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Short Fiction Watch: THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY and NEOM by Lavie Tidhar

Posted on Friday, January 11th, 2019

January is quite the busy short story month for Lavie Tidhar. In addition to the author’s VENUS IN BLOOM appearing in the latest issue of Clarkesworld, he also has two other stories out this month…

In the latest issue of Apex Magazine (pictured above): THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
In the latest issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction (cover below): NEOM

Lavie’s latest novels are the critically-acclaimed UNHOLY LAND, the equally acclaimed and also award-winning CENTRAL STATION (both published by Tachyon Publications); and CANDY, his first for younger readers (published by Scholastic in the UK).

Short Fiction Watch: VENUS IN BLOOM by Lavie Tidhar

Posted on Friday, January 4th, 2019

In case you have missed it, Lavie Tidhar has a new short story in the latest issue of Clarkesworld! On shelves now, the issue includes the author’s VENUS IN BLOOM. The author has quite a few short stories hitting shelves in the near future (or already available), and we’ll be sharing more updates on the site very soon.

Lavie is the critically-acclaimed, award-winning author of many great novels, including UNHOLY LAND, CENTRAL STATION (both published by Tachyon Publications), A MAN LIES DREAMING (published by Hodder and Melville House), THE VIOLENT CENTURY (published by Hodder and forthcoming from Tachyon), and OSAMA. Lavie is also the author of CANDY, his first novel for younger readers (Scholastic).

‘… will leave readers’ heads spinning with this disorienting and gripping alternate history… Readers of all kinds, and particularly fans of detective stories and puzzles, will enjoy grappling with the numerous questions raised by this stellar work.’ — Publishers Weekly (PW Picks: Books of the Week, October 15, 2018) on UNHOLY LAND

‘It is just this side of a masterpiece — short, restrained, lush — and the truest joy of it is in the way Tidhar scatters brilliant ideas like pennies on the sidewalk.’ — NPR on CENTRAL STATION

‘Wild, noir-infused alternative history from genre-bender Tidhar… A wholly original Holocaust story: as outlandish as it is poignant.’ — Kirkus (Starred Review) on A MAN LIES DREAMING

‘A brilliantly etched phantasmagoric reconfiguring of that most sizzling of eras – the twilight 20th… This book has it all: time travel, political intrigue, hellacious history… You’ve got superheroes in the guise of regular humans, you’ve got World War II … THE VIOLENT CENTURY is a torrid tour de force!’ — James Ellroy

‘Not a writer to mess around with half measures … brings to mind Philip K Dick’s seminal science fiction novel The Man in the High Castle.’ — The Guardian on OSAMA

‘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 on CANDY

Best Books of 2018, including Lavie Tidhar, Aliette de Bodard and Charlaine Harris!

Posted on Friday, December 28th, 2018

We’re very happy to report that Lavie Tidhar‘s latest novel, UNHOLY LAND, has been selected as a Best Book of 2018 by a slew of publications! Specifically, the novel is…

An NPR Best Book of 2018
A Library Journal Best Book of 2018
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018
A Guardian Best Book of 2018
A Barnes & Noble Favorite Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of 2018

Published by Tachyon Publications, UNHOLY LAND is out now in the UK and US. Here’s the synopsis…

Lior Tirosh is a semi-successful author of pulp fiction, an inadvertent time traveler, and an ongoing source of disappointment to his father.

Tirosh has returned to his homeland in East Africa. But Palestina — a Jewish state founded in the early 20th century — has grown dangerous. The government is building a vast border wall to keep out African refugees. Unrest in Ararat City is growing. And Tirosh’s childhood friend, trying to deliver a warning, has turned up dead in his hotel room. A state security officer has identified Tirosh as a suspect in a string of murders, and a rogue agent is stalking Tirosh through transdimensional rifts — possible futures that can only be prevented by avoiding the mistakes of the past.

