Tag: Sci-Fi

William Gibson’s NEUROMANCER 40th Anniversary Editions Out Tomorrow in the UK!

Posted on Wednesday, December 4th, 2024

Tomorrow, Gollancz publishes the 40th anniversary editions of William Gibson‘s classic, beloved NEUROMANCER! Available direct from Gollancz, it’s available in two editions (one with a slipcase, one without). Here are the details, plus synopsis…

The 40th anniversary special edition hardback of Neuromancer, a science fiction novel that changed the face of the genre. Featuring a stunning dust jacket designed by Daniel Brown, a holographic foil blocked real-cloth case, two-colour printing inside the book, and 25 illustrations by Marco Luna. This incredible edition is exclusive to The Gollancz Emporium.

Henry Dorsett Case is a low-level hustler, former hack and ‘console cowboy’ who crashed and burned. His nerves were damaged and thus cut off from the digital matrix, he slouches through life.

Until he meets Molly, an augmented ‘razorgirl’, who offers him a deal on behalf of a shadowy man called Armitage. His nerves repaired and matrix access restored, in exchange for a single job. But it’s not so simple – unless he completes the job, sacs of poison will explode inside him and cripple him again.

And the job? That might be impossible.

The first novel to win the Hugo, Nebula and Philip K. Dick Awards, Neuromancer has become a seminal part of SF history, coining the term ‘cyberspace’ and lighting a fuse on the Cyberpunk movement. Part thriller, part warning, it is one of the 20th century’s most potent visions of the future.

NEUROMANCER is also available in two SF Masterworks editions — a hardcover and paperback editions. (It is also, of course, available as an eBook.)

Zeno represents William Gibson in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of Nell Pierce at Sterling Lord Literistic.

Interview with Lavie Tidhar

Posted on Monday, December 2nd, 2024

Today, we just wanted to share this interview (above) with Lavie Tidhar, which was conducted by Librería Gigamesh a little while ago to mark the release of the Italian edition of UNHOLY LAND. Published by by Duermevela, as TIERRA PROFANA, it was translated by Alexander Páez, and the cover art is by Adara Sánchez. Here’s the synopsis…

Una ucronía llena de suspense, universos alternativos y giros inesperados que reflexiona sobre la realidad del pueblo judío

Lior Tirosh es un escritor de ciencia ficción pulp que regresa a su hogar en Ararat, África, tras una larga ausencia. Pero Palestina, un estado judío fundado a principios del siglo XX, se enfrenta a sus horas más bajas. Asolada por ataques terroristas y presa de una violencia cada vez mayor, construye un polémico muro que la separa de la vecina Uganda.

La muerte de un viejo conocido y la desaparición de su sobrina enredan a Tirosh en una intrincada trama detectivesca cada vez más confusa en la que comienzan a fundirse su propio pasado, el presente y diversas realidades que parecen no encajar en ninguna parte.

Lavie Tidhar compone una obra inclasificable, que se mueve entre el noir detectivesco y las novelas de universos paralelos, mientras analiza sin concesiones la problemática del pueblo judío.

UNHOLY LAND is published in the UK and North America by Tachyon Publications, with a cover by Sarah Anne Langton. 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 so far…

‘… 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

‘By extending Tidhar’s exploration of multiple and metafictional realities in even more sophis­ticated and assured ways than his earlier novels, UNHOLY LAND is quite an irritated oyster.’ — Locus (Gary K. Wolfe)

‘… provocative and brash… UNHOLY LAND is a wildly inventive and entertaining novel that moves at a breathless gallop… [Tidhar has] staked a claim as the genre’s most interesting, most bold, and most accomplished writer.’ — Locus (Ian Mond)

Lavie Tidhar’s NEOM Out Now in Poland!

