Tag: Head of Zeus

Lavie Tidhar’s MAROR Out Today in Germany!

Posted on Monday, April 15th, 2024

Lavie Tidhar‘s acclaimed novel MAROR is out today in a new German edition! Published by Suhrkamp, it was translated by Conny Lösch. Here’s the synopsis…

Israel, 1974-2008. Zwei Polizisten führen uns durch fast vier Jahrzehnte israelischer Geschichte. Cohen, der Strippenzieher im Hintergrund, und Avi Sagi, der den korrumpierenden Versuchungen seines Jobs nicht widerstehen kann. Diese Geschichte ist die dunkle Geschichte Israels. Der Patriot Cohen kennt nur eine Aufgabe – seinen Staat zu beschützen, auch wenn er dafür die bittersten Realitäten akzeptieren muss und gnadenlos danach handelt. Cohen und Sagi haben es mit jüdischen, arabischen und türkischen Gangstern, mit der CIA und dem KGB, mit den Contras und den Kartellen, mit militanten Orthodoxen und anderen Playern mehr zu tun. Cohen versucht, »die Dinge in der Balance zu halten«, und kennt dabei keine Grenzen.

Tidhar entwirft ein gewaltiges, kaleidoskopisches Panorama aus politischen Skandalen, Korruption, Mord und Verbrechen auf staatlicher und privater Ebene, das sich auch auf die weltweiten Aktivitäten Israels bezieht. Ein Epos, das zu Recht mit Balzac und Dickens verglichen wurde. Ein Epos auch über Moral und Realpolitik, eine Art Chronique scandaleuse Israels und ein grimmiges, schwarz-humoriges Plädoyer für dessen Existenzrecht. Maroreben, wie die bitteren Kräuter auf dem Sederteller: »Mit bitteren Kräutern sollen sie es essen.« (Exodus, 12:8)

MAROR is the first novel in Tidhar’s Matter of Israel series, and is published in the UK by Head of Zeus/Apollo. The second novel, ADAMA, is also out now.

Here’s MAROR‘s English-language synopsis…

How do you build a nation?

It takes statesmen and soldiers, farmers and factory workers, of course. But it also takes thieves, prostitutes and policemen.

Nation-building demands sacrifice. And one man knows exactly where those bodies are buried: Cohen, a man who loves his country. A reasonable man for unreasonable times.

A car bomb in the back streets of Tel Aviv. A diamond robbery in Haifa. Civil war in Lebanon. Rebel fighters in the Colombian jungle. A double murder in Los Angeles.

How do they all connect? Only Cohen knows.

Maror is the story of a war for a country’s soul – a dazzling spread of narrative gunshots across four decades and three continents.

It is a true story. All of these things happened.

The novel, which was a Guardian and Economist Best Book of 2022, has received an incredible amount of praise since it was published. Here’s just a small selection…

‘Some write in ink, others in song, Tidhar writes in fire… MAROR is a kaleidoscopic masterpiece, immense in its sympathies, alarming in its irreverences and altogether exhilarating.’ — Junot Díaz

‘One of the boldest, most visionary writers I’ve ever read creates both a vivid political exploration and a riveting crime epic. It’s like the Jewish Godfather!’ — Silvia Moreno-Garcia

‘A masterpiece of the sacred and the profane … a literary triumph.’ — Guardian

‘Amos Oz’s A Tale of Love and Darkness… Fade[s] into oblivion compared with Lavie Tidhar’s magnificent novel MAROR, a panoramic look at four decades of the dark, despicable side of Israel, of death, corruption, violence and drugs… It’s a brilliant undertaking.’ — Jewish Chronicle

‘One of the sensational novels of 2022, a violent rollercoaster and drug-fuelled ride into Israel’s history’ — Jewish Chronicle (as part of ADAMA review)

‘MAROR blends the page-turning wit of a hard-boiled detective noir with the stirring intrigue of a multi-national political epic. An ambitious achievement that weaves a tapestry of both story and statement.’ — Kevin Jared Hosein

‘A bloody beast of a book… MAROR is to Israeli history what Tarantino is to American movie culture’ — Daily Mail

‘Comparisons to James Ellroy and Marlon James are valid… On every page we feel we’re among real, breathing people… [a] compelling, unflinching roman-fleuve.’ — Times Literary Supplement (joint review of ADAMA and MAROR)

‘Radiant with all the brutally elegant atmosphere of crime noir, and the richly nuanced complexity and style of Marlon James’ A Brief History of Seven Killings, it’s a genre-busting novel that will catch your breath … At once illuminating, thrilling and thought-provoking, this tale of corruption, killings, sacrifice and the souls that make up a nation is a symphonic feat of fiction.’ — LoveReading

THE BEST OF WORLD SF Volume 3 Paperback Out Now!