From the bestselling author of Central Station comes an extraordinary new novel recalling China Miéville and Michael Chabon, entertaining and subversive in equal measures.

Here are just a few of the great reviews UNHOLY LAND has received so far…

‘Readers of all kinds, and particularly fans of detective stories and puzzles, will enjoy grappling with the numerous questions raised by this stellar work.’ — Publishers Weekly (PW Picks: Books of the Week, October 15, 2018)

‘Lavie Tidhar is a genius at conjuring realities that are just two steps to the left of our own — places that look and smell and feel real, if just a bit hauntingly alien. UNHOLY LAND develops slowly. It begins with banal strangeness (this Palestinia, so like and unlike modern-day Israel) and leans gently into it… This is a story that gets weirder the deeper you get into it; that cultivates strangeness like something precious. It has three narrators: Investigator Bloom, Tirosh and a woman, Nur, who works as a field agent for the Border Agency. There are echoes of Chabon’s The Yiddish Policeman’s Union in it, wild strains of P.K. Dick and Roger Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber. But UNHOLY LAND is its own thing. Something that no one but Tidhar could’ve written. Gorgeous in its alienness, comfortingly gray in its banality, and disquieting throughout.’ — NPR

‘… adventurous readers will appreciate this well-written and ambitious book. It should find a place at any library that offers high-quality literary fiction.’ — Booklist

Aliette de Bodard‘s IN THE VANISHERS’ PALACE was also selected by the Guardian as a Best Fantasy Book of the year! Published via the JABberwocky eBook Program, the novel was met with an avalanche of great reviews (and we see new ones on a daily basis via our Twitter feed). Here’s the synopsis…

A dark retelling of Beauty and the Beast from the award-winning author of the Dominion of the Fallen series.

When failed scholar Yên is sold to Vu Côn, one of the last dragons walking the earth, she expects to be tortured or killed for Vu Côn’s amusement. But Vu Côn, it turns out, has a use for Yên: she needs a scholar to tutor her two unruly children. She takes Yên back to her home, a vast, vertiginous palace-prison where every door can lead to death. Vu Côn seems stern and unbending, but as the days pass Yên comes to see her kinder and caring side. She finds herself dangerously attracted to the dragon who is her master and jailer. In the end, Yên will have to decide where her own happiness lies — and whether it will survive the revelation of Vu Côn’s dark, unspeakable secrets…

‘This intriguing, Sapphic, Vietnamese take on Beauty and the Beast is recommended for fans of De Bodard’s previous works or readers who enjoy diverse, lushly described fantasy.’ — Library Journal

‘Another stellar offering by Bodard. Her signature intensity is on display in this tale of people (and dragons) struggling to survive in the ruins of an alien conquest. Emotionally complex relationships interweave with richly drawn and deftly nuanced world-building.’ — Kate Elliott, Author of the Court of Fives series

‘A transformative experience. With dragons.’ — Fran Wilde, Hugo and Nebula nominated author of The Bone Universe and The Gemworld series

You can find a short piece by Aliette on the ‘Inspirations and Influences’ for the novel at Book Smugglers.

Charlaine Harris‘s AN EASY DEATH was picked as a Best Fantasy Novel of 2018 by Time Magazine, and also received a nod from Barnes & Noble. The novel is published in the UK by Piatkus Books. Here’s the synopsis…

An electrifying new thriller centered on a young gunslinging mercenary, Lizbeth Rose.

Set in a fractured United States, in the southwestern country now known as Texoma, this is a world where magic is acknowledged but mistrusted. Battered by a run across the border to Mexico, gunslinger Lizbeth Rose takes a job offer from a pair of Russian wizards.

She may be young, but Gunnie Rose has acquired a fearsome reputation and the wizards are at a desperate crossroads, even if they won’t admit it. They’re searching frantically to locate the only man whose blood they believe can save their tsar’s life.

As the trio journey through an altered America, they’re set upon by enemies. It’s clear that a powerful force does not want them to succeed in their mission. Lizbeth Rose is a gunnie who has never failed a client, but her oath will test all of her skills and resolve to get them all out alive.