Posted on Tuesday, November 26th, 2024

Lavie Tidhar‘s acclaimed NEOM is out today in Poland! Published by Zysk I S-Ka Wydawnictwo, it was translated by Michał Jakuszewski. Here’s the synopsis…

Fascynująca powieść, która przenosi nas do niezwykłego megamiasta przyszłości, gdzie inteligentne maszyny przemierzają pustynię w poszukiwaniu sensu, a sztuka potrafi być groźniejsza niż najpotężniejsza broń

Neom to miejsce, które dla jednych jest futurystyczną baśnią pełną technologicznych cudów, a dla innych chaotycznym miastem na wybrzeżu Morza Czerwonego, bramą prowadzącą z Ziemi w kosmos. Dla wielu to jednak po prostu dom, jedyny, jaki znają.

Młody sierota Elias marzy o opuszczeniu Ziemi, przyłączając się do karawany w nadziei na zdobycie środków na podróż w gwiazdy. Pustynia kryje wiele tajemnic — mechaniczne artefakty, z których część jest niezrozumiała, a inne groźnie niestabilne. Tymczasem w Neom odżywa dawna relacja pomiędzy policjantem Nasirem a kwiaciarką Mariam, która pracuje bez wytchnienia w targowym zgiełku, a nocami marzy o ciszy i spokoju. Ich losy splatają się z misją tajemniczego bezimiennego robota, który zamierza wskrzesić legendarnego złotego człowieka, od dawna uznawanego tylko za mit…

Czy zdołają odnaleźć swoje miejsce w tej pełnej kontrastów rzeczywistości? A może to Neom samo zdecyduje o ich losie?

NEOM is the second novel set in the CENTRAL STATION universe, which is also available in Poland via Zysk I S-Ka, as STACJA CENTRALNA (translated again by Jakuszewski). Zysk has also published the Polish edition of Tidhar’s UNHOLY LAND, as ZIEMIA NIEŚWIĘTA (translated by Dariusz Kopociński).

CENTRAL STATION and NEOM (and UNHOLY LAND) are published in North America and in the UK by Tachyon Publications. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Today, Neom is a utopian dream — a megacity of the future yet to be built in the Saudi desert. In this deeply imaginative novel from the award-winning universe of Central Station, far-future Neom is already old. Sentient machines roam the desert searching for purpose, works of art can be more deadly than weapons, and the spark of a long-overdue revolution is in the wind. Only the rekindling of an impossible love affair may slow the inevitable sands of time.

The city known as Neom is many things to many beings, human or otherwise. It is a tech wonderland for the rich and beautiful, an urban sprawl along the Red Sea, and a port of call between Earth and the stars.

In the desert, young orphan Elias has joined a caravan, hoping to earn his passage off-world. But the desert is full of mechanical artefacts, some unexplained and some unexploded. Recently, a wry, unnamed robot has unearthed one of the region’s biggest mysteries: the vestiges of a golden man.

In Neom, childhood affection is rekindling between loyal shurta-officer Nasir and hardworking flower-seller Mariam. But Nasu, a deadly terrorartist, has come to the city with missing memories and unfinished business. Just one robot can change a city’s destiny with a single rose — especially when that robot is in search of lost love.

TODAY WE CHOOSE FACES Audiobook Out Now!

Posted on Tuesday, November 19th, 2024

Today, Tantor Media publishes a new audiobook edition of TODAY WE CHOOSE FACES — one of Roger Zelazny‘s classic science fiction novels. Read by Andrew J. Andersen, here’s the synopsis…

Organized crime magnate, Angelo Di Negri, is a man out of time and place. He’d been gunned down more than a century ago. But through the wonders of cryogenic storage his body had been preserved until such a time as his “family” had need of him and he could be safely revived. That time had arrived. But Angela discovered that not everything was as it seemed and that the fate of mankind would be determined by his success or by his failure.

Tantor has published ten of Zelazny’s other novels as audiobooks…

New Zelazny Omnibus Available in Russia

Posted on Friday, November 15th, 2024

Two more of Roger Zelazny‘s classic novels — THIS IMMORTAL and DAMNATION ALLEY — are now available in a new Russian omnibus edition! Этот бессмертный. Долина проклятий is published by Эксмо/fanzon. Here’s the synopsis…

«Этот бессмертный»

Мир после Третьей мировой войны. Города разрушены, а в радиоактивных пустошах обитают мутанты. Люди почти полностью эмигрировали на другие планеты, и Земля стала модным туристическим центром для богачей из других уголков Вселенной. Конрад Номикос, комиссар по делам культуры и человек с таинственным прошлым, вынужден быть гидом у инопланетного вельможи в его путешествии, результат которого, возможно, спасет или уничтожит планету.

