Coming Soon: HISTORIAS DE XUYA by Aliette de Bodard!


Announced a little while ago, Red Key Books are due to publish a Spanish edition of Aliette de Bodard‘s Xuya novellas! HISTORIAS DE XUYA will include LA MAESTRA DEL TÉ Y LA INVESTIGADORA (THE TEA MASTER AND THE DETECTIVE) and SEVEN OF INFINITIES!

La maestra del té y la investigadora + Seven of Infinities, de Aliette de Bodard

Dos novelas cortas de la afamada escritora Aliette de Bodard llegan juntas en unos meses: La maestra del té y la investigadora y Seven of infinities.

Son dos novelas muy reconocidas y valoradas, con las que Aliette nos abre la puerta de manera magistral a su Universo Xuya. Ciencia ficción, investigación, un futuro alternativo, sugerentes ideas, una trama elaborada… Pocos adjetivos son para estas dos obras. Hablaremos de ellas más adelante. Pero si queréis ir conociendo a esta autora y a su obra, os invitamos a pasaros por el programa en el que Leticia Lara, quien podemos considerar la entrevistadora oficial de Aliette de Bodard en España, nos acompaña en nuestro programa vigésimo quinto para ilustrarnos sobre ella.

If you’d like to learn more about the books, check out an episode of the Red Key Books podcast, here.

Both THE TEA MASTER AND THE DETECTIVE and SEVEN OF INFINITIES are available in English, published by Subterranean Press and JABberwocky. Here’s the synopsis for THE TEA MASTER AND THE DETECTIVE, which won the British Fantasy and Nebula Awards for Best Novella (2019)…

Once, the mindship known as The Shadow’s Child was a military transport. Once, she leapt effortlessly between stars and planets, carrying troops and crew for a war that tore the Empire apart. Until an ambush killed her crew and left her wounded and broken.

Now the war is over, and The Shadow’s Child, surviving against all odds, has run away. Discharged and struggling to make a living, she has no plans to go back into space. Until the abrasive and arrogant scholar Long Chau comes to see her. Long Chau wants to retrieve a corpse for her scientific studies: a simple enough, well-paid assignment.

But when the corpse they find turns out to have been murdered, the simple assignment becomes a vast and tangled investigation, inexorably leading back to the past–and, once again, to that unbearable void where The Shadow’s Child almost lost both sanity and life…

And the synopsis for SEVEN OF INFINITIES, which was a finalist for the Locus Best Novella Award (2021)…

On a string of orbitals called the Scattered Pearls Belt lives Sunless Woods—sentient spaceship, master of disguise, and master thief who chafes against the obscurity that comes with her retirement. There, too, lives Vân, a poor scholar with little confidence but plenty of heart, and whose income comes from tutoring a wealthy student.

Their lives are turned upside down when Vân finds a corpse in her student’s quarters and Sunless Woods, intrigued by Vân’s sense of justice, offers her help. Scholar and spaceship must chase the mystery around the empire’s forgotten edge: from rundown teahouses to ascetic havens, and even in the wreck of a spaceship—and all the while, they begin to fall for each other in earnest. But the secrets they’ve kept from each other are large and devastating—will they and their love survive the revelations?

Roger Zelazny’s ROADMARKS Out Now in Czechia!


We’re very happy to report that a new Czech edition of Roger Zelazny‘s ROADMARKS is out now! Published by Laser as POSLEDNÍ ODBOČKA NA BABYLON, and translated by Richard Podaný, here’s the synopsis…

Silnice vede z nepředstavitelně vzdálené minulosti do daleké budoucnosti. Ti, kteří po ní putují, mohou odbočit do jakéhokoliv místa a času – dokonce i do alternativních proudů historie, které se nikdy neudály.

Zrzek Dorakeen jezdí po Silnici tak dlouho, kam až sahá jeho paměť. Před dávnými časy po ní putoval jako starý muž pěšky; nyní, mnohem mladší, veze ve své odřené modré dodávce zbraně Řekům bojujícím proti Peršanům u starověkého Marathónu. Někdo ale po Zrzkovi jde. Tento „někdo“ má právo desetkrát se pokusit Zrzka zavraždit, aniž za to bude podle zákonů Silnice stíhán. Zrzkův skrytý nepřítel prohledal minulost i budoucnost, aby našel deset vrahů – ať už lidí nebo hrůzných stvoření, od vraždícího mnicha po tyranosaura – kteří Zrzka pronásledují, kamkoli ho Silnice zavede…

Proč Draci z Bel’kwinithu Silnici vystavěli, a kdo vlastně jsou, to nikdo neví. Ale Silnice tu vždy byla a bude – pro ty, kteří ji umějí najít…

Here’s the English-language synopsis…

The road leads from the unimaginably distant past to the distant future. Those who travel along it can veer off into any place and time—even into alternate streams of history that never happened.

Redhead Dorakeen has been riding the Road for as long as he can remember. A long time ago, he wandered on foot like an old man; now, much younger, he drives weapons in his battered blue van to the Greeks fighting the Persians at ancient Marathon. But someone is after Zrzko. This “someone” has the right to try ten times to murder Redhead without prosecution under the laws of the Road. Redhead’s hidden enemy has scoured the past and future to find ten assassins—whether human or hideous creatures, from a murderous monk to a tyrannosaurus—who pursue Redhead wherever the Road leads him…

Why the Dragons of Bel’kwinith built the Road, or who they really are, no one knows. But the Road has always been there and always will be — for those who know how to find it…

New Ukrainian Edition of Roger Zelazny’s THIS IMMORTAL Out Now!


