kylaw

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We’re bowled over to see such fantastic support from the editorial team at Orbit Books for Ian Tregillis‘s superb Milkweed trilogy. Over on the Orbit Books blog, Editorial Assistant James Long has taken the time to write about how much the series blew him away…

‘As an editor, there’s no better feeling than reading a submission that blinds you with its sheer brilliance. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does it’s one of the most exciting things about working in publishing… [BITTER SEEDS] left amazed by its vivid prose, bold action sequences and the wonderful depth of its characterisation. Not to mention the underlying plot that regularly crosses into the realms of sheer genius.’

The whole UK editorial team at Orbit has, in fact, gone on record with their gushing praise for Ian’s series.

‘I love the way the plot threads around and twists back on itself, just when you think you’ve got it all worked out, both within the books and between them. Every new page gives you another thread to pull. The writing itself is phenomenal, but it’s the characters and the plot – my god, the plot! – that have got me so hooked. I can’t wait to read Necessary Evil and find out how Ian manages to resolve such a tangled web. Ian’s poor protagonists dance like puppets for the unbearably sinister Gretel, but there must be a master plan behind it all. I can’t believe she doesn’t have one – though I do hope poor Raybould foils it and that he finds the redemption he so desperately wants. He deserves a break after all he’s been through!’ — Anne Clark, Orbit Editorial Director, after reading THE COLDEST WAR

‘After having devoured the entire Milkweed Triptych at the speed of light, I can only conclude is that Ian Tregillis is an absolute genius. The Milkweed books are simply one of the cleverest, most engrossing series I’ve ever read. I often found myself chuckling out loud in public places at the pure brilliance of the plotting, the devious intellect of the protagonists, and the masterful skill of the author’s turn of phrase… Ian Tregillis takes an idea which is already hugely exciting in a very superhero-comic kind of way (mad warlocks fighting scientifically-enhanced Nazi übermensch), but then delivers the concept with such intelligence, such emotional power and such literary flair that you cannot help but fall head-over-heels for him as a writer.’ — Anna Gregson, Orbit Commissioning Editor

The Milkweed trilogy – BITTER SEEDS, THE COLDEST WAR and NECESSARY EVIL – is out now in the UK. If you haven’t tried it yet… well, get thee to a bookshop!

And if you have read this series, note that Orbit have another series in the pipeline from Ian. More on that in due course.

http://zenoagency.com/news/happy-publication-day-maggie-furey/

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Maggie Furey‘s EXODUS OF THE XANDIM, the highly-anticipated sequel to HERITAGE OF THE XANDIM is published by Gollancz today. This brand new novel takes readers back into the history of her much loved Aurian fantasy world.

The Xandim novels are a perfect introduction to the richness and wonder of Aurian, and tell the story of the genesis of the Artefacts of Power, charting the epic struggle for freedom of a cursed people. Here’s the synopsis…

Return to the lands of Aurian.

Return to a time when even the land was a different shape. When the fabled Artefacts of Power were shaped. And when a race was fighting for freedom…

Corisand, shaman of the Xandim, is locked in a desperate fight to free her tribe from slavery, accompanied by her friend, the blind Wizard Iriana.

They have achieved the first step; the recovery of the powerful Fialan stone, but now the evil Magefolk are plotting a ruinous war, and the Archwizard Cyran wants to take the stone and use it as a weapon.

Will Corisand succeed in mastering the enigmatic Fialan before she and her people are swept up in a conflict that that will change the world for ever?

The Xandim are a people enslaved by the fey and powerful Phaerie, masters of the Old Magic. They were trapped in their horse forms for so long they forgot their human shapes, until their shaman, Windeye, found a way to rouse some of her people and bring them back to their humanity. But the quest to free the Xandim is not over. Indeed, the fight for freedom has only just begun.

Back in the mid-1990s, Maggie‘s debut novel, AURIAN, was nominated for three prestigious genre awards – the British Fantasy Award for Best Newcomer (which she won!), the Campbell Award and the LOCUS Award. Since then, she has gone on to publish eleven fantasy novels, each of which were warmly received and some are now considered beloved classics…

‘… a sweeping tale that has such likeable and rich characters, set in a world that is equally endowed with depth and history… Fresh, strong, unique and enjoyable [heroes]. We know who they are and enjoy their journeys immensely. Our heroine is probably one of the strongest and deepest that I’ve had the pleasure of reading… A very beautiful setting with a great history and little secrets to discover.’ — Fantasy Faction on AURIAN (Maggie’s debut)

‘AURIAN is a highly entertaining story that, with a boundless sense of “sky’s the limit” confidence, unapologetically runs the gamut from heroic high adventure to bodice-ripper… It may well be the greatest guilty pleasure the fantasy genre has produced in the last decade… Maggie Furey is an author who understands the magic in fulfilling a wish.’ — SFReviews.net

http://zenoagency.com/news/another-nomination-for-tim-powers/

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Hot on the heels of Tim Powers‘ LOCUS nomination for HIDE ME AMONG THE GRAVES, it was announced today that the novel has also been nominated for a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature!

