Peter Grant Series - Zeno Agency Ltd.

Free RIVERS OF LONDON Short Story from Ben Aaronovitch!

Posted on Monday, October 27th, 2014

The UK publication of FOXGLOVE SUMMER is fast approaching. As the fifth novel in Ben Aaronovitch‘s best-selling and critically-acclaimed Rivers of London/Peter Grant series, a lot of people are very eager to get their hands on the book. For those who just can’t wait for their next fix, Ben has posted a short story on his website: THE HOME CROWD ADVANTAGE! (It originally appeared in a special Waterstone’s edition of RIVERS OF LONDON.)

The Rivers of London series includes: RIVERS OF LONDON, MOON OVER SOHO, WHISPERS UNDERGROUND, BROKEN HOMES and FOXGLOVE SUMMER. The series is published in the UK by Gollancz, and has been published in multiple other countries and languages – including Germany (DTV), France (J’ai Lu), the US (Del Rey and DAW Books) and Japan (Hayakawa).

Here’s the synopsis for FOXGLOVE SUMMER, which arrives in stores on November 13th…

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

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

Cover Reveal: Ben Aaronovitch’s MOON OVER SOHO in Polish!

Posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2014

We’re delighted to share with you the Polish cover for the second novel in Ben Aaronovitch‘s Peter Grant Series, MOON OVER SOHO! The novel – KSIĘŻYC NAD SOHO – was just published by MAG. Here’s the English-language synopsis for the novel…

Peter Grant is not just a lowly Detective Constable, he’s also apprenticed to the last wizard in Britain: policing will never be the same again!

I was my dad’s vinyl-wallah: I changed his records while he lounged around drinking tea, and that’s how I know my Argo from my Tempo. And it’s why, when Dr Walid called me to the morgue to listen to a corpse, I recognised the tune it was playing. Something violently supernatural had happened to the victim, strong enough to leave its imprint like a wax cylinder recording. Cyrus Wilkinson, part-time jazz saxophonist and full-time accountant, had apparently dropped dead of a heart attack just after finishing a gig in a Soho jazz club. He wasn’t the first.

No one was going to let me exhume corpses to see if they were playing my tune, so it was back to old-fashioned legwork, starting in Soho, the heart of the scene. I didn’t trust the lovely Simone, Cyrus’ ex-lover, professional jazz kitten and as inviting as a Rubens’ portrait, but I needed her help: there were monsters stalking Soho, creatures feeding off that special gift that separates the great musician from someone who can raise a decent tune. What they take is beauty. What they leave behind is sickness, failure and broken lives.

And as I hunted them, my investigation got tangled up in another story: a brilliant trumpet player, Richard ‘Lord’ Grant – my father – who managed to destroy his own career, twice. That’s the thing about policing: most of the time you’re doing it to maintain public order. Occasionally you’re doing it for justice. And maybe once in a career, you’re doing it for revenge.

We shared the Polish cover for RIVERS OF LONDON earlier this year.

The Peter Grant Series includes: RIVERS OF LONDON, MOON OVER SOHO, WHISPERS UNDERGROUND, BROKEN HOME, and the upcoming FOXGLOVE SUMMER, all published in the UK by Gollancz.

RIVERS OF LONDON is a British Library Staff Pick!

Posted on Friday, August 29th, 2014

Above, you’ll see a screen capture from the British Library‘s homepage. And yes, that is indeed Ben Aaronovitch‘s RIVERS OF LONDON oh-so-wonderfully prominent! The image (and link connected to it) relates to the Library staff’s recommended reads for the summer. We’re delighted that they’ve selected Ben’s novel – and, of course, we agree wholeheartedly.

RIVERS OF LONDON is the first novel in Ben’s urban fantasy series set in London. It is followed by MOON OVER SOHO, WHISPERS UNDERGROUND, BROKEN HOMES and the forthcoming FOXGLOVE SUMMER. More novels in the series are planned. The books are published in the UK by Gollancz; in the US by Del Rey (#1-3) and DAW Books (#4-6); Germany by DTV; France by J’ai Lu; and numerous other publishers in translation around the world.

