Ian McDonald - Zeno Agency Ltd.

Travel the multiverse with the Everness crew!

Posted on Friday, March 23rd, 2018

Great news for fans of Ian McDonald: the Everness trilogy is available again in eBook in the US! Published via the JABberwocky eBook Program, all three novels are available once again: PLANESRUNNER, BE MY ENEMY and EMPRESS OF THE SUN. Here’s the synopsis for the first novel…

When Everett Singh’s scientist father is kidnapped from the streets of London, he leaves young Everett a mysterious app on his computer: the Infundibulum, the map of all the parallel earths, the most valuable object in the multiverse. There are dark forces in the Plenitude of Known Worlds who will stop at nothing to get it. They’ve got power, authority, and the might of ten planets at their fingertips. He’s got wits, intelligence, and a knack for Indian cooking. To rescue his dad from Charlotte Villiers and the sinister Order, this Planesrunner’s going to need friends. Friends like Captain Anastasia Sixsmyth, her adopted daughter, Sen, and the crew of the airship Everness. Can they rescue Everett’s father and get the Infundibulum to safety? The game is afoot!

The trilogy is published in the UK by Jo Fletcher Books. JABberwocky have also published a few of Ian’s other novels in eBooks for the US market (follow the link above for more information). We’ll post some more information about these novels on the site over the next couple of weeks.

Here’s just a small selection drawn from the incredible reviews the series has received since the novels’ publication…

‘Also appropriating airships, larger‑than-life characters and breakneck action is Ian McDonald’s PLANESRUNNER…, the opening volume in the Everness series and his first foray into Young Adult fiction. This is vintage McDonald, with beautifully drawn settings, complex characters and deft plotting. When Everett Singh’s scientist father is kidnapped, Everett’s investigations lead him to discover that his father was working to open portals between multiple worlds. Everett finds a map linking the worlds, which various sinister organisations desire – and the thrilling chase is on.’ — Guardian

‘The book begins with its young and likeably geeky protagonist, Everett Singh (named for physicist Hugh Everett, who came up with the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics back in the ‘50s) witnessing the kidnapping of his scientist father. But why would anyone want to drag an apparently unimportant academic off the street in London? Because, it turns out, Singh Sr has created the Infundibulum, a map of all known parallel Earths. Soon, Everett heads through a gateway and into a steampunk-tinged adventure. And yes, an airship is involved. But don’t hold that against McDonald, because this is a novel that’s knowing in the way it uses SF tropes without ever coming close to being condescending towards its intended audience. Science nerds of all ages may balk at the amount of exposition in the early chapters (arguably necessary, considering we’re talking quantum here), but most will be too busy getting lost in a cracking adventure story.’ — SFX on PLANESRUNNER

‘A pacy book filled with tropes McDonald takes from across the genre and makes his own, whether it is AI or nanotech, unpeopled Earths or post-apocalyptic worlds. The airship which is the series home has a real three dimensionality whilst the jump gun acts as pure plot device. In softer hands these books could become a “monster of the week” series but here there are consequences, none more so than when Everett is punched in the stomach by an authority figure. This basic, personal violence is a reminder that this is not a game and that even a genius can’t get through unscathed. I can’t wait to see what happens next.’ — Strange Horizons

‘McDonald proves the concept of his world of the Infundibulum has legs, and provides some intriguing new ideas amid an entertaining adventure… Lots of ideas thrown out and explored; good development of main characters… Malevolent Nanotech. More world hopping. A solidly entertaining second volume to the series… With all of these ideas, concepts and worldbuilding, McDonald, in terms of his core characters, provides us with meaty development and growth… I was more than satisfied with the book and anyone, young adult or otherwise, who has read the first book will find much to love here, and will likely be as eager as I for the next volume in the series.’ — SF Signal

‘[A]bsolutely triumphant sequel to Ian McDonald’s pulse-pounding young-adult science fiction novel PLANESRUNNER. PLANESRUNNER — a rollicking, multidimensional tale of a young boy who holds the key to infinite universes, seeking to rescue his physicist father from sinister powers — finished on a brutal cliffhanger, leaving its readers gasping and cursing for more. Now we have it. In BE MY ENEMY, there’s a lot more of what made PLANESRUNNER great — tremendous action scenes, cunning escapes, genius attacks on the ways that multidimensional travel might be weaponized, horrific glimpses of shadowy powers and sinister technologies. But BE MY ENEMY also has more of what makes McDonald’s adult fiction some of the best work I’ve ever read: a gifted ear for poesie that makes the English language sing, the unapologetic presumption of the reader’s ability to understand what’s going on without a lot of hand-holding, and a technological mysticism that never explicitly says when the literal stops and the fantasy starts… If you held off on reading PLANESRUNNER because you didn’t want to commit to a series without knowing if the author could keep up the quality, have no fear. McDonald has proven himself handily.’ — BoingBoing

