Head of Zeus - Zeno Agency Ltd.

MAROR Paperback Edition Out Tomorrow!

Posted on Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023

The paperback edition of Lavie Tidhar‘s acclaimed MAROR is out tomorrow! Published by Head of Zeus, here’s the 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.

Here are just a few of the great reviews the novel has received since it was first published…

‘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

‘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 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

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

‘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

‘Who can forget the savage, musical James Ellroy prose circa the L.A. Quartet books? Now we have a successor … Lavie Tidhar, a marvelous multi-genre author who never fails to delight, has now penned his noir opus. MAROR is a heady, nonstop brew of terror, violence, and mayhem, while also exuding swathes of coursing humanity.’ — Read Listen Watch

‘An unforgettably powerful saga … a sweeping portrayal of violence, corruption and chaos threaded through by veins of humanity… It is difficult to do justice to such a monumental work. So many aspects of MAROR attract superlatives but they fail to convey the range and breathtaking insight of this epic crime novel. A book for all lovers of great literature.’ — Queensland Reviewers Collective

‘This is crime writing in the tradition of Balzac and Dickens and a major achievement, full of sound, fury, drugs and blood… An earthquake of a book.’ — Crime Time

‘MAROR is a profane, irreverent, scathing, sometimes blackly humorous and often compassionate fever-dream history of Israel… possibly his best yet.’ — NewTown Review of Books

Lavie’s highly-anticipated next novel is ADAMA, due to be published by Apollo/Head of Zeus on September 14th.

Aliette de Bodard, Lavie Tidhar, Travis Baldree & Silvia Moreno-Garcia are all Locus Award Finalists!

Posted on Monday, May 1st, 2023

On Friday evening, Locus Magazine released their lists of awards finalists for this year, and we’re very happy to report that four Zeno clients are featured! There are three client titles in the Science Fiction Novel category, a First Novel finalist, and a couple of others.

Congratulations to Aliette de Bodard, Lavie Tidhar, Travis Baldree, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia! Read on for more details…

Aliette de Bodard has two nominations! Published by Gollancz (UK) and JABberwocky (North America), the highly-acclaimed THE RED SCHOLAR’S WAKE is a finalist for the Best Science Fiction novel! Here’s the synopsis…

Xích Si: bot maker, data analyst, mother, scavenger. But those days are over now-her ship has just been captured by the Red Banner pirate fleet, famous for their double-dealing and cruelty. Xích Si expects to be tortured to death-only for the pirates’ enigmatic leader, Rice Fish, to arrive with a different and shocking proposition: an arranged marriage between Xích Si and herself.

Rice Fish: sentient ship, leader of the infamous Red Banner pirate fleet, wife of the Red Scholar. Or at least, she was the latter before her wife died under suspicious circumstances. Now isolated and alone, Rice Fish wants Xích Si’s help to find out who struck against them and why. Marrying Xích Si means Rice Fish can offer Xích Si protection, in exchange for Xích Si’s technical fluency: a business arrangement with nothing more to it.

But as the investigation goes on, Rice Fish and Xích Si find themselves falling for each other. As the interstellar war against piracy intensifies and the five fleets start fighting each other, they will have to make a stand-and to decide what kind of future they have together…

An exciting space opera and a beautiful romance, from an exceptional SF author.

OF CHARMS, GHOSTS AND GRIEVANCES, the second novel in Aliette’s Dragons & Blades series (a spin-off from the Dominion of the Fallen series) is a finalist for Best Novella. Published by JABberwocky, here’s the synopsis…

It was supposed to be a holiday, with nothing more challenging than babysitting, navigating familial politics and arguing about the proper way to brew tea.

But when dragon prince Thuan and his ruthless husband Asmodeus find a corpse in a ruined shrine and a hungry ghost who is the only witness to the crime, their holiday goes from restful to high-pressure. Someone is trying to silence the ghost and everyone involved. Asmodeus wants revenge for the murder; Thuan would like everyone, including Asmodeus, to stay alive.

Chased by bloodthirsty paper charms and struggling to protect their family, Thuan and Asmodeus are going to need all the allies they can—and, as the cracks in their relationship widen, they’ll have to face the scariest challenge of all: how to bring together their two vastly different ideas of their future…

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

Lavie Tidhar‘s NEOM, the second novel set in the Central Station universe, is also a Best Science Fiction Novel finalist. Published by Tachyon Publications, here’s the synopsis…

Today, Neom is a utopian dream — a megacity of the future yet to be built in the Saudi desert. In this deeply imaginative novel from the award-winning universe of Central Station, far-future Neom is already old. Sentient machines roam the desert searching for purpose, works of art can be more deadly than weapons, and the spark of a long-overdue revolution is in the wind. Only the rekindling of an impossible love affair may slow the inevitable sands of time.