A new Ukrainian edition of Roger Zelazny‘s classic THIS IMMORTAL is out now! Published by Богдан as Цей безсмертний, and translated by Denys Dömin (Денис Дьомін), here’s the synopsis…

Уявіть-но малолюдну, богами забуту «планету розваг», куди прилітають гульнути й оглянути старожитності зарозумілі космічні чужинці. Таке-от майбутнє Землі після Триденного інциденту. Що не загидила радіація, пішло під курорти, де тубільці — прислуга. Більшість не проти, але дехто затявся: Земля — для людей. Це історія вічного (гадаєте, перебільшення?) революціонера, який відмовився був од тероризму, аж тут минуле знов ожило. Він мусить рушати в мандрівку, ще й по-жуль-вернівському екзотичну, на догоду одному прибульцеві — а той, виявляється, має таємне завдання. На користь воно Землі чи на шкоду? Питання життя або смерті… Захопливі пригоди, дотепна іронія, дещиця політичного детективу, епічна героїка в дусі грецьких легенд і теологічні загадки — ось яку мішанку містить ця книжка (перший роман видатного фантаста), заслужено поділивши премію «Г’юґо» не з чимось, а з «Дюною».

First published in 1966, THIS IMMORTAL won Hugo Award for Best Novel (1966), Geffen Award for Best Translated Science Fiction Book (2009), Seiun Award 星雲賞 for Best Foreign Novel of the Year (1976). Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Conrad Nomikos has a long, rich personal history that he’d rather not talk about. And, as arts commissioner, he’s been given a job he’d rather not do. Escorting an alien grandee on a guided tour of the shattered remains of Earth is not something he relishes — especially since it is apparent that this places him at the center of high-level intrigue that has some bearing on the future of Earth itself. But Conrad is a very special guy…

THIS IMMORTAL is also available in France (Helios), Russia (Эксмо), and Turkey (İthaki Yayınları).

New Die Flüsse von London Double-Audiobook Available Now!


GoyaLiT, an imprint of Jumbo Verlag, has released a fourth audiobook omnibus in Ben Aaronovitch‘s Die Flüsse von London series! IHR AUFRITT, PETER GRANT collects the seventh and eighth novels in the series: DIE GLOCKE VON WHITECHAPEL (LIES SLEEPING) and EIN WEISSER SCHWAN IN TABERNACLE STREET (FALSE VALUE). Narrated once again by the excellent Dietmar Wunder, here’s the synopsis…

DIE GLOCKE VON WHITECHAPEL

Constable und Zauberlehrling Peter Grant steht vor seiner größten Herausforderung: Das Schicksal Londons steht auf dem Spiel. Der gesichtslose Magier, verantwortlich für grauenvolle übernatürliche Verbrechen, ist zwar endlich demaskiert und auf der Flucht. Doch er verfolgt einen perfiden Plan, der ganz London in den Abgrund stürzen könnte. Um den Gesichtslosen zu stoppen, muss Peter all seine magischen Kräfte aufbieten und einen bösen alten Bekannten kontaktieren: Mr Punch, den mörderischen Geist des Aufruhrs und der Rebellion.

EIN WEISSER SCHWAN IN TABERNACLE STREET

Peter Grant, unser Lieblings-Bobby und Zauberlehrling, ist suspendiert und zumindest für eine Weile kein Bobby mehr. Dafür wird er in Zukunft im Privatleben umso mehr gefordert sein, was ihn zu gleichen Teilen mit Panik und Begeisterung erfüllt. Um nicht untätig herumzusitzen und Nägel zu kauen, heuert er bei der Serious Cybernetics Company an, dem neuesten Projekt des Internet-Genies Terrence Skinner. Und prompt holt die Magie ihn wieder ein. Denn in den Tiefen der SCC ist ein Geheimnis verborgen, eine geheime magische Technologie, die zurückreicht bis weit ins 19. Jahrhundert, das Zeitalter von Ada Lovelace und Charles Babbage. Und die brandgefährlich ist für die Welt.

The other three double-audiobooks are: GESTATTEN: PETER GRANT, IHR EINSATZ, PETER GRANT, and PETER GRANT ERMITTELT.

The best-selling print and eBook editions of the series are published in Germany by DTV.

The Rivers of London series is published in the UK by Gollancz, in North America by Del Rey (1-3), DAW Books (4-) and Subterranean Press (novellas); the series has also been published widely around the world. The latest novel is the #1-bestselling AMONGST OUR WEAPONS.

Here’s the English-language synopsis for LIES SLEEPING

Martin Chorley, aka the Faceless Man, wanted for multiple counts of murder, fraud and crimes against humanity, has been unmasked and is on the run.

Peter Grant, Detective Constable and apprentice wizard, now plays a key role in an unprecedented joint operation to bring Chorley to justice.

But even as the unwieldy might of the Metropolitan Police bears down on its foe, Peter uncovers clues that Chorley, far from being finished, is executing the final stages of a long term plan.

A plan that has its roots in London’s two thousand bloody years of history, and could literally bring the city to its knees.

To save his beloved city Peter’s going to need help from his former best friend and colleague – Lesley May – who brutally betrayed him and everything he thought she believed in. And, far worse, he might even have to come to terms with the malevolent supernatural killer and agent of chaos known as Mr Punch…

Ian McDonald and Roger Zelazny Get New Italian Editions


Italian publisher Urania is celebrating their 70th anniversary publishing great science fiction. To celebrate, the publisher has paired up with Corriere della Sera and La Gazzetta dello Sport to release a selection of 25 notable titles. We’re very happy to report that included in this selection are Ian McDonald‘s THE BROKEN LAND and Roger Zelazny‘s TO DIE IN ITALBAR!

Both books have new covers by Franco Brambilla. Read on for some more details about each book.

Ian McDonald‘s THE BROKEN LAND is published in Italy as LA TERRA INFRANTA. Here’s the synopsis…

Siamo in un futuro lontano, sulla Terra. Il villaggio di Chepsenyt è un’enclave pacifica e autosufficiente i cui residenti vivono in armonia con la natura attraverso le loro conoscenze di ingegneria genetica. Ma quando le truppe dell’Impero scoprono che tra la popolazione si celano dei ribelli, il villaggio viene dato alle fiamme e gli abitanti si disperdono. Da qui parte il doloroso viaggio della giovane Mathembe Fileli verso l’età adulta, per sopravvivere e ritrovare la propria famiglia.

