Tag: WF Howes

CD Editions of THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE Audiobook Now Available in the UK!

Posted on Monday, November 1st, 2021

The UK audiobook edition of THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE, the classic steampunk novel by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, is available now as a CD and MP3 CD! Narrated by Andrew Cullum, the audiobook is published by Clipper, an imprint of W. F. Howes. Here’s the synopsis…

1855: The Industrial Revolution is in full swing, powered by steam-driven cybernetic Engines. Charles Babbage perfects his Analytical Engine, and the computer age arrives a century ahead of its time. Three extraordinary characters race toward a rendezvous with the future: Sybil Gerard – fallen woman, politician’s tart, daughter of a Luddite agitator; Edward Leviathan Mallory — explorer and palaeontologist; Laurence Oliphant — diplomat, mystic, and spy. Their adventure begins with the discovery of a box of punched Engine cards of unknown origin and purpose. Cards someone wants badly enough to kill for.

Part detective story, part historical thriller, The Difference Engine took the science fiction community by storm when it was first published. It is a prime example of the steampunk sub-genre; It posits a Victorian Britain in which great technological and social change has occurred after entrepreneurial inventor Charles Babbage succeeded in his ambition to build a mechanical computer called Engines.

Provocative, compelling, and intensely imagined, this audiobook is poised to impress a whole new generation.

W. F. Howes have also recently published UK audio editions of Gibson’s NEUROMANCER, PATTERN RECOGNITION, and DISTRUST THAT PARTICULAR FLAVOUR (with more on the way!).

Gibson’s latest novels — THE PERIPHERAL and AGENCY — are published in the UK by Penguin. His classic Neuromancer series is published in the UK by Gollancz.

Audio Spotlight: Lavie Tidhar’s THE HOOD!

Posted on Monday, October 18th, 2021

As you may be aware, Lavie Tidhar‘s latest novel, THE HOOD was published last week by Head of Zeus in print and eBook. Today, we want to let you know that it is also available as an audiobook, published by W. F. Howes and narrated by Toby Longworth. The stand-alone second novel in the author’s Anti-Matter of Britain Quartet, here’s the synopsis…

A viscerally entertaining, ominously subversive and poetically profane remixing of the myths and legends that shaped our nation.

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

Don’t cross the Templars. Everybody knows that. But Will Scarlet, back from the crusades, hopped up on khat and cider, did. Stabbed thrice in the belly but somehow still alive, he’s heading home to Nottingham.

And things are not right in Nottingham.

It’s the wood, you see. Sherwood. Ice-age ancient, impenetrable, hiding a dark and secret heart. As the ancient sages say, If you go into the woods today, you may not come out tomorrow and the person who comes out may not be you…

The Hood is Lavie Tidhar’s narcotic remix of an ancient English myth, a tale knotted from legends lost to time, shredded and re-stitched for each passing century. A tale for today.

The first novel in the Quartet, BY FORCE ALONE, is also available now, and is published in the UK by Head of Zeus and in North America by Tor Books.

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

A MAN LIES DREAMING Audiobook Out Next Week!

Posted on Monday, August 23rd, 2021

Next week, W. F. Howes are due to publish the UK audiobook edition of Lavie Tidhar‘s acclaimed, award-winning A MAN LIES DREAMING! Narrated by Andrew Wincott, here’s the synopsis…

1939: Adolf Hitler, fallen from power, seeks refuge in a London engulfed in the throes of a very British Fascism. Now eking a miserable living as a down-at-heels private eye and calling himself Wolf, he has no choice but to take on the case of a glamorous Jewish heiress whose sister went missing. It’s a decision Wolf will very shortly regret. For in another time and place a man lies dreaming: Shomer, once a Yiddish pulp writer, who dreams lurid tales of revenge in the hell that is Auschwitz.

Prescient, darkly funny and wholly original, the award-winning A Man Lies Dreaming is a modern fable for our time.

The novel was recently re-issued in the UK by Head of Zeus; it is available in North America, too, published by JABberwocky.

Here are just a few of the great reviews that A MAN LIES DREAMING has received…

‘Comes crashing through the door of literature like Sam Spade with a .38 in his hand. This is a shocking book as well as a rather brilliant one, and it treats the topic of genocide with a kind of energetic unseriousness… Tidhar’s novel treats its grim theme not as a comedy, although there is plenty of caustic humour, but instead as a pulp-noir tale of seamy city streets, gumshoes and lowlifes… Tidhar gets the outre tone just right: outrageous sex and violence related in a briskly workmanlike style. And Tidhar’s Hitler is a striking reimagination of that endlessly reimagined individual: twisted with hatred, doing good almost by accident… Tidhar, who cut his teeth in the world of genre SF, understands how eloquent pulp can be… [OSAMA] won the World Fantasy award. I wouldn’t be surprised to see A MAN LIES DREAMING repeat that achievement… Like Tarantino, Tidhar may find that some people don’t take him seriously. But the joke’s on them. Seriousness is the least of it: A MAN LIES DREAMING is a twisted masterpiece.’ — Guardian

‘Wild, noir-infused alternative history from genre-bender Tidhar… A wholly original Holocaust story: as outlandish as it is poignant.’ — Kirkus (Starred Review)

‘…savagely funny… A MAN LIES DREAMING, by the Israeli-born novelist Lavie Tidhar, has not been published with the fanfare bestowed on Martin Amis’s The Zone of Interest or Howard Jacobson’s J, but it is their equal for savage humour… Those who enjoy laughter in the dark will relish Tidhar’s parade of mordant ironies… This novel is weird, upsetting, unmissable.’ 5* — Telegraph

