Tag: AdAstra

THE BEST OF WORLD SF Volume 3 Paperback Out Now!

Posted on Thursday, April 11th, 2024

The new paperback edition of THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 3 is out today! Curated and edited by Lavie Tidhar, it is published by AdAstra/Head of Zeus. Here’s the synopsis…

The Best of World SF series is a fixture on the global science fiction scene. If you want to find the most exciting SF authors writing today, look no further.

In this third instalment, you’ll discover alien artists, rioting dinosaurs, shape-shifting rabbits, heartbreak-harvesting cafes and one robot on a quest for meaning. You will be transported to the stars and back down to Earth and sideways, with the order of the world turned upside down.

Featuring authors from Austria, Bulgaria, China, Finland, Ghana, Greece, India, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Singapore and South Africa, this collection’s stories have been selected by award-winning writer, editor and World SF expert Lavie Tidhar.

The most exciting science fiction on the planet comes from all corners of the globe. And it’s all in the Best of World SF series.

Here is the full table of contents for the anthology:

  1. “A Minor Kalahari” by Diana Rahim (Singapore)
  2. “Behind Her, Trailing Like Butterfly Wings” by Daniela Tomova (Bulgaria)
  3. “Cloudgazer” by Timi Odueso (Nigeria)
  4. “The EMO Hunter” by Mandisi Nkomo (South Africa)
  5. “Tloque Nahuaque” by Nelly Geraldine García-Rosas (Mexico) — translated by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  6. “The Walls of Benin City” by M.H. Ayinde (UK)
  7. “The Foodie Federation’s Dinosaur Farm” by Luo Longxiang (China) — translated by Andy Dudak
  8. “The Day The World Turned Upside Down” by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (The Netherlands) — translated by Lia Belt
  9. “The Worldless” by Indrapramit Das (India)
  10. “Now You Feel It” by Andrea Chapela (Mexico) — translated by Emma Törzs
  11. “Act of Faith” by Fadzlishah Johanabas (Malaysia)
  12. “Godmother” by Cheryl S. Ntumy (Ghana)
  13. “I Call Upon the Night as Witness” by Zahra Mukhi (Pakistan)
  14. “Sulfur” by Dmitry Glukhovsky (Russia) — translated by Marian Schwartz
  15. “Proposition 23” by Efe Okogu (Nigeria)
  16. “Root Rot” by Fargo Tbakhi (US)
  17. “Catching the K-Beast” by Chen Qian (China) — translated by Carmen Yiling Yan
  18. “Two Moons” by Elena Pavlova (Bulgaria) — translated by Kalin M. Nenov and Elena Pavlova
  19. “Symbiosis Theory” by Choyeop Kim (Korea) — translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort
  20. “My Country is a Ghost” by Eugenia Triantafyllou (Greece)
  21. “Old People’s Folly” by Nora Schinnerl (Austria)
  22. “Echoes of a Broken Mind” by Christine Lucas (Greece)
  23. “Have Your #Hugot Harvested at This Diwata-Owned Café” by Vida Cruz (Philippines)
  24. “Order C345” by Sheikha Helawy (Palestine) — translated by Raphael Cohen
  25. “Dark Star” by Vraiux Dorós (Mexico) — translated by Toshiya Kamei
  26. “An excerpt from ‘A Door Opens: The Beginning of the Fall of the Ispancialo-in-Hinirang (Emprensa Press: 2007)’ by Salahuddin Alonto, Annotated by Omar Jamad Maududi, MLS, HOL, JMS.” by Dean Francis Alfar (Philippines)
  27. “Ootheca” by Mário de Seabra Coelho (Portugal)
  28. “Where The Trains Turn” by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen (Finland) — translated by Liisa Rantalaiho

The first two volumes in the series are also published by AdAstra/Head of Zeus, available now in paperback.

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

There is not a poor story here… nice balance between light and harder stories… IMMERSION by Aliette de Bodard reads like hard Sci Fi but digs a little deeper… As a group, the stories on offer within THE BEST OF WORLD SF Volume 1 are so strong… This is a great introduction to what the rest of the world has to offer.’ — SF Book Reviews

‘Rare and wonderful’ — The Times (UK)

‘In addition to being an award-winning sci-fi writer, Israeli-born UK-based Lavie Tidhar is also a tireless champion of international sci-fi… an excellent, lovingly curated collection that is also uniformly well translated.’ — Financial Times

‘Tidhar has assembled a weighty and impressive collection of 26 stories by authors from around the world, several of them appearing in English for the first time. The variety and diversity of the material on offer is refreshing, the quality does not waver, and the translations are top-notch.’ — Financial Times (Summer Books of 2021: Science Fiction)

‘Stories like these are the ones you sometimes want to foist upon readers who claim not to like SF, and The Best of World SF: Volume 1 reminds us that such stories can come from anywhere these days, if only we get to see them. I look forward to future volumes.’ — Locus (Gary K. Wolfe)

‘Now this book exists, it feels absurd it didn’t exist sooner… hefty, beautifully presented collection… an excellent samples and delight in itself… fizzes with great ideas and wonderful writing.’ — SFX (5*)

‘[Tidhar] is really a pioneer… He was looking at writers from Malaysia, from Africa, from China, from Japan when no one was really doing that. You might get some stories here and there from other parts of the world. But the way that he constructed this global structure of science fiction and looked at science fiction not as a monoculture but as a vibrant sphere for people to speak from all over the world, and the promotion he gave that over the long term and pushing it on and on in an independent space, is exciting to see and inspiring.’ — Silvia Moreno-Garcia

‘… offers robots, spaceships, time travel, and a few weird stories, showcasing authors from five continents and over twenty countries. On top of that is plenty of optimism, plenty of stories that start as one thing and then become something completely different, and plenty of envelope pushing… Once you read one story by some of these folks, you’ll be itching for more. A truly enjoyable anthology with something for everyone…’ — Apex Magazine

‘Tidhar brings together another outstanding assortment of international sci-fi shorts, showcasing 29 thought-provoking stories… This sweeping survey rewards the time it demands of its readers with a bold and powerful argument for non-Anglophone SF’s potential to push the genre’s boundaries.’ — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

‘“Fresh” is an overused word in book reviews, but Lavie Tidhar’s second trawl of recent science fiction from around the world earns the compliment… For my money, this volume is stronger than the last. It is certainly creepier… The few comic tales here sparkle against a dark ground… We need this anthology, and we need editors like Tidhar.’ — The Times (Book of the Month, November 2022)

MY BROTHER’S KEEPER by Tim Powers Available Now in Two New Audiobook Editions

Posted on Tuesday, January 2nd, 2024

The CD and MP3 CD audiobook editions of MY BROTHER’S KEEPER, the latest novel from Tim Powers, are out now! Published by W. F. Howes, and narrated by Kristin Atherton. Here’s the synopsis…

THE TRUE STORY OF THE BRONTË SISTERS AS ONLY TIM POWERS COULD WRITE IT.

