International Editions - Zeno Agency Ltd.

New French Edition of Ian McDonald’s CYBERABAD DAYS

Posted on Tuesday, October 11th, 2016

Folio SF has published a new edition of Ian McDonald‘s CYBERABAD DAYS. Published in French as LA PETITE DÉESSE, here’s the synopsis…

En 2004, lan McDonald publiait en Angleterre un roman d’une ambition peu commune dans le paysage de la science-flction contemporaine, Le fleuve des dieux, un livre aux multiples intrigues situées dans une Inde de 2047 balkanisée et soumise à une sécheresse sans précédent. Le prix de la British Science Fiction Association a récompensé ce roman et son édition française a reçu le Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire et le prix Bob Morane.

En 2009, lan McDonald a rassemblé, sous le titre La petite déesse, les sept nouvelles et courts romans qu’il avait écrits sur cette même Inde du futur. On y découvre, souvent par le biais du regard d’enfants, un sous-continent où les hommes sont quatre fois plus nombreux que les femmes, où se côtoient des gens d’une extrême pauvreté, des intelligences artificielles et des stars virtuelles, tous confrontés à des menaces d’un genre nouveau.

CYBERABAD DAYS is published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Pyr Books. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

The world: ‘Cyberabad’ is the India of 2047, a new, muscular superpower of one and a half billion people in an age of artificial intelligences, climate-change induced drought, water-wars, strange new genders, genetically improved children that age at half the rate of baseline humanity and a population where males out-number females four to one. India herself has fractured into a dozen states from Kerala to the headwaters of the Ganges in the Himalayas. Cyberabad is a collection of 7 stories:

The Little Goddess. Hugo nominee Best Novella 2006. In near future Nepal, a child-goddess discovers what lies on the other side of godhood.

The Djinn’s Wife. Hugo nominee and BSFA short fiction winner 2007

A minor Delhi celebrity falls in love with an artificial intelligence but is it a marriage of heaven and hell?

The Dust Assassin. Feuding Rajasthan water-rajas find that revenge is a slow, subtle process.

Jasbir and Sujay go Shaadi. Love and marriage should be plain-sailing when your matchmaker is a soap-star artificial intelligence

Sanjeev and Robotwallah. What happens to the boy-soldier roboteers when the war of Separation is over?

Kyle meets the River. A young American in Varanas learns the true meaning of ‘nation building’ in the early days of a new country.

Vishnu at the Cat Circus. A genetically improved ‘Brahmin’ child finds himself left behind as he grows through the final generation of humanity.

Here’s just a small selection from the great reviews CYBERBAD DAYS received…

‘McDonald excels at conveying, in a gorgeous melange of sensory impressions, an India transformed by AIs, nanotech, robots and cybernetics: the subcontinent is chaotic and lurid, shot through with devotion to eternal Hindu gods and divided by internecine conflict. McDonald gives a refreshing take on the future from a non-western viewpoint.’ — Guardian

‘McDonald gives sci-fi its sense of wonder back, and creates a landscape in which nothing can be taken for granted.’ — Independent

‘One of the great pleasures of science fiction is the escape it offers readers from commonplace, everyday surroundings into strange new worlds, and nobody does it better than Ian McDonald. Although CYBERABAD DAYS is set on Earth, and only a few decades into the future, McDonald’s vision of a newly repartitioned India, warring over water and at the cutting edge of technologies based on artificial intelligence, is practically hallucinogenic in style and intensity.’ — Times

Folio also publishes Ian’s BRASYL, ROI DU MATIN, REINE DU JOUR (KING OF MORNING, QUEEN OF DAY), LE FLEUVE DES DIEUX (RIVER OF GODS) and LA MAISON DES DERVICHES (THE DERVISH HOUSE).

New French Editions of Roger Zelazny’s CHRONICLES OF AMBER out now

Posted on Monday, October 10th, 2016

Roger Zelazny‘s classic Chronicles of Amber fantasy series is available in new French editions, collected into two volumes: LES PRINCES D’AMBRE Cycle 1 & Cycle 2. Published in France by Folio SF, here’s the synopsis for the first collection…

Il est amnésique.

Il est l’un des neuf princes d’Ambre, ce monde dont tous les autres ne sont que des reflets.

Son nom est Corwin et il compte bien vaincre ses frères pour monter sur le trône vacant.

This collection includes LES NEUF PRINCES D’AMBRE, LES FUSILS D’AVALON, LE SIGNE DE LA LICORNE, LA MAIN D’OBERON, and LES COURS DU CHAOS.

The second collection includes LES ATOUTS DE LA VENGEANCE, LE SANG D’AMBRE, LE SIGNE DU CHAOS, CHEVALIER DES OMBRES, and PRINCE DU CHAOS. Here’s the synopsis…

Des neuf enfants d’Oberon, c’est à présent Random qui règne sur Ambre. Corwin a disparu, on le croit mort ou privé de raison. Son fils Merlin mène depuis huit ans une existence apparemment paisible sur l’ombre Terre. Mais chaque année, à date fixe, un mystérieux personnage tente de l’assassiner.

Zeno represents Roger Zelazny in translation, on behalf of the Zelazny Estate.

Lavie Tidhar’s THE VIOLENT CENTURY coming soon in Taiwan!