The Dark Tower meets True Blood in this gritty and wildly entertaining tale of Gunnie Rose. A woman fighting unimaginable odds to keep her people alive after the disintegration of America, this is a surefire hit for fans of The Walking Dead or Westworld.

AN EASY DEATH has also been met with a blizzard of great reviews. Here are just a few of them…

‘In this fast-paced thriller fueled by magic and gunslinging, no one can be trusted. Harris’s vividly detailed story will leave readers enthralled with the fascinating setting and a heroine who’s sure to be a new fan favorite.’ — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

‘[A]lluringly gritty’ — Time

‘Harris’s vividly detailed and bleak alternate history novel, set in a broken-up United States after Franklin Roosevelt is assassinated, stars a heroine who’s sure to be a new fan favorite.’ — Publishers Weekly (Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2018)

‘Narrator Lizbeth is a pragmatic young woman with an unshakeable work ethic who doesn’t let her gender define her and isn’t given to emotional outbursts, but there are just enough moments to remind readers that the loss of those she loves, and her desire to keep those she has left safe, is ultimately her driving force. Harris…populates her gritty, immersive new world with genuinely interesting characters, and chilling moments of horror — of both the human and supernatural kind—punctuate this relentlessly paced road trip. A refreshing and cinematic, weird Western starring a sharp-as-nails, can-do heroine. Harris’ many fans will surely follow Gunnie Rose anywhere.’ — Kirkus

‘It’s a thrill ride through a world transformed by magic and altered politics, with an excellent kick-ass guide in Gunnie Rose, making this a strong start to a new series.’ — Locus

‘AN EASY DEATH offers up a world worth exploring and a character you’ll want to explore it with.’ — LB&N’s Sci Fi and Fantasy Blog

‘Another great story from Charlaine with magical fun characters, an interesting premise and great storytelling. Gunnie is a character you root for and look forward to reading more adventures with.’ — Red Carpet Crash

‘Harris has a remarkable talent for world building… In all, this looks like another winning series from a sure-bet author.’ — Booklist

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

Seasons Greetings from Zeno!

Posted on Tuesday, December 25th, 2018

We just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year.

We hope you all had a great 2018, and that you have a fantastic 2019!

May there be many excellent books in your (near) future.

Aliette de Bodard wins an Ignotus Award!

Posted on Friday, December 21st, 2018

We’re delighted to report that Aliette de Bodard‘s THREE CUPS OF GRIEF, BY STARLIGHT has won an Ignotus Award! Given by Spain’s Asociación Española de Fantasía, Ciencia Ficción y Terror, the story won the award for Foreign Story. First published in Clarkesworld #100, the Spanish translation, TRES TAZAS DE AFLICCIÓN A LA LUZ DE LAS ESTRELLAS is available on Cuentos para Algernon.

THREE CUPS OF GRIEF, BY STARLIGHT also won a BSFA Award for Best Short Story (2015), and was a Finalist for the Locus Award for Best Short Story (2016) and also for the Eugie Foster Memorial Award for Short Fiction (2016).

Aliette’s latest novel is the critically-acclaimed IN THE VANISHERS’ PALACE, published via the JABberwocky eBook Program. Here’s the synopsis…

A dark retelling of Beauty and the Beast from the award-winning author of the Dominion of the Fallen series.

The author’s current on-going series is the award-winning Dominion of the Fallen, published by Gollancz (UK) and Roc Books (US).

Andrew Hodges on the History of AI, Alan Turing and more!

Posted on Wednesday, December 5th, 2018

Andrew Hodges, author of the critically-acclaimed biography ALAN TURING: THE ENIGMA was recently interviewed for the University of Oxford’s Futuremakers Podcast. Here’s the episode’s intro…

Many developments in science are achieved through people being able to ‘stand on the shoulders of giants’ and in the history of AI two giants in particular stand out. Ada Lovelace, who inspired visions of computer creativity, and Alan Turing, who conceived machines which could do anything a human could do. So where do their stories, along with those of calculating engines, punched card machines and cybernetics fit into to where artificial intelligence is today?

