CAMERA OBSCURA Full-Cast Audiobook Out now!


A full-cast production of the CAMERA OBSCURA audiobook is now available from Graphic Audio! The second novel in Lavie Tidhar‘s Bookman Histories series, here’s the synopsis…

CAN’T FIND A RATIONAL EXPLANATION TO A MYSTERY? CALL IN THE QUIET COUNCIL.

The mysterious and glamorous Lady De Winter is one of their most valuable agents. A despicable murder inside a locked and bolted room on the Rue Morgue in Paris is just the start. This whirlwind adventure will take Milady to the highest and lowest parts of that great city — and cause her to question the very nature of reality itself.

Adapted from the novel and produced with a full cast of actors, immersive sound effects and cinematic music!

The eBook and print editions of the novel (and series as a whole) are published by Angry Robot Books in the UK and North America. The series also includes THE BOOKMAN and THE GREAT GAME.

Graphic Audio has also published a full-cast production of the first book, and the third is in the works!

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

‘Achieves moments of surprising depth and beauty, with real insights into human history and psychology as well as the immense and varied wealth of writing in the last half of the 19th century. It’s a virtuoso performance.’ — Locus Magazine on CAMERA OBSCURA

‘The reader certainly suffers along with the character. At the same time, the characters never cease to be fascinating and I found myself intrigued by the settings, which become characters in themselves. From the underwater squid-like dwellings of Scab to the Little China of Paris, each location is richly detailed, dripping with nuances and characters which bring it to life. It’s easy to feel “there” along with Milady throughout her journey.’ — SF Signal on CAMERA OBSCURA

‘An outstanding novel that appreciates full how to entertain and intrigue, and yet not shirk the big issues the story raises. The storytelling here will keep you on the edge of your seat. I emerged from the final page of CAMERA OBSCURA exhausted by the experience, but with a definite smile on my face. It was an incredibly fun read, expertly written and immersive on an almost dangerous level. It’s a widely held belief in the circles of genre fiction that Lavie is well on his way to being one of the new monsters of science fiction. This novel is as good an example of why as you’re likely to find.’ — Ramblings of a Borderline Misanthrope

The juicy backstory is unfolded by Tidhar, making it a key part of what makes the narrative so compelling… skilful, clever and highly enjoyable. 4*’ –– SFX Magazine on THE BOOKMAN

THE BOOKMAN is a delight, crammed with gorgeous period detail, seat-of-the-pants adventure and fabulous set-pieces.’ — The Guardian

‘Lavie Tidhar’s THE BOOKMAN is simply the best book I’ve read in a long time, and I read a lot of books. If you’re worried that Steampunk has turned into a mere fashion aesthetic, then you’d better read this one. It’s a stunningly imaginative remix of history, technology, literature, and Victorian adventure that’s impossible to put down. The book is immensely smart and readable at the same time. I very much hope that it’s the first of many such books. Buy it.’ — James P. Blaylock

‘… a very fine addition to the series, and can be enjoyed without having read the others, though you owe it to yourself to read the entire series if well detailed alternate history science fiction is your sort of thing.’ –– Starburst Magazine on THE GREAT GAME

Lavie’s latest novels are acclaimed, Philip K. Dick Award-nominated THE ESCAPEMENT (Tachyon) and acclaimed THE HOOD (Head of Zeus).

Zeno Clients Well-Represented on Locus 2021 Recommended Reading List!


Last week, Locus released their 2021 Recommended Reading List, and we’re very happy to report that six titles by Zeno clients were included! We thought we’d take this opportunity to highlight these titles, below…

Lavie Tidhar appeared three times on the list. His two novels from last year, THE ESCAPEMENT and THE HOOD were both included in the Novels: Fantasy list. THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 1, which Lavie curated and edited, also appeared on the Anthologies list.

THE ESCAPEMENT is published by Tachyon Publications, with a Special Edition also available from PS Publishing. In addition to appearing on this list, it was recently announced as a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award. Here’s the synopsis…

Into the Escapement rides the Stranger, a lone gunman on a quest to rescue his son in a strange parallel reality. But it is easy to lose one’s way on an endlessly shifting, unpredictable landscape. Especially in a place full of dangerous mirror-images of a child’s beloved things: lawless heroes, giants made of stone, downtrodden clowns, spectacular symbol storms, and an endless war between gods and shadowy beings.

As the Stranger has learned, the Escapement is a dreamscape of deep mysteries, unlikely allies, and unwinnable battles. Yet the flower the he seeks still lies beyond the Mountains of Darkness. Time is running out as the Stranger journeys deeper into the secret heart of an unimaginable world.

In his most compelling work to date, Lavie Tidhar has delivered a multicolored tapestry of dazzling imagery. The Escapement is an epic, wildly original chronicle of the extraordinary lengths to which one will go for love.

