Audio rights to Molly Tanzer’s CREATURES OF CHARM AND HUNGER, to Brian Sweany at Recorded Books, by Katie Shea Boutillier on behalf of Cameron McClure.
Audio rights to Nalo Hopkinson’s THE SALT ROADS, to Kim Budnick at Tantor Media, by Katie Shea Boutillier on behalf of Donald Maass.
Spanish rights to the first two books in Martha Wells’ Nebula Award-winning The Murderbot Diaries series, ALL SYSTEMS RED and ARTIFICIAL CONDITION, to Alethé, by Maru de Montserrat at International Editors’ Co. in association with Jennifer Jackson and Michael Curry.
French rights to Yoon Ha Lee’s RAVEN STRATAGEM, the second book in the Hugo- and Nebula-nominated Machineries of Empire series, to Denoël, by Robin Batet at Anna Jarota Agency in association with Jennifer Jackson and Michael Curry.
Turkish rights to Hugo, John W. Campbell Award and Compton Crook Award Winner Ada Palmer’s TOO LIKE THE LIGHTNING, to Eksik Parca, by Merve Ongen at ONK Agency in association with Katie Shea Boutillier on behalf of Cameron McClure.
Omnibus Italian rights to World Fantasy, Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author, Nnedi Okorafor’s BINTI novella series, to Mandadori, by Stefania Fietta at Donzelli Fietta Agency in association with Katie Shea Boutillier on behalf of Donald Maass.
French rights to Jo Walton’s LIFELODE, to Denoël, by Robin Batet at Anna Jarota Agency in association with Katie Shea Boutillier on behalf of Cameron McClure.
Korean rights to Yoon Ha Lee’s REVENANT GUN, the third book in the Hugo- and Nebula-nominated Machineries of Empire series, to East-Asia Publishing Co., by Henry Shin at Eric Yang Agency in association with Jennifer Jackson and Michael Curry.
Russian rights to Yoon Ha Lee’s RAVEN STRATAGEM and REVENANT GUN, the second and third books in the Hugo- and Nebula-nominated Machineries of Empire series, to Eksmo, by Igor Korzhenevski at Alexander Korzhenevski Agency in association with Jennifer Jackson and Michael Curry.
French rights to New York Times best-selling author Kim Harrison’s PERfunctory afFECTION, to MxM Bookmark, by Robin Batet at Anna Jarota Agency in association with Jennifer Jackson and Michael Curry.
Publishers Weekly: Bennett’s stunning fantasy, the first in a series, is set in Tevanne, a city-state run by four merchant houses, funded by pillaging nearby lands and powered by scrivers who use sigils to make devices that defy reality.
When talented thief Sancia Grado steals a sentient golden key named Clef, she’s pursued by paladin-like police captain Gregor Dandolo, scion of the Dandolo merchant house. Clef and Sancia are both shocked when they find they can communicate telepathically. This and Sancia’s other abilities—linked to a painful scar on her skull—hint at strange, terrible things in her past.
The endlessly inventive Bennett (the Divine Cities trilogy) brings humor and empathy to his portrayal of Sancia, a dark-skinned woman who bears substantial physical and psychological scars from being enslaved and experimented on, and who deeply resents her unwanted talents. Sancia and Clef’s friendship is poignant, and her journey of self-realization serves as a backbone for nearly nonstop, cleverly choreographed action sequences.
This is a crackling, wonderfully weird blend of science fiction, fantasy, heist adventure, and a pointed commentary on what it means to be human in a culture obsessed with technology, money, and power.
Kirkus: Bennett (City of Miracles, 2017, etc.) inaugurates another series of imaginative, thoroughly idiosyncratic fantasy novels.
Mona Lisa meets The Matrix in Bennett’s introduction to the carefully constructed world of Tevanne, a city-state dominated by four merchant houses—literally. The four big boy…are no match for Sancia Grado, a gamin version of the Tom Cruise of Mission Impossible, if not Spiderman.
Sancia scales walls and penetrates castle keeps with ease, and she’s not above dispatching a guard or two in the pursuit of her work: “She did have her stiletto, and she was an able sneak, and though she was small, she was strong for her size.” Bless her heart, Sancia shows mercy, pulls off the heist she was hired for, then retreats into the teeming, seething world between the walls of those great houses, whose masters have made a killing with a thing called “scriving”—“instructions written upon mindless objects that convinced them to disobey reality in select ways.”
Thus a carriage on a horizontal plane might be commanded to roll as if on a steep slope, removing the need for horses to pull it. But what if some corporate villain were to scrive a person in such a way that he or she might become a soldier impervious to pain or discomfort, an arrow that might travel with the wall-breaking force of a cannonball?
