Flannery’s BATTLE MAGE enters the fray in France!


The first part of Peter A. Flannery‘s fantasy novel BATTLE MAGE is out in France! Published by Albin Michel as MAGE DE BATAILLE, here’s the synopsis…

Falco Danté est un gringalet dans un monde en guerre peu à peu conquis par l’armée infernale des Possédés. Pire, Falco est méprisé, mis à l’écart, à cause de son père qui fut un immense mage de bataille avant de sombrer dans une folie meurtrière. Alors que la Reine tente de rassembler toutes les forces armées pour repousser les Possédés, Falco prend une décision qui va l’amener aux marges du désespoir: il va entrer à l’académie de la guerre, une école d’excellence pour les officiers. Là, il devra surmonter ses doutes, ceux de ses amis et même ceux de la Reine.

Le monde brûle ; seul un mage de bataille pourra sauver ce qu’il en reste. Falco réussira-t-il à libérer son pouvoir, à invoquer un dragon à sa mesure ou succombera-t-il à la folie… comme son père?

Porté par son héros meurtri, condamné à se dépasser face au mal absolu, Mage de bataille a rencontré un formidable succès dans les pays anglo-saxons.

The second volume is due out early next year (cover at end). Here’s the novel’s English-language synopsis…

The world is falling to the burning shadow of the Possessed and only the power of a battle mage can save it. But the ancient bond with dragonkind is failing. Of those that answer a summoning too many are black. Black dragons are the enemy of humankind. Black dragons are mad.

Falco Dante is a weakling in a world of warriors, but worse than this, he is the son of a madman. Driven by grief, Falco makes a decision that will drive him to the brink of despair. As he tries to come to terms with his actions Falco follows his friends to the Academy of War, an elite training school dedicated to martial excellence. But while his friends make progress he struggles to overcome his doubts and insecurity. Even Queen Catherine of Wrath has her doubts about Falco’s training.

While the Queen tries to unite the Kingdoms against the Possessed, Falco struggles to overcome his fears. Will he unlock the power trapped inside of him or will he succumb to madness and murder like his father?

Zeno represents Peter A. Flannery in translation.

French Zelazny Fans can now learn the secrets of THIS IMMORTAL…


French fans rejoice: Roger Zelazny‘s classic novel THIS IMMORTAL is out now in France! Published by Helios as TOI L’IMMORTEL, here’s the synopsis…

Une catastrophe atomique a détruit pratiquement toute trace des civilisations continentales, provoquant l’exode de la plupart des humains. Mais les quelques individus restés sur Terre ont vu leur espérance de vie considérablement augmenter. Conrad Nomikos est l’un d’entre eux et nul ne connaît son âge. Devenu le conservateur des ruines de la Terre sur une île grecque miraculeusement préservée, il doit servir de guide à un important intellectuel végan, Cort Myshtigo, qui souhaite visiter la planète pour se documenter afin d’écrire un livre sur l’histoire humaine. C’est le début d’une odyssée que Nomikos imaginait certes périlleuse, mais pas à ce point…

En mariant avec audace religion, magie et technologie, Roger Zelazny, avec ce premier roman, est entré immédiatement dans la cour des grands. Il remporte d’ailleurs en 1966 le prix Hugo ex aequo avec Dune de Franck Herbert. Ce texte concentre une grande partie des thématiques que l’auteur ne cessera d’explorer tout au long de ses oeuvres suivantes.

Un nouveau mythe et une quête post-apocalyptique.

THIS IMMORTAL was first published in 1966, and racked up an impressive number of accolades and awards: the novel won the Hugo Award for Best Novel (1966), Geffen Award for Best Translated Science Fiction Book (2009), and the Seiun Award 星雲賞 for Best Foreign Language Novel of the Year (1976). Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Conrad Nomikos has a long, rich personal history that he’d rather not talk about. And, as Arts Commissioner, he’s been given a job he’d rather not do. Escorting an alien grandee on a guided tour of the shattered remains of Earth is not something he relishes — especially when it is apparent that this places him at the center of high-level intrigue that has some bearing on the future of Earth itself!

