Category: Random Stuff

Series Spotlight: The THOMAS FOOL Novels by Simon Kurt Unsworth

Posted on Monday, September 7th, 2020

Like horror novels? Like crime and noir fiction? Then perhaps we could interest you in Simon Kurt Unsworth‘s acclaimed Thomas Fool novels? Published between 2015-16, THE DEVIL’S DETECTIVE and THE DEVIL’S EVIDENCE offer a fantastic twist on horror and noir fiction that is ‘Dark and luminous, compelling and insidious‘ and ‘transcends genre’ (Michael Marshall Smith).

Here’s the synopsis for the first novel…

In The Devil’s Detective, a sea change is coming to Hell… and a man named Thomas Fool is caught in the middle.

Thomas Fool is an Information Man, an investigator tasked with cataloging and filing reports on the endless stream of violence and brutality that flows through Hell. His job holds no reward or satisfaction, because Hell has rules but no justice. Each new crime is stamped “Do Not Investigate” and dutifully filed away in the depths of the Bureaucracy. But when an important political delegation arrives and a human is found murdered in a horrific manner — extravagant even by Hell’s standards — everything changes. The murders escalate, and their severity points to the kind of killer not seen for many generations. Something is challenging the rules and order of Hell, so the Bureaucracy sends Fool to identify and track down the killer…. But how do you investigate murder in a place where death is common currency? Or when your main suspect pool is a legion of demons? With no memory of his past and only an irresistible need for justice, Fool will piece together clues and follow a trail that leads directly into the heart of a dark and chaotic conspiracy. A revolution is brewing in Hell… and nothing is what it seems.

The Devil’s Detective is an audacious, highly suspenseful thriller set against a nightmarish and wildly vivid world. Simon Kurt Unsworth has created a phantasmagoric thrill ride filled with stunning set pieces and characters that spring from our deepest nightmares. It will have readers of both thrillers and horror hanging on by their fingernails until the final word. In Hell, hope is your worst enemy.

The Thomas Fool novels are out now, published by Del Rey in the UK and Anchor in North America.

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

‘Unsworth’s care in constructing an imaginary world enables him to make the most of his debut’s challenging concept: a hard-boiled detective novel set in Hell itself… Unsworth offers intriguing variations on traditional themes and some memorably hair-raising prose…’ — Publishers Weekly on THE DEVIL’S DETECTIVE

‘A clever spin on the traditional police procedural… Unsworth, a British author of numerous horror and supernatural short stories, makes his book-length debut, and it’s a rousing success. The story is well crafted, and the setting is ingeniously conceived: Hell is a real, tactile place, with a bureaucracy and corporate structure. We’ve seen other novels set in Hell, but we haven’t seen a Hell quite like this. Whether the premise is strong enough to support a series is an interesting question; at the very least, another novel would be most welcome.’ — Booklist on THE DEVIL’S DETECTIVE

‘With wit, ingenuity and prodigious timing, first-time British novelist Unsworth imagines an unsettling afterlife that at times feels uncomfortably close to some of the more unbearable regions of our waking dreams. The whodunit aspects of this novel may, in the end, be less interesting than the phantasmagorical details surrounding it. But that’s far less a complaint than a compliment of the author’s visionary gifts. A grand, nightmarish page-turner that will have you riveted.’ — Kirkus on THE DEVIL’S DETECTIVE

‘Hell as the setting for a noir investigation turns out to be as fun as it sounds in THE DEVIL’S DETECTIVE. Inventive and pacy, Simon Kurt Unsworth has created a world – underworld? – distinctly his own.’ — Andrew Pyper

‘THE DEVIL’S DETECTIVE grips. Unsworth’s storytelling is taut and lean, avoiding any lapses into potboiler… When he writes about Hell, he makes it downright hellish… The book eventually spins all this admittedly sumptuous horror into thought-provoking notions about salvation, hope and free will.’ — NPR

‘Unsworth’s conception of a spiritual universe where deeper understanding may itself be the greatest curse is as nuanced and ingenious as his depiction of “poor little Fool,” perhaps the most oddly endearing sleuth to come along in years. The scales are tipped a tad more toward gaudy savagery and gratuitous cruelty than toward more intellectual digressions and plot twists. Still, one suspects Thomas Fool will return, with more respect from readers than from his spiritual jailers. It’s less a whodunit than a ripsnorter, with an emphasis on the ripping. Or maybe the snorting.’ — Kirkus on THE DEVIL’S EVIDENCE

‘Unsworth’s imagination soars! THE DEVIL’S EVIDENCE is a twisted journey into the afterlife, a dark labyrinth of mystery, and a brilliant contemplation on identity, transgression, and our struggle to recognize that we each make our own heaven and our own hell. A fresh new voice in dark fiction. Don’t miss this series!’ — Christopher Golden

