We want to wish all of you a very happy holidays from all of us at Zeno Agency!
We hope you had a great 2019, and that 2020 brings you plenty of joy and success. (And many great books, of course.)
Category: Random Stuff
Short Fiction Watch: Justina Robson in LEGENDS 3!
We’re happy to share the news that one of Justina Robson‘s latest pieces of short fiction is in the new LEGENDS 3 collection! Published by NewCon Press, and edited by Ian Whates, Justina’s contribution is called “By Any Other Name“. Here’s the anthology’s synopsis…
David Gemmell passed away in 2006, leaving behind a legacy of memorable characters, epic settings, and thrilling tales. In the Legends anthologies, today’s finest fantasy authors pay homage to one of fantasy fiction’s greatest ever writers. Full of swordplay, treachery, deeds both dark and noble, with cunning thieves and wily tricksters, blood-thirsty gods and flawed heroes — welcome to Legends.
Justina is the author, most recently, of the acclaimed novels SALVATION’S FIRE, published by Solaris; and GLORIOUS ANGELS and SWITCH, published by Gollancz.
Ben Aaronovitch Announces RIVERS OF LONDON RPG with Chaosium!
This past Saturday, Ben Aaronovitch announced a new RPG based on the world of his acclaimed, best-selling Peter Grant novels! Revealed at Dragonmeet, the game is in development with Chaosium, and they will be working in close concert with Ben to develop a fantastic game. We can’t wait to play!
‘I’ve been an RPG player since the original D&D,’ said Ben, ‘so I’m terribly excited and honoured to have Rivers of London turned into a proper roleplaying game and especially because it’s with Chaosium, who produced Pendragon and Call of Cthulhu and such brilliant adaptations as Elric!’
Here’s what Lynne Hardy, associate line editor for Call of Cthulhu and Rivers project lead, said about the upcoming RPG…
‘I started reading Peter Grant’s adventures a few years ago and knew right away that the Folly would make a marvelous setting for an investigatory fantasy game. Ben was intrigued about the potential for a Rivers of London RPG when I broached the idea at a book signing late last year. After a meeting in London in April, we entered negotiations to secure the license.’
We’ll be sure to share any bits of news about the game’s development as and when we can.
Ben’s Peter Grant novels are published in the UK by Gollancz, in North America by Del Rey and DAW Books, and are also available widely in translation. (See Ben’s page for more information about international editions.)
In case you have yet to read any of Ben’s novels (or the comics that are also based on his characters), here’s the synopsis for the first novel, RIVERS OF LONDON…
My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (and as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit – we do paperwork so real coppers don’t have to – and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluble, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England.
Now I’m a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden… and there’s something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair.
The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it’s falling to me to bring order out of chaos – or die trying.
(N.B.: The first novel is published in North America as MIDNIGHT RIOT.)
The next novel in the series, FALSE VALUE, is due to be published in February 2020 by Orion (UK) and DAW Books (North America).
ARCANUM UNBOUNDED on sale all month!
Brandon Sanderson‘s ACANUM UNBOUNDED, a collection of short fiction set across his Cosmere universe, is a Kindle monthly deal in the UK! This is a great way to sample Brandon’s work, as well as gain extra insight into his various settings. Published in the UK by Gollancz, here’s the synopsis…
Welcome to New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller Brandon Sanderson’s first collection of short fiction.
These wonderful works, originally published individually, have been collected for the first time and convey the true expanse of the Cosmere. Telling the exciting tales of adventure Sanderson fans have come to expect, Arcanum Unbounded include the Hugo Award-winning novella ‘The Emperor’s Soul’, an excerpt from the graphic novel ‘White Sand’, and the never-before-published Stormlight Archive novella ‘Edgedancer’.
The collection will include nine works in all:
‘Edgedancer’ (Stormlight Archive)
‘The Hope of Elantris’ (Elantris)
‘The Eleventh Metal’ (Mistborn)
‘The Emperor’s Soul’ (Elantris)
‘Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania’ (excerpt; Mistborn)
‘White Sand’ (excerpt; Taldain)
‘Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell’ (Threnody)
‘Sixth of Dusk’ (First of the Sun)
‘Mistborn: Secret History’ (Mistborn)
This superb collection also includes essays and illustrations which offer an insight into the numerous worlds in which the stories are set.