Posted on Thursday, April 11th, 2024

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

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

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

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

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

Here is the full table of contents for the anthology:

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

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

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

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

‘Rare and wonderful’ — The Times (UK)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

German Edition of MAROR Out in Four Weeks!

Posted on Monday, March 18th, 2024

Lavie Tidhar‘s acclaimed novel MAROR is due out in a new German edition in four weeks! To be published by Suhrkamp, on April 15th, it was translated by Conny Lösch. Here’s the synopsis…

Israel, 1974-2008. Zwei Polizisten führen uns durch fast vier Jahrzehnte israelischer Geschichte. Cohen, der Strippenzieher im Hintergrund, und Avi Sagi, der den korrumpierenden Versuchungen seines Jobs nicht widerstehen kann. Diese Geschichte ist die dunkle Geschichte Israels. Der Patriot Cohen kennt nur eine Aufgabe – seinen Staat zu beschützen, auch wenn er dafür die bittersten Realitäten akzeptieren muss und gnadenlos danach handelt. Cohen und Sagi haben es mit jüdischen, arabischen und türkischen Gangstern, mit der CIA und dem KGB, mit den Contras und den Kartellen, mit militanten Orthodoxen und anderen Playern mehr zu tun. Cohen versucht, »die Dinge in der Balance zu halten«, und kennt dabei keine Grenzen.

Tidhar entwirft ein gewaltiges, kaleidoskopisches Panorama aus politischen Skandalen, Korruption, Mord und Verbrechen auf staatlicher und privater Ebene, das sich auch auf die weltweiten Aktivitäten Israels bezieht. Ein Epos, das zu Recht mit Balzac und Dickens verglichen wurde. Ein Epos auch über Moral und Realpolitik, eine Art Chronique scandaleuse Israels und ein grimmiges, schwarz-humoriges Plädoyer für dessen Existenzrecht. Maroreben, wie die bitteren Kräuter auf dem Sederteller: »Mit bitteren Kräutern sollen sie es essen.« (Exodus, 12:8)

MAROR is the first novel in Tidhar’s Matter of Israel series, and is published in the UK by Head of Zeus/Apollo. The second novel, ADAMA, is also out now.

Here’s MAROR‘s English-language synopsis…

How do you build a nation?

It takes statesmen and soldiers, farmers and factory workers, of course. But it also takes thieves, prostitutes and policemen.

Nation-building demands sacrifice. And one man knows exactly where those bodies are buried: Cohen, a man who loves his country. A reasonable man for unreasonable times.

A car bomb in the back streets of Tel Aviv. A diamond robbery in Haifa. Civil war in Lebanon. Rebel fighters in the Colombian jungle. A double murder in Los Angeles.

How do they all connect? Only Cohen knows.

Maror is the story of a war for a country’s soul – a dazzling spread of narrative gunshots across four decades and three continents.

It is a true story. All of these things happened.

The novel, which was a Guardian and Economist Best Book of 2022, has received an incredible amount of praise since it was published. Here’s just a small selection…

‘Some write in ink, others in song, Tidhar writes in fire… MAROR is a kaleidoscopic masterpiece, immense in its sympathies, alarming in its irreverences and altogether exhilarating.’ — Junot Díaz

‘One of the boldest, most visionary writers I’ve ever read creates both a vivid political exploration and a riveting crime epic. It’s like the Jewish Godfather!’ — Silvia Moreno-Garcia

