics on March 11th, here’s the synopsis…

After uniting some of the most famous heroines of the Victorian age including Jane Eyre, Miss Havisham and Marie Curie, Irene Adler must finally come face-to-face with Sherlock Holmes’s greatest nemesis, Moriarty!

World Fantasy Award winning writer Lavie Tidhar and TMNT artist Paul McCaffrey present an alternate history of the greatest literary characters of the 19th Century in the vein of Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen!

The cover up top is by Butch Guice, and here are the other two variant covers for ADLER #2, the first by Paul McCaffrey (series artist).

Lavie is also the author of the upcoming BY FORCE ALONE (Head of Zeus, Tor Books), a retelling of the Arthurian legend that has also been racking up some fantastic advance praise. Here are just three examples…

Tor Books due to publish Lavie Tidhar’s BY FORCE ALONE this summer!

Posted on Friday, February 14th, 2020

We’ve already shared the cover for the UK edition of Lavie Tidhar‘s upcoming next novel, BY FORCE ALONE. Above, you can see the equally striking North American cover — we’ve shared it a couple of times on Twitter already, but we thought you might like more details!

Due to be published by Tor Books on June 16th, 2020, here’s the synopsis…

A retelling of Arthurian myth for the age of Brexit and Trump…

Everyone thinks they know the story of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table.

The fact is they don’t know sh*t.

Arthur? An over-promoted gangster.
Merlin? An eldritch parasite.
Excalibur? A shady deal with a watery arms dealer.
Britain? A clogged sewer that Rome abandoned just as soon as it could.

A savage and cutting epic fantasy, equally poetic and profane, By Force Alone is at once a timely political satire, a magical adventure, and a subversive masterwork.

Here’s the UK cover again…

Lavie is the multi-award-winning author of a host of critically-acclaimed novels and short fiction, including UNHOLY GHOST, CENTRAL STATION (both published by Tachyon Publications), THE VIOLENT CENTURY (Tachyon), A MAN LIES DREAMING, CANDY (Scholastic), and many more.

Here’s just a small selection of the aforementioned critical acclaim that Lavie’s novels have received so far…

‘[O]ne of those lovely books that starts out presenting itself as one thing, and mutates into another almost without you seeing it… a game-player of a writer who uses the spectrum of science fiction canon for his pieces… a grand game of alternate worlds cast like jewels on the sand. The long second act is all dust and blood and madness and glory, and the fast third act comes down on you like a sharpened spade… Lavie Tidhar is a clever bastard, and this book is a box of little miracles.’ — Warren Ellis on UNHOLY LAND

‘The stories include some of Tidhar’s most beautiful prose, and his future Tel Aviv is among the most evocative settings in recent SF… Somehow, CENTRAL STATION combines a cultural sensibility too long invisible in SF with a sensibility which is nothing but classic SF, and the result is a rather elegant suite of tales.’ — Locus 

‘…savagely funny… A MAN LIES DREAMING, by the Israeli-born novelist Lavie Tidhar, has not been published with the fanfare bestowed on Martin Amis’s The Zone of Interest or Howard Jacobson’s J, but it is their equal for savage humour… Those who enjoy laughter in the dark will relish Tidhar’s parade of mordant ironies… This novel is weird, upsetting, unmissable.’ 5* — Telegraph

‘Vintage Lavie, and also I think his most fully accomplished novel yet. Nobody rides that fast-rolling wave separating schlocky pulp and serious literary sensibilities so deftly as Tidhar. He manages to make serious points about the benighted twentieth-century and its obsession with ‘supermen’ without ever letting the narrative slacken or the adventure pale. If Nietzche had written an X-Men storyline whilst high on mescaline, it might have read something like THE VIOLENT CENTURY.’ — Adam Roberts, author of Jack Glass

‘OSAMA has ushered Tidhar into the limelight… OSAMA is the narrative symphony Philip K. Dick wished he could have composed. Not only is it beautifully written, it is expertly crafted… OSAMA is a work of art. And Tidhar is a word-painter, constructing vibrant and poetic landscapes of narrative in spite of the novel’s dark and brooding subject matter. Too often, I am surprised by works that win the World Fantasy Award, among others in the speculative genres (none more so than the Bram Stoker Award). Sometimes the quality of winners doesn’t hold up and their nominations seem to be a matter of sheer star power or nepotism. In this case, I’m happy to say, the judges got it dead right.’ — Los Angeles Review of Books

‘Delicious pastiche of “noir” fiction from SF author Lavie Tidhar, set in a city where everything sweet and sugary is banned. Private eye Nelle searches for a lost teddy bear and uncovers a Chinatown-style conspiracy. You could think of it as The Malteser Falcon, or perhaps Double Inde-mint-y.’ — Financial Times (Summer Books of 2018) on CANDY

Nick Martell’s highly-anticipated THE KINGDOM OF LIARS is out in May!