‘The marvelous Everness series takes readers to a world with highly evolved dinosaurs in this third voyage through parallel universes… McDonald lets his imagination run rampant without abandoning credibility, tackling real scientific concepts such as confirmation bias, a feature lacking in far too much science fiction. Fans might wish for more focus on the original Everett, but eventually, the three storylines weave themselves together nicely, setting up another sequel with hints of forthcoming romance. Endlessly fascinating and fun.’ — Kirkus (Starred Review) on EMPRESS OF THE SUN

‘I’ve rarely had as much fun with a Young Adult SF series as I have with Ian McDonald’s Everness — now up to three books with the brand new, shiny addition of EMPRESS OF THE SUN, possibly the best book of the bunch so far… this latest installment, with its sentient space dinosaurs, will delight folks who occasionally yearn for a good old-fashioned pulp adventure… through all of it, the characters continue to shine… I confess that I initially wasn’t too crazy about the whole Doppelgänger plot, but in this novel, it turns into a wonderful part of the overall picture… It was simply a treat to get back into the crazy palari and strange fashions of the Everness books. It may sound bizarre, but this is the first time I’ve read a novel that actually made me feel like writing fan-fic about its characters, just because they’re so utterly fresh and surprising. The Everness series is technically Young Adult, but I believe any science fiction fan, young or old, would get sucked into these adventures.’ — Tor.com

Zeno Clients in Locus Magazine’s 2017 Recommended Reading List…

Posted on Tuesday, February 20th, 2018

We’re very happy to report that a number of our clients and their work was included in Locus Magazine’s 2017 Recommended Reading List! Ian McDonald, Aliette de Bodard, Lavie Tidhar, E.J. Swift, and Ian R. MacLeod all cropped up a number of times in the list.

Ian McDonald‘s LUNA: WOLF MOON is picked as one of the best science-fiction novels of the year, and variously described as ‘excellent’, ‘enthralling’, ‘compelling… twisty’, and ‘complex… brilliant… a joy to read’. One writer says that McDonald ‘has been making a case for being the best SF writer in the world’! The novel is published by Gollancz (UK) and Tor Books (US). Ian’s contribution to GALACTIC EMPIRES was also mentioned as a stand-out.

Aliette de Bodard‘s THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS is described as ‘utterly amazing’ and ‘vivid’ by different editors, and is identified as one of the best fantasy novels of the year. It is published by Gollancz (UK) and Roc Books (US). Aliette’s “The Dragon That Flew Out of the Sun” is one of Gardner Dozois’s best picks included in the COSMIC POWERS anthology, as is the author’s “First Presentation” in the CHASING SHADOWS anthology. The Dominion of the Fallen novelette, CHILDREN OF THORNS, CHILDREN OF WATER is among the best of the year.

Ian R. MacLeod‘s RED SNOW, published by PS Publishing, is selected as one of the best Horror novels of the year.

E.J. Swift‘s contribution to the INFINITY WARS anthology, the novelette WEATHER GIRL, is picked as a stand-out by Gardner Dozois and one of the best novelettes of the year. Emma is also given a nod for her contribution to THE DJINN FALLS IN LOVE AND OTHER STORIES.

Lavie Tidhar‘s work is mentioned a few times, especially his work that has appeared in Clarkesworld, and WATERFALLING (which appeared in THE BOOK OF SWORDS) is picked as one of the best novelettes of the year. His Tor.com short story “The Old Dispensation” is also picked as one of the best of 2017.

A French WOLF MOON…

Posted on Thursday, February 15th, 2018

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

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

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

A Dragon is dead.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Zeno Clients nominated for Polish “Goodreads” Awards!

Posted on Wednesday, February 14th, 2018

We’re very happy to report that Ian McDonald‘s WOLF MOON, Lavie Tidhar‘s CENTRAL STATION and Ian Tregillis‘s THE RISING have all been nominated for Best Sci-Fi novel on Lubimyczytać! Many congratulations to all three authors! (This situation creates a certain amount of angst for us: we really want all three to win!) Voting is open until February 28th.