‘Truly a literary gem that plays out as a great mystery series with a one of a kind anti-hero!’ — BookPeople, Austin, Texas, on THE DEVIL’S EVIDENCE

‘The ultimate solution is a fairly clued surprise, and Unsworth’s creative worldbuilding leaves plenty of room for a sequel.’ — Publishers Weekly on THE DEVIL’S EVIDENCE

‘Do you love Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series? How about the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch? Like a bit of John Le Carre intrigue? If so, you will love THE DEVIL’S EVIDENCE. A hybrid between horror fantasy and crime procedural, Simon Kurt Unsworth’s novel had this writer hooked from its first opening, fiery lines… Unsworth has built a very horrible, yet believable universe with characters who you can hate as well as root for. While you don’t need to read the first novel to enjoy the second in the series, we really do recommend you start at the beginning. There’s a lot to take in and a great deal of character development to enjoy. A real page turner.‘ 10/10 — Starburst

For those who prefer audiobooks, both novels are also available in that format, published by Penguin Audio in the UK and Random House Audio in North America.

Audio Spotlight: Algis Budrys

Posted on Friday, August 28th, 2020

This week, we wanted to draw your attention to four classic sci-fi novels by Algis Budrys: WHO?, ROGUE MOON, MICHAELMAS and HARD LANDING. Each of these is available as an audiobook, published by W. F. Howes. Here are some more details…

WHO? was first published in 1958, and was a finalist for a Hugo Award for Best Novel (1959). It was also nominated for a BSFA 50th Anniversary Award in 2007. In 1974, it was adapted into a movie starring Elliott Gould. Here’s the synopsis…

Set against a backdrop of Cold War paranoia, this futuristic novel about identity and technology is “one of the unrecognized classics of SF” (Locus).

East and West have fused into separate superstates known as the Allied National Government (ANG) and the Soviet International Bloc (SIB). As the Cold War rages, brilliant scientist Lucas Martino works on a top-secret project known only as K-Eighty-eight that could alter the balance of world power. The project goes horribly awry at an Allied research facility near the Soviet border, and Martino is abducted.

After several months of tense negotiations, he returns severely injured from the lab explosion, and under pressure from America, undergoes extensive reconstructive surgery. He has a mechanical arm. His polished metal skull-a kind of craniofacial prosthesis-contains few discernible features. Several of his internal organs are artificial. While his fingerprints are identified as belonging to Lucas Martino, they could be the result of transplant. Is he the real Martino? Or a technologically altered impostor sent by America’s enemies for the purpose of spying and infiltration? Tasked with uncovering the truth, ANG Security Chief Shawn Rogers makes some shocking discoveries.

Narrated in chapters alternating between Rogers and Martino, Who? poses existential questions about the human condition.

Budrys’s acclaimed ROGUE MOON, first published in 1960, was a Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel. It is also available as a SF Masterwork edition. Here’s the synopsis…

A monstrous apparatus has been found on the surface of the moon. It devours and destroys in ways so incomprehensible to humans that a new language must be invented to describe it and a new kind of thinking to understand it. So far, the human guinea pigs sent there in hopes of unraveling the murderous maze have all died terrible deaths — except the last, now on suicide watch. The ideal candidate won’t go insane, even as he feels the end approaching. And now they think they’ve found their man.

Al Barker has already stared into the face of death-he can handle it again. But Barker won’t merely have to endure the trauma of dying: he will have to endure it over and over again-mentally linked to an ongoing series of duplicates of himself created and sent to the Moon by matter transmission-until the artifact reveals its secret.

With a cast of fascinating characters taking center stage, Rogue Moon is a rare thriller that doesn’t just make you sweat-it makes you think.

Budrys’s MICHAELMAS was amazingly prescient. Published shortly in the (very) early internet era — 1977 — it included science fictional elements that would come to reflect certain technological advances that actually happened. The novel also landed on Locus’s Best SF Novel lists, two years running (1977-8). Here’s the synopsis…

One of the world’s wealthiest and most influential men, journalist Laurent Michaelmas lives in a penthouse overlooking New York City’s Central Park with his superintelligent computer, Domino. He attained his fame and power after hacking into the worldwide computer network. He then went on to use his unique gifts to create a version of the UN that would ensure global peace. In short, he and Domino secretly run the world. But now he has reason for concern.

A Swiss doctor has cured an astronaut believed to have vaporized in a shuttle explosion during an expedition to the outer planets of the solar system. Suspecting that something extraterrestrial is behind this miraculous recovery, Michaelmas uses his immense influence to launch an international investigation. Are there really aliens in their midst? Is the resurrection of a dead man an attempt to cancel history and destroy the world’s precarious balance of power?