Helios has also published Zelazny’s DAMNATION ALLEY (as ROUTE 666) and ISLE OF THE DEAD (as L’ÎLE DES MORTS).

Zeno represents Roger Zelazny in Translation, on behalf of the Zelazny Estate.

Victor Milán’s (paperback) DINOSAUR KNIGHTS sally forth in France!


Victor Milán‘s second Dinosaur Lords novel, DINOSAUR KNIGHTS is out now in paperback in France! Published by Pocket as GUERRE & DINOSAURES II, here’s the synopsis…

Les Anges Gris, serviteurs des Créateurs, sont de retour sur Paradis pour la purger du péché. Mais en ce royaume voué à la guerre, aux complots et à la sauvagerie des dinosaures, qui n’est pas coupable? Karyl et Rob n’ont rien d’innocents. Pourtant ils doivent se défendre lors de leur procès pour crime envers la Communauté du Jardin. Venus en aide à la population, les voilà accusés d’avoir porter la guerre dans leur havre de paix. Là même où la princesse Melodia vient chercher refuge. Celle dont l’amant est le Comte Jaume dels Flors, le rival de Karyl, trouvera-t-elle un allié en ce dernier?

Mais surtout, la Grande Armée Impériale réussira-t-elle à stopper la Croisade dévastatrice de l’Ange Gris? L’Apocalypse est en marche…

Pocket has also published the first novel in the series. DINOSAUR KNIGHTS is published in English by Tor Books. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Paradise is a sprawling, diverse, often cruel world. There are humans on Paradise but dinosaurs predominate: wildlife, monsters, beasts of burden, and of war. Armored knights ride dinosaurs to battle legions of war-trained Triceratops and their upstart peasant crews.

Karyl Bogomirsky is one such knight who has chosen to rally those who seek a way from the path of war and madness. The fact that the Empire has announced a religious crusade against this peaceful kingdom, the people who just wish to live in peace anathema, and they all are to be converted or destroyed doesn’t help him one bit.

Things really turn to mud when the dreaded Grey Angels, fabled ancient weapons of the Gods who created Paradise in the first place come on the scene after almost a millennia. Everyone thought that they were fables used to scare children. They are very much real.

And they have come to rid the world of sin… including all the humans who manifest those vices.

Zeno represents Victor Milán in Translation, on behalf of Kay McCauley at Aurous, Inc.

Coming Soon: Roger Zelazny’s THIS IMMORTAL in France


Roger Zelazny‘s classic novel THIS IMMORTAL (his first published) is getting a new French edition! Published next week by Helios as TOI L’IMMORTEL, here’s the synopsis…

Une catastrophe atomique a détruit pratiquement toute trace des civilisations continentales, provoquant l’exode de la plupart des humains. Mais les quelques individus restés sur Terre ont vu leur espérance de vie considérablement augmenter. Conrad Nomikos est l’un d’entre eux et nul ne connaît son âge. Devenu le conservateur des ruines de la Terre sur une île grecque miraculeusement préservée, il doit servir de guide à un important intellectuel végan, Cort Myshtigo, qui souhaite visiter la planète pour se documenter afin d’écrire un livre sur l’histoire humaine. C’est le début d’une odyssée que Nomikos imaginait certes périlleuse, mais pas à ce point…

En mariant avec audace religion, magie et technologie, Roger Zelazny, avec ce premier roman, est entré immédiatement dans la cour des grands. Il remporte d’ailleurs en 1966 le prix Hugo ex aequo avec Dune de Franck Herbert. Ce texte concentre une grande partie des thématiques que l’auteur ne cessera d’explorer tout au long de ses oeuvres suivantes.

Un nouveau mythe et une quête post-apocalyptique.