The novel is published in English by JABberwocky. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Grandfather was a tree, Father grew trux, in fifteen colours. Mother could sing the double-helix song, sing it right into the hearts of living things and change them…

The Land is a living, breathing, sentient world, where careful skills and talent can manipulate its very substance into a myriad different shapes and forms.

This is the world in which Mathembe Fileli grows up, until the conflicts tearing her country apart shatter her village, her home and her family and scatter them to the four winds. Can Mathembe reunite her family in a world full of angels, talking trees, squalor and glory?

Urania have published a number of Ian’s other books in Italy: the Luna series, the India 2047 series, and the Everness trilogy. You can find out more about them here.

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Roger Zelazny‘s TO DIE IN ITALBAR is the second novel in the author’s Francis Sandow duology — the first is ISLE OF THE DEAD (1969). TO DIE IN ITALBAR is published in Italy as MORIRE A ITALBAR. Here’s the synopsis…

«Il sentiero era la sua vita. Le tombe, il simbolo delle centinaia, no, forse migliaia, di morti che si era lasciati indietro. Al suo tocco gli uomini morivano. Il suo alito appassiva intere città. Dove arrivava la sua ombra, talvolta non rimaneva nulla. Pure, era suo potere vincere le malattie. E proprio adesso arrancava faticosamente con questa intenzione. Era conosciuto per questo, anche se solo con il nome H.»

Questo romanzo è stato definito un’avventura assurda: personaggi vividi, un ritmo veloce ed emozioni forti sono scaturiti dalla fertile immaginazione di Roger Zelazny.

TO DIE IN ITALBAR was first published in 1971. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

The Walker in the Valley of the Shadow

H was the name he was known by. H was unique in the galaxy, for he had the healing touch. Where there was plague, sickness, pain, H was the universal cure.

But H also had the slaying touch. Where he went death and disaster often followed. Where there had been health there would be left desolation and desert.

The talent alternated. It reversed itself — and H always warned people of this. To live in Italbar or TO DIE IN ITALBAR, that was always the question.

Three other novels by Zelazny are published by Urania: THE DREAM MASTER, EYE OF CAT, DAMNATION ALLEY; and the publisher has also released DOPPIA DIMENSIONE, which is an anthology including HOME IS THE HANGMAN and HE WHO SHAPES.

Peter Flannery’s DECIMUS FATE AND THE TALISMAN OF DREAMS Available in Poland!


Peter A. Flannery‘s first Decimus Fate novel is available in Poland! DECIMUS FATE AND THE TALISMAN OF DREAMS is published by Fabryka Słów, as DECIMUS FATE I TALIZMAN MARZEŃ. Here’s the synopsis…

Decimus Fate — potężny mag, który wyrzekł się magii, by odpokutować dawne grzechy.

Opiekun — łowca demonów, który już na nie nie poluje.

Obaj niosą na barkach brzemię popełnionych uczynków, niewyobrażalnej straty i wzajemnej nienawiści. W każdym tli się nadal płomyk dobra i chęć zapłacenia światu za dawne uczynki.

Tajemnicza zaraza w klasztorze Tan Jit Su staje się do tego znakomitą okazją. Jednak śmiercionośna choroba, choć przerażająca, zdaje się tylko początkiem problemów, jakie spadną na obu mężczyzn w chwili ich pierwszego spotkania.

Niestety, sumienia nie da się oczyścić równie łatwo, co miecza z krwi a skrzywdzeni ludzie nie zapominają tylko dlatego, że ktoś poprosił o wybaczenie.

The novel is also available in English, published by the author. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Decimus Fate and the Tutor… A sorcerer who no longer wields magic, and a demon hunter who no longer hunts demons. Two dangerous men, each with a dark and troubled past, now forced to work together in the river city of Guile. As the story unfolds they find themselves caught in a web of danger from ruthless crime lords, vengeful assassins and evil magic-users who draw their power from the realm of demons. Will Fate and the Tutor learn to trust each other or will one sacrifice the other to save his own skin?

Fabryka Słów also publishes Flannery’s BATTLE MAGE in Poland in a split edition, MAG BITEWNY. (The novel is also available in France, Germany, and Czechia.)

Zeno represents Peter A. Flannery in Translation.

Czech Edition of TALES FROM THE FOLLY Now Available!


The Czech edition of TALES FROM THE FOLLY is now available! Published by Argo as HISTORKY Z ROZMARU, it is a collection of short stories set in Ben Aaronovitch‘s Rivers of London world. Here’s the synopsis…

Další výprava do světa Řek Londýna, tentokrát ve sbírce povídek! Ben Aaronovitch svůj fantastický svět dosud představoval v románech, novelách a komiksových příbězích. Už léta však mimo tento hlavní proud píše kratší i delší povídky, v nichž rozvíjí dílčí nápady, popisuje dosud opomíjené osudy, vypráví anekdoty, které doplňují mozaiku jedné z nejpodmanivějších sérií současnosti. S Peterem Grantem, Abigail, agentkou Reynoldsovou, Nightingalem i Tobiasem Winterem z německé obdoby londýnského Rozmaru se zde vydáme zjistit, co skrývá dálniční čerpací stanice uprostřed noci, kdo stále bloumá mezi regály populárního londýnského knihkupectví, co přesně se stalo s řekou Lugg… Každý tento střípek je doplněný autorovým úvodem a pro snadnější orientaci se u něj udává, ve které fázi série se odehrává.

The collection also includes an introduction by Charlaine Harris (which also appears in the Czech edition.)

TALES FROM THE FOLLY is published by JABberwocky (UK/North America eBook and print), Subterranean Press (US special edition) and Orion (UK audio).

Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Return to the world of Rivers of London in this first short story collection from #1 Sunday Times bestselling author, Ben Aaronovitch. Tales from the Folly is a carefully curated collection that gathers together previously published stories and brand new tales in the same place for the first time.

Each tale features a new introduction from the author, filled with insight and anecdote offering the reader a deeper exploration into this absorbing fictional world. This is a must read for any Rivers of London fan.

Join Peter, Nightingale, Abigail, Agent Reynolds and Tobias Winter for a series of perfectly portioned tales. Discover what’s haunting a lonely motorway service station, who still wanders the shelves of a popular London bookshop, and what exactly happened to the River Lugg…

With an introduction from internationally bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series, Charlaine Harris.

This collection includes:
– The Home Crowd Advantage
– The Domestic
– The Cockpit
– The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Granny
– King of The Rats
– A Rare Book of Cunning Device
– A Dedicated Follower of Fashion
– Favourite Uncle
– Vanessa Sommer’s Other Christmas List
– Three Rivers, Two Husbands and a Baby
– Moments One, Two and Three

‘[F]ans of the series who will no doubt find plenty of enjoyment and satisfaction in these bite-sized adventures… A special shoutout also to Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, who gave an awesome performance as Peter Grant. While I mostly read the print versions of the books in the Rivers of London series, the few times I was fortunate to listen to the audiobooks, I always enjoyed his work. There’s no doubt about it, he is the voice of this series.’Bibliosanctum

‘The stories here are smart, snappy, and self-contained. They’ll keep you turning pages, for sure — they’re full of sizzle… they’re great fun, and a great way to get to know some of our favourite folks a little better. My only real complaint is that there aren’t enough of them — I would happily have devoured twice as many… this was a joy to read. It hits all the right notes. The humour, the pathos, the intelligence and the wry commentary of Grant are all very welcome…’Sci-Fi & Fantasy Reviews

‘For any devotee of the Met’s smallest specialist policing unit and the magical world that Aaronovitch has built with such success, TALES FROM THE FOLLY is an essential addition to the bookshelf and will amply repay a close reading in search of interesting snippets while you revel in the longer stories. This is certainly one world I can’t get enough of.’Crime Review

Argo has published all of Ben’s Rivers of London books in Czechia, to date.

DIE SILBERKAMMER IN DER CHANCERY LANE Audiobook Out Now!


German-speaking audiobook fans of Ben Aaronovitch‘s Die Flüsse von London series rejoice: the audiobook edition of DIE SILBERKAMMER IN DER CHANCERY LANE is out today! Published by GoyaLiT, and narrated by Dietmar Wunder, here’s the synopsis…

Peter Grant, der Londoner Bobby und Zauberlehrling (sowie neuerdings Praktikantinnenausbilder), hat einen neuen Fall. In den Silberkammern in der Chancery Lane hat es einen merkwürdigen Todesfall gegeben. Der Tote weist eine große Wunde im Brustkorb auf — als hätte man ihm das Herz herausgerissen. Die Ermittlungen führen zu einem zweiten Toten. Und dann zunehmend weiter über London hinaus — in völlig unerwartete räumliche, zeitliche und extradimensionale Gefilde. Dabei hat Peter eigentlich schon mehr als genug damit zu tun, sich auf ein ganz bestimmtes freudiges Ereignis vorzubereiten, das allmählich die Züge eines hochmagischen und illustren Großevents annimmt…

The print and digital editions of the novel are published in Germany by DTV, who also publish Ben’s other novels and novellas in the series. The novel was a #3 Bestseller in Germany for multiple weeks running!

The #1 Bestselling AMONGST OUR WEAPONS is published in the UK by Orion Books and in North America by DAW Books. The audiobook in the UK is also available, narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

There is a world hidden underneath this great city…

The London Silver Vaults – for well over a century, the largest collection of silver for sale in the world. It has more locks than the Bank of England and more cameras than a celebrity punch-up.

Not somewhere you can murder someone and vanish without a trace – only that’s what happened.

The disappearing act, the reports of a blinding flash of light and memory loss amongst the witnesses all make this a case for Detective Constable Peter Grant and the Special Assessment Unit.

Alongside their boss DCI Thomas Nightingale, the SAU find themselves embroiled in a mystery that encompasses London’s tangled history, foreign lands and, most terrifying of all, the North!

And Peter must solve this case soon because back home his partner Beverley is expecting twins any day now. But what he doesn’t know is that he’s about to encounter something – and somebody – that nobody ever expects…

Ben Aaronovitch’s TALES FROM THE FOLLY Now Available in Czechia!


Ben Aaronovitch‘s collection of short stories, set in the Rivers of London world, is now available in Czechia! Published by Argo as HISTORKY Z ROZMARU, here’s the synopsis…

Další výprava do světa Řek Londýna, tentokrát ve sbírce povídek! Ben Aaronovitch svůj fantastický svět dosud představoval v románech, novelách a komiksových příbězích. Už léta však mimo tento hlavní proud píše kratší i delší povídky, v nichž rozvíjí dílčí nápady, popisuje dosud opomíjené osudy, vypráví anekdoty, které doplňují mozaiku jedné z nejpodmanivějších sérií současnosti. S Peterem Grantem, Abigail, agentkou Reynoldsovou, Nightingalem i Tobiasem Winterem z německé obdoby londýnského Rozmaru se zde vydáme zjistit, co skrývá dálniční čerpací stanice uprostřed noci, kdo stále bloumá mezi regály populárního londýnského knihkupectví, co přesně se stalo s řekou Lugg… Každý tento střípek je doplněný autorovým úvodem a pro snadnější orientaci se u něj udává, ve které fázi série se odehrává.

S předmluvou Charlaine Harrisové

TALES FROM THE FOLLY is published in the UK by JABberwocky (print & digital) and Orion (audio); in North America by Subterranean Press; and in Germany by DTV — covers below.

Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Return to the world of Rivers of London in this first short story collection from bestselling author, Ben Aaronovitch. Tales from the Folly is a carefully curated collection that gathers together previously published stories and brand new tales in the same place for the first time.

Each tale features a new introduction from the author, filled with insight and anecdote offering the reader a deeper exploration into this absorbing fictional world. This is a must read for any Rivers of London fan.

Join Peter, Nightingale, Abigail, Agent Reynolds and Tobias Winter for a series of perfectly portioned tales. Discover what’s haunting a lonely motorway service station, who still wanders the shelves of a popular London bookshop, and what exactly happened to the River Lugg…

With an introduction from internationally bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series, Charlaine Harris.

This collection includes the following stories:

  • The Home Crowd Advantage
  • The Domestic
  • The Cockpit
  • The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Granny
  • King of The Rats
  • A Rare Book of Cunning Device
  • A Dedicated Follower of Fashion
  • Favourite Uncle
  • Vanessa Sommer’s Other Christmas List
  • Three Rivers, Two Husbands and a Baby
  • Moments One-Three

Roger Zelazny’s FOR A BREATH I TARRY Now Available in France!


A new, French edition of FOR A BREATH I TARRY by Roger Zelazny is out now! Published by Le Passager Clandestin as LE TEMPS D’UN SOUFFLE JE M’ATTARDE, it was translated by Jean Baihache. Here’s the synopsis…

« — Je t’ai déjà dit que l’Homme possédait une nature fondamentalement incompréhensible. Ses perceptions étaient organiques ; les tiennes, non. Ses perceptions lui procuraient des sentiments et des émotions […]. L’Homme ne sentait pas les miles ou les mètres, les kilos ou les litres. Il sentait le chaud, Il sentait le froid. Il sentait la pesanteur et la légèreté. Il connaissait la haine et l’amour, la fierté et le désespoir. Toutes ces choses ne sont pas mesurables. Donc toi, tu ne peux pas les connaître. […] Il n’existe pas de formule pour mesurer un sentiment. »

Comment ne pas être touché par l’histoire de Gel, cette machine toute-puissante qui veut devenir humaine ? Gel est une intelligence artificielle qui oeuvre à la reconstruction d’une Terre sur laquelle ne subsiste plus aucun être humain vivant. Mais Gel a un hobby : il étudie les vestiges de l’humanité disparue, découvre les livres, le cinéma, l’art, si bien qu’il se met à désirer devenir lui-même humain, et ce à n’importe quel prix…

Au fil de la quête de Gel, ce Faust de métal tenté par l’impossible, Roger Zelazny explore à sa manière ce qui fait le propre de l’humain et proclame par avance la défaite des prétentions à la numérisation du cerveau humain et autres lubies des Folamour de la Silicon Valley.

You can read an excerpt from the novel, here.

First published in 1966, here’s the English-language synopsis…

Taking place long after the self-extinction of Man, “For a Breath I Tarry” recounts the tale of Frost, a sentient machine (“…a silver-blue box, 40x40x40 feet,… featured in whatever manner he chose.”) Though Man has disappeared, his robotic creations (and their creations in turn) continue to function.

Along the way, the story explores the differences between Man and Machine, the former experiencing the world qualitatively, while the latter do so quantitatively. “A machine is a Man turned inside-out, because it can describe all the details of a process, which a Man cannot, but it cannot experience that process itself as a Man can.” This is illustrated by a conversation Frost has with another machine named Mordel.

New Cast-Adaptation of FINGERHUT-SOMMER Out Now!


There’s a new, full-cast audiobook edition of FINGERHUT-SOMMER! The fifth novel in Ben Aaronovitch‘s Die magischen Fälle des Peter Grant series (Rivers of London/Peter Grant), it is available exclusively from Audible. Here’s the synopsis…

Die magischen Fälle des Peter Grant von Ben Aaronovitch sind internationale Bestseller und absoluter Kult. In seinem fünften Roman führt der ausgebildete Buchhändler und ausgezeichnete Drehbuchautor (Dr. Who) seine Hauptfigur Peter Grant erstmalig in die ländlichen Gefilde außerhalb Londons, um die mysteriöse Entführung zweier Kinder aufzuklären.

Leominster ist eine verschlafene Kleinstadt 150 Meilen nordwestlich von London und nicht gerade bekannt für seine hohe Kriminalitätsrate. Trotzdem verschlägt es Police Constable Peter Grant in den kleinen Ort in Herefordshire, denn zwei kleine Mädchen sind verschwunden und die Umstände lassen Rückschlüsse auf eine übernatürliche Beteiligung zu. Unterstützt von der Flusstochter Beverley Brook und dem ortskundigen Polizisten Dominic Croft wird Peter in ein verworrenes Netz aus Dorfintrigen, lokalen Legenden und UFO-Mythen verstrickt. Doch damit nicht genug: Peter erfährt einiges über die militärische Vergangenheit seines Mentors Thomas Nightingale. Auch der Verrat durch seine ehemalige Kollegin und Freundin Leslie May und ihr anschließendes Verschwinden nagen weiterhin an ihm – zumal sie über Peters Provinz-Aktivitäten ausgesprochen gut informiert zu sein scheint.

Audible/DTV have also published full-cast adaptations of the first four novels in the series: DIE FLÜSSE VON LONDON (RIVERS OF LONDON), SCHWARZER MOND ÜBER SOHO (MOON OVER SOHO), WISPERN UNTER BAKER STREET (WHISPERS UNDERGROUND), and DER BÖSE ORT (BROKEN HOMES).

The print and digital editions of FINGERHUT-SOMMER are published by DTV (who also publish the rest of the series in Germany).

FOXGLOVE SUMMER (as it’s titled in English) is published in the UK by Gollancz and in North America by DAW Books. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

In the fifth of his bestselling series Ben Aaronovitch takes Peter Grant out of whatever comfort zone he might have found and takes him out of London – to a small village in Herefordshire where the local police are reluctant to admit that there might be a supernatural element to the disappearance of some local children. But while you can take the London copper out of London, you can’t take the London out of the copper.