Posted on Friday, September 23rd, 2016

Above is the cover for the Taiwanese edition of Lavie Tidhar‘s critically-acclaimed THE VIOLENT CENTURY. Published next month by Apex as 狂暴年代, here’s the English-language synopsis…

For seventy years they guarded the British Empire. Oblivion and Fogg, inseparable friends, bound together by a shared fate. Until one night in Berlin, in the aftermath of the Second World War, and a secret that tore them apart.

But there must always be an account… and the past has a habit of catching up to the present.

Now, recalled to the Retirement Bureau from which no one can retire, Fogg and Oblivion must face up to a past of terrible war and unacknowledged heroism — a life of dusty corridors and secret rooms, of furtive meetings and blood-stained fields — to answer one last, impossible question: What makes a hero?

Here’s the full-wrap image:

THE VIOLENT CENTURY is published in the UK by Hodder, in the US by Thomas Dunne and in Japan by 東京創元社. It is also available in limited edition, published by PS Publishing.

Here’s a small selection from the great reviews the novel has received so far…

‘A brilliantly etched phantasmagoric reconfiguring of that most sizzling of eras – the twilight 20th… This book has it all: time travel, political intrigue, hellacious history… You’ve got superheroes in the guise of regular humans, you’ve got World War II… THE VIOLENT CENTURY is a torrid tour de force!’ — James Ellroy

‘THE VIOLENT CENTURY is an excellent novel that demonstrates, once again, the impressive versatility of its author.’ — Interzone

‘It’s hard, but not impossible as Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey and others have shown, to create a morally complex, artistically ambitious story based on characters whose origins are not that far removed from the simplicity of Superman, Spiderman, and their ilk. Tidhar has succeeded brilliantly in this task. THE VIOLENT CENTURY is a masterful example of alternate universe science fiction and can only add to its author’s rapidly growing reputation.’ — Los Angeles Review of Books

‘An original, engrossing fusion of noir-ish super-heroes and gritty espionage thriller… Tidhar has written a fantastic novel… Definitely recommended.’ — Civilian Reader

‘The level of detail with which Tidhar fills his novel ensures that the events he is using as his setting feel convincing. Like Le Carre’s best novels, the world of espionage isn’t glamorous or exciting; it’s a grim, cold and lonely place. The author does a lot with a relatively minimalist style… it’s impressive how much ground Tidhar covers… As well as being a wonderfully drawn and detailed historical espionage tale, THE VIOLENT CENTURY is ultimately a very human story. It’s gripping, imaginative and, finally, moving.’ — SciFi Now

‘THE VIOLENT CENTURY has everything to look for in a novel – a wonderfully crafted plot, strong realistic characters, an atmosphere that is unnervingly real – all written in a style that insists on the reader’s full attention… one of the best books I’ve ever read.’ — Fantasy Faction

‘Tidhar brings us a tale of individuals wrestling with questions of their nature, told on a grand scale, on the stage of the historical shifts that exist in living memory, and he does an outstanding job of it, weaving together historical fact with stunningly deceptive world building… Tidhar shows a deft hand with research… This is a dark, brooding book, one that you want to gnaw on, savour, slowly, and enjoy, but it has its light moments, too… He’s dealing with the grandest schemes on the largest of backdrops in time and place, and this level of awe-inspiring craft places him firmly within the highest tier of writers working today, no longer an emerging writer, but a master.’ — British Fantasy Society

Lavie’s most recent novels are the critically-acclaimed CENTRAL STATION, published by Tachyon Publications; and the award-winning A MAN LIES DREAMING, published by Hodder (UK) and Melville House (US).

Ben Aaronovitch’s RIVERS OF LONDON Coming Soon to Taiwan!

Posted on Friday, August 26th, 2016

Above is the rather eye-catching cover for Ben Aaronovitch‘s first Peter Grant novel, RIVERS OF LONDON. Due to be published on Tuesday (August 30th) by Marco Polo in Taiwan as 倫敦河惡靈騷動, here’s the synopsis…

倫敦，這座孕育出福爾摩斯與哈利波特的古老城市，由衷歡迎新一任冒險者彼得．葛蘭特，前來挖掘她的更多祕密…

「你是否在告訴我，倫敦警察廳有個祕密分部，專門負責鬼魂、食屍鬼、仙女、惡魔、女巫和法師、小精靈和小妖精…？」我說，「你可以在我說光這些超自然生物之前阻止我。」

「你根本連表面都還沒搔到。」納丁格爾督察長說。

「所以真的有魔法。所以你是個……什麼來著？」

「巫師。」

「像哈利波特那樣？」

「不是，」納丁格爾嘆了口氣，「我不是小說人物。」

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…

面對潛藏在混亂世界中的未知敵人與蠢動危機，

英國的首都、全歐洲最大的城市、由羅馬人建立的倫敦城，

只能仰賴彼得．葛蘭特這位非典型警察來拯救了！

RIVERS OF LONDON is published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Del Rey (as MIDNIGHT RIOT). The novel has also been published widely in translation. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (and as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit — we do paperwork so real coppers don’t have to — and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluable, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England.

Now I’m a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden… and there’s something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair.

The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it’s falling to me to bring order out of chaos — or die trying.

Gollancz has published the first five novels in the series, and is due to publish the sixth novel in the new year.