«Долина проклятий»

Черт Таннер — не из тех, кого можно принять за героя: он автоугонщик, контрабандист и хладнокровный убийца. Вы также никогда не подумаете, что Черт Таннер гуманист. За различные преступления ему грозит пожизненное заключение, и он поставлен перед выбором: провести оставшиеся годы в крошечной тюремной камере или проехать через всю страну и доставить в Бостон контейнер с вакциной… если, конечно, там еще кто-то остался в живых. Но не принимайте эту миссию милосердия за обычное дорожное путешествие — не сейчас, когда на каждой смертоносной миле между Лос-Анджелесом и Восточным побережьем вас ждут радиоактивные бури, стаи хищных мутантов и банды рейдеров. Это уже не Америка. Это долина проклятий.

First published in 1966, THIS IMMORTAL was Zelazny’s debut novel, and won the Hugo Award. It is available as an audiobook, published by Tantor Media, and read by Peter Berkrot. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Conrad Nomikos has a long, rich personal history that he’d rather not talk about. And, as Arts Commissioner, he’s been given a job he’d rather not do. Escorting an alien grandee on a guided tour of the shattered remains of Earth is not something he relishes — especially when it is apparent that this places him at the center of high-level intrigue that has some bearing on the future of Earth itself!

DAMNATION ALLEY was first published in 1968, and is also available as an audiobook via Tantor Media, read by Paul Bellantoni. Here’s the synopsis…

Hell Tanner isn’t the sort of guy you’d mistake for a hero: he’s a fast-driving car thief, a smuggler, and a stone-cold killer. Facing life in prison for his various crimes, he’s given a choice: Rot away his remaining years in a tiny jail cell or drive cross-country and deliver a case of antiserum to the plague-ridden people of Boston, Massachusetts. The chance of a full pardon does wonders for getting his attention. And don’t mistake this mission of mercy for any kind of normal road trip-not when there are radioactive storms, hordes of carnivorous beasts, and giant, mutated scorpions to be found along every deadly mile between Los Angeles and the East Coast. But then, this is no normal part of America, you see. This is Damnation Alley…

Skyward Series Boxed Set Out in Two Weeks

Posted on Tuesday, November 12th, 2024

In two weeks (November 28th), Gollancz is due to publish a new boxed set of Brandon Sanderson‘s acclaimed Skyward series! Including the novels SKYWARD, STARSIGHT, CYTONIC, and DEFIANT, as well as the collection of the SKYWARD FLIGHT novellas (co-authored with Janci Patterson). Here’s the synopsis…

Brought together in this boxed set is the complete Skyward series of novels, by fantasy legend Brandon Sanderson.

Dive into an epic world, filled with danger, conspiracy and a girl who will travel beyond the stars to save the world she loves from destruction… For she’ll go to the end of the galaxy to save humankind if she needs to.

Follow Spensa’s journey skyward – from beginning to end – in this searing science fiction series by worldwide phenomenon, Brandon Sanderson.

Zeno represents Brandon Sanderson in the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth only, on behalf of the Jabberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Polish Edition of Lavie Tidhar’s NEOM out in three weeks!

Posted on Wednesday, November 6th, 2024

In three weeks, Zysk I S-Ka Wydawnictwo is due to publish the Polish edition of Lavie Tidhar‘s acclaimed NEOM! This edition was translated by Michał Jakuszewski, and it will arrive on shelves on November 26th. Here’s the synopsis…

Fascynująca powieść, która przenosi nas do niezwykłego megamiasta przyszłości, gdzie inteligentne maszyny przemierzają pustynię w poszukiwaniu sensu, a sztuka potrafi być groźniejsza niż najpotężniejsza broń

Neom to miejsce, które dla jednych jest futurystyczną baśnią pełną technologicznych cudów, a dla innych chaotycznym miastem na wybrzeżu Morza Czerwonego, bramą prowadzącą z Ziemi w kosmos. Dla wielu to jednak po prostu dom, jedyny, jaki znają.