The city known as Neom is many things to many beings, human or otherwise. It is a tech wonderland for the rich and beautiful, an urban sprawl along the Red Sea, and a port of call between Earth and the stars.

In the desert, young orphan Elias has joined a caravan, hoping to earn his passage off-world. But the desert is full of mechanical artefacts, some unexplained and some unexploded. Recently, a wry, unnamed robot has unearthed one of the region’s biggest mysteries: the vestiges of a golden man.

In Neom, childhood affection is rekindling between loyal shurta-officer Nasir and hardworking flower-seller Mariam. But Nasu, a deadly terrorartist, has come to the city with missing memories and unfinished business. Just one robot can change a city’s destiny with a single rose — especially when that robot is in search of lost love.

Lavie Tidhar’s (Unholy Land, The Escapement) newest lushly immersive novel, Neom, which includes a guide to the Central Station universe, is at turns gritty, comedic, transportive, and fascinatingly plausible.

The Tidhar-edited THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 2 is also a finalist for Best Anthology. Published by Head of Zeus, here’s the synopsis…

Twenty-nine new short stories representing the state of the art in international science fiction.
The second annual instalment to the ‘rare and wonderful’ (The Times) The Best of World SF Volume 1, this collection of twenty-nine stories, including eight original and exclusive additions, represents the state of the art in international science fiction.

Navigating around the globe, The Best of World SF Volume 2 features writers from Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Greece, Grenada, India, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, The Philippines, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Each story has been selected by World SF expert and award-winning author Lavie Tidhar. Taking us into space — Mars at first, then the stars — and then back to a strange, transformed Earth via AI, gods, aliens and the undead, the collection traces the ever-changing meaning of the genre from some of the most exciting voices writing today.

This is not a retrospective of what science fiction around the world used to look like. This is a snapshot of what some of it looks like now. And it’s never been more exciting.

Travis Baldree‘s best-selling, widely-acclaimed debut novel, LEGENDS & LATTES is a finalist for Best Debut Novel! Published by Tor Books in North America and in the UK,

High fantasy, low stakes – with a double-shot of coffee.

After decades of adventuring, Viv the orc barbarian is finally hanging up her sword for good. Now she sets her sights on a new dream – for she plans to open the first coffee shop in the city of Thune. Even though no one there knows what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the past behind her, she can’t go it alone. And help might arrive from unexpected quarters. Yet old rivals and new stand in the way of success. And Thune’s shady underbelly could make it all too easy for Viv to take up the blade once more.

But the true reward of the uncharted path is the travellers you meet along the way. Whether bound by ancient magic, delicious pastries or a freshly brewed cup, they may become something deeper than Viv ever could have imagined.

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree is a cosy, heartwarming slice-of-life fantasy about found families and fresh starts…

And last, but by no means least, Silvia Moreno-Garcia‘s acclaimed and best-selling THE DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR MOREAU is also a finalist for Best Science Fiction Novel! Published in the UK by Jo Fletcher Books, here’s the synopsis…

Carlota Moreau: A young woman, growing up in a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatán peninsula, the only daughter of a genius – or a madman.

Montgomery Laughton: A melancholic overseer with a tragic past and a propensity for alcohol, an outcast who assists Dr Moreau with his scientific experiments, which are financed by the Lizaldes, owners of magnificent haciendas with plentiful coffers.

The hybrids: The fruits of the Doctor’s labour, destined to blindly obey their creator while they remain in the shadows, are a motley group of part-human, part-animal monstrosities.

All of them are living in a perfectly balanced and static world which is jolted by the abrupt arrival of Eduardo Lizalde, the charming and careless son of Doctor Moreau’s patron – who will, unwittingly, begin a dangerous chain-reaction.

For Moreau keeps secrets, Carlota has questions, and in the sweltering heat of the jungle passions may ignite.

Zeno represents Silvia Moreno-Garcia in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Audiobook Edition of Lavie Tidhar’s MAROR Out Now!