Cover Reveal: FOXGLOVE SUMMER by Ben Aaronovitch

Posted on Thursday, June 12th, 2014

On Monday, Stephen Walters’s artwork for the UK cover of Ben Aaronovitch‘s FOXGLOVE SUMMER was unveiled! The novel is the fifth in the critically-acclaimed, fan-favourite and Sunday Times bestselling Peter Grant series. Gollancz are due to publish the novel in the UK in late September 2014. DAW Books will publish in the US, with the date as-yet unconfirmed.

Here’s the synopsis…

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

The popularity of Ben’s Peter Grant series has been going from strength to strength, and we have no doubt that his legions of fans will grow again with the release of FOXGLOVE SUMMER. Check back next Monday for some information regarding new international editions of Ben’s RIVERS OF LONDON.

Upcoming Ben Aaronovitch Event! (Bristol)

Posted on Tuesday, May 13th, 2014

This Friday, May 16th, best-selling author Ben Aaronovitch will be taking part in an event hosted by Waterstone’s Bristol.

Murder Most Magical features three of the biggest names in crime/fantasy: alongside Ben, Paul Cornell and Jasper Fforde will be in conversation courtesy of BristolCon. The event is ticketed – tickets are just £3, and are available from the shop.

Ben is, of course, the author of the Sunday Times Bestselling Peter Grant series, published in the UK by Gollancz. The series currently comprises RIVERS OF LONDON, MOON OVER SOHO, WHISPERS UNDERGROUND and BROKEN HOMES, with more novels planned. The series has also been published in the US (by Del Rey and DAW Books), Germany (DTV), France (J’ai Lu), and a number of other territories (more details, here). The next novel in the series, tentatively titled FOXGLOVE SUMMER, is due out later this year – watch this space for more information as-and-when we have it!

BROKEN HOMES now in Paperback! (UK)

Posted on Thursday, May 8th, 2014

BROKEN HOMES, the fourth novel in Ben Aaronovitch‘s critically-acclaimed and Sunday Times bestselling Peter Grant/Rivers of London series, is now available in mass market paperback! The first four books in the series – RIVERS OF LONDON, MOON OVER SOHO, WHISPERS UNDER GROUND, and BROKEN HOMES – have all been published in the UK by Gollancz. Gollancz will also be publishing the next in the series, FOXGLOVE SUMMER, which is due to be released in just a couple months (July 2014). Here’s the synopsis, in case you’ve managed to miss all the attention the series has rightfully been receiving…

A mutilated body in Crawley. Another killer on the loose. The prime suspect is one Robert Weil; an associate of the twisted magician known as the Faceless Man? Or just a common or garden serial killer?

Before PC Peter Grant can get his head round the case a town planner going under a tube train and a stolen grimoire are adding to his case-load.

So far so London.

But then Peter gets word of something very odd happening in Elephant and Castle, on an housing estate designed by a nutter, built by charlatans and inhabited by the truly desperate.

Is there a connection? And if there is, why oh why did it have to be South of the River?

Full of warmth, sly humour and a rich cornucopia of things you never knew about London, Aaronovitch’s series has swiftly added Grant’s magical London to Rebus’ Edinburgh and Morse’s Oxford as a destination of choice for those who love their crime with something a little extra.

BROKEN HOMES is published by DAW Books in the US, J’ai Lu in France, and DTV in Germany.

It’s World Book Night Tomorrow!

Posted on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014

A very happy World Book Night to you all in advance of tomorrow’s festivities! For a Literary Agency to celebrate a single Book Day/Night is rather peculiar – and, to be sure, every day is a Book Day and every night is a Book Night, as far as we are concerned – but this year is a bit more special. This is because our very own Ben Aaronovitch‘s RIVERS OF LONDON is one of the selected titles that will be given away.

The novel, in case you have been living on Mars for the past few years, is the first in Ben’s critically-acclaimed, fan-favourite, best-selling Peter Grant series. Here’s the synopsis… (Be sure to click through on those links for details about the book giveaways and events.)