Here are some more details about each novel…

Ian McDonald’s WOLF MOON, the second in the Luna series, is published in Poland by MAG as LUNA: WILCZA PEŁNIA. Here’s the synopsis…

Zabito Smoka.

Corta Hélio, jedna z pięciu rządzących Księżycem rodzinnych korporacji, została zniszczona. Rodzina się rozproszyła, wrogowie podzielili majątek między sobą. Minęło osiemnaście miesięcy.

Ocalałe dzieci Cortów, Lucasinho i Luna, uzyskały ochronę potężnego rodu Asamoah, a Robson, który nie doszedł do siebie po gwałtownej śmierci rodziców, jest teraz podopiecznym – a w istocie zakładnikiem – rodu Mackenziech. Natomiast mianowany następca tronu, Lucas Corta, zniknął z powierzchni Księżyca.

Jedynie lady Sun, głowa rodu Sunów i korporacji Taiyang, podejrzewa, że Lucas jednak żyje i wciąż jest liczącym się graczem. Przecież zawsze był królem intrygi – i nie zawahałby się zaryzykować nawet życia, by zbudować nowe Corta Hélio, jeszcze potężniejsze niż przedtem. Potrzebuje jednak sojuszników – aby ich zyskać, porywa się na podróż na Ziemię, wyprawę niewykonalną dla urodzonego na Księżycu człowieka.

W niestabilnym księżycowym klimacie zwieńczeniem intryg, zmieniających się sojuszy i politycznych machinacji wielkich rodów staje się otwarta, krwawa wojna.

The Luna series is published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Tor Books. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

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

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

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

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

Lavie Tidhar’s award-winning CENTRAL STATION is published in Poland by Zysk i S-Ka as STACJA CENTRALNA. Here’s the synopsis…

U podstawy kosmoportu “Stacji Centralnej”, powstałego w przyszłościowym mieście na pograniczu między izraelskim Tel Awiwem a arabską Jaffą, zamieszkało ćwierć miliona ludzi. Rozmaite kultury zderzają się tu ze sobą, w świecie realnym i wirtualnym.

Ludzi, maszyny i Innych łączy ze sobą strumień cyfrowej świadomości. Życie może być tanie, ale dane są tańsze…

Gdy Boris Chong z oporami wraca do Tel Awiwu z Marsa, zastaje tu całkowity chaos. Jego była kochanka wychowuje dziwnie znajome dziecko, które potrafi jednym dotknięciem palca podłączyć się do strumienia danych umysłu. Jego ojciec dał początek wielopokoleniowej zarazie umysłowej i choruje na przeciążenie pamięci. Jego podróżująca po kosmosie kuzynka zakochała się w robotniku, żołnierzu-cyborgu. A nieobliczalna kobieta będąca wampirem danych podążyła za nim do domu…

Nad tym wszystkim góruje Stacja Centralna, stanowiąca połączenie między nieustannie się zmieniającym Tel Awiwem, ogromnym światem wirtualnym oraz koloniami kosmicznymi, do których przenieśli się ludzie uciekający przed nędzą i wojną. A wszystko to łączą ze sobą Inni, obce jestestwa, których nieustannie zmieniający się strumień świadomości stanął na progu fundamentalnej zmiany.

CENTRAL STATION is published in English by Tachyon Publications. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

A worldwide diaspora has left a quarter of a million people at the foot of a space station. Cultures collide in real life and virtual reality. Life is cheap, and data is cheaper.

When Boris Chong returns to Tel Aviv from Mars, much has changed. Boris’s ex-lover is raising a strangely familiar child who can tap into the datastream of a mind with the touch of a finger. His cousin is infatuated with a robotnik — a damaged cyborg soldier who might as well be begging for parts. His father is terminally-ill with a multigenerational mind-plague. And a hunted data-vampire has followed Boris to where she is forbidden to return.

Rising above them is Central Station, the interplanetary hub between all things: the constantly shifting Tel Aviv; a powerful virtual arena, and the space colonies where humanity has gone to escape the ravages of poverty and war. Everything is connected by the Others, powerful alien entities who, through the Conversation — a shifting, flowing stream of consciousness — are just the beginning of irrevocable change.

At Central Station, humans and machines continue to adapt, thrive… and even evolve.

