eBooks - Zeno Agency Ltd.

Two New R.A. Lafferty Titles Now Available

Posted on Monday, June 6th, 2016

Gollancz’s SF Gateway has released two more books from R.A. Lafferty‘s extensive, classic backlist: AURELIA and LAFFERTY IN ORBIT. Here are the details…

AURELIA…

Aurelia was a fifteen-year-old girl from a very advanced world. She’d passed Starship building easily enough, but she’d slept through most of celestial navigation. That was how she ended up on a little back-water dump like Earth, where her advanced powers seemed like miracles.

Some thought she was the Messiah.

Some thought she was the Devil.

No one was prepared for the truth.

LAFFERTY IN ORBIT…

The stories contained in this volume demonstrate the unique and unpredictable imagination, style and vision that earned R.A. Lafferty the 1990 World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Zeno represents the R.A. Lafferty Estate in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Out Now: SPIRITS FROM BEYOND by Simon R. Green

Posted on Thursday, March 3rd, 2016

SPIRITS FROM BEYOND, the fourth novel in Simon R. Green‘s latest urban fantasy series, is out now in eBook! Published in the UK by Jo Fletcher Books, here’s the synopsis…

Meet the operatives of the Carnacki Institute — JC Chance: the team leader, brave, charming, and almost unbearably arrogant; Melody Chambers: the science geek who keeps the antisupernatural equipment running; and Happy Jack Palmer: the terminally gloomy telepath. Their mission: Do Something About Ghosts. Lay them to rest, send them packing, or just kick their nasty ectoplasmic arses…

Their latest assignment takes JC and the team to a small country village, site of a famously haunted inn. At first, JC thinks that the spirits in the King’s Arms are more the stuff of urban legend than anything that needs the Ghost Finders’ expertise. Then one story rings true: the tale of a traveler trapped by an unusual thunderstorm who retired to her room for the night – and vanished.

Trapped by an unusual thunderstorm — like the one that begins raging outside shortly after they arrive…

As the team investigates, they are forced, one by one, to face some hard truths about themselves, their relationships, and the haunting itself — truths that may push Happy Jack over the edge into the madness that he has always feared…

Jo Fletcher Books have already published the first three novels in the Ghostfinders series, also as eBooks, in the UK: GHOST OF A CHANCE, GHOST OF A SMILE and GHOST OF A DREAM. The publisher is also due to release the final two books in 2016: VOICES FROM BEYOND (May 2016) and FORCES FROM BEYOND (July 2016).

Jo Fletcher Books also publishes Green’s Nightside and Secret Histories series in the UK, as eBooks.

Zeno represents Simon R. Green in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

New Algis Budrys eBooks Out Today!

Posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016

Today, Open Road Media publishes six books by Algis Budrys in eBook in the US, including his critically-acclaimed and award-nominated ROGUE MOON, WHO? and MICHAELMAS. The covers are above.

WHO? was adapted into a movie in 1973 (starring Elliott Gould and Trevor Howard). Here’s the synopsis…

East and West have fused into separate superstates known as the Allied National Government (ANG) and the Soviet International Bloc (SIB). As the Cold War rages, brilliant scientist Lucas Martino works on a top-secret project known only as K-Eighty-eight that could alter the balance of world power. The project goes horribly awry at an Allied research facility near the Soviet border, and Martino is abducted. After several months of tense negotiations, he returns severely injured from the lab explosion, and under pressure from America, undergoes extensive reconstructive surgery. He has a mechanical arm. His polished metal skull — a kind of craniofacial prosthesis — contains few discernable features. Several of his internal organs are artificial. While his fingerprints are identified as belonging to Lucas Martino, they could be the result of transplant. Is he the real Martino? Or a technologically altered imposter sent by America’s enemies for the purpose of spying and infiltration? Tasked with uncovering the truth, ANG Security Chief Shawn Rogers makes some shocking discoveries.

