Gollancz - Zeno Agency Ltd.

Next Month: Ian McDonald’s DESOLATION ROAD Becomes an SF Masterwork!

Posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020

Next month, Gollancz will add DESOLATION ROAD to the ranks of their SF Masterworks! The first novel in Ian McDonald‘s Mars duology, which also includes ARES EXPRESS, it was first published in 1988. The new edition is due to arrive on shelves on December 10th. Here’s the synopsis…

It all started thirty years ago on Mars. By the time it was finished, the town of Desolation Road had been witness to every abnormality yet seen on the Red Planet. From Adam Black’s Wonderful Travelling Chautauqua and Educational ‘Stravaganza, to the Astounding Tatterdemalion Air Bazaar, nowhere else boasts such sights for the wandering lucky traveller.

Its inhabitants are just as storied. From Dr. Alimantando — founder and resident genius — to the Babooshka, a barren grandmother with a child grown in a fruit jar; from Rajendra Das, mechanical hobo whose way with machines bordered on the mystic, to the Gallacelli brothers, identical triplets who fell in love with – and married – the same woman.

There’s nowhere quite like Desolation Road. Once you go there, you may never be the same again.

DESOLATION ROAD joins RIVER OF GODS, Ian’s other SF Masterwork title.

Here are just a few reviews that DESOLATION ROAD has received since it was first published…

‘Ian McDonald’s DESOLATION ROAD is one of my most personally influential novels. It’s an epic tale of the terraforming of Mars, whose sweep captures the birth and death of mythologies, economics, art, revolution, politics… Desolation Road pays homage to David Byrne’s Catherine Wheel, to Ray Bradbury’s entire canon and to Jack Vance, blending all these disparate creators in a way that surprises, delights, then surprises and delights again… Pyr Books has done us all the service of bringing this remarkable volume back into print after too long a hiatus.’ — Cory Doctorow (Boing Boing)

‘There’s a fair bit of science fiction that feels like fantasy, and vice versa, but DESOLATION ROAD is the only book I know that holds this particular balance… It was McDonald’s first novel, it absolutely bowled me over when it came out, and while I have read everything he’s published since, and admire all of it and like most of it, this remains my favourite of his books because it’s so unusual. It’s also some of the most beautiful prose imaginable… If you ever want to demonstrate how different science fiction can be, what an incredible range and sweep of things are published with a little spaceship on the spine, DESOLATION ROAD is a shining datapoint, because it isn’t like anything else and yet it is coming from a knowledge of what the genre can do and can be and making something new out of it.’ — Jo Walton (Tor.com)

‘This is the kind of novel I long to find yet seldom do. DESOLATION ROAD is a rara avis… Extraordinary and more than that!’ — Philip José Farmer

‘Flavoured with a voice that blends the delightful prose of Jack Vance with the idiosyncratic stylings of Cordwainer Smith, this novel is, most of all, about the dusty town of Desolation Road in the middle of the red Martian desert. Episodic in scope, it would also work as short stories. An elderly couple get lost in the infinite space of their garden, a baby growing in a jar is stolen and replaced with a mango, a man called The Hand plays electric guitar for the clouds and starts the first rain for one hundred and fifty thousand years.’ — SF Site

‘DESOLATION ROAD is a rich, rewarding novel that occupies territory of its own in science fiction. Like Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, it utilizes untamed creativity for literary purpose, wholly succeeding in telling an imagined history that directly comments on the real world with characters as genuine and colorful as those we meet in our daily lives. The fact the story takes place on a Mars where machines come to life, time can be twisted, and the air can crackle with purple and blue static makes no difference; the realism is all there beneath the sparkling surface… if you are looking for the literary side or something wildly unique in the genre, this is it.’ — Speculiction

Gollancz has published a whole host of Ian’s novels and series in the UK, including his most recent: Luna.

DESOLATION ROAD and ARES EXPRESS are published in North America by JABberwocky. The Luna series is published in North America by Tor Books.

Brandon Sanderson’s RHYTHM OF WAR is out in Three Weeks!

Posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2020

The highly-anticipated fourth novel in Brandon Sanderson‘s Stormlight Archive series is due out in just three weeks! Published by Gollancz, RHYTHM OF WAR picks up where OATHBRINGER finished. Here’s the synopsis…

After forming a coalition of human resistance against the enemy invasion, Dalinar Kholin and his Knights Radiant have spent a year fighting a protracted, brutal war. Neither side has gained an advantage, and the threat of a betrayal by Dalinar’s crafty ally Taravangian looms over every strategic move.

Now, as new technological discoveries by Navani Kholin’s scholars begin to change the face of the war, the enemy prepares a bold and dangerous operation. The arms race that follows will challenge the very core of the Radiant ideals, and potentially reveal the secrets of the ancient tower that was once the heart of their strength.

At the same time that Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with his changing role within the Knights Radiant, his Windrunners face their own problem: As more and more deadly enemy Fused awaken to wage war, no more honorspren are willing to bond with humans to increase the number of Radiants. Adolin and Shallan must lead the coalition’s envoy to the honorspren stronghold of Lasting Integrity and either convince the spren to join the cause against the evil god Odium, or personally face the storm of failure.