And last, but by no means least, we have Ian Tregillis’s THE RISING. The second novel in the author’s critically-acclaimed Alchemy Wars trilogy, it is published in Poland by Wydawnictwo SQN as POWSTANIE. Here’s the synopsis…

Odrodzony w ogniach zniszczonej Wielkiej Kuźni Jax rozpoczyna życie jako wolny klakier. Z wyzwoleniem wiąże się jednak ogromne brzemię. Jax pragnie wolności dla swoich mosiężnych braci i sióstr. Nadziei upatruje w na poły legendarnej królowej Mab i jej mitycznej arkadii ukrytej gdzieś daleko na północy kontynentu.

Berenice pełniła funkcję Talleyranda – szpiegmistrzyni, bohaterki dziesiątków opowieści, herosa ludu Nowej Francji. A potem popełniła błąd… Została wygnana z kraju i pochwycona przez drakońską sekretną policję zegarmistrzów. Choć jej dni zdają się policzone, nadal zamierza za wszelką cenę dążyć do odmienienia losów wojny.

Mosiężny Tron planuje znów najechać francuskie ziemie. Ostatnim bastionem Francuzów jest dotąd niezdobyta twierdza Zachodniej Marsylii. Właśnie tu do obrony przygotowuje się kapitan Hugo Longchamp. Zadanie ma wyjątkowo trudne, bo naprzeciw niestrudzonej armii mechanicznych żołnierzy może wystawić jedynie znękane i nieprzetestowane oddziały złożone w większości z kupców i rzemieślników. Sytuacja dawno nie była tak beznadziejna.

THE RISING is published in the UK by Orbit Books, as are the other two novels in the series: THE MECHANICAL and THE LIBERATION. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

They called me Jax.

That was the name given by those who built me and enslaved me. But a miracle has happened, and now my bonds are broken.

Now I must flee — because a rogue mechanical is a very dangerous thing.

But I will not run forever.

Set in a world that might have been, of mechanical men and alchemical dreams.

Zeno represents Ian Tregillis in the UK and Translation, on behalf of Kay McCauley at Aurous Inc.

A WOLF MOON (paperback) rises in the UK

Posted on Thursday, February 8th, 2018

The paperback edition of Ian McDonald‘s critically-acclaimed WOLF MOON is out today in the UK! Published by Gollancz, here’s the synopsis…

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

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

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

The first novel in the series has also been published by Gollancz, and the third is on its way later this year: NEW MOON and MOON RISING, respectively. The series is published in the US by Tor Books.

Here are just some of the reviews the ‘powerful sequel’ WOLF MOON has received so far…

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

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

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

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

In two weeks, a WOLF MOON rises in France!

Posted on Thursday, February 1st, 2018

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next Year: Ian McDonald’s new novella TIME WAS

Posted on Thursday, December 28th, 2017

In April 2018, Tor.com are due to publish Ian McDonald‘s new novella, TIME WAS. Here’s the synopsis…

A love story stitched across time and war, shaped by the power of books, and ultimately destroyed by it.

In the heart of World War II, Tom and Ben became lovers. Brought together by a secret project designed to hide British targets from German radar, the two founded a love that could not be revealed. When the project went wrong, Tom and Ben vanished into nothingness, presumed dead. Their bodies were never found.

Now the two are lost in time, hunting each other across decades, leaving clues in books of poetry and trying to make their desperate timelines overlap.

Ian’s latest series is Luna, a science fiction series set in the future on the moon. The first two novels — NEW MOON and WOLF MOON — are out now, published by Gollancz (UK) and Tor Books (US). The third novel in the series, MOON RISING is due out mid-to-late 2018, also to be published by Gollancz and Tor Books.

EMPRESS OF THE SUN available in Bulgaria

Posted on Tuesday, December 12th, 2017

EMPRESS OF THE SUN, the third novel in Ian McDonald‘s critically-acclaimed YA sci-fi series, is now available in Bulgaria! Published by Artline Studios as Императрицата на слънцето, here’s the synopsis…

Въздушният кораб Евърнес прави Скок на Хайзенберг към алтернативна Земя, различна от всичко, което екипажът е виждал. Еверет, Сен и останалите се озовават над равнина, която се простира безкрайно във всички посоки, без хоризонт. Натъкват се в средата на битка между фракции от две враждуващи нации. Дали екипажът ще намери спасение в този чужд свят или ще попаднат на място, отправящо се стремглаво към апокалипсис?

Artline has also published the first two novels in the Everness series:.

The Everness series is published in the UK by Jo Fletcher Books, and in the US by Pyr Books. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Everett Singh is just your normal Punjabi-English geek who loves maths and cooking — oh, and his dad’s a genius who’s been exiled to a parallel world. No matter how dangerous the mission, Everett and Sen, daughter of an airship captain are determined to bring his dad home.