Published less than a decade into the internet era, this remarkable science fiction novel foreshadows many of the world’s technological advances.

HARD LANDING was published in 1993, after the author took a bit of a break from longer fiction. It was nominated for Nebula and SF Chronicle Best Novel awards; and also for the Kurd Lasswitz in Germany, for Best Foreign Novel.

A science fiction adventure told from the point of view of aliens who crash-land on Earth and must assimilate in secret — until their human cover is blown Budrys’s final novel opens with the report of a man found electrocuted on suburban train tracks in Shoreview, Illinois. Neville Sealman appeared to be just another commuter, but after his tragic death, no one comes forward to claim his body. And a routine autopsy reveals some disturbing physiological anomalies. Then a spaceship is unearthed in a New Jersey swamp. It’s the stuff of tabloids-except it’s all true.Years earlier, a starship crash-landed on Earth. Its passengers, human in appearance, were forced to go their separate ways in an alien world. No one knows that these otherworldly visitors have been living among the human race-but now their cover could be blown.

Told in the form of an investigation reconstructed through direct and indirect witness testimony, Hard Landing takes the listener into the minds of its four protagonists as they struggle with the far-reaching ramifications of discovery. This is a suspenseful and revelatory novel about the elusive, ever-changing nature of identity.

These novels are also available as eBooks, published by Open Road Media, joined by two others: FALLING TORCH and THE FURIOUS FUTURE.

Three Weeks: North American Edition of Lavie Tidhar’s THE CANDY MAFIA

Posted on Wednesday, August 12th, 2020

Lavie Tidhar‘s acclaimed first novel for younger readers, CANDY, is due to be published in North America in three weeks! Peachtree Publishing will release the novel as THE CANDY MAFIA, with illustrations by Daniel Duncan, on September 1st. Here’s the synopsis…

In a city where candy is a crime and sugar is scandalous, Nelle Faulker is a 12-year-old private detective looking for her next client.

When notorious candy gangster Eddie de Menthe asks for her help to find a missing teddy bear, Nelle Faulkner is on the case. But as soon as the teddy turns up, Eddie himself goes missing! As a seemingly innocent investigation unravels into something more sinister, Nelle and her friends quickly find themselves swept up in a shady underworld of sweets smugglers, back alley deals, and storefront firebombs.

If Nelle has any hope of tracking down her missing client, first she’ll have to unmask the true faces behind the smuggling ring. Can Nelle and her friends find a way to take the cake? Or will they come to a sticky end…?

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets Bugsy Malone in this page-turning mystery from World Fantasy Award-winning author Lavie Tidhar. With moody spot illustrations by Daniel Duncan, readers will be sucked into the action-packed narrative as Nelle pulls the curtain back on the black market candy rings.

The novel is published in the UK by Scholastic (with illustrations by Mark Beech), and has also been translated into German, French, Czech, Polish and Italian.

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

‘In his first book for younger readers, he creates perhaps his most chilling vision yet: a city where sweets are forbidden under a prohibition act… The tone is as hard-boiled as a cough drop. The jokes sizzle like Space Dust. CANDY is a treat, the kind of confection Roald Dahl and Raymond Chandler might have come up with after an all-night bonbon bender.’ — Financial Times

‘A perfectly pitched noir take on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory… delightful premise… as with Tidhar’s earlier work, his playful approach to genre is in service to the story’s hidden depths. He uses the trappings of noir detective tales to tell a subversive children’s story about corruption, the exploitation of vulnerable communities, and the limits of justice. The end result is a novel that for all its joyous sense of fun still packs a surprising emotional and philosophical punch… The whole thing is tied together by Tidhar’s wonderful character work and his excellent prose… engages in some beautiful, chocolate and candy themed descriptions which perfectly capture the playground noir aesthetic. Tidhar’s characters are drawn with surprising depth and sympathy, with only a few key scenes and interactions he is able to penetrate to the core of loneliness and desperation for belonging that inspires so many of his candy thugs and bullies, giving them believable humanising moments. Most importantly, we never lose sight of the characters as children, which is necessary for the novel to carry off its conceit.’ — Fantasy Faction

‘Like a mini Miss Marple meets Maynards… this mouthful of mystery will leave every reader feeling like a child in a sweetshop; just craving to read more from Lavie!’ — Reader Teacher

‘Candy is one of those books that do not take children and teenagers for fools. The story is able to change shifts, thanks to lot of humour, to more serious subjects. Of course, we can enjoy it at any age. If possible, the book should be served in place of dessert.’ — Geektest (France)