‘A masterpiece of the sacred and the profane … a literary triumph.’ — Guardian

‘Amos Oz’s A Tale of Love and Darkness… Fade[s] into oblivion compared with Lavie Tidhar’s magnificent novel MAROR, a panoramic look at four decades of the dark, despicable side of Israel, of death, corruption, violence and drugs… It’s a brilliant undertaking.’ — Jewish Chronicle

‘One of the sensational novels of 2022, a violent rollercoaster and drug-fuelled ride into Israel’s history’ — Jewish Chronicle (as part of ADAMA review)

‘MAROR blends the page-turning wit of a hard-boiled detective noir with the stirring intrigue of a multi-national political epic. An ambitious achievement that weaves a tapestry of both story and statement.’ — Kevin Jared Hosein

‘A bloody beast of a book… MAROR is to Israeli history what Tarantino is to American movie culture’ — Daily Mail

‘Comparisons to James Ellroy and Marlon James are valid… On every page we feel we’re among real, breathing people… [a] compelling, unflinching roman-fleuve.’ — Times Literary Supplement (joint review of ADAMA and MAROR)

‘Radiant with all the brutally elegant atmosphere of crime noir, and the richly nuanced complexity and style of Marlon James’ A Brief History of Seven Killings, it’s a genre-busting novel that will catch your breath … At once illuminating, thrilling and thought-provoking, this tale of corruption, killings, sacrifice and the souls that make up a nation is a symphonic feat of fiction.’ — LoveReading

Zeno Clients & Titles on the Locus 2023 Recommended Reading List!

Posted on Wednesday, February 7th, 2024

Locus Magazine released their February 2024 issue, which includes their annual Recommended Reading List, covering 2023 releases. We’re very happy to report that a number of Zeno clients and titles are featured on the list. Check out below for more information on each of the featured titles.

SF Novel

Aliette de Bodard, A FIRE BORN OF EXILE (Gollancz/JABberwocky)

The Scattered Pearls Belt is a string of habitats under tight military rule… where the powerful have become all too comfortable in their positions, and their corruption. But change is coming, with the arrival of Quynh: the mysterious and enigmatic Alchemist of Streams and Hills.

To Minh, daughter of the ruling prefect of the Belt, Quynh represents a chance for escape. To Hoà, a destitute engineer, Quynh has a mysterious link to her own past… and holds a deeper, more sensual appeal. But Quynh has her own secret history, and a plan for the ruling class of the Belt. A plan that will tear open old wounds, shake the heavens, and may well consume her.

A beautiful exploration of the power of love, of revenge, and of the wounds of the past, this fast-paced, heartwarming standalone space opera is set against a backdrop of corruption, power, and political scheming in the far reaches of the Xuya universe, also home to the Arthur C. Clarke Award-shortlisted The Red Scholar’s Wake.

Ian McDonald, HOPELAND (Gollancz/Tor Books)

Hopeland is not a nation. It is not a cult. It is not a religion.

Hopeland is a community. It is a culture. It is a family.

When Raisa Hopeland, determined to win her race to become the next electromancer of London, bumps into Amon Brightbourne – tweed-suited, otherworldly, guided by the Grace – in the middle of a London riot, she sets in motion a series of events which will span decades, continents and a series of events which will change the world.

Amon falls in love in that moment of chaos, but being loved by him can have a cost. And while Raisa has Hopeland, Amon has a family of his own, and they have their own secrets.

From rioting London to geothermal Iceland to the climate-struck islands of Polynesia, from birth to life to death, from tranquillity to terror to joy, Raisa’s journey will encompass the world. But one thing will always be true.

Hopeland is family.

Lavie Tidhar, THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE WORLD (Tachyon)

Caught between realities, a mathematician, a book dealer, and a mobster desperately seek a notorious book that disappears upon being read. Only the author, a rakish sci-fi writer, knows whether his popular novel is truthful or a hoax. In a story that is cosmic, inventive, and sly, multi-award-winning author Lavie Tidhar (Central Station) travels from the emergence of life to the very ends of the universe.

Delia Welegtabit discovered two things during her childhood on a South Pacific island: her love for mathematics and a novel that isn’t supposed to exist. But the elusive book proves unexpectedly dangerous. Oskar Lens, a science fiction-obsessed mobster in the midst of an existential crisis, will stop at nothing to find the novel. After Delia’s husband Levi goes missing, she seeks help from Daniel Chase, a young, face-blind book dealer.