‘No one can accuse Lavie Tidhar of being risk-averse… Tidhar reveals – as he did earlier in OSAMA and to some extent in THE VIOLENT CENTURY – that he’s really less interested in the mechanistic ‘‘what-ifs’’ of conventional alternate history than he is in the interpenetration of real and in­vented histories, or perhaps more grandiosely in the interpenetration of art and life – even the often-demeaned art of sensational fiction or (as in the case of THE VIOLENT CENTURY) comic books. This is what makes him such an interesting writer, and what makes A MAN LIES DREAMING quite a bit more complex than it at first appears… the novel is not without a fair amount of humor, and that might well be the boldest risk Tidhar is taking here…’ — Locus

‘The best book I read last year is A MAN LIES DREAMING by Lavie Tidhar, a form of fictional historiography based on a’ what if ‘principle. I love that, if it is done well and intelligently… It sounds ridiculous and it has certainly been written down with a great sense of irony, but at the same time it is so cleverly constructed and such a spectacular conclusion unfolds that you are going to take it all very seriously.’ — Sting (yes, that one) to Volksrant

‘A Chandler-esque mystery… a jarring tale of a grim, gray alternative world… Seldom will readers come across fantasy as well conceived and well written as this exceptional novel.’ — Library Journal (Starred Review)

‘Set during the election of a demagogue who battens on the fears of an underemployed populace threatened by thousands of foreign-born refugees, A MAN LIES DREAMING feels disturbingly prescient. Tidhar holds up a mirror not just to Wolf, but to ourselves. In doing so, he reminds us that even — especially — under the most terrible of circumstances, stories are all we have. And in the right hands, they can be a formidable weapon.’ — Washington Post

Head of Zeus has also published Lavie’s OSAMA and BY FORCE ALONE, and are due to publish THE HOOD in October. Head of Zeus also publishes the Tidhar-edited THE BEST OF WORLD SF, VOLUME 1 anthology.

William Gibson’s ZERO HISTORY Out Now in Audio!

Posted on Friday, August 20th, 2021

The third novel in William Gibson‘s Blue Ant series, ZERO HISTORY is now available as a downloadable audiobook in the UK! Published by W. F. Howes’s Clipper imprint, and narrated by Bronwen Price, here’s the synopsis…

Hubertus Bigend, the Machiavellian head of global ad-agency Blue Ant, wants ex-musician Hollis Henry to uncover the maker of a secret, obscurely fashionable denim called ‘The Gabriel Hounds’. Hollis knows nothing about fashion – which, curiously, is why Bigend hired her. Soon, though, it’s clear that Bigend’s interest in underground labels might have sinister applications. Powerful parties, who’ll do anything to get into this territory, are showing their hand. And Hollis, as Bigend’s representative, is about to find herself in the crossfire.

Set among London’s dark and tangled streets, Zero History is a brilliant thriller about the hidden webs and patterns that underlie the new now.

Clipper has also published the first two books in the Blue Ant trilogy, PATTERN RECOGNITION and SPOOK COUNTRY (both are also narrated by Bronwen Price).

‘ZERO HISTORY is [Gibson’s] best yet, a triumph of science fiction as social criticism and adventure.’ — Boing Boing

‘What matters [about ZERO HISTORY] are the highly textured, brilliantly evocative prose and the stunning insights Gibson offers into what we perceive as the present moment–the implication being, per the title, that’s all we have left. Unsettling and memorable.’ — Kirkus Reviews

‘ZERO HISTORY is another smartly scouted roadmap of alternate routes through today’s global culture, as powered by what a friend of mine used to call the military-industrial-greeting-card complex. It’s a world where cool is king, but also the key to power–and the future.’ — Milwaukee Sentinel Journal

Zeno represents William Gibson in the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth only, on behalf of Nell Pierce at Sterling Lord Literistic.

Marie Brennan’s TURNING DARKNESS INTO LIGHT Available Now in UK Audio!

Posted on Monday, August 2nd, 2021

The sixth novel set in Marie Brennan‘s Memoirs of Lady Trent / Natural History of Dragons fantasy world, TURNING DARKNESS INTO LIGHT, is now available in the UK as an audiobook! Published by the Clipper imprint at W. F. Howes, the novel is narrated by Raphael Corkhill and Barrie Kreinik. Here’s the synopsis…

As the renowned granddaughter of Isabella Camherst (Lady Trent, of the riveting and daring Draconic adventure memoirs) Audrey Camherst has always known she, too, would want to make her scholarly mark upon a chosen field of study.

When Lord Gleinleigh recruits Audrey to decipher a series of ancient tablets holding the secrets of the ancient Draconean civilization, she has no idea that her research will plunge her into an intricate conspiracy, one meant to incite rebellion and invoke war. Alongside dearest childhood friend and fellow archeologist Kudshayn, she must find proof of the conspiracy before it’s too late.

Here are just a handful of reviews TURNING DARKNESS INTO LIGHT has received…

‘TURNING DARKNESS INTO LIGHT works beautifully as a standalone novel for newcomers to her elaborate, dragon-centric world.’ — NPR

‘… will appeal greatly to readers who love science and the simple pleasures of discovery and learning.’ — Bibliosanctum

‘Like the related series, TURNING DARKNESS INTO LIGHT is perfect for those readers who ap­preciate a light touch, thoughtful characters, and antagonists who almost but not quite topple into one-dimensional props in a melodrama.’ — Locus

W. F. Howes has also published the audiobook editions of the rest of the series in the UK. The print and eBook editions are published in the UK by Titan Books: A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS, THE TROPIC OF SERPENTS, VOYAGE OF THE BASILISK, IN THE LABYRINTH OF DRAKES, and WITHIN THE SANCTUARY OF WINGS.