‘Due to the wonderfully fluent writing style, the pleasantly short chapters and the rousing plot, I devoured the book in record time. For girls and boys from the age of 10, who like to read exciting, funny, imaginative detective stories, “Secret Agent Candy” is just perfect. I really hope that this is a start of a series and we will soon be able to solve their second, tricky case together with Nelle… Exciting, funny, bizarre and just awesome!’ — Die Bücherwelt von CorniHolmes (Germany)

‘CANDY is the case when a children’s book can actually be interesting at any age. Children will appreciate the plot and humour, adults – a lot of references scattered throughout the text and how unexpectedly and funny elements of the classic “cool” and noir detective story are refracted, if you put them in the context of a children’s literature. Fun, playful and exciting.’ — Fantalab (Russia)

Vector Readings featuring Ian R. MacLeod!

Posted on Thursday, July 30th, 2020

Just a quick post to share this video of Ian R. MacLeod reading from his work, published as part of the Vector Reading Series!

Ian is the acclaimed author of a great many novels, short stories and more. Many of Ian’s books have recently been re-issued via the JABberwocky eBook Program.

Ian McDonald’s THE DERVISH HOUSE Turns 10!

Posted on Wednesday, July 29th, 2020

Ten years ago today, Ian McDonald‘s highly-acclaimed, award-winning THE DERVISH HOUSE was first published in the UK! Published by Gollancz, here’s the synopsis…

In the CHAGA novels Ian McDonald brought an Africa in the grip of a bizarre alien invasion to life, in RIVER OF GODS he painted a rich portrait of India in 2047, in BRASYL he looked at different Brazils, past present and future. Ian McDonald has found renown at the cutting edge of a movement to take SF away from its British and American white roots and out into the rich cultures of the world.

THE DERVISH HOUSE continues that journey and centres on Istanbul in 2025. Turkey is part of Europe but sited on the edge, it is an Islamic country that looks to the West. THE DERVISH HOUSE is the story of the families that live in and around its titular house, it is at once a rich mosaic of Islamic life in the new century and a telling novel of future possibilities.

The novel has racked up a number of great awards and commendations since its release. For example…

  • John W. Campbell Memorial Award, Winner (2011)
  • BSFA Award, Best Novel Winner (2011)
  • SF Site Readers Poll, SF/Fantasy Novel, Winner (2011)
  • Seiun Award, Translated Novel, Nominee (2015)
  • Hugo Award, Best Novel Nominee (2011)
  • Arthur C. Clark Award, Shortlist (2011)
  • Locus Award, Best SF Novel, 3rd Place (2011)

In addition to UK and North American editions (Pyr Books originally, now available via JABberwocky), the novel has been published quite widely in translation, with editions appearing in Turkey (Pegasus), Poland (MAG), France (Denoël/Gallimard), Hungary (Ad Astra), Bosnia (Paladin), Russia (ACT), Japan (東京創元社), and Bulgaria (Altera)! It is also available as an audiobook. Here are the covers…

And, finally, here are just a few of the great reviews the novel has received since it was first published…

‘… a writer with an unerring instinct for finding resonance between theme and location… a rich and assured novel that, like much of Ken MacLeod’s recent work, revels in the shiny precision of the airport tech-thriller, yet insists on putting forward disquieting ideas rather than offering all-too-neat reassurances that you can somehow put escaped djinns back in bottles. This is as good as contemporary literary SF gets.’ — SFX (5* Review)

‘I know what to expect from Ian McDonald: broad vistas, intricately imagined futures, poetic language that transports and delights, a blend of mysticism and science that thrills and moves. But no matter how much foreknowledge I bring to a new Ian McDonald, I am always, always startled and thrilled by the exciting, moving epic story I find inside… To read McDonald is to fall in love with a place and to become drunk with it (see this free sample from Dervish House for a taste). I you’ve never read him, you’re in for a treat. If you’re a fan like me, you’ll be delighted anew. What a wonderful, wonderful book.’ — BoingBoing

‘[T]hrilling… A master in his own right, McDonald has written some of the best SF of the last fifteen years… a mosaic of a story that can be admired for its finely-wrought pieces but not fully appreciated until the book is finished and looked at again from some distance. The biggest part of the thrill is wondering how the characters will inevitably intersect… As much as THE DERVISH HOUSE is about biogenetics and history, McDonald couches some of his lushest prose in explorations of mysticism… McDonald, who is a native of Scotland, has an uncanny ability to write about other cultures authentically. He is a painstaking researcher and while he cannot always write with absolute authority, his dedication to making settings and characters feel alive is incredibly impressive… Ian McDonald has crafted a gorgeously lush novel, oozing with exciting, relevant ideas, a love letter to the Queen of Cities, to all cities, really.’ — Tor.com