THE HOOD is the second novel in Lavie’s acclaimed Anti-Matter of Britain Quartet, and is published by Head of Zeus.

God bless you, England, on this glorious Year of Our Lord, 1145.

Things are definitely not right in Nottingham. Rebecca, daughter of a Jewish money-lender, has a sense for it.

A mad monk schemes to resurrect the Christ from body parts. A bone harpist murders creatures of legend for a price. A fae creature binds its wings and embraces a new God and his son.

And don’t even mention the Hood. The Man in Green. The Prince of Thieves. The tick-tock taker of the ten-toll tax.

What hope have the series of sheriffs sent to hold the peace?

It’s the forest, you see. Sherwood. Ice Age ancient, impenetrable, hiding a dark and secret heart. But hearts, no matter how black, no matter how hidden, are not immune to change. The old world is dying… and a terrifying new one is waiting to take its place.

Rebecca senses an opportunity. But how far is she willing to go, and what price – because there is always a price – will she have to pay?

The Hood is Lavie Tidhar’s narcotic reweirding of an ancient English myth, a tale stitched together from legends lost to time, a tale told and retold, reworked and renewed for each passing century. A tale, reader, for today.

An acclaimed collection of science fiction from around the world, THE BEST OF WORLD SF, Volume 1 is also published by Head of Zeus. (We’ll have details of Volume 2 to share with you soon.)

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.

Aliette de Bodard also appears multiple times on the list. Her latest novella, FIREHEART TIGER continues to rack up plaudits, praise, and commendations, and is a recommended Novella from last year. Published by Tor.com, here’s the synopsis…

Fire burns bright and has a long memory…

Quiet, thoughtful princess Thanh was sent away as a hostage to the powerful faraway country of Ephteria as a child. Now she’s returned to her mother’s imperial court, haunted not only by memories of her first romance, but by worrying magical echoes of a fire that devastated Ephteria’s royal palace.

Thanh’s new role as a diplomat places her once again in the path of her first love, the powerful and magnetic Eldris of Ephteria, who knows exactly what she wants: romance from Thanh and much more from Thanh’s home. Eldris won’t take no for an answer, on either front. But the fire that burned down one palace is tempting Thanh with the possibility of making her own dangerous decisions.

Can Thanh find the freedom to shape her country’s fate — and her own?

Published in the September/October 2021 issue of Uncanny Magazine, Aliette’s MULBERRY AND OWL was also included in the Novellete list. The story can be read for free now, on the magazine’s website.

Year of the Âm Dragon, fifth year of the Peaceful Harmony Empress, Great Mulberry Nebula

Thuỷ stood in her cabin in The Goby in the Well, her bots arrayed on her shoulders and clinging to her wrists, and watched the heart of the nebula…

Hot on the heels of winning the Goodreads Choice Award for Horror, Grady Hendrix‘s THE FINAL GIRL SUPPORT GROUP has also been selected for Locus’s Horror Recommended Reading list. Published in the UK by Titan Books, here’s the synopsis…

In horror movies, the final girl is the one who’s left standing when the credits roll. The one who fought back, defeated the killer, and avenged her friends. The one who emerges bloodied but victorious. But after the sirens fade and the audience moves on, what happens to her?

Lynnette Tarkington survived a massacre twenty-two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. And she’s not alone. For more than a decade she’s been meeting with five other final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette’s worst fears are realized — someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again, piece by piece.

But the thing about these final girls is that they have each other now, and no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up.

Zeno represents Grady Hendrix in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Lavie Tidhar’s THE HOOD Out Now in Audio!


The audiobook edition of Lavie Tidhar‘s THE HOOD is out now! The second novel in the author’s Anti-Matter of Britain Quartet, it’s published by W. F. Howes, and is narrated by Toby Longworth. Here’s the synopsis…

The Hood is the second book in Lavie Tidhar’s ambitious Anti-Matter of Britain Quartet – a viscerally entertaining, ominously subversive and poetically profane remixing of the myths and legends that shaped our nation.

God bless you, England, on this glorious Year of Our Lord, 1145.

Things are definitely not right in Nottingham. Rebecca, daughter of a Jewish money-lender, has a sense for it.

A mad monk schemes to resurrect the Christ from body parts. A bone harpist murders creatures of legend for a price. A fae creature binds its wings and embraces a new God and his son.

And don’t even mention the Hood. The Man in Green. The Prince of Thieves. The tick-tock taker of the ten-toll tax.

What hope have the series of sheriffs sent to hold the peace?

It’s the forest, you see. Sherwood. Ice Age ancient, impenetrable, hiding a dark and secret heart. But hearts, no matter how black, no matter how hidden, are not immune to change. The old world is dying… and a terrifying new one is waiting to take its place.

