Above is the German cover for Ian McDonald‘s highly-anticipated second Luna novel, WOLF MOON! Due to be published in May 2017 by Heyne as LUNA: WOLFSMOND, here’s the synopsis…
Auf dem Mond ist der Mensch die tödlichste aller Gefahren
Achtzehn Monate sind seit dem Tod Adriana Cortas vergangen. Die Corta Helio Corporation ist zerschlagen und die mächtigste Familie des Mondes ruiniert. Die vier verbliebenen Drachen, wie die einflussreichen Clans auf dem Mond genannt werden, wittern ihre Chance und liefern sich einen erbitterten Kampf um die Vormachtstellung in der High Society des Mondes – es ist ein Machtspiel voller Verführung, Lügen und Intrigen. Ein Spiel, das die Menschen auf dem Mond schon bald an den Rand eines Krieges bringen wird…
LUNA: WOLF MOON is due to be published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Tor Books. 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.
LUNA: WOLF MOON has received it’s first starred review, from Publishers Weekly: ‘… 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.‘
The critically-acclaimed first novel in the series, NEW MOON, is out now in paperback, also published by Gollancz, Tor and Heyne. It has also been published in a number of other territories (more details can be found on Ian’s author page). Here’s just a small sample taken from the flood of reviews the book received upon publication…
‘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)
‘Mafia-style mining families clash in a compelling fantasy that offers up all the pleasures of a cut-throat soap opera in space… LUNA is as gripping as it is colourful, and as colourful as it is nasty.’ — Guardian
‘No one writes like Ian McDonald, and no one’s Moon is nearly so beautiful and terrible… McDonald’s moon is omnisexual, kinky, violent, passionate, beautiful, awful, vibrant and crushing.’ — BoingBoing
‘A mesmerizing political thriller.’ — RT Book Reviews
‘A refreshing and complex science fiction of the best kind – one that is universally clever and thought provoking, and one that stays with you long after you close the final page.’ — Upcoming4Me