The infamous novel Lode Stars was written by the infamous Eugene Charles Hartley: legendary pulp science-fiction writer and founder of the Church of the All-Seeing Eyes. In Hartley’s novel, a doppelganger of Delia searches for her missing father in a strange star system. But is any of Lode Stars real? Was Hartley a cynical conman on a quest for wealth and immortality, creating a religion he did not believe in? Or was he a visionary who truly discovered the secrets of the universe?

Fantasy Novel

Jonathan Carroll, MR. BREAKFAST (Melville House)

Graham Patterson’s life has hit a dead end. His career as a comedian is failing. The love of his life recently broke up with him and he literally has no idea what to do next. With nothing to lose, he buys a new car and hits the road, planning to drive across country and hopefully figure out his next moves before reaching California.

But along the way Patterson does something his old self would never have even considered: he gets tattooed by a brilliant tattoo artist in North Carolina. The decision sets off a series of extraordinary events that changes his life forever in ways he never could have imagined. Among other things, Patterson is gifted with the ability to see in real time three different lives that are available to him. The choice is his: The life he is leading right now, or two very different ones. In all of them there is love or fame and of course danger because once he has chosen, there is no telling what will happen next.

Mr. Breakfast is a dazzling, absorbing and deeply moving novel about the choices that we have to confront and face, confirming Jonathan Carroll’s status as one of our greatest and most imaginative storytellers.

Tim Powers, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER (Ad Astra)

Howarth, 1846.

In a parsonage at the edge of the moors, a widowed rector lives with his family: three daughters and their dissolute brother, Bramwell.

Though the future will celebrate Charlotte, Emily and Anne, right now they are unknown, their genius concealed. In just a few short years they will all be dead, and it will be middle sister Emily’s chance encounter with a grievously wounded man on the moor that sets them on the path to their doom.

For there is an ancient pagan secret haunting the moors, a dark inheritance in the family bloodline and something terrible buried under an ogham-inscribed slab in the church. Not only are their lives at stake, but their very souls.

My Brother’s Keeper is an atmospheric gothic novel that mixes diabolical hatred and vengeance with the supreme power of love to conjure dark magic from the tragic fate of the Brontë sisters.

Horror Novel

Grady Hendrix, HOW TO SELL A HAUNTED HOUSE (Titan UK)

When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want to leave her daughter with her ex and fly to Charleston. She doesn’t want to deal with her family home, stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls. She doesn’t want to learn how to live without the two people who knew and loved her best in the world.

Mostly, she doesn’t want to deal with her brother, Mark, who never left their hometown, gets fired from one job after another, and resents her success. But she’ll need his help to get the house ready for sale because it’ll take more than some new paint on the walls and clearing out a lifetime of memories to get this place on the market.

Some houses don’t want to be sold…

Collections

Ian R. MacLeod, RAGGED MAPS (Subterranean Press)

From furthest reaches of deep space in “The Memory Artist” to the jungles of Yucatan in “Lamagica,” and from the strange suburbia of “Stuff” to a Vatican where a dying pope awaits deliverance in “Sin Eater,” the worlds mapped out by these stories range far and wide. 

As, from the mythic ancient city of “The God of Nothing” to the post-human futures of “Ephemera” and “The Fall of the House of Kepler,” via alternate pasts and some very twisted presents in such tales as “Selkie,” “The Mrs Innocents” and “The Chronologist,” do the times. 

What holds all these pieces together, including the gripping long new novelette “Downtime” and its vision of a near-future penal system, are vivid writing, strong characters and a sense of awe and surprise. On travels that will take you from cluttered attics and strange shorelines to star-flung civilisations and beyond, let Ian R. MacLeod be your guide.

Anthologies

Lavie Tidhar (ed.), THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 3 (Ad Astra)

The third annual instalment to the ‘excellent, lovingly curated’ (Financial Times) The Best of World SF series

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

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

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

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

Short Stories

Aliette de Bodard, “The Mausoleum’s Children“ (Uncanny 5-6/23)

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

Posted on Tuesday, January 2nd, 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

German Edition of Lavie Tidhar’s MAROR Out Next Year!