When Everett Singh’s dad was randomly sent to one of the many parallel worlds in the multiverse, Everett discovered a way to find him — on the quarantined planet E1, home of the terrifying Nahn.

Now he and the crew of the airship Everness have followed the trail to the next world — and his father.

But this is a world where dinosaurs have had sixty-five million years to evolve, where death is the key to the throne and where the Empress of the Sun has a plan to wipe out every other creature on her planet… and then take her conquest to Earth.

And all she needs is the key to travelling through the parallel universes: Everett’s infundibulum…

Artline has also published the first novel in Ian’s latest series, the critically-acclaimed Luna science fiction series — which is published in the UK by Gollancz, in the US by Tor Books, and also in select other territories.

That’s NEW MOON… (in Russia)

Posted on Friday, June 30th, 2017

The global conquest of Ian McDonald‘s Luna series continues! The first novel in the series, NEW MOON, is now available in Russia. Published by аст as Новая Луна, here’s the synopsis…

Луна хочет тебя убить, и у нее есть тысячи способов добиться своего. Вакуум, радиация, удушающая пыль, слабеющие кости… Луна — новое государство, где нет законов, но есть бесконечные договоренности, где за воздух и информацию постоянно надо платить, и всем правят пять Драконов — пять индустриальных кланов. Между ними давно поделены сферы, каждый занимается своим делом, но основатели кланов стареют, их смерть уже близка, и между многочисленными наследниками развязывается жестокая борьба за новые сферы. Адриане Корте восемьдесят. Ее семья управляет корпорацией “Корта Элиу”. Компания выжила в жестоких корпоративных войн ах, но приобрела немало врагов. И теперь, когда с таким трудом завоеванный мир начинает трещать по швам, дети Адрианы должны спасти империю матери от развала… а еще от самих себя. Так начинается один из самых масштабных научно-фантастических романов последних лет, эпическая сага об интригах, предательствах и мести в зримом, жестоком, неожиданном и потрясающе реалистичном мире будущего.

NEW MOON is published in the UK by Gollancz, in the US by Tor Books, and has been published widely in translation. The second novel in the series, WOLF MOON, is also out now in the UK and US. Here’s the English-language synopsis for NEW MOON…

The Moon wants to kill you.

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘The way that Ian McDonald flawlessly adapts his writing to the relevant culture and country at hand is ingenious, and he showcases this perfectly in his much-lauded previous work. In LUNA: NEW MOON though, McDonald has clearly perfected this skill… McDonald certainly shows off the well-developed Cortas to illustrate his knack for creating dynamic human relationships that encompass the whole Moon… LUNA: NEW MOON is a world that has been intricately woven together by its author. It’s compelling and thought-provoking, and all without relying on overbearing sci-fi clichés. Brilliantly done.’ — SciFiNow

‘LUNA: NEW MOON is the best moon novel I’ve seen in many years, but it’s also something of a piece with the recent movement on the part of Paul McAuley, Kim Stanley Robinson, and others to confine novels to the solar system, out of a realistic assessment that this is likely all we’ll have to work with – but McDonald takes this a step further. Possibly the most chilling lines in the book for an SF reader come from Adriana herself, in her own narrative: ‘‘There was no law, no justice,’’ she writes, ‘‘only management. The moon was the frontier, but it was the frontier to nothing. There was nowhere to run.’’ Inasmuch as it challenges one of the cherished master narratives of SF, in which the moon is only a stepping-stone, and despite what it owes to the tropes of ’70s-era social melodrama, McDonald’s novel has some formidable SF stingers not far beneath its densely textured surface.’ — Locus

Ian McDonald’s LUNA: ÚJHOLD available in Hungary!

Posted on Thursday, June 8th, 2017

Ian McDonald‘s critically-acclaimed first Luna novel, NEW MOON is now available in Hungary! Published by Gabo as LUNA: ÚJHOLD, here’s the synopsis…

A Holdon meg kell küzdened minden talpalatnyi helyért.

És Adriana Corta pontosan ezt tette.

A Hold legfiatalabb uralkodócsaládjának fejeként Adriana kicsavarta a Hold hélium-3 iparát a Mackenzie vállalat kezéből, és új státuszt vívott ki a családjának. Élete alkonyán azonban Adriana vállalatát számos ellenség támadja, akiket üstökösszerű felemelkedése során szerzett. A Corta család csak úgy maradhat fent, ha Adriana öt gyermeke megvédi az anyjuk birodalmát a támadóktól… és egymástól is.