Travelling west with Beverley Brook, Peter soon finds himself caught up in a deep mystery and having to tackle local cops and local gods. And what’s more, all the shops are closed by 4pm…

The latest novel in the series, the #1 Bestselling AMONGST OUR WEAPONS is out now in the UK (Gollancz), Germany (DTV), and North America (DAW Books).

Italian Edition of THE MENACE FROM FARSIDE Out Now!


A new Italian edition of Ian McDonald‘s THE MENACE FROM FARSIDE is now available! Published by Urania/Mondadori as MINACCIA DA FARSIDE, it’s a prequel novella to the acclaimed Luna series. Here’s the synopsis…

Preparatevi a tornare nel mondo dei Dragoni, i signori della celeberrima trilogia Luna creata dalla penna di Ian McDonald.

Regina Sud, città della famiglia Taiyang, la società è organizzata tramite “anelli”, ovvero famiglie poliamorose. E per Carid, figlia di un “matrimonio anulare”, l’arrivo di una nuova sorellastra in famiglia è una tragedia.

Sidibe non è solo bella d’aspetto e altera di carattere, ma possiede delle rarissime ali con cui incanta tutti, compresi Jair e Kobe, i fratellastri di Carid. La ragazza ha solo venti giorni di tempo prima che venga sancito ufficialmente il nuovo legame della sua famiglia allargata. E di certo non ha intenzione di restarsene con le mani in mano.

Con la scusa di un originale regalo di nozze, trascina la nuova arrivata e i due fratellastri in un’avventura… alla ricerca della prima impronta umana sulla Luna, lasciata cento anni prima nel Mare della Tranquillità dallo stivale di Neil Armstrong.

Cosa potrebbe andare storto?

Conoscendo Ian McDonald, il George R.R. Martin dello spazio, tutto…

In addition to THE MENACE FROM FARSIDE, the volume also includes translations of two short stories in the same setting: IL QUINTO DRAGONE (THE FIFTH DRAGON, originally published in 2014) and CADUTA (THE FALLS, 2015).

THE MENACE FROM FARSIDE is published in the UK and North America by Tor.com (cover above). Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Ian McDonald returns to his elegantly wound solar system of the twenty-second century, full of political intrigue and complicated families.

Remember: Lady Luna knows a thousand ways to kill you, but family is what you know. Family is what works.

Cariad Corcoran has a new sister who is everything she is not: tall, beautiful, confident. They’re unlikely allies and even unlikelier sisters, but they’re determined to find the moon’s first footprint, even if the lunar frontier is doing its best to kill them before they get there.

Urania also publishes the three Luna novels: LUNA NUOVA (NEW MOON), LUNA PIENA (WOLF MOON), and LUNA CRESCENTE (MOON RISING). An omnibus edition (or, ‘Titan Edition‘) is also available in Italy.

The Luna novels are published in the UK by Gollancz, in North America by Tor Books.

The series has also been published in Poland, Spain, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Romania, Hungary, Russia, Croatia, China, Taiwan, and Serbia. Here are the covers for NEW MOON

Next Week: Italian Edition of THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Vol.1!


Next week, Fanucci is due to publish IL GRANDE LIBRO DELLA FANTASCIENZA MONDIALE, the Italian edition of THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Vol.1. Edited by Lavie Tidhar, it’s a fantastic collection of science fiction stories by authors from around the world. Here’s the synopsis…

Il grande libro della fantascienza mondiale” riunisce ventisei storie provenienti da tutto lo spettro della fantascienza – leggerai di robot, astronavi e viaggi nel tempo, oltre a cose davvero strane – che rappresentano ventuno Paesi e quattro continenti. Lavie Tidhar ha selezionato racconti che spaziano da autori esordienti e mai sentiti prima ad altri vincitori di premi, in ogni momento della loro carriera.

Questi i Paesi rappresentati: Francia, Cina, Singapore, Botswana, Nigeria, India, Giappone, Italia, Cuba, Regno Unito, Brasile, Trinidad e Tobago, Spagna, Messico, Finlandia, Israele, Islanda, Russia, Ghana, Sudafrica, Svezia e Malesia.

Gli autori, quattordici donne e dodici uomini sono Aliette de Bodard, Chen Qiufan, Vina Jie-Min Prasad, Tlotlo Tsamaase, Chinelo Onwualu, Vandana Singh, Han Song, Ng Yi-Sheng, Taiyo Fujii, Francesco Verso, Malena Salazar Maciá, Tade Thompson, Fabio Fernandes, R.S.A. Garcia, Cristina Jurado, Gerardo Horacio Porcayo, Hannu Rajaniemi, Nir Yaniv, Emil Hjörvar Petersen, Ekaterina Sedia, Kuzhali Manickavel, Kofi Nyameye, Lauren Beukes, Karin Tidbeck, Silvia Moreno-Garcia e Zen Cho.

The English-language edition is published in the UK and North America by Head of Zeus. Here’s the synopsis…

The future is coming. It knows no bounds, and neither should science fiction.

They say the more things change the more they stay the same. But over the last hundred years, science fiction has changed. Vibrant new generations of writers have sprung up across the globe, proving the old adage false. From Ghana to India, from Mexico to France, from Singapore to Cuba, they draw on their unique backgrounds and culture, changing the face of the genre one story at a time.

Prepare yourself for a journey through the wildest reaches of the imagination, to visions of Earth as it might be and the far corners of the universe. Along the way, you will meet robots and monsters, adventurers and time travellers, rogues and royalty.

In The Best of World SF, award-winning author Lavie Tidhar acts as guide and companion to a world of stories, from never-before-seen originals to award winners, from twenty-three countries and seven languages. Because the future is coming and it belongs to us all.