New French Edition of Roger Zelazny’s L’ÎLE DES MORTS Now Available

Posted on Friday, August 19th, 2016

A new French edition of Roger Zelazny‘s L’ÎLE DES MORTS is now available from Mnemos. The book is an anthology that collects Zelazny’s Francis Sandow novels: L’ÎLE DES MORTS (ISLE OF THE DEAD) and LE SÉRUM DE LA DÉESSE BLEUE (TO DIE IN ITALBAR), as well as extra materials. Here’s the synopsis…

Bien que son corps soit celui d’un homme jeune, Francis Sandow est le doyen de l’espèce humaine. Il a exercé la fascinante profession d’astro-façonneur, devenant l’un des hommes les plus fortunés de la galaxie. Mais surtout, il est l’un des vingt-six Noms vivants, car en lui réside la personnalité du dieu Shimbo.

Sur un monde qu’il a façonné, Francis Sandow a édifié un étrange sanctuaire : l’Île des Morts. Depuis ce lieu, un inconnu rappelle à la vie plusieurs de ses amis et ennemis trépassés. Contraint d’abandonner son monde de luxe et d’oisiveté, il prend conscience qu’il devra affronter le danger le plus mortel de sa très longue existence…

L’Île des Morts est le joyau de l’œuvre passionnante, flamboyante tout autant qu’intelligente, de cet auteur considéré comme l’un des plus grands créateurs de la science-fiction.

Pour la première fois, une édition intégrale regroupe les deux romans ainsi que les cinq nouvelles se déroulant dans le même univers. L’ensemble esquisse une histoire de l’expansion humaine parmi les étoiles.

L’écrivain Timothée Rey, fin connaisseur de l’oeuvre de Roger Zelazny, a préfacé l’ouvrage et a établi un glossaire complet de cette fresque unique par ses visions et sa profondeur, comme seule la science-fiction sait en inventer.

Here’s the English-language synopsis for the first book…

Francis Sandow is the last surviving human born in the 20th century. An early space colonist, he spent long centuries of space travel in suspended animation, and then suddenly woke in a far future world where everything had changed. Desperate for something to hold to, he sought out a mentor, who happened to be a member of a slowly dying alien race, the Pei’ans. Under this tutelage, Sandow eventually became a telepath and “worldscaper”.

Zeno represents Roger Zelazny in translation, on behalf of the Zelazny Estate.

Aliette de Bodard Fiction in Spain!

Posted on Tuesday, July 19th, 2016

Some of Aliette de Bodard‘s critically-acclaimed, multi-award-nominated Xuya stories are now available in Spain. EL CICLO DE XUYA and EN UNA ESTACIÓN ROJA, A LA DERIVA are published by Fata Libelli. Here are some details…

Here is the synopsis for EL CICLE DE XUYA…

China ha llegado antes que Europa a las Américas y el continente ha quedado bajo la influencia de la cultura asiática, apartando así a los países occidentales de su papel dominante en el flujo de la historia. El territorio que ocuparía Estados Unidos se ha visto empequeñecido por la presión de dos superpotencias: Magna Mexica, una oligarquía azteca que controla todo el sur, y Xuya, el imperio independizado de China que controla el oeste. Al este, queda un reducido territorio estadounidense y, en el resto del continente, siguen existiendo sistemas de gobierno incas y mayas. Este es el mundo de Xuya, donde se exploran, bajo el prisma de los grandes tropos de la ciencia ficción, desde los riesgos y beneficios de una neurotecnología invasiva a los dilemas de crear Mentes (ancestros convertidos en inteligencias artificiales integradas en una nave espacial), todo ello narrado con un tono intimista que nos habla del desarraigo y el exilio, de las complejas relaciones familiares en una sociedad jerárquica y las dificultades de la vida del mestizo.

EN UNA ESTACIÓN ROJA, A LA DERIVA is available in English as ON A RED STATION, DRIFTING — it was a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards.

Una cruel guerra galáctica ha llegado a perturbar la paz de la Estación Prosper, un remoto enclave donde una extensa familia lleva generaciones floreciendo bajo la protección de una inteligencia artificial nacida de vientre humano. En mitad del caos, abrumadas por una avalancha de refugiados y alejadas de los miembros más brillantes de su comunidad, un par de mujeres con caracteres enfrentados luchan por la supervivencia.

Ambientada en el vasto universo de Xuya que tanta admiración ha generado entre los lectores, la novela se deleita en suntuosas descripciones de un mundo heredero de la China y el Vietnam imperiales, al tiempo que explora la complejidad de las relaciones familiares y el alcance de las afinidades entre humanos e inteligencias artificiales.

Aliette’s latest novel, THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS, won the BSFA Award for Best Novel in 2015, and was also nominated for the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel. It is published by Gollancz in the UK and Roc Books in the US.

Andrew Hodges’s ALAN TURING: THE ENIGMA Out in Japan

Posted on Wednesday, June 29th, 2016

ALAN TURING: THE ENIGMA, Andrew Hodges‘s critically-acclaimed biography of the mathematician and father of computing, is available in Japan. Published by Keiso Shobo in two volumes as エニグマアラン・チューリング伝, here’s the synopsis…

解読不可能といわれたドイツの暗号機エニグマを攻略した史上最強の暗号解読者であり、コンピュータ科学の創始者であり、同性愛で罪に問われるという数奇な人生を送ったアラン・チューリング。彼は何を考え、何を感じ、そして生きたのか。数理物理学者でもある著者アンドルー・ホッジスがチューリングの生涯を鮮やかに描き出す。

はしがきは『ゲーデル、エッシャー、バッハ』（白揚社）のダグラス・ホフスタッターが執筆。

The book was adapted into the Oscar-winning movie THE IMITATION GAME, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley and Charles Dance. ALAN TURING: THE ENIGMA is published in the UK by Vintage, and in the US by Princeton University Press. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Alan Turing was the mathematician whose cipher-cracking transformed the Second World War. Taken on by British Intelligence in 1938, as a shy young Cambridge don, he combined brilliant logic with a flair for engineering. In 1940 his machines were breaking the Enigma-enciphered messages of Nazi Germany’s air force. He then headed the penetration of the super-secure U-boat communications.