This is a ghost story. It is a story about werewolves, and things that go bump in the night. It is a story of an ill-fated land, the pathless moors of Northern England so well chronicled in Wuthering Heights. And it is the story of a real family whose destiny it is to deal with this darkly glamorous and dangerous world.

When young Emily Brontë helps a wounded man she finds at the foot of an ancient pagan shrine in the remote Yorkshire moors, her life becomes contentiously entwined with his. He is Alcuin Curzon, embittered member of a sect working to eradicate the resurgent plague of lycanthropy in Europe and northern England. But Emily’s father, curate of the Haworth village church, is responsible for having unwittingly brought a demonic werewolf god to Yorkshire forty years ago — and it is taking possession of Emily’s beloved but foolish and dissolute brother. Curzon must regard Emily’s family as a dire threat.

In spite of being at deadly odds, Emily and Curzon find themselves thrown together in fighting werewolves, confronting pagan gods, even saving each other from the lures of moorland demons. And in a final battle that sweeps from the haunted village of Haworth to a monstrous shrine far out on the moors, the two of them must be reluctant allies against an ancient power that seems likely to take their souls as well as their lives.

The print and eBook editions of the novel are out now, published in the UK by AdAstra/Head of Zeus. Here are just a few reviews the novel has received so far…

‘A masterly, compelling, and moving tale that places Tim Powers among the greatest fantasy writers of his or any generation. Countless novels have involved the Brontë family, but none would so surely please and enchant them as this one. MY BROTHER’S KEEPER is a pure delight.’ — Dean Koontz

‘Combines the Brontës, a mysterious cult, and werewolves… run, don’t walk, to your bookstore for this decadent Gothic bonbon.’ — Silvia Moreno-Garcia

‘[A]n impressive mash-up of literary biography and werewolf lore… Through all the supernatural drama, the shifting family dynamic remains the heart of the story and their domestic travails prove just as harrowing as any paranormal showdown. The result is a treat for Powers’s fans and Brontë lovers alike.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘MY BROTHER’S KEEPER is at its strongest when deftly mixing real-world biography with the stuff of horror… an eerie period piece perfectly well-suited to darkening October nights.’ — Wall Street Journal

‘… a joltingly good read… It’s all here: the wuthering wind, the vicarage, the three genius daughters and their useless brother… Powers brilliantly weaves through the hallowed family history a tale of ancient Irish curses, consumptive ghosts, fairylands and a werewolf cult that is blighting the North Country. It’s gruesome, gripping stuff as the fearless Emily, aided by her dog Pilot, forces her family to confront uncomfortable truths and lay a curse to rest.’ — Daily Mail (UK)

Zeno represents Tim Powers in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of Russell Galen at the Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency.

Audio Spotlight: MY BROTHER’S KEEPER by Tim Powers

Posted on Tuesday, November 28th, 2023

MY BROTHER’S KEEPER, the latest novel from Tim Powers, is available as an audiobook! Currently available online in online/streaming version at the moment (CD and MP3 CD available early 2024), it’s published by W. F. Howes, and narrated by Kristin Atherton. Here’s the synopsis…

THE TRUE STORY OF THE BRONTË SISTERS AS ONLY TIM POWERS COULD WRITE IT.

This is a ghost story. It is a story about werewolves, and things that go bump in the night. It is a story of an ill-fated land, the pathless moors of Northern England so well chronicled in Wuthering Heights. And it is the story of a real family whose destiny it is to deal with this darkly glamorous and dangerous world.

When young Emily Brontë helps a wounded man she finds at the foot of an ancient pagan shrine in the remote Yorkshire moors, her life becomes contentiously entwined with his. He is Alcuin Curzon, embittered member of a sect working to eradicate the resurgent plague of lycanthropy in Europe and northern England. But Emily’s father, curate of the Haworth village church, is responsible for having unwittingly brought a demonic werewolf god to Yorkshire forty years ago — and it is taking possession of Emily’s beloved but foolish and dissolute brother. Curzon must regard Emily’s family as a dire threat.

In spite of being at deadly odds, Emily and Curzon find themselves thrown together in fighting werewolves, confronting pagan gods, even saving each other from the lures of moorland demons. And in a final battle that sweeps from the haunted village of Haworth to a monstrous shrine far out on the moors, the two of them must be reluctant allies against an ancient power that seems likely to take their souls as well as their lives.

The print and eBook editions of the novel are out now, published in the UK by AdAstra/Head of Zeus.

Zeno represents Tim Powers in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of Russell Galen at the Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency.

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 3 is Out Now!

Posted on Thursday, October 12th, 2023

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 3 is out now! Curated and edited by Lavie Tidhar, it is published by AdAstra/Head of Zeus. Here’s the synopsis…

The Best of World SF series is a fixture on the global science fiction scene. If you want to find the most exciting SF authors writing today, look no further.

In this third instalment, you’ll discover alien artists, rioting dinosaurs, shape-shifting rabbits, heartbreak-harvesting cafes and one robot on a quest for meaning. You will be transported to the stars and back down to Earth and sideways, with the order of the world turned upside down.

Featuring authors from Austria, Bulgaria, China, Finland, Ghana, Greece, India, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Singapore and South Africa, this collection’s stories have been selected by award-winning writer, editor and World SF expert Lavie Tidhar.

The most exciting science fiction on the planet comes from all corners of the globe. And it’s all in the Best of World SF series.