Here’s the full table of contents…

  • ‘Immersion’ by Aliette de Bodard
  • ‘Debtless’ by Chen Qiufan (trans. from Chinese by Blake Stone-Banks)
  • ‘Fandom for Robots’ by Vina Jie-Min Prasad
  • ‘Virtual Snapshots’ by Tlotlo Tsamaase
  • ‘What The Dead Man Said’ by Chinelo Onwualu
  • ‘Delhi’ by Vandana Singh
  • ‘The Wheel of Samsara’ by Han Song (trans. from Chinese by the author)
  • ‘Xingzhou’ by Yi-Sheng Ng
  • ‘Prayer’ by Taiyo Fujii (trans. from Japanese by Kamil Spychalski)
  • ‘The Green Ship’ by Francesco Verso (trans. from Italian by Michael Colbert)
  • ‘Eyes of the Crocodile’ by Malena Salazar Maciá (trans. from Spanish by Toshiya Kamei)
  • ‘Bootblack’ by Tade Thompson
  • ‘The Emptiness in the Heart of all Things’ by Fabio Fernandes
  • ‘The Sun From Both Sides’ by R.S.A. Garcia
  • ‘Dump’ by Cristina Jurado (trans. from Spanish by Steve Redwood)
  • ‘Rue Chair’ by Gerardo Horacio Porcayo (trans. from Spanish by the author)
  • ‘His Master’s Voice’ by Hannu Rajaniemi
  • ‘Benjamin Schneider’s Little Greys’ by Nir Yaniv (trans. from Hebrew by Lavie Tidhar)
  • ‘The Cryptid’ by Emil H. Petersen(trans. from Icelandic by the author)
  • ‘The Bank of Burkina Faso’ by Ekaterina Sedia
  • ‘An Incomplete Guide…’ by Kuzhali Manickavel
  • ‘The Old Man with The Third Hand’ by Kofi Nyameye
  • ‘The Green’ by Lauren Beukes
  • ‘The Last Voyage of Skidbladnir’ by Karin Tidbeck
  • ‘Prime Meridian’ by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  • ‘If At First You Don’t Succeed’ by Zen Cho

New Taiwanese Covers for Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series!


The first four books in Ben Aaronovitch‘s acclaimed, internationally best-selling Rivers of London series (倫敦探案系列) have been given new covers in Taiwan! Originally published between 2016-17, by Marco Polo (馬可孛羅文化事業), read on for some more details for each novel as well as the stunning new covers.

RIVERS OF LONDON, the first in the series, is published in Taiwan as 倫敦河惡靈騷動, and is translated by Zheng Yuxin (鄭郁欣). The new cover is above, and here’s the synopsis…

寒冷週二的凌晨時分,柯芬園聖保羅教堂的西門廊前躺著一具沒有頭的屍體。就要結束實習工作、接下來將分派到倫敦警察廳所屬轄區警局的菜鳥彼得.葛蘭特,基於職責在案發現場盤問了一名衣著老派過時的矮小男子,沒想到對方竟一五一十細細陳述了案發經過,其內容可信度非常高,只不過彼得恐怕沒辦法將這段證詞呈報給調查小組──

誰會相信一個平凡人光揮舞一根球棒就能將被害者的頭敲飛?誰又能接受提供證詞的這位老先生,是個死了足足一百二十年、站在光線下整個人變透明的鬼魂?

不過彼得相信,對現代警察來說,「看得見不存在的事物」是個不可或缺的重要技能,沒想到納丁格爾督察長不但願意接受這聽起來像胡謅的說法,還將彼得納入警察廳內最神祕的特殊犯罪部,聯手調查這樁超自然色彩濃厚的謀殺案。

在這個魔法捲土重來、惡靈騷動再起的時刻,暴力與叛亂已在古老的倫敦城內甦醒,想要解決一連串的詭譎怪案,還得有點福爾摩斯的腦袋與哈利波特的能力才行…

The second novel in the series, MOON OVER SOHO, is published in Taiwan as 蘇活月爵士魅影, and is also translated by Zheng Yuxin.

蘇活區,倫敦夜晚最熱鬧的地方,同時也是爵士樂發展的中心。在那裡,你可以找到歷史悠久且風格各異的酒吧和俱樂部,樂手們全都嚮往登上此處的表演舞臺,演奏最道地動聽的音樂。

一具被判定為自然死亡的屍體上,彼得.葛蘭特聽見了經典爵士樂曲的魔法殘跡,經調查後發現,過去一段時間大倫敦地區每年至少有三名爵士音樂家在演出後二十四小時內死亡,很可能是有某個術士或鬼魂、精靈之類的存在,正有計畫地殺害倫敦的爵士樂人──幾天後,再次傳來某個長號手暴斃的噩耗。

棘手的死亡事件不只一樁,就在魔法爵士殺手再度犯案的當晚,一名中年男子陰莖遭割裂、失血過多死在俱樂部裡,英國最後一位巫師警官納丁格爾告訴彼得,這是「陰牙」造成的傷口,很可能是某種超自然生物所為。

這下子彼得可頭大了,一個以爵士樂手為目標的魔法殺手,與一個擁有傷人利齒的超自然生物,該從哪個方向展開調查才好?首先,彼得必須找尋爵士樂專家的幫助,而他心底已經有了最佳人選……

悠揚輕柔的爵士樂聲響起,為流連倫敦街頭的人們帶來多少歡愉,

曲終人散的某個闇暗角落,躺著一具被魔法奪走性命的沉默軀體。

誰能同時扮演福爾摩斯與哈利波特的角色?只有菜鳥警察彼得.葛蘭特!

Translated by Han Yichen (韓宜辰) and Lin Zhaoling (林詔伶), WHISPERS UNDERGROUND is published as 地底城魔法暗湧 in Taiwan.