For collectors, Waterstones is offering signed copies of the book for pre-order. In addition, if you pre-order from them, you will be entered into a giveaway for a chance of winning a set of poster prints of the series covers signed by Brandon!

Gollancz has published all of the books in Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series: THE WAY OF KINGS, WORDS OF RADIANCE, EDGEDANCER (a novella) and OATHBRINGER.

Gollancz has also published the author’s critically-acclaimed, internationally best-selling Mistborn series, and more.

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

Ben Aaronovitch on the Cover WRITE ON! Magazine!

Posted on Tuesday, October 27th, 2020

Just a quick heads-up that Ben Aaronovitch is on the cover of the next issue of WRITE ON! Magazine, which is out tomorrow! Published by Pen to Print, the issue is available free from their website.

Ben’s feature is What’s Your Story?, in which he discusses London, urban fantasy, and ‘why joy and resilience are at the heart of his writing’.

Ben is the author of the critically-acclaimed, internationally bestselling Peter Grant/Rivers Of London series. The latest novel, FALSE VALUE, is the eighth in the series. There are also two novellas set in the world (with a third on the way!), and eight comic collections.

The novels and novellas are published in the UK by Gollancz. The novels are published in North America by Del Rey (1-3) and DAW Books (4-); the novellas are published by Subterranean Press. The comics (co-authored with Andrew Cartmel) are published in the UK and in North America by Titan Comics. All of the books are available in a growing number of translated editions around the world. (Check out Ben’s author page for more details on other international editions.)

Brandon Sanderson’s STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE included in Audible UK’s 3-for-2 Promo!

Posted on Monday, October 26th, 2020

We’re very happy to report that the first three novels in Brandon Sanderson‘s acclaimed and best-selling Stormlight Archive series are included in Audible UK‘s 3-for-2 promotion! The promotion ends on October 31st.

All three audiobooks are published by Gollancz. Here’s the synopsis for the first novel, THE WAY OF KINGS…

According to mythology mankind used to live in The Tranquiline Halls. Heaven. But then the Voidbringers assaulted and captured heaven, casting out God and men. Men took root on Roshar, the world of storms. And the Voidbringers followed…

They came against man ten thousand times. To help them cope, the Almighty gave men powerful suits of armor and mystical weapons, known as Shardblades. Led by ten angelic Heralds and ten orders of knights known as Radiants, mankind finally won.

Or so the legends say. Today, the only remnants of those supposed battles are the Shardblades, the possession of which makes a man nearly invincible on the battlefield. The entire world is at war with itself – and has been for centuries since the Radiants turned against mankind. Kings strive to win more Shardblades, each secretly wishing to be the one who will finally unite all of mankind under a single throne.

On a world scoured down to the rock by terrifying hurricanes that blow through every few day a young spearman forced into the army of a Shardbearer, led to war against an enemy he doesn’t understand and doesn’t really want to fight.

What happened deep in mankind’s past?

Why did the Radiants turn against mankind, and what happened to the magic they used to wield?

All three of the audiobooks are narrated by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer.

This is also a very handy promotion if you want to give catching up on the series a try — the fourth novel, RHYTHM OF WAR, is due to be published in the UK by Gollancz on November 17th, in print, eBook, and audio!

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

ICYMI: Ben Aaronovitch Interview

Posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2020

In case you missed it, yesterday Ben Aaronovitch was interviewed by Wellington City Libraries! You can watch the wide-ranging interview above, in which he answers reader questions and discusses his novels, Doctor Who, and more. Enjoy!

Ben’s latest book is the best-selling, critically-acclaimed FALSE VALUE, the eighth novel in his Peter Grant/Rivers of London series. It is published in the UK and Commonwealth by Gollancz, in North America by DAW Books, and in a growing number of translated editions around the world. Here’s the synopsis…

Peter Grant is facing fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm.

Leaving his old police life behind, he takes a job with Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner’s new London start up: the Serious Cybernetics Corporation.

Drawn into the orbit of Old Street’s famous ‘silicon roundabout’, Peter must learn how to blend in with people who are both civilians and geekier than he is. Compared to his last job, Peter thinks it should be a doddle.

But magic is not finished with the Met’s first trainee wizard in fifty years…

Because a secret is hiding somewhere in the building. A technology that stretches back to Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, and forward to the future of artificial intelligence. A secret that is just as magical as it technological – and twice as dangerous.

Next March, Find Out WHAT ABIGAIL DID THAT SUMMER…

Posted on Wednesday, October 14th, 2020

Announced today, Ben Aaronovitch‘s next novella is coming out next early next year! Set in the same world as his internationally acclaimed and best-selling Rivers of London world, WHAT ABIGAIL DID THAT SUMMER is due to be published by Gollancz in the UK, on March 18th, 2021.

We don’t have a final cover just yet (we’ll share it when we do), and we’ll hopefully have more news about other international editions. In the meantime, here’s the synopsis to further whet your appetite…

Ghost hunter, fox whisperer, troublemaker.

It is the summer of 2013 and Abigail Kamara has been left to her own devices. This might, by those who know her, be considered a mistake. While her cousin, police constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant, is off in the sticks, chasing unicorns, Abigail is chasing her own mystery. Teenagers around Hampstead Heath have been going missing but before the police can get fully engaged, the teens return home — unharmed but vague about where they’ve been.