Here is the full table of contents for the anthology:

  1. “A Minor Kalahari” by Diana Rahim (Singapore)
  2. “Behind Her, Trailing Like Butterfly Wings” by Daniela Tomova (Bulgaria)
  3. “Cloudgazer” by Timi Odueso (Nigeria)
  4. “The EMO Hunter” by Mandisi Nkomo (South Africa)
  5. “Tloque Nahuaque” by Nelly Geraldine García-Rosas (Mexico) — translated by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  6. “The Walls of Benin City” by M.H. Ayinde (UK)
  7. “The Foodie Federation’s Dinosaur Farm” by Luo Longxiang (China) — translated by Andy Dudak
  8. “The Day The World Turned Upside Down” by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (The Netherlands) — translated by Lia Belt
  9. “The Worldless” by Indrapramit Das (India)
  10. “Now You Feel It” by Andrea Chapela (Mexico) — translated by Emma Törzs
  11. “Act of Faith” by Fadzlishah Johanabas (Malaysia)
  12. “Godmother” by Cheryl S. Ntumy (Ghana)
  13. “I Call Upon the Night as Witness” by Zahra Mukhi (Pakistan)
  14. “Sulfur” by Dmitry Glukhovsky (Russia) — translated by Marian Schwartz
  15. “Proposition 23” by Efe Okogu (Nigeria)
  16. “Root Rot” by Fargo Tbakhi (US)
  17. “Catching the K-Beast” by Chen Qian (China) — translated by Carmen Yiling Yan
  18. “Two Moons” by Elena Pavlova (Bulgaria) — translated by Kalin M. Nenov and Elena Pavlova
  19. “Symbiosis Theory” by Choyeop Kim (Korea) — translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort
  20. “My Country is a Ghost” by Eugenia Triantafyllou (Greece)
  21. “Old People’s Folly” by Nora Schinnerl (Austria)
  22. “Echoes of a Broken Mind” by Christine Lucas (Greece)
  23. “Have Your #Hugot Harvested at This Diwata-Owned Café” by Vida Cruz (Philippines)
  24. “Order C345” by Sheikha Helawy (Palestine) — translated by Raphael Cohen
  25. “Dark Star” by Vraiux Dorós (Mexico) — translated by Toshiya Kamei
  26. “An excerpt from ‘A Door Opens: The Beginning of the Fall of the Ispancialo-in-Hinirang (Emprensa Press: 2007)’ by Salahuddin Alonto, Annotated by Omar Jamad Maududi, MLS, HOL, JMS.” by Dean Francis Alfar (Philippines)
  27. “Ootheca” by Mário de Seabra Coelho (Portugal)
  28. “Where The Trains Turn” by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen (Finland) — translated by Liisa Rantalaiho

The first two volumes in the series are also published by AdAstra/Head of Zeus, available now in paperback.

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

There is not a poor story here… nice balance between light and harder stories… IMMERSION by Aliette de Bodard reads like hard Sci Fi but digs a little deeper… As a group, the stories on offer within THE BEST OF WORLD SF Volume 1 are so strong… This is a great introduction to what the rest of the world has to offer.’ — SF Book Reviews

‘Rare and wonderful’ — The Times (UK)

‘In addition to being an award-winning sci-fi writer, Israeli-born UK-based Lavie Tidhar is also a tireless champion of international sci-fi… an excellent, lovingly curated collection that is also uniformly well translated.’ — Financial Times

‘Tidhar has assembled a weighty and impressive collection of 26 stories by authors from around the world, several of them appearing in English for the first time. The variety and diversity of the material on offer is refreshing, the quality does not waver, and the translations are top-notch.’ — Financial Times (Summer Books of 2021: Science Fiction)

‘Stories like these are the ones you sometimes want to foist upon readers who claim not to like SF, and The Best of World SF: Volume 1 reminds us that such stories can come from anywhere these days, if only we get to see them. I look forward to future volumes.’ — Locus (Gary K. Wolfe)

‘Now this book exists, it feels absurd it didn’t exist sooner… hefty, beautifully presented collection… an excellent samples and delight in itself… fizzes with great ideas and wonderful writing.’ — SFX (5*)

‘[Tidhar] is really a pioneer… He was looking at writers from Malaysia, from Africa, from China, from Japan when no one was really doing that. You might get some stories here and there from other parts of the world. But the way that he constructed this global structure of science fiction and looked at science fiction not as a monoculture but as a vibrant sphere for people to speak from all over the world, and the promotion he gave that over the long term and pushing it on and on in an independent space, is exciting to see and inspiring.’ — Silvia Moreno-Garcia

‘… offers robots, spaceships, time travel, and a few weird stories, showcasing authors from five continents and over twenty countries. On top of that is plenty of optimism, plenty of stories that start as one thing and then become something completely different, and plenty of envelope pushing… Once you read one story by some of these folks, you’ll be itching for more. A truly enjoyable anthology with something for everyone…’ — Apex Magazine

‘Tidhar brings together another outstanding assortment of international sci-fi shorts, showcasing 29 thought-provoking stories… This sweeping survey rewards the time it demands of its readers with a bold and powerful argument for non-Anglophone SF’s potential to push the genre’s boundaries.’ — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

‘“Fresh” is an overused word in book reviews, but Lavie Tidhar’s second trawl of recent science fiction from around the world earns the compliment… For my money, this volume is stronger than the last. It is certainly creepier… The few comic tales here sparkle against a dark ground… We need this anthology, and we need editors like Tidhar.’ — The Times (Book of the Month, November 2022)

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 2 Paperback Out This Week!

Posted on Monday, April 10th, 2023

The paperback edition of THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 2 is out this week! Edited by Lavie Tidhar, it is published by Head of Zeus/AdAstra on April 13th. Here’s the synopsis…

Twenty-nine new short stories representing the state of the art in international science fiction.

The second annual instalment to the ‘rare and wonderful’ (The Times) The Best of World SF Volume 1, this collection features twenty-nine stories, including eight written exclusively for this collection. This is not a retrospective of what science fiction around the world used to look like. This is a snapshot of what some of it looks like now. And it’s never been more exciting.

Navigating around the globe, The Best of World SF Volume 2 features writers from: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Brazil, Bolivia, China, Czech Republic, Greece, India, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Each story has been selected by World SF expert and award-winning author Lavie Tidhar in a collection which traces the ever-changing meaning of the genre from some the most exciting voices writing today.