Posted on Thursday, December 14th, 2023

A new German edition of Lavie Tidhar‘s acclaimed novel MAROR is on the way! Due to be published by Suhrkamp, on April 14th, it was translated by Conny Lösch. Here’s the synopsis…

Israel, 1974-2008. Zwei Polizisten führen uns durch fast vier Jahrzehnte israelischer Geschichte. Cohen, der Strippenzieher im Hintergrund, und Avi Sagi, der den korrumpierenden Versuchungen seines Jobs nicht widerstehen kann. Diese Geschichte ist die dunkle Geschichte Israels. Der Patriot Cohen kennt nur eine Aufgabe – seinen Staat zu beschützen, auch wenn er dafür die bittersten Realitäten akzeptieren muss und gnadenlos danach handelt. Cohen und Sagi haben es mit jüdischen, arabischen und türkischen Gangstern, mit der CIA und dem KGB, mit den Contras und den Kartellen, mit militanten Orthodoxen und anderen Playern mehr zu tun. Cohen versucht, »die Dinge in der Balance zu halten«, und kennt dabei keine Grenzen.

Tidhar entwirft ein gewaltiges, kaleidoskopisches Panorama aus politischen Skandalen, Korruption, Mord und Verbrechen auf staatlicher und privater Ebene, das sich auch auf die weltweiten Aktivitäten Israels bezieht. Ein Epos, das zu Recht mit Balzac und Dickens verglichen wurde. Ein Epos auch über Moral und Realpolitik, eine Art Chronique scandaleuse Israels und ein grimmiges, schwarz-humoriges Plädoyer für dessen Existenzrecht. Maroreben, wie die bitteren Kräuter auf dem Sederteller: »Mit bitteren Kräutern sollen sie es essen.« (Exodus, 12:8)

MAROR is the first novel in Tidhar’s Matter of Israel series, which is published in the UK by Head of Zeus/Apollo. The second novel, ADAMA, is also out now.

Here’s MAROR‘s English-language synopsis…

How do you build a nation?

It takes statesmen and soldiers, farmers and factory workers, of course. But it also takes thieves, prostitutes and policemen.

Nation-building demands sacrifice. And one man knows exactly where those bodies are buried: Cohen, a man who loves his country. A reasonable man for unreasonable times.

A car bomb in the back streets of Tel Aviv. A diamond robbery in Haifa. Civil war in Lebanon. Rebel fighters in the Colombian jungle. A double murder in Los Angeles.

How do they all connect? Only Cohen knows.

Maror is the story of a war for a country’s soul – a dazzling spread of narrative gunshots across four decades and three continents.

It is a true story. All of these things happened.

The novel, which was a Guardian and Economist Best Book of 2022, has received an incredible amount of praise since it was published. Here’s just a small selection…

‘Some write in ink, others in song, Tidhar writes in fire… MAROR is a kaleidoscopic masterpiece, immense in its sympathies, alarming in its irreverences and altogether exhilarating.’ — Junot Díaz

‘One of the boldest, most visionary writers I’ve ever read creates both a vivid political exploration and a riveting crime epic. It’s like the Jewish Godfather!’ — Silvia Moreno-Garcia

‘A masterpiece of the sacred and the profane … a literary triumph.’ — Guardian

‘Amos Oz’s A Tale of Love and Darkness… Fade[s] into oblivion compared with Lavie Tidhar’s magnificent novel MAROR, a panoramic look at four decades of the dark, despicable side of Israel, of death, corruption, violence and drugs… It’s a brilliant undertaking.’ — Jewish Chronicle

‘One of the sensational novels of 2022, a violent rollercoaster and drug-fuelled ride into Israel’s history’ — Jewish Chronicle (as part of ADAMA review)

‘MAROR blends the page-turning wit of a hard-boiled detective noir with the stirring intrigue of a multi-national political epic. An ambitious achievement that weaves a tapestry of both story and statement.’ — Kevin Jared Hosein

‘A bloody beast of a book… MAROR is to Israeli history what Tarantino is to American movie culture’ — Daily Mail