Aided only by her new friend, Simon, her knowledge that magic is real and a posse of talking foxes that think they’re spies, Abigail must venture into the wilds of Hampstead to discover who is luring the teenagers and more importantly — why?

Next Month: THE COMPLETE SOOKIE STACKHOUSE STORIES paperback edition!

Posted on Monday, October 12th, 2020

The paperback edition of THE COMPLETE SOOKIE STACKHOUSE STORIES by Charlaine Harris is due out next month! To be published by Gollancz, here’s the synopsis…

For the first time together in one volume, the complete Sookie Stackhouse short stories – with new introductions from Charlaine Harris

New fans can fill in the gaps in their Sookie lore, while old friends can revisit some of their favourite moments and characters. From investigating the murder of a local fairy to learning that her cousin was a vampire, from remodelling Tara’s house to attending a wedding with her shapeshifting boss Sam, Sookie navigates the perils and pitfalls of the paranormal world.

Gather round the bar at Bon Temps’ favourite watering hole and hear stories that will make you wish that Sookie never left, including:

‘Fairy Dust’
‘One Word Answer’
‘Dracula Night’
‘Lucky’
‘Gift Wrap’
‘Two Blondes’
‘If I Had a Hammer’
‘Small-Town Wedding’
‘Playing Possum’
‘In the Blue Hereafter’

This definitive collection is the perfect binge read for people who like their stories with bite!

The inspiration for HBO’s wildly popular True Blood TV show, Gollancz has published the whole of Charlaine’s Sookie Stackhouse series in the UK — that’s a lot of great binge-reading for the winter, if you’re looking for a new series…

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

Complex Chinese Editions of Ian McDonald’s LUNA Series out now!

Posted on Monday, September 28th, 2020

The Complex Chinese editions of Ian McDonald‘s highly-acclaimed, award-nominated Luna series are out now! Published by 麥田出版 (Rye Field Publications in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, the whole trilogy is now available: 血染新月 (NEW MOON), 狼嚎時分 (WOLF MOON), and 王者之戰 (MOON RISING).

The series is published in the UK by Gollancz, in North America by Tor Books, and in a growing number of translated editions around the world.

In case you haven’t yet had the chance to read the series, here’s the synopsis for NEW MOON…

The scions of a falling house must navigate a world of corporate warfare to maintain their family’s status in the Moon’s vicious political atmosphere.

The Moon wants to kill you.

Maybe it will kill you when the per diem for your allotted food, water, and air runs out, just before you hit pay-dirt. Maybe it will kill you when you are trapped between the reigning corporations-the Five Dragons-in a foolish gamble against a futuristic feudal society. On the Moon, you must fight for every inch you want to gain. And that is just what Adriana Corta did.

As the leader of the Moon’s newest “dragon,” Adriana has wrested control of the Moon’s Helium-3 industry from the Mackenzie Metal corporation and fought to earn her family’s new status. Now, in the twilight of her life, Adriana finds her corporation — Corta Helio — confronted by the many enemies she made during her meteoric rise. If the Corta family is to survive, Adriana’s five children must defend their mother’s empire from her many enemies… and each other.

There is also a prequel novella, THE MENACE FROM FARSIDE, published by Tor.com.

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

‘McDonald… begins his superb near-future series… scintillating, violent, and decadent world. McDonald creates a complex and fascinating civilization featuring believable technology, and the characters are fully developed, with individually gripping stories. Watch for this brilliantly constructed family saga on next year’s award ballots.’ — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) on NEW MOON

‘No one writes like Ian McDonald, and no one’s Moon is nearly so beautiful and terrible… Ian McDonald’s never written a bad novel, but this is a great Ian McDonald novel… McDonald has ten details for every detail proffered by other sf writers. Not gratuitous details, either: gracious ones. The fashion sense of William Gibson, the design sense of Bruce Sterling, the eye for family drama of Connie Willis, the poesie of Bradbury, and the dirty sex of Kathe Koja and Samuel Delany… McDonald’s moon is omnisexual, kinky, violent, passionate, beautiful, awful, vibrant and crushing. As the family saga of the Cortas unravels, we meet a self-sexual ninja lawyer, a werewolf who loses his mind in the Full Earth, a family tyrant whose ruthlessness is matched only by his crepulance, and a panoply of great passions and low desires. LUNA: NEW MOON is the first book of a two-book cycle. Now I’m all a-quiver for the next one.‘ — BoingBoing

‘Smart, funny, passionate and at times quite dark, McDonald brings the touch we’ve seen in RIVER OF GODS and DERVISH HOUSE to an entirely new culture as it evolves in a distant hostile place where business or family rules all… it’s terrific. My only complaint: it leaves you wanting the second book right now!’ — Jonathan Strahan on NEW MOON

‘Mafia-style mining families clash in a compelling fantasy that offers up all the pleasures of a cut-throat soap opera in space…That McDonald is able to spin a compelling story from this unforgiving set-up is testament to his skill as a writer… One thing Luna does exceptionally well is to puncture Old Heinlein’s assumption that a frontier society based on the primacy of the family and a disregard of conventional laws would end up like idealised smalltown America. Luna argues that any realistic future colonisation of the moon will be much more The Sopranos than The Waltons. LUNA is as gripping as it is colourful, and as colourful as it is nasty.’ — Guardian on NEW MOON

