Tag: Novella

Coming Soon: NAVIGATIONAL ENTANGLEMENTS by Aliette de Bodard!

Posted on Monday, March 4th, 2024

We’re very happy to report that TorDotCom are publishing another novella by Aliette de Bodard! NAVIGATIONAL ENTANGLEMENTS is a stand-alone story, due out on July 30th. Here’s the synopsis…

Award-winning author of The Red Scholar’s Wake Aliette de Bodard comes for your heart with a compelling tale of love, duty, and found-family in an exciting new space opera that brings xianxia-style martial arts to the stars.

Jockeying navigator clans guide spaceships through the Hollows: an area of space populated by the mysterious but deadly creatures known as Tanglers. When a Tangler escapes the Hollows for the first time in living memory, each clan must send a representative to help capture it — but the mission may be doomed and the hearts of two clan juniors may be in danger too.

Việt Nhi is not good with people. Or politics. Which is a problem when the Rooster clan sends her on the mission against her will, forcing her to work with an ill-matched group of squabbling teammates from rival clans, including one who she can’t avoid, and maybe doesn’t want to.

Hạc Cúc of the Snake clan has always been better at poisoning and stabbing than at making friends, but she’s drawn to Nhi’s perceptiveness and obliviousness to social conventions — including the ones that really should make Nhi think twice about spending time with her.

But when their imperial envoy and nominal leader is poisoned, this crew of expendable apprentices will have to learn to work together — fast — before the invisible Tangler can wreak havoc on a civilian city and destroy the fragile reputation of the clans. Along the way, Nhi and Hạc Cúc will have to learn the hardest lesson of all: to see past their own misconceptions and learn to trust their growing feelings for each other.

TorDotCom also publishes Aliette’s FIREHEART TIGER, a stand-alone Hugo Award-nominated fantasy novella.

Lavie Tidhar’s FOUR NOVELLAS Out Tomorrow!

Posted on Monday, February 5th, 2024

Lavie Tidhar‘s new collection, FOUR NOVELLAS, is out tomorrow! To be published by JABberwocky, here’s the synopsis…

A nun enters a poker tournament as she wrestles with her faith in God; a boy travels across a mysterious, cloud-covered planet in search of a mythical space port; in Nazi-occupied London a screenwriter searches for an old flame with deadly consequences; three wise men from the East travel to Judea to give a newborn baby an unexpected power.

Collected for the first time in one volume, this omnibus edition from World Fantasy Award winner Lavie Tidhar gathers four mind-bending novellas:

– THE BIG BLIND (2020)

– CLOUD PERMUTATIONS (2011)

– THE VANISHING KIND (2018)

– JESUS AND THE EIGHTFOLD PATH (2010)

The collection is available from all of the usual eBook distributors…

Here are just a few of the great reviews the novellas have received…

‘Tidhar has long taken a kind of perverse glee in his own unpredictability, sometimes blurring the line between pointed literary allusiveness and simple attention deficit…. So while the question of what Tidhar might come up with next is a perfectly reasonable one, I have to admit that the last thing I’d have expected is a sweet-natured tale that, with almost no changes, would work just fine as a 1950s Audrey Hepburn comedy about a young poker-playing Irish nun trying to save her convent from foreclosure… touching… the story unfolds like a Hollywood playbook… a feel-good ending.’ — Locus (Gary K. Wolfe) on THE BIG BLIND

‘A really enjoyable book, different from anything I’d read by Tidhar before (but then, I think that every time I open one of his books). Recommended.’ — Blue Book Balloon on THE BIG BLIND

‘Lavie Tidhar is one of the most interesting new writers to enter the genre in some time, and his chapbook novella JESUS & THE EIGHTFOLD PATH is another major work by him, although even harder to pin down by genre than is his usual work. A vivid and gonzo reimagining of the life of Jesus, it’s less sacrilegious and more respectful than you would think a story whose working title was “Kung Fu Jesus” would be… Much of the gonzo humor, and much of the entertainment value, is carried by the Three Wise Men, here reimagined as former kings, wizards, and minor gods impressed into service by a superior supernatural force, and called Sandy, Monkey, and Pigsy; they get many of the best lines. There’s also a supporting role for the slippery Jewish historian, Josephus Flavius. Perhaps what this reminds me the most of is the movie Big Trouble in Little China, if the filmmakers had decided to tackle the Gospels as well as Chinese mythology. Although some of the more pious may be offended, most readers will probably find this hugely entertaining.’ — Gardner Dozios (LOCUS) on JESUS & THE EIGHTFOLD PATH