‘Comparisons to James Ellroy and Marlon James are valid… On every page we feel we’re among real, breathing people… [a] compelling, unflinching roman-fleuve.’ — Times Literary Supplement (joint review of ADAMA and MAROR)

‘Radiant with all the brutally elegant atmosphere of crime noir, and the richly nuanced complexity and style of Marlon James’ A Brief History of Seven Killings, it’s a genre-busting novel that will catch your breath … At once illuminating, thrilling and thought-provoking, this tale of corruption, killings, sacrifice and the souls that make up a nation is a symphonic feat of fiction.’ — LoveReading

Audio Spotlight: MY BROTHER’S KEEPER by Tim Powers

Posted on Tuesday, November 28th, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on Thursday, October 12th, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

Here is the full table of contents for the anthology:

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

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

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

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

‘Rare and wonderful’ — The Times (UK)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MY BROTHER’S KEEPER Out This Week!

Posted on Tuesday, October 10th, 2023

The highly anticipated new novel from Tim Powers, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER is out this week — on Thursday, to be exact (October 12th)! Published by Head of Zeus, here’s the synopsis…

Howarth, 1846. The edge of the Yorkshire moors.

Here, in solitude, live a widowed parish priest and his family: three daughters and their single brother.

Though the future will celebrate the three daughters, right now they are unknown, their genius concealed. In just a few short years, they will all be dead.

And it will be middle daughter Emily’s chance encounter with a grievously wounded man on the moor that sets them on the path to their doom.

My Brother’s Keeper introduces an ancient secret haunting the moors, a dark inheritance in the family bloodline and something terrible buried under an ogham-inscribed slab in the church.

An atmospheric, claustrophobic gothic novel from a revered fantasy author… featuring… have you not guessed yet?

Here are just a couple of great recent reviews the novel has received…

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

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

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

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

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

Looking for more novels by Powers? The author’s Fault Lines trilogy is published by Gollancz, as part of their Fantasy Masterworks series; other novels of his have been published in the UK by Corvus.

MY BROTHER’S KEEPER by Tim Powers Out in Two Weeks!

Posted on Tuesday, September 26th, 2023

The highly anticipated new novel from Tim Powers, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER is due out in two weeks! To be published by Head of Zeus on October 12th, here’s the synopsis…

Howarth, 1846. The edge of the Yorkshire moors.

Here, in solitude, live a widowed parish priest and his family: three daughters and their single brother.

Though the future will celebrate the three daughters, right now they are unknown, their genius concealed. In just a few short years, they will all be dead.

And it will be middle daughter Emily’s chance encounter with a grievously wounded man on the moor that sets them on the path to their doom.

My Brother’s Keeper introduces an ancient secret haunting the moors, a dark inheritance in the family bloodline and something terrible buried under an ogham-inscribed slab in the church.

An atmospheric, claustrophobic gothic novel from a revered fantasy author… featuring… have you not guessed yet?

Tim Powers is the author of a great many acclaimed science fiction and fantasy novels. The author’s Fault Lines trilogy is published by Gollancz, as part of their Fantasy Masterworks series; other novels of his have been published in the UK by Corvus.

Lavie Tidhar is on the Cover of Write On!

Posted on Friday, September 22nd, 2023

Lavie Tidhar is the cover-star of the latest issue of Write On! magazine, which is out now! The issue is available for free online, and in the piece Lavie discusses his approach to writing, and more!

Tidhar’s latest novels are ADAMA (Head of Zeus) and THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE WORLD (Tachyon) — both are out now!

Here’s the synopsis for ADAMA…

THERE IS NO LAND WITHOUT BLOOD, AND I WATER THIS LAND WITH THE BLOOD OF MY MEN.

Ruth’s family were in Budapest when the Nazis came.

Now Ruth is in Palestine, amid the bare hills inland from Haifa, breaking the rocky soil of an unyielding land before it breaks her.

With her comrades, her fellow kibbutzniks, she will build a better world. There will be green grass, orange trees and pomegranates, a land that is their own and no one else’s.

So they till their fields, dig their wells, build their homes and forge a new way of living, fiercely proud of their shared pursuit of a dream.