Posted on Wednesday, March 15th, 2023

The audiobook edition of Lavie Tidhar‘s acclaimed novel MAROR is out now! Published by W. F. Howes, and narrated by Levi Goldmeir, here’s the synopsis…

A multi-generational saga with cultural and political depth, drawing on the rich, often troubling recent history of Israel, for fans of A History of Seven Killings or The White Tiger. 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 print and eBook editions of MAROR are published by Head of Zeus. Here are just a few of the great reviews the novel has received…

‘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

‘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 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

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

‘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

SHIELD MAIDEN by Sharon Emmerichs is Out Now!

Posted on Thursday, February 2nd, 2023

Sharon Emmerichs‘s highly-anticipated debut novel, SHIELD MAIDEN is out now in the UK! Published by AdAstra/Head of Zeus, it is a feminist retelling of the Beowulf saga. Here’s the official synopsis…

Having grown up hearing tales of her uncle, the great King Beowulf, Fryda’s one desire is to become a shield maiden in her own right. Yet a terrible childhood accident has left Fryda disabled – thus, she believes, thwarting her dream of becoming a warrior-woman for good. But still, somehow, she feels an uncontrollable power begin to rise within herself.

Meanwhile, a great celebration of Beowulf’s reign is underway, and Fryda’s house is soon overrun with foreign kings and chieftains. Amidst the drunken revelry, a discovery is made that threatens the safety of Fryda’s entire clan – and her own life. Enraged, Fryda resolves to fight for her people, no matter the cost… and all the while, her powers seem only to grow stronger.

But she is not the only one to feel its effects. For, buried deep in her gilded lair, a dragon is drawn to Fryda’s untamed power, and is slowly awakening from a long, cursed sleep…

Here are just a few of the reviews/blurbs the novel has received so far…

‘Casts a superb spell… Shimmering with detail, with a propulsive plot to match.’ — D.K. Fields

‘Fantastic fun… An entrancing story of power and peril, presenting a side to the sagas we have never seen before.’ — Ian Green

‘A heroine with a generous spirit, an unshakable will and a dragon’s fury.’ — H. M. Long

‘A fast-paced and addictive interpretation of one of the stories in the Beowulf saga. I did not want to put this book down. The storytelling is beautiful, and I loved the tender love story woven into the adventure plot. It’s made me want to read more about Beowulf too; I hope the author will dip back into the world in another book.’ — Clem F. (NetGalley Reviewer)

‘If like me you enjoy a good dose of mythology, and/or a good historical fiction, then I think this book will be right up your raiding party.’ — Louise P. (NetGalley Reviewer)

Sharon Emmerich’s SHIELD MAIDEN is out Next Week!

Posted on Tuesday, January 24th, 2023

SHIELD MAIDEN, the highly-anticipated debut novel from Sharon Emmerichs is out next week! Due to be published by AdAstra/Head of Zeus on February 2nd, here’s the synopsis…

Having grown up hearing tales of her uncle, the great King Beowulf, Fryda’s one desire is to become a shield maiden in her own right. Yet a terrible childhood accident has left Fryda disabled – thus, she believes, thwarting her dream of becoming a warrior-woman for good. But still, somehow, she feels an uncontrollable power begin to rise within herself.

Meanwhile, a great celebration of Beowulf’s reign is underway, and Fryda’s house is soon overrun with foreign kings and chieftains. Amidst the drunken revelry, a discovery is made that threatens the safety of Fryda’s entire clan – and her own life. Enraged, Fryda resolves to fight for her people, no matter the cost… and all the while, her powers seem only to grow stronger.

But she is not the only one to feel its effects. For, buried deep in her gilded lair, a dragon is drawn to Fryda’s untamed power, and is slowly awakening from a long, cursed sleep…

Here are a handful of the great early responses the novel has received so far…

‘Casts a superb spell… Shimmering with detail, with a propulsive plot to match.’ — D.K. Fields

‘Fantastic fun… An entrancing story of power and peril, presenting a side to the sagas we have never seen before.’ — Ian Green

‘A heroine with a generous spirit, an unshakable will and a dragon’s fury.’ — H. M. Long

‘A fast-paced and addictive interpretation of one of the stories in the Beowulf saga. I did not want to put this book down. The storytelling is beautiful, and I loved the tender love story woven into the adventure plot. It’s made me want to read more about Beowulf too; I hope the author will dip back into the world in another book.’ — Clem F. (NetGalley Reviewer)

‘If like me you enjoy a good dose of mythology, and/or a good historical fiction, then I think this book will be right up your raiding party.’ — Louise P. (NetGalley Reviewer)

Lavie Tidhar’s MAROR is a Best of 2022!