Join our host, philosopher Peter Millican, as he explores this topic with Ursula Martin, Professor at the University of Edinburgh and a member of Oxford’s Mathematical Institute, Andrew Hodges, Emeritus Fellow at Wadham, who tutors for a wide range of courses in pure and applied mathematics, and Jacob Ward, a historian of science, technology, and modern Britain and a Postdoctoral Researcher in the History of Computing.

Andrew’s aforementioned book is published by Vintage in the UK, Princeton University Press in the US, and widely in translation. Here’s the synopsis…

The official book behind the Academy Award-winning film The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley

Alan Turing was the mathematician whose cipher-cracking transformed the Second World War. Taken on by British Intelligence in 1938, as a shy young Cambridge don, he combined brilliant logic with a flair for engineering. In 1940 his machines were breaking the Enigma-enciphered messages of Nazi Germany’s air force. He then headed the penetration of the super-secure U-boat communications.

But his vision went far beyond this achievement. Before the war he had invented the concept of the universal machine, and in 1945 he turned this into the first design for a digital computer.

Turing’s far-sighted plans for the digital era forged ahead into a vision for Artificial Intelligence. However, in 1952 his homosexuality rendered him a criminal and he was subjected to humiliating treatment. In 1954, aged 41, Alan Turing took his own life.

Short Fiction Watch: Aliette de Bodard’s

Posted on Thursday, November 29th, 2018

In this instalment of Short Fiction Watch, we wanted to draw your attention to the MECHANICAL ANIMALS anthology, which includes Aliette de Bodard‘s Among the Water Buffaloes, A Tiger’s Steps. Here’s the anthology’s synopsis…

A speculative fiction safari that riffs on the traditional ideals of automata to explore our strange and competitive relationship with the natural world. Biomimicry is no stranger to literature, with canonical authors like Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hans Christian Anderson, and Jules Verne setting the tone for a trope that has expounded and expanded upon what exactly separates humans from the animal kingdom as well as the boundary between machines and living beings. Featuring 15 original stories by today’s top science fiction and fantasy authors and contextual mecha-fauna essays by artist and Insect Lab Studio maker, Mike Libby, and SF encyclopedist and author Jess Nevins, Mechanical Animals presents a biomimicry menagerie of animalistic machines that will blur the lines between what is and isn’t nature’s design.

Edited by Selena Chambers and Jason Heller

Aliette is the award-winning author of the Dominion of the Fallen fantasy series, published by Gollancz in the UK and Roc Books in North America.

The author’s most recent novel is the critically-acclaimed IN THE VANISHERS’ PALACE, published by JABberwocky in eBook and paperback.

Have you met Sookie Stackhouse? DEAD UNTIL DARK is a Cyber Monday deal…

Posted on Saturday, November 24th, 2018

Charlaine Harris‘s DEAD UNTIL DARK is a Cyber Monday Kindle Deal in the UK! The deal starts… today. Saturday. Not Monday. Anyway! It’s the first novel in the best-selling Sookie Stackhouse series, which was the basis for the True Blood HBO TV series. So, if you’ve always wanted to know where it all began, now’s a great time to give the series a try!

Published in the UK by Gollancz, here’s the synopsis…

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She’s quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn’t get out much — not because she’s not pretty, she’s a very cute bubbly blonde, or not interested in a social life — she really is… but Sookie’s got a bit of a disability. She can read minds. And that doesn’t make her too dateable.

And then along comes Bill: he’s tall, he’s dark and he’s handsome – and Sookie can’t ‘hear’ a word he’s thinking. He’s exactly the type of guy she’s been waiting all her life for. But Bill has a disability of his own: he’s fussy about his food, he doesn’t like suntans and he’s never around during the day…
Yep, Bill’s a vampire. Worse than that, he hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, with a reputation for trouble — of the murderous kind.