Rebecca senses an opportunity. But how far is she willing to go, and what price – because there is always a price – will she have to pay?

The Hood is Lavie Tidhar’s narcotic reweirding of an ancient English myth, a tale stitched together from legends lost to time, a tale told and retold, reworked and renewed for each passing century. A tale, reader, for today.

The novel is published in print and eBook by Head of Zeus, who also publish the first novel in the series, BY FORCE ALONE (also available in North America via Tor Books).

Here are just a few of the great reviews THE HOOD has received so far…

‘A wild, inventive tapestry of myth and magic, with a wry sense of humor. Tidhar’s writing is wonderfully vibrant’Silvia Moreno-Garcia, bestselling author of Mexican Gothic

‘[THE HOOD] offers a wealth of colorful tales and memorable characters, along with the usual unexpected walk-ons and guest stars. If it sometimes feels like a bunch of legends and historical events stirred together in a big pot, isn’t that pretty much what the Matter of Britain was in the first place?’Locus (Gary K. Wolfe)

‘Brilliant, restless revisionist gaze’Daily Mail

‘Reaches impressive levels of delirium.’The Times

‘This is a book to experience rather than to read, as every chapter and revisionist character expands into sheer, wonderful madness. One for the ages.’Crime Time (Book of the Month)

‘I have never read anything quite like THE HOOD… very punk rock.’SFBook

‘So much fun… Delivers its myth and magic with a splatter of sweary violence and comedy in all the right places in what is one of the most unique and masterful reads of 2021.’FanFiAddict

‘I don’t think there is anybody operating quite like Lavie Tidhar right now. THE HOOD is a multi-layered novel. Brash and bombastic on the surface but thoughtful and reverential underneath. Tidhar has a knack for setting novels in the past that at the same time remain wholly contemporary. Some may find his style abrasive…but that’s sort of the point; the merry men were not that merry… Whilst examining our past and the stories we tell, Lavie Tidhar is encouraging us to look closely at the future we are creating right now.’Geek Dad

Short Fiction Watch: Lavie Tidhar’s IT HAPPENED IN ‘LOONTOWN


Lavie Tidhar continues a great streak of published short fiction, with IT HAPPENED IN ‘LOONTOWN — published in the latest issue (#129) of Apex Magazine, for which Lavie also wrote an editorial. The issue is out now, and the story can also be read for free online (text and audio).

‘Hold it right there, gasbag.’

The red balloon turned. The beam of a searchlight from high above momentarily crisscrossed the dark alleyway, catching the smooth surface of his face and the scotch tape scar on the left.

‘… Oh, it’s you,’ he said.

Lavie is the multi-award-winning author of a great many short stories and novels. His most recent novel is the Philip K. Dick Award-nominated THE ESCAPEMENT, published by Tachyon Publications and PS Publishing (Limited Edition).

Lavie is also the author of the ongoing Anti-Matter of Britain Quartet — the first two novels are out now: BY FORCE ALONE (Head of Zeus / Tor Books) and THE HOOD (Head of Zeus).

Lavie Tidhar’s THE CANDY MAFIA Nominated for Magnolia Book Award!


We’re very happy to report that Lavie Tidhar‘s THE CANDY MAFIA has been nominated for the 2021-2 Magnolia Book Award! The novel, published by Peachtree Publishing in North America, is the author’s first for young readers and is a crime/mystery/noir. Here’s the synopsis…

Twelve-year-old private detective Nelle is swept up in a world of candy smuggling in this humorous middle grade mystery from World Fantasy Award-winner Lavie Tidhar!

Nelle Faulkner is a preteen private detective who solves cases from her mother’s garden shed. She also lives in a city where the mayor has prohibited candy and kid-led candy gangs are thriving.

So when notorious candy gangster Eddie de Menthe asks for her help finding a missing teddy bear, Nelle Faulkner is on the case. But when the teddy turns up, Eddie himself goes missing, and Nelle and her friends quickly find themselves swept up in a shady underworld of sweets smugglers, back alley deals, and storefront firebombs.

If Nelle has any hope of tracking down her missing client, she’ll first have to unmask the true faces behind the smuggling ring. Can she and her friends find a way to take the cake? Or will they come to a sticky end?

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets Bugsy Malone in this entertaining, action-packed mystery from World Fantasy Award-winning author Lavie Tidhar. With moody illustrations by Daniel Duncan, readers will be instantly pulled into the fun.

The novel is also available in the UK, published by Scholastic (as CANDY), and is also available in Germany, France, Poland, Czechia, Poland, and Italy.