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

ROGUE MOON, which is published in the UK by Gollancz as a SF Masterwork, is also due to be published in Germany by Heyne in July 2016 (covers below). Here’s the synopsis…

A monstrous apparatus has been found on the surface of the moon. It devours and destroys in ways so incomprehensible to humans that a new language has to be invented to describe it and a new kind of thinking to understand it. So far, the human guinea pigs sent there in hopes of unraveling the murderous maze have all died terrible deaths. The most recent volunteer survived but is now on suicide watch. The ideal candidate won’t go insane even as he feels the end approaching. Al Barker has already stared into the face of death; he can handle it again. But he won’t merely endure the trauma of dying. Barker will die over and over — even as his human qualities are preserved on Earth.

With its cast of fascinating characters — like brilliant scientist Edward Hawks, who is obsessed with rebirth — Rogue Moon is a rare thriller that doesn’t just make you sweat. It makes you think.

A number of Budrys’s other books and novels are published in the UK by Gollancz’s SF Gateway eBook program.

A Couple More A. Bertram Chandler eBooks Now Available

Posted on Thursday, December 31st, 2015

Today, Gollancz publishes a couple more novels from A. Bertram Chandler‘s extensive, classic sci-fi backlist. Released through the SF Gateway, THE WILD ONES and THE ALTERNATE MARTIANS are now available.

THE WILD ONES is the eighth novel in the second John Grimes cycle, Far Traveller. Here’s the synopsis…

Back on earth with Shirl and Darleen from New Alice, John Grimes is off on a new mission. Giant golden creatures and accusations of witchcraft are all part of A. Bertram Chandler’s last completed novel.

THE ALTERNATE MARTIANS is a stand-alone sci-fi novel. Here’s the succinct synopsis…

A space expedition to Mars find themselves in the worlds of H.G. Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Otis Adelbert Kline.

This is the third batch of novels by A. Bertram Chandler released via the SF Gateway. You can find details about the others here and here. More are on the way!

Zeno represents A. Bertram Chandler in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Details & Covers: A. Bertram Chandler’s Sci-Fi Series

Posted on Tuesday, December 1st, 2015

ChandlerAB-RimworldSeriesUK-Blog

This year, Gollancz‘s SF Gateway is publishing a wave of A. Bertram Chandler novels. We thought it might be helpful to share some more information on the author and reading-order for the novels. You can find out more about the authors novels on his website.

First up (pictured above), the Rim World novels, originally published between 1961-69: THE RIM OF SPACE (out now), BEYOND THE GALACTIC RIM (out now), WHEN THE DREAM DIES, BRING BACK YESTERDAY, THE SHIP FROM OUTSIDE (out now) and CATCH THE STAR WINDS. Here’s the synopsis for book one…

Derek Calver touches down on Lorn and is determined to join the Rim Runners to explore desolate planets.

He joins the crew of Lorn Lady and sets forth for Mellise, inhabited by intelligent amphibians; for Groller, where the natives have just qualified as humanoids; for Stree with its tea loving lizards; and Tharn, home of a pre-industrial civilization.

Next up, we have the first John Grimes cycle of novels — John Grimes: Survey Service (1967-75): THE ROAD TO THE RIM, TO PRIME THE PUMP, THE HARD WAY UP, THE BROKEN CYCLE, SPARTAN PLANET, THE INHERITORS and THE BIG BLACK MARK. Here’s the extremely succinct synopsis for the first novel…

Lieutenant John Grimes of the Federation Survey Service: fresh out of the Academy — and as green as they come.

The Grimes saga continues in John Grimes: Far Traveler Couriers (1977-84): THE FAR TRAVELER, STAR COURIER, STAR LOOT and THE LAST AMAZON.

The third Grimes cycle, John Grimes: Rim Commodore (1964-1976): INTO THE ALTERNATE UNIVERSE, THE RIM GODS, ALTERNATE ORBITS, THE DARK DIMENSION (out now) and THE WAY BACK.

Finally, the Empress Irene series, which is set in the same universe as the John Grimes novels (1965-67): EMPRESS IN OUTER SPACE, SPACE MERCENARIES (out now) and NEBULA ALERT.