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

‘Brennan’s world-building is wonderfully subtle, rendering a familiar land alien with casual details. Fans of fantasy, science, and history will adore this rich and absorbing tale of discovery.’ — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) on A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS

‘Told in the style of a Victorian memoir, courageous, intelligent and determined Isabella’s account is colorful, vigorous and absorbing. A sort of Victorian why-what-whodunit embellished by Brennan’s singular upgrade of a fantasy bromide and revitalizingly different viewpoint.’ — Kirkus on A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS

‘A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS is a tale historical fiction lovers and fantasy fans alike will adore. Isabella is a heroine readers will root for, and fans of Naomi Novik and Mary Robinette Kowal will especially enjoy this book.’ — RT Book Review (4.5/4.5 *)

‘Downton Abbey, but with dragons! … A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS is a mellow and agreeable memoir, an absorbing and entertaining novel, and I want more.’ — Tor.com

‘What’s truly great about this novel is the seamless merging of fantasy themes and incredibly realistic scientific and social details. Come for the dragon adventure — because there’s a lot of it. But stay for characters whose stories feel as real as Marie Curie’s.’ — io9.com on THE TROPIC OF SERPENTS

‘Where the first volume set the foundation for a series mingling character study with adventure, THE TROPIC OF SERPENTS has the transitional air and faster pace of an episode in a new environment… The Memoirs of Lady Trent feature a bright, observant woman (two of them here) who follows a need to explore the most enduring mysteries of her planet wherever they may take her. Lacking starships or dragon rides, these chronicles have the power of fabulous and historic voyages, along with a wry wit that refuses to accept the standard notions of any era – past, present, or future.’ — Locus (April 2014)

‘THE TROPIC OF SERPENTS: A Memoir By Lady Trent brings dragons into the Victorian world, and flawlessly so… [it] gives fantasy readers another good reason to enter Brennan’s fantastical world.’ — Washington Post

‘A rollicking adventure in which women wearing unnerving amounts of underwear tromp through jungles on dragon-hunting safaris. Really, that should be more than enough for just about everyone.’ — New York Times on THE TROPIC OF SERPENTS

‘The third installment in Lady Trent’s series of reflective memoirs does not disappoint. Isabella’s familiar audacity as she circles the globe in search of unfamiliar dragons – with her son by her side, no less – makes for an enchanting story. And the romantic interest she finds in Suhail is a much welcome addition.’ — RT Book Reviews on VOYAGE OF THE BASILISK

‘[Lady Trent] continues her memoirs of dragon hunting in a gently paced but always entertaining adventure. Fans of Patrick O’Brian’s “Aubrey-Maturin” series protagonist, Stephen Maturin, will appreciate Isabella’s devotion to her studies, and those who like the Victorian feel of steampunk might want to try this variation on the theme.’ — Library Journal on VOYAGE OF THE BASILISK

‘VOYAGE OF THE BASILISK combines grand adventure with fascinating insights into the principles behind a world that could almost be our own.’ — Locus

‘Her two-year round-the-world voyage takes her and her young Jake into dangers and predicaments of almost every imaginable sort, all of which make this book one superbly civilized entertainment.’ — Barnes & Noble on VOYAGE OF THE BASILISK

‘Solid fourth book of the Lady Trent series… It’s a time of changes for the main character, but this mix of scientific and fantastic creatures remains in fine form.’ — Publishers Weekly on IN THE LABYRINTH OF DRAKES

‘Once again, the work is a delight. Its most appealing aspect isn’t the genre-bending riffs on genuine events so much as the level-headed outlook that people like Lady Trent bring to both fantasy and romance.’ — Locus on IN THE LABYRINTH OF DRAKES

‘The locations are so clearly described and so reminiscent of actual awe-inspiring places, that the book is a joy to read. The scene setting almost makes the reader into part of the story—casting you as the reader back home in her own land who the book is written for, and so putting you into the world as you read it. It’s a clever, exciting, informative book, sure of its characters and its world, and striking out in new directions further into that world in every chapter. May all of them be as fun to read as this one!’ — New York Journal of Books on IN THE LABYRINTH OF DRAKES

‘Brennan delights with this fifth and final memoir… Lady Trent is the perfect heroine for this history-flavored fantasy romp.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘A thoroughly absorbing conclusion to this refreshingly different and consistently intriguing pentalogy.’ — Kirkus (Starred review)

‘While fans will be sad to leave the series behind, Lady Trent has earned her retirement.’ — Library Journal

‘Brennan brings the fifth and final adventure of the fearless Lady Isabella Trent to a conclusion that is perfectly triumphant and absolutely touching.’ — RT Book Reviews

‘Lady Trent has captivated hearts along with fierce minds. This concluding volume will finally reveal the truths behind her most notorious adventure – scaling the tallest peak in the world, buried behind the territory of Scirland’s enemies – and what she discovered there, WITHIN THE SANCTUARY OF WINGS.’ — Fantasy-Faction (Best Fantasy Books of 2017)

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

Digital Audio Edition of SPOOK COUNTRY Out Tomorrow in the UK!