CSI London, Urban Fantasy-style!

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.

The first four books in the series – RIVERS OF LONDON, MOON OVER SOHO, WHISPERS UNDER GROUND, and BROKEN HOMES – are all published in the UK by Gollancz. The next novel, FOXGLOVE SUMMER, is due to be published in Summer 2014. Watch this space for more Ben Aaronovitch news as-and-when we have it! (And we’re sure we will!)

US Publication Day – BROKEN HOMES by Ben Aaronovitch

Posted on Tuesday, February 4th, 2014

The wait is finally over! Peter Grant fans States-side can now pick up the fourth novel in Ben Aaronovitch‘s hugely successful and beloved Rivers of London/Peter Grant series! BROKEN HOMES is published in the US today by DAW Books. The novel was released in the UK by Gollancz in July 2013.

Just in case you missed it, here is the synopsis for the novel…

A unique blend of police procedural, loving detail about the greatest character of all, London, and a dash of the supernatural.

Before PC Peter Grant can get his head round the case a town planner going under a tube train and a stolen grimoire are adding to his case-load.

So far so London.

But then Peter gets word of something very odd happening in Elephant and Castle, on an housing estate designed by a nutter, built by charlatans and inhabited by the truly desperate.

Is there a connection?

And if there is, why oh why did it have to be South of the River?

Here’s some of what others have said in praise of BROKEN HOMES…

‘PC Peter Grant and his co-worker Lesley, two of the few policemen in London who can practice magic, are still working under Nightingale, who must be the oldest police officer in England . . . not that he looks it. A low-income housing tower gone awry, an old enemy with a bone to pick . . . and a shocker of an ending – BROKEN HOMES is a delight.’ — Charlaine Harris

‘Aaronovitch has involved his squad with the theatres of Covent Garden, the clubs of Soho and the Underground; now, he takes us south of the River. Here, it’s all about architecture. Those who are sceptical about the massive Modernist housing estates of the Fifties and Sixties as liveable environments will be made to think again – what if some of those architects had entirely other agendas? As always, Aaronovitch is intellectually witty and often delightful in his sparky dialogue. He knows that his characters have to be put in serious jeopardy: this book includes a particularly devastating twist whose emotional logic is overwhelming. Aaronovitch is never less than entertaining, and here he proves he can break our hearts as well.’ — The Independent (Roz Kaveney)

‘BROKEN HOMES,continues in the same rich vein of his brilliant supernatural crime series. Writing about his native London, Aaronovitch has crafted a novel that renders the city in a very different light.’ — BSFA

‘… opens with Aaronovitch’s trademark rapidity and subversive joy with the acronyms and minutiae of modern policing… an enormously fun, fast-paced, witty novel…’ — Tor.com

BROKEN HOMES is also due to be published by J’ai Lu in France and DTV in Germany. Here are the three covers, side-by-side…

Peter Grant Arrives in Brazil! (Cover Reveal)

Posted on Monday, February 3rd, 2014

We’re delighted to share with you the two latest foreign edition covers for Ben Aaronovitch‘s Peter Grant/Rivers of London series. Brazilian publisher Casa da Palavra will be publishing the series, and both RIVERS OF LONDON and MOON OVER SOHO have great new book jackets!

When others are unveiled, we will of course share those on here, too.

A Major New Deal for Ben Aaronovitch

Posted on Thursday, January 23rd, 2014

We are delighted to announce that Gollancz, in a major deal, has purchased publishing rights for the seventh and eighth books in Ben Aaronovitch‘s hugely successful Peter Grant/Rivers of London series!

John Berlyne of the Zeno Agency had this to say about the deal: ‘This is a very exciting move by Orion. Ben’s books have been a monster hit and it’s great news for Ben’s many fans that the future of this brilliant series is assured.’