二次世界大戰後,英國的巫師所剩無幾,魔法逐漸式微、光明隨之遠離,除了納丁格爾與他唯一認可的學徒彼得.葛蘭特之外,再沒有人使用和練習魔法。然而,黑魔法師無臉男的出現,徹底打破了納丁格爾的認知,原來自一九五○年代起,就有巫師在牛津大學祕密教授魔法,更有學員加入黑暗勢力,製造出邪惡的超自然生物,讓倫敦陷入危機。

找出黑魔法師的真實身分,成為菜鳥警察彼得的當務之急,一樁發生在倫敦地鐵站的命案,卻令彼得不得不分心轉向追查,因為殺害死者的凶器,竟是一塊殘留魔法的陶器碎片。同時,命案死者的敏感身分,也招來了美國FBI派探員跨海介入調查。

死者是否又是一名非法學習法術的巫師?沾有魔法殘跡的陶器從何而來?被要求加入凶案調查小組的彼得,不但得全力追查凶器來源與凶手,還不能讓FBI發現任何「不尋常」的異狀。一方面諜對諜作戰,一方面向河神、半妖等超自然生物打聽情報,彼得這才驚異地發現,在倫敦紛亂複雜的地下鐵深處,很可能潛藏了一座不為人知的神祕之城……

And last, but by no means least, the fourth novel in the series, BROKEN HOMES, is published in Taiwan as 天空塔黑巫再現. Lin Zhaoling also translated this novel.

地底城事件結束後,納丁格爾與他的學徒彼得.葛蘭特體認到,黑魔法師無臉男的勢力已經擴張到他們難以察覺的深處,無論這位黑魔法師真正的目的為何,徹查所有的小鱷魚名單、找出無臉男的真實身分,絕對是當務之急。因此,即便是一樁看似簡單的交通意外,也不能錯過任何線索。

彼得的直覺沒錯,小鱷魚成員的交通意外演變為一件毀屍滅跡的凶殺案;不久之後,竟有第二名可疑的小鱷魚成員在地鐵站內跳軌自殺。一具屍體或許只是意外,但兩具屍體就不可能只是巧合,而且一定與無臉男有關。

為了化被動為主動,彼得決定設下誘餌引無臉男出現,沒想到出現的卻是令他們意想不到的另一個熟面孔,死去的伍德維爾.詹托的看護——凡倫卡,來自俄羅斯的魔法學徒,危險度極高的暗夜女巫。

現在,倫敦有兩名出手凶狠的非法巫師逍遙法外了。最令人擔心的是,暗夜女巫是否與黑魔法師相互聯手?小鱷魚的命案又是何人所為?此時,彼得追查到一本遭竊的德國魔法書,屬於瘋狂建築師艾瑞克.史騰堡所有,更進一步發現這些喪命的死者,都與史騰堡所蓋的空中花園大樓有關……

高掛空中的冠冕,點亮城市的火炬,

魔法與工業的結合,是不切實際的空想,還是真實存在的世紀之作?

The Rivers of London series is published in the UK by Gollancz; in North America by Del Rey (1-3), DAW Books (4-) and Subterranean Press (novellas); in Germany by DTV; and widely elsewhere in translation.

The ninth novel in the series, the Sunday Times #1 AMONGST OUR WEAPONS, was published this month by Orion Books (UK), DAW Books (North America), and DTV (Germany).

Ian R. MacLeod’s SONG OF TIME Out Now in Italy!


A new Italian edition of Ian R. MacLeod‘s multi-award-winning SONG OF TIME is out now! Published by Urania as LA CANZONE DEL TEMPO, here’s the synopsis…

Durante una passeggiata su una spiaggia della Cornovaglia, l’anziana Roushana Maitland, celebre violinista di fama mondiale, trova un uomo nudo, inerme, riverso sulla sabbia come se fosse stato trasportato lì dal mare.

Sotto le alghe, i graffi e i lividi bluastri, c’è un giovane bello come un dio greco. Ben presto appare chiaro che il ragazzo non è annegato ma è vivo, anche se privo della memoria. Da dove sia arrivato è un mistero; potrebbe essere uno schiavo sfuggito a qualche destino infame, o un criminale evaso.

Roushana soccorre “Adam”, come decide di chiamarlo, e mentre se ne prende cura, gli racconta della sua lunga e incredibile vita, ricca di grandi successi e cadute devastanti: dall’infanzia a Birmingham tra gli incubi del terrorismo biologico, passando per i viaggi in India all’epoca di un grande disastro nucleare, fino alla sfavillante carriera musicale a Parigi e alla sua vita bohemien.

Nel frattempo là fuori, oltre le mura protettive della casa, c’è un mondo morente: un futuro malinconicamente distopico, tra vulcani in eruzione e tempeste di polvere.

Tuttavia la morte non è più una barriera: è possibile caricare la propria memoria in un “cristallo” all’interno del proprio cervello, e raggiungere così l’immortalità digitale.

Un passo che Roushana, in fin di vita, si accinge a fare a breve per raggiungere coloro che ha amato, gli amici che già l’attendono oltre il velo.

Ma un oscuro segreto la trattiene dal compiere il passaggio…

First published in 2009, SONG OF TIME won the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. It is available in the UK and North America, published by JABberwocky (alongside a number of other MacLeod titles).

‘MacLeod’s quiet, meditative novels and stories have been winning critical acclaim for years, and Song of Time sees him at the height of his powers. At the end of a long and eventful life, celebrated violinist Roushana Maitland orders her memories before she passes from the world of the flesh to a virtual afterlife. When she finds a mysterious stranger washed up on the beach of her Cornish retreat, he facilitates the process of remembrance. In flashback chapters we follow Roushana’s turbulent life through the cataclysmic events of the 21st century, taking in the deaths of loved ones, marriage to a conductor-entrepreneur, and a final heartbreaking revelation, SONG OF TIME is a slow, sensitive first-person account of what it means to be human and vulnerable, and confirms MacLeod as one of the country’s very best literary SF writers.’ — Guardian