‘A lush, complex and hugely entertaining novel.’ — Guardian

‘… Istanbul, the Queen of Cities, and the setting for Ian McDonald’s near-future story of terrorism, nanotechnology and change rushing over us like a tidal wave of strangeness. Like his novels about the future of Indian, African and Brazilian society, McDonald’s new book is a conscientious attempt to write the Other from the inside and accept the possibility that the Anglo world may be a sideline… a brilliant, jewelled machine of a novel in which lives trigger events in other lives, in a sequence that skirts chaos and disaster, but ends with gorgeous order.’ — Independent

‘Those who have previously enjoyed McDonald’s narrative style will find a great deal to like in THE DERVISH HOUSE… McDonald’s writing has been steadily improving in terms of its lyrical and descriptive quality over the years, and it seems his recent foray into short stories with CYBERABAD DAYS has helped his focus and tightness. Several passages shine with literary flow and power… McDonald keeps his story fresh with every chapter and its flickering viewpoints, giving a series of snapshots that come together to form a panorama of his world. THE DERVISH HOUSE is an excellent sci-fi tale from a phenomenal writer, one who deserves every plaudit that can be heaped upon him. Those who appreciate slow-burning, dense and creative genre work should get this book now.’  —  SciFiNow

‘If you only read one SF book this year… make sure it’s Ian McDonald’s THE DERVISH HOUSE… I wish I’d written this!!! … It’s too bloody good for comfort… THE DERVISH HOUSE takes the expansive cultural mosaic of  RIVER OF GODS, multiplies it by the driving Latin beat and teetering sense of jeopardy in BRASYL, and gives you a novel that is his best yet by a whole new order of imaginative and sensuous magnitude… I cannot recommend it highly enough.’ — Richard K. Morgan (author of Altered Carbon and The Steel Remains)

‘[I]n THE DERVISH HOUSE, aspects of the geography, socioeconomic, religious and political groups do come alive – perhaps not as full characters, but as not-quite separate personalities within Istanbul – a city suffering and celebrating its multiple personalities… McDonald’s tried and true strategy of exploring the people of emerging economies in combination with the implications of technology on society in a near-future setting succeeds once again… It’s at times powerful, informative, and fun and another example of science fiction alive in our world.’ — NethSpace

‘[B]uilds on the complex, multi-layered narratives that McDonald has already produced in RIVER OF GODS and BRASYL. Like them, the very richness of the bustling world, the differing ways in which a range of characters intersect with the world, makes for a convincing portrait of the near future. In both those earlier novels, the past is the foundation upon which the future has been built, but the new novel goes further, because here the past is inescapable and the future perhaps unreachable. You feel that ten or so years from now, Istanbul could be just the way it is described here. The most important thing, though, is that as a kaleidoscopic portrait of that place at that time, THE DERVISH HOUSE is a very fine, very powerful novel indeed.’ — SF Site

‘[A] beautiful homage to one of most unique cities on earth… Nominated for the Hugo Award last week, THE DERVISH HOUSE is a worthy addition to that tradition. It is certainly one of the best novels I read in 2010. McDonald asks a lot his readers, but he rewards them with a beautiful novel that I believe will appeal to traditional readers in some ways more than lovers of genre fiction.’ — Staffer’s Book Review

‘[A]n audacious look at the shift in the power centers of the world and an intense vision of one possible future.’ — New York Times

One Week Remaining: Lavie Tidhar’s WORLD SF 3 StoryBundle!

Posted on Saturday, July 25th, 2020

Just a quick reminder that the Lavie Tidhar-curated World SF 3 StoryBundle is still available, but expires in one week! It has already been very popular, and we wanted to just draw your attention to it again, in case you missed it. It is a fantastic way to not only discover international authors you may not have tried before, but also contribute to a good cause. You can read Lavie’s full introduction to the bundle on his website.

Available worldwide, the StoryBundle features titles drawn from authors from around the world. For just $5 (or more, if you’re feeling generous), you’ll get the basic bundle of four books in any ebook format…

  • The Silence of the Wilting Skin by Tlotlo Tsamaase
  • Love and Other Poisons by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  • IN THE VANISHERS’ PALACE by Aliette de Bodard (the critically-acclaimed novella!)
  • The Heart of the Circle by Keren Landsman

If you pay at least the bonus price of just $15, you get all four of the regular books, plus these six additional books…

  • The Simoqin Prophecies by Samit Basu
  • Djinn City by Saad Z. Hossain
  • Poison Fairies by Luca Tarenzi
  • NEW ATLANTIS by Lavie Tidhar (with a gorgeous cover by Sarah Anne Langton)
  • Alphaland by Cristina Jurado
  • Heart of Iron by Ekaterina Sedia

10 Minutes with James P. Blaylock

Posted on Saturday, July 18th, 2020

James P. Blaylock joins the growing number of Zeno clients who have guested on Jonathan Strahan’s excellent ’10 Minutes With’ series on the Coode Street Podcast. The episode is embedded above, or you can find it on your regular podcast app.