The titles not already available (including a couple of stand-alone novels) are due to be published in the UK by Gollancz’s SF Gateway in eBook, on December 17th — we will, of course, post a reminder on the day.

Zeno represents A. Bertram Chandler in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Select A. Bertram Chandler Backlist Out Now

Posted on Thursday, November 26th, 2015

Today, Gollancz‘s SF Gateway releases the first wave of of novels from A. Bertram Chandler‘s extensive backlist. A prolific master of science fiction, here are the novels published in eBook today…

John Grimes Series (pictured above):

Stand Alone Novels (plus original publication date):

THE HAMELIN PLAGUE (1963)
THE DEEP REACHES OF SPACE (1964)
THE COILS OF TIME (1964)
SPACE MERCENARIES (1965 — actually second novel in Empress Irene series)
THE BITTER PILL (1974)

The second, larger wave of Chandler releases (20 novels) will by published by the SF Gateway on December 17th, 2015. Next Wednesday, we’ll share all the covers, as well as put them in reading and series order.

Zeno represents A. Bertram Chandler in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Two New Simon R. Green Novels

Posted on Thursday, May 7th, 2015

At the end of 2014 and the beginning of this year, Jo Fletcher Books started releasing Simon R. Green‘s back-catalogue in the UK as eBooks. Today, we can share the information about the two latest additions: PROPERTY OF A LADY FAIRE and TALES FROM THE NIGHTSIDE.PROPERTY OF A LADY FAIRE is the eighth book in Simon’s bestselling Secret Histories series. Here’s the synopsis…

Call me Drood, Eddie Drood. Some know me as Shaman Bond and most simply don’t want to know me at all. For centuries, my family has been keeping the things that lurk on the darker side of existence as far away as possible from humans like you, without you even knowing we’re there.

Unfortunately for us, not everybody appreciates what we Droods do. Recently, I personally managed to survive yet another attempt on my life, but the rest of my relatives weren’t so lucky. My parents are missing in action. My grandfather has been murdered. And the future of my family lies in the iron grasp of the Lady Faire, an incredibly seductive, mysterious, and powerful being.

She possesses an ancient object that can save them. I have to steal it from her. Easy enough to say, difficult — and very, very dangerous — to do…

TALES FROM THE NIGHTSIDE is a collection of short stories set in Simon’s New York Times-bestselling Nightside urban fantasy series…

Welcome to the Nightside. It’s the secret heart of London, beating to its own rhythm, pumping lifeblood through the veins of its streets and alleys hidden in eternal darkness, where creatures of the night congregate and where the sun is afraid to shine. It’s the place to go if you’re looking to indulge the darker side of your nature—and to hell with the consequences.

Tales from the Nightside presents ten macabre mysteries that shine a dim beam into the neighborhood’s darkest corners to reveal things that should never come to light. Take a walk with such deadly and dangerous denizens of the Nightside as Razor Eddie, Dead Boy, and Larry Oblivion as they encounter things even more inhuman and inhumane than they are. And join John Taylor, the PI with a knack for finding lost things, as he confronts Sir Francis Varney, King of the Vampires, in a never-before-published novella-length adventure.

There may be nothing to be afraid of in the dark, but there’s plenty to be afraid of in the Nightside…

Both of these titles are available now. Simon is also the author of, most recently, THE DARK SIDE OF THE ROAD, which was published in the US last week by Severn House, who also published the novel in the UK.

Zeno represents Simon R. Green in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Out Now in the UK: The Final Two NIGHTSIDE Novels by Simon R. Green

Posted on Thursday, October 16th, 2014

We’re very happy to report that A HARD DAY’S KNIGHT and THE BRIDE WORE BLACK LEATHER are out in the UK today! The novels are the final two eBook re-issues in Simon R. Green‘s critically-acclaimed Nightside series, published by Jo Fletcher Books. Here’s the synopsis for A HARD DAY’S KNIGHT…

John Taylor is a private detective – of sorts. He’s good at finding things, though he wouldn’t know a clue if he fell over it. But now something has found him, and he wishes it hadn’t.