Gollancz has published a considerable number of Brandon’s books in the UK, including his best-selling and fan-favourite Mistborn series, the Stormlight Archive, the Reckoners series, and most recently the Skyward series.
Zeno represents Brandon Sanderson in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.
Short Fiction Watch: IN XANADU and NEW ATLANTIS
In this edition of Short Fiction Watch, we wanted to draw your attention to two new piece by Lavie Tidhar!
First up, IN XANADU, a new story that was published on Tor.com (it’s also available as an eBook from the usual retailers). Here’s the synopsis…
Security through physicality. Security through redundancy. Security through obscurity. How do immortal artificial intelligences defend themselves? With an air gap. With a security force that has no connection to anything that can harm them. With a young woman, trained to fight and to die who, along with her cohort must keep them safe. But In Xanadu things don’t always go as planned…
And second, we also wanted to draw your attention to a new novella that was published in Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine, NEW ATLANTIS. Here’s how Lavie described the novella, in an interview for SF Site…
“New Atlantis” is a novella set in what I call the Land, a sort of post-apocalyptic utopia where the few survivors of the climate change collapse now live in harmony with their environment – but can still be kind of obsessed with the old world and its excesses! I’ve been writing stories about Mai and the Land for a while now – one of them is “The Buried Giant” in Robots vs Fairies, which is also in a bunch of the Year’s Bests anthologies, and there’s a new one, “Svalbard,” coming out as a sort of interactive/puzzle thing online soon!
Short Fiction Watch: Aliette de Bodard in ECHOES
Just a quick post today to bring to your attention the new anthology ECHOES, which contains a story by Aliette de Bodard! Published by Saga Press, it’s out now.
Everyone loves a good ghost story, especially Ellen Datlow — the most lauded editor in short works of supernatural suspense and dark fantasy. The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories is her definitive collection of ghost stories.
These twenty-nine stories, including all new works from New York Times bestselling authors Joyce Carol Oates, Alice Hoffman, Seanan McGuire, and Paul Tremblay, span from the traditional to the eclectic, from the mainstream to the literary, from pure fantasy to the bizarrely supernatural. Whether you’re reading alone under the covers with a flashlight, or around a campfire with a circle of friends, there’s something here to please — and spook — everyone.
Aliette is the multi-award winning author of many other short stories, novellas, novellettes and novels. Her most recent series, Dominion of the Fallen, is out now published by Gollancz in the UK, and in North America by Roc Books (#1-2) and JABberwocky (#3). It is also available in a growing number of translated editions.
Aliette is also the author of the acclaimed Xuya series of stories, including THE TEA MASTER AND THE DETECTIVE (Subterranean Press and JABberwocky), and various stories contained within OF WARS, AND MEMORIES, AND STARLIGHT (Subterranean Press).
The author’s most recent stand-alone novel is the highly-acclaimed IN THE VANISHERS’ PALACE, published by JABberwocky.
Tanya Huff Inducted into Canadian SFF Hall of Fame!
We’re very happy to report that Tanya Huff has been inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction & Fantasy Association’s Hall of Fame!
Huff is the author of, the acclaimed Confederation and Peacekeeper series, the Enchantment Emporium series, the stand-alone THE SILVERED — all of this are published in the UK by Titan Books.
Many congratulations to Tanya! A very well-deserved recognition!
The author’s latest novel in the UK is THE PRIVILEGE OF PEACE, the third novel in the Peacekeeper series. Here’s the synopsis…
Former space marine Torin Kerr returns for one final adventure to save the Confederation in the last book in the military science fiction Peacekeeper trilogy.
Warden Torin Kerr has put her past behind her and built a life away from the war and everything that meant. From the good, from the bad. From the heroics, from the betrayal. She’s created a place and purpose for others like her, a way to use their training for the good of the Confederation. She has friends, family, purpose.