Posted on Tuesday, December 13th, 2022

Just a quick post today to congratulate Lavie Tidhar: one of his latest novels, MAROR, has been selected by both The Guardian and The Economist as one of the best books of the year! Published in the UK by Head of Zeus, here’s the 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.

Here, too, are just a few of the reviews the novel has received so far…

‘MAROR is a masterpiece of the sacred and the profane … a literary triumph.’ — The Guardian

‘[A] wildly ambitious saga… A caustic alternative history of the dream and development of Israel.’ — The Economist

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

‘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.’ — The Jewish Chronicle

‘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

‘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

‘I’ve rarely read such a sustained feat of narrative invention and momentum. The novel’s a masterpiece.’ — Tim Pears

‘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

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 2 Out Now in North America!

Posted on Tuesday, November 1st, 2022

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 2 is out now in North America! Edited by Lavie Tidhar, it is published by Head of Zeus/AdAstra (the UK edition was published back in October). Here’s the synopsis…

Twenty-nine new short stories representing the state of the art in international science fiction.

The second annual instalment to the ‘rare and wonderful’ (The Times) The Best of World SF Volume 1, this collection features twenty-nine stories, including eight written exclusively for this collection. This is not a retrospective of what science fiction around the world used to look like. This is a snapshot of what some of it looks like now. And it’s never been more exciting.

Navigating around the globe, The Best of World SF Volume 2 features writers from: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Brazil, Bolivia, China, Czech Republic, Greece, India, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Each story has been selected by World SF expert and award-winning author Lavie Tidhar in a collection which traces the ever-changing meaning of the genre from some the most exciting voices writing today.

Here’s the full Table of Contents…

Nadia Afifi, THE BAHRAIN UNDERGROUND BAZAAR (Bahrain)
Lavanya Lakshminarayan, THE TEN-PERCENT THIEF (India)
Frances Ogamba, AT DESK 9501 (Nigeria) *
Isabel Yap, MILAGROSO (The Philippines)
Saad Z. Hossain, BRING YOUR OWN SPOON (Bangladesh)
Yukimi Ogawa, BLUE GREY BLUE (Japan)
Xing He, YOUR MULTICOLORED LIFE (China), trans. Andy Dudak
Nalo Hopkinson, THE EASTHOUND (Jamaica)
Pan Haitian, DEAD MAN, AWAKE, SING TO THE SUN! (China), trans. Joel Martinsen *
Jacques Barcia, SALVAGING GODS (Brazil)
Edmundo Paz Soldán, THE NEXT MOVE (Bolivia), trans. Jessica Sequeira *
Dilman Dila, THE CLAY CHILD (Uganda) *
Natalia Theodoridou, TO SET AT TWILIGHT IN A LAND OF REEDS (Greece)
Bef, THE BEAST HAS DIED (Mexico), trans. Brian L. Price
Alberto Chimal, TWENTY ABOUT ROBOTS (Mexico), trans. Fionn Petch
Wole Talabi, THE REGRESSION TEST (Nigeria),
William Tham Wai Liang, KAKAK (Malaysia)
Usman T. Malik, BEYOND THESE STARS OTHER TRIBULATIONS OF LOVE (Pakistan)
Julie Novakova, A FLAW IN THE WORKS (Czech Republic), trans. by author *
Cassandra Khaw, WHEN WE DIE ON MARS (Malaysia)
Karen Lord and Tobias S. Buckell, THE MIGHTY SLINGER (Barbados/Grenada)
T.L. Huchu, CORIALIS (Zimbabwe)
Clelia Farris, THE SUBSTANCE OF IDEAS (Italy), trans. Rachel S. Cordasco
Agnieszka Hałas, SLEEPING BEAUTIES (Poland), trans. by author *
Samit Basu, WAKING NYDRA (India) *
Neon Yang, BETWEEN THE FIRMAMENTS (Singapore)
Bo-Young Kim, WHALE SNOWS DOWN (South Korea), trans. Sophie Bowman
Hassan Blasim, THE GARDENS OF BABYLON (Iraq), trans. Jonathan Wright
K.A. Teryna, THE FARCTORY (Russia), trans. Alex Shvartsman *

(Stories indicated with an * are original for this volume.)