But his vision went far beyond this achievement. Before the war he had invented the concept of the universal machine, and in 1945 he turned this into the first design for a digital computer.

Turing’s far-sighted plans for the digital era forged ahead into a vision for Artificial Intelligence. However, in 1952 his homosexuality rendered him a criminal and he was subjected to humiliating treatment. In 1954, aged 41, Alan Turing took his own life.

The biography has also been published widely in translation. Here’s just a small sampling of the fantastic reviews…

‘A first-rate presentation of the life of a first-rate scientific mind… it is hard to imagine a more thoughtful and warm biography than this one.’ — New York Times Book Review

‘Andrew Hodges, in this fine biography… brings Turing the thinker and Turing the man alive for the reader and thus allows us all to share in the privilege of knowing him.’ — Financial Times

‘One of the finest scientific biographies ever written.’ — New Yorker

‘This rather shadowy figure has now finally been lifted into the light of day… it has to be said that Andrew Hodges has put together an extraordinary story.’ — Sunday Telegraph

‘Hodges’s biography is sensitive, sympathetic and uncompromisingly intellectual. The maths is extremely hard work – but helps the lay reader to appreciate the scale of Turing’s achievements.’ — Independent on Sunday

LUNA NUEVA Out Now in Spain!

Posted on Wednesday, June 22nd, 2016

Ian McDonald‘s critically-acclaimed (and award-nominated) LUNA: NEW MOON is out now in Spain. Published by Nova as LUNA: LUNA NUEVA, here’s the synopsis…

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

La gélida acritud del vacío. La letal lluvia radiactiva. El polvo que la recubre, tan viejo como la Tierra. La creciente debilidad de los huesos… O puedes quedarte sin dinero para agua. O para aire. O puedes caer en desgracia con uno de los Cinco Dragones, las corporaciones que dirigen la Luna y controlan sus amplios recursos. Pero te quedas, porque la Luna puede hacerte más rico de lo que eres capaz de imaginar… mientras sigas con vida.

Adriana Corta tiene ochenta años. Su familia dirige Corta Hélio. Han sobrevivido a las implacables guerras corporativas y a la peligrosa paz subsiguiente. Pero ahora esa paz se resquebraja. Es probable que Adriana tenga que morir, aunque no la matarán sus rivales ni la Luna. Sea cual sea su destino, sin embargo, Corta Hélio no morirá.

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

The Moon wants to kill you. Whether it’s being unable to pay your per diem for your allotted food, water, and air, or you just get caught up in a fight between the Moon’s ruling corporations, the Five Dragons. You must fight for every inch you want to gain in the Moon’s near feudal society. 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, at the twilight of her life, Adriana finds her corporation, Corta Helio, surrounded 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 novel is also due to be published in other markets, including Germany, Bulgaria and Poland (with more editions still to come!).

New Czech Edition of WHISPERS UNDERGROUND Coming Soon!

Posted on Wednesday, June 8th, 2016

In September, Ben Aaronovitch‘s WHISPERS UNDERGROUND will be available in Czech. To be published by Argo, here’s the synopsis for ŠEPOT PODZEMÍ…

Tentokrát to začne mrtvým tělem na konci stanice metra Baker Street, vším, co zůstalo po americkém studentovi Jamesi Gallagherovi. Jeho zámožná a politicky vlivná rodina se chce pochopitelně dostat této hrůzné vraždě na kloub, potíž však tkví v tom, že Jamesova smrt představuje ještě větší a nepřirozenější záhadu, než kdo vůbec tuší… tedy kromě londýnského konstábla a čarodějova učně Petera Granta.

Jelikož je inspektor Nightingale, poslední oficiální čaroděj v Anglii, zaneprázdněn pátráním po nevyzpytatelném kouzelníkovi známém také jako Muž bez tváře, je pouze na Peterovi, aby začal zkoumat strašidelné hlubiny nejstarší, největší a nyní i nejvražednější podzemní dráhy na světě. Ovšem nebude na to sám. Kdepak, FBI mu posílá pomocnici. Mladou, ctižádostivou, krásnou křesťanku, která má sklony vnímat veškerá kouzla jako dílo ďáblovo. No, to tedy bude…

The Czech editions of the first two novels in the series — ŘEKY LONDÝNA and MĚSÍC NAD SOHO — have also been published by Argo.

Here’s the English-language synopsis for WHISPERS UNDERGROUND…

Peter Grant is learning magic fast. And it’s just as well — he’s already had run-ins with the deadly supernatural children of the Thames and a terrifying killer in Soho. Progression in the Police Force is less easy. Especially when you work in a department of two. A department that doesn’t even officially exist. A department that if you did describe it to most people would get you laughed at. And then there’s his love life. The last person he fell for ended up seriously dead. It wasn’t his fault, but still.