Młody sierota Elias marzy o opuszczeniu Ziemi, przyłączając się do karawany w nadziei na zdobycie środków na podróż w gwiazdy. Pustynia kryje wiele tajemnic — mechaniczne artefakty, z których część jest niezrozumiała, a inne groźnie niestabilne. Tymczasem w Neom odżywa dawna relacja pomiędzy policjantem Nasirem a kwiaciarką Mariam, która pracuje bez wytchnienia w targowym zgiełku, a nocami marzy o ciszy i spokoju. Ich losy splatają się z misją tajemniczego bezimiennego robota, który zamierza wskrzesić legendarnego złotego człowieka, od dawna uznawanego tylko za mit…

Czy zdołają odnaleźć swoje miejsce w tej pełnej kontrastów rzeczywistości? A może to Neom samo zdecyduje o ich losie?

NEOM is the second novel set in the CENTRAL STATION universe. Zysk I S-Ka have also published a Polish edition of that novel, as STACJA CENTRALNA (also translated by Jakuszewski). Zysk has also published the Polish edition of Tidhar’s UNHOLY LAND, as ZIEMIA NIEŚWIĘTA (translated by Dariusz Kopociński).

CENTRAL STATION and NEOM (and UNHOLY LAND) are published in North America and in the UK by Tachyon Publications. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Today, Neom is a utopian dream — a megacity of the future yet to be built in the Saudi desert. In this deeply imaginative novel from the award-winning universe of Central Station, far-future Neom is already old. Sentient machines roam the desert searching for purpose, works of art can be more deadly than weapons, and the spark of a long-overdue revolution is in the wind. Only the rekindling of an impossible love affair may slow the inevitable sands of time.

The city known as Neom is many things to many beings, human or otherwise. It is a tech wonderland for the rich and beautiful, an urban sprawl along the Red Sea, and a port of call between Earth and the stars.

In the desert, young orphan Elias has joined a caravan, hoping to earn his passage off-world. But the desert is full of mechanical artefacts, some unexplained and some unexploded. Recently, a wry, unnamed robot has unearthed one of the region’s biggest mysteries: the vestiges of a golden man.

In Neom, childhood affection is rekindling between loyal shurta-officer Nasir and hardworking flower-seller Mariam. But Nasu, a deadly terrorartist, has come to the city with missing memories and unfinished business. Just one robot can change a city’s destiny with a single rose — especially when that robot is in search of lost love.

New, Chinese Edition of THE CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE FUTURE out now!

Posted on Wednesday, October 23rd, 2024

Lavie Tidhar‘s latest book for younger readers, THE CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE FUTURE, is now available in a new, Chinese edition published in Hong Kong! Co-authored with Richard Watson, and illustrated by Cinthya Alvarez, it’s published by 新雅文化事業有限公司, as 未來大透視-與孩子探索未來科技世界[新雅. Here’s the synopsis…

與孩子一同探索未來的科技世界！

科幻小說家與未來學家聯手寫成。
內容既有科學原理，又有對未來科技的展望。

科幻小說家與未來學家聯手合作，創造出極富想像力的內容。他們結合了現實世界的科學原理及未來科技的展望，寫出引人入勝的科幻故事和科學知識透視。
在書中，你不僅可以一睹未來科技的驚喜，還能激發對未來的無限想像力。透過兼具想像力和科學基礎的故事，你能夠：
深入水下城市，翱翔太陽系，與機械人攜手同行，前往遙遠的飄浮之地。
這些故事，有朝一日會真正實現！還有更多精彩的未來科技之旅，等待你去探索！

The English-language edition of the book is published by DK. Here’s the synopsis…

An illustrated, imaginative exploration of future technology and science for children that carries a message of hope and optimism.

This narrative non-fiction book offers an inclusive and hopeful vision of the future for children aged 7-9, taking inspiration from the latest scientific research.