Here are some of the reviews the first has volume received…

‘This handsome volume from Head of Zeus is a major step on a 45-year journey to bring global speculative fiction to Anglophone attention… The print edition of THE BEST OF WORLD SF: Volume 1 is truly a thing of beauty, providing gravitas and a wider audience for the authors it collects… There are many striking stories in the collection… This anthology is just the start of a whole new game for speculative fiction authors around the world’ — LA Review of Books

‘An excellent, lovingly curated collection that is also uniformly well translated’ — Financial Times

‘Tidhar gives a cheerful, fannish introduction to the stories, drawn from 26 countries on five continents, and encompassing a dizzying range of tones and approaches’ — The Times

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 1 is also out now, available in paperback.

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 2 Out Now in the UK!

Posted on Thursday, October 13th, 2022

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 2 is out now in the UK! Edited by Lavie Tidhar, it is published by Head of Zeus/AdAstra. Here’s the synopsis…

Twenty-nine new short stories representing the state of the art in international science fiction.

The second annual instalment to the ‘rare and wonderful’ (The Times) The Best of World SF Volume 1, this collection features twenty-nine stories, including eight written exclusively for this collection. This is not a retrospective of what science fiction around the world used to look like. This is a snapshot of what some of it looks like now. And it’s never been more exciting.

Navigating around the globe, The Best of World SF Volume 2 features writers from: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Brazil, Bolivia, China, Czech Republic, Greece, India, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Each story has been selected by World SF expert and award-winning author Lavie Tidhar in a collection which traces the ever-changing meaning of the genre from some the most exciting voices writing today.

The collection will be published in North America on November 1st, also by Head of Zeus/AdAstra.

Here’s the full Table of Contents…

Nadia Afifi, THE BAHRAIN UNDERGROUND BAZAAR (Bahrain)
Lavanya Lakshminarayan, THE TEN-PERCENT THIEF (India)
Frances Ogamba, AT DESK 9501 (Nigeria) *
Isabel Yap, MILAGROSO (The Philippines)
Saad Z. Hossain, BRING YOUR OWN SPOON (Bangladesh)
Yukimi Ogawa, BLUE GREY BLUE (Japan)
Xing He, YOUR MULTICOLORED LIFE (China), trans. Andy Dudak
Nalo Hopkinson, THE EASTHOUND (Jamaica)
Pan Haitian, DEAD MAN, AWAKE, SING TO THE SUN! (China), trans. Joel Martinsen *
Jacques Barcia, SALVAGING GODS (Brazil)
Edmundo Paz Soldán, THE NEXT MOVE (Bolivia), trans. Jessica Sequeira *
Dilman Dila, THE CLAY CHILD (Uganda) *
Natalia Theodoridou, TO SET AT TWILIGHT IN A LAND OF REEDS (Greece)
Bef, THE BEAST HAS DIED (Mexico), trans. Brian L. Price
Alberto Chimal, TWENTY ABOUT ROBOTS (Mexico), trans. Fionn Petch
Wole Talabi, THE REGRESSION TEST (Nigeria),
William Tham Wai Liang, KAKAK (Malaysia)
Usman T. Malik, BEYOND THESE STARS OTHER TRIBULATIONS OF LOVE (Pakistan)
Julie Novakova, A FLAW IN THE WORKS (Czech Republic), trans. by author *
Cassandra Khaw, WHEN WE DIE ON MARS (Malaysia)
Karen Lord and Tobias S. Buckell, THE MIGHTY SLINGER (Barbados/Grenada)
T.L. Huchu, CORIALIS (Zimbabwe)
Clelia Farris, THE SUBSTANCE OF IDEAS (Italy), trans. Rachel S. Cordasco
Agnieszka Hałas, SLEEPING BEAUTIES (Poland), trans. by author *
Samit Basu, WAKING NYDRA (India) *
Neon Yang, BETWEEN THE FIRMAMENTS (Singapore)
Bo-Young Kim, WHALE SNOWS DOWN (South Korea), trans. Sophie Bowman
Hassan Blasim, THE GARDENS OF BABYLON (Iraq), trans. Jonathan Wright
K.A. Teryna, THE FARCTORY (Russia), trans. Alex Shvartsman *

(Stories indicated with an * are original for this volume.)

