Zeno Agency Ltd.

A literary agency run by John Berlyne

Roger Zelazny’s LORD OF LIGHT Out Now in Turkey!

Posted in Clients, Cover Reveal, News, Release | April 1st, 2016

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Roger Zelazny‘s critically-acclaimed novel LORD OF LIGHT is available again in Turkish! Published by İthaki Yayınları as IŞIK TANRISI, here’s the synopsis…

Roger Zelazny, farklı pek çok mitolojiyi bilimkurgu romanlarına uyarlamasıyla pek çok yazarın yalnızca hayal edebildiği bir şeyi alışkanlık haline getirmiş eşsiz bir yazar. Hint mitolojisiyle harmanlanan Işık Tanrısı ise sadece bilimkurguyu değil, tüm spekülatif kurguyu değiştiren, benzersiz bir roman. Gaiman’ın en iyi romanı olarak kabul edilen Amerikan Tanrıları’na fikir babalığı yapmakla kalmamış, tanrılar ve insanlar arasındaki isim oyunlarına da ilham kaynağı olmuştur. Martin’in epik serisi Buz ve Ateşin Şarkısı’ndaki Işık Tanrısı da ismini bu romandan alır, tıpkı Sam Tarly’nin ismini bu romanın başkahramanı Sam’den aldığı gibi.

Dünya yok olalı çok uzun bir süre olmuştur. Kolonileşmiş bir gezegendeki tüm teknolojik gücü ele geçiren insanlar ise kendilerini ölümsüz kılmış ve Hint tanrılarının rolünü üstlenerek o gezegenin kontrolünü ele geçirmiştir.

Ancak bu kötü niyetli topluluğa karşı çıkacak biri vardır: Siddhartha ya da Mahasamatman; nam-ı diğer Işık Tanrısı.

LORD OF LIGHT is published in the UK by Gollancz, as part of the SF Masterworks series. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

One of the very best must-read SF novels of all time.

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.

Last year, LORD OF LIGHT was also published in Chinese by the Beijing Publishing United Co., Ltd.

Zeno represents Roger Zelazny in translation, on behalf of the Zelazny Estate.

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Tidhar’s THE VIOLENT CENTURY Nominated for Award in Japan!

Posted in Clients, News, Random Stuff | March 31st, 2016

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Lavie Tidhar‘s critically-acclaimed THE VIOLENT CENTURY has been nominated for the 2016 Seiun Award for Best Translated Novel in Japan! Published as 完璧な夏の日 by Tokyo Sogensha (東京創元社) in Japan (in two parts), here’s the synopsis…

第二次世界大戦の直前、世界各地に突如現れた異能力者たちは各国の情報機関や軍に徴集され、死闘を繰りひろげた。そして現在。イギリスの情報機関を辞して久しい異能力者のひとりフォッグは、かつての相棒と上司に呼び出され、過去を回想する。突然の能力発現、仲間との初めての出会い、終わりなき闘いの日々…

THE VIOLENT CENTURY is published in the UK by Hodder, and in the US by Thomas Dunne Books. PS Publishing have also released a limited edition. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

For seventy years they guarded the British Empire. Oblivion and Fogg, inseparable friends, bound together by a shared fate. Until one night in Berlin, in the aftermath of the Second World War, and a secret that tore them apart.

But there must always be an account… and the past has a habit of catching up to the present.

Now, recalled to the Retirement Bureau from which no one can retire, Fogg and Oblivion must face up to a past of terrible war and unacknowledged heroism — a life of dusty corridors and secret rooms, of furtive meetings and blood-stained fields — to answer one last, impossible question: What makes a hero?