Here’s the full Table of Contents…

  • Nadia Afifi, THE BAHRAIN UNDERGROUND BAZAAR (Bahrain)
  • Lavanya Lakshminarayan, THE TEN-PERCENT THIEF (India)
  • Frances Ogamba, AT DESK 9501 (Nigeria) *
  • Isabel Yap, MILAGROSO (The Philippines)
  • Saad Z. Hossain, BRING YOUR OWN SPOON (Bangladesh)
  • Yukimi Ogawa, BLUE GREY BLUE (Japan)
  • Xing He, YOUR MULTICOLORED LIFE (China), trans. Andy Dudak
  • Nalo Hopkinson, THE EASTHOUND (Jamaica)
  • Pan Haitian, DEAD MAN, AWAKE, SING TO THE SUN! (China), trans. Joel Martinsen *
  • Jacques Barcia, SALVAGING GODS (Brazil)
  • Edmundo Paz Soldán, THE NEXT MOVE (Bolivia), trans. Jessica Sequeira *
  • Dilman Dila, THE CLAY CHILD (Uganda) *
  • Natalia Theodoridou, TO SET AT TWILIGHT IN A LAND OF REEDS (Greece)
  • Bef, THE BEAST HAS DIED (Mexico), trans. Brian L. Price
  • Alberto Chimal, TWENTY ABOUT ROBOTS (Mexico), trans. Fionn Petch
  • Wole Talabi, THE REGRESSION TEST (Nigeria),
  • William Tham Wai Liang, KAKAK (Malaysia)
  • Usman T. Malik, BEYOND THESE STARS OTHER TRIBULATIONS OF LOVE (Pakistan)
  • Julie Novakova, A FLAW IN THE WORKS (Czech Republic), trans. by author *
  • Cassandra Khaw, WHEN WE DIE ON MARS (Malaysia)
  • Karen Lord and Tobias S. Buckell, THE MIGHTY SLINGER (Barbados/Grenada)
  • T.L. Huchu, CORIALIS (Zimbabwe)
  • Clelia Farris, THE SUBSTANCE OF IDEAS (Italy), trans. Rachel S. Cordasco
  • Agnieszka Hałas, SLEEPING BEAUTIES (Poland), trans. by author *
  • Samit Basu, WAKING NYDRA (India) *
  • Neon Yang, BETWEEN THE FIRMAMENTS (Singapore)
  • Bo-Young Kim, WHALE SNOWS DOWN (South Korea), trans. Sophie Bowman
  • Hassan Blasim, THE GARDENS OF BABYLON (Iraq), trans. Jonathan Wright
  • K.A. Teryna, THE FARCTORY (Russia), trans. Alex Shvartsman *

(Stories indicated with an * are original for this volume.)

Here are some of the reviews the first has volume received…

‘This handsome volume from Head of Zeus is a major step on a 45-year journey to bring global speculative fiction to Anglophone attention… The print edition of THE BEST OF WORLD SF: Volume 1 is truly a thing of beauty, providing gravitas and a wider audience for the authors it collects… There are many striking stories in the collection… This anthology is just the start of a whole new game for speculative fiction authors around the world’ — LA Review of Books

‘An excellent, lovingly curated collection that is also uniformly well translated’ — Financial Times

‘Tidhar gives a cheerful, fannish introduction to the stories, drawn from 26 countries on five continents, and encompassing a dizzying range of tones and approaches’ — The Times

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 1 is also out now in paperback, published by AdAstra/Head of Zeus.

SHIELD MAIDEN by Sharon Emmerichs is Out Now!

Posted on Thursday, February 2nd, 2023

Sharon Emmerichs‘s highly-anticipated debut novel, SHIELD MAIDEN is out now in the UK! Published by AdAstra/Head of Zeus, it is a feminist retelling of the Beowulf saga. Here’s the official synopsis…

Having grown up hearing tales of her uncle, the great King Beowulf, Fryda’s one desire is to become a shield maiden in her own right. Yet a terrible childhood accident has left Fryda disabled – thus, she believes, thwarting her dream of becoming a warrior-woman for good. But still, somehow, she feels an uncontrollable power begin to rise within herself.

Meanwhile, a great celebration of Beowulf’s reign is underway, and Fryda’s house is soon overrun with foreign kings and chieftains. Amidst the drunken revelry, a discovery is made that threatens the safety of Fryda’s entire clan – and her own life. Enraged, Fryda resolves to fight for her people, no matter the cost… and all the while, her powers seem only to grow stronger.

But she is not the only one to feel its effects. For, buried deep in her gilded lair, a dragon is drawn to Fryda’s untamed power, and is slowly awakening from a long, cursed sleep…

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

‘Casts a superb spell… Shimmering with detail, with a propulsive plot to match.’ — D.K. Fields

‘Fantastic fun… An entrancing story of power and peril, presenting a side to the sagas we have never seen before.’ — Ian Green

‘A heroine with a generous spirit, an unshakable will and a dragon’s fury.’ — H. M. Long

‘A fast-paced and addictive interpretation of one of the stories in the Beowulf saga. I did not want to put this book down. The storytelling is beautiful, and I loved the tender love story woven into the adventure plot. It’s made me want to read more about Beowulf too; I hope the author will dip back into the world in another book.’ — Clem F. (NetGalley Reviewer)

‘If like me you enjoy a good dose of mythology, and/or a good historical fiction, then I think this book will be right up your raiding party.’ — Louise P. (NetGalley Reviewer)

Sharon Emmerich’s SHIELD MAIDEN is out Next Week!

Posted on Tuesday, January 24th, 2023

SHIELD MAIDEN, the highly-anticipated debut novel from Sharon Emmerichs is out next week! Due to be published by AdAstra/Head of Zeus on February 2nd, here’s the synopsis…

Having grown up hearing tales of her uncle, the great King Beowulf, Fryda’s one desire is to become a shield maiden in her own right. Yet a terrible childhood accident has left Fryda disabled – thus, she believes, thwarting her dream of becoming a warrior-woman for good. But still, somehow, she feels an uncontrollable power begin to rise within herself.

Meanwhile, a great celebration of Beowulf’s reign is underway, and Fryda’s house is soon overrun with foreign kings and chieftains. Amidst the drunken revelry, a discovery is made that threatens the safety of Fryda’s entire clan – and her own life. Enraged, Fryda resolves to fight for her people, no matter the cost… and all the while, her powers seem only to grow stronger.