THIS IMMORTAL was first published in 1966, and won the Hugo Award for Best Novel (1966), Geffen Award for Best Translated Science Fiction Book (2009), and the Seiun Award 星雲賞 for Best Foreign Language Novel of the Year (1976). Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Conrad Nomikos has a long, rich personal history that he’d rather not talk about. And, as Arts Commissioner, he’s been given a job he’d rather not do. Escorting an alien grandee on a guided tour of the shattered remains of Earth is not something he relishes — especially when it is apparent that this places him at the center of high-level intrigue that has some bearing on the future of Earth itself!

Zeno represents Roger Zelazny in Translation, on behalf of the Zelazny Estate.

French Documentary series about ALAN TURING, featuring Andrew Hodges


Earlier this month, France Culture broadcast a mini-documentary series about Alan Turing, the genius mathematician who cracked Germany’s Enigma Code (among other achievements). Andrew Hodges, author of ALAN TURING: THE ENIGMA was a contributor to the series. All of the episodes are available from the France Culture website.

Hodges’s Turing biography published by Michel Lafon in France (and Canada),  Here’s the synopsis…

Génie de l’informatique et héros de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, Alan Turing est célèbre pour avoir décrypté les communications codées de l’armée allemande en venant à bout d’Enigma, la machine de chiffrement utilisée par les nazis, réputée inviolable.

Il faut dire que lorsqu’il « casse » le code secret allemand, à moins de 30 ans, le mathématicien n’en est pas à son premier coup d’éclat. Déjà, en 1936, il a dessiné les contours d’une première machine programmable, ou « machine de Turing », capable d’effectuer n’importe quel calcul mathématique : c’est l’ancêtre de l’ordinateur.

Après la guerre, Alan Turing poursuit ses recherches et se consacre en pionnier aux possibilités offertes par l’intelligence artificielle. Mais l’ex-héros national est persécuté à cause de son homosexualité et condamné en 1952 à la castration chimique. Deux années plus tard, à l’âge de 41 ans, Alan Turing met fin à ses jours en croquant une pomme empoisonnée au cyanure.

Cette biographie, qui mêle histoire des sciences, politique et philosophie, nous dévoile la vie hors norme de l’inventeur, longtemps méconnu, qui a révolutionné nos vies.

ALAN TURING: THE ENIGMA is published by Vintage in the UK, and Princeton University Press in the US. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

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.

ALAN TURING: THE ENIGMA was adapted into the Oscar-winning movie The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Turing.

Attention! La Mafia des Bonbons arrive…


Next month — September 19th, to be exact — Castelmore are due to publish the French edition of Lavie Tidhar‘s critically-acclaimed first book for young readers, CANDY! Published in France as LA MAFIA DES BONBONS, here’s the synopsis…

Quand Charlie et la Chocolaterie rencontre Le Faucon maltais!

Dans une ville où les bonbons sont un crime et où tous les gâteaux ont été prohibés, Nelle Faulkner est une jeune détective privée de douze ans à la recherche de son prochain client.

Quand le célèbre gangster Eddie de Menthe lui demande son aide, Nelle accepte donc aussitôt l’affaire.

Mais son enquête la plonge elle et ses amis dans le plus poisseux et le plus embrouillé des mondes : celui du trafic clandestin de bonbons!

Nelle résoudra-t-elle l’affaire ou risque-t-elle la crise de foie?

CANDY is out now in the UK, published by Scholastic. The wonderful interior illustrations and cover are by Mark Beech. The novel is also forthcoming Germany, due to be published by Loewe in October. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Guard your chocolate! Imagine living in a place where Mars bars are banned and sweeties are totally outlawed. Ugh – how depressing! In this miserable place, is it any wonder that gangsters trade in illegal sweeties? We can’t even blame them. Nelle Faulkner is a twelve-year-old private detective looking for her next client. So when notorious candy gangster Eddie de Menthe walks in and asks her to find a missing teddy bear, Nelle takes the case. But as soon as the teddy turns up, Eddie himself goes missing. Can Nelle track him down before all of them come to a sticky end?