‘It won’t take a detective to spot Willie Wonka, as well as Sam Spade, hidden in the tongue-in-cheek caper’s literary DNA.’Booklist (Starred Review)

‘Delicious pastiche of “noir” fiction from SF author Lavie Tidhar, set in a city where everything sweet and sugary is banned. Private eye Nelle searches for a lost teddy bear and uncovers a Chinatown-style conspiracy. You could think of it as The Malteser Falcon, or perhaps Double Inde-mint-y.’ — Financial Times (Summer Books of 2018)

‘Noir tropes loom large in Tidhar’s fast-paced story, with a gutsy gumshoe, a hardboiled narrative voice (“I needed a job even worse than I needed a caramel fudge”), and enough action to keep young readers on their toes.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘Candy is one of those books that do not take children and teenagers for fools. The story is able to change shifts, thanks to lot of humour, to more serious subjects. Of course, we can enjoy it at any age. If possible, the book should be served in place of dessert.’ — Geektest (France)

‘Due to the wonderfully fluent writing style, the pleasantly short chapters and the rousing plot, I devoured the book in record time. For girls and boys from the age of 10, who like to read exciting, funny, imaginative detective stories, “Secret Agent Candy” is just perfect. I really hope that this is a start of a series and we will soon be able to solve their second, tricky case together with Nelle… Exciting, funny, bizarre and just awesome!’ — Die Bücherwelt von CorniHolmes (Germany)

CANDY is the case when a children’s book can actually be interesting at any age. Children will appreciate the plot and humour, adults – a lot of references scattered throughout the text and how unexpectedly and funny elements of the classic “cool” and noir detective story are refracted, if you put them in the context of a children’s literature. Fun, playful and exciting.’ — Fantalab (Russia)

‘Written in the style of the hard-boiled American detective fiction of the 1940s, this is a juggernaut of a tale with plenty of twists and turns. A challenging read for ages 10+ who enjoy suspense coupled with a dry sense of humour.’ — West Sussex Schools Library Service

Short Fiction Watch: Lavie Tidhar’s THE EGG COLLECTORS in Interzone


Last year saw a lot of great new short fiction from Lavie Tidhar. So, here’s another one! In addition to writing the guest editorial, his story THE EGG COLLECTORS was published in Interzone’s most recent double issue, #290-1.

On the last of the nights of Ashour, the wild ballooners of Isfiya ran into an ice-storm over the north pole.

The storm looked like a giant eye against the sky. Ice whipped the fragile balloons and set them blowing apart from each other, scattering like seeds over the lunar surface. Titan, with Saturn hidden in the sky – a long way from the sun…

The story is illustrated by EV Shipard.

Lavie’s latest, acclaimed novels are THE ESCAPEMENT and THE HOOD — both are out now, published by Tachyon Publications and Head of Zeus, respectively.

We’ll have more information about Lavie’s upcoming 2022 releases very soon.

Lavie Tidhar’s THE ESCAPEMENT a Finalist for Philip K. Dick Award!


We are very happy to report that Lavie Tidhar‘s THE ESCAPEMENT has been nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award! In case you are unfamiliar with the award, here’s its mission…

The Philip K. Dick Award is presented annually with the support of the Philip K. Dick Trust for distinguished science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States during the previous calendar year. The award is sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and the Philip K. Dick Trust and the award ceremony is sponsored by the Northwest Science Fiction Society.

The winner of the award will be announced at Norwescon 44, on April 15th, 2022. THE ESCAPEMENT is published by Tachyon Publications in North America and in the UK; a limited edition of the novel is also available via PS Publishing. Here’s the synopsis…

Into the Escapement rides the Stranger, a lone gunman on a quest to rescue his son in a strange parallel reality. But it is easy to lose one’s way on an endlessly shifting, unpredictable landscape. Especially in a place full of dangerous mirror-images of a child’s beloved things: lawless heroes, giants made of stone, downtrodden clowns, spectacular symbol storms, and an endless war between gods and shadowy beings.

As the Stranger has learned, the Escapement is a dreamscape of deep mysteries, unlikely allies, and unwinnable battles. Yet the flower the he seeks still lies beyond the Mountains of Darkness. Time is running out as the Stranger journeys deeper into the secret heart of an unimaginable world.

In his most compelling work to date, Lavie Tidhar has delivered a multicolored tapestry of dazzling imagery. The Escapement is an epic, wildly original chronicle of the extraordinary lengths to which one will go for love.