Here is just a small selection from the many great reviews the novel’s received…

THE VIOLENT CENTURY… may be his best yet: a blistering alt-historical retelling of a 20th century lousy with superheroes.’ — The Guardian, Best SFF of 2013

‘Lavie Tidhar’s latest is at once a love story, a tragedy, a spy novel, a memoir of a friendship, an exposé of the horrors of war, and a very serious study of the superhero: the origins of the concept as well as its relative relevance. THE VIOLENT CENTURY is a difficult text, yes, but one that gives as good as it gets.’ — Tor.com

‘[A] new masterpiece… a tremendous, unforgettable read… This study in heroism, love, revenge and violence will be in demand by lovers of complex, intelligent sf and alternative history. Anyone who enjoys stories of people with supernatural abilities will thrive reading Tidhar’s world.’ Library Journal

THE VIOLENT CENTURY is about legacy and how heroics play into it, a deeper message than defining what heroics mean: The actions of Fogg and Oblivion have lasting consequences, while at the same time, we can see the weight of the world they’ve helped to build grow on their shoulders. By the end of the book, it’s clear that their own journeys are defined by the actions which they’ve undertaken because it’s what they felt was right, rather than what their orders were.’ – io9.com

‘At the centre of this is the question, ‘What makes a hero?’ The supermen of Tidhar’s novel are forced to commit terrible acts in the name of the greater good, and stand by and watch as terrible acts are committed for the same reason. As well as being a wonderfully drawn and detailed historical espionage tale, THE VIOLENT CENTURY is ultimately a very human story. It’s gripping, imaginative and, finally, moving.’  —  SciFi Now

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(UK, Ltd., US)

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Charlaine Harris’s DAY SHIFT Out Tomorrow in Paperback

Posted in Clients, News, Release | March 30th, 2016

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Charlaine Harris‘s latest supernatural mystery, DAY SHIFT, is out tomorrow in the UK in paperback! The second novel in the Midnight, Texas series, it is published by Gollancz. Here’s the synopsis…

Welcome to the most intriguing mystery you’ll read this year.

Welcome to Midnight, Texas.

It’s a quiet little town, perched at the junction between Davy Road and Witch Light Road, and it’s easy to miss. With its boarded-up windows, single traffic light and sleepy air, there’s nothing special about Midnight… which is exactly how the residents like it.

So when the news comes that a new owner plans to renovate the run-down, abandoned old hotel in town, it’s not met with pleasure. Who would want to come to Midnight, with its handful of shops, the Home Cookin diner, and quiet residents — and why?

But there are bigger problems in the air. When Manfred Bernado, the newest resident in town, is swept up in a deadly investigation suddenly the hotel and its residents are the least of the towns concern. The police, lawyers and journalists are all headed to Midnight, and it’s the worst possible moment…

DAY SHIFT is the stand-alone follow-up to MIDNIGHT CROSSROAD. The third novel in the Midnight, Texas series — NIGHT SHIFT — is due to be published in May 2016.

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Here is just a small selection from the many great reviews DAY SHIFT has received…

‘Superstar Harris is back with the second installment of her fresh new series that explores the mysteries of Midnight, Texas. Harris excels at building a rich cast of characters who are like icebergs, with much lying beneath the surface. Having secondary characters from the Sookie-verse pop in just adds to the intriguing vibe!’RT Book Reviews

‘Outsiders swarm the sleepy streets of Midnight, Tex., as supernatural superstar Harris returns with another practiced out-of-the-ordinary mystery…Harris continues to open up her setting, layering in more secrets as well as revealing some answers, and, in a nod to her fans, dropping the S-bomb to link this series with her famous Southern Vampire Mysteries series.’Publishers Weekly

‘Fresh, innovative and damn good fun to read!’ — Upcoming4Me

‘A rewarding read, a solid story with some great characters in one of the most promising urban fantasy series I’ve seen since the Dresden files.’ — SF Book Reviews

‘The reigning master of ‘‘rural fantasy’’ returns to the tiny village of Midnight, Texas (familiar from Midnight Crossroad) with a new story of magic and mystery, with local psychic Man­fred Bernardo embroiled in a murder case that brings unwelcome publicity to the town. Harris’s customary warmth and humor shines throughout.’Locus

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

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RIVERS OF LONDON: BODY WORK Out Now in US

Posted in Clients, News, Release | March 29th, 2016

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The collected paperback of Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel‘s RIVERS OF LONDON: BODY WORK is out now in the US! It had already been available digitally, but it hits shelves today in dead-tree format. Published by Titan Comics, here’s the synopsis…

Peter Grant looks look your average London police officer, but he is actually a part-time wizard in a very elite branch of the Metropolitan Police. It’s his job to investigate those crimes that regular cops don’t like to talk about because they often involve vampires or strange things in Underground tunnels.