‘Luna: NEW MOON was a “magnificent bastard of a book,” as I put it in my review. Part two, it’s my pleasure to tell you, is just as awesome, and just as masterfully nasty.’ — Tor.com on WOLF MOON

‘… 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 on WOLF MOON

‘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 on WOLF MOON

‘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

‘… cinematic set-pieces… so much fun to read… these entertaining, and intelligent novels, capped off by the very satisfying Luna: MOON RISING, have been about establishing a society, a community, a family that looks to the future, that lives and prospers in an environment that must always be treated with respect.’ — Locus (Ian Mond)

‘McDonald concludes his Luna space opera trilogy in triumphant style… The political intrigue never feels too abstract or removed from 21st-century Earth. Readers will appreciate the care McDonald takes with both worldbuilding and characterization, and will enjoy little touches such as giving an assassin the job title of Corporate Conflict Resolution Officer… fans of the prior books will find this wrap-up rewarding.’ — Publishers Weekly on MOON RISING

‘McDonald’s richly imagined Lunar culture and interplanetary poleconomy make for a superb backdrop for literally dozens of richly realized human dramas, and it’s hard to say which is more fascinating. McDonald’s wildly imaginative worldbuilding (present since his debut novel, the utterly wonderful standout OUT ON BLUE SIX) and his ability to spin out intrigues are both in full flight in this final volume.’ — Boing Boing on MOON RISING

UK Paperback Edition of Ben Aaronovitch’s FALSE VALUE is Out Now!

Posted on Thursday, September 17th, 2020

The paperback edition of FALSE VALUE, Ben Aaronovitch‘s best-selling and highly-acclaimed eighth Peter Grant/Rivers of London novel is out today in the UK! Published by Gollancz, here’s the synopsis…

Peter Grant is facing fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm. Rather than sit around, he takes a job with émigré Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner’s brand new London start up – the Serious Cybernetics Company.

Because Terrence Skinner has a secret hidden in the bowels of the SCC. A technology that stretches back to Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, and forward to the future of artificial intelligence. A secret that is just as magical as it technological – and just as dangerous.

Gollancz has published all of the books set in Ben’s Rivers of London world in the UK. The series is also available in North America and in a growing number of translated editions, around the world.

ICYMI: Lavie Tidhar Discusses BY FORCE ALONE with Ian McDonald

Posted on Tuesday, September 15th, 2020

A few weeks ago, Lavie Tidhar was invited to take part in an online event by Chevaliers Books, to discuss his latest, acclaimed novel BY FORCE ALONE. Fellow Zeno client Ian McDonald joined him for the discussion, and you can watch the video above.

BY FORCE ALONE is out now, published by Tor Books in North America and Head of Zeus in the UK. Here’s the synopsis…

Everyone thinks they know the story of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table.

The fact is they don’t know sh*t.

Arthur? An over-promoted gangster.
Merlin? An eldritch parasite.
Excalibur? A shady deal with a watery arms dealer.
Britain? A clogged sewer that Rome abandoned just as soon as it could.

A savage and cutting epic fantasy, equally poetic and profane, By Force Alone is a magical adventure and a subversive masterwork.

Here’s just a small selection taken from the great reviews the novel has received so far…

‘Tidhar saturates this epic adventure with profanity, dark humor, sword-sharp twists, and unexpected moments of pathos. Readers who hold King Arthur dear to their hearts will be gratified by Tidhar’s attention to detail amidst the innovation. This dark, imaginative take on a classic is sure to impress.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘Sometimes while reading a Lavie Tidhar novel, there comes a point when you feel like he’s grabbed the wheel, grinning as he drives you aggressively into oncoming traffic and somehow pulls off moves that by all rights ought to be fatal… BY FORCE ALONE – a phrase that recurs like a mantra throughout the narrative, reminding us that power is never really a matter of heritage or destiny – serves as a reminder that Arthur is a moveable feast, infinitely adaptable even to the era of Brexit and Trump. If Tidhar’s version seems pretty bleak, even as its endless inventiveness makes it undeniably exhilarating, that may simply be a reflection of where we all find ourselves these days.’ — Locus (Gary K. Wolfe)

‘There are no parfit gentil knights in Lavie Tidhar’s Arthurian epic fantasy… It is a vicious, beautiful, profane and wickedly funny reimagining of the rise and fall of King Arthur without the chivalry, divine right or holy quests… This kind of retelling offers a wealth of opportunity to examine aspects of the familiar story in a completely new light, and is both exciting and enormously satisfying to read… The prose style is half of what makes the book so powerful. Tidhar is both clean and poetic, elegantly sparse but deeply evocative. Every phrase is load-bearing. The profanity serves its purpose. He switches between point-of-view characters and authorial voice seamlessly, using short almost-choppy sentences to give a sense of inevitable forward movement, events lensing into one another. The frequent references to Greek philosophy in the narration both serve to underline the post-Roman intellectual landscape of the time and to create a kind of distance between the reader and the text, which increases that slightly dreamy sense of inexorable direction. This story is going to happen; the terrible ending is going to occur, and we — and the characters — are swept along with it.’ — Washington Post