But she is not the only one to feel its effects. For, buried deep in her gilded lair, a dragon is drawn to Fryda’s untamed power, and is slowly awakening from a long, cursed sleep…

Here are a handful of the great early responses the novel has received so far…

‘Casts a superb spell… Shimmering with detail, with a propulsive plot to match.’ — D.K. Fields

‘Fantastic fun… An entrancing story of power and peril, presenting a side to the sagas we have never seen before.’ — Ian Green

‘A heroine with a generous spirit, an unshakable will and a dragon’s fury.’ — H. M. Long

‘A fast-paced and addictive interpretation of one of the stories in the Beowulf saga. I did not want to put this book down. The storytelling is beautiful, and I loved the tender love story woven into the adventure plot. It’s made me want to read more about Beowulf too; I hope the author will dip back into the world in another book.’ — Clem F. (NetGalley Reviewer)

‘If like me you enjoy a good dose of mythology, and/or a good historical fiction, then I think this book will be right up your raiding party.’ — Louise P. (NetGalley Reviewer)

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 2 Out Now in North America!

Posted on Tuesday, November 1st, 2022

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 2 is out now in North America! Edited by Lavie Tidhar, it is published by Head of Zeus/AdAstra (the UK edition was published back in October). Here’s the synopsis…

Twenty-nine new short stories representing the state of the art in international science fiction.

The second annual instalment to the ‘rare and wonderful’ (The Times) The Best of World SF Volume 1, this collection features twenty-nine stories, including eight written exclusively for this collection. This is not a retrospective of what science fiction around the world used to look like. This is a snapshot of what some of it looks like now. And it’s never been more exciting.

Navigating around the globe, The Best of World SF Volume 2 features writers from: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Brazil, Bolivia, China, Czech Republic, Greece, India, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Each story has been selected by World SF expert and award-winning author Lavie Tidhar in a collection which traces the ever-changing meaning of the genre from some the most exciting voices writing today.

Here’s the full Table of Contents…

  • Nadia Afifi, THE BAHRAIN UNDERGROUND BAZAAR (Bahrain)
  • Lavanya Lakshminarayan, THE TEN-PERCENT THIEF (India)
  • Frances Ogamba, AT DESK 9501 (Nigeria) *
  • Isabel Yap, MILAGROSO (The Philippines)
  • Saad Z. Hossain, BRING YOUR OWN SPOON (Bangladesh)
  • Yukimi Ogawa, BLUE GREY BLUE (Japan)
  • Xing He, YOUR MULTICOLORED LIFE (China), trans. Andy Dudak
  • Nalo Hopkinson, THE EASTHOUND (Jamaica)
  • Pan Haitian, DEAD MAN, AWAKE, SING TO THE SUN! (China), trans. Joel Martinsen *
  • Jacques Barcia, SALVAGING GODS (Brazil)
  • Edmundo Paz Soldán, THE NEXT MOVE (Bolivia), trans. Jessica Sequeira *
  • Dilman Dila, THE CLAY CHILD (Uganda) *
  • Natalia Theodoridou, TO SET AT TWILIGHT IN A LAND OF REEDS (Greece)
  • Bef, THE BEAST HAS DIED (Mexico), trans. Brian L. Price
  • Alberto Chimal, TWENTY ABOUT ROBOTS (Mexico), trans. Fionn Petch
  • Wole Talabi, THE REGRESSION TEST (Nigeria),
  • William Tham Wai Liang, KAKAK (Malaysia)
  • Usman T. Malik, BEYOND THESE STARS OTHER TRIBULATIONS OF LOVE (Pakistan)
  • Julie Novakova, A FLAW IN THE WORKS (Czech Republic), trans. by author *
  • Cassandra Khaw, WHEN WE DIE ON MARS (Malaysia)
  • Karen Lord and Tobias S. Buckell, THE MIGHTY SLINGER (Barbados/Grenada)
  • T.L. Huchu, CORIALIS (Zimbabwe)
  • Clelia Farris, THE SUBSTANCE OF IDEAS (Italy), trans. Rachel S. Cordasco
  • Agnieszka Hałas, SLEEPING BEAUTIES (Poland), trans. by author *
  • Samit Basu, WAKING NYDRA (India) *
  • Neon Yang, BETWEEN THE FIRMAMENTS (Singapore)
  • Bo-Young Kim, WHALE SNOWS DOWN (South Korea), trans. Sophie Bowman
  • Hassan Blasim, THE GARDENS OF BABYLON (Iraq), trans. Jonathan Wright
  • K.A. Teryna, THE FARCTORY (Russia), trans. Alex Shvartsman *

(Stories indicated with an * are original for this volume.)

Here are some of the reviews the first has volume received…

‘This handsome volume from Head of Zeus is a major step on a 45-year journey to bring global speculative fiction to Anglophone attention… The print edition of THE BEST OF WORLD SF: Volume 1 is truly a thing of beauty, providing gravitas and a wider audience for the authors it collects… There are many striking stories in the collection… This anthology is just the start of a whole new game for speculative fiction authors around the world’ — LA Review of Books

‘An excellent, lovingly curated collection that is also uniformly well translated’ — Financial Times

‘Tidhar gives a cheerful, fannish introduction to the stories, drawn from 26 countries on five continents, and encompassing a dizzying range of tones and approaches’ — The Times

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 1 is also out now, available in paperback.

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 2 Out Now in the UK!

Posted on Thursday, October 13th, 2022

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 2 is out now in the UK! Edited by Lavie Tidhar, it is published by Head of Zeus/AdAstra. Here’s the synopsis…

Twenty-nine new short stories representing the state of the art in international science fiction.

The second annual instalment to the ‘rare and wonderful’ (The Times) The Best of World SF Volume 1, this collection features twenty-nine stories, including eight written exclusively for this collection. This is not a retrospective of what science fiction around the world used to look like. This is a snapshot of what some of it looks like now. And it’s never been more exciting.

Navigating around the globe, The Best of World SF Volume 2 features writers from: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Brazil, Bolivia, China, Czech Republic, Greece, India, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Each story has been selected by World SF expert and award-winning author Lavie Tidhar in a collection which traces the ever-changing meaning of the genre from some the most exciting voices writing today.