This highly illustrated book makes complex ideas more accessible and shows the exciting futures that could be ahead. There are eighteen stories that each take inspiration from current research and present engaging, optimistic futures that could result from real-world science, with insets delving into how that science works.

This science book for children offers:

– A combination of sci-fi and science using short fictional descriptions combined with real-world scientific explanations to make the future come alive.
– An optimistic vision of the future with inclusive and diverse content for the generations that will not only live in it but shape it.
– A variety of different topics covered, including a train ride on Mars, life on a Dyson Sphere, a birthday on planet Venus, a trip to the bottom of the sea, and a chat with the extinct animals of the past!

A Children’s Book of the Future provides a diverse and multicultural approach that will appeal to children of all backgrounds. The exploration of future technology and some of the diverse visions explored include a plane ride on one of Saturn’s moons, a journey to a faraway star that is lightyears from Earth, life on a floating city, and living amongst robots. Inspire young changemakers with this book that sets out to reclaim the future for current and future generations of children.

Here’s a sample from inside…

Lavie is the multi-award winning and nominated author of many novels, novellas, and short stories. His recent novels include the critically-acclaimed MAROR and ADAMA (published by Ad Astra/Head of Zeus), and THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE WORLD (published by Tachyon Publications).

Lavie’s latest novel is SIX LIVES, a literary fiction stand-alone, published by Apollo/Head of Zeus.

Out Now: New Audiobook edition of Roger Zelazny’s EYE OF CAT

Posted on Tuesday, October 22nd, 2024

Today, Tantor Media publishes a new audiobook edition of EYE OF CAT by Roger Zelazny. The novel is read by Jason Grasl. Here’s the synopsis…

William Blackhorse Singer, the last Navajo on a future Earth, is called upon to aid in protecting an alien diplomat from a powerful and hostile member of his own species. With the aid of a shape-shifting alien known as “Cat,” he carries out the mission, with one condition: when the mission is over, Cat wants a return bout with the man who captured him, a chase with Singer as the hunted instead of the hunter…

Eye of Cat takes a twist on the hunter turned hunted. William Blackhorse Singer is hired to protect an alien diplomat, then enlists the assistance of a shapeshifter he captured years earlier. The creature will only help on the condition that it gets a chance to try to trap Singer once the mission is completed.

Tantor has published nine other Zelazny audiobooks, to date.

Aliette de Bodard’s IN THE SHADOW OF THE SHIP is Out Now!

Posted on Monday, September 30th, 2024

Aliette de Bodard‘s highly-anticipated new Xuya masterpiece, IN THE SHADOW OF THE SHIP is out now! Published by Subterranean Press in North America (cover above), and JABberwocky in the UK (below), here’s the synopsis…

Nightjar, sentient ship and family matriarch, looms large in Khuyên’s past. Disappearances drove teenage Khuyên from it, but death will steer her back.

Now an adult and a magistrate, Khuyên came for her maternal grandmother’s funeral but finds herself unwittingly reliving her past on the decaying Nightjar. Children are still disappearing as her childhood friends once did; and worse, her beloved Cousin Anh vanishes after pleading for her help.

Khuyên sets out to save Anh alongside Thảo, a beautiful and mysterious woman who seems to know more than she should about Khuyên and the ship. But saving Anh requires doing what Khuyên couldn’t do before: face her family, face the ship, face her own hopes and fears for the future—a future that might well include Thảo, but only if Khuyên can stop listening to the critical voice in her head.