‘Lavie Tidhar’s BY FORCE ALONE gives us an Arthur for the Brexit era: A tyrant in lieu of a king, brute violence in lieu of gallant feats, undisguised venality in lieu of chivalric ideals. This is the Matter of Britain become the Matter with Britain… For all the bleakness and cynicism of his story, Tidhar’s profligate invention makes BY FORCE ALONE a joy… Lavie Tidhar’s joke on the Matter of Britain is a great one. And if the laughter catches in your throat, that just means you’ve been paying attention to the book, and to the world.’ — Tor.com

Ian McDonald’s latest series, Luna, is also out now and published by Tor Books in North America. The series is published in the UK by Gollancz (covers below). Here’s the synopsis for book one, NEW MOON…

The scions of a falling house must navigate a world of corporate warfare to maintain their family’s status in the Moon’s vicious political atmosphere.

The Moon wants to kill you.

Maybe it will kill you when the per diem for your allotted food, water, and air runs out, just before you hit paydirt. Maybe it will kill you when you are trapped between the reigning corporations-the Five Dragons-in a foolish gamble against a futuristic feudal society. On the Moon, you must fight for every inch you want to gain. And that is just what Adriana Corta did.

As the leader of the Moon’s newest “dragon,” Adriana has wrested control of the Moon’s Helium-3 industry from the Mackenzie Metal corporation and fought to earn her family’s new status. Now, in the twilight of her life, Adriana finds her corporation-Corta Helio-confronted by the many enemies she made during her meteoric rise. If the Corta family is to survive, Adriana’s five children must defend their mother’s empire from her many enemies… and each other.

ICYMI: Gollancz Acquires J.T. Greathouse’s THE HAND OF THE SUN KING!

Posted on Thursday, September 10th, 2020

We are very happy to report that Brendan Durkin at Gollancz has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to J.T. Greathouse‘s debut fantasy trilogy!

The news broke earlier this week, via Bookseller, but we wanted to make sure nobody missed it!

The first novel in the series, THE HAND OF THE SUN KING, is due to be published in hardcover, eBook and audiobook, in February 2021! We’ll keep you updated with more news (covers, etc.) as soon as we have it. In the meantime, here’s a synopsis for the first book…

Wen Alder is soon to take the Imperial examinations, the first step to becoming Hand of the Emperor and to wielding the Empire’s legitimate magic. It has been years since his grandmother showed him her forbidden witchcraft, before she abandoned him to join the resistance. Now his path will take him from lowly student to Empire sorcerer, force him to choose between his country and his family, and have him uncover the truth: that an even greater war is being waged than that with the resistance, one that is magical rather than mundane, one into which he may find himself drawn, whether he wants to be or not.

‘I knew I was on to something special,’ said Durkin. ‘[Greathouse’s] writing flows like silk, the world he has created practically leaps off the page, and Alder’s conflicted journey kept me hooked from beginning to end. I can’t wait for people to read it.’

Here’s what the author had to say about the book and Gollancz acquiring it…

‘I’ve sometimes described THE HAND OF THE SUN KING, and the trilogy it begins, as a distillation of my undergraduate education in history and philosophy, remixed with some of my favourite fantasy elements including complex magic systems, coming-of-age stories, morally conflicted protagonists, ancient mysterious gods, and massive world-spanning empires. Seeing my novels in print is a dream come true, and I am thrilled that this project has found a home at Gollancz alongside many of the preeminent authors of the fantasy genre. I am grateful to Joshua, Stevie, and Brendan for their help and hard work.’

‘I actually picked up Jeremy’s HAND OF THE SUN KING on my very first day as an agent at Zeno and was thrilled to make my agenting debut with such a richly imagined fantasy,’ said Zeno’s Stevie Finegan. ‘Alder’s is an intricate, magical story and Brendan and Gollancz, with their stable including so many of the big hitters in this genre, are the perfect publisher to bring it to readers who will be enchanted by this tale.’

Zeno represents J.T. Greathouse in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Eyes Open: Peter Grant Invades Germany’s U-Bahn!

Posted on Tuesday, September 8th, 2020

We are very grateful to Elisa for sharing with us photos of these posters for Ben Aaronovitch‘s two latest books in Germany! Up in various subway stations, we think that’s rather excellent, and wanted to share them here, too.

The two books features are EIN WEISSER SCHWAN IN TABERNACLE STREET (FALSE VALUE, the eighth Peter Grant novel); and DIE FLÜSSE VON LONDON – SCHWARZER MOND ÜBER SOHO, an omnibus edition including the first two novels (RIVERS OF LONDON and MOON OVER SOHO).