James P. Blaylock is the author of, most recently, THE GOBBLIN’ SOCIETY — a new Langdon St. Ives novella, published by Subterranean Press in North America and Limited Edition Hardcover, and by JABberwocky elsewhere. Here’s the synopsis…

For more than thirty years, James P. Blaylock has enthralled and delighted readers with a series of stories, novels and novellas featuring Langdon St. Ives, adventurer, man of science, Victorian gentleman. The best of these, such as Beneath London, Lord Kelvin’s Machine, andThe Aylesford Skull are among the most stylish, consistently witty entertainments of recent years. The Gobblin’ Society, the latest episode in St. Ives’s colorful career, belongs very much in that company.

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.

Blaylock’s Langdon St. Ives novels are published in the UK and North America by Titan Books, and his novellas are published by Subterranean Press (North America) and JABberwocky (elsewhere in English).

Other clients who have appeared on the show include Lavie Tidhar, Aliette de Bodard, Ian McDonald, and also Zeno Managing Director John Berlyne.

Freda Warrington on the JEWELFIRE TRILOGY

Posted on Wednesday, July 15th, 2020

Today, we have a short piece by Freda Warrington, who reflects upon her Jewelfire Trilogy. Originally published by Earthlight (Simon & Schuster), the series is also now available as audiobooks via Audible:

  1. THE AMBER CITADEL (1999)
  2. THE SAPPHIRE THRONE (2000)
  3. THE OBSIDIAN TOWER (2001)

*

Meet the Bhahdradomen:

They consume life to the bare bones, even consume space itself, but at the end of it they are still thin, still hungry.

It’s strange to reflect on backlist books that came out around 20 years ago. I came across parts I don’t even remember writing! And the thought process that brought them to fruition is hazed by time. While I’ve written in different subgenres, the Jewelfire series is my only truly traditional Fat Fantasy Trilogy – well, we all have to write one, don’t we?

After writing various other things – vampires, supernatural, one-offs and contemporary fantasy fiction – various factors made me decide it was trilogy time. And I wanted to make mine a bit different, not the usual fare of elves, wizards and dark lords. Of course there has been an explosion of fantasy series since then, in every possible permutation – not least “grimdark”, which covers all the pearl-clutching territory where Tolkien dared not tread – but 20-something years ago, I suspect that different approaches were thinner on the ground. THE AMBER CITADEL of course has a dark lord, but is he truly evil or trying to regain territory that his people, the Bhadradomen, lost in battle centuries ago? And this land, Aventuria, has a king who is not lost but who has lost the plot, to put it mildly. Here’s a short summary of the story:

Two hundred and fifty years ago, humans defeated the shape-changing Bhahdradomen in the War of the Silver Plains. Although they are exiled, the shapechangers’ hatred and jealousy of humans live on. Now, in the failings of a human king, they find a way to assuage that hatred. Meanwhile a third race, the mysterious Aelyr, although they also consider the Bhahdradomen enemies, keep apart from human realms.

Tanthe and Ysomir are sisters, living in the village of Riverwynde, two thousand miles from the capital city Parione. While Ysomir is in love with Lynden, son of the village leader, Tanthe is bored with rural life and longs for the wonders of Parione. But the growing madness of King Garnelys and the Bhahdradomen’s wiles soon lead to terrible events, the abduction of Ysomir, and the beginning of a long journey for Tanthe, Lynden and his brother Rufryd, as they set out for the Amber Citadel of Parione.

THE AMBER CITADEL was well received. It was shortlisted for the British Fantasy Society Award for Best Novel 1999, and Waterstone’s review magazine described it as, ‘By far the best mainstream fantasy I’ve read this year!’

THE SAPPHIRE THRONE – Book Two. I really enjoyed writing this book. It’s not a volume of filler between books one and three; on the contrary, all the characters are on voyages of discovery and meanwhile… the Bhahdradomen are rising! Because I didn’t have to build the story to a monumental climax – I still had the final novel to do all that – I was more relaxed in the writing of it and I think my enjoyment shows. Quick summary:

The destinies of Tanthe and Ysomir, sisters whose journeys from their village home of Riverwynde had a massive impact on the war, have driven them apart. Ysomir is held in the Citadel, accused of murder. Tanthe is pulled through a portal to the realm of the mysterious Aelyr who have schemes of their own. Rufryd, meanwhile, rages against the world and becomes Helananthe’s ambassador to the Bhahdradomen on the island of Vexor, where a terrifying fate awaits him.