Posted on Wednesday, July 21st, 2021

Tomorrow, W. F. Howes are due to publish William Gibson‘s latest new UK audiobook: SPOOK COUNTRY! The second novel in Gibson’s Blue Ant series, it follows PATTERN RECOGNITION (out now) — both novels in the series are narrated by Bronwen Price. Here’s the synopsis…

Spook Country — a gripping spy thriller by William Gibson, best-selling author of Neuromancer.

In New York, a young Cuban called Tito is passing iPods to a mysterious old man. Such activities do not go unnoticed, however, in these early days of the War on Terror, and across the city, an ex-military man named Brown is tracking Tito’s movements. Meanwhile in LA, journalist Hollis Henry is on the trail of Bobby Chombo, who appears to know too much about military systems for his own good. With Bobby missing and the trail cold, Hollis digs deeper and is drawn into the final moves of a chilling game played out by men with old scores to settle…

Those looking to buy a physical version of the audiobook (CD or MP3 CD, for example), will have to wait a little bit longer — that edition will be available on November 1st.

W. F. Howes has also published the UK audiobook editions of NEUROMANCER, PATTERN RECOGNITION, DISTRUST THAT PARTICULAR FLAVOR, and THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE (co-authored by Bruce Sterling).

Listen to THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE Now!

Posted on Friday, July 2nd, 2021

THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE, the classic steampunk novel by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling is available now as an audiobook in the UK! Published by Clipper (an imprint of W. F. Howes), and narrated by Andrew Cullum, here’s the synopsis…

1855: The Industrial Revolution is in full swing, powered by steam-driven cybernetic Engines. Charles Babbage perfects his Analytical Engine, and the computer age arrives a century ahead of its time. Three extraordinary characters race toward a rendezvous with the future: Sybil Gerard – fallen woman, politician’s tart, daughter of a Luddite agitator; Edward Leviathan Mallory — explorer and palaeontologist; Laurence Oliphant — diplomat, mystic, and spy. Their adventure begins with the discovery of a box of punched Engine cards of unknown origin and purpose. Cards someone wants badly enough to kill for.

Part detective story, part historical thriller, The Difference Engine took the science fiction community by storm when it was first published. It is a prime example of the steampunk sub-genre; It posits a Victorian Britain in which great technological and social change has occurred after entrepreneurial inventor Charles Babbage succeeded in his ambition to build a mechanical computer called Engines.

Provocative, compelling, and intensely imagined, this audiobook is poised to impress a whole new generation.

The novel is available digitally now, and will be available in physical audio (CD, etc.) in November.

W. F. Howes have also recently published UK audio editions of Gibson’s NEUROMANCER, PATTERN RECOGNITION, and DISTRUST THAT PARTICULAR FLAVOUR (with more on the way!).

Gibson’s latest novels — THE PERIPHERAL and AGENCY — are published in the UK by Penguin. His classic Neuromancer series is published in the UK by Gollancz.

Marie Brennan’s WITHIN THE SANCTUARY OF WINGS Available in Audio!

Posted on Thursday, July 1st, 2021

We’re very happy to report that the fifth novel in Marie Brennan‘s Memoirs of Lady Trent series, WITHIN THE SANCTUARY OF WINGS, is available in the UK as an audiobook! Published by the Clipper imprint at W. F. Howes, the novel is narrated by Kate Reading. Here’s the synopsis…

The conclusion to the thrilling memoirs of Lady Isabella Trent and her legacy of dragon evolutionary research and anthropological adventures

After nearly five decades (and, indeed, the same number of volumes), one might think they were well-acquainted with the Lady Isabella Trent — dragon naturalist, scandalous explorer, and perhaps as infamous for her company and feats of daring as she is famous for her discoveries and additions to the scientific field.

And yet–after her initial adventure in the mountains of Vystrana, and her exploits in the depths of war-torn Eriga, to the high seas aboard The Basilisk, and then to the inhospitable deserts of Akhia — the Lady Trent has captivated hearts along with fierce minds. This concluding volume will finally reveal the truths behind her most notorious adventure — scaling the tallest peak in the world, buried behind the territory of Scirland’s enemies — and what she discovered there, within the Sanctuary of Wings.

Here are just a handful of reviews WITHIN THE SANCTUARY OF WINGS has received…

‘Brennan delights with this fifth and final memoir… Lady Trent is the perfect heroine for this history-flavored fantasy romp.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘A thoroughly absorbing conclusion to this refreshingly different and consistently intriguing pentalogy.’ — Kirkus (Starred review)

‘While fans will be sad to leave the series behind, Lady Trent has earned her retirement.’ — Library Journal

‘Brennan brings the fifth and final adventure of the fearless Lady Isabella Trent to a conclusion that is perfectly triumphant and absolutely touching.’ — RT Book Reviews

‘Lady Trent has captivated hearts along with fierce minds. This concluding volume will finally reveal the truths behind her most notorious adventure – scaling the tallest peak in the world, buried behind the territory of Scirland’s enemies – and what she discovered there, WITHIN THE SANCTUARY OF WINGS.’ — Fantasy-Faction (Best Fantasy Books of 2017)

W. F. Howes has also published the first four books in the series as audiobooks in the UK: A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS, THE TROPIC OF SERPENTS, VOYAGE OF THE BASILISK, and IN THE LABYRINTH OF DRAKES.

TURNING DARKNESS INTO LIGHT, the sixth book in the series, which moves the story ahead to the next generation of dragon naturalists, is due to be published in audio by W. F. Howes in August 2021.