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

‘To say THE ESCAPEMENT is unique sells it way short. It’s part weird western and part quest; half dream and half epic adventure tale set in a memorable Daliesque landscape. Tidhar lets his imagination run wild in this vivid book, all told in spare, beautiful prose. Also, there are clowns. Lots of clowns.’ — Richard Kadrey, bestselling author of the Sandman Slim series

‘Comic, tragic, and utterly magnificent — a masterpiece of fantasy. Lavie Tidhar has crafted a wonderfully strange and surreal world in THE ESCAPEMENT, setting a liminal stage for both a gripping adventure and a poignant meditation on grief. I can’t wait to read it again.’ — Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of The Orange Tree

THE ESCAPEMENT is absorbing, bizarre, haunting, and compelling. Lavie Tidhar continues to shatter the boundaries of literary and genre fiction with a novel that is equal parts horrifying dreamscape and an affecting meditation on parental love. There are a lot of books out there, but this is an experience.’ — David Liss, author of The Peculiarities

‘A delightfully cacophonous novel, teeming with character… Tidhar’s latest offering transports readers to a liminal otherworld of spaghetti Western pastiche… The author draws from an eclectic mix of sources to create a dazzling story that is more than the sum of its parts, and much of the fun of reading it comes from recognizing its homages.’ — Kirkus

‘[F]uriously inventive and wildly eclectic… Among the most visual and even cinematic of Tidhar’s novels… it’s also, in the end, a surprisingly touching reminder of how such quests can begin in heartache.’ — Locus (Gary K. Wolfe)

‘Dazzling… Those who enter THE ESCAPEMENT should strap themselves in for horrors and wonders galore. Filled with contorted fairy tales, myths, and familiar stories, Lavie Tidhar’s latest novel is both a fantastical diversion and a moving articulation of deep parental love.’ — Foreword

ICYMI: Lavie Tidhar in Conversation with Silvia Moreno-Garcia


Today we wanted to share with you the conversation Lavie Tidhar had with Silvia Moreno-Garcia, hosted by Mysterious Galaxy. Held back in December, the event marked the release of Lavie’s critically-acclaimed novel THE ESCAPEMENT.

Published by Tachyon Publications in the UK and North America, here’s the synopsis…

Into the Escapement rides the Stranger, a lone gunman on a quest to rescue his son in a strange parallel reality. But it is easy to lose one’s way on an endlessly shifting, unpredictable landscape. Especially in a place full of dangerous mirror-images of a child’s beloved things: lawless heroes, giants made of stone, downtrodden clowns, spectacular symbol storms, and an endless war between gods and shadowy beings.

As the Stranger has learned, the Escapement is a dreamscape of deep mysteries, unlikely allies, and unwinnable battles. Yet the flower the he seeks still lies beyond the Mountains of Darkness. Time is running out as the Stranger journeys deeper into the secret heart of an unimaginable world.

In his most compelling work to date, Lavie Tidhar has delivered a multicolored tapestry of dazzling imagery. The Escapement is an epic, wildly original chronicle of the extraordinary lengths to which one will go for love.

A limited edition of the novel is also available from PS Publishing.

Bonus: here, too, is Lavie’s conversation last year with Silvia for the release of BY FORCE ALONE, the first novel in his Anti-Matter of Britain Quartet — also hosted by Mysterious Galaxy. (Novel published by Head of Zeus in the UK, and Tor Books in North America.)

Lavie Tidhar’s THE BOOKMAN Now Available in Full-Cast Audio!


Today, Graphic Audio publishes a new audiobook edition of Lavie Tidhar‘s acclaimed debut novel, THE BOOKMAN! Recorded with a full cast and cinematic music, here’s the synopsis…

In a 19th century unlike our own, the shadowy assassin known as the Bookman moves unseen. His weapons are books; his enemies are many. And when Orphan, a young man with a mysterious past, loses his love to the sinister machinations of the Bookman, Orphan would stop at nothing to bring her back from the dead.

In The Bookman, World Fantasy Award winner Lavie Tidhar writes a love letter to books, and to the serial literature of the Victorian era: full of hair-breadth escapes and derring-dos, pirates and automatons, assassins and poets, a world in which real life authors mingle freely with their fictional creations – and where nothing is quite as it seems.

Adapted from the novel and produced with a full cast of actors, immersive sound effects and cinematic music!

The print and eBook editions of THE BOOKMAN and its sequels — CAMERA OBSCURA and THE GREAT GAME — are published in the UK and North America by Angry Robot Books.

Here are just a few of the great reviews THE BOOKMAN has received since it was first published in 2010…

‘Lavie Tidhar’s THE BOOKMAN is simply the best book I’ve read in a long time, and I read a lot of books. If you’re worried that Steampunk has turned into a mere fashion aesthetic, then you’d better read this one. It’s a stunningly imaginative remix of history, technology, literature, and Victorian adventure that’s impossible to put down. The book is immensely smart and readable at the same time. I very much hope that it’s the first of many such books. Buy it.’ — James P. Blaylock

‘Literary figures emerge from the swirling fog, automatons patrol the streets, space probes head for Mars and giant lizards rule over Victorian England. A potent and atmospheric steampunk adventure.’ — Chris Wooding

‘Self-contained and with a great ending, THE BOOKMAN seems to be part of a planned series and I really am happy about that since I want more of this wonderful milieu… Just big time fun, THE BOOKMAN is highly, highly recommended.’ — Fantasy Book Critic

The juicy backstory is unfolded by Tidhar, making it a key part of what makes the narrative so compelling… skilful, clever and highly enjoyable. 4*’ –– SFX Magazine

‘Not only an interesting read but also one that leads the reader to ask more questions than is answered within the text supplied… A promising start and I hope that the follow-ups are just as interesting.’ — Falcata Times

Check back soon for more information about the audio adaptations of the second and third novels in the series! (We’ll share covers, etc., as soon as we have them.)