Here are just a couple of the great reviews CANDY has received so far…

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

‘Delicious pastiche of “noir” fiction from SF author Lavie Tidhar, set in a city where everything sweet and sugary is banned. Private eye Nelle searches for a lost teddy bear and uncovers a Chinatown-style conspiracy. You could think of it as The Malteser Falcon, or perhaps Double Inde-mint-y.’ — Financial Times (Summer Books of 2018)

‘… original, highly-enjoyable and tempting twist on what happens when the town suffers from the symptoms of sugar withdrawal… Mark Beech’s joyful illustrations add tastes of humour, quirk and life to complement Lavie’s brilliant and charismatic characters; infused with an infectious influence of the collaboration between Dahl and Blake. Like a mini Miss Marple meets Maynards… this mouthful of mystery will leave every reader feeling like a child in a sweetshop; just craving to read more from Lavie!’ — The Reader Teacher

Lavie’s previous and next novels — CENTRAL STATION and UNHOLY LAND, respectively — are  published by Tachyon Publications (the latter due in November 2018).

Flannery’s BATTLEMAGE gears up for war in France!


Today, we have the new covers for the French edition of Peter A. Flannery‘s BATTLE MAGE! Published as MAGE DE BATAILLE  in two parts by Albin Michel, on September 26th, 2018 (Tome 1) and in early 2019 (Tome 2), the two covers make up a rather eye-catching panoramic image (above). Here’s the synopsis…

Here’s the English-language synopsis…

The world is falling to the burning shadow of the Possessed and only the power of a battle mage can save it. But the ancient bond with dragonkind is failing. Of those that answer a summoning too many are black. Black dragons are the enemy of humankind. Black dragons are mad.

Falco Dante is a weakling in a world of warriors, but worse than this, he is the son of a madman. Driven by grief, Falco makes a decision that will drive him to the brink of despair. As he tries to come to terms with his actions Falco follows his friends to the Academy of War, an elite training school dedicated to martial excellence. But while his friends make progress he struggles to overcome his doubts and insecurity. Even Queen Catherine of Wrath has her doubts about Falco’s training.

While the Queen tries to unite the Kingdoms against the Possessed, Falco struggles to overcome his fears. Will he unlock the power trapped inside of him or will he succumb to madness and murder like his father?

Zeno represents Peter A. Flannery in translation.

Aliette de Bodard’s THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS has been nominated for an ESFS Award!


We’re delighted to report that Aliette de Bodard‘s THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS has been nominated for an ESFS Award for Best Work of Fiction! The winner of the award will be announced on Saturday July 21st, at Eurocon Nemo 2018.

The second novel in Aliette’s Dominion of the Fallen series, it’s published in the UK by Gollancz. Here’s the synopsis…

As the city rebuilds from the onslaught of sorcery that nearly destroyed it, the great Houses of Paris, ruled by fallen angels, still contest one another for control over the capital.

House Silverspires was once the most powerful, but just as it sought to rise again, an ancient evil brought it low. Phillippe, an immortal who escaped the carnage, has a singular goal — to resurrect someone he lost. But the cost of such magic might be more than he can bear.

In House Hawthorn, Madeleine the alchemist has had her addiction to angel essence savagely broken. Struggling to live on, she is forced on a perilous diplomatic mission to the underwater dragon kingdom — and finds herself in the midst of intrigues that have already caused one previous emissary to mysteriously disappear…

As the Houses seek a peace more devastating than war, those caught between new fears and old hatreds must find strength — or fall prey to a magic that seeks to bind all to its will.

The first novel in the series, THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS is also published by Gollancz in the UK.

THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS is also published in France by Pocket as L’ASCENSION DE LA MAISON AUBÉPINE

The first novel in the series is also published in Germany by Knaur, as DAS HAUS DER GEBROCHENEN SCHWINGEN

The two novels have also been published in Czech by Host, as ŘÁD ZLOMENÝCH KŘÍDEL and ŘÁD VĚČNÝCH TRNŮ

Finally, for those outside of Europe, the series is also published in the US by Roc Books.