Winners will be announced at Mythcon 44, July 12-15th, 2013, in East Lansing, Michigan. Congratulations again to Tim, this is a well-deserved nomination, and we wish him the best of luck.

http://zenoagency.com/news/locus-nominations-for-tim-powers-and-aliette-debodard/

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Last week, the 2013 LOCUS Awards Finalists were announced, and we’re delighted to report that Zeno clients have once again featured…

First up, the great Tim Powers, whose superb HIDE ME AMONG THE GRAVES (Morrow/Corvus) has been nominated in the ‘Best Fantasy Novel’ category. This complex novel – part Vampire story, part Secret History – has received a lot of deserved attention and praise, with the UK Independent describing it as ‘one of his best’ and the author as ‘one of dark fantasy’s major eccentrics’, who has ‘not mellowed or grown more ordinary with age’.

Here’s the synopsis…

London, 1862. A city of over three million souls, of stinking fog and dark, winding streets.

Through these streets walks the poet Christina Rossetti, haunted and tormented by the ghost of her uncle, John Polidori. Without him, she cannot write, but her relationship with him threatens to shake London itself to the ground.

This fascinating, clever novel vividly recreates the stews and slums of Victorian London – a city of dreadful delight. But it is the history of a hidden city, where nursery rhymes lead the adventurer through haunted tunnels and inverted spires. And where the price of poetic inspiration is blood.

At the beginning of last month, we put up a post about the recent Hugo Nominations, commenting that there is ‘just no stopping’  the exceptionally talented Aliette deBodard this year. Well, it seems she wasn’t quite done!!

Having already racked up a BSFA nomination, two Nebula Award nominations, and subsequently two Hugo Award nominations for her novella ON A RED STATION, DRIFTING and her short story “Immersion” (Clarkesworld 6/12), she’s only gone and done it again!

Both of these works are on LOCUS awards shortlist – in the Best Novella and Best Short Story categories, respectively. And let’s also not forget that The Guardian last month selected Aliette as one of their Best Young Novelists – from SF’s Universe. Aliette the Unstoppable!

Here is the synopsis for ON A RED STATION, DRIFTING…

For generations Prosper Station has thrived under the guidance of its Honoured Ancestress: born of a human womb, the station’s artificial intelligence has offered guidance and protection to its human relatives.

But war has come to the Dai Viet Empire. Prosper’s brightest minds have been called away to defend the Emperor; and a flood of disorientated refugees strain the station’s resources. As deprivations cause the station’s ordinary life to unravel, uncovering old grudges and tearing apart the decimated family, Station Mistress Quyen and the Honoured Ancestress struggle to keep their relatives united and safe. What Quyen does not know is that the Honoured Ancestress herself is faltering, her mind eaten away by a disease that seems to have no cure; and that the future of the station itself might hang in the balance…

Incidentally, there’s a nice connection between the two nominated authors. Back in 2007, Aliette was a Writers of the Future Award winner – one of her tutors there? A certain Tim Powers!

And – stop the presses! – news came in over the weekend that Aliette has been nominated again (twice!!) for the 2013 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for her short stories “Immersion” and “Scattered Along the River of Heaven“ (Clarkesworld 1/12)! The Sturgeon Award will be presented June 14, 2013, at the Campbell Conference, held at the Oread Hotel in Lawrence, Kansas, June 14-16, 2014. The award recognises exceptional work in short fiction field, and is awarded alongside the John W. Campbell Memorial Award.

Best of luck to both Tim and Aliette.

http://zenoagency.com/news/new-deal-myke-coles-operator-books-go-to-headline/

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Zeno is very happy to announce a new deal for Myke Cole whose Operator books have been acquired by John Wordsworth at Headline – who have, of course, already published two of Myke’s Shadow Ops books to great acclaim – with a third due out later this year. These three new  titles are set in the same reality.

The first of the new books will be GEMINI CELL, which is set be a prequel to Myke’s debut novel, CONTROL POINT…

Set in the early days of the Great Reawakening, GEMINI CELL witnesses the birth of the Supernatural Operations Corps out of covert unit dabbling in the occult. Caught in the middle is James Schweitzer, a US Navy SEAL who stumbles upon the secret and pays with his life. But SEALs are a breed apart, and death is only the first step on Schweitzer’s long road to vengeance, revelation and redemption.

The story, Myke says, takes place in ‘a lower magic, occult setting’, yet ’offers the same high octane modern military fantasy that readers of the original SHADOW OPS trilogy will love.’