„Hajunkban virágok, kezünkben gyertyák. Vártuk a pillanatot, amikor a Hold pereme kibukkan a tenger fölött. És meg is jelent: az elképzelhető legapróbb szegélye, olyan vékony, akár a körömnyesedék. Mintha átvérzett volna a láthatáron. Hatalmas volt. Annyira hatalmas. Aztán már másként érzékeltem, és azt láttam, hogy nem a világ peremén túl emelkedik: a tengerből formálódik éppen. Szóhoz sem jutottam. Egyikünk se. Csak álltunk ott ezrével, mozdulatlanul. Fehér-kék sor Brazília szegélyén. Aztán felemelkedett a Hold, tisztán és teljesen, és a tengeren át ezüst vonal ért el tőle egészen hozzám. Yemanja ösvénye. Az út, amit az Úrnő bejárt, hogy eljusson a mi világunkig. És emlékszem, ahogy azt gondolom, hogy az utak mindkét irányban járhatók. Én is végigjárhatom, egészen a Holdig.”

NEW MOON is published in the UK by Gollancz, in the US by Tor Books, and has been published widely elsewhere in translation (see below for a selection of covers). The sequel, WOLF MOON, is also published by Gollancz and Tor Books, and has a growing number of international editions as well. Here’s the English-language synopsis for NEW MOON…

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

The Moon wants to kill you.

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

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

Here are some of the great reviews the novel has received so far…

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

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

‘Mafia-style mining families clash in a compelling fantasy that offers up all the pleasures of a cut-throat soap opera in space…That McDonald is able to spin a compelling story from this unforgiving set-up is testament to his skill as a writer… LUNA is as gripping as it is colourful, and as colourful as it is nasty.’ — Guardian

‘No one writes like Ian McDonald, and no one’s Moon is nearly so beautiful and terrible… Ian McDonald’s never written a bad novel, but this is a great Ian McDonald novel… The fashion sense of William Gibson, the design sense of Bruce Sterling, the eye for family drama of Connie Willis, the poesie of Bradbury… McDonald’s moon is omnisexual, kinky, violent, passionate, beautiful, awful, vibrant and crushing… Now I’m all a-quiver for the next one.’ — BoingBoing

‘Fans of cerebral, high-concept science fiction will love this exploration of society on the moon many decades after it has been colonized. The focus is more on concept and plot than on character, but the former are compelling enough to make this an addictive page-turner. Including the stories of many characters gives the reader important insights into different facets of society, and although the book starts at a slow pace, it accelerates into a mesmerizing political thriller.’ — RT Book Reviews

‘LUNA: NEW MOON is the best moon novel I’ve seen in many years, but it’s also something of a piece with the recent movement on the part of Paul McAuley, Kim Stanley Robinson, and others to confine novels to the solar system, out of a realistic assessment that this is likely all we’ll have to work with – but McDonald takes this a step further. Possibly the most chilling lines in the book for an SF reader come from Adriana herself, in her own narrative: ‘‘There was no law, no justice,’’ she writes, ‘‘only management. The moon was the frontier, but it was the frontier to nothing. There was nowhere to run.’’ Inasmuch as it challenges one of the cherished master narratives of SF, in which the moon is only a stepping-stone, and despite what it owes to the tropes of ’70s-era social melodrama, McDonald’s novel has some formidable SF stingers not far beneath its densely textured surface.’ — Locus

‘Heralds the welcome return of one of western science fiction’s foremost globally oriented authors. Bristling with the energy and action… Nestled within a narrative of lunar colonization driven by STEM developments and a decimated, post-oil Earth economy, LUNA burns with the desperate anxieties of the late-capitalist, financialized age: the universalization of debt, the demand for contingent and flexible labor, and the resulting polarized wealth gap… one of McDonald’s greatest strengths: an ability to think through the uneven development and cultural diffusion of global economic and technological change… McDonald’s worlds, whether grim, hopeful, or — as is often the case — both, feel lived in rather than culturally depleted or used up… With an action narrative driving this political commentary, LUNA is actually a fantastically fun read as well as an important one.’ — LA Review of Books

Hungarian Edition of LUNA: NEW MOON out next month!

Posted on Monday, May 15th, 2017

Ian McDonald‘s Luna series continues its conquest of the globe, with the fast-approaching release of the first novel in Hungary! Published in June by Gabo as ÚJHOLD, here’s the synopsis…

A Holdon meg kell küzdened minden talpalatnyi helyért.

És Adriana Corta pontosan ezt tette.