But as one generation begets another, the dream unravels, twisted into a dark tapestry of secrets and lies; sacrificed for revenge, forbidden love and murder.

A sweeping historical epic following four generations of a single family as they struggle to hold on to their land and each other.

ADAMA was recently featured as a Sunday Times (UK) Best Historical Novel of September 2023: ‘ADAMA is the second in an ambitious trilogy about the tumultuous birth of Israel, but can be read as a standalone. It is a brilliantly unsentimental portrayal, full of moral murkiness and tarnished hopes, with small, half-glimpsed bursts of joy.’

Here, too, is the synopsis for THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE WORLD…

Caught between realities, a mathematician, a book dealer, and a mobster desperately seek a notorious book that disappears upon being read. Only the author, a rakish sci-fi writer, knows whether his popular novel is truthful or a hoax…

Delia Welegtabit discovered two things during her childhood on a South Pacific island: her love for mathematics and a novel that isn’t supposed to exist. But the elusive book proves unexpectedly dangerous. Oskar Lens, a science fiction-obsessed mobster in the midst of an existential crisis, will stop at nothing to find the novel. After Delia’s husband Levi goes missing, she seeks help from Daniel Chase, a young, face-blind book dealer.

The infamous novel Lode Stars was written by the infamous Eugene Charles Hartley: legendary pulp science-fiction writer and founder of the Church of the All-Seeing Eyes. In Hartley’s novel, a doppelganger of Delia searches for her missing father in a strange star system. But is any of Lode Stars real? Was Hartley a cynical conman on a quest for wealth and immortality, creating a religion he did not believe in? Or was he a visionary who truly discovered the secrets of the universe?

THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE WORLD has been garnering praise from far and wide. Here are just a few examples…

‘Tidhar wins it all with this magnificently original mind-bender of a novel about a missing husband and a mysterious book that disappears as soon as you read it. THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE WORLD is two parts Philip K. Dick, two parts Brothers Strugatsky, and six parts blow your f**king mind.’ — Junot Diaz

‘World Fantasy Award winner Tidhar (Neom) wows with a mind-bending existential adventure that seeks to answer the age-old question of why humanity exists… Toggling between perspectives and the ethereal text of Lode Stars, Tidhar’s slippery metafictional tale lyrically entangles scientific fact, mysticism, and mental illness. This is a knockout.’ — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

‘Maybe the universe’s energy really does get recycled, because this eclectic speculative novel manages to be simultaneously contemporary, nostalgic, and retro in a way that wouldn’t be unfamiliar to the SF icons to which it pays tribute…. Tidhar’s rich portrayal of the pulpy golden age of science fiction, distinctive characters, and nimble turns of phrase make for a cool confection.’ — Kirkus

BEST OF WORLD SF Volume 3 Out in Three Weeks!

Posted on Monday, September 18th, 2023

The third volume in the acclaimed, Lavie Tidhar-edited BEST OF WORLD SF series is out in just three weeks! Due to be published by AdAstra/Head of Zeus, on October 12th, here’s the synopsis…

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

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

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

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

AdAstra/Head of Zeus also publish the first two volumes in the series; both are out now in paperback.

Here is the full table of contents for the third anthology:

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

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

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

‘Rare and wonderful’ — The Times (UK)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lavie Tidhar’s ADAMA is out now!

Posted on Thursday, September 14th, 2023

Lavie Tidhar‘s latest masterpiece, ADAMA, is out now! Published by Head of Zeus (print and eBook) and W. F. Howes (audio), it’s the second novel in the author’s ambitious, asynchronous trilogy about Israel. Here’s the synopsis…

THERE IS NO LAND WITHOUT BLOOD, AND I WATER THIS LAND WITH THE BLOOD OF MY MEN.

Ruth’s family were in Budapest when the Nazis came.

Now Ruth is in Palestine, amid the bare hills inland from Haifa, breaking the rocky soil of an unyielding land before it breaks her.

With her comrades, her fellow kibbutzniks, she will build a better world. There will be green grass, orange trees and pomegranates, a land that is their own and no one else’s.

So they till their fields, dig their wells, build their homes and forge a new way of living, fiercely proud of their shared pursuit of a dream.