And then one of Sookie’s colleagues at the bar is killed, and it’s beginning to look like Sookie might be the next victim…

Harris’s latest novel, AN EASY DEATH was recently published in the UK by Piatkus.

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

Aliette de Bodard and Gollancz extend the Dominion of the Fallen…

Posted on Friday, November 23rd, 2018

We’re very happy to report that Gollancz has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights for the next book in Aliette de Bodard‘s award-winning and critically-acclaimed Dominion of the Fallen fantasy series! Announced on Wednesday, here’s some more information…

The novel THE HOUSE OF SUNDERING FLAMES is the third in de Bodard’s Dominion of the Fallen series, set in a post-magical-apocalypse version of Paris, and beautifully melding Vietnamese mythology with a gothic European vibe and a sensational mystery. The first novel in the series won the BSFA Award, the second was awarded a European Science Fiction Award, and both were finalists for the Locus award.

‘I am thrilled to return to the devastated Paris of the “Dominion of the Fallen” series with Gollancz,’ said de Bodard. ‘This book introduces House Harrier (you’ll never see birds of prey quite the same way again!) as well as revisiting familiar places and faces. It was an exciting challenge to write and deals with destruction and war, and the beauty and community that can be found in the ruins. I can’t wait for readers to discover it.’

The novel is available for pre-order already, and the cover has also been unveiled:

The deal was negotiated by John Berylne at Zeno and Gillian Redfearn at Gollancz. Here’s what they had to say…

John Berylne: ‘I couldn’t be happier with this new deal. Aliette’s fantastic reputation continues to grow, and we regularly see her feature on many of the Best of Year and awards lists in her field. Readers can anticipate a truly dramatic conclusion to her stand-out trilogy.’

Gillian Redfearn: ‘Aliette is an astonishing writer and it’s a delight to be completing this stand-out series with her. As many readers have discovered, it’s one of the most distinctive and evocative trilogies published today.’

Gollancz has published the first two novels in the series in the UK: THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS and THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS. The two novels are published in North America by Roc Books.

Short Fiction Watch: Ian McDonald in NOT ONE OF US

Posted on Friday, November 9th, 2018

In this episode of Short Fiction Watch, we wanted to draw your attention to NOT ONE OF US, a sci-fi anthology edited by Neil Clarke and published by Night Shade Books. Within, you will find Ian McDonald‘s TENDELEO’S STORY, the third story in his Chaga series. Here’s the anthology’s synopsis…

They Are Strangers from Far Lands…

Science fiction writers have been using aliens as a metaphor for the other for over one hundred years. Superman has otherworldly origins, and his struggles to blend in on our planet are a clear metaphor for immigration. Earth’s adopted son is just one example of this “Alien Among Us” narrative.

There are stories of assimilation, or the failure to do so. Stories of resistance to the forces of naturalization. Stories told from the alien viewpoint. Stories that use aliens as a manifestation of the fears and worries of specific places and eras. Stories that transcend location and time, speaking to universal issues of group identity and its relationship to the Other.

Nearly thirty authors in this reprint anthology grapple both the best and worst aspects of human nature, and they do so in utterly compelling and entertaining ways. Not One of Us is a collection of stories that aren’t afraid to tackle thorny and often controversial issues of race, nationalism, religion, political ideology, and other ways in which humanity divides itself.

Here’s the synopsis for TENDELEO’S STORY…

From the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, an alien force begins to spread, turning the land into an unrecognizable alien landscape. Tendeléo is nine years old when this first package comes down, and before she reaches adulthood the Chaga will change her life forever.

The first two books in Ian’s Chaga series, the novels CHAGA and and KIRINYA are available as eBooks published via the JABberwocky eBook Program. Ian’s latest series is the critically-acclaimed Luna, which is published by Gollancz (UK) and Tor Books (US), and is also available widely in translation. Recently, Tor.com also published the novella TIME WAS.