There will thus be at least four more titles in the series following on from the fourth novel, BROKEN HOMES, which was released last July. The fifth book in the series, FOXGLOVE SUMMER, is due out in the UK this summer. The provisional title for book six is THE HANGING TREE. We’ll announce titles for the newly contracted books six and seven in due course. In the unlikely event that you have missed this critically-acclaimed series, here is the synopsis for the first book, RIVERS OF LONDON…

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 (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.

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.

The audiobooks, read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, have also been a smash hit. And, just to remind fans, RIVERS OF LONDON has also been optioned for television, and a comic book adaptation is also in the works – to be published by Titan Comics! (More details on both of these adaptations as soon as they come in.) These are exciting times indeed for Ben and his fans.

Ben’s Rivers of London/Peter Grant series is published by Gollancz in the UK, Del Rey (#1-3) and DAW Books (#4-6) in the US, DTV in Germany, and J’ai Lu in France. RIVERS OF LONDON has also been published in 10 other markets, including China (Cite Publishing), Czech Republic (Laser Books), Hungary (Agave/GABO), Italy (Fanucci), Japan (Hayakawa), Korea (Hyundaemunhak), Poland (MAG), Portugal (Casa de Palavra), Russia (Fantastika) and Spain (Editorial Planeta).

Ben Aaronovitch’s WHISPERS UNDER GROUND Wins Award in Germany!

Posted on Tuesday, January 21st, 2014

We’re delighted to report that the German edition of Ben Aaronovitch‘s WHISPERS UNDER GROUND – EIN WISPERN UNTER BAKER STREET – has won second place in the fantasy category of Der Leserpreis, which is a prize voted for by readers (a German Readers’ Choice, if you will). Here’s the German synopsis…

Es ist ja nicht so, dass Peter Grant, Zauberer in Ausbildung und Police Constable in London, nichts für das Üben von Zaubersprüchen und das Pauken von Lateinvokabeln übrig hätte – bestimmt nicht! Aber es ist doch immer wieder schön, wenn zur Abwechslung auch mal reelle Polizeiarbeit gefragt ist. Eine unbekannte Person wird im U-Bahn-Tunnel nahe der Station Baker Street tot aufgefunden – erstochen, und es deuten unübersehbare Anzeichen auf die Anwesenheit von Magie hin. Ein Fall für Peter, keine Frage. Der unbekannte Tote stellt sich als amerikanischer Kunststudent und Sohn eines US-Senators heraus, und ehe man noch “internationale Verwicklungen” sagen kann, hat Peter bereits die FBI-Agentin Kimberley Reynolds mitsamt ihren felsenfesten religiösen Überzeugungen am Hals. Dabei gestalten sich seine Ermittlungen auch so schon gruselig genug, denn tief in Londons Untergrund, in vergessenen Flüssen und viktorianischen Abwasserkanälen, hört er ein Wispern von alten Künsten und gequälten Geistern …

EIN WISPERN UNTER BAKER STREET is published in Germany by DTV. WHISPERS UNDER GROUND, the third in Ben’s Rivers of London/Peter Grant series, is published by Gollancz in the UK, Del Rey in the US, and J’ai Lu in France (as MURMURES SOUTERRAINS).

Here is the English synopsis (in case you don’t speak German)…

Peter Grant is learning magic fast. And its 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, Britains Last Wizard.

A Musical Rendition of Ben Aaronovitch’s RIVERS OF LONDON…

Posted on Monday, January 20th, 2014

There is almost no better sign of the strength of an author’s fanbase, than some form of adaptation of their work – be it a graphic novel, a television series, a feature-length movie, or, as can sometimes happen, something more musical. Ben Aaronovitch‘s fan-favourite urban fantasy novel RIVERS OF LONDON will soon be receiving a graphic novel/comics adaptation, and the television rights have been optioned by Feel Films. The novel has also become the subject of a song.