New, Limited Edition of Lavie Tidhar’ THE ESCAPEMENT Available in the UK!


Lavie Tidhar‘s THE ESCAPEMENT was published earlier this year to wide acclaim. Now, PS Publishing has released a limited edition of the novel. Available in two version — a signed hardcover, and a more-limited signed slipcase edition (artwork by Sarah Anne Langton) — here’s the synopsis…

Into the reality called the Escapement rides the Stranger, a lone gunman on a quest to rescue his son from a parallel world. But it is too easy to get lost on a shifting landscape full of dangerous versions of his son’s most beloved things: cowboys gone lawless, giants made of stone, downtrodden clowns, ancient battles, symbol storms, and shadowy forces at play.But the flower the Stranger seeks still lies beyond the Mountains of Darkness. Time is running out, as he journeys deeper and deeper into the secret heart of an unforeseen world. In his most compelling work to date, Lavie Tidhar has delivered a multicolored tapestry of dazzling imagery. The Escapement is an epic, wildly original chronicle of the extraordinary lengths to which one will go for love.

The ‘regular’ edition of the novel (eBook and print) is published in the UK and North America by Tachyon Publications.

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

‘Lavie Tidhar is a voice to be reckoned with. With THE ESCAPEMENT, he fearlessly crests the wave of the New New Weird with a wild, decadent hybrid of The Dark Tower and Carnivale. A vivid beach read, if the beach was made of greasepaint and gunpowder.’Catherynne M. Valente

‘To say THE ESCAPEMENT is unique sells it way short. It’s part weird western and part quest; half dream and half epic adventure tale set in a memorable Daliesque landscape. Tidhar lets his imagination run wild in this vivid book, all told in spare, beautiful prose.’Richard Kadrey, bestselling author of the Sandman Slim series.

THE ESCAPEMENT is absorbing, bizarre, haunting, and compelling. Lavie Tidhar continues to shatter the boundaries of literary and genre fiction with a novel that is equal parts horrifying dreamscape and an affecting meditation on parental love. There are a lot of books out there, but this is an experience.’David Liss, author of The Peculiarities

‘The Man With No Name travels through an impossibly alien world peopled by brutalized clowns, superhuman bounty hunters, and titanic monsters indifferent to human suffering. Tidhar’s brand of surreal pulp continues to be one of the few truly distinctive voices in genre fiction.’Daniel Polansky

‘A delightfully cacophonous novel, teeming with character… Tidhar’s latest offering transports readers to a liminal otherworld of spaghetti Western pastiche… The author draws from an eclectic mix of sources to create a dazzling story that is more than the sum of its parts, and much of the fun of reading it comes from recognizing its homages.’ — Kirkus

‘[F]uriously inventive and wildly eclectic… Among the most visual and even cinematic of Tidhar’s novels… it’s also, in the end, a surprisingly touching reminder of how such quests can begin in heartache.’ — Locus (Gary K. Wolfe)

‘Dazzling… Those who enter THE ESCAPEMENT should strap themselves in for horrors and wonders galore. Filled with contorted fairy tales, myths, and familiar stories, Lavie Tidhar’s latest novel is both a fantastical diversion and a moving articulation of deep parental love.’ — Foreword

‘Comic, tragic, and utterly magnificent — a masterpiece of fantasy. Lavie Tidhar has crafted a wonderfully strange and surreal world in THE ESCAPEMENT, setting a liminal stage for both a gripping adventure and a poignant meditation on grief. I can’t wait to read it again.’ — Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of The Orange Tree

ICYMI: Lavie Tidhar Interviewed for Imaginales


Last month, Lavie Tidhar was interviewed by Lionel Davoust as part of the Imaginales 2021. In case you missed it, we’ve shared the video above.

AUCUNE TERRE N’EST PROMISE, the French edition of UNHOLY LAND, has won two awards in France: le Prix Planète SF des blogueurs 2021 and le Prix Actusf de l’uchronie 2021. It is published by Editions Mu. Here’s the synopsis…

… aucune destinée n’est manifeste.