Both books are published in Germany by DTV, who have published all of Ben’s books set in this world. The omnibus is out now. Here’s the synopsis for EIN WEISSER SCHWAN IN TABERNACLE STREET, which is due out in Germany on October 23rd…

Peter Grant ist suspendiert…

Peter Grant, unser Londoner Lieblings-Bobby und Zauberlehrling, steht vor völlig neuen privaten Herausforderungen. Welche ihn zu gleichen Teilen mit Panik und Begeisterung erfüllen. Beruflich bekommt er es mit der Serious Cybernetics Corporation zu tun, dem neuesten Projekt des Internet-Genies Terrence Skinner. Und prompt holt die Magie ihn wieder ein. Denn in den Tiefen der SCC ist ein Geheimnis verborgen: eine geheime magische Technologie, die bis weit ins 19. Jahrhundert zurückreicht, dem Zeitalter von Ada Lovelace und Charles Babbage. Und die brandgefährlich ist für die gesamte Welt.

The series is published in the UK by Gollancz; in North America by Del Rey (1-3), DAW Books (4-) and Subterranean Press (novellas). The series has also been published widely in translation. Here’s the English-language synopsis for FALSE VALUE…

Peter Grant is facing fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm.

Leaving his old police life behind, he takes a job with Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner’s new London start up: the Serious Cybernetics Corporation.

But magic is not finished with the Met’s first trainee wizard in fifty years…

Finally, here’s the poster graphic…

Ian McDonald’s MOON RISING out tomorrow in USPB!

Posted on Monday, August 10th, 2020

The paperback edition of Ian McDonald‘s MOON RISING, the third novel in his acclaimed, award-nominated Luna series, is due to be published by Tor Books in North America, tomorrow!

A hundred years in the future, a war wages between the Five Dragons — five families that control the Moon’s leading industrial companies. Each clan does everything in their power to claw their way to the top of the food chain — marriages of convenience, corporate espionage, kidnapping, and mass assassinations.

Through ingenious political manipulation and sheer force of will, Lucas Cortas rises from the ashes of corporate defeat and seizes control of the Moon. The only person who can stop him is a brilliant lunar lawyer, his sister, Ariel.

Witness the Dragons’ final battle for absolute sovereignty in Ian McDonald’s heart-stopping finale to the Luna trilogy.

Tor Books has also published the first two novels in the series in North America — NEW MOON and WOLF MOON; a prequel novella, THE MENACE FROM FARSIDE, is also available, published by Tor.com. The series is published in the UK by Gollancz, and has also been published widely in translation.

‘The Luna trilogy is a masterpiece of worldbuilding. Ian McDonald has created an incredibly developed, complex and astonishingly plausible future for the Moon… What stands out, though, are its threads of gorgeous storytelling… as a whole, this is an extraordinary trilogy. Ian McDonald always writes beautifully. I love what he has to say. I’ll always remember his vision of the Moon, which at times is horrifying and violent and yet at others is so heartwarming and wondrous.’ — For Winter Nights

‘[T]here are few excuses for not reading Ian McDonald’ — Cheryl Morgan

Ian McDonald’s THE DERVISH HOUSE Turns 10!

Posted on Wednesday, July 29th, 2020

Ten years ago today, Ian McDonald‘s highly-acclaimed, award-winning THE DERVISH HOUSE was first published in the UK! Published by Gollancz, here’s the synopsis…

In the CHAGA novels Ian McDonald brought an Africa in the grip of a bizarre alien invasion to life, in RIVER OF GODS he painted a rich portrait of India in 2047, in BRASYL he looked at different Brazils, past present and future. Ian McDonald has found renown at the cutting edge of a movement to take SF away from its British and American white roots and out into the rich cultures of the world.

THE DERVISH HOUSE continues that journey and centres on Istanbul in 2025. Turkey is part of Europe but sited on the edge, it is an Islamic country that looks to the West. THE DERVISH HOUSE is the story of the families that live in and around its titular house, it is at once a rich mosaic of Islamic life in the new century and a telling novel of future possibilities.

The novel has racked up a number of great awards and commendations since its release. For example…

John W. Campbell Memorial Award, Winner (2011)
BSFA Award, Best Novel Winner (2011)
SF Site Readers Poll, SF/Fantasy Novel, Winner (2011)
Seiun Award, Translated Novel, Nominee (2015)
Hugo Award, Best Novel Nominee (2011)
Arthur C. Clark Award, Shortlist (2011)
Locus Award, Best SF Novel, 3rd Place (2011)

In addition to UK and North American editions (Pyr Books originally, now available via JABberwocky), the novel has been published quite widely in translation, with editions appearing in Turkey (Pegasus), Poland (MAG), France (Denoël/Gallimard), Hungary (Ad Astra), Bosnia (Paladin), Russia (ACT), Japan (東京創元社), and Bulgaria (Altera)! It is also available as an audiobook. Here are the covers…

And, finally, here are just a few of the great reviews the novel has received since it was first published…

‘… a writer with an unerring instinct for finding resonance between theme and location… a rich and assured novel that, like much of Ken MacLeod’s recent work, revels in the shiny precision of the airport tech-thriller, yet insists on putting forward disquieting ideas rather than offering all-too-neat reassurances that you can somehow put escaped djinns back in bottles. This is as good as contemporary literary SF gets.’ — SFX (5* Review)

‘I know what to expect from Ian McDonald: broad vistas, intricately imagined futures, poetic language that transports and delights, a blend of mysticism and science that thrills and moves. But no matter how much foreknowledge I bring to a new Ian McDonald, I am always, always startled and thrilled by the exciting, moving epic story I find inside… To read McDonald is to fall in love with a place and to become drunk with it (see this free sample from Dervish House for a taste). I you’ve never read him, you’re in for a treat. If you’re a fan like me, you’ll be delighted anew. What a wonderful, wonderful book.’ — BoingBoing