Unfortunately, her past refuses to grant her the same absolution. Big Yellow, the ship form of the plastic aliens responsible for the war, returns. The Silsviss test the strength of the Confederation. Torin has to be Gunnery Sergeant Kerr once again and find a way to keep the peace.
Zeno represents Tanya Huff in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.
Anne Griffin’s WHEN ALL IS SAID Nominated for TWO Irish Book Awards!
We are delighted to share the news that Anne Griffin‘s acclaimed, best-selling debut novel WHEN ALL IS SAID has been nominated for two Irish Book Awards! The novel, published in Ireland and in the UK by Sceptre, is up for the Popular Fiction Book of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards.
Huge congratulations to Anne for both of these very well-deserved nominations!
Here’s the synopsis for the novel…
Five toasts. Five people. One lifetime.
‘I’m here to remember – all that I have been and all that I will never be again.’
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.
Heart-breaking and heart-warming all at once, the voice of Maurice Hannigan will stay with you long after all is said.
WHEN ALL IS SAID is also published in North America by St. Martin’s Press, and is available in a growing number of translated editions.
Here is just a small selection taken from the aforementioned critical acclaim…
‘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
‘An intimate character study of a wealthy 80-year-old Co Meath farmer, WHEN ALL IS SAID is also a study of extreme reticence and self-sabotage, giving voice to a man who, in matters of the heart, has all too often chosen to remain silent… Griffin’s strength is in voice and in the rhythm of her prose, which is rich without being overwritten. A winner of the John McGahern Award for Literature, she fits into the Irish lyrical tradition… but WHEN ALL IS SAID feels like a bridge between the past and the present, Maurice’s belated loquacity breaking open that familiar Irish silence… a testament to Griffin’s talent that she paints such a complete portrait of a man whose contrariness disguises his stoicism. By the end of the novel his humanity is clear; he has made himself known.’ — Independent
‘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
‘The most impressive aspects of this first novel from the pen of prize-winning short-story writer Anne Griffin are its rich, flowing prose, its convincing voice, and its imaginative and clever structure. She has complete mastery of her quite complex plot, and manages to imbue her sizeable cast of diverse characters with life and energy… Griffin is a writer of unusual confidence and authority, and a welcome arrival to the literary scene.’ — Irish Times
‘Pitch-perfect prose… Moving and beautifully written, this is a wonderfully assured debut.’ — Mail on Sunday
‘It’s all beautifully done; a tale told in the plain but poetic prose of a man who recognises the tragic truths gleaned from a life of love and loss. A gem of a book.’ 5* — Sunday Express
‘A proper tear-jerker, but one that will ultimately leave you feeling hopeful.’ — Grazia
This Friday: John Berlyne at Manchester Metropolitan University’s NCWI Day
Just a quick post to draw your attention to an event this week: John Berlyne will be at Manchester Metropolitan University’s National Creative Writing Industry Day this Friday!
Tickets for the event have sold out, but we wanted to let anyone who’s going know that John will be there for pitch sessions. In addition, and perhaps of interest to all attendees and many who can’t make it is the “How to Get an Agent” page of the event’s website. On there, you can find 17 interviews with publishing professionals. Here’s John’s interview…
The TEA MASTER, THE DETECTIVE, and the British Fantasy Award!
We’re delighted to share the news (in case you missed it) that Aliette de Bodard has won a British Fantasy Award for her novella THE TEA MASTER AND THE DETECTIVE! A wholly deserved win for a novella that continues to receive glowing reviews quite some time since it was first published. Indeed, it also won a Nebula Award for Best Novella and was nominated in the same category for the Hugo and Locus Awards.
Originally published by Subterranean Press as a limited edition hardcover, it is still available as an eBook via Subterranean Press (North America) and JABberwocky’s eBook Program (English language elsewhere). Here’s the synopsis…
Welcome to the Scattered Pearls Belt, a collection of ring habitats and orbitals ruled by exiled human scholars and powerful families, and held together by living mindships who carry people and freight between the stars. In this fluid society, human and mindship avatars mingle in corridors and in function rooms, and physical and virtual realities overlap, the appearance of environments easily modified and adapted to interlocutors or current mood.