A voice that sounds an awful lot like Nightjar’s…

Here are just a couple of early reviews the book has received…

‘For all its brevity, this is a dense and emotionally complex piece, carrying grief and hope, pain and potential, in equal measure. The ashes of the past meeting the chance to build something different for the future. I always enjoy de Bodard’s work, and IN THE SHADOW OF THE SHIPis no exception: a sharp-edged and glittering science-fictional gem.’ — Locus

‘Incredible … This is a world of dizzying tech, gorgeous illusions and twisty political thrills.’ — New York Times

‘Beautifully written and deeply imagined… highly recommended.’ — Kate Elliott

ICYMI: Some September eBook Deals…

Posted on Monday, September 16th, 2024

We’re half-way through September, and we just wanted to highlight some of our clients’ books that are on sale! Four books in particular, which are discounted all month…

THE CITADEL OF WEEPING PEARLS by Aliette de Bodard, published by JABberwocky, is only $1.99 in the US and Canada. Set in the author’s award-winning Xuya universe, here’s the synopsis…

The Citadel of Weeping Pearls was a great wonder; a perfect meld between cutting edge technology and esoteric sciences. Thirty years ago, threatened by an invading fleet from the Dai Viet Empire, the Citadel disappeared and was never seen again.But now the Dai Viet Empire itself is under siege, on the verge of a war against an enemy that turns their own mindships against them; and the Empress, who once gave the order to raze the Citadel, is in desperate needs of its weapons. Meanwhile, on a small isolated space station, an engineer obsessed with the past works on a machine that will send her thirty years back, to the height of the Citadel’s power.But the Citadel’s disappearance still extends chains of grief and regrets all the way into the fraught atmosphere of the Imperial Court; and this casual summoning of the past might have world-shattering consequences…

THE ELFIN SHIP, the first novel in James P. Blaylock‘s Balumnia series, is also on sale in the US and Canada, only $1.99. Published by JABberwocky, here’s the synopsis…

A trilogy sets sail with a novel that’s “charming, light-hearted and funny… Feels a little like The Hobbit or The Wind in the Willows” (Fantasy Literature).

James P. Blaylock’s debut novel The Elfin Ship has become a classic of whimsical fantasy. With echoes of Kenneth Graham and Mark Twain, it’s a gentle, eccentric, and hilarious novel that will delight readers of all ages.

Trading with the elves used to be so simple. Every year Master Cheeser Jonathan Bing would send his very best cheeses downriver to traders who would eventually return with Elfin wonders for the people of Twombly Town.

But no more…

First, the trading post at Willowood Station was mysteriously destroyed. Then, a magical elfin airship began making forays overhead. Something was definitely amiss.

So Jonathan set off downriver to deliver the cheeses himself, accompanied by the amazing Professor Wurzle, the irrepressible Dooly, and his faithful dog Ahab. It would have been such a pleasant trip, if not for the weeping skeleton, mad goblins, magic coins, an evil dwarf, a cloak of invisibility — and a watch that stopped time.

If only the return trip were so simple.

TALES FROM THE FOLLY, a collection of Ben Aaronovitch‘s short fiction set in the Rivers of London world, is also only 99p throughout September (Kindle deal). Published by JABberwocky, here’s the synopsis…

Return to the world of Rivers of London in this first short story collection from #1 Sunday Times bestselling author, Ben Aaronovitch. Tales from the Folly is a carefully curated collection that gathers together previously published stories and brand new tales in the same place for the first time.

Each tale features a new introduction from the author, filled with insight and anecdote offering the reader a deeper exploration into this absorbing fictional world. This is a must read for any Rivers of London fan.

Join Peter, Nightingale, Abigail, Agent Reynolds and Tobias Winter for a series of perfectly portioned tales. Discover what’s haunting a lonely motorway service station, who still wanders the shelves of a popular London bookshop, and what exactly happened to the River Lugg…

With an introduction from internationally bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series, Charlaine Harris.

This collection includes:
The Home Crowd Advantage
The Domestic
The Cockpit
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Granny
King of The Rats
A Rare Book of Cunning Device
A Dedicated Follower of Fashion
Favourite Uncle
Vanessa Sommer’s Other Christmas List
Three Rivers, Two Husbands and a Baby
Moments One-Three

In the UK, PUCKING WILD is only 99p this month — via Kobo and Amazon — it’s the second Jacksonville Rays novels by Emily Rath. Published by Penguin, here’s the synopsis…

The hockey star she never expected may be the one person to finally set her free…

My name is Tess Owens and my soon to be ex-husband is trying to set fire to my entire life. Unwilling to face the heat, I do what I do best: run.