Now something horrible is happening in the labyrinth of tunnels that make up the tube system that honeycombs the ancient foundations of London. And delays on the Northern line is the very least of it. Time to call in the Met’s Economic and Specialist Crime Unit 9, aka ‘The Folly’. Time to call in PC Peter Grant, Britain’s Last Wizard.

To date, the series includes: RIVERS OF LONDON, MOON OVER SOHO, WHISPERS UNDERGROUND, BROKEN HOMES, FOXGLOVE SUMMER, and the upcoming THE HANGING TREE. The Peter Grant novels are published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Del Rey (1-3) and DAW Books (4-6). The series has also been published widely in translation.

Coming Soon: THE COLDEST WINTER and NECESSARY EVIL in Czech!

Posted on Monday, May 30th, 2016

Above are the Czech covers for Ian Tregillis‘s THE COLDEST WAR and NECESSARY EVIL, the final two volumes in the author’s critically-acclaimed Milkweed Triptych. They are published by Argo as NEJSTUDENĚJŠÍ VÁLKA (June 10th) and NUTNÉ ZLO (date TBC), respectively. Here’s the synopsis for the first…

Druhý díl románového triptychu, ve kterém si Otčina Roberta Harrise podává ruku s Alanem Moorem.

Dvacet dva let po druhé světové válce panuje mezi britským impériem a SSSR jen křehká rovnováha sil. Sovětský svaz se táhne od Tichého oceánu po kanál La Manche a Britům už desítky let skýtají jedinou obranu jejich čarodějové – kteří však nyní za podezřelých okolností jeden po druhém umírají.

Z přísně tajného výzkumného střediska hluboko za Železnou oponou mezitím prchá dvojice sourozenců, kterou kdysi zvrhlý nacistický vědec obdařil nadlidskými schopnostmi. Cílem jejich útěku před Sověty, kteří se německý program pokoušejí v co nejrozsáhlejším měřítku napodobit, je Londýn. V britské metropoli totiž žije někdejší vyzvědač Raybould Marsh, s nímž má šílená vědma Gretel své plány. A jak Marsh záhy zjistí, když se nechá znovu zatáhnout do světa tajné organizace Milkweed, ani Británie své nejzlověstnější operace neuzavřela s koncem války. Jakou cenu bude ochoten splatit, aby ochránil vlast a královnu?

The Milkweed Triptych, which begins with BITTER SEEDS, is published in the UK by Orbit Books, and has been published in a number of other territories. Here’s the English-language synopsis for THE COLDEST WAR…

Superhumans and magic collide in this a secret supernatural history of Twentieth Century events — the second book in this landmark series

For decades, Britain’s warlocks have been all that stands between the British Empire and the Soviet Union — a vast domain stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the shores of the English Channel. Now each wizard’s death is another blow to Britain’s national security.

Meanwhile, a brother and sister – the subjects of a twisted Nazi experiment to imbue ordinary people with superhuman abilities — escape from a top-secret facility deep behind the Iron Curtain. They head for England, because that’s where former spy Raybould Marsh lives. And Gretel, the mad seer, has plans for him.

As Marsh is once again drawn into the world of Milkweed, he discovers that Britain’s darkest acts didn’t end with the war. And while he strives to protect queen and country, he is forced to confront his own willingness to accept victory at any cost.

Here’s just a snapshot of the aforementioned critical acclaim…

‘The engrossing second book in Tregillis’s Milkweed Triptych… Tregillis ably mixes cold war paranoia with his mythology, also nicely expanding characters (particularly Gretel)… The monstrous, extra-dimensional Eidolons add a genuinely convincing menace that transcends the more banal evil motivations of the political game players, although Gretel’s more complicated motivations really drive the action. A few nice twists keep things interesting, and the cliffhanger ending sets up the concluding volume quite well…’ — Publishers Weekly on THE COLDEST WAR

‘Marvellous plotting, immersive sense of place, and above all, wonderful characters… Tregillis’s oracle is one of the most chilling psychopath villains of literature, a delicious monster who drives the book forward… Tregillis is a major new talent in the field, and this is some of the best – and most exciting – alternate history I’ve read. Bravo.’ — BoingBoing on THE COLDEST WAR

‘In this bleak fantasy, World War II was fought between Nazis with devastating psychic powers and British warlocks employing Eidolons, irresistible demons beyond time and space – a struggle the British ultimately lost… intensity of the narrative, the torments of the protagonist or the deviously alluring storyline. Darkly fascinating… A thoroughly satisfying conclusion to an imaginative tour de force.’ — Kirkus on NECESSARY EVIL

‘Constantly thought-provoking and always surprising… a great conclusion to one of the best series of recent times. As unpredictable as its predecessors, it’s a black magic thrill ride that makes you think as well as makes your heart race. Tregillis is a master at work, mixing so many genres together in his unique melting pot, until we are left with something so delightfully unlike anything else published today.’ — Fantasy Faction on NECESSARY EVIL

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

First Two Chronicles of Amber Novels now Published in Serbia!

Posted on Thursday, April 28th, 2016

This year, Laguna has published HRONIKE AMBERA: TOM I, an omnibus including the first two novels in Roger Zelazny‘s Chronicles of Amber — DEVET PRINČEVA AMBERA (NINE PRINCES IN AMBER) and PUŠKE AVALONA (THE GUNS OF AVALON). Here’s the synopsis…

Šestostruki dobitnik nagrade Hugo i trostruki dobitnik nagrade Nebula.