Ben’s nephew, Mikis Michaelides is a composer and musician of some note, who works with Doc Brown on their hugely successful 4 O’Clock Club for the BBC. After reading RIVERS OF LONDON, which both Doc and Mikis loved, they (in concert with Ben) decided that a rap based on the book would be a very fine thing. You can now listen to the result here. [We at Zeno, and a handful of Gollancz and publishing peeps were lucky enough to hear a live rendition in London late last year. Not that we’re bragging. Much…]

The first four books in Ben’s Rivers of London/Peter Grant series have been published in the UK, by Gollancz: RIVERS OF LONDON, MOON OVER SOHO, WHISPERS UNDER GROUND and BROKEN HOMES.

We’re hoping to have some very good news to announce in the near future regarding what’s coming next for Peter Grant…

Two International Cover Reveals for Ben Aaronovitch’s BROKEN HOMES!

Posted on Monday, December 16th, 2013

We’re delighted to be able to share with you two great new covers for Ben Aaronovitch‘s BROKEN HOMES. The fourth in Ben’s Peter Grant/Rivers of London urban fantasy series, BROKEN HOMES now has covers for the French and German editions!

Published already by Gollancz in the UK, BROKEN HOMES is due to be published by DAW in the US (Feb.2014), J’ai Lu in France (Feb.2014) and DTV in Germany (May 2014). Here’s the synopsis…

A unique blend of police procedural, loving detail about the greatest character of all, London, and a dash of the supernatural.

Before PC Peter Grant can get his head round the case a town planner going under a tube train and a stolen grimoire are adding to his case-load.

So far so London.

But then Peter gets word of something very odd happening in Elephant and Castle, on an housing estate designed by a nutter, built by charlatans and inhabited by the truly desperate.

Is there a connection?

And if there is, why oh why did it have to be South of the River?

Ben Aaronovitch’s BROKEN HOMES sets a new record!

Posted on Wednesday, August 7th, 2013

BROKEN HOMES, the fourth novel in Ben Aaronovitch‘s hugely popular PC Peter Grant series of supernatural London-based crime novels, has set an Orion Books Group record! As reported on Book Trade, the novel, published by Gollancz (Orion’s SFF imprint), has ‘sold 8,064 eBooks in the week of publication against 5,194 hardbacks (Nielsen BookScan), taking it to number three on The Sunday Times bestseller charts. The sales trend has continued in its second week with 2,500 physical copies sold (Nielsen BookScan) compared to 3,500 eBooks. The book this week is at number 6 on The Sunday Times bestseller lists.’

The success is just the latest bit of great news for the series. As we reported recently on the website, the series has also been optioned for TV by the company behind an upcoming adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell for the small screen (Feel Films). All four titles from the Peter Grant series – RIVERS OF LONDON, MOON OVER SOHO, WHISPERS UNDER GROUND, and BROKEN HOMES – have now sold over 400,000 copies across all formats and turned Ben, a former London bookseller and Doctor Who scriptwriter (REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS), into one of Gollancz’s most popular authors.

‘All four novels have appeared in the Sunday Times hardback bestseller lists, but the digital sales for BROKEN HOMES are incredible,’ said Lisa Milton, Managing Director of Orion General. ‘With higher digital sales than physical in the first two weeks of publication are we starting to see a new trend develop? That said, however anyone reads Ben’s books we don’t mind; we just want everyone to try him. With London appearing as a major character and all the best elements of police procedurals combined with a healthy serving of the supernatural, Ben Aaronovitch delivers perfect escapist fiction with each novel.’

Ben Aaronovitch’s BROKEN HOMES hits Best Seller list!

Posted on Wednesday, July 31st, 2013

Congratulations to Ben Aaronovitch on a superb first week for his new novel BROKEN HOMES, published by Gollancz, the fourth title in his supernatural crime series featuring Peter Grant, apprentice to the last wizard in the Met.

We just got news that BROKEN HOMES will chart in this week’s hardcover best seller list at number three – an extraordinary achievement!

On Monday, Ben appeared as a guest on BBC Breakfast. As well as publicising the new book, we’ve seen a fabulous spike in sales of RIVERS OF LONDON which has been steadily climbing the Amazon UK rankings. The BBC has just shared the clip, so we recommend you head over for a look…