John Wordsworth said of the deal ‘Myke is ridiculously talented and his writing just keep getting better. I’m thrilled to be working with him on the next three books,’

UK Audio rights went to W.F. Howes in a separate deal.

Myke Cole is represented in the UK and Commonwealth by the Zeno Agency on behalf of Joshua Bilmes of the JABberwocky Agency, Inc. in New York.

http://zenoagency.com/news/ian-macleod-on-story-behind-snodgrass/

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Ian R. MacLeod fans should be sure to catch this great post about his short story collection SNODGRASS AND OTHER ILLUSIONS, and his enduring love for the short story medium.

‘… back from the time when people first gathered around a fire to shelter from the darkness, the short story lies at the heart of what we humans are. We like wonder. We like surprise. We like fresh experience. We want to be reminded how it feels to be young, or scared, or deeply in love. And then, after an hour or so (and much as with going to the movies), we’ll stretch and smile and shiver, and head off to bed. The exchange is so natural that the wonder isn’t that short stories have dwindled in popularity, but that any other kind of fiction has ever managed to succeed…

‘Short fiction isn’t a lesser form to the novel. It’s simpler different, and lighter on its toes. After all, there’s a lot to be said for brevity… It’s a fact of our existence that the very best, most memorable and exciting things we experience in life come and go astonishingly quickly. Short fiction celebrates this. We all should.’

SNODGRASS AND OTHER ILLUSIONS is available now, in eBook format from  Open Road Media, and of course, the Sky Television adaptation of  SNODGRASS was broadcast only last month.

http://zenoagency.com/news/freda-warrington-will-be-signing-at-forbidden-planet-this-weekend/

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We are delighted to announce that, to celebrate the release of Freda Warrington‘s newly re-issued and repackaged A TASTE OF BLOOD WINE, Freda will be visiting Forbidden Planet in London on Saturday 11th May (between 4-5pm) to sign copies of the book.

First published in 1992, there has been a great buzz surrounding the Titan re-releases. In addition, fans will be happy to learn that a new, never-before-published fourth book in the series, THE DARK ARTS OF BLOOD, is due to be published in October 2014.

‘Not merely one of the finest fantasy novels of recent years, but one of the finest ever. Should not be missed.’  –  Brian Stableford

‘Throbs with lush romanticism.’  –  The Times

‘… a really, really splendid read… Freda Warrington is like a cross between Anne Rice and Kim Newman – she has the sweep of one, the cleverness of the other. Titan will be reissuing the other titles in the series throughout the year, and they’re not to be missed.’  –  Starburst

Here’s the synopsis…

1918. A First World War battlefield becomes the cosmic battleground for two vampires, as Karl von Wultendorf struggles to free himself from his domineering maker, Kristian.

1923. Charlotte Neville watches as her father, a Cambridge professor, fills Parkland Hall with guests for her sister Madeleine’s 18th birthday party. Among them is his handsome new research assistant Karl – the man Madeleine has instantly decided will be her husband. Charlotte, shy and retiring, is happy to devote her life to her father and her dull fiance Henry – until she sees Karl…

For Charlotte, it is the beginning of a deadly obsession that sunders her from her sisters, her father and even her dearest friend. As their feverish passion grows, Karl faces the dilemma he fears the most. Only by deserting Charlotte can his passion for her blood be conquered. Only by betraying her can he protect her from the terrifying attentions of Kristian – for Kristian has decided to teach Karl a lesson in power, by devouring Charlotte.

A TASTE OF BLOOD WINE (May 2013) and A DANCE IN BLOOD VELVET (October 2013)

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The Wait Is Over…!

Happy Publication Day to the wonderful Charlaine Harris, author of the blockbuster Sookie Stackhouse series.

The hotly anticipated thirteenth, and final, novel in the series, DEAD EVER AFTER, published by Gollancz here in the UK and British Commonwealth, hits bookstore shelves today.

Sookie Stackhouse has one last adventure in store.

Life has taken her from a waitress in Merlotte’s Bar, Bon Temps, to part owner; from social outcast to the heart of her community; from a vampire’s girlfriend to the wife of one of the most powerful vampires in the state.

She has survived explosions, revolutions and attempts on her life. Sookie has endured betrayal, heartbreak and grief…and she has emerged a little stronger, and little wiser, every time.

But with life comes new trials…

The question is, in the end: who will love, who will live, and who will be dead ever after?

To celebrate the completion of the series, Gollancz has posted a series of interview-clips on their blog, featuring Charlaine looking back over the entire series.

Charlaine Harris is represented by Zeno in United Kingdom and British Commonwealth only, on behalf ofthe  Jabberwocky Literary Agency.