This also received some approving comments, despite Tanthe not always making the best decisions! David Langford wrote, ‘Warrington plays ironic games with fantasyland expectations… Even the traditional quest for a cache of ultimate weapons against evil goes unexpectedly awry… By the end, after multiple betrayals, Aventuria is in blacker trouble than ever. Warrington’s trickiness and energy breathe life into the sometimes tired genre of mainstream commercial fantasy.’ And a reviewer from Helensbookshelf.co.uk also enjoyed the adventure: ‘The story is exciting and well paced and Freda Warrington throws surprises in almost every chapter. She turns the expected fantasy storylines on their heads and writes something a bit different with a strong personality – often sorely lacking in the fantasy realm. The ending leaves things in such a desperate state I NEED to get my hands on the next book to find out what happens.’

There wasn’t too long to wait for Book Three, THE OBSIDIAN TOWER. All seems lost, of course:

The shape-changing Bhahdradomen have invaded their lands and usurped their Queen, aided by the Aelyr lord Falthorn. Queen Helananthe has been forced to stand down or see the deaths of her mother and brother.

Tanthe, imprisoned with her friends in the Amber Citadel, must face great peril as they make desperate plans to escape. But even if they succeed, her sister Ysomir is still imprisoned at the mercy of the terrifying Bhahdradomen leader, Vaurgroth. One by one all strands of hope are cut. Deserted by allies, betrayed by Falthorn’s dark machinations, the Nine Realms appear doomed. Human, Aelyr and shape-shifter alike are haunted by visions of the final portent, the mysterious Obsidian Tower; a Bhahdradomen myth, a place that may or may not exist, and the heart of Tanthe’s darkest fears.

Here it is, then, the grand climax of the trilogy, which weighs in at a whopping 708 pages! I think I produced a fitting end to the story… I certainly put heart and soul into it. If there’s anything I’d change about this book – without spoilers – I would make the ending rather less bleak. I think I went too far with one of the characters. However, maybe I should stick to my guns; after all, in real life, untimely and tragic deaths do happen. In mitigation, I should add that this wasn’t meant to be the end of the Aventuria tales… it was always a case of ongoing struggle rather than happy-ever-after!

So will there be any more from the Jewelfire world? I honestly don’t know. However, these are the last of my backlist novels yet to be reissued in eBook formats. Reissuing means a fresh read through, plus re-editing and polishing. It may even mean small changes to the plot, putting right bits where the author thinks, ‘Gaah, I wish I’d done that differently!’ You might think of reissued novels as the Director’s Cut!

Watch this space.

Lavie Tidhar launches The World SF 3 Bundle!

Posted on Saturday, July 11th, 2020

In case you missed its announcement yesterday: Lavie Tidhar has launched The World SF 3 Bundle! Curated by Lavie, it not only helps highlight SFF talent from around the world, but proceeds also go to a good cause. Here’s what Lavie had to say about the bundle…

I’m delighted to be launching a third World SF bundle in what I can only hope is by now an annual tradition. In the midst of some extraordinary turmoil across the globe, it takes writers from all corners of the Earth to weave profound new truths out of fantasies and paint new futures out of difficult pasts and turbulent presents.

The writers here come from Botswana and Bangladesh; Russia, Italy and France; Mexico, Spain, Israel and India. They are all of them fantastic, and I couldn’t be happier sharing their work with you.

It shouldn’t need saying, and yet it does: Black Lives Matter. I couldn’t think of a better match for this bundle than to partner up with the African Speculative Fiction Society and associated Nommo Awards for our chosen charity. The ASFS is an organization of African writers, editors, comic and graphic artists and filmmakers in the fields of speculative fiction. As spokesperson (and fantastic author) Chinelo Onwualu says on the society site, it’s there to “provide a place where writers, readers, and scholars can come together to find information, connect with each other, and act as watchdogs for their collective interests.”