The UK print and eBook editions of the series are published by Titan Books.

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

‘Brennan’s world-building is wonderfully subtle, rendering a familiar land alien with casual details. Fans of fantasy, science, and history will adore this rich and absorbing tale of discovery.’ — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) on A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS

‘Told in the style of a Victorian memoir, courageous, intelligent and determined Isabella’s account is colorful, vigorous and absorbing. A sort of Victorian why-what-whodunit embellished by Brennan’s singular upgrade of a fantasy bromide and revitalizingly different viewpoint.’ — Kirkus on A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS

‘A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS is a tale historical fiction lovers and fantasy fans alike will adore. Isabella is a heroine readers will root for, and fans of Naomi Novik and Mary Robinette Kowal will especially enjoy this book.’ — RT Book Review (4.5/4.5 *)

‘Downton Abbey, but with dragons! … A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS is a mellow and agreeable memoir, an absorbing and entertaining novel, and I want more.’ — Tor.com

‘What’s truly great about this novel is the seamless merging of fantasy themes and incredibly realistic scientific and social details. Come for the dragon adventure — because there’s a lot of it. But stay for characters whose stories feel as real as Marie Curie’s.’ — io9.com on THE TROPIC OF SERPENTS

‘Where the first volume set the foundation for a series mingling character study with adventure, THE TROPIC OF SERPENTS has the transitional air and faster pace of an episode in a new environment… The Memoirs of Lady Trent feature a bright, observant woman (two of them here) who follows a need to explore the most enduring mysteries of her planet wherever they may take her. Lacking starships or dragon rides, these chronicles have the power of fabulous and historic voyages, along with a wry wit that refuses to accept the standard notions of any era – past, present, or future.’ — Locus (April 2014)

‘THE TROPIC OF SERPENTS: A Memoir By Lady Trent brings dragons into the Victorian world, and flawlessly so… [it] gives fantasy readers another good reason to enter Brennan’s fantastical world.’ — Washington Post

‘A rollicking adventure in which women wearing unnerving amounts of underwear tromp through jungles on dragon-hunting safaris. Really, that should be more than enough for just about everyone.’ — New York Times on THE TROPIC OF SERPENTS

‘The third installment in Lady Trent’s series of reflective memoirs does not disappoint. Isabella’s familiar audacity as she circles the globe in search of unfamiliar dragons – with her son by her side, no less – makes for an enchanting story. And the romantic interest she finds in Suhail is a much welcome addition.’ — RT Book Reviews on VOYAGE OF THE BASILISK

‘[Lady Trent] continues her memoirs of dragon hunting in a gently paced but always entertaining adventure. Fans of Patrick O’Brian’s “Aubrey-Maturin” series protagonist, Stephen Maturin, will appreciate Isabella’s devotion to her studies, and those who like the Victorian feel of steampunk might want to try this variation on the theme.’ — Library Journal on VOYAGE OF THE BASILISK

‘VOYAGE OF THE BASILISK combines grand adventure with fascinating insights into the principles behind a world that could almost be our own.’ — Locus

‘Her two-year round-the-world voyage takes her and her young Jake into dangers and predicaments of almost every imaginable sort, all of which make this book one superbly civilized entertainment.’ — Barnes & Noble on VOYAGE OF THE BASILISK

‘Solid fourth book of the Lady Trent series… It’s a time of changes for the main character, but this mix of scientific and fantastic creatures remains in fine form.’ — Publishers Weekly on IN THE LABYRINTH OF DRAKES

‘Once again, the work is a delight. Its most appealing aspect isn’t the genre-bending riffs on genuine events so much as the level-headed outlook that people like Lady Trent bring to both fantasy and romance.’ — Locus on IN THE LABYRINTH OF DRAKES

‘The locations are so clearly described and so reminiscent of actual awe-inspiring places, that the book is a joy to read. The scene setting almost makes the reader into part of the story—casting you as the reader back home in her own land who the book is written for, and so putting you into the world as you read it. It’s a clever, exciting, informative book, sure of its characters and its world, and striking out in new directions further into that world in every chapter. May all of them be as fun to read as this one!’ — New York Journal of Books on IN THE LABYRINTH OF DRAKES

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

NEUROMANCER Audiobook out this week in the UK!

Posted on Monday, May 24th, 2021

This Thursday (May 27th), audiobook and cyberpunk fans in the UK will be able to get their hands (ears?) on the new audio edition of William Gibson‘s classic NEUROMANCER! Narrated by Jason Flemyng, it’s published via W.F. Howes’s Clipper imprint. Here’s the synopsis…

The book that defined the cyberpunk movement, inspiring everything from The Matrix to Cyberpunk 2077.

The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.

William Gibson revolutionised science fiction in his 1984 debut Neuromancer. The writer who gave us the matrix and coined the term ‘cyberspace’ produced a first novel that won the Hugo, Nebula and Philip K. Dick Awards, and lit the fuse on the Cyberpunk movement.

More than three decades later, Gibson’s text is as stylish as ever, his noir narrative still glitters like chrome in the shadows and his depictions of the rise and abuse of corporate power look more prescient every day. Part thriller, part warning, Neuromancer is a timeless classic of modern SF and one of the 20th century’s most potent and compelling visions of the future.

NEUROMANCER is the first book in Gibson’s Sprawl series, published in print and eBook in the UK by Gollancz. There is also a SF Masterworks edition of the novel — the novel won the Hugo, Nebula and Philip K. Dick Awards.