Berlin. Lior Tirosh, écrivain de seconde zone, embarque pour la Palestina, fuyant une existence minée d’échecs. Il espère retrouver à Ararat City la chaleur du foyer, mais rien ne se passe comme prévu : la ville est ceinturée par un mur immense, et sa nièce, Déborah, a disparu dans les camps de réfugiés africains. Traqué, soupçonné de meurtre, offert en pâture à un promoteur véreux, Lior est entraîné malgré lui dans les dédales d’une histoire qu’il contribue pourtant à écrire.

Lavie Tidhar questionne nos identités, et le prix qui leur est attaché. Aucune terre n’est promise est un roman d’une incroyable lucidité sur les enjeux d’Israël, microcosme du monde. Il n’en cède pourtant rien à la poésie, seule utopie capable encore d’incarner la paix.

The novel is published by Tachyon Publications in North America and in the UK. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Lior Tirosh is a semi-successful author of pulp fiction, an inadvertent time traveler, and an ongoing source of disappointment to his father.

Tirosh has returned to his homeland in East Africa. But Palestina — a Jewish state founded in the early 20th century — has grown dangerous. The government is building a vast border wall to keep out African refugees. Unrest in Ararat City is growing. And Tirosh’s childhood friend, trying to deliver a warning, has turned up dead in his hotel room. A state security officer has identified Tirosh as a suspect in a string of murders, and a rogue agent is stalking Tirosh through transdimensional rifts — possible futures that can only be prevented by avoiding the mistakes of the past.

From the bestselling author of Central Station comes an extraordinary new novel recalling China Miéville and Michael Chabon, entertaining and subversive in equal measures.

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

‘… will leave readers’ heads spinning with this disorienting and gripping alternate history… Readers of all kinds, and particularly fans of detective stories and puzzles, will enjoy grappling with the numerous questions raised by this stellar work.’ — Publishers Weekly (PW Picks: Books of the Week, October 15, 2018)

‘Lavie Tidhar is a genius at conjuring realities that are just two steps to the left of our own — places that look and smell and feel real, if just a bit hauntingly alien. UNHOLY LAND develops slowly. It begins with banal strangeness (this Palestinia, so like and unlike modern-day Israel) and leans gently into it… This is a story that gets weirder the deeper you get into it; that cultivates strangeness like something precious. It has three narrators: Investigator Bloom, Tirosh and a woman, Nur, who works as a field agent for the Border Agency. There are echoes of Chabon’s The Yiddish Policeman’s Union in it, wild strains of P.K. Dick and Roger Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber. But UNHOLY LAND is its own thing. Something that no one but Tidhar could’ve written. Gorgeous in its alienness, comfortingly gray in its banality, and disquieting throughout.’ — NPR

‘Shifting perspectives will keep readers trying to catch up with this fast-paced plot involving incredible twists on multiple realities and homecoming. This latest from Campbell and World Fantasy Award winner Tidhar (Central Station) is fascinating and powerful.’ — Library Journal

‘[O]ne of those lovely books that starts out presenting itself as one thing, and mutates into another almost without you seeing it… a game-player of a writer who uses the spectrum of science fiction canon for his pieces… a grand game of alternate worlds cast like jewels on the sand. The long second act is all dust and blood and madness and glory, and the fast third act comes down on you like a sharpened spade… Lavie Tidhar is a clever bastard, and this book is a box of little miracles.’ — Warren Ellis

UNHOLY LAND starts out hard-boiled and comes at you sideways with the speculative elements. Tidhar has blended alternative history with murder in hotel rooms, missing women, an honest-to-god Fedora and mysterious borders in a tale that evokes Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, Casablanca and Mieville’s The City & the City. Political and pulpy, with distinct metafictional elements, Tidhar adroitly pulls off this fantastical tale of an occupied territory.’ — Tade Thompson

‘… adventurous readers will appreciate this well-written and ambitious book. It should find a place at any library that offers high-quality literary fiction.’ — Booklist

‘Tidhar has turned a suspenseful adventure tale into a complex meditation on the possible paths of modern Jewish history.’ — Chicago Tribune

Short Fiction Watch: Lavie Tidhar’s GUBBINAL in Clarkesworld Year 12


We’re happy to report that Lavie Tidhar‘s GUBBINAL has been collected in CLARKESWORLD: YEAR TWELVE, Volume 2. Published by Wyrm Publishing, and out now, it’s a collection of all the stories published by Clarkesworld in the second half of their twelfth year (2018).

Sahar, moving softly through the river valley, made sure to listen. The sound filtered into her helmet from the external mics, and she imagined this must be what hiking on Earth must be like. She listened to the wind; to the rumble overhead from the active ice volcano; to the storm raging on the horizon. But most of all she listened for any movement, for anything with design that may be scuttling about or trying to hide…

The story is also available in audio.