Peter’s latest case features a self-driving killer automobile, a Serbian refugee, the Most Haunted Car in England, a handsome drug dealer with a nice paisley scarf and a seemingly harmless wooden bench with a dark past!

The comic series is set between books four and five in Ben’s Peter Grant urban fantasy series — BROKEN HOMES and FOXGLOVE SUMMER, both of which are published by Gollancz in the UK and DAW Books in the US. Here is the series to-date, including the upcoming THE HANGING TREE:

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Aliette de Bodard Wins two BSFA Awards!

Posted in Clients, News | March 28th, 2016

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On Saturday, the BSFA Awards were announced at Mancunicon, and we’re delighted to share the news that Aliette de Bodard won two! Aliette’s THREE CUPS OF GRIEF, BY STARLIGHT won for Best Short Fiction, and THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS won best novel!

THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS, the first in Aliette’s Dominion of the Fallen series, is published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Roc Books. Here’s the synopsis…

A superb murder mystery, on an epic scale, set against the fall out of a war in heaven

Paris in the aftermath of the Great Magicians War. Its streets are lined with haunted ruins, Notre-Dame is a burnt-out shell, and the Seine runs black, thick with ashes and rubble. Yet life continues among the wreckage. The citizens retain their irrepressible appetite for novelty and distraction, and The Great Houses still vie for dominion over France’s once grand capital.

House Silverspires, previously the leader of those power games, now lies in disarray. Its magic is ailing; its founder, Morningstar, has been missing for decades; and now something from the shadows stalks its people inside their very own walls.

Within the House, three very different people must come together: a naive but powerful Fallen, an alchemist with a self-destructive addiction, and a resentful young man wielding spells from the Far East. They may be Silverspires’ salvation; or the architects of its last, irreversible fall…

THREE CUPS OF GRIEF, BY STARLIGHT was published in Clarkesworld 100.

John Berlyne and editor Gillian Redfearn were at the awards ceremony to congratulate Aliette…

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Cover & Details: THE BEST OF IAN McDONALD

Posted in Clients, Cover Reveal, News | March 25th, 2016

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Due out next month, PS Publishing has unveiled the cover and details for the upcoming THE BEST OF IAN McDONALD anthology! Here’s the synopsis…

Ian McDonald, the author of such landmark novels as Desolation Road, Chaga, River of Gods, and The Dervish House, has long been regarded as one of Britain’s finest SF writers. Just like those full-length works, his shorter fiction has commanded much admiration, and now, in this massive retrospective volume, the best McDonald tales are assembled in glittering array.

Represented here are all the phases of McDonald’s career: the poetic early retro-visions that in the late Eighties signalled the arrival of a marvellously fluent new stylistic voice; the virtuoso Nineties riffs on themes such as the Irish Troubles, nanotechnology, alternate history, and alien sexuality; the bold post-millennial ventures into the futuristic politics of Third World countries such as Kenya, India, and Brazil, as well as far afield to alien solar systems; and recent, dazzlingly conceived variations on the Arab Spring, the nature of superheroes, and Mars as pulp SF writers once fondly imagined it to be. The treasures are abundant, each presented in McDonald’s addictive, immersive prose — language at once elegantly timeless and edgily contemporary.

As the synopsis says, Ian McDonald is a highly-respected author. His most recent novel is LUNA: NEW MOON, which is published by Gollancz in the UK and Tor Books in the US. Gollancz publishes a number of his other novels in the UK. Open Road Media has also published a selection of Ian’s backlist in eBook.