Gollancz also publishes the other three novels in the Sprawl series, in print and eBook: COUNT ZERO, MONA LISA OVERDRIVE, and BURNING CHROME.

The author’s latest novel is AGENCY, the sequel to THE PERIPHERAL — both are published in the UK by Penguin.

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

William Gibson’s PATTERN RECOGNITION out now in UK Audio!

Posted on Thursday, May 20th, 2021

Today, W.F. Howes publishes the UK audiobook edition of William Gibson‘s classic novel PATTERN RECOGNITION. Released through the publisher’s Quest imprint, here’s the synopsis…

Cayce Pollard owes her living to her pathological sensitivity to logos. In London to consult for the world’s coolest ad agency, she finds herself catapulted, via her addiction to a mysterious body of fragmentary film footage, uploaded to the web by a shadowy auteur, into a global quest for this unknown ‘garage Kubrick’.

Cayce becomes involved with an eccentric hacker, a vengeful ad executive, a defrocked mathematician, a Tokyo Otaku-coven known as Eye of the Dragon and, eventually, the elusive ‘Kubrick’ himself.

William Gibson’s audiobook is about the eternal mystery of London, the coolest sneakers in the world and life in (the former) USSR.

W.F. Howes also publishes DISTRUST THAT PARTICULAR FLAVOR, and is due to publish NEUROMANCER later this month. More audiobook editions are on the way, too! We’ll keep you posted as and when we have details.

PATTERN RECOGNITION is published in print and eBook in the UK by Penguin. Gibson’s latest novels are THE PERIPHERAL and AGENCY, both published in the UK by Penguin.

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

New UK Audio Edition of NEUROMANCER out in Three Weeks!

Posted on Wednesday, May 5th, 2021

In three weeks, W.F. Howes’s Clipper imprint are due to publish a new UK audiobook edition of William Gibson‘s classic NEUROMANCER! It’s the novel that revolutionised science fiction, and pioneered cyberpunk. The new audiobook is narrated by Jason Flemyng, and will be available on May 27th. Here’s the synopsis…

The book that defined the cyberpunk movement, inspiring everything from The Matrix to Cyberpunk 2077.

The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.

William Gibson revolutionised science fiction in his 1984 debut Neuromancer. The writer who gave us the matrix and coined the term ‘cyberspace’ produced a first novel that won the Hugo, Nebula and Philip K. Dick Awards, and lit the fuse on the Cyberpunk movement.

More than three decades later, Gibson’s text is as stylish as ever, his noir narrative still glitters like chrome in the shadows and his depictions of the rise and abuse of corporate power look more prescient every day. Part thriller, part warning, Neuromancer is a timeless classic of modern SF and one of the 20th century’s most potent and compelling visions of the future.

The novel, the first in Gibson’s Sprawl series, is published in print and eBook in the UK by Gollancz. There is also a SF Masterworks edition of the novel.

Gibson’s latest series, Jackpot, is published in the UK by Penguin: to date, the first and second novels are available — THE PERIPHERAL and AGENCY.

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

William Gibson’s DISTRUST THAT PARTICULAR FLAVOR Now Available in UK Audio!

Posted on Friday, April 30th, 2021

William Gibson‘s acclaimed collection of essays, DISTRUST THAT PARTICULAR FLAVOR is now available in the UK as an audiobook! Published by W. F. Howes, here’s the synopsis…

Distrust That Particular Flavor — an acclaimed nonfiction collection by William Gibson, bestselling author of NEUROMANCER William Gibson was writing fiction when he predicted the internet. And as his stories bled into reality so he became one of the first to report on the real-world consequences of cyberspace’s growth and development.

Now, with the dust settling on the first internet revolution, comes Gibson’s first collection of non-fiction — essays from the technological and cultural frontiers of this new world. These and many other pieces, collected for the first time in Distrust that Particular Flavour, are studded with revealing autobiographical fragments and map the development of Gibson’s acute perceptions about modern life. Readers of Neal Stephenson, Ray Bradbury and Iain M. Banks will love this book.

The print and eBook editions of DISTRUST THAT PARTICULAR FLAVOR are published in the UK by Penguin.

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

‘Gibson is a prophet and a satirist, a black comedian and an astounding architect of cool. He’s also responsible for much of the world we live in.’ — Spectator

‘William Gibson’s collected essays mark him out as a remarkable visionary.’ — Guardian

‘Gibson is, of course, one of our greatest science-fiction writers, exalted for his talent for depicting futures that are just around the corner… Gibson’s writing enters the bloodstream like a drug, producing a mild hallucinogenic effect that lasts for hours… Such is the power of his prose that when I glanced up from the pages of this book and surveyed the street-side around me, I felt as if I were wearing Gibson-glasses…’ — New York Times

‘While his dark and glittering novels still provide the best introduction to his work for newcomers, anyone already in thrall to his sidelong perspective on the world will find lots to enjoy here.’ — The Telegraph

‘William Gibson is one of our finest science fiction authors, because he knows that people are the strangest products science has ever produced. And his new essay collection, DISTRUST THAT PARTICULAR FLAVOR, gives us insight into how he came to understand that so well, when many other SF authors struggle to see it. DISTRUST does not disappoint: Gibson completists will definitely need the book, but I also recommend it for Gibson newbies who want to get a grip on where he’s coming from. Fans of Gibson’s voice will recognize in his non-fiction the luminous, open-ended sound of his novels. Part of that sound comes from the nature of his ideas; the rest, from his skill in bringing the dream-state of our culture to us in lucid yet elusive prose… Gibson’s fiction is in some ways deeply autobiographical: after reading this collection of lovely essays, it’s clear where his characters get their joy for art, music, The Footage, and blue jeans of inscrutable provenance.’ — io9.com