A transport ship discharged from military service after a traumatic injury, The Shadow’s Child now ekes out a precarious living as a brewer of mind-altering drugs for the comfort of space-travellers. Meanwhile, abrasive and eccentric scholar Long Chau wants to find a corpse for a scientific study. When Long Chau walks into her office, The Shadow’s Child expects an unpleasant but easy assignment. When the corpse turns out to have been murdered, Long Chau feels compelled to investigate, dragging The Shadow’s Child with her.
As they dig deep into the victim’s past, The Shadow’s Child realises that the investigation points to Long Chau’s own murky past–and, ultimately, to the dark and unbearable void that lies between the stars…
THE TEA MASTER AND THE DETECTIVE is set in the author’s award-nominated Xuya Universe. Her latest publication with Subterranean Press is OF WAR, AND MEMORIES, AND STARLIGHT.
Aliette is also the author of the acclaimed, award-winning Dominion of the Fallen series, published by Gollancz in the UK, and Roc Books (#1-2) and JABberwocky (#3) in North America.
Ben Aaronovitch has sold 1,000,000 in Germany!
1,000,000 books!
We’re delighted to report that Ben Aaronovitch has passed 1,000,000 sales in Germany!
Ben’s acclaimed Peter Grant series has been popular in Germany from the very beginning, and we’re so happy that the series has been enjoyed by so many German fans!
The author was in Germany last week when the milestone was reached, and he was met by his publisher, DTV, with a cake to commemorate the great news!
DTV has published all of the books in Ben’s series in Germany, including the novellas. The books are available in print, eBook, and audio editions.
The most recent book, THE OCTOBER MAN, was published earlier this year — and, as it happens, is set in Germany and introduces a new protagonist, Tobias Winter.
Congratulations again to Ben!
The Peter Grant series is published in the UK by Gollancz; in North America by Del Rey (1-3), DAW Books (4-), and Subterranean Press (novellas); and it is also available widely in translation.
Lavie Tidhar now has a SFF column with the Washington Post!
The Washington Post has launched a new SFF review column written by award-winning authors Lavie Tidhar and Silvia Moreno-Garcia! The first instalment was published this past week, in which Lavie and Silvia will turn their attentions to SFF works from outside the predominantly white and US/UK-centric norm. Here’s the introduction…
Even 10 years ago, the fields of science fiction and fantasy were still overwhelmingly American and white. And, if you grew up speaking Spanish in Mexico City, (as I, Silvia, did), or Hebrew on a small kibbutz in Israel (as I, Lavie, did), it meant that the world of science fiction, filtered through translation, was as remote and alien as the other side of the moon. The very idea we could be writing novels like these seemed, well, fantastical.
Lavie is, most recently, the author of the acclaimed, award-winning UNHOLY LAND and CENTRAL STATION, both published by Tachyon Publications. He is also the author of the Bookman Chronicles, THE VIOLENT CENTURY, and his first novel for young readers, CANDY.
Ben Aaronovitch & Gollancz Have Launched new BAME SFF Award!
We’re very happy to share the news (in case you missed it) that Ben Aaronovitch and Gollancz have launched a new BAME SFF award! Announced last week via The Bookseller, we wanted to draw people’s attention to it once again as the submissions window has opened!
‘There’s a problem with British speculative fiction – it lacks diversity. It is, in fact, whiter than a polar bear in a snowstorm who’s decided to redecorate their cave with Dulux’s brand new white, with a touch of white collection,’ says Aaronovitch. ‘Since it’s inconceivable that there are no potential SF writers of colour looking to get published, we have to assume that something is getting in their way. A great many somethings, in fact, not least the monolithic monocultural nature of publishing itself and the direct effect racism has on constraining people’s freedom of action. This is a great loss for the writers because they’re not getting published, and a greater loss for British SF because it is denied their talents and perspective.’