Lavie Tidhar signing at Forbidden Planet next week!

Posted on Friday, November 2nd, 2018

Next Thursday (November 8th) at 6pm, the London Forbidden Planet Megastore will host Lavie Tidhar! He will be signing copies of his latest novel, UNHOLY LAND (and others). The novel is due to be published soon by Tachyon Publications. Here’s the synopsis…

Lior Tirosh is a semi-successful author of pulp fiction, an inadvertent time traveler, and an ongoing source of disappointment to his father.

From the bestselling author of Central Station comes an extraordinary new novel recalling China Miéville and Michael Chabon, entertaining and subversive in equal measures.

The novel will also be available as an audiobook, published by Blackstone Publishing. UNHOLY LAND has already be racking up great reviews. Here are just a few of them…

‘[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

‘UNHOLY LAND starts out hard-boiled and comes at you sideways with the speculative elements. Tidhar has blended alternative history with murder in hotel rooms, missing women, an honest-to-god Fedora and mysterious borders in a tale that evokes Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, Cassablanca and Mieville’s The City & the City. Political and pulpy, with distinct metafictional elements, Tidhar adroitly pulls off this fantastical tale of an occupied territory.’ — Tade Thompson

‘… adventurous readers will appreciate this well-written and ambitious book. It should find a place at any library that offers high-quality literary fiction.’ — Booklist

Backlist Plug: Ian McDonald’s CHAGA series

Posted on Friday, October 12th, 2018

Today, we wanted to draw your attention to Ian McDonald‘s classic Chaga series: CHAGA, KIRINYA and TENDELÉO’S STORY. The trilogy is now available in eBook, published by the JABberwocky eBook Program, and the first two books are also published in Germany by Heyne.

CHAGA, originally called EVOLUTION’S SHORE, was first published in 1995 and was nominated for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. Here’s the synopsis…

On the trail of the mystery of Saturn’s disappearing moons, network journalist Gaby McAslan finds herself in Africa researching the Kilimanjaro Event: a meteor-strike in Kenya which caused the stunning African landscape to give way to something equally beautiful – and indescribably alien. Dubbed the ‘Chaga’, the alien flora destroys all man-made materials, and moulds human flesh, bone and spirit to its own designs. But when Gaby finds the first man to survive the Chaga’s changes, she realizes it has its own plans for humankind… Against the backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro, McDonald weaves a staggering tale of keen human observation and speculation, as the Kilimanjaro Event changes the course of the human race by exposure to something beyond its imagination.

Here are some of the reviews CHAGA received…

‘McDonald… consistently explores new territory with his breathtaking images and incisive language. Both form and substance blend fortuitously in a work that features strong characters, a suspenseful story, and a profound message of hope and transformation. A priority purchase for SF collections.’ — Library Journal

‘One of the finest writers of his generation, who chooses to write science fiction because that is how he can best illuminate the world.’ — New Statesman

‘Optimistic near-future alien-contact yarn… McDonald’s tale is also inventive and challenging… a dense, complex, rather weighty, often fascinating piece of speculation.’ — Kirkus

You can also read an excerpt from the novel here.

KIRINYA (1998) was showered with similar accolades when it was published: the novel was described by SFX as ‘a huge and ambitious novel’ and ‘the work of a supremely talented writer’, and McDonald was hailed as an ‘outstanding writer’ and ‘marvellous talent’ by The Times...

The end of the universe happened at around ten o’clock at night on 22 December, 2032. It’s just that humanity hasn’t realized it yet. And the Chaga, the strange flora deposited from the stars, is still busy terraforming the tropics into someone else’s terra. Gaby McAslan was once a hungry news reporter who compromised her relationship with UNECTA researcher Dr. Shepard for the sake of her story… but Gaby is no longer a journalist and she doesn’t want to be a full-time mother, even though her child Serena is her last link with Shepard. Gaby’s fire has gone out; she’s gone soft. But the massive political and military upheavals rocking the world are about to drag her back into the action.