‘[T]hrilling… A master in his own right, McDonald has written some of the best SF of the last fifteen years… a mosaic of a story that can be admired for its finely-wrought pieces but not fully appreciated until the book is finished and looked at again from some distance. The biggest part of the thrill is wondering how the characters will inevitably intersect… As much as THE DERVISH HOUSE is about biogenetics and history, McDonald couches some of his lushest prose in explorations of mysticism… McDonald, who is a native of Scotland, has an uncanny ability to write about other cultures authentically. He is a painstaking researcher and while he cannot always write with absolute authority, his dedication to making settings and characters feel alive is incredibly impressive… Ian McDonald has crafted a gorgeously lush novel, oozing with exciting, relevant ideas, a love letter to the Queen of Cities, to all cities, really.’ — Tor.com

‘A lush, complex and hugely entertaining novel.’ — Guardian

‘… Istanbul, the Queen of Cities, and the setting for Ian McDonald’s near-future story of terrorism, nanotechnology and change rushing over us like a tidal wave of strangeness. Like his novels about the future of Indian, African and Brazilian society, McDonald’s new book is a conscientious attempt to write the Other from the inside and accept the possibility that the Anglo world may be a sideline… a brilliant, jewelled machine of a novel in which lives trigger events in other lives, in a sequence that skirts chaos and disaster, but ends with gorgeous order.’ — Independent

‘Those who have previously enjoyed McDonald’s narrative style will find a great deal to like in THE DERVISH HOUSE… McDonald’s writing has been steadily improving in terms of its lyrical and descriptive quality over the years, and it seems his recent foray into short stories with CYBERABAD DAYS has helped his focus and tightness. Several passages shine with literary flow and power… McDonald keeps his story fresh with every chapter and its flickering viewpoints, giving a series of snapshots that come together to form a panorama of his world. THE DERVISH HOUSE is an excellent sci-fi tale from a phenomenal writer, one who deserves every plaudit that can be heaped upon him. Those who appreciate slow-burning, dense and creative genre work should get this book now.’ — SciFiNow

‘If you only read one SF book this year… make sure it’s Ian McDonald’s THE DERVISH HOUSE… I wish I’d written this!!! … It’s too bloody good for comfort… THE DERVISH HOUSE takes the expansive cultural mosaic of RIVER OF GODS, multiplies it by the driving Latin beat and teetering sense of jeopardy in BRASYL, and gives you a novel that is his best yet by a whole new order of imaginative and sensuous magnitude… I cannot recommend it highly enough.’ — Richard K. Morgan (author of Altered Carbon and The Steel Remains)

‘[I]n THE DERVISH HOUSE, aspects of the geography, socioeconomic, religious and political groups do come alive – perhaps not as full characters, but as not-quite separate personalities within Istanbul – a city suffering and celebrating its multiple personalities… McDonald’s tried and true strategy of exploring the people of emerging economies in combination with the implications of technology on society in a near-future setting succeeds once again… It’s at times powerful, informative, and fun and another example of science fiction alive in our world.’ — NethSpace

‘[B]uilds on the complex, multi-layered narratives that McDonald has already produced in RIVER OF GODS and BRASYL. Like them, the very richness of the bustling world, the differing ways in which a range of characters intersect with the world, makes for a convincing portrait of the near future. In both those earlier novels, the past is the foundation upon which the future has been built, but the new novel goes further, because here the past is inescapable and the future perhaps unreachable. You feel that ten or so years from now, Istanbul could be just the way it is described here. The most important thing, though, is that as a kaleidoscopic portrait of that place at that time, THE DERVISH HOUSE is a very fine, very powerful novel indeed.’ — SF Site

‘[A] beautiful homage to one of most unique cities on earth… Nominated for the Hugo Award last week, THE DERVISH HOUSE is a worthy addition to that tradition. It is certainly one of the best novels I read in 2010. McDonald asks a lot his readers, but he rewards them with a beautiful novel that I believe will appeal to traditional readers in some ways more than lovers of genre fiction.’ — Staffer’s Book Review

‘[A]n audacious look at the shift in the power centers of the world and an intense vision of one possible future.’ — New York Times

Aliette de Bodard’s OF DRAGONS, FEASTS AND MURDERS is out Today!

Posted on Tuesday, July 7th, 2020

The wait is finally over: Aliette de Bodard‘s new, highly-anticipated Dominion of the Fallen novella, OF DRAGONS, FEASTS AND MURDERS is out today! Published by JABberwocky, here’s the synopsis…

From the author of the critically acclaimed Dominion of the Fallen trilogy comes a tale of dragons, and Fallen angels — and also kissing, sarcasm and stabbing.

Lunar New Year should be a time for familial reunions, ancestor worship, and consumption of an unhealthy amount of candied fruit.

But when dragon prince Thuan brings home his brooding and ruthless husband Asmodeus for the New Year, they find not interminable family gatherings, but a corpse outside their quarters. Asmodeus is thrilled by the murder investigation; Thuan, who gets dragged into the political plotting he’d sworn off when he left, is less enthusiastic.