Submissions for the prize opened yesterday, October 1st, and will run over several months. Interested applicants should submit entries of between 5,000-10,000 words, consisting of either a self-contained short story or the opening of a novel that fits into the sci-fi, fantasy or horror genres. Submissions will close on midnight, 31st January 2020.
- The program will offer writing advice and insights aimed at demystifying publishing across a long submissions period. A shortlist will be announced in spring 2020, with a winner selected in the summer by a panel of well-known SFF authors and industry figures.
- The top prize consists of £4,000, a critique of the winning work, and year-long mentoring programme with Gollancz commissioning editor Rachel Winterbottom. The second place author will receive £2,000 and a critique of their work. Five runners-up will receive £800 and a Gollancz goodie bag.
- Supported by National Novel Writing Month and the Good Literary Agency, the Award is a response to analysis of Nielsen Bookscan figures showing, of 4,589 sci-fi and fantasy books published during 2018, only five British writers of BAME background were represented.
Ben is the author of the best-selling, critically-acclaimed Peter Grant/Rivers of London series of novels and novellas (published by Gollancz in the UK), and comics (published by Titan Comics). The series is published in North America by Del Rey (1-3), DAW Books (4-), and Subterranean Press (novellas). The series has also been published widely in translation.
NECROVILLE: 25 Years of TERMINAL CAFE!
This month marks quite the amazing milestone: Ian McDonald‘s NECROVILLE was first published 25 years ago! The novel was published in 1994 by Gollancz (UK), and by Spectra (US) as TERMINAL CAFÉ. Both of the first covers are above. Here’s the synopsis…
In the Los Angeles ghetto of Necroville, the yearly celebration of the Night of the Dead – where the dead are resurrected through the miracle of nanotechnology and live their second lives as non-citizens – becomes a journey of discovery and revelation for five individuals on the run from their pasts.
With his customary flair for making the bizarre both credible and fascinating, McDonald tosses aside the line of demarcation between living and dead in a story that confronts the central quandary of human existence: the essence of non-being.
The novel is still available in the UK, published by Gollancz.
The BSFA Award-nominated novel was met with some great reviews when it was first published. Unfortunately, because the internet wasn’t a thing, yet, it makes it a little difficult to find good pull-quotes. We do have a few, though…
‘McDonald’s lush prose paints a vivid and credible Armageddon. World-building SF that’s punk, funky, and frightening: a fantastic acid trip to the end of the world.’ — Kirkus
‘McDonald, who won the Philip K. Dick Award for KING OF THE MORNING QUEEN OF THE DAY, reveals the workings of his bizarre society through the exploits of five friends as they search for the meaning of life in the Necroville at Los Angeles on the Night of the Dead. Sorting through five points of view requires some patience, but it is well rewarded. In the best science fiction tradition, McDonald provokes reexamination of current societal standards through the prism of another time and place.’ — Publishers Weekly
‘McDonald revels in the creation of brilliantly described near-futures and lushly exotic settings, and has more ideas in a book than most writers dream up in a lifetime. Here death is no more: the dead are reborn thanks to nanotechnology in Jesus-tanks and decanted into “techtoplastic” bodies. Drug-designer Santiago Columbar invites his friends to join him in the Terminal café in the suburb of LA known as Necroville, and in the resulting free-wheeling, mind-spinning novel we follow the friends as they travel to meet him, encountering genetically engineered dinosaurs, undead prostitutes, werewolves and an invasion of Earth by resurrected space workers. In Necroville, decay sits next to fabulous invention, terrible privation next to limitless possibility. The book…offers a graphic dystopian vision.’ — Guardian
For those who prefer their books delivered as audiobooks, the novel is also available via Audible, narrated by Christopher Ragland.
The novel has also been published in translation in a number of territories, including Germany where it is published by Heyne.
DER OKTOBERMANN is #3!