Kultni serijal u novom prevodu zbog kojeg možemo da kažemo da su „Hronike Ambera“ prvi put adekvatno predstavljene.

Serijal Hronike Ambera je klasik fantastike. Sastoji se od deset delova objavljivanih između 1970. i 1991. godine. Ovaj tom sadrži prva dva romana: Devet prinčeva Ambera i Puške Avalona.

Amber je jedini stvaran svet, a svi ostali svetovi njegovi su odrazi – tek Senke, kojima pripadnici kraljevske loze Ambera mogu da barataju, da ih menjaju, kreću se među njima i možda ih i stvaraju. Kraljevsku porodicu, međutim, rastržu ljubomora i sumnja. Nestanak patrijarha Oberona samo je još pojačao međusobne sukobe i trvenja. Presto je ostao prazan, naslednik nije proglašen i čini se da bi ga ma ko od pretendenata mogao prigrabiti za sebe.

Hronike počinju na Zemlji u Senkama – našoj Zemlji – u bolnici, gde se jedan čovek oporavlja od automobilske nesreće. Pati od amnezije, ali svejedno ga progone sećanja na jedan grad i teraju ga da istražuje: ko je, šta je, kako je tu dospeo i šta se zapravo dešava.

Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Amber, the one real world, wherein all others, including our own Earth, are but Shadows.

Amber burns in Corwin’s blood. Exiled on Shadow Earth for centuries, the prince is about to return to Amber to make a mad and desperate rush upon the throne. From Arden to the blood-slippery Stairway into the Sea, the air is electrified with the powers of Eric, Random, Bleys, Caine, and all the princes of Amber whom Corwin must overcome.

Yet, his savage path is blocked and guarded by eerie structures beyond imagining; impossible realities forged by demonic assassins and staggering horrors to challenge the might of Corwin’s superhuman fury.’ to ‘Awakening in an Earth hospital unable to remember who he is or where he came from, Corwin is amazed to learn that he is one of the sons of Oberon, King of Amber, and is the rightful successor to the crown in a parallel world.

The Chronicles of Amber series has also recently been published in China (ten individual volumes) and Poland (as two omnibus editions)…

Zeno represents Roger Zelazny in translation, on behalf of the Zelazny Estate.

Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber Available in Poland!

Posted on Friday, April 15th, 2016

Roger Zelazny‘s Chronicles of Amber fantasy series is available in Poland in two omnibus editions! Published by Zysk i S-Ka Wydawnictwo as KRONIKI AMBERU TOM I and TOM II, here’s the synopsis for the first volume…

Zielone oczy, ciemne włosy, łuskowe rękawice, miecz przy boku i peleryna spięta klamrą. Oto Corwin, książę Amberu. Przeżył kilkaset lat na Ziemi, a dziś wraca, by walczyć o tron prawdziwego świata.

Jedynym prawdziwym światem jest Amber, natomiast pozostałe, w tym i rzeczywistość ziemska, to światy-cienie.

Istnieją dwa światy — Amber i Dworce Chaosu. Pomiędzy nimi znajduje się nieskończona liczba cieni — rzeczywistości równoległych, które są tylko bladym odbiciem prawdziwych światów. Prawowitym następcą tronu Amberu jest książę Corwin. Na skutek wypadku stracił pamięć i nieświadom tego, kim jest, spędził na Ziemi wiele stuleci. Kiedy nagle okazuje się, że jeden z jego krewniaków chce go zabić, Corwin wie, że musi zrobić wszystko, by przypomnieć sobie swoją przeszłość. Dowiaduje się, że jego rodzina posiada niezwykłe zdolności, pozwalające na kontrolowanie rzeczywistości i podróżowanie pomiędzy wymiarami. Corwin postanawia wyjaśnić tajemnicę zniknięcia swego ojca, króla Oberona, i staje do brutalnej walki o należny mu tron.

The Chronicles of Amber includes the following novels: NINE PRINCES OF AMBER, THE GUNS OF AVALON, SIGN OF THE UNICORN, THE HAND OF OBERON, COURTS OF CHAOS, TRUMPS OF DOOM, BLOOD OF AMBER, SIGN OF CHAOS, KNIGHT OF SHADOWS and PRINCE OF CHAOS. Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber was also recently published in China (covers below). Here’s a short English-language synopsis for the series…

Amber is the one real world, casting infinite reflections of itself – shadow worlds, which can be manipulated by those of royal Amberite blood. But the royal family is torn apart by jealousies and suspicion; the disappearance of the patriarch Oberon has intensified the internal conflict by leaving the throne apparently for grabs; and amnesia has robbed Corwin, Crown Prince of Amber his memory — even the fact that he is rightful heir to the throne.

Zeno represents Roger Zelazny in translation, on behalf of the Zelazny Estate.

Ian McDonald’s BRASYL Out Now in Russia!