Excalibur, the legendary sword of King Arthur. It just turned up in the mail one day, and Taylor has no idea why – though he’s certain it is a portent of perilous times to come. To find out why he was chosen to wield the sword, Taylor must meet with the Last Defenders of Camelot.

But to do so, he must first travel to a place he fears more than even the Nightside…

London Proper.

The Nightside series includes: SOMETHING FROM THE NIGHTSIDE, AGENTS OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS, NIGHTINGALE’S LAMENT, HEX AND THE CITY, PATHS NOT TAKEN, SHARPER THAN A SERPENT’S TOOTH, HELL TO PAY, THE UNNATURAL INQUIRER, JUST ANOTHER JUDGEMENT DAY, THE GOOD THE BAD THE UNCANNY, A HARD DAY’S NIGHT and THE BRIDE WORE BLACK LEATHER.

Here are just a couple of reviews for the final two Nightside novels…

‘Readers who prefer their gore with huge melodramatic flourishes and a side of slyly amusing repartee will find John Taylor at least the equal of Jim Butcher’s Chicago wizard PI Harry Dresden.’ — Kirkus on A HARD DAY’S KNIGHT

‘… superlative… ratchets up the stakes for series protagonist John Taylor in an intricate and action-filled plot that seamlessly blends crime and the supernatural… The pace never flags and the sardonic Chandleresque narration is perfectly suited to the Nightside’s fantastical mean streets.’ — Publishers Weekly on THE BRIDE WORE BLACK LEATHER

‘This is an extremely entertaining read full of hilarious in-jokes…’ — RT Book Reviews on A HARD DAY’S KNIGHT

‘Simon R. Green walks us through his most thoroughly developed setting and its vast assortment of strange, devious, and downright weird characters… There are huge payoffs in the narrative and lots of affectionate farewells… Recommended.’ — SF Revu on THE BRIDE WORE BLACK LEATHER

Later this year, Jo Fletcher Books will also be re-issuing Green’s Secret Histories series. Check back in a month or so for more details.

Zeno represents Simon R. Green in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Simon R. Green’s NIGHTSIDE Returns to the UK!

Posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2014

We’re delighted to report that the first eight of Simon R. Green‘s Nightside novels are once again available in the UK! The novels have been re-issued by Jo Fletcher Books as eBooks. The final four novels in the series, as well as Simon’s Secret Histories series, will be published over the next few months, and we’ll bring you news as-and-when they become available.

Here’s the synopsis for the first Nightside novel, SOMETHING FROM THE NIGHTSIDE…

John Taylor is a private detective. At least that’s what his business card says, and it isn’t completely untrue: Taylor is a private eye – or rather, he has a ‘private eye’, a supernatural ability to find anything that is lost. As a child of the Nightside, it’s an ability he was born with.

But it’s been a long time since Taylor left the Nightside – that hidden netherworld in the middle of London where it is perpetually 3 a.m., where fantasy and reality co-exist – and he has no intention of returning.

Then Joanna Barrett arrives at his office; her teenage daughter is missing and she is offering a small fortune to find her. Yet it’s not just the money that persuades Taylor to take on the job, for he knows exactly where the girl has gone…

The Nightside. And to save her, Taylor must do what he vowed he never would, and once again descend into the hellish depths of his home.

Zeno represents Simon R. Green in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Cory Doctorow on Ian McDonald’s OUT ON BLUE SIX (and more…)

Posted on Tuesday, January 21st, 2014

‘For ten years, I’ve been singing the praises of OUT ON BLUE SIX, Ian McDonald’s 1989 science fiction novel that defies description and beggars the imagination… as you’ll read, this book is one of those once-in-a-generation, brain-melting flashes of brilliance that makes you fall in love with a writer’s work forever.’

… So wrote Cory Doctorow, recently, about Ian McDonald‘s OUT ON BLUE SIX, a novel that has as much impact today as it did when it was first published in 1989. Here’s the synopsis…

In a far-future city where happiness and stability are law, a group of rebels will fight for what it means to be human.