Ian’s fans in the United States can also rejoice, for Subterranean Press has acquired some copies of the book for sale in North America.

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Cover & Details: GUERRE ET DINOSAURES by Victor Milan

Posted in Clients, Cover Reveal, News | March 24th, 2016

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THE DINOSAUR LORDS, Victor Milán‘s critically-acclaimed fantasy, is due to be published in France! The novel will be published by Fleuve as GUERRE ET DINOSAURES, on April 14th. Here’s the synopsis…

Paradis. Pour les dieux, un simple plateau de jeu, le théâtre de leurs passions et luttes de pouvoir. Pour les hommes, c’est une terre brutale et violente, divisée entre dynasties rivales, déchirée par les ambitions et les croyances religieuses, constamment menacée par le machiavélisme politique.

Dans cet état de guerre règnent les dinosaures. Élevés, dressés dès leur plus jeune âge, ils deviennent des armes redoutables dominant les champs de bataille. Et c’est lors d’un affrontement épique dont le fracas pourfend la terre et déchire le ciel que l’énigmatique seigneur Karyl Bogomirskiy est défait par traîtrise et laissé pour mort.

A son réveil, partiellement amnésique, il découvre qu’il est désormais pourchassé. Il se lance alors dans un voyage qui va faire trembler le monde, jusqu’aux trônes des dieux…

The novel is also available in Brazil and Poland. THE DINOSAUR LORDS is published in the US by Tor Books. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

A world made by the Eight Creators on which to play out their games of passion and power, Paradise is a sprawling, diverse, often brutal place. Men and women live on Paradise as do dogs, cats, ferrets, goats, and horses. But dinosaurs predominate: wildlife, monsters, beasts of burden — and of war. Colossal plant-eaters like Brachiosaurus; terrifying meat-eaters like Allosaurus, and the most feared of all, Tyrannosaurus rex. Giant lizards swim warm seas. Birds (some with teeth) share the sky with flying reptiles that range in size from bat-sized insectivores to majestic and deadly Dragons.

Thus we are plunged into Victor Milán’s splendidly weird world of The Dinosaur Lords, a place that for all purposes mirrors 14th century Europe with its dynastic rivalries, religious wars, and byzantine politics… except the weapons of choice are dinosaurs. Where vast armies of dinosaur-mounted knights engage in battle. During the course of one of these epic battles, the enigmatic mercenary Dinosaur Lord Karyl Bogomirsky is defeated through betrayal and left for dead. He wakes, naked, wounded, partially amnesiac — and hunted. And embarks upon a journey that will shake his world.

Here are just a couple of the great reviews the novel has received…

Takes the arresting idea of knights on dinosaurs and expands it into the beginning of a complex and sweeping epic… Milán skillfully crafts his characters, giving each one vivid individuality. He has also given significant thought to just how knights might use dinosaurs as mounts in combat, suggesting novel techniques such as hadrosaurs that make sonic attacks. Readers who pick this up for the gimmick will relish it for the able storytelling.’Publishers Weekly

‘Ever wondered what a tournament joust would look like, if both opponents were charging full-tilt towards each other while mounted on three tons of bellowing hadrosaurus? Honestly, I can’t say I have. But Victor Milán has shown me the light, and it is glorious… well-structured and the pacing was spot on… Even if you do pick this up for love of dinosaurs alone, you’re guaranteed to leave with a lot more than just that, no matter what. Totally worth it.’Bibliosanctum

Zeno represents Victor Milan in translation, on behalf of Kay McCauley at Aurous, Inc.

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Zeno Clients’ Eastercon Schedule

Posted in Clients, News, Random Stuff | March 23rd, 2016

spacer Here are the schedules for Zeno clients attending this year’s Eastercon, Mancunicon.