‘[B]egan life as an irreverent brain-nugget: the story of kung-fu Jesus. The final result is less cheeky than you might imagine, fusing classical Chinese novel Journey to the West with the life of Christ as recounted in the New Testament… a characteristic example of Tidhar’s writing and storytelling; it repurposes the mythic with a deft touch that retains some degree of familiarity yet introduces enough difference to produce a stark sense of contrast. It also has his characteristic lightness of tone juxtaposed with gravitas and respect for his subject matter. It’s rarely wildly funny but produces plenty of wry smiles. Readers who enjoy laughter lines will find this book does actually crease them up.’ — Nostalgia for Infinity on JESUS & THE EIGHTFOLD PATH

‘As well as being a fun book – and it is a playful read – it does contain a true sense of spirituality.’ — Geek Syndicate on JESUS & THE EIGHTFOLD PATH

Lavie’s latest full-length novel is ADAMA — out now, published by Head of Zeus/Bloomsbury.

New Lavie Tidhar Collection, FOUR NOVELLAS Out in Two Weeks!

Posted on Wednesday, January 24th, 2024

In two weeks (February 6th), JABberwocky are due to publish FOUR NOVELLAS — a new collection of Lavie Tidhar‘s shorter works! These four varied novellas are a great introduction to Tidhar’s work. Here’s the collection’s synopsis…

A nun enters a poker tournament as she wrestles with her faith in God; a boy travels across a mysterious, cloud-covered planet in search of a mythical space port; in Nazi-occupied London a screenwriter searches for an old flame with deadly consequences; three wise men from the East travel to Judea to give a newborn baby an unexpected power.

Collected for the first time in one volume, this omnibus edition from World Fantasy Award winner Lavie Tidhar gathers four mind-bending novellas:

– THE BIG BLIND

– CLOUD PERMUTATIONS

– THE VANISHING KIND

– JESUS AND THE EIGHTFOLD PATH

Here are just a few of the reviews the novellas have received…

‘Tidhar has long taken a kind of perverse glee in his own unpredictability, sometimes blurring the line between pointed literary allusiveness and simple attention deficit…. So while the question of what Tidhar might come up with next is a perfectly reasonable one, I have to admit that the last thing I’d have expected is a sweet-natured tale that, with almost no changes, would work just fine as a 1950s Audrey Hepburn comedy about a young poker-playing Irish nun trying to save her convent from foreclosure… touching… the story unfolds like a Hollywood playbook… a feel-good ending.’ — Locus (Gary K. Wolfe) on THE BIG BLIND

‘A really enjoyable book, different from anything I’d read by Tidhar before (but then, I think that every time I open one of his books). Recommended.’ — Blue Book Balloon on THE BIG BLIND

‘Lavie Tidhar is one of the most interesting new writers to enter the genre in some time, and his chapbook novella JESUS & THE EIGHTFOLD PATH is another major work by him, although even harder to pin down by genre than is his usual work. A vivid and gonzo reimagining of the life of Jesus, it’s less sacrilegious and more respectful than you would think a story whose working title was “Kung Fu Jesus” would be… Much of the gonzo humor, and much of the entertainment value, is carried by the Three Wise Men, here reimagined as former kings, wizards, and minor gods impressed into service by a superior supernatural force, and called Sandy, Monkey, and Pigsy; they get many of the best lines. There’s also a supporting role for the slippery Jewish historian, Josephus Flavius. Perhaps what this reminds me the most of is the movie Big Trouble in Little China, if the filmmakers had decided to tackle the Gospels as well as Chinese mythology. Although some of the more pious may be offended, most readers will probably find this hugely entertaining.’ — Gardner Dozios (LOCUS) on JESUS & THE EIGHTFOLD PATH

