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Brandon Sanderson’s SNAPSHOT out now in the UK!

Posted on Thursday, July 26th, 2018

Today, Gollancz publishes Brandon Sanderson‘s latest novella in the UK! SNAPSHOT is a noir crime story, now available in hardcover and eBook in the UK, here’s the synopsis…

If you could re-create a day, what dark secrets would you uncover?

A detective thriller in a police beat like no other. Anthony Davis and his partner Chaz are the only real people in a city of 20 million, sent there by court order to find out what happened in the real world 10 days ago so that hidden evidence can be brought to light and located in the real city today.

Within the re-created Snapshot of May 1st, Davis and Chaz are the ultimate authorities. Flashing their badges will get them past any obstruction and overrule any civil right of the dupes around them. But the crimes the detectives are sent to investigate seem like drudgery — until they stumble upon the grisly results of a mass killing that the precinct headquarters orders them not to investigate. That’s one order they have to refuse.

The hunt is on. And though the dupes in the replica city have no future once the Snapshot is turned off, that doesn’t mean that both Davis and Chaz will walk out of it alive tonight.

Gollancz has published almost all of Brandon’s novels and novellas in the UK. You can find out more information on his author page and also here.

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

SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT available for Kindle in Italy

Posted on Monday, December 11th, 2017

Ian Tregillis‘s stand-alone noir mystery, SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT is available now as an eBook in Italy! Published as PIÙ NERO DELLA NOTTE, here’s the synopsis…

Qualcuno ha ucciso l’arcangelo Gabriele e, cosa ancora peggiore, le trombe di Gerico sono sparite e il Paradiso rischia la crisi. Ma il piano che appare dalle indagini sull’omicidio porta a scoprire qualcosa di più grande: una truffa vecchia di milioni di anni.

Perché non si tratta di un semplice omicidio. Un gruppetto di angeli ha deciso di scappare dal paradiso, ma hanno bisogno di un corpo umano perché il loro piano funzioni.

Bayliss, un angelo caduto noto per il suo cinismo, prende le sembianze di Philip Marlowe, per il quale la vita non sarà più come prima, fra angeli e gangster, donne e locali fumosi.

SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT is published in North America by Tor Books. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

A Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler-inspired murder mystery set in Thomas Aquinas’s vision of Heaven. It’s a noir detective story starring fallen angels, the heavenly choir, nightclub stigmatics, a priest with a dirty secret, a femme fatale, and the Voice of God.

Somebody has murdered the angel Gabriel. Worse, the Jericho Trumpet has gone missing, putting Heaven on the brink of a truly cosmic crisis. But the twisty plot that unfolds from the murder investigation leads to something much bigger: a con job one billion years in the making.

Because this is no mere murder. A small band of angels has decided to break out of Heaven. They need a human patsy to make their plan work.

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

‘[A] doozy… Superlatives seem superfluous. Instead… wow. Just—wow.’ — Kirkus

‘… a brain-bending combo of angelic cosmogony, high-level physics and meta-noir… dazzling and dark, and more than a little quirky.’ — Kirkus Best Book of 2013 (SFF)

‘Tregillis… uses stranger aspects of heavenly lore to populate the Pleroma with fascinatingly inhuman angels who are wheels of snakes or have four faces and six wings. It’s nothing like Heaven as most humans imagine it: God is nowhere to be seen, and angelic politics are deadly.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘Tregillis’ amazing new fantasy thriller is a tour de force: a real nail-biting page-turner. Set in a post- apocalyptic future, his cerebral, inventive narrative is a mix of classic gumshoe and quantum physics/theology. With an “OMG!” ending and characters who are anything but cookie-cutter, Tregillis solidifies his place as a brilliant voice in the genre.’ — RT Book Reviews

‘If you’re thirsty for pulp fiction flavored with angels and cosmic rays, then SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT by Ian Tregillis was written for you… Ian Tregillis bucks all the traditions… Readers looking for something new and challenging will love this book.’ (10/10) — Fantasy Faction

Tregillis’s first two Alchemy Wars novels are also available in Italy, published by Mondadori: L’OBBLIGO and LA RIVOLTA. The series is published in the UK and US by Orbit Books.

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

Lavie Tidhar’s A MAN LIES DREAMING is Out Tomorrow in the UK!

Posted on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014

Lavie Tidhar‘s latest masterpiece, A MAN LIES DREAMING, is out tomorrow! Published by Hodder Books, here’s the synopsis…

Deep in the heart of history’s most infamous concentration camp, a man lies dreaming. His name is Shomer, and before the war he was a pulp fiction author. Now, to escape the brutal reality of life in Auschwitz, Shomer spends his nights imagining another world – a world where a disgraced former dictator now known only as Wolf ekes out a miserable existence as a low-rent PI in London’s grimiest streets.

An extraordinary story of revenge and redemption, A MAN LIES DREAMING is the unforgettable testament to the power of imagination.