‘… it’s a testament to Gibson’s clinical skills as a writer (and first-class observer) that he can make a fleeting, long-ago first impression sound like a revelation, albeit one on a very deliberately small scale… for all Gibson’s self-effacement, he has highly evolved powers of observation… Though he’s often lauded as a big-picture man, these pieces make one thing clear: He’s even better with the little details.’ — Onion AV Club

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

Audio Spotlight: Algis Budrys

Posted on Friday, August 28th, 2020

This week, we wanted to draw your attention to four classic sci-fi novels by Algis Budrys: WHO?, ROGUE MOON, MICHAELMAS and HARD LANDING. Each of these is available as an audiobook, published by W. F. Howes. Here are some more details…

WHO? was first published in 1958, and was a finalist for a Hugo Award for Best Novel (1959). It was also nominated for a BSFA 50th Anniversary Award in 2007. In 1974, it was adapted into a movie starring Elliott Gould. Here’s the synopsis…

Set against a backdrop of Cold War paranoia, this futuristic novel about identity and technology is “one of the unrecognized classics of SF” (Locus).

East and West have fused into separate superstates known as the Allied National Government (ANG) and the Soviet International Bloc (SIB). As the Cold War rages, brilliant scientist Lucas Martino works on a top-secret project known only as K-Eighty-eight that could alter the balance of world power. The project goes horribly awry at an Allied research facility near the Soviet border, and Martino is abducted.

After several months of tense negotiations, he returns severely injured from the lab explosion, and under pressure from America, undergoes extensive reconstructive surgery. He has a mechanical arm. His polished metal skull-a kind of craniofacial prosthesis-contains few discernible features. Several of his internal organs are artificial. While his fingerprints are identified as belonging to Lucas Martino, they could be the result of transplant. Is he the real Martino? Or a technologically altered impostor sent by America’s enemies for the purpose of spying and infiltration? Tasked with uncovering the truth, ANG Security Chief Shawn Rogers makes some shocking discoveries.

Narrated in chapters alternating between Rogers and Martino, Who? poses existential questions about the human condition.

Budrys’s acclaimed ROGUE MOON, first published in 1960, was a Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel. It is also available as a SF Masterwork edition. Here’s the synopsis…

A monstrous apparatus has been found on the surface of the moon. It devours and destroys in ways so incomprehensible to humans that a new language must be invented to describe it and a new kind of thinking to understand it. So far, the human guinea pigs sent there in hopes of unraveling the murderous maze have all died terrible deaths — except the last, now on suicide watch. The ideal candidate won’t go insane, even as he feels the end approaching. And now they think they’ve found their man.

Al Barker has already stared into the face of death-he can handle it again. But Barker won’t merely have to endure the trauma of dying: he will have to endure it over and over again-mentally linked to an ongoing series of duplicates of himself created and sent to the Moon by matter transmission-until the artifact reveals its secret.

With a cast of fascinating characters taking center stage, Rogue Moon is a rare thriller that doesn’t just make you sweat-it makes you think.

Budrys’s MICHAELMAS was amazingly prescient. Published shortly in the (very) early internet era — 1977 — it included science fictional elements that would come to reflect certain technological advances that actually happened. The novel also landed on Locus’s Best SF Novel lists, two years running (1977-8). Here’s the synopsis…

One of the world’s wealthiest and most influential men, journalist Laurent Michaelmas lives in a penthouse overlooking New York City’s Central Park with his superintelligent computer, Domino. He attained his fame and power after hacking into the worldwide computer network. He then went on to use his unique gifts to create a version of the UN that would ensure global peace. In short, he and Domino secretly run the world. But now he has reason for concern.

A Swiss doctor has cured an astronaut believed to have vaporized in a shuttle explosion during an expedition to the outer planets of the solar system. Suspecting that something extraterrestrial is behind this miraculous recovery, Michaelmas uses his immense influence to launch an international investigation. Are there really aliens in their midst? Is the resurrection of a dead man an attempt to cancel history and destroy the world’s precarious balance of power?

Published less than a decade into the internet era, this remarkable science fiction novel foreshadows many of the world’s technological advances.

HARD LANDING was published in 1993, after the author took a bit of a break from longer fiction. It was nominated for Nebula and SF Chronicle Best Novel awards; and also for the Kurd Lasswitz in Germany, for Best Foreign Novel.

A science fiction adventure told from the point of view of aliens who crash-land on Earth and must assimilate in secret — until their human cover is blown Budrys’s final novel opens with the report of a man found electrocuted on suburban train tracks in Shoreview, Illinois. Neville Sealman appeared to be just another commuter, but after his tragic death, no one comes forward to claim his body. And a routine autopsy reveals some disturbing physiological anomalies. Then a spaceship is unearthed in a New Jersey swamp. It’s the stuff of tabloids-except it’s all true.Years earlier, a starship crash-landed on Earth. Its passengers, human in appearance, were forced to go their separate ways in an alien world. No one knows that these otherworldly visitors have been living among the human race-but now their cover could be blown.

Told in the form of an investigation reconstructed through direct and indirect witness testimony, Hard Landing takes the listener into the minds of its four protagonists as they struggle with the far-reaching ramifications of discovery. This is a suspenseful and revelatory novel about the elusive, ever-changing nature of identity.