 

Two more, new French jackets for Peter Grant…


J’ai Lu recently re-jacketed the French editions of Ben Aaronovitch‘s Peter Grant series. We shared the first three new covers a little while ago, and today we have the new covers for BROKEN HOMES (above) and FOXGLOVE SUMMER. Published in France as LE RÊVE DE L’ARCHITECTE and LES DISPARUES DE RUSHPOOL, respectively. Here’s the synopsis for the former…

La découverte d’un corps mutilé dans la banlieue de Londres fait monter d’un cran la paranoïa ambiante, d’autant que la méthode rappelle furieusement celle de l’Homme sans visage, ce magicien fou déjà connu des services de police. Enfin, pas de tous les services, juste de celui des affaires surnaturelles, dont le représentant le plus actif, l’agent Peter Grant, est aussi le dernier apprenti sorcier de Londres. À peine débutée, son enquête va s’enrichir de nouveaux éléments à première vue sans rapport avec le crime, mais qui tous mènent au quartier d’Elephant and Castle ; plus précisément à un ensemble d’immeubles conçu par un architecte dérangé et habité par tout ce que la capitale britannique compte de désespérés…

The Peter Grant series is published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Del Rey (1-3) and DAW Books (4-7). Here’s the English-language synopsis for BROKEN HOMES

A mutilated body in Crawley. Another killer on the loose. The prime suspect is one Robert Weil – an associate of the twisted magician known as the Faceless Man? Or just a common garden serial killer?

Before PC Peter Grant can get his head round the case, a town planner going under a tube train and a stolen grimoire are adding to his case-load.

So far so London.

But then Peter gets word of something very odd happening in Elephant and Castle, on an housing estate designed by a nutter, built by charlatans and inhabited by the truly desperate.

Is there a connection?

And if there is, why oh why did it have to be South of the River?

The highly-anticipated seventh novel in the series, LIES SLEEPING, is due out in the UK and US in November 2018.

Here are the new UK covers…

PEUR SUR LA LIGNE out on Wednesday!


This Wednesday, J’ai Lu are due to published Ben Aaronovitch‘s first Peter Grant novella, THE FURTHEST STATION. Published in French as PEUR SUR LA LIGNE, here’s the synopsis…

Comme tous les matins, vous prenez votre métro ou votre train de banlieue pour gagner le centre-ville de Londres où vous attend une rude journée de travail. L’attente, les bousculades, la morosité des autres voyageurs sont votre lot quotidien. Même l’occasionnel illuminé qui braille et gesticule ne vous émeut plus. Mais là, c’est différent : qui sont ces étranges personnages vêtus de façon anachronique qui, tous, essaient de vous communiquer un message urgent? Le plus curieux, c’est que vous oubliez presque aussitôt leur existence… Hum, de quoi parle-t-on déjà?

Aucun doute, cela relève du domaine de compétence de l’agent Peter Grant, pour l’occasion accompagné d’une stagiaire encombrante et d’un chien détecteur de fantômes à la fiabilité toute relative…

The novella, which is set between FOXGLOVE SUMMER and THE HANGING TREE (books five and six), is published in the UK by Gollancz, the US by Subterranean Press, and is also available in Germany (DTV). Here’s the English-language synopsis…

There’s something going bump on the Metropolitan line and Sergeant Jaget Kumar knows exactly who to call.

It’s PC Peter Grant’s speciality…

Only it’s more than going ‘bump’. Traumatised travellers have been reporting strange encounters on their morning commute, with strangely dressed people trying to deliver an urgent message. Stranger still, despite calling the police themselves, within a few minutes the commuters have already forgotten the encounter — making the follow up interviews rather difficult.