The Compassionate Society was designed as a utopia, where people’s genetic predispositions and aptitudes—rather than random choice—guide their lives, and pain of any kind is illegal. In the self-contained city, happiness is the most cherished value, and the Ministry of Pain swiftly prosecutes anyone who interferes with the contentment of another. For many of its citizens—who were matched to their jobs, spouses, and friends—the Compassionate Society is perfect. But to Courtney Hall, a political cartoonist, it is a place of stifling mediocrity. When her satirical work makes her a target of the government, Courtney goes on the run, only to discover an entire underground network of dissidents, each fighting against the stagnation imposed by the Compassionate Society—a struggle that could stand as humanity’s last chance for growth, innovation, and ultimately, survival.

Thrilling and inventive, Out on Blue Six is Ian McDonald’s engrossing story of free will and self-determination, and of the true value of a life ruled not by fear, but by hope.

As Doctorow points out in his post, the novel has been out of print for a long while, but has just been re-issued by Open Road Media in eBook format. Doctorow was asked to write the introduction to the new edition (you can read that introduction if you follow the link, above).

Open Road Media has also published eBook editions of SCISSORS CUT PAPER WRAP STONE, SACRIFICE OF FOOLS, KING OF MORNING QUEEN OF DAY and THE BROKEN LAND.

In related eBook news, the JABberwocky eBook program will be releasing more of Ian’s backlist titles over the course of 2014, including: CHAGA, KIRINYA, TENDELEO’S STORY, DESOLATION ROAD, ARES EXPRESS and EMPIRE DREAMS.

Classic Elizabeth Moon eBooks in the UK!

Posted on Wednesday, August 28th, 2013

This managed to slip through the net a couple months ago, but Orbit Books has (rather quietly) released Elizabeth Moon‘s Deed of Paksenarrion and Legacy of Gird series in eBook in the UK!

Deed of Paksenarrion: SHEEPFARMER’S DAUGHTER, DIVIDED ALLEGIANCE, OATH OF GOLD

Legacy of Gird: SURRENDER NONE, LIAR’S OATH

The Legacy of Gird series is also known as A Legacy of Honour in the UK. The novels have been released individually as eBooks, but are also available as printed omnibus editions (pictured above).

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

Dirk Berger’s Covers for James P. Blaylock…

Posted on Tuesday, August 6th, 2013

‘One of the first fantasy novels I read was Land of Dreams and it still is among my favourites – and most of the other James Blaylock books are, too.’ – Dirk Berger

It was perhaps inevitable, then, that Dirk Berger would do such a great job on the JABberwocky eBook covers for some of James P. Blaylock‘s novels. His website has samples of much of his work, and you also can find out more about his Blaylock covers, and the images he used to create them, right here. Below, a couple more examples…

eBook – James Maxey’s DRAGON APOCALYPSE…

Posted on Thursday, June 20th, 2013

Solaris Books has collected James Maxey‘s critically-acclaimed Dragon Apocalypse trilogy in an eBook omnibus. The omnibus is now available in both the UK and US, and collects GREATSHADOW, HUSH, and WITCHBREAKER.

Here is the synopsis for book one…

The warrior known as Infidel (Princess Innocent Brightmoon, to a very, very few) is legendary – as much among the drunkards of Commonground as among heroes and bards – for her superhuman strength and skin tough as mail. Stagger, her long-time friend and closest companion, is a wastrel and a sot, but a gifted scholar. Sorrow, a powerful and possibly deranged witch, will stop at nothing – including mutilating her own body – in her pursuit of a fairer, more just world.

Once, dragons covered this world, warring with each other for dominance over great territories. In aeons past, however, their numbers dwindled, and the few that remained withdrew from mundane affairs, claiming the very primal forces of the world – fire, cold, storms, plants, the sun, wild beasts, even the principle of decay itself – as their own. Now the powerful Church of the Book has set its sights on destroying the primal dragons and freeing humanity of their supposed ‘tyrrany’ forever. Wearying of the mercenary life after Stagger’s death, Infidel – with an eye on the dragons’ celebrated wealth – agrees to take part in their first expedition.