It’ll take all of Asmodeus’s skill with knives, and all of Thuan’s diplomacy, to navigate this one — as well as the troubled waters of their own relationship….

A sparkling standalone book set in a world of dark intrigue.

A must read for fans of Aliette’s Dominion of the Fallen series, the novella can stand on its own (perfect for newcomers, too)! Chronologically, it follows the third novel in the series: THE HOUSE OF SUNDERING FLAMES.

‘A delightful political mystery featuring de Bodard’s vibrant world-building, beautiful prose, and compelling characters.’ — Juliet Kemp, author of Shadow and Storm

‘Fantasy of Manners but with corpses and a stabby husband. The stabby husband may or may not have produced the aforementioned corpses.’ — Fantasy Inn

The Dominion of the Fallen novels are published by Gollancz in the UK and Roc Books (#1-2) and JABberwocky (#3) in North America: THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS, THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS and the aforementioned THE HOUSE OF SUNDERING FLAMES.

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

‘A beautifully crafted novel full of complex characters, set in a post apocalyptic Paris – the image of which is truly haunting… vivid and fast-paced battles and intense political manoeuvrings… with carefully crafted characters both with layers and depth, De Bodard reflects the best and worst of human nature in her novel… an intriguing mystery, elegantly written… Something any avid fantasy reader with an open mind will devour!’ — Guardian on THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS

‘A gripping tragedy of forlorn individuals caught up in an angelic version of the Cold War… The story holds up well as a standalone, with clear possibilities but no pressing need for a sequel. De Bodard aptly mixes moral conflicts and the desperate need to survive in a fantastical spy thriller that reads like a hybrid of le Carré and Milton, all tinged with the melancholy of golden ages lost.’ — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) on THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS

‘Will grab readers and force them to pay attention to the amazing writing and the phenomenal characters. de Bodard will sweep you up into the dark and dirty world Paris has become. The characters are very vivid and will stay with you until long after the last page, as each of them is fighting and longing for something. The writing style rendered the characters’ feelings and emotional turmoil beautifully. Watching Philippe and Isabelle work through their “connection” is fascinating and lovely. There’s so much going on, and every character has their own past, their own tragic history. It’s a whirlwind, it’s heartbreaking and it’s one of the best fantasy novels of 2015.’ — RT Book Reviews (Top Pick August 2015) on THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS

‘De Bodard… has spun a fascinating Paris of decay and cruelty. Phillippe is a marvel of a character, unreliable as a narrator but compelling in his flaws and his deep well of homesickness.‘ — Library Journal (Starred Review) on THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS

‘Meddling gleefully in the affairs of devils and dragons, this affective sequel to 2015’s THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS touches the heart as often as it cuts throats… Having fully crafted her world, de Bodard is now completely in control: she can move swiftly from gentle poetic touches to bloody Grand Guignol gestures, and she sure-handedly holds the reader by exposing the vulnerabilities and needs that drive even the seemingly all-powerful figures of rebel angels and ancient serpents to surrender to a higher collective power. In this world lacking signs of heaven, redemptions are painful but possible.’ — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) on THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS

‘The author spins a tale that’s rich, emotional and gripping, and delivers that rare thing: a superior sequel… This is an incredibly rich novel. Even as the scheming, double-crossing and action set pieces unfold, the author never loses sight of the people whose lives are on the line… There’s just so much going on here: social commentary, myths and fairytales that often feel under-represented in genre fiction, a gripping genre adventure and an affecting love story. The author has gone from strength to strength and we can’t wait for this story to continue.’ — SciFi Now (5/5*) on THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS

‘De Bodard’s writing is very precise, like a well-oiled machine. The tempo is piston perfect, with the prose style having a strong and steady rhythm throughout. The emotional journey is relatively predictable (especially when we get into a marriage sequence), but the narrative is not. In other words, you can pretty much tell that the big emotions are coming, but the how and the why is what keeps you on edge. This is not a villains book; this is a powerful sequel that shows us that the incredibly complex world of the last novel is even more involved than we first expected. Strong stuff which you won’t stop reading till the end.’ — Starburst on THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS

‘Truly beautifully balanced: between new and old, birth and death, beauty and ugliness, inside and outside, beginning and, yes, ending. It walks the line, and walks it fine.’ — Tor.com on THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS

‘de Bodard’s people feel real to me… There is hope even in the darkest of places, and there is a desire for love, for trust, for harbor, that takes root no matter how often it’s destroyed. This is a stronger, more certain novel than THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS, and if reading it is sometimes walking the unfenced edge of a cliff, the vista is dizzying and beautiful. It is well worth the wait, and if you haven’t read the first novel, I urge you to do so. But have THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS in hand before you reach the end.’ — Fantasy & Science Fiction (Mar/Apr 2017)

‘If you’ve loved the previous entries in this series, consider it a must read. If you haven’t, know that it delivers an intoxicating blend of gothic mystery, apocalyptic fantasy, and Vietnamese myth—meaty, singular, and satisfying.’ — B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog on THE HOUSE OF SUNDERING FLAMES