So with a little help from Abigail and Toby the ghost hunting dog, Peter and Jaget are heading out on a ghost hunting expedition.

Because finding the ghost and deciphering their urgent message might just be a matter of life and death.

The Peter Grant series is published in the UK by Gollancz, France by J’ai Lu, the US by Del Rey and DAW Books, and in Germany by DTV. It has also been published widely in other territories. Here are the UK covers, in chronological order…

French coverage of THE FURTHEST LINE…


Next month (June 6th, to be exact), J’ai Lu are due to publish the French edition of Ben Aaronovitch‘s THE FURTHEST STATION! The first novella in the Peter Grant series will be called PEUR SUR LA LIGNE in France. Here’s the synopsis…

Comme tous les matins, vous prenez votre métro ou votre train de banlieue pour gagner le centre-ville de Londres où vous attend une rude journée de travail. L’attente, les bousculades, la morosité des autres voyageurs sont votre lot quotidien. Même l’occasionnel illuminé qui braille et gesticule ne vous émeut plus. Mais là, c’est différent : qui sont ces étranges personnages vêtus de façon anachronique qui, tous, essaient de vous communiquer un message urgent? Le plus curieux, c’est que vous oubliez presque aussitôt leur existence… Hum, de quoi parle-t-on déjà?

Aucun doute, cela relève du domaine de compétence de l’agent Peter Grant, pour l’occasion accompagné d’une stagiaire encombrante et d’un chien détecteur de fantômes à la fiabilité toute relative…

J’ai Lu have published all of Ben’s French editions to date. Set between FOXGLOVE SUMMER and THE HANGING TREE, the novella is published in the UK by Gollancz (who have published all of the books so far) and in the US by Subterranean Press. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

There’s something going bump on the Metropolitan line and Sergeant Jaget Kumar knows exactly who to call.

It’s PC Peter Grant’s speciality…

Only it’s more than going ‘bump’. Traumatised travellers have been reporting strange encounters on their morning commute, with strangely dressed people trying to deliver an urgent message. Stranger still, despite calling the police themselves, within a few minutes the commuters have already forgotten the encounter – making the follow up interviews rather difficult.

So with a little help from Abigail and Toby the ghost hunting dog, Peter and Jaget are heading out on a ghost hunting expedition.

Because finding the ghost and deciphering their urgent message might just be a matter of life and death.

The latest book in the series, LIES SLEEPING, is due to be published in November by Gollancz (UK) and DAW Books (US). Here are the complete new, English-language series covers…

A French WOLF MOON…


WOLF MOON, the second Luna novel by Ian McDonald, is out today in France! Published by Denoël as LUNE DU LOUP, here’s the synopsis…

Sur la Lune, deux ans après les événements qui ont précipité la chute de la famille Corta, les Mackenzie se sont approprié les restes de leur entreprise. Il n’y a donc plus que quatre «Dragons», ces consortiums familiaux qui se partagent l’exploitation des ressources lunaires et, donc, le pouvoir. Pourtant, les Mackenzie se déchirent sur les cadavres encore frais de leurs ennemis de toujours. Les Sun continuent, discrètement, à élaborer des plans visant à affaiblir leurs adversaires. Les Vorontsov vendent toujours leurs indispensables services au plus offrant. Et les Asamoah tentent tant bien que mal de préserver leur neutralité de façade. Mais le statu quo, même sous gravité réduite, n’est jamais acquis. D’autant que les rares survivants de la famille Corta – blessés, en fuite ou sous la protection d’autres Dragons – n’ont pas dit leur dernier mot.

WOLF MOON is published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Tor Books, and has been published in a number of other translated editions. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

A Dragon is dead.

Corta Helio, one of the five family corporations that rule the Moon, has fallen. Its riches are divided up among its many enemies, its survivors scattered. Eighteen months have passed.

The remaining Helio children, Lucasinho and Luna, are under the protection of the powerful Asamoahs, while Robson, still reeling from witnessing his parent’s violent deaths, is now a ward — virtually a hostage — of Mackenzie Metals. And the last appointed heir, Lucas, has vanished of the surface of the moon.