‘[B]egan life as an irreverent brain-nugget: the story of kung-fu Jesus. The final result is less cheeky than you might imagine, fusing classical Chinese novel Journey to the West with the life of Christ as recounted in the New Testament… a characteristic example of Tidhar’s writing and storytelling; it repurposes the mythic with a deft touch that retains some degree of familiarity yet introduces enough difference to produce a stark sense of contrast. It also has his characteristic lightness of tone juxtaposed with gravitas and respect for his subject matter. It’s rarely wildly funny but produces plenty of wry smiles. Readers who enjoy laughter lines will find this book does actually crease them up.’ — Nostalgia for Infinity on JESUS & THE EIGHTFOLD PATH

‘As well as being a fun book – and it is a playful read – it does contain a true sense of spirituality.’ — Geek Syndicate on JESUS & THE EIGHTFOLD PATH

Lavie’s latest full-length novel is ADAMA — out now, published by Head of Zeus/Bloomsbury.

North American Edition of WINTER’S GIFTS Available for Pre-Order!

Posted on Thursday, August 24th, 2023

The North American edition of Ben Aaronovitch‘s best-selling and acclaimed latest Rivers of London novella, WINTER’S GIFTS is now available for pre-order! Due to be published in December by Subterranean Press, in two limited editions, illustrated editions, here’s the synopsis…

With this long new novella, bestselling author Ben Aaronovitch has crafted yet another wickedly funny and surprisingly affecting chapter in his beloved Rivers of London series. 

WE DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY OVER HERE

When retired FBI Agent Patrick Henderson calls in an ‘X-Ray Sierra India’ incident, the operator doesn’t understand. He tells them to pass it up the chain till someone does.

That person is FBI Special Agent Kimberley Reynolds. Leaving Quantico for snowbound Northern Wisconsin, she finds that a tornado has flattened half the town—and there’s no sign of Henderson.

Things soon go from weird to worse, as neighbors report unsettling sightings, key evidence goes missing, and the snow keeps rising — cutting off the town, with no way in or out…

Something terrible is awakening. As the clues lead to the coldest of cold cases — a cursed expedition into the frozen wilderness — Reynolds follows a trail from the start of the American nightmare, to the horror that still lives on today…

WINTER’S GIFTS and the other Rivers of London novels and novellas are published in the UK by Gollancz/Orion. Subterranean Press has published special editions of all of Ben’s novellas in the series. The novels are published in North America by JABberwocky (1-3) and DAW Books.

ICYMI: Ben Aaronovitch’s WINTER’S GIFTS is Out in June!

Posted on Monday, May 15th, 2023

In case you missed it at the end of last week, Gollancz has unveiled all the details for the UK edition of Ben Aaronovitch‘s latest Rivers of London novella: WINTER’S GIFTS is the first to star FBI Agent Kimberley Reynolds, and takes the action to the United States. Here’s the synopsis…

THEY DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY ACROSS THE POND…

When retired FBI Agent Patrick Henderson calls in an ‘X-Ray Sierra India’ incident, the operator doesn’t understand. He tells them to pass it up the chain till someone does.

That person is FBI Special Agent Kimberley Reynolds. Leaving Quantico for snowbound Northern Wisconsin, she finds that a tornado has flattened half the town – and there’s no sign of Henderson.

Things soon go from weird to worse, as neighbours report unsettling sightings, key evidence goes missing, and the snow keeps rising – cutting off the town, with no way in or out…

Something terrible is awakening. As the clues lead to the coldest of cold cases – a cursed expedition into the frozen wilderness – Reynolds follows a trail from the start of the American nightmare, to the horror that still lives on today…

The novella is due to be published on June 8th in Hardcover, eBook, and audiobook (narrated by Penelope Rawlins).

To celebrate the release of WINTER’S GIFTS, Ben is also embarking on a UK book tour! Information and tickets can be found as follows…

Ian McDonald’s TIME WAS Available in Japan

Posted on Tuesday, May 9th, 2023

Ian McDonald‘s BSFA Award-winning novella TIME WAS is available in Japan! Published by 早川書房/Hayakawa as 時ありて, here’s the synopsis…

時を超えて彷徨う二人の男の物語。英国ＳＦ協会賞受賞作 戦記ノンフィクションを専門に扱う古書ディーラーが、即売会で手にした一冊の詩集『時ありて』。彼は詩集に挟まれた手紙に書かれた事実を追ううちに、第二次大戦の戦火を生きた二人の男をめぐる迷宮を彷徨うことになる。英国SF界のレジェンドによる傑作時間SF

TIME WAS is published in North America and in the UK by Tor.com. In addition to winning the 2019 BSFA Award for Short Fiction, that year it was also a finalist for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award and Philip K. Dick Award; it also placed 6th for the Locus Award for Best Novella. The novella is also available in France, published by Le Bélial’.