The collection will be published in North America on November 1st, also by Head of Zeus/AdAstra.

Here’s the full Table of Contents…

  • Nadia Afifi, THE BAHRAIN UNDERGROUND BAZAAR (Bahrain)
  • Lavanya Lakshminarayan, THE TEN-PERCENT THIEF (India)
  • Frances Ogamba, AT DESK 9501 (Nigeria) *
  • Isabel Yap, MILAGROSO (The Philippines)
  • Saad Z. Hossain, BRING YOUR OWN SPOON (Bangladesh)
  • Yukimi Ogawa, BLUE GREY BLUE (Japan)
  • Xing He, YOUR MULTICOLORED LIFE (China), trans. Andy Dudak
  • Nalo Hopkinson, THE EASTHOUND (Jamaica)
  • Pan Haitian, DEAD MAN, AWAKE, SING TO THE SUN! (China), trans. Joel Martinsen *
  • Jacques Barcia, SALVAGING GODS (Brazil)
  • Edmundo Paz Soldán, THE NEXT MOVE (Bolivia), trans. Jessica Sequeira *
  • Dilman Dila, THE CLAY CHILD (Uganda) *
  • Natalia Theodoridou, TO SET AT TWILIGHT IN A LAND OF REEDS (Greece)
  • Bef, THE BEAST HAS DIED (Mexico), trans. Brian L. Price
  • Alberto Chimal, TWENTY ABOUT ROBOTS (Mexico), trans. Fionn Petch
  • Wole Talabi, THE REGRESSION TEST (Nigeria),
  • William Tham Wai Liang, KAKAK (Malaysia)
  • Usman T. Malik, BEYOND THESE STARS OTHER TRIBULATIONS OF LOVE (Pakistan)
  • Julie Novakova, A FLAW IN THE WORKS (Czech Republic), trans. by author *
  • Cassandra Khaw, WHEN WE DIE ON MARS (Malaysia)
  • Karen Lord and Tobias S. Buckell, THE MIGHTY SLINGER (Barbados/Grenada)
  • T.L. Huchu, CORIALIS (Zimbabwe)
  • Clelia Farris, THE SUBSTANCE OF IDEAS (Italy), trans. Rachel S. Cordasco
  • Agnieszka Hałas, SLEEPING BEAUTIES (Poland), trans. by author *
  • Samit Basu, WAKING NYDRA (India) *
  • Neon Yang, BETWEEN THE FIRMAMENTS (Singapore)
  • Bo-Young Kim, WHALE SNOWS DOWN (South Korea), trans. Sophie Bowman
  • Hassan Blasim, THE GARDENS OF BABYLON (Iraq), trans. Jonathan Wright
  • K.A. Teryna, THE FARCTORY (Russia), trans. Alex Shvartsman *

(Stories indicated with an * are original for this volume.)

Here are some of the reviews the first has volume received…

‘This handsome volume from Head of Zeus is a major step on a 45-year journey to bring global speculative fiction to Anglophone attention… The print edition of THE BEST OF WORLD SF: Volume 1 is truly a thing of beauty, providing gravitas and a wider audience for the authors it collects… There are many striking stories in the collection… This anthology is just the start of a whole new game for speculative fiction authors around the world’ — LA Review of Books

‘An excellent, lovingly curated collection that is also uniformly well translated’ — Financial Times

‘Tidhar gives a cheerful, fannish introduction to the stories, drawn from 26 countries on five continents, and encompassing a dizzying range of tones and approaches’ — The Times

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 1 is also out now, available in paperback (UK and North America).

Check Out the Cover for Sharon Emmerich’s SHIELD MAIDEN!

Posted on Monday, October 3rd, 2022

Today, we’re very happy to share with you the cover for Sharon Emmerich‘s upcoming new novel, SHIELD MAIDEN! Due to be published by AdAstra/Head of Zeus, on February 2nd, 2023, here’s the synopsis…

A lush fantasy that is both epic and intimate. Refocusing the narrative on a fierce young woman reclaiming her power, it will upend everything you think you know about Beowulf.

Fryda has grown up hearing tales of her uncle, King Beowulf, and his spectacular defeat of the monstrous Grendel. Her one desire is to become a shield maiden in her own right, but a terrible accident during her childhood has thwarted this dream. Yet still, somehow, she feels an uncontrollable power begin to rise within herself.

The last thing Fryda wants is to be forced into a political marriage, especially as her heart belongs to her lifelong friend, Theow. However, as foreign kings and chieftains descend upon her home to celebrate Beowulf’s fifty years as the king of Geatland, the partnership begins to seem inevitable.

That is, until, amidst the lavish gifts and drunken revelry, a discovery is made that threatens the safety of Fryda’s entire clan – and her own life. Incensed by this betrayal, Fryda resolves to fight for her people no matter the cost. As a queen should. As a shield maiden would.

And as the perilous situation worsens, Fryda’s powers seem only to grow stronger. But she is not the only one to feel the effects of her new-found battle-magic. For, buried deep in her gilded lair, a dragon is drawn to Fryda’s untamed power, and is slowly awakening from a long, cursed sleep…

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 2 Out in Two Weeks!

Posted on Monday, September 26th, 2022

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 2 is due out in the UK in two weeks! have now been unveiled! To be published by Head of Zeus/AdAstra on October 13th, the volume is edited by award-winning author Lavie Tidhar. Here’s the synopsis…

Twenty-nine new short stories representing the state of the art in international science fiction.

The second annual instalment to the ‘rare and wonderful’ (The Times) The Best of World SF Volume 1, this collection features twenty-nine stories, including eight written exclusively for this collection. This is not a retrospective of what science fiction around the world used to look like. This is a snapshot of what some of it looks like now. And it’s never been more exciting.

Navigating around the globe, The Best of World SF Volume 2 features writers from: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Brazil, Bolivia, China, Czech Republic, Greece, India, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Each story has been selected by World SF expert and award-winning author Lavie Tidhar in a collection which traces the ever-changing meaning of the genre from some the most exciting voices writing today.

The collection will also be published in North America, on November 1st (also by AdAstra/Head of Zeus).