But as one generation begets another, the dream unravels, twisted into a dark tapestry of secrets and lies; sacrificed for revenge, forbidden love and murder.

A sweeping historical epic following four generations of a single family as they struggle to hold on to their land and each other.

The audiobook is narrated by Levi Goldmeier.

‘ADAMA is an unstoppable masterpiece… Tidhar is a magician, a time-traveler, a historian, a comedian, a raconteur, a subversive, a truth teller and also one of the finest writers around. If history is a nightmare we’re all trying to wake up from, then ADAMA is a trumpet blast that rings out the past and into the future.’ — Junot Diaz

‘A propulsive, decades-spanning noir saga. I couldn’t put it down.’ — Silvia Moreno-Garcia

‘Lavie Tidhar’s prose is beautiful, his characters lacerating and heartbreaking… I loved it.’ — Catriona Ward

The first novel in this trilogy is MAROR, which is out now and also published by Head of Zeus.

Coming Soon: MY BROTHER’S KEEPER by Tim Powers!

Posted on Wednesday, August 30th, 2023

We’re very happy to announce that there’s a new novel on the way from Tim Powers! MY BROTHER’S KEEPER is due to be published by Head of Zeus, on October 12th. Here’s the synopsis for the highly-anticipated novel…

Howarth, 1846. The edge of the Yorkshire moors.

Here, in solitude, live a widowed parish priest and his family: three daughters and their single brother.

Though the future will celebrate the three daughters, right now they are unknown, their genius concealed. In just a few short years, they will all be dead.

And it will be middle daughter Emily’s chance encounter with a grievously wounded man on the moor that sets them on the path to their doom.

My Brother’s Keeper introduces an ancient secret haunting the moors, a dark inheritance in the family bloodline and something terrible buried under an ogham-inscribed slab in the church.

An atmospheric, claustrophobic gothic novel from a revered fantasy author… featuring… have you not guessed yet?

This highly-anticipated new novel from one of the masters of Science Fiction and Fantasy has already been generating a lot of interest an praise from those who have received early review copies.

Tim Powers is the author of a great many acclaimed science fiction and fantasy novels. The author’s Fault Lines trilogy is published by Gollancz, as part of their Fantasy Masterworks series; other novels of his have been published in the UK by Corvus.

Lavie Tidhar’s ADAMA Out in Two Weeks!

Posted on Monday, August 28th, 2023

Lavie Tidhar‘s latest masterpiece, ADAMA, is out in two weeks! Due to be published by Head of Zeus, on September 14th, it’s the second novel in the author’s ambitious, asynchronous trilogy about Israel. Here’s the synopsis…

THERE IS NO LAND WITHOUT BLOOD, AND I WATER THIS LAND WITH THE BLOOD OF MY MEN.

Ruth’s family were in Budapest when the Nazis came.

Now Ruth is in Palestine, amid the bare hills inland from Haifa, breaking the rocky soil of an unyielding land before it breaks her.

With her comrades, her fellow kibbutzniks, she will build a better world. There will be green grass, orange trees and pomegranates, a land that is their own and no one else’s.

So they till their fields, dig their wells, build their homes and forge a new way of living, fiercely proud of their shared pursuit of a dream.

But as one generation begets another, the dream unravels, twisted into a dark tapestry of secrets and lies; sacrificed for revenge, forbidden love and murder.

A sweeping historical epic following four generations of a single family as they struggle to hold on to their land and each other.

The audiobook edition of the novel will also be published on September 14th, by W. F. Howes, narrated by Levi Goldmeier.

‘ADAMA is an unstoppable masterpiece… Tidhar is a magician, a time-traveler, a historian, a comedian, a raconteur, a subversive, a truth teller and also one of the finest writers around. If history is a nightmare we’re all trying to wake up from, then ADAMA is a trumpet blast that rings out the past and into the future.’ — Junot Diaz

‘A propulsive, decades-spanning noir saga. I couldn’t put it down.’ — Silvia Moreno-Garcia

‘Lavie Tidhar’s prose is beautiful, his characters lacerating and heartbreaking… I loved it.’ — Catriona Ward

The first novel in this trilogy is MAROR, which is out now and also published by Head of Zeus.