Here’s the English-language synopsis…

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

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

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

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

‘[E]ntrances readers with this multigenerational novella of two time-crossed lovers who can only meet for brief moments separated by several years… beautiful writing… Fans of science fiction who enjoy a dash of history and legend will savor this tender story.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘With echoes of H. G. Wells’s The Time Machine and replete with the inimitable scent of used bookstores, TIME WAS weaves an exquisite spell of love, war and quantum physics that is timeless in its appeal. A scientific romance in the most evocative sense of the word.’ — Nina Allan

‘[A] character-based story about the impact of a pair of time travelers on those who discover their existence. A full-length novel might have been consumed with the temporal mechanics and incidents in the lives of time-lost lovers; by eliding those details, this shorter work is, paradoxically, able to slow down and luxuriate in the story’s elegiac themes… an impressively challenging book for its length, both in McDonald’s use of language, and in its timey-wimey overlapping narratives. A story from the point of view of poets and book lovers would fall flat if the novel’s language weren’t a match for the inner monologues you’d expect from people whose interior lives are so full of words. McDonald succeeds in doing several seemingly incompatible things at once, and doing them well. TIME WAS is a time travel story that’s also, and primarily, a love story. Science fiction is typically plot-driven, occasionally to the exclusion of other elements, but this one luxuriates in characters and language. It’s a work that looks to the past, but speaks to the future of science fiction.’ — B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog

‘Throughout his career, Ian McDonald has demon­strated a remarkable versatility of style and language. His recent fiction has ranged from the YA sense-of-wonder exuberance of his parallel-world Everness series to the efficient social melodrama narration of the Luna novels, but he’s always been equally capable of great lyricism, and his new novella, TIME WAS, is a persuasive and gorgeous example of it. Essentially a timeslip romance in which the romance is evoked not by dramatic clinches but by a heightened sensuality, an acute awareness of nature, and a haunting sense of imminent loss, it nevertheless introduces enough chatter about quan­tum indeterminacy to work as SF. In a fascinating way, the two “time-crossed lovers,” Ben and Tom, come to represent the dual aesthetic of any good SF romance: Ben is a physicist working on a complex new experiment with his “Uncertainty Squad,” while Tom is a poet and part-time amateur actor who, when we meet him, is working for the Signal Corps. Early on, Ben confesses that he doesn’t have the soul of a poet, and Tom admits he doesn’t “have the soul of a scientist,” but, as McDonald well knows, you need both to tell a story like this… one of the most purely beautiful pieces of writing McDonald has given us in years.’ — Gary K. Wolfe (Locus)

‘This slender, poignant queer romance incorporates time travel and hints of hard science into a story as devastatingly sad—which isn’t to say bleak—as anything you’ll read this year.’ — B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog (Best SFF Books of the Year So Far, 2018, Honourable Mention)

‘TIME WAS… a peculiar story of time, mystery, books, love, and war, compact as a parable, layered like a complex metaphor… and in some ways, strikingly unsettling… very well put together, and gorgeously written.’ — Tor.com

Ian’s latest novel is HOPELAND, out now in the UK (Gollancz) and North America (Tor Books).

Ben Aaronovitch’s DIE SCHLAFENDEN GEISTER DES LAKE SUPERIOR Out Now in Germany!

Posted on Thursday, April 20th, 2023

DIE SCHLAFENDEN GEISTER DES LAKE SUPERIOR, the German edition of Ben Aaronovitch‘s highly-anticipated, latest Rivers of London novella is out now in Germany! Published by DTV,  it stars FBI Agent Kimberley Reynolds. Here’s the synopsis…

Agentin Kimberley Reynolds arbeitet in einer Spezialabteilung des FBI, zuständig für seltsame, übernatürliche und schlichtweg okkulte Dinge. Nach dem rätselhaften Hilferuf ihres Exkollegen Henderson muss Reynolds abrupt nach Eloise, Wisconsin, reisen. Die Situation dort ist dramatisch: Ein Eistornado hat Stadtverwaltung und Polizeirevier in einen Trümmerhaufen verwandelt. Henderson ist spurlos verschwunden. Alles deutet darauf hin, dass er gewaltsam entführt wurde – von etwas, das kein Mensch war. Und unversehens hat Reynolds einen Fall am Hals, gegen den jede ›Akte X‹ wie ein Kinderspiel aussieht.