Only Lady Sun, dowager of Taiyang, suspects that Lucas Corta is not dead, and more to the point — that he is still a major player in the game. After all, Lucas always was the Schemer, and even in death, he would go to any lengths to take back everything and build a new Corta Helio, more powerful than before. But Corta Helio needs allies, and to find them, the fleeing son undertakes an audacious, impossible journey — to Earth.

In an unstable lunar environment, the shifting loyalties and political machinations of each family reach the zenith of their most fertile plots as outright war erupts.

The first in the series — NEW MOON — is also available from Denoël, Gollancz and Tor Books. The next novel in the series, MOON RISING, is due out later this year.

Here are some of the great reviews LUNA: WOLF MOON has received since its release…

‘[A] powerful sequel… compelling throughout. Each of McDonald’s viewpoint characters is made human in fascinating and occasionally disturbing detail, and the solar system of the 22nd century is wonderfully delineated. Fans of the first volume will love this one and eagerly look forward to the next.’ Publishers Weekly

NEW MOON was one of the most interesting sci-fi novels of 2015, with smart ideas on humanity and economies matched by street smarts, political brawls and murder in the streets. LUNA: WOLF MOON turns that up to eleven – it’s a fascinating story, which is also a tense, enthralling read.’ Sci-Fi & Fantasy Review

‘The fights and vengeance that follow are more vicious and intricate than anything in Game of Thrones, full of great acts of self-sacrifice and viciousness alike, brave cavalry charges and last stands, cowardice and avarice. McDonald’s great gift is to hold the micro- and macro-scale in his hand at once. Starting with his debut novel, 1988’s Desolation Road, McDonald has used his intense, finely crafted and small personal stories of his vast casts of characters as the pixels in an unimaginably vast display on which he projects some of the field’s most audacious worldbuilding — never worldbuilding for its own sake, either, but always in the service of slyly parodying, critiquing or lionizing elements of our present-day world.’ Boing Boing

‘A Howling Good Read… No one builds a world like Ian McDonald does. Piece by piece and brick by brick. Spare, simple, elegant when he needs to be…, deep and meaty when he wants to be…, he does his work like an artisan pulling a sculpture from stone. There are no wasted moves, nothing that isn’t vital because, in the end, everything is vital. Everything matters… it is fascinating, all of it. Because McDonald has made a world that is ruthless in its consistency and living, breathing reality, and then made characters who are not just living in it, but wholly and fully of it… McDonald’s corporate war is a gorgeous thing, fought with every tool available… McDonald is able to wrap the biggest events in constellations of the smallest so that a cocktail party here, a discussion of ’80s retro fashion (all mall-hair and WHAM! T-shirts), a love story and a day at work for a guy who cleans solar panels all build and coalesce to form the background radiation of life in this unstable future. Every moment with his characters makes them precious, real and alive.’ NPR

In two weeks, a WOLF MOON rises in France!


The French edition of WOLF MOON, the second novel in Ian McDonald‘s critically-acclaimed science fiction Luna series, is due out in two weeks! Published by Denoël as LUNA: LUNE DU LOUP, here’s the synopsis…

Sur la Lune, deux ans après les événements qui ont précipité la chute de la famille Corta, les Mackenzie se sont approprié les restes de leur entreprise. Il n’y a donc plus que quatre «Dragons», ces consortiums familiaux qui se partagent l’exploitation des ressources lunaires et, donc, le pouvoir. Pourtant, les Mackenzie se déchirent sur les cadavres encore frais de leurs ennemis de toujours. Les Sun continuent, discrètement, à élaborer des plans visant à affaiblir leurs adversaires. Les Vorontsov vendent toujours leurs indispensables services au plus offrant. Et les Asamoah tentent tant bien que mal de préserver leur neutralité de façade. Mais le statu quo, même sous gravité réduite, n’est jamais acquis. D’autant que les rares survivants de la famille Corta – blessés, en fuite ou sous la protection d’autres Dragons – n’ont pas dit leur dernier mot.