Posted on Friday, April 8th, 2016

BRASYL, one of Ian McDonald‘s critically-acclaimed sci-fi novels, is now available in Russian! Published as Бразилья by ACT, here’s the synopsis…

2032 год. Случайная встреча вовлекает Эдсона, молодого человека, пытающегося выбиться из нищеты, в опасный мир квантовых хакеров, таинственных двойников и паранойи. Он узнает секрет, способный изменить всю историю человечества, но куда бежать в стране, где царит тотальная слежка? 2006 год. Марселина, амбициозный телепродюсер, в поисках материала для реалити-шоу наталкивается на свидетельства древнего заговора, и вскоре мир вокруг начинает рушиться, угрожая не только ее рассудку, но и жизни. 1732 год. Иезуит Луис Квинн отправляется в Бразилию, чтобы по заданию Святого престола призвать к ответу священника, преступившего законы церкви. Но задание оказывается куда сложнее, и в дебрях Амазонки Луис находит то, что ставит под сомнение не только его веру, но и взгляды на устройство Вселенной. Три героя, три истории, три Бразилии, связанные через пространство и время, в эпическом романе о природе самой реальности, где ничто не случайно, и даже название с секретом.

BRASYL is published by Gollancz in the UK, and by Pyr Books in the US. The novel has also been published widely in translation (see some of the covers, below). Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Think Bladerunner in the tropics…

Be seduced, amazed, and shocked by one of the world’s greatest and strangest nations. Past, present, and future Brazil, with all its color, passion, and shifting realities, come together in a novel that is part SF, part history, part mystery, and entirely enthralling.

Three separate stories follow three main characters:

Edson is a self-made talent impresario one step up from the slums in a near future São Paulo of astonishing riches and poverty. A chance encounter draws Edson into the dangerous world of illegal quantum computing, but where can you run in a total surveillance society where every move, face, and centavo is constantly tracked?

Marcelina is an ambitious Rio TV producer looking for that big reality TV hit to make her name. When her hot idea leads her on the track of a disgraced World Cup soccer goalkeeper, she becomes enmeshed in an ancient conspiracy that threatens not just her life, but her very soul.

Father Luis is a Jesuit missionary sent into the maelstrom of 18th-century Brazil to locate and punish a rogue priest who has strayed beyond the articles of his faith and set up a vast empire in the hinterland. In the company of a French geographer and spy, what he finds in the backwaters of the Amazon tries both his faith and the nature of reality itself to the breaking point.

Three characters, three stories, three Brazils, all linked together across time, space, and reality in a hugely ambitious story that will challenge the way you think about everything.

Here are just a few of the great reviews BRASYL has received…

‘[BRASYL] has been receiving high praise from just about everyone since its publication. It’s easy to see why. Not content with writing just one interesting story, McDonald gives us three… [it] isn’t just a parallel dimensions story; it tackles big issues like free will and the heat death of the universe and places them in intensely personal stories, which serves to humanize these ideas and make them easier to understand… BRASYL rivals RIVER OF GODS story-wise and surpasses it in science fictional terms.’ — SFsignal.com

‘McDonald’s book is like the flipside to the famous Terry Gilliam film — a bright, wheeling carnival that plays on the “multiverse” theory of quantum physics. It implies that, if not exactly utopian, the future might at least be fun.’ — Financial Times

‘Packing his pages with local color and big-picture speculation, McDonald conjures three equally vivid worlds.’ — Entertainment Weekly

‘Ian McDonald’s BRASYL, with its three storylines, is as close to perfect as any novel in recent memory. It works because of great characterization, but also because McDonald envisions Brazil as a dynamic, living place that is part postmodern trash pile, part trashy reality-TV-driven ethical abyss… and yet also somehow spiritual… McDonald’s novel is always in motion. This movement extends through time and alternate realities in ways both wonderful and wise, as the three storylines interlock for a satisfying and often stunning conclusion. McDonald has found new myths for old places; in doing so, he has cemented his reputation as an amazing storyteller.’ — Washington Post

ROGUE MOON Sighted in German…

Posted on Monday, January 4th, 2016

ROGUE MOON, one of Algis Budrys‘s masterpieces of science fiction, is due to come out in Germany in July. Published by Heyne as PROJEKT LUNA, here’s the synopsis…

Wir schreiben die 1960er-Jahre, und die Mondlandung der ersten Menschen sorgt weltweit für Furore. Eines der vielen Geheimnisse, die der Mond für die Astronauten bereithält, ist ein gewaltiges Labyrinth, das anscheinend von einer außerirdischen Zivilisation errichtet wurde. Als die Wissenschaftler, neugierig geworden, das Bauwerk betreten, erwartet sie dort ein grauenvoller Tod. Der Physiker Dr. Edward Hawks und der todesmutige Abenteurer Al Barker wollen das Rätsel des Labyrinths lösen, doch so leicht gibt der Mond seine Geheimnisse nicht preis…

ROGUE MOON, which was shortlisted for the 1961 Hugo Award, is published in the UK by Gollancz, as part of the SF Masterworks series. The novel was described by Robert Silverberg as containing the ‘most terrifying pages in any SF novel I have ever read.’ Here’s the English-language synopsis…

The disquieting and story of what happens when monstrous scientific ambition is matched by human obsession.

The moon had finally been reached, and on it was found the most terrifying structure, that killed men over and over again, in torturous, unfathomable ways. Clearly, only a mad man or a suicidal maniac could explore its horrible secrets.

All his life, Al Barker has toyed with death. So when the US lunar programme needs a volunteer to penetrate a murderous labyrinth, alien to all human comprehension, Barker’s the man to do it. But what is required of Barker is that he withstand the trauma of dying, not just once, but time and time and time again…

In addition to ROGUE MOON, the SF Gateway has also published an omnibus, containing THE IRON THRONE, MICHAELMAS and HARD LANDING, and also a selection of individual eBooks in the UK. A handful of Budrys’s novels are due to be published as eBooks in the US later this year, by Open Road Media (we’ll feature them properly on the website, soon).