WINTER’S GIFTS is due to be published in the UK by Gollancz, on June 8th. (Details and cover still to come.)

Ben Aaronovitch’s DIE SCHLAFENDEN GEISTER DES LAKE SUPERIOR Out in Three Weeks!

Posted on Monday, March 27th, 2023

The German edition of Ben Aaronovitch‘s highly-anticipated, latest Rivers of London novella, WINTER’S GIFTS is out in three weeks! The book is published on April 20th in Germany by DTV, as DIE SCHLAFENDEN GEISTER DES LAKE SUPERIOR. Starring FBI Agent Kimberley Reynolds, here’s the synopsis…

Agentin Kimberley Reynolds arbeitet in einer Spezialabteilung des FBI, zuständig für seltsame, übernatürliche und schlichtweg okkulte Dinge. Nach dem rätselhaften Hilferuf ihres Exkollegen Henderson muss Reynolds abrupt nach Eloise, Wisconsin, reisen. Die Situation dort ist dramatisch: Ein Eistornado hat Stadtverwaltung und Polizeirevier in einen Trümmerhaufen verwandelt. Henderson ist spurlos verschwunden. Alles deutet darauf hin, dass er gewaltsam entführt wurde – von etwas, das kein Mensch war. Und unversehens hat Reynolds einen Fall am Hals, gegen den jede ›Akte X‹ wie ein Kinderspiel aussieht.

WINTER’S GIFTS is due to be published in the UK by Gollancz, on June 8th. (Details and cover still to come.)

Mário Coelho’s UNTO THE GODLESS WHAT REMAINS Out This Week!

Posted on Monday, September 12th, 2022

Mário Coelho‘s new novella, UNTO THE GODLESS WHAT LITTLE REMAINS is out this week! Part of Solaris‘s latest series of Satellites Novellas, the novella will be available this Thursday (September 14th). Here’s the synopsis…

The internet is a lonesome god.

Liverloin is a fractured man, a collection of personas — artificial constructs of wants, fears and needs — created by underground science-artists to help him hide in a hyper-connected world. But he can’t hide from Big Momma.

She is the living internet, a benevolent AI who knows everything and everyone… and somehow is in love with Liverloin.

Agent Stevly works for DAIS, an AI on the other side of the internet: the darkness to Big Momma’s light. DAIS’s agents manipulate news, information and media and pull the strings behind world events, but DAIS cannot control Big Momma or understand why she loves Liverloin. Agent Stevly, bound body and soul to DAIS, will stop at nothing to find the answer.

The novella is available as an eBook and a limited, signed special edition.

Aliette de Bodard’s OF CHARMS, GHOSTS AND GRIEVANCES is out in Two Weeks!

Posted on Monday, June 13th, 2022

Aliette de Bodard‘s highly-anticipated new novella, OF CHARMS, GHOSTS AND GRIEVANCES is due out in two weeks (June 28th)! With a striking cover by Ravven, the novella is set in the same world as the award-winning Dominion of the Fallen series, and is the second book in the Dragons and Blades series. To be published by JABberwocky, here’s the synopsis…

From the author of the critically acclaimed Dominion of the Fallen trilogy comes a sparkling new romantic adventure full of kissing, sarcasm and stabbing.

It was supposed to be a holiday, with nothing more challenging than babysitting, navigating familial politics and arguing about the proper way to brew tea.

But when dragon prince Thuan and his ruthless husband Asmodeus find a corpse in a ruined shrine and a hungry ghost who is the only witness to the crime, their holiday goes from restful to high-pressure. Someone is trying to silence the ghost and everyone involved. Asmodeus wants revenge for the murder; Thuan would like everyone, including Asmodeus, to stay alive.

Chased by bloodthirsty paper charms and struggling to protect their family, Thuan and Asmodeus are going to need all the allies they can — and, as the cracks in their relationship widen, they’ll have to face the scariest challenge of all: how to bring together their two vastly different ideas of their future…

A heartwarming standalone book set in a world of dark intrigue.