I run to a new life in a new city and straight into the arms of Rachel and her team of NHL hockey players. They’re all charming, but one player stands apart from the rest, the star forward of the Jacksonville Rays, Ryan Langley.

Now I have six weeks to launch a new business. Six weeks to fight for my freedom… all while fighting my growing attraction to this All-American sweetheart with a winning smile and a career on the rise. Did I mention he’s ten years younger than me?

Ryan doesn’t need my drama. And we have nothing in common. But it’s getting harder to deny the way he makes me feel.

Fun. Free. Wild.

Ian McDonald’s THE WILDING Out in Two Weeks!

Posted on Monday, September 9th, 2024

Ian McDonald‘s highly-anticipated new novel, THE WILDING is due out in two weeks! Gollancz is set to publish the hardcover and eBook editions of the new novel on September 26th in the UK. (Audiobook edition is in the works, so watch this space.) Here’s the synopsis…

Five kids are on a sleepover in a restored wilderness project in Ireland. With them, three teachers and one Ranger: Lisa. She is 26, longing to leave her job, out of her depth and soon to find herself mired in a nightmare.

Strange things have been happening at Lough Carrow, a vast rewilding project on the site of a former commercial peat-bog. Livestock mutilations. Rumours, myths from the neighbouring villages. Strange, unidentifiable tracks. On the trek in to the sleepover site they sight animals that have not yet been introduced to the park – wolves, wolverines, things older. Things thought long extinct.

As they near the centre of the wilding a boy realises he’s forgotten his meds. A teacher volunteers to take him back to the visitor centre. Sure, what could go wrong?

That night the camp is attacked. A teacher is dragged away. Lisa’s group is marooned in the wild. It is night, the four remaining kids are terrified, they need to get back to the ARK, but the wilderness seems to be playing with time and distance and something is out there. Something hungry and hunting…

Ian McDonald is the author of a great many acclaimed and award-winning novels and series. His most recent works are the stand-alone novel HOPELAND, and the Luna series — both published by Gollancz in the UK, and Tor Books in North America.

New LORD OF LIGHT / CREATURES OF LIGHT & DARKNESS Omnibus out now in Russia!

Posted on Thursday, August 22nd, 2024

Fanzon/Эксмо has published another Roger Zelazny omnibus! This special, edition collects LORD OF LIGHT and CREATURES OF LIGHT & DARKNESS, with illustrations by Hekkil. Published as Князь Света. Порождения Света и Тьмы (иллюстрации Hekkil), here’s the synopsis…

Два знаменитых романа Роджера Желязны. Шедевры «новой волны» научной фантастики, полные поэзии и глубокого уважения к мифологии.

Подарочное издание с дополнительными материалами полностью проиллюстрировано талантливой художницей Hekkil.

«Князь Света»

Мир, в котором власть безраздельно принадлежит бессмертным и всемогущим божествам индуистского пантеона: Шиве, Ганеше, Кали и другим. Все люди, от нищего рыбака и йога-отшельника до царственного махараджи, поклоняются, молятся и служат им. Но есть тот, кто готов подарить людям свободу. Сейчас он Просветленный, но когда-то, во времена войн с демонами, его звали Лорд Калкин, Князь Света или просто Сэм…

«Порождения Света и Тьмы»

Два бога, два Дома, один квест, и вечная борьба между жизнью и смертью. Но когда появляется угроза, которая может погубить все миры, Анубису, Повелителю Мертвых, и Осирису из Дома Жизни придется отбросить вражду, ведь иначе Вселенная может быть уничтожена.

LORD OF LIGHT won the Hugo Award for Best Novel (1968), and was nominated for the Nebula Award. It is published in the UK by Gollancz, as part of their SF Masterworks series. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Imagine a distant world where gods walk as men, but wield vast and hidden powers. Here they have made the stage on which they build a subtle pattern of alliance, love, and deadly enmity. Are they truly immortal? Who are these gods who rule the destiny of a teeming world?

Their names include Brahma, Kali, Krishna and also he who was called Buddha, the Lord of Light, but who now prefers to be known simply as Sam. The gradual unfolding of the story – how the colonization of another planet became a re-enactment of Eastern mythology – is one of the great imaginative feats of modern science fiction.