A Hold legfiatalabb uralkodócsaládjának fejeként Adriana kicsavarta a Hold hélium-3 iparát a Mackenzie vállalat kezéből, és új státuszt vívott ki a családjának. Élete alkonyán azonban Adriana vállalatát számos ellenség támadja, akiket üstökösszerű felemelkedése során szerzett. A Corta család csak úgy maradhat fent, ha Adriana öt gyermeke megvédi az anyjuk birodalmát a támadóktól… és egymástól is.

„Hajunkban virágok, kezünkben gyertyák. Vártuk a pillanatot, amikor a Hold pereme kibukkan a tenger fölött. És meg is jelent: az elképzelhető legapróbb szegélye, olyan vékony, akár a körömnyesedék. Mintha átvérzett volna a láthatáron. Hatalmas volt. Annyira hatalmas. Aztán már másként érzékeltem, és azt láttam, hogy nem a világ peremén túl emelkedik: a tengerből formálódik éppen. Szóhoz sem jutottam. Egyikünk se. Csak álltunk ott ezrével, mozdulatlanul. Fehér-kék sor Brazília szegélyén. Aztán felemelkedett a Hold, tisztán és teljesen, és a tengeren át ezüst vonal ért el tőle egészen hozzám. Yemanja ösvénye. Az út, amit az Úrnő bejárt, hogy eljusson a mi világunkig. És emlékszem, ahogy azt gondolom, hogy az utak mindkét irányban járhatók. Én is végigjárhatom, egészen a Holdig.”

The novel is published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Tor Books, as well as in a number of other territories. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

The Moon wants to kill you.

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

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

LUNA: WOLF MOON, the sequel, is also published by Gollancz and Tor Books.

Ian McDonald’s NEW MOON now available in Romania!

Posted on Friday, May 12th, 2017

Ian McDonald‘s critically-acclaimed LUNA: NEW MOON has been released in Romania! Published by Nautilus/Nemira as LUNA NOUĂ, here’s the synopsis…

Luna vrea sa te omoare: fie ca nu-ti poate garanta hrana, apa si aerul necesare, fie ca te trezesti implicat in conflictul dintre corporatiile la putere acolo. Pentru fiecare centimetru pe care vrei sa-l cuceresti in societatea feudala de pe Luna, trebuie sa lupti. Exact asta a facut Adriana Corta. La sfarsitul vietii, ea isi gaseste corporatia inconjurata de dusmani, iar cei cinci copii ai sai trebuie sa-i apere imperiul de adversari si de diverse pericole pentru ca familia Corta sa supravietuiasca.

The novel is published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Tor Books, as well as widely in translation. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

The Moon wants to kill you.

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

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

The sequel, WOLF MOON is also published by Gollancz and Tor Books.

Ian McDonald’s WOLFSMOND out now in Germany

Posted on Tuesday, May 9th, 2017

Ian McDonald‘s highly-anticipated second Luna novel, WOLF MOON is out now in Germany! Published by Heyne as LUNA: WOLFSMOND, here’s the synopsis…

Auf dem Mond ist der Mensch die tödlichste aller Gefahren

Achtzehn Monate sind seit dem Tod Adriana Cortas vergangen. Die Corta Helio Corporation ist zerschlagen und die mächtigste Familie des Mondes ruiniert. Die vier verbliebenen Drachen, wie die einflussreichen Clans auf dem Mond genannt werden, wittern ihre Chance und liefern sich einen erbitterten Kampf um die Vormachtstellung in der High Society des Mondes – es ist ein Machtspiel voller Verführung, Lügen und Intrigen. Ein Spiel, das die Menschen auf dem Mond schon bald an den Rand eines Krieges bringen wird…

WOLF MOON is the sequel to the critically acclaimed NEW MOON, which has also been published in German by Heyne. The series is published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Tor Books. It has also been published widely in translation, with more editions on the way! (More details can be found on his author page. If you have any other questions, please do get in touch for details.) Here’s the English-language synopsis for WOLF MOON…

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

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

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

Here is some of the aforementioned critical acclaim for the series…

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

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

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

‘A Howling Good Read… No one builds a world like Ian McDonald does… Spare, simple, elegant when he needs to be…, deep and meaty when he wants to be…, he does his work like an artisan pulling a sculpture from stone… it is fascinating, all of it. Because McDonald has made a world that is ruthless in its consistency and living, breathing reality, and then made characters who are not just living in it, but wholly and fully of it… McDonald’s corporate war is a gorgeous thing, fought with every tool available… Every moment with his characters makes them precious, real and alive.’ — NPR on WOLF MOON

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

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

LUNA DE LOBOS available now!