Here’s the full Table of Contents…

  • Nadia Afifi, THE BAHRAIN UNDERGROUND BAZAAR (Bahrain)
  • Lavanya Lakshminarayan, THE TEN-PERCENT THIEF (India)
  • Frances Ogamba, AT DESK 9501 (Nigeria) *
  • Isabel Yap, MILAGROSO (The Philippines)
  • Saad Z. Hossain, BRING YOUR OWN SPOON (Bangladesh)
  • Yukimi Ogawa, BLUE GREY BLUE (Japan)
  • Xing He, YOUR MULTICOLORED LIFE (China), trans. Andy Dudak
  • Nalo Hopkinson, THE EASTHOUND (Jamaica)
  • Pan Haitian, DEAD MAN, AWAKE, SING TO THE SUN! (China), trans. Joel Martinsen *
  • Jacques Barcia, SALVAGING GODS (Brazil)
  • Edmundo Paz Soldán, THE NEXT MOVE (Bolivia), trans. Jessica Sequeira *
  • Dilman Dila, THE CLAY CHILD (Uganda) *
  • Natalia Theodoridou, TO SET AT TWILIGHT IN A LAND OF REEDS (Greece)
  • Bef, THE BEAST HAS DIED (Mexico), trans. Brian L. Price
  • Alberto Chimal, TWENTY ABOUT ROBOTS (Mexico), trans. Fionn Petch
  • Wole Talabi, THE REGRESSION TEST (Nigeria),
  • William Tham Wai Liang, KAKAK (Malaysia)
  • Usman T. Malik, BEYOND THESE STARS OTHER TRIBULATIONS OF LOVE (Pakistan)
  • Julie Novakova, A FLAW IN THE WORKS (Czech Republic), trans. by author *
  • Cassandra Khaw, WHEN WE DIE ON MARS (Malaysia)
  • Karen Lord and Tobias S. Buckell, THE MIGHTY SLINGER (Barbados/Grenada)
  • T.L. Huchu, CORIALIS (Zimbabwe)
  • Clelia Farris, THE SUBSTANCE OF IDEAS (Italy), trans. Rachel S. Cordasco
  • Agnieszka Hałas, SLEEPING BEAUTIES (Poland), trans. by author *
  • Samit Basu, WAKING NYDRA (India) *
  • Neon Yang, BETWEEN THE FIRMAMENTS (Singapore)
  • Bo-Young Kim, WHALE SNOWS DOWN (South Korea), trans. Sophie Bowman
  • Hassan Blasim, THE GARDENS OF BABYLON (Iraq), trans. Jonathan Wright
  • K.A. Teryna, THE FARCTORY (Russia), trans. Alex Shvartsman *

(Stories indicated with an * are original for this volume.)

Here are just a couple of the reviews the first has volume received…

‘This handsome volume from Head of Zeus is a major step on a 45-year journey to bring global speculative fiction to Anglophone attention… The print edition of THE BEST OF WORLD SF: Volume 1 is truly a thing of beauty, providing gravitas and a wider audience for the authors it collects… There are many striking stories in the collection… This anthology is just the start of a whole new game for speculative fiction authors around the world’ — LA Review of Books

‘An excellent, lovingly curated collection that is also uniformly well translated’ — Financial Times

‘Tidhar gives a cheerful, fannish introduction to the stories, drawn from 26 countries on five continents, and encompassing a dizzying range of tones and approaches’ — The Times

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 1 is out now, available in paperback.

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Vol.2 Announced!

Posted on Friday, July 8th, 2022

We’re very happy to report that the full details of THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 2 have now been unveiled! Following on from the success of the first volume in the series, this one is also edited by Lavie Tidhar, and is due to be published by Head of Zeus/AdAstra in the UK (October 13th) and North America (November 1st). Here’s the synopsis…

Twenty-nine new short stories representing the state of the art in international science fiction.

The second annual instalment to the ‘rare and wonderful’ (The Times) The Best of World SF Volume 1, this collection features twenty-nine stories, including eight written exclusively for this collection. This is not a retrospective of what science fiction around the world used to look like. This is a snapshot of what some of it looks like now. And it’s never been more exciting.

Navigating around the globe, The Best of World SF Volume 2 features writers from: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Brazil, Bolivia, China, Czech Republic, Greece, India, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Each story has been selected by World SF expert and award-winning author Lavie Tidhar in a collection which traces the ever-changing meaning of the genre from some the most exciting voices writing today.

Here’s the full Table of Contents…

  • Nadia Afifi, THE BAHRAIN UNDERGROUND BAZAAR (Bahrain)
  • Lavanya Lakshminarayan, THE TEN-PERCENT THIEF (India)
  • Frances Ogamba, AT DESK 9501 (Nigeria) *
  • Isabel Yap, MILAGROSO (The Philippines)
  • Saad Z. Hossain, BRING YOUR OWN SPOON (Bangladesh)
  • Yukimi Ogawa, BLUE GREY BLUE (Japan)
  • Xing He, YOUR MULTICOLORED LIFE (China), trans. Andy Dudak
  • Nalo Hopkinson, THE EASTHOUND (Jamaica)
  • Pan Haitian, DEAD MAN, AWAKE, SING TO THE SUN! (China), trans. Joel Martinsen *
  • Jacques Barcia, SALVAGING GODS (Brazil)
  • Edmundo Paz Soldán, THE NEXT MOVE (Bolivia), trans. Jessica Sequeira *
  • Dilman Dila, THE CLAY CHILD (Uganda) *
  • Natalia Theodoridou, TO SET AT TWILIGHT IN A LAND OF REEDS (Greece)
  • Bef, THE BEAST HAS DIED (Mexico), trans. Brian L. Price
  • Alberto Chimal, TWENTY ABOUT ROBOTS (Mexico), trans. Fionn Petch
  • Wole Talabi, THE REGRESSION TEST (Nigeria),
  • William Tham Wai Liang, KAKAK (Malaysia)
  • Usman T. Malik, BEYOND THESE STARS OTHER TRIBULATIONS OF LOVE (Pakistan)
  • Julie Novakova, A FLAW IN THE WORKS (Czech Republic), trans. by author *
  • Cassandra Khaw, WHEN WE DIE ON MARS (Malaysia)
  • Karen Lord and Tobias S. Buckell, THE MIGHTY SLINGER (Barbados/Grenada)
  • T.L. Huchu, CORIALIS (Zimbabwe)
  • Clelia Farris, THE SUBSTANCE OF IDEAS (Italy), trans. Rachel S. Cordasco
  • Agnieszka Hałas, SLEEPING BEAUTIES (Poland), trans. by author *
  • Samit Basu, WAKING NYDRA (India) *
  • Neon Yang, BETWEEN THE FIRMAMENTS (Singapore)
  • Bo-Young Kim, WHALE SNOWS DOWN (South Korea), trans. Sophie Bowman
  • Hassan Blasim, THE GARDENS OF BABYLON (Iraq), trans. Jonathan Wright
  • K.A. Teryna, THE FARCTORY (Russia), trans. Alex Shvartsman *

(Stories indicated with an * are original for this volume.)