If you accept the notion that the laws of gravity are just suggestions, this makes for a grand entertainment.
Call them outcasts, call them savages—they’ve been called worse, by their own mothers—but Jackal is proud to be a Grey Bastard.
He and his fellow half-orcs patrol the barren wastes of the Lot Lands, spilling their own damned blood to keep civilized folk safe. A rabble of hard-talking, hog-riding, whore-mongering brawlers they may be, but the Bastards are Jackal’s sworn brothers, fighting at his side in a land where there’s no room for softness.
And once Jackal’s in charge—as soon as he can unseat the Bastards’ tyrannical, seemingly unkillable founder—there’s a few things they’ll do different. Better.
Or at least, that’s the plan. Until the fallout from a deadly showdown makes Jackal start investigating the Lot Lands for himself. Soon, he’s wondering if his feelings have blinded him to ugly truths about this world, and the Bastards’ place in it.
In a quest for answers that takes him from decaying dungeons to the frontlines of an ancient feud, Jackal finds himself battling invading orcs, rampaging centaurs, and grubby human conspiracies alike—along with a host of dark magics so terrifying they’d give even the heartiest Bastard pause.
Finally, Jackal must ride to confront a threat that’s lain in wait for generations, even as he wonders whether the Bastards can—or should–survive.
Delivered with a generous wink to Sons of Anarchy, featuring sneaky-smart worldbuilding and gobs of fearsomely foul-mouthed charm, The Grey Bastards is a grimy, pulpy, masterpiece—and a raunchy, swaggering, cunningly clever adventure that’s like nothing you’ve read before.
Booklist: Deep Roots is a marvel of a fantasy novel, with monsters fighting for their very existence and a place to call their own.
Publishers Weekly: French’s half-orcs, halflings, centaurs, and others have rich histories and folklore, giving the work depth while never getting in the way of the fun. This is excellent fantasy fare on all levels.
Kirkus: French’s adrenaline-fueled adventure fantasy, which features badass gangs of tattooed half-orcs on the backs of giant war hogs thundering across a lawless wasteland, is an unapologetically brutal thrill ride—like Mad Max set in Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
Powered by unparalleled worldbuilding, polished storytelling, and relentless pacing, French’s novel is a cool fusion of classic adventure fantasy and 21st-century pop-culture sensibilities with nonstop action; a cast of unforgettable and brilliantly authentic characters; vulgar but witty dialogue; and strong female characters who overturn old sexist conventions. This is a dirty, blood-soaked gem of a novel. An addictively readable—and undeniably cool—fantasy masterwork.
Congratulations to all the DMLA authors who are finalists in the 2018 Locus Awards!
SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
Raven Stratagem, Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris US; Solaris UK)
Seven Surrenders, Ada Palmer (Tor; Head of Zeus)
FANTASY NOVEL
The Stone in the Skull, Elizabeth Bear (Tor)
City of Miracles, Robert Jackson Bennett (Broadway; Jo Fletcher)
HORROR NOVEL
Food of the Gods, Cassandra Khaw (Abaddon US; Abaddon UK)
YOUNG ADULT BOOK
Akata Warrior, Nnedi Okorafor (Viking)
FIRST NOVEL
Winter Tide, Ruthanna Emrys (Tor.com Publishing)
NOVELLA
Binti: Home, Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com Publishing)
All Systems Red, Martha Wells, (Tor.com Publishing)
NOVELETTE
“The Worshipful Society of Glovers,” Mary Robinette Kowal (Uncanny 7-8/17)
“Extracurricular Activities,” Yoon Ha Lee (Tor.com 2/15/17)
German audio rights to Mary Robinette Kowal’s Hugo Award-winning novelette “The Lady Astronaut of Mars,” to Argon Verlag GmbH via Aylin Kuhls at the Thomas Schlueck Agency in association with Jennifer Jackson and Michael Curry.
Russian rights to Jo Walton’s TOOTH AND CLAW, to AST, by Igor Korzhenevski at Alexander Korzhenevski Agency in association with Katie Shea Boutillier on behalf of Cameron McClure.
Japanese rights to Martha Wells’ Nebula- and Hugo-nominated The Murderbot Diaries series (ALL SYSTEMS RED, ARTIFICIAL CONDITION, ROGUE PROTOCOL, and EXIT STRATEGY), to Tokyo Sogensha, at auction, by Kohei Hattori at The English Agency (Japan) in association with Jennifer Jackson and Michael Curry.
Russian rights to World Fantasy, Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor’s WHO FEARS DEATH, to Livebook, at auction, by Igor Korzhenevski at Alexander Korzhenevski Agency in association with Katie Shea Boutillier.