New Ian McDonald German Editions!

Posted on Thursday, July 30th, 2015

Today, Heyne publish four new re-issues of Ian McDonald‘s backlist in German! Pictured above, the first two novels in Ian’s debut series — CHAGA and KIRINYA (as KIRINJA). Here’s the German synopsis for the first book…

Der erste Besuch fremder Lebensformen aus dem All lief ganz anders, als man ihn sich vorgestellt hatte: Die Aliens lassen Tausende kleine biologische Bomben auf dem Äquator niedergehen, besonders betroffen ist Kenia. Wo immer diese Bio-Asteroiden niedergehen, verändern sie die Umwelt, entziehen Mensch und Tier den Lebensraum. Die Journalistin Gaby McAslan untersucht nicht nur die Aliens, sondern auch die Auswirkungen der UN-Sperrzonen auf die Menschen in Afrika – und macht dabei eine ungeheuerliche Entdeckung…

CHAGA and KIRINYA are also published in eBook by the JABberwocky eBook Program, and in audio by Audible — both of whom also publish the third volume in the series, TENDELEO’S STORY. Here’s the English-language synopsis for the first book…

On the trail of the mystery of Saturn’s disappearing moons, network journalist Gaby McAslan finds herself in Africa researching the Kilimanjaro Event: a meteor-strike in Kenya which caused the stunning African landscape to give way to something equally beautiful – and indescribably alien. Dubbed the ‘Chaga’, the alien flora destroys all man-made materials, and moulds human flesh, bone and spirit to its own designs. But when Gaby finds the first man to survive the Chaga’s changes, she realizes it has its own plans for humankind…

Against the backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro, McDonald weaves a staggering tale of keen human observation and speculation, as the Kilimanjaro Event changes the course of the human race by exposure to something beyond its imagination.

Next, we have the eponymous first novel in Ian’s DESOLATION ROAD series, published as STRAßE DER VERLASSENHEIT in Germany. Here’s the German synopsis…

In einer kleinen marsianischen Stadt…

Dies ist die Geschichte einer Stadt auf dem Mars. Sie ist nicht die größte oder die schönste, sondern liegt mitten in der Wüste. Sie ist einzigartig, vor allem wegen der exzentrischen Individualisten, die sich dort angesiedelt haben: Stadtgründer Dr. Alimantando folgt einem mysteriösen grünen Wesen, das jede Nacht neben seinem Feuer auftaucht. Die Jagd bleibt ohne Erfolg, und so beschließt er, sich in der Einsamkeit niederzulassen. Die währt allerdings nicht lange: Schräge Typen wie Rajendra Das, ein Landstreicher, der mit Maschinen sprechen kann, Babushka, eine alte Frau, die ein Kind aus dem Reagenzglas will, die Gallacelli-Brüder, Drillinge, die am Ende alle dieselbe Frau heiraten und noch einige Lebenskünstler mehr zieht es in die Einsamkeit der endlosen Marswüste…

DESOLATION ROAD is published in the US by Pyr Books, and is available as an eBook via JABberwocky, and audio via Audible. The second novel in the series, ARES EXPRESS, is also published in the US by Pyr, in eBook by JABberwocky, and audio by Audible. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

It all began thirty years ago on Mars, with a greenperson. But by the time it all finished, the town of Desolation Road had experienced every conceivable abnormality from Adam Black’s Wonderful Travelling Chautauqua and Educational ‘Stravaganza (complete with its very own captive angel) to the Astounding Tatterdemalion Air Bazaar. Its inhabitants ranged from Dr. Alimantando, the town’s founder and resident genius, to the Babooshka, a barren grandmother who just wants her own child — grown in a fruit jar; from Rajendra Das, mechanical hobo who has a mystical way with machines to the Gallacelli brothers, identical triplets who fell in love with — and married — the same woman.

Last, but by no means least, Heyne are also publishing NECROVILLE, a stand-alone novel. Here’s the German synopsis…

Willkommen in Necroville!

Im 21. Jahrhundert hat die Nanotechnologie die Welt verändert: Die Gesetze von Geburt und Tod sind außer Kraft gesetzt. Wer stirbt, kann problemlos wiedererweckt werden. Inzwischen machen die Wiedererweckten ein Drittel der Weltbevölkerung aus. Aber sie werden zu Stigmatisierten, zu Bewohnern gigantischer Städte, den Necrovilles, in denen sie unter ihresgleichen leben können. Sie entwickeln ihre ganz eigene, absolut fremdartige Kultur – mit furchtbaren Konsequenzen…

NECROVILLE is published in the UK by Gollancz, and was published in the US by Spectra as TERMINAL CAFE. It is available in audio via Audible. Here’s the English synopsis…

Perhaps the most bizarre and frightening examination of what nanotechnology could mean.

In the Los Angeles ghetto of Necroville, the yearly celebration of the Night of the Dead — where the dead are resurrected through the miracle of nanotechnology and live their second lives as non-citizens — becomes a journey of discovery and revelation for five individuals on the run from their pasts.

With his customary flair for making the bizarre both credible and fascinating, McDonald tosses aside the line of demarcation between living and dead in a story that confronts the central quandary of human existence: the essence of non-being.