But the primal dragons are not to be tackled lightly. In the most hectic, touching romp since The Princess Bride, Infidel, Stagger (or his ghost) and Sorrow will find their lives, and the world around them, changing beyond their grasp as the Church’s hubris reaps its rewards…

Here is but a fraction of what critics have been saying in praise of the Dragon Apocalypse series…

‘A magnificently entertaining romp bursting with charm.’ — SFX

‘It’s very rare to find a novel packed to the brim with heart-pumping action, laugh out loud humour, and a protagonist who wants cake. GREATSHADOW is a brilliant book… It has a great premise, great characters, great secondary world, great world-building, great pacing, great everything. This is pretty much a perfect book for me, because I loved everything about it, and hated nothing.’ — Founding Fields

‘GREATSHADOW was a fabulous read, which kept me turning pages and just finishing one more chapter before doing whatever I was supposed to do. Besides, any story that can legitimately clothe its main character in a chain mail bikini and make it functional can only be genius! If you like straight up adventure novels, kick ass heroines and dragons – lots of dragons – then you can’t miss GREATSHADOW. I know I’m already impatient for the second book in the series called HUSH.’ — Fantastical Librarian

‘GREATSHADOW is a clever, funny, goofy read… This isn’t your bog-standard intro quest: GREATSHADOW is a skip-to-the-back-of-the-book epic-level adventure … level 30+ adventure is charming, not po-faced, with a group of flawed, sarcastic, quick-witted and oddball adventurers that are equally comfortable with set-piece battle and rapid fire sarcasm.’ — Pornokitsch

‘… the most original and colorful fantasy world I have encountered in recent memory… Maxey has talent and just as importantly (and even more rare) is that he can generate truly novel ideas. As a sequel, HUSH expands upon the world introduced in the first book.’ — Elitist Book Reviews

‘There is a growing trend for fantasy novels to be grim, gritty and filled with knights who swear and monsters so evil that they take all the joy out of being scary and are simply nasty. Luckily, HUSH isn’t one of those books; it’s a fun, well-thought out fantasy romp which is packed with clever one-liners and plenty of action… Maxey proves that fantasy doesn’t have to be po-faced and serious in order to be fun, whilst at the same time tells a story with depth and emotion… intelligent fantasy that doesn’t waste it’s time trying to prove how smart it is… feeds the reader with plenty of fuel for the imagination whilst delivering on its promise of action and fun… it’s an exceptionally well done example of its genre, and a breath of fresh air for anyone sick of swords and sorcery stories covered in mud, blood and misery.’ — Starburst

Sarah Ash eBooks

Posted on Tuesday, May 28th, 2013

Sarah Ash‘s first three novels are now available as eBooks for the first time, through the JABberwocky eBook Program! The fan-favourites MOTHS TO A FLAME, SONGSPINNERS, and THE LOST CHILD have also received new artwork, by the talented Marcelle Natisin…

Here is the sysnopsis for MOTHS TO A FLAME…

Wondrous Myn-Dhiel, home to the dynasty of the House of Memizhon, a place of gothic-Byzantine riches and opulence – but now corrupt and subject to a king and queen, the Arkhan and his Arkhys, slowly going mad inside their labyrinthine palace.

But in this stagnant land nothing can shake the powers that be – until the arrival of two young slaves, twins Lai and Laili. Lai, the man of peace, must become a warrior, or die in the Arena; chaste Laili suffers as the Arkhan’s new concubine.

Forced into submission and betrayal of principle, they nevertheless survive. And, once enmeshed in the court and its machinery of power, they rise to new prominence.

But Myn-Dhiel must change… And as the power-playing of the court reaches fever pitch, a god-driven plague – complex, disguising itself as an irresistible drug – descends. Now Lai and Laili must realise their true fate – destroyers and redeemers both.

For these are the last days.

And this is the fall of the house of Memizhon.