Lavie is the multi-award winning author of THE HOOD, BY FORCE ALONE, A MAN LIES DREAMING, OSAMA (published by Head of Zeus), THE ESCAPEMENT, UNHOLY LAND, CENTRAL STATION, THE VIOLENT CENTURY (published by Tachyon Publications), and more.

Short Fiction Watch: RAIN FALLING IN THE PINES by Lavie Tidhar


In today’s Short Fiction Watch, we wanted to draw your attention to Lavie Tidhar‘s RAIN FALLING IN THE PINES, a story published in the October 2021 issue of Clarkesworld.

Two men in dark sunglasses stepped through the doors of the Monte Carmelo. They stopped and scanned the gloomy inside. Geshem-Nofel-Ba’oranim clocked them and kept to his booth. He knew trouble when it walked through the door looking for him…

The story is also available in audio — via the Clarkesworld website, via their podcast, and on YouTube.

ICYMI: Lavie Tidhar at the Cosmia Festival


Today, we wanted to share with you the video for an event that Lavie Tidhar participated in for the Cosmia Festival (above), in which he discusses his latest novel, THE HOOD — the second instalment in his acclaimed Anti-Matter of Britain Quartet.

If you’re interested in more events featuring Lavie, we’d also recommend you check out the upcoming ‘A Journey into Becoming: Diaspora, Return and Identity’ online event, hosted by the Toronto Public Library. Details for that can be found here. Below is the official description of the event…

When historians look back on our current era, they will likely characterize it as a time of massive movements of people. Whether this means families migrating for economic advancement, activists fleeing political violence or chaos, or refugees seeing harbour in environments that haven’t been affected yet by climate change, populations arriving in new lands create complex and often massively disperse diasporas. Diasporas cohere around a shared sense of identity, often a shared language and religion, but they are much more than that. Diasporas can nurture, educate, and create a sense of belonging and identity. But not everyone enjoys being a member of the group. How do we carry one culture over into our lives in the midst of another culture? How do artists in diaspora communities express this multiplicity of ideas and identities?  

 Drawing on their own rich and varied lives, travels and fiction, writers Zen Cho (Black Water Sister), Fonda Lee (Jade War), and Lavie Tidhar (The Escapement) discuss with Karen Lord (Unraveling) the themes of roots and diaspora, emigration and return. Given the many things that shape and define us –  place, family, history, and culture – where do we truly belong, and what is the meaning of “home”?

Lavie is the multi-award winning author of, among others, OSAMA, A MAN LIES DREAMING, CENTRAL STATION, UNHOLY LAND, and BY FORCE ALONE. His most recent novels are THE ESCAPEMENT (Tachyon Publications) and the aforementioned THE HOOD (Head of Zeus).

Lavie Tidhar’s OSAMA Now Available in Audio!


Today, audiobook fans can get their hands (ears?) on a new audiobook edition of Lavie Tidhar‘s World Fantasy Award-winning novel, OSAMA! Published by W. F. Howes, and narrated by Jeff Harding, here’s the synopsis…

A private detective is hired by a mysterious woman to find a man…

The quarry? An obscure author of pulp fiction novels featuring one Osama Bin Laden: Vigilante.

Our detective pursues his quarry from the backwaters of Asia to the Capitals of Europe, the New World, and into a realm of shadows. Here he finds the refugees, ghostly entities haunting reality. Where do they come from? And what do they want?

OSAMA was recently re-issued by Head of Zeus, who have also published Lavie’s A MAN LIES DREAMING, BY FORCE ALONE, and THE HOOD.

‘He is a political writer, an iconoclast and sometimes a provocateur … OSAMA is a remarkable and ambitious work.’ — China Mieville

‘… deserves to be widely read.’ — Adam Roberts

‘A provocative and fast moving tale that raises good questions not only about the heritage of Al Qaeda, but about the slippage between reality and sensational fiction that sometimes seems to define our own confused and contorted experience of the last couple of decades.’ — Gary K. Wolfe, Locus

‘A roller-coaster ride… [a] fabulous opium-soaked political thriller… pulls out all the stops.’ — Rolling Stone (Germany)

‘Moving seamlessly between intense realism and equally intense surrealism, OSAMA is a powerful and disturbing political fantasy by a talent who deserves the attention of all serious readers.’ — Strange Horizons

‘Not a writer to mess around with half measures … brings to mind Philip K Dick’s seminal science fiction novel The Man in the High Castle.’ — The Guardian

OSAMA is written with both an obvious affection for genre fiction and a sense of wild-eyed disbelief at the insanity of a world where people fly planes into skyscrapers. 4.5/5 stars.’ — SFX

‘Offers perhaps the weirdest fictional take yet on Osama Bin Laden in this offbeat and enigmatic thriller.’ — Publishers Weekly

OSAMA is exceptional. Compelling, confrontational, and surprisingly moving, it is one of the best novels yet on terror in our times.’ — World Literature Today