The Dominion of the Fallen novels are published by Gollancz in the UK, and Roc Books (1-2) and JABberwocky (3) in North America: THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS, THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS, and THE HOUSE OF SUNDERING FLAMES. The first book in the Dragons and Blades series — OF DRAGONS, FEASTS AND MURDERS — is also published by JABberwocky.

Here are some early reviews of the new novella…

‘A darkly delicious romp full of ghosts, murder, dragons, and romance, with a couple that just keeps getting better and better as they push each other to new limits.’ — Stephanie Burgis, author of Snowspelled and Scales and Sensibility

‘Beautifully described, deeply caring, and satisfyingly murderous, it’s an immersive delight.’ — KJ Charles, author of the Will Darling Adventures

‘This one has everything… I gulped it down when I should have savoured it like a delicate tea, but what can I say.’ — Freya Marske, author of A Marvelous Light

Coming Soon: UNTO THE GODLESS WHAT LITTLE REMAINS by Mário Coelho

Posted on Wednesday, May 4th, 2022

Announced recently by the publisher, we wanted to draw your attention to the upcoming new novella by Mário Coelho: UNTO THE GODLESS WHAT LITTLE REMAINS! Published as the part of the next series of Satellites Novellas from Solaris, here’s they synopsis…

The internet is a lonesome god.

Liverloin is a fractured man, a collection of personas — artificial constructs of wants, fears and needs — created by underground science-artists to help him hide in a hyper-connected world. But he can’t hide from Big Momma.

She is the living internet, a benevolent AI who knows everything and everyone… and somehow is in love with Liverloin.

Agent Stevly works for DAIS, an AI on the other side of the internet: the darkness to Big Momma’s light. DAIS’s agents manipulate news, information and media and pull the strings behind world events, but DAIS cannot control Big Momma or understand why she loves Liverloin. Agent Stevly, bound body and soul to DAIS, will stop at nothing to find the answer.

The novella will be published on September 14th, and will be available as an eBook and a limited, signed special edition.

Aliette de Bodard Wins BSFA Award for FIREHEART TIGER!

Posted on Monday, April 25th, 2022

In case you missed the news: Aliette de Bodard has won a BSFA Award for FIREHEART TIGER! Winning in the Best Shorter Fiction category, we hope you’ll join us in sending congratulations to Aliette!

But wait, that’s not all! Last week, it was also announced that FIREHEART TIGER is a finalist for the Ignyte Award for Best Novella!

The novella is 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?

Aliette de Bodard & Jeremy Greathouse Finalists for Reddit Stabby Awards!

Posted on Wednesday, February 2nd, 2022

We’re very happy to report that two Zeno author have been selected as finalists for this year’s r/Fantasy Stabby Awards! Voting is open now, and closes on February 7th — so get voting!

First up, Aliette de Bodard‘s highly-acclaimed FIREHEART TIGER is a finalist for Best Novella! 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?

‘FIREHEART TIGER… is a delicate novella with threads of imperial politics, magical beings, queer romance and the psychology of trauma. It’s a bit of a miracle to feel as if you’ve read a six-book fantasy series in so few pages. This book is elegant and hypnotic as the flame of a candle, and I’ll be thinking for some time about the shadows it throws into relief.’ — New York Times Book Review

‘A fascinating story filled with strong female characters and lush prose, the relationships woven around Thanh evolve into themes of reclaiming the self and recognizing that love can hide the truth about people… a story of love, power, and what burns within. Highly recommended.’ — Library Journal (Starred Review)

‘[A] high-stakes lesbian love triangle in this tightly plotted fantasy novella… convincingly combines sex, politics, and betrayal. This is an ideal pick for fantasy fans longing for non-European settings.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘De Bodard…, as she so often does, packs the world-building and emotional punch of an epic into a shockingly slim novella. This touching romance with the delicate negotiations of a small country’s survival against an imperial adversary would be a lovely place to start with de Bodard’s work, and fans will find more of what they’ve come to love about her stories.’ — Booklist

Next up, J. T. Greathouse‘s acclaimed debut novel, THE HAND OF THE SUN KING is a finalist for Best Debut Novel! Published in the UK by Gollancz, here’s the synopsis…

My name is Wen Alder. My name is Foolish Cur.