Posted on Tuesday, February 11th, 2020

On May 7th, Gollancz is due to published the debut novel by Nick Martell, THE KINGDOM OF LIARS! Already generating some great buzz and pre-release reviews, here’s the synopsis for the first book in the Legacy of the Mercenary Kings series…

Michael was branded a traitor and his family exiled from courtly life after his father, David Kingman, murdered the king’s nine-year-old son.

Now he survives by conning, cheating and duelling minor royals in a weak attempt to strike back at the world that abandoned him and his family, sure all the while that his father must be innocent… and aware that some powerful secret lurks in the hot white emptiness of his mind.

So when the opportunity arrives to return to court, via the most dangerous of the King’s royal council, Michael takes it, hoping for clues to unlock his hidden past. Instead, he’s going to find a royal family spiralling into a self-serving dictatorship, as beyond the walls gun-wielding rebels clash against magically trained militia.

But if he can find his way to the truth, he could completely reverse the injustices which rule the Hollows… if Michael and his family can survive long enough to see it…

Here are just a few of the great pre-publication review the novel has been receiving…

‘An excellent fantasy debut, with engaging worldbuilding and a good mix between action and character. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, and look forward to following Nick’s sure-to-be lengthy writing career.’ — Brandon Sanderson, #1 New York Times bestseller author of THE WAY OF KINGS, and The Mistborn Trilogy

‘A symphony of loyalty, greed, family, and betrayal set in an innovative culture!’ — Tamora Pierce, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Tempests and Slaughter, The Song of the Lioness Quartet

‘With a smartly plotted story, great world-building, flawed but fascinating characters and plenty of mystery, THE KINGDOM OF LIARS is a terrific debut.’ — James Islington, author of The Shadow of What Was Lost, The Licanius Trilogy

‘Nick Martell’s debut THE KINGDOM OF LIARS lives up to its name, with so many truths and lies interwoven that nothing is as it seems and surprises lurk across every turn of the page. Michael Kingman — son of a traitor, faithful friend, unfaithful sibling, at turns selfish and selfless as he tries to discover the truth about his father’s treason and clear his family name, Michael’s tale is nothing, if not thrilling. An epic fantasy debut with a lot of promise, I’m excited to see what the future holds for Nick and Michael Kingman!’ — Ryan Van Loan, author of The Sin in the Steel

‘A richly rewarding fantasy that seethes with mysteries, fused with a Memento-style mindscrew of a magic system. This, dear readers, is the good stuff.’ — Jeremy Szal, author of Stormblood

‘THE KINGDOM OF LIARS is a tale of family, loyalty and leaving a legacy that none shall forget. This is certainly a book that you won’t be able to put down, and will linger with you long after you’ve read the last page.’ — Fantasy Hive

‘Martell’s taut, clever debut tells of rebellion and regicide in a world where the use of magic comes at the cost of one’s memories… Though the abundance of characters becomes overwhelming at times, their political maneuvers and varied motivations form a satisfying web. This smart, briskly told high fantasy entertains all the way until the unexpected end.’ — Publishers Weekly

Zeno represents Nick Martell in the UK & Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Roger Zelazny’s DAMNATION ALLEY Audiobook Edition out now in Poland!

Posted on Monday, February 10th, 2020

Roger Zelazny‘s classic DAMNATION ALLEY is now available in Poland as an audiobook! Published by Storytel as ALEJA POTĘPIENIA, here’s the synopsis…

Stany Zjednoczone, zniszczone po wojnie nuklearnej. Pozostali przy życiu ludzie skupiają się w małych enklawach. Tanner, brutalny człowiek gangu motocyklowego, otrzymuje szansę odkupienia swoich zbrodni. Ma dostarczyć leki z Los Angeles do leżącego na wschodnim wybrzeżu Bostonu. Jest to jednak misja niemalże samobójcza, bo musi pokonać radioaktywną pustynię, nękaną huraganami i burzami ognistymi, zamieszkaną przez mutanty i potwory.

A classic dystopian novel, DAMNATION ALLEY was first published in 1968. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Hell Tanner isn’t the sort of guy you’d mistake for a hero: he’s a fast-driving car thief, a smuggler, and a stone-cold killer. He’s also expendable — at least in the eyes of the Secretary of Traffic for the Nation of California. Tanner doesn’t care much for those eyes. You’d also never mistake Hell Tanner for a humanitarian. Facing life in prison for his various crimes, he’s given a choice; rot away his remaining years in a tiny jail cell, or drive cross-country and deliver a case of antiserum to the plague-ridden people of Boston, Massachusetts… if anyone is still alive there to receive it, that is. The chance of a full pardon does wonders for getting his attention. And don’t mistake this mission of mercy for any kind of normal road trip — not when there are radioactive storms, hordes of carniverous beasts, and giant, mutated scorpions to be found along every deadly mile between Los Angeles and the East Coast. But then, this is no normal part of America, you see. This is DAMNATION ALLEY…

A print edition of the novel is also available in Poland, published by Dom Wydawniczy Rebis.

Zeno represents Roger Zelazny in Translation, on behalf of the Zelazny Estate.