Ian McDonald’s THE WILDING Out Next Month!

Posted on Tuesday, August 13th, 2024

Next month, Gollancz is due to publish the highly-anticipated new novel by Ian McDonald, THE WILDING! Publishing on September 26th, here’s the synopsis…

Five kids are on a sleepover in a restored wilderness project in Ireland. With them, three teachers and one Ranger: Lisa. She is 26, longing to leave her job, out of her depth and soon to find herself mired in a nightmare.

Strange things have been happening at Lough Carrow, a vast rewilding project on the site of a former commercial peat-bog. Livestock mutilations. Rumours, myths from the neighbouring villages. Strange, unidentifiable tracks. On the trek in to the sleepover site they sight animals that have not yet been introduced to the park – wolves, wolverines, things older. Things thought long extinct.

As they near the centre of the wilding a boy realises he’s forgotten his meds. A teacher volunteers to take him back to the visitor centre. Sure, what could go wrong?

That night the camp is attacked. A teacher is dragged away. Lisa’s group is marooned in the wild. It is night, the four remaining kids are terrified, they need to get back to the ARK, but the wilderness seems to be playing with time and distance and something is out there. Something hungry and hunting…

Ian McDonald is the author of many acclaimed and award-winning novels and series. His most recent are the stand-alone novel HOPELAND and the Luna series — both published by Gollancz in the UK, and Tor Books in North America.

NAVIGATIONAL ENTANGLEMENTS by Aliette de Bodard Out Now!

Posted on Tuesday, July 30th, 2024

Today’s the day: NAVIGATIONAL ENTANGLEMENTS, the superb, highly-anticipated (and already widely-acclaimed) new novella by Aliette de Bodard, is out now! Published by TorDotCom 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.

NAVIGATIONAL ENTANGLEMENTS created quite a buzz, pre-publication — for example, it was selected as one of New Scientist’s best new SF books of July 2024; one of Screen Rant’s 10 most-anticipated SF books of July; and also one of LitHub’s best SFF books of July. It has also received a ton of great revivews. Here are just a few of them…

‘This magnificent space opera from Nebula Award winner de Bodard is simultaneously electric and heartwarming… De Bodard loads the narrative with unexpected twists and intricate interpersonal relationships. Fans and new readers alike will devour this.’ — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

‘[A] fast, tense story that drives atmospherically forward towards its confrontations and revelations… solidly compelling… NAVIGATIONAL ENTANGLEMENT undergirds itself with a powerful sense of justice, as well as compassion… I loved it. Give me more, please.’ — Locus

‘This tight book, best enjoyed in a single day, is only a bite-sized story within an imagined universe that could easily exist beyond the central mystery… A quirky Sapphic space opera…’ — Kirkus

‘Fans of de Bodard’s Hugo Award-winning “Xuya Universe” series will find similarities in this standalone novel, and for those curious about Xuya and looking for a way in, this book includes many of the elements that make that series so compelling, but in a shorter, self-contained work. Readers of SF mysteries inflected with sapphic romance and political or corporate shenanigans … will become entangled in the latest from de Bodard.’ — Library Journal

‘Aliette de Bodard’s latest packs action, political intrigue, and strong character work into a vibrant and enthralling space opera that you can devour in a day. I found the two main characters incredibly endearing and especially appreciated the inclusion of a point-of-view character that reads as neurodivergent, the dual-POV narrative providing a potent representation of how different minds approach and process the same world, events, and interactions. I picked up this book for the promise of sapphics and space drama, and NAVIGATIONAL ENTANGLEMENTS delivered!’ — Oli Schmitz at Boswell Book Company

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

Here are just a few of the great reviews FIREHEART TIGER 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

‘As always, de Bodard writes a steamy romance better than anyone… The action scenes are thrilling, but so is watching these characters ingeniously solve near-impossible problems. This is a wonderful novella about unlikely heroes outwitting manipulative authority figures and forming a new family.’ — Washington Post