These novels are also available as eBooks, published by Open Road Media, joined by two others: FALLING TORCH and THE FURIOUS FUTURE.

Lavie Tidhar’s BY FORCE ALONE now available in audio!

Posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2020

Lavie Tidhar‘s latest critically-acclaimed novel, BY FORCE ALONE is now available as an audiobook! Published by Jammer/W. F. Howes, and narrated by Toby Longworth, here’s the synopsis…

Everyone thinks they know the story of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table, but they don’t know sh*t. There was never a painting that showed the true Britain, that clogged sewer Rome abandoned just as soon as it could. A Britain where petty warlords murdered each other in the mud, while all the while the Angles and Saxons and worst of all the Jutes, were coming over here and taking our lands and taking our jobs and taking our women.

You want to know the truth? Are you sure you can handle the truth? Arthur? An over-promoted gangster, in thrall to that eldritch parasite, Merlin. Excalibur? A shady deal with a watery arms dealer. The Grail Quest? Have you no idea about the aliens and the radioactive blight? Well, you’d better read this then.

The print and eBook editions of the novel are published by Head of Zeus in the UK (out now) and Tor Books in North America (due out in August 2020).

Here is just a small selection of the aforementioned critical acclaim the novel has received already…

‘Profane, hilarious, brutal… kills as both sheer entertainment and canny political statement. To my fellow writers: the Arthurian Revision category is now closed. Take your ball and go home.’ — Daryl Gregory

‘Tidhar turns King Arthur’s court into a gangster’s paradise, full of wheelings and dealings, and true grit. If the tale didn’t go down like this, it should have.’ — Silvia Moreno-Garcia

‘Lavie Tidhar has created something wonderful, and extraordinary blend of history, legend, and sheer, lunatic inspiration. I loved it.’ — Christopher Farnsworth

‘Uther is a chancer and a shagger… [Arthur] is ruthless in pursuit of power… His Lancelot… is a ninja warrior, his Guinevere a killer — the writer is clearly having fun… Tidhar never lands direct political punches… but the very tone and shape of the book are a reminder that we need to treat national myths with caution… this is a novel that demands your attention and proves that sometimes when a writer has the audacity to revisit stories that others would avoid for fear of over-familiarity, they can steal the power of the oldest tales.’ — SFX (4.5*/5)

‘A violent, funny, absurd epic – Tidhar remains an utterly original voice in contemporary fiction.’ — Daniel Polansky

‘Tidhar saturates this epic adventure with profanity, dark humor, sword-sharp twists, and unexpected moments of pathos. Readers who hold King Arthur dear to their hearts will be gratified by Tidhar’s attention to detail amidst the innovation. This dark, imaginative take on a classic is sure to impress.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘Lavie Tidhar has built a career out of not playing it safe. Over the last decade he has written bold, provocative novels… with a flair for metafiction and inspired by the pulps (both hard-boiled and genre)… given the political nature of his work, it’s not entirely surprising that he would shift his focus to the question of nationalism and Brexit… with his latest novel, BY FORCE ALONE, Tidhar takes a mythology the English hold dear, the legend of King Arthur, and goes to town with it… For all its foul language and radical deconstruction, of which I’ve provided only a taste (you should see what Tidhar does with the Holy Grail), BY FORCE ALONE isn’t a desecration of the Arthurian romances. Instead, he pays homage to the writers and poets – Robert Wace, Chretien de Troyes, Wolfram von Eschenbach, and Thomas Mallory (just to name a few) – who took their turn in adapting and refining Monmouth’s text… BY FORCE ALONE is a jolt of pure entertainment, a brilliant, revisionist blend of magic, crime syndicates and Kung-fu knights.’ — Locus

‘The novel is a bloody, bravura performance, which Tidhar pulls off with graphic imagery and modern vernacular… a salutary antidote to the more romantic glossings of recent modern fantasy.’ — Guardian

Brandon Sanderson’s ALCATRAZ returns to audio…

Posted on Wednesday, August 16th, 2017

The fifth instalment in Brandon Sanderson‘s Alcatraz series is available now in audio! Published by W.F. Howes, here’s the synopsis for THE DARK TALENT…

Alcatraz Smedry has successfully defeated the army of Evil Librarians and saved the kingdom of Mokia. Too bad he managed to break the Smedry Talents in the process. Even worse, his father is trying to enact a scheme that could ruin the world, and his friend, Bastille, is in a coma. To revive her Alcatraz must infiltrate the Highbrary, the seat of Evil Librarian power. Can Alcatraz figure out a way to save Bastille and defeat the Evil Librarians?

The first four novels in the series are available in a collected omnibus, published in the UK by Gollancz.

On his thirteenth birthday, Alcatraz — a foster child — gets a bag of sand in the mail which purports to be his ‘inheritance’ sent from his father and mother. The Librarians, of course, immediately steal the bag of sand from him.

This sparks a chain of events which leads Alcatraz to realize that his family is part of a group of freedom fighters who resist the Evil Librarians – the secret cult who actually rule the world. Alcatraz’s grandfather shows up and tows him off to infiltrate the downtown library to steal back the mystical bag of sand. The ensuing story involves talking dinosaurs, sentient romance novels, and a dungeon-like labyrinth hiding beneath the innocent-looking downtown library.

Brandon’s next novel is OATHBRINGER, the third novel in his best-selling Stormlight Archive series. It is due to be published by Gollancz in November.

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