Here are some of the reviews the first has volume received…

‘This handsome volume from Head of Zeus is a major step on a 45-year journey to bring global speculative fiction to Anglophone attention… The print edition of THE BEST OF WORLD SF: Volume 1 is truly a thing of beauty, providing gravitas and a wider audience for the authors it collects… There are many striking stories in the collection… This anthology is just the start of a whole new game for speculative fiction authors around the world’ — LA Review of Books

‘An excellent, lovingly curated collection that is also uniformly well translated’ — Financial Times

‘Tidhar gives a cheerful, fannish introduction to the stories, drawn from 26 countries on five continents, and encompassing a dizzying range of tones and approaches’ — The Times

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 1 is also out now, available in paperback (UK and North America).

Check Out the Cover for Sharon Emmerich’s SHIELD MAIDEN!

Posted on Monday, October 3rd, 2022

Today, we’re very happy to share with you the cover for Sharon Emmerich‘s upcoming new novel, SHIELD MAIDEN! Due to be published by AdAstra/Head of Zeus, on February 2nd, 2023, here’s the synopsis…

A lush fantasy that is both epic and intimate. Refocusing the narrative on a fierce young woman reclaiming her power, it will upend everything you think you know about Beowulf.

Fryda has grown up hearing tales of her uncle, King Beowulf, and his spectacular defeat of the monstrous Grendel. Her one desire is to become a shield maiden in her own right, but a terrible accident during her childhood has thwarted this dream. Yet still, somehow, she feels an uncontrollable power begin to rise within herself.

The last thing Fryda wants is to be forced into a political marriage, especially as her heart belongs to her lifelong friend, Theow. However, as foreign kings and chieftains descend upon her home to celebrate Beowulf’s fifty years as the king of Geatland, the partnership begins to seem inevitable.

That is, until, amidst the lavish gifts and drunken revelry, a discovery is made that threatens the safety of Fryda’s entire clan – and her own life. Incensed by this betrayal, Fryda resolves to fight for her people no matter the cost. As a queen should. As a shield maiden would.

And as the perilous situation worsens, Fryda’s powers seem only to grow stronger. But she is not the only one to feel the effects of her new-found battle-magic. For, buried deep in her gilded lair, a dragon is drawn to Fryda’s untamed power, and is slowly awakening from a long, cursed sleep…

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 2 Out in Two Weeks!

Posted on Monday, September 26th, 2022

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 2 is due out in the UK in two weeks! have now been unveiled! To be published by Head of Zeus/AdAstra on October 13th, the volume is edited by award-winning author Lavie Tidhar. Here’s the synopsis…

Twenty-nine new short stories representing the state of the art in international science fiction.

The second annual instalment to the ‘rare and wonderful’ (The Times) The Best of World SF Volume 1, this collection features twenty-nine stories, including eight written exclusively for this collection. This is not a retrospective of what science fiction around the world used to look like. This is a snapshot of what some of it looks like now. And it’s never been more exciting.

Navigating around the globe, The Best of World SF Volume 2 features writers from: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Brazil, Bolivia, China, Czech Republic, Greece, India, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Each story has been selected by World SF expert and award-winning author Lavie Tidhar in a collection which traces the ever-changing meaning of the genre from some the most exciting voices writing today.

The collection will also be published in North America, on November 1st (also by AdAstra/Head of Zeus).