Avec le deuxième tome de sa trilogie, Ian McDonald continue, sans temps mort, l’exploration minutieuse de sa colonie lunaire, nouveau Far West où tous les coups (bas) sont permis.

Denoël has also published the first in the series, NEW MOON, as LUNA.

The Luna series is published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Tor Books. The third novel in the series, MOON RISING, is due out later this year. Here’s the English-language synopsis for WOLF MOON

Corta Helio, one of the five family corporations that rule the Moon, has fallen. Its riches are divided up among its many enemies, its survivors scattered. Eighteen months have passed.

The remaining Helio children, Lucasinho and Luna, are under the protection of the powerful Asamoahs, while Robson, still reeling from witnessing his parent’s violent deaths, is now a ward — virtually a hostage — of Mackenzie Metals. And the last appointed heir, Lucas, has vanished from the surface of the moon.

Only Lady Sun, dowager of Taiyang, suspects that Lucas Corta is not dead, and – more to the point – that he is still a major player in the game. After all, Lucas always was a schemer, and even in death, he would go to any lengths to take back everything and build a new Corta Helio, more powerful than before. But Corta Helio needs allies, and to find them, the fleeing son undertakes an audacious, impossible journey — to Earth.
In an unstable lunar environment, the shifting loyalties and political machinations of each family reach the zenith of their most fertile plots as outright war between the families erupts.

Aliette de Bodard’s THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS out now in France!


The second novel in Aliette de Bodard‘s critically-acclaimed, award-winning Dominion of the Fallen series is now available in France, published by Fleuve as L’ASCENSION DE LA MAISON AUBÉPINE.

The series is published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Roc Books: THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS and THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS. Here’s the English-language synopsis for the second novel…

As the city rebuilds from the onslaught of sorcery that nearly destroyed it, the great Houses of Paris, ruled by fallen angels, still contest one another for control over the capital.

House Silverspires was once the most powerful, but just as it sought to rise again, an ancient evil brought it low. Phillippe, an immortal who escaped the carnage, has a singular goal – to resurrect someone he lost. But the cost of such magic might be more than he can bear.

In House Hawthorn, Madeleine the alchemist has had her addiction to angel essence savagely broken. Struggling to live on, she is forced on a perilous diplomatic mission to the underwater dragon kingdom – and finds herself in the midst of intrigues that have already caused one previous emissary to mysteriously disappear…

As the Houses seek a peace more devastating than war, those caught between new fears and old hatreds must find strength – or fall prey to a magic that seeks to bind all to its will.

The first novel in the series is also out today in paperback in France, published by Pocket: LA CHUTE DE LA MAISON AUX FLÈCHES D’ARGENT.

Zelazny’s NIGHT IN THE LONESOME… January


Roger Zelazny‘s A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER is now available in France! Published by ActuSF as SONGE D’UNE NUIT D’OCTOBRE, here’s the synopsis…

Quand le steampunk rencontre le mythe de Cthulhu.

Octobre. Dans 31 jours, le portail s’ouvrira et les Grands Anciens déferleront sur le monde.

Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Raspoutine, le docteur Frankenstein… Ils seront tous là. Mais feront-ils partie des ouvreurs avides de pouvoir, ou seront-ils des fermeurs qui s’opposeront aux horreurs indicibles?

Les familiers de ces personnages seront eux aussi impliqués dans cette murder party ésotérique riche en rebondissements. Tout particulièrement Snuff, un chien dont le maître, Jack, aime se promener la nuit dans Londres avec son grand couteau…

Le Jeu va commencer.

Quel sera votre camp?

A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER was published in the UK last year, by Farrago. It is also available in Russian.

Zeno represents Roger Zelazny in Translation, on behalf of the Zelazny Estate.