Posted on Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017

Ian McDonald‘s LUNA: WOLF MOON is out now in Spanish! Published by Nova as LUNA DE LOBOS, here’s the synopsis…

LA LUNA QUIERE MATARTE. Y TIENE MIL FORMAS DE CONSEGUIRLO.

Corta Helio, una de las cinco corporaciones familiares que gobiernan la Luna, ha caído. Sus riquezas se dividen entre sus muchos enemigos y sus herederos, esparcidos. Ya han transcurrido dieciocho meses.

Los restantes hijos de Helio, Lucasinho y Luna, están bajo la protección de los poderosos Asamoahs, mientras que Robson, todavía asustado tras haber presenciado las muertes violentas de sus padres, ahora es un rehén de Mackenzie Metals. El último heredero, Lucas, ha desaparecido de la superficie de la Luna.

Solamente Lady Sun, viuda de Taiyang, sospecha que Lucas Corta no está muerto, y que sigue siendo un jugador importante en el juego. Después de todo, Lucas siempre ha intrigado, e incluso en la muerte, él haría cualquier cosa con tal de recuperarlo todo y construir un nuevo Corta Helio, más poderoso que antes. Pero Corta Helio necesita aliados, y para encontrarlos, el hijo emprende un viaje audaz e imposible a la Tierra.

En un ambiente lunar inestable, las lealtades cambiantes y las maquinaciones políticas de cada familia alcanzan el cenit de sus parcelas más fértiles, y entonces la guerra abierta entre las familias estalla.

The first in the series, NEW MOON, and WOLF MOON are published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Tor Books. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

A Dragon is dead.

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

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

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

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

Ian’s Luna series has been slowly conquering the (biblio)world, and new translation editions are out now and on the way. Be sure to check out his author page, or get in touch if you have any queries.

LUNA: WOLF MOON out now in Poland!

Posted on Wednesday, April 26th, 2017

Ian McDonald‘s second Luna novel, WOLF MOON is out now in Poland! Published by MAG as WILCZA PEŁNIA, here’s the synopsis…

Zabito Smoka.

Corta Hélio, jedna z pięciu rządzących Księżycem rodzinnych korporacji, została zniszczona. Rodzina się rozproszyła, wrogowie podzielili majątek między sobą. Minęło osiemnaście miesięcy.

Ocalałe dzieci Cortów, Lucasinho i Luna, uzyskały ochronę potężnego rodu Asamoah, a Robson, który nie doszedł do siebie po gwałtownej śmierci rodziców, jest teraz podopiecznym – a w istocie zakładnikiem – rodu Mackenziech. Natomiast mianowany następca tronu, Lucas Corta, zniknął z powierzchni Księżyca.

Jedynie lady Sun, głowa rodu Sunów i korporacji Taiyang, podejrzewa, że Lucas jednak żyje i wciąż jest liczącym się graczem. Przecież zawsze był królem intrygi – i nie zawahałby się zaryzykować nawet życia, by zbudować nowe Corta Hélio, jeszcze potężniejsze niż przedtem. Potrzebuje jednak sojuszników – aby ich zyskać, porywa się na podróż na Ziemię, wyprawę niewykonalną dla urodzonego na Księżycu człowieka.

W niestabilnym księżycowym klimacie zwieńczeniem intryg, zmieniających się sojuszy i politycznych machinacji wielkich rodów staje się otwarta, krwawa wojna.

MAG has also published the first novel in the series, NEW MOON (LUNA: NÓW), as well as Ian’s BRASYL and RIVER OF GODS (RZEKA BOGÓW).

The Luna series is published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Tor Books. Here’s the English-language synopsis for WOLF MOON…

A Dragon is dead.

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

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

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

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

Here are some of the reviews the novel has received so far…

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

‘A Howling Good Read… No one builds a world like Ian McDonald does. Piece by piece and brick by brick. Spare, simple, elegant when he needs to be…, deep and meaty when he wants to be…, he does his work like an artisan pulling a sculpture from stone… it is fascinating, all of it… McDonald is able to wrap the biggest events in constellations of the smallest so that a cocktail party here, a discussion of ’80s retro fashion (all mall-hair and WHAM! T-shirts), a love story and a day at work for a guy who cleans solar panels all build and coalesce to form the background radiation of life in this unstable future. Every moment with his characters makes them precious, real and alive.’ — NPR

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

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