We’re delighted to report that Ben Aaronovitch‘s latest novella, DER OKTOBERMANN entered the book charts in Germany at #3! Published by DTV, here’s the synopsis…
›Die Flüsse von London‹ fließen nach Deutschland…
… denn auch hierzulande gibt es magische Vorkommnisse! Das deutsche Pendant zu Peter Grant heißt Tobi Winter und arbeitet beim BKA (Abteilung für komplexe und diffuse Angelegenheiten, sprich: Magie). Tobi bekommt es mit seltsamen Bräuchen in den Weinbergen rund um Trier zu tun – und mit einem übernatürlichen Rätsel, das schon Hunderte von Jahren alt ist. Selbstverständlich hat in dieser Gegend auch die Mosel ein Wörtchen mitzureden, wenn es magisch wird.
THE OCTOBER MAN is the first set in Germany, and introduces readers to Tobias Winter, a new protagonist in the author’s Rivers of London fantasy world. Published by Gollancz (UK) and Subterranean Press (North America), here’s the English-language synopsis…
Trier is famous for wine, Romans and for being Germany’s oldest city. So when a man is found dead with, his body impossibly covered in a fungal rot, the local authorities know they are out of their depth.
Fortunately this is Germany, where there are procedures for everything.
Enter Investigator Tobias Winter, whose aim is to get in, deal with the problem, and get out with the minimum of fuss, personal danger and paperwork. With the help of frighteningly enthusiastic local cop, Vanessa Sommer, he’s quick to link the first victim to a group of ordinary middle aged men – and to realise they may have accidentally reawakened a bloody conflict from a previous century. But the rot is still spreading, literally and with the suspect list extending to people born before Frederick the Great solving the case may mean unearthing the city’s secret magical history.
… so long as that history doesn’t kill them first.
Here are just a handful of the great reviews the novella has received so far…
‘In this enjoyable spin-off from the Rivers of London urban fantasy series, Aaronovitch successfully transfers his blend of the supernatural and humor from England to the Continent as he introduces Tobias Winter, a German police officer who practices magic… Supernatural mystery fans who enjoy more whimsical takes on the paranormal will hope for more of Winter and Sommer.’ — Publishers Weekly
‘Winter’s stolidness is a feature rather than a bug. While there are moments of adventure and daring, the story of this crime is both a satisfying whodunit and a primer on how magic works in Deutschland. THE OCTOBER MAN would be an interesting place to enter the Rivers of London world. Rather than fae, a new reader would anticipate werewolves, perhaps — and still greatly enjoy Aaronovitch’s work. Those who know the Folly will appreciate this outsider’s view of Grant and Nightingale, as well as learn a bit about how the latter spent the war, while still greatly enjoying Aaronovitch’s work, even if it is set someplace new.’ — Locus (Adrienne Martini)
‘Sommer and Winter are an interesting team, the latter especially being a fascinating take of the “ordinary copper” style trope that these books do so well… THE OCTOBER MAN is a must for any fan of the series so far and, unusually, a good introduction to the series. It only marginally connects to the big plot of the main books, but does introduce all the core ideas and distinctive style. More please, and soon.’ — Starburst
‘Aaronovitch expands the universe of his Rivers of London series (Broken Homes, 2014) to include new characters operating in different countries with ties to supernatural crimes and detective work. THE OCTOBER MAN introduces Tobias Winter, a sanctioned magic practitioner who investigates the supernatural angles of crimes for the Abteilung KDA (which fans will recognize as the German extension of the British Folly)… Aaronovitch delivers yet another classic detective novel rich with the magical world building accomplished in his previous work.’ — Booklist
‘THE OCTOBER MAN is a very well-constructed detective story, simple enough to be told in the span of a novella (granted, at more than two hundred pages, this one’s on the longer side) while still containing plenty of complexity to hold the reader’s attention. In addition, its pacing allows for plenty of fast-paced action and police work, but moments of downtime also provide opportunities to get to know our characters better. Despite being in a new setting and following a new protagonist, I was delighted to feel all the familiar attributes and the fine balance of Ben Aaronovitch’s writing style… Aaronovitch has delivered another fun and captivating Rivers of London mystery… I loved getting to meet Tobias and Vanessa, and it would thrill me greatly to see this corner of the series expanded with more stories in the future.’ — Bibliosanctum