The final book in the Chaga series, TENDELÉO’S STORY is a novella that was originally published by PS Publishing in 2000.

Ian’s latest series is Luna, of which the first two books are out now: NEW MOON and WOLF MOON, published by Gollancz in the UK and Tor Books in North America. The series is also available in a growing number of translated editions.

Charlaine Harris’s Midnight Texas series is on sale in the UK!

Posted on Wednesday, October 3rd, 2018

From today until November 11th, Charlaine Harris‘s acclaimed Midnight, Texas series is on sale! Only 99p each in Amazon’s Kindle Autumn sale, this is a great way to try Harris’s work if you haven’t already, and also a great way to complete your collection!

All three books — MIDNIGHT CROSSROAD, DAY SHIFT and NIGHT SHIFT — are published in the UK by Gollancz. Here’s the synopsis for book one, just in case you haven’t seen it before…

Welcome to Midnight, Texas, a town with many boarded-up windows and few full-time inhabitants, located at the crossing of Witch Light Road and Davy Road. It’s a pretty standard dried-up western town.

There’s a pawnshop (someone lives in the basement and is seen only at night). There’s a diner (people who are just passing through tend not to linger). And there’s new resident Manfred Bernardo, who thinks he’s found the perfect place to work in private (and who has secrets of his own).

Stop at the one traffic light in town, and everything looks normal. Stay awhile, and learn the truth…

The author’s latest novel, AN EASY DEATH, is also out this week in the UK, published by Piatkus Books.

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

LeVar reads Lavie!

Posted on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2018

Just a quick post to let you know that Lavie Tidhar‘s YIWU short story is included in the latest podcast episode of LeVar Burton Reads! The story is out now, published by Tor.com. Here’s the synopsis…

Can dreams come true? They can if you win the lottery, which promises to provide what your heart desires. For a humble shopkeeper in Yiwu, it’s a living, selling lottery tickets. Until a winning ticket opens up mysteries he’d never imagined.

You can find the episode pretty much wherever you get your podcasts from, and also right here…

Lavie Tidhar is heading to the States!

Posted on Wednesday, September 26th, 2018

Next week, Lavie Tidhar will be taking part in a couple of events across the pond! On October 1st, he will be attending a special event hosted at Dartmouth College, as one of three winners of the Neukom Literary Arts Award For Speculative Fiction. He won the award for his novel CENTRAL STATION (Tachyon Publications). In case you missed it, here’s the synopsis for the novel, which also won the John W. Campbell Award…

A worldwide diaspora has left a quarter of a million people at the foot of a space station. Cultures collide in real life and virtual reality. Life is cheap, and data is cheaper.

When Boris Chong returns to Tel Aviv from Mars, much has changed. Boris’s ex-lover is raising a strangely familiar child who can tap into the datastream of a mind with the touch of a finger. His cousin is infatuated with a robotnik — a damaged cyborg soldier who might as well be begging for parts. His father is terminally-ill with a multigenerational mind-plague. And a hunted data-vampire has followed Boris to where she is forbidden to return.

Rising above them is Central Station, the interplanetary hub between all things: the constantly shifting Tel Aviv; a powerful virtual arena, and the space colonies where humanity has gone to escape the ravages of poverty and war. Everything is connected by the Others, powerful alien entities who, through the Conversation — a shifting, flowing stream of consciousness — are just the beginning of irrevocable change.

At Central Station, humans and machines continue to adapt, thrive… and even evolve.

Later in the week, on October 4th, he’ll be taking part in a joint event with Silvia Moreno-Garcia at Pandemonium Books in Cambridge, Massechusetts.

Lavie’s latest novel is CANDY, his critically-acclaimed first book for younger readers (published by Scholastic in the UK). His next novel is the highly-anticipated UNHOLY LAND, due to be published in November by Tachyon Publications.