All my life, I have been torn between two legacies: my father’s, whose family trace their roots back to the right hand of the Emperor. My mother’s, whose family want to bring the Empire to its knees.

I can choose between them – between the safety of empire or the freedom of rebellion – or I can seek out a better path… one filled with magic and secrets, unbound by suffocating legacy, but one which could shake my world to its very foundation.

For my quest will bring me face to face with the gods themselves. And they have been watching. Waiting to make their move…

‘A great coming of age story about a foolish boy who seeks to unravel the secrets of magic and maybe do something good in the process. I absolutely loved it’ — Nick Martell

‘THE HAND OF THE SUN KING fundamentally explores the right to make our own choices in life, to make sacrifices to serve the greater good and to use power to uplift the oppressed. Greathouse delivers a debut full of complexities, passion and grace, and I’m already longing for more.’ — Fantasy Hive

‘An excellent mix of classic and modern fantasy with a grimdark undertone of despair.’ — Grimdark Magazine

‘Add in a very cool magic system with weighty consequences, a cast of meaningful, well-developed characters, and a lush world that carefully considers its lore, economic struggles, and religious history, it’s easy for me to call THE HAND OF THE SUN KING one of my top reads of 2021.’ (10/10) — Fantasy Book Review

‘JT Greathouse shows no first-time jitters wit his impressive and compelling debut novel… Greathouse casts an engrossing spell, establishing himself as an exciting new voice in epic fantasy.’ — SFX Magazine

Zeno represents J. T. Greathouse in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

FIREHEART TIGER on the BSFA Award Longlist!

Posted on Tuesday, February 1st, 2022

We’re very happy to report that FIREHEART TIGER by Aliette de Bodard is on the 2021 BSFA Award Short Fiction longlist! The author’s latest critically-acclaimed novella, it’s out now, 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?

Congratulations, Aliette!

In case you need more convincing to check out the book, here are just a few of the reviews it has received…

‘[A] high-stakes lesbian love triangle in this tightly plotted fantasy novella… convincingly combines sex, politics, and betrayal. This is an ideal pick for fantasy fans longing for non-European settings.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘FIREHEART TIGER… is a delicate novella with threads of imperial politics, magical beings, queer romance and the psychology of trauma. It’s a bit of a miracle to feel as if you’ve read a six-book fantasy series in so few pages. This book is elegant and hypnotic as the flame of a candle, and I’ll be thinking for some time about the shadows it throws into relief.’ — New York Times Book Review

‘A fascinating story filled with strong female characters and lush prose, the relationships woven around Thanh evolve into themes of reclaiming the self and recognizing that love can hide the truth about people… a story of love, power, and what burns within. Highly recommended.’ — Library Journal (Starred Review)

‘De Bodard…, as she so often does, packs the world-building and emotional punch of an epic into a shockingly slim novella. This touching romance with the delicate negotiations of a small country’s survival against an imperial adversary would be a lovely place to start with de Bodard’s work, and fans will find more of what they’ve come to love about her stories.’ — Booklist

‘This latest novella by Aliette de Bodard is a moving, engaging tale of politics, love, divided loyalties, and betrayal. It has many of the hallmarks of a great de Bodard story… If you are new to the author’s work, then this novella could serve as a very good introduction… Recommended.’ — Civilian Reader

Brandon Sanderson & Janci Patterson’s EVERSHORE is Out Now in the UK!

Posted on Tuesday, December 28th, 2021

We hope you’re all having a good end of year. Perhaps this will make it even better: the third Skyward Flight novella by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson is out today in the UK! Published by Gollancz as an eBook and audiobook, here’s the synopsis…

With the government of Detritus in disarray because of Superiority treachery, and with Spensa still away on her mission in the Nowhere, Jorgen must work together with the alien Alanik to pick up the pieces. They intercept a strange transmission from the planet Evershore and its Kitsen inhabitants, who say they have some of Jorgen’s people and want to return them-but can the Kitsen be trusted? And can Jorgen learn to master his increasingly erratic cytonic powers before they spiral out of control and destroy all hope of forming an alliance against the Superiority?

EVERSHORE is set after the events of Brandon’s third Skyward novel, CYTONIC, which was published in the UK by Gollancz last month.

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