Two clients are Guests of Honour: Aliette de Bodard and Ian McDonald. In addition, Michael Cobley, Justina Robson, Kari Sperring and Freda Warrington are attending. Here’s where and when you can find them…

Friday, March 25th…

  • Aliette de Bodard & Ian McDonald – “Opening Ceremony: Meet the Guests of Honour” – 12:00-12:30, Deansgate 2&3
  • Justina Robson – “Comma Press Presents: Science into Fiction” – 2:30-3:30pm, Deansgate 2
  • Ian McDonald – “Guest of Honour: Ian McDonald” – 4-5pm, Deansgate 2&3
  • Aliette de Bodard & Kari Sperring – “Revealing History, Revealing Now” – 5:30-6:30pm, Room 8&9
  • Justina Robson – “True Love and Trophies” – 7-8pm, Room 6
  • Ian McDonald – “Whose Line is it Anyway?” – 9:30-10:30pm, Deansgate 2&3

Saturday, March 26th…

  • Aliette de Bodard – “A Feminist Fantasy Canon” – 11:30am-12:30pm, Deansgate 2
  • Ian McDonald – “Kaffeeklatsch” – 1-2pm, Room 10
  • Aliette de Bodard – “Cooking Demonstration” – 2:30-3:30pm, Deansgate 3
  • Kari Sperring & Freda Warrington – “A Tribute to Tanith Lee” – 2:30-3:30pm, Deansgate 2
  • Michael Cobley – “The Stars Are Your Canvas” – 4-5pm, Room 7
  • Justina Robson – “That Which We Call Reality, By Any Other Name…” – 8:30-9:30pm, Presidential Suite

Sunday, March 27th…

  • Ian McDonald – “Terraforming Planets and Living in Space in SF” – 10-11am, Deansgate 3
  • Freda Warrington – “All Roads Lead to King’s Landing” – 11:30am-12:30pm, Room 8&9
  • Aliette de Bodard & Kari Sperring – “Guest of Honour: Aliette de Bodard” – 4-5pm, Deansgate 2&3
  • Freda Warrington – “Kaffeeklatsch” – 4-5pm, Room 10 (sign-up required)
  • Aliette de Bodard – “Food, Glorious Food: Cooking in SF&F” – 5:30-6:30pm, Deansgate 2&3
  • Kari Sperring – “Historical Fiction and Fanfiction” – 5:30-6:30pm, Room 8&9
  • Kari Sperring – “Science Fiction Criticism: Masterclass 1” – 7-8pm, Room 10
  • Michael Cobley – “Third Rock and Roll From the Sun” – 8:30-9:30pm, Room 7

Monday, March 28th…

  • Ian McDonald – “Place, Identity, Story” – 1-2pm, Room 6
  • Aliette de Bodard – “Kaffeeklatsch” – 2:30-3:30pm, Room 10 (sign-up required)
  • Aliette de Bodard & Ian McDonald – “Closing Ceremony” – 4-5pm, Deansgate 2&3

Aliette de Bodard’s latest novel, THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS, is published by Gollancz in the UK and Roc Books in the US.

Ian McDonald’s latest novel is LUNA: NEW MOON, published in the UK by Gollancz, and Tor Books in the US.

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Michael Cobley’s latest novel, ANCESTRAL MACHINES, is published by Orbit. Justina Robson’s GLORIOUS ANGELS is published by Gollancz. Kari Sperring’s THE GRASS KING’S CONCUBINE is published by DAW Books. Freda Warrington’s fourth Blood Wine novel, THE DARK ARTS OF BLOOD, was published by Titan Books in 2015.

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Out Now in the US: WORLD’S END by Will Elliott

Posted in Clients, News, Release | March 22nd, 2016

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The final volume in Will Elliott‘s Pendulum Trilogy is finally out in the US! WORLD’S END is published in North America by Tor Books. Here’s the synopsis…

When Eric Albright, a luckless London slacker, and his pal Stuart Casey went through a battered red door under a railway bridge, the last thing they expected to find was another world. There lay the strange, dark realm of Levaal, whose tyrant lord Vous has ascended to godhood. The great wall which has divided the land has been brought down, setting loose a horde of demonic Tormentors. In their sky prisons, the dragons are stirring, set to defy their slumbering creator and steal humanity’s world.

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