Here are some of the reviews the first has volume received…

‘This handsome volume from Head of Zeus is a major step on a 45-year journey to bring global speculative fiction to Anglophone attention… The print edition of THE BEST OF WORLD SF: Volume 1 is truly a thing of beauty, providing gravitas and a wider audience for the authors it collects… There are many striking stories in the collection… This anthology is just the start of a whole new game for speculative fiction authors around the world’ — LA Review of Books

‘An excellent, lovingly curated collection that is also uniformly well translated’ — Financial Times

‘Tidhar gives a cheerful, fannish introduction to the stories, drawn from 26 countries on five continents, and encompassing a dizzying range of tones and approaches’ — The Times

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 1 is out now, available in paperback.

Aliette de Bodard, Lavie Tidhar & Grady Hendrix are Locus Award Finalists!

Posted on Thursday, May 12th, 2022

Announced yesterday, we’re very happy to report that Aliette de Bodard, Lavie Tidhar, and Grady Hendrix are among this year’s Locus Award Finalists!

Aliette de Bodard’s highly acclaimed novella FIREHEART TIGER (Tor.com) is a finalist in the Novella category. MULBERRY AND OWL (Uncanny Magazine) is a finalist in the Novelette category.

Fire burns bright and has a long memory…

Quiet, thoughtful princess Thanh was sent away as a hostage to the powerful faraway country of Ephteria as a child. Now she’s returned to her mother’s imperial court, haunted not only by memories of her first romance, but by worrying magical echoes of a fire that devastated Ephteria’s royal palace.

Thanh’s new role as a diplomat places her once again in the path of her first love, the powerful and magnetic Eldris of Ephteria, who knows exactly what she wants: romance from Thanh and much more from Thanh’s home. Eldris won’t take no for an answer, on either front. But the fire that burned down one palace is tempting Thanh with the possibility of making her own dangerous decisions.

Can Thanh find the freedom to shape her country’s fate — and her own?

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 1 (Head of Zeus/AdAstra), edited by Lavie Tidhar (and including a story by Aliette: IMMERSION) is amongst the finalists in the Anthology category.

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

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

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

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

Grady Hendrix’s THE FINAL GIRL SUPPORT GROUP (Titan), which also won a Goodreads Choice Award, is a finalist in the Horror category.

In horror movies, the final girl is the one who’s left standing when the credits roll. The one who fought back, defeated the killer, and avenged her friends. The one who emerges bloodied but victorious. But after the sirens fade and the audience moves on, what happens to her?

Lynnette Tarkington survived a massacre twenty-two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. And she’s not alone. For more than a decade she’s been meeting with five other final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette’s worst fears are realized — someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again, piece by piece.

But the thing about these final girls is that they have each other now, and no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up.

Huge congratulations to Aliette, Lavie and Grady!

Award winners will be announced on June 25, 2022, during the virtual Locus Awards Weekend.

*

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

Next Week: New UK Edition of Lavie Tidhar’s A MAN LIES DREAMING!

Posted on Friday, April 9th, 2021

We’re very happy to report that a new UK edition of Lavie Tidhar‘s Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Award-winning novel, A MAN LIES DREAMING is due out next week! To be published by Head of Zeus on April 15th, here’s the synopsis…

1939. In a grotty corner of London, in a flat above a shop, a private eye known as Wolf keeps his office. The city is in the throes of a very British Fascism, and Wolf is far from the life he left behind in Germany, before the Fall. Business hasn’t been good, so when a glamorous Jewish heiress comes through his door, he has no choice but to take on her case.

It’s a decision Wolf will soon regret.

For in another time and place, a man lies dreaming. Once a Yiddish pulp writer, but now imprisoned in a hell of humanity’s making, Shomer creates lurid tales of revenge in his sleep…

Prescient, darkly funny and wholly original, the award-winning A Man Lies Dreaming is a modern fable for our time.

The novel is also available in North America, published by JABberwocky (with a great cover by Sarah Anne Langton).

Here are just a few of the great reviews the novel has received since it was first published…

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

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

‘No one can accuse Lavie Tidhar of being risk-averse… Tidhar reveals – as he did earlier in OSAMA and to some extent in THE VIOLENT CENTURY – that he’s really less interested in the mechanistic ‘‘what-ifs’’ of conventional alternate history than he is in the interpenetration of real and in­vented histories, or perhaps more grandiosely in the interpenetration of art and life – even the often-demeaned art of sensational fiction or (as in the case of THE VIOLENT CENTURY) comic books. This is what makes him such an interesting writer, and what makes A MAN LIES DREAMING quite a bit more complex than it at first appears… the novel is not without a fair amount of humor, and that might well be the boldest risk Tidhar is taking here…’ — Locus

‘The best book I read last year is A MAN LIES DREAMING by Lavie Tidhar, a form of fictional historiography based on a’ what if ‘principle. I love that, if it is done well and intelligently… It sounds ridiculous and it has certainly been written down with a great sense of irony, but at the same time it is so cleverly constructed and such a spectacular conclusion unfolds that you are going to take it all very seriously.’ — Sting (yes, that one) to Volksrant

‘How does one write the Holocaust? This high-wire act of a book is his attempt. Does it work as pulp? Yes. It’s nasty, clever, waspish and witty. It finds room for guest appearances from Leni Riefenstahl, Ian Fleming and Evelyn Waugh and quotations from everyone from Chandler to Ukip…  You turn the pages avidly. You read it for the pulp story. And you read it for the frame that surrounds it. And you can’t stop reading.‘ — Herald Scotland