Here’s the full Table of Contents…

Nadia Afifi, THE BAHRAIN UNDERGROUND BAZAAR (Bahrain)
Lavanya Lakshminarayan, THE TEN-PERCENT THIEF (India)
Frances Ogamba, AT DESK 9501 (Nigeria) *
Isabel Yap, MILAGROSO (The Philippines)
Saad Z. Hossain, BRING YOUR OWN SPOON (Bangladesh)
Yukimi Ogawa, BLUE GREY BLUE (Japan)
Xing He, YOUR MULTICOLORED LIFE (China), trans. Andy Dudak
Nalo Hopkinson, THE EASTHOUND (Jamaica)
Pan Haitian, DEAD MAN, AWAKE, SING TO THE SUN! (China), trans. Joel Martinsen *
Jacques Barcia, SALVAGING GODS (Brazil)
Edmundo Paz Soldán, THE NEXT MOVE (Bolivia), trans. Jessica Sequeira *
Dilman Dila, THE CLAY CHILD (Uganda) *
Natalia Theodoridou, TO SET AT TWILIGHT IN A LAND OF REEDS (Greece)
Bef, THE BEAST HAS DIED (Mexico), trans. Brian L. Price
Alberto Chimal, TWENTY ABOUT ROBOTS (Mexico), trans. Fionn Petch
Wole Talabi, THE REGRESSION TEST (Nigeria),
William Tham Wai Liang, KAKAK (Malaysia)
Usman T. Malik, BEYOND THESE STARS OTHER TRIBULATIONS OF LOVE (Pakistan)
Julie Novakova, A FLAW IN THE WORKS (Czech Republic), trans. by author *
Cassandra Khaw, WHEN WE DIE ON MARS (Malaysia)
Karen Lord and Tobias S. Buckell, THE MIGHTY SLINGER (Barbados/Grenada)
T.L. Huchu, CORIALIS (Zimbabwe)
Clelia Farris, THE SUBSTANCE OF IDEAS (Italy), trans. Rachel S. Cordasco
Agnieszka Hałas, SLEEPING BEAUTIES (Poland), trans. by author *
Samit Basu, WAKING NYDRA (India) *
Neon Yang, BETWEEN THE FIRMAMENTS (Singapore)
Bo-Young Kim, WHALE SNOWS DOWN (South Korea), trans. Sophie Bowman
Hassan Blasim, THE GARDENS OF BABYLON (Iraq), trans. Jonathan Wright
K.A. Teryna, THE FARCTORY (Russia), trans. Alex Shvartsman *

(Stories indicated with an * are original for this volume.)

Here are just a couple of the reviews the first has volume received…

‘This handsome volume from Head of Zeus is a major step on a 45-year journey to bring global speculative fiction to Anglophone attention… The print edition of THE BEST OF WORLD SF: Volume 1 is truly a thing of beauty, providing gravitas and a wider audience for the authors it collects… There are many striking stories in the collection… This anthology is just the start of a whole new game for speculative fiction authors around the world’ — LA Review of Books

‘An excellent, lovingly curated collection that is also uniformly well translated’ — Financial Times

‘Tidhar gives a cheerful, fannish introduction to the stories, drawn from 26 countries on five continents, and encompassing a dizzying range of tones and approaches’ — The Times

THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 1 is out now, available in paperback.

Next Month: THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 2!

Posted on Tuesday, September 6th, 2022

On October 13th, Head of Zeus are due to publish the second volume in the acclaimed, Lavie Tidhar-edited THE BEST OF WORLD SF series! Here’s the synopsis…

Twenty-nine new short stories representing the state of the art in international science fiction.

The second annual instalment to the ‘rare and wonderful’ (The Times) The Best of World SF Volume 1, this collection of twenty-nine stories, including eight original and exclusive additions, represents the state of the art in international science fiction.

Navigating around the globe, The Best of World SF Volume 2 features writers from Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Greece, Grenada, India, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, The Philippines, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Each story has been selected by World SF expert and award-winning author Lavie Tidhar. Taking us into space – Mars at first, then the stars – and then back to a strange, transformed Earth via AI, gods, aliens and the undead, the collection traces the ever-changing meaning of the genre from some of the most exciting voices writing today.

This is not a retrospective of what science fiction around the world used to look like. This is a snapshot of what some of it looks like now. And it’s never been more exciting.

The first volume in the series is out now in paperback, also published by Head of Zeus.

‘Just the start of a whole new game for speculative fiction authors around the world’ — LA Review of Books

‘An excellent, lovingly curated collection’ — Financial Times

‘This wonderful anthology should be a hit with any sci-fi fan’ — Publishers Weekly

‘Tidhar gives a cheerful, fannish introduction to the stories, drawn from 26 countries on five continents, and encompassing a dizzying range of tones and approaches’ — The Times

‘An outstanding assortment of international sci-fi shorts… A bold and powerful argument for non-Anglophone SF’s potential to push the genre’s boundaries’ — Publishers Weekly Starred Review

Two Great Interviews with Lavie Tidhar!

Posted on Monday, August 29th, 2022

Above, you can listen to the recent, great Lavie Tidhar interview on the Better Known from a couple of weeks ago!

Back in July, Lavie was also a guest on BBC Radio 4’s Open Book show, in the “Ethics of Crime” episode. You can listen to that, too, below.

Lavie’s latest novel is MAROR, which is published by Head of Zeus and out now. Here’s the 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 has been receiving a considerable number of great reviews, and here are just a few of them…