The novel has already been generating great praise from critics and fans alike. For example…

‘Comes crashing through the door of literature like Sam Spade with a .38 in his hand. This is a shocking book as well as a rather brilliant one… Tidhar, who cut his teeth in the world of genre SF, understands how eloquent pulp can be… [OSAMA] won the World Fantasy award. I wouldn’t be surprised to see A MAN LIES DREAMING repeat that achievement… Like Tarantino, Tidhar may find that some people don’t take him seriously. But the joke’s on them. Seriousness is the least of it: A MAN LIES DREAMING is a twisted masterpiece.’ — Guardian

‘Theodor Adorno said that to write poetry after Auschwitz was barbaric. To which I would say, yes, but you can still write an excellent novel. A MAN LIES DREAMING is that novel.’ — Philip Kerr

‘There have been many alternate histories with a crime setting before but this new novel by a young Israeli author writing in English is one of the most challenging and rewarding… obeys all the rules of pulp writing in a noir and atmospheric tradition, full of violence, wit and irony… A fascinating walk along a literary tightrope that never rings a wrong note, this is outstanding and moving stuff, whether you are seeking crime, SF or just a great novel!’ — Love Reading

Lavie is the author of the World Fantasy Award-winning OSAMA (Solaris), the critically-acclaimed THE VIOLENT CENTURY (Hodder UK/Thomas Dunne US), The Bookman Histories (Angry Robot Books), and a growing number of short stories and novellas. Check back tomorrow for an extra bit of Tidhar News!

Ian Tregillis’s SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT is not to be missed!

Posted on Tuesday, December 10th, 2013

Reviews have started to pour in for Ian Tregillis‘s latest novel, the noir, supernatural mystery SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT, and they have continued the precedent set by his critically-acclaimed Milkweed trilogy – that is, they are glowing. The novel has been published by Tor Books in the United States. Additionally, it has been selected by Kirkus as a Best Book of 2013 in the SFF category and a not-to-be-missed December release by io9.

Amy Goldschlager, in her Best Book of 2013 post about SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT, talked with Ian a bit about the book, and described it as ‘… a brain-bending combo of angelic cosmogony, high-level physics and meta-noir… dazzling and dark, and more than a little quirky.’

From the io9 post, Charlie Jane Anders had the following to say: ‘Tregillis wowed people with his Milkweed Triptych, beginning with BITTER SEEDS. Now he’s back with a Dashiell Hammett-style murder mystery set in Thomas Aquinas’ version of Heaven. Just re-read that last sentence a couple times. And now that we’re all savagely jealous that Tregillis beat us to this amazing concept.’

Here are just a selection of some of the other reviews that have come through…

‘[A] doozy… Superlatives seem superfluous. Instead…wow. Just—wow.’ — Kirkus

‘… this book is something completely and absolutely different… One thing all of Tregillis’ books have in common is the stunning prose that flood his books with atmosphere and bring the scene and situation to glorious life… Tregillis combines his incredible prose, and stunningly complex world filled with unforgettable characters to create something new, nuanced, and different. This book is impossible to put down, and is an incredibly fast mover… SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT shows Tregillis at his finest…’ (5/5) — Bookworm Blues

‘When it comes to the world he has created in this book, I can only boggle in amazement… Tregillis has managed to completely floor me… I also adore Ian Tregillis’ writing style, which I’ve always figured was well suited for darker, more evocative stories, and as such I thought it was perfect for a book like this. Plus, I was just wowed by Bayliss’ voice and mannerisms, which are straight out of a crime noir novel of the 30s or 40s. I think that was the most impressive of all, and it’s obvious that great lengths were taken to make his character sound true to that particular era and genre.’ — Bibliosanctum

Ian’s Milkweed trilogy – BITTER SEEDS, THE COLDEST WAR, and NECESSARY EVIL – has been published by Orbit Books in the UK. Orbit are also due to publish the author’s next series, Clakkers, in 2014.

Speaking of NECESSARY EVIL, and in yet more great news for Ian’s fiction: the final installment of the Milkweed trilogy has been selected by BuzzFeed as one of their 14 Greatest Science Fiction Novels of the Year! This is a well-deserved accolade! The novel was also one of Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist’s top Top 10 of 2013.

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

Happy Release Day: Lavie Tidhar’s THE VIOLENT CENTURY

Posted on Thursday, October 24th, 2013

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The wait is finally over! Lavie Tidhar‘s highly-anticipated new novel hits UK shelves today! THE VIOLENT CENTURY, a super-hero noir tale, is published by Hodder Books. The novel has been released simultaneously as an Audiobook, too, for those who prefer their fiction administered aurally.

Here’s the synopsis:

They’d never meant to be heroes.

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?

The book has received a great deal of advance praise from all over the book-o-sphere, too. Here are just a few of the choicest comments:

‘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

‘An alternative history tour-de-force. Epic, intense and authentic. Lavie Tidhar reboots the 20th century with spies and superheroes battling for mastery – and the results are electric.’ — Tom Harper, author of THE ORPHEUS DESCENT

‘[a] high stakes tale of friendship and what it ultimately means to truly be a hero… Tidhar has created a book that oozes excellence in both characterisation and storytelling.’ — Huffington Post

‘… what you’d get if Cormac McCarthy wrote a mash-up of Watchmen and Casablanca. It’s a classic World War II film, cold-war spy thriller and superhero story all rolled into one tightly written package… an amazing book… I’d highly recommend this book to anyone.’ — J For Jetpack

‘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… 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

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