For StoryBundle, you decide what price you want to pay. For $5 (or more, if you’re feeling generous), you’ll get the basic bundle of four books in any ebook format—WORLDWIDE…

  • The Silence of the Wilting Skin by Tlotlo Tsamaase
  • Love and Other Poisons by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  • IN THE VANISHERS’ PALACE by Aliette de Bodard (the critically-acclaimed novella!)
  • The Heart of the Circle by Keren Landsman

If you pay at least the bonus price of just $15, you get all four of the regular books, plus six additional books…

  • The Simoqin Prophecies by Samit Basu
  • Djinn City by Saad Z. Hossain
  • Poison Fairies by Luca Tarenzi
  • NEW ATLANTIS by Lavie Tidhar (with a gorgeous cover by Sarah Anne Langton)
  • Alphaland by Cristina Jurado
  • Heart of Iron by Ekaterina Sedia

This bundle is available only for a limited time via StoryBundle — where you can also find more information about each of the titles included in the two bundle tiers. It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other eReaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub, .mobi) for all books.

The bundle will be available until August 1st.

Short Fiction Watch: Lavie Tidhar in THE BEST OF BRITISH FANTASY 2019!

Posted on Friday, July 3rd, 2020

We’re happy to report that Lavie Tidhar has a story included in Newcon Press‘s THE BEST OF BRITISH FANTASY 2019, which is out now! Specifically, his story DEM BONES is included in the anthology. Here’s the book’s synopsis…

Editor Jared Shurin has determined to uncover the very best work published by British and British-based authors in 2019, ending up with as diverse and surprising a set of stories as you are likely to find anywhere. Full of wonder, wit, delight and malevolence. These stories range from traditional to contemporary fantasy, written by a mix of established authors and new voices, combining to provide a veritable potpourri of the fantastical.

Lavie is the multi-award winning author of a growing number of critically-acclaimed novels, novellas and short stories. Three of his recent, award-winning novels are published by Tachyon Publication: UNHOLY LAND, CENTRAL STATION and THE VIOLENT CENTURY.

His most recent novel is BY FORCE ALONE, out now in the UK (Head of Zeus) and due out in August in North America (Tor Books).

ICYMI: HOW TO BE A BOSS AT AGEING with Anniki Sommerville (Podcast)

Posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2020

Above you can hear the trailer for Anniki Sommerville‘s new podcast, How to Be a Boss at Ageing! Launched a little while ago, you may have seen our Tweets about the series, but we wanted to post this reminder, too. Here’s the podcast’s description:

‘How to Be a Boss at Ageing’ is the irreverent and funny podcast by Anniki Sommerville which tackles the question- who the heck am I now that I’m an ‘older’ woman? Each episode tackles a different issue, interviewing different female experts and focusing on how to combat falling out of love with your work, dealing with grief, coping with menopause and look okay without people saying things behind your back.

The podcast is available from most podcast outlets, including Apple and Spotify. The first episode, ‘How to Be Less Grumpy at Work’ is out now.

Anniki Sommerville is the author of MOTHERWHELMED, which is out now published by One Chapter More. The author’s next book, THE B-WORD, is due to be published in September (eBook) and November 2020 (print).

Here are just a few reviews that MOTHERWHELMED has received so far…

‘Had me laughing and crying in equal measure – would recommend to anyone venturing into parenthood or considering it.’ — Anna Whitehouse aka Mother Pukka

‘I love Anniki’s writing on motherhood. It’s funny and totally honest, but also soulful and sometimes quite beautiful. She gets to the heart of the matter of what it feels like to be a mother.’ — Clover Stroud

‘Anniki has the magic touch of saying what many of us are too edited to say whilst also being hilarious – I don’t know many parents that haven’t felt the overwhelm and having someone so brilliantly put it on paper makes me feel like I’m not the only one.’ — Cherry Healey

‘It felt like it was written for me.’ — Kate Hiscox (@wearsmymoney)

‘Hilarious, painful and deeply accurate. . . I was torn between howling with laughter and wincing with pain.’ — Julia Williams

Short Fiction Watch: Ian McDonald in THE YEAR’S TOP HARD SCIENCE FICTION STORIES 4!

Posted on Friday, June 19th, 2020

In this instalment of Short Fiction Watch, we wanted to draw your attention to the upcoming collection THE YEAR’S TOP HARD SCIENCE FICTION STORIES 4. Edited by Allan Kaster, it includes THE MENACE FROM FARSIDE by Ian McDonald!

Here’s the relevant portion of the synopsis…

An unabridged collection spotlighting the best hard science fiction stories published in 2019 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster…

… A teenager seeks to maintain her “Captain” status among her non-traditional lunar family by leading her siblings on a dangerous trek to Neil Armstrong’s first footprint on the moon in “The Menace from Farside,” by Ian McDonald.

THE MENACE FROM FARSIDE is the prequel novella in Ian’s Luna series, and was originally published by Tor.com. Here’s the full synopsis…

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.

The highly acclaimed Luna series is published in North America by Tor Books, in the UK by Gollancz, and is available in a growing number of translated editions around the world.