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Solaris acquires queer science fantasy debut by Meredith Mooring

Solaris is thrilled to announce the acquisition of Redsight by Meredith Mooring, a queer science fantasy debut of priestesses, pirates and power with a blind heroine, for publication in Spring 2024.

Redsight follows a blind priestess who powers warships for the galactic military by manipulating spacetime. When the captain of her ship is murdered by a pirate with a dark past, she must choose between a painful life of service or a chance at freedom with the galaxy’s most wanted criminal.

World All Languages Rights were acquired by Amy Borsuk from Ernie Chiara at Fuse Literary.

Author Meredith Mooring on the acquisition:

“I’m excited to share a story from my perspective as a blind writer. Fiction by authors with disabilities isn’t common in the science fiction and fantasy genre, and I hope this book will introduce readers to new concepts and experiences.”

Acquiring Editor Amy Borsuk:

“Space pirates, queer love, a powerful mythos, a blind witch protagonist – REDSIGHT is a richly packed world with compelling characters. I’m so excited to be working with Meredith to bring this unique story to sci-fi and fantasy fans alike.”

Meredith Mooring is an employment discrimination attorney from North Carolina and a graduate of The Seeing Eye guide dog school. In her spare time she serves on the board of directors for a non-profit that pairs guide dogs with blind children.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk

For rights enquiries please contact Reitha Pattison, Rights Manager: reitha.pattison@rebellion.co.uk

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OUT NOW: The House of Styx by Derek Künsken (paperback)!

We’re delighted to be wishing a very happy book birthday to the paperback edition of The House of Styx by Derek Künsken!

Set 250 years before The Quantum Magician, The House of Styx combines science fiction with family saga in a stunning novel of discovery and survival.

Life can exist anywhere. And anywhere there is life, there is home.

In the swirling clouds of Venus, George-Étienne and his children are one of a few families of la colonie living on floating plant-like trawlers, salvaging what they can in the fierce acid rain and crackling storms. Outside is deadly for the unprepared or unwary, but the planet’s atmosphere is far from the only threat a family can face.

For the surface of Venus carries its own secrets, too. In the depths, there is a wind that shouldn’t exist. For George-Étienne and the House of Styx, harnessing it may be worth risking all.

“This electrifying planetary adventure features a hardscrabble family that earnestly addresses issues of addiction, gender, sexuality, and disability while surviving storms of all sorts in the hostile clouds of Venus. Highly recommended.” – Library Journal (Starred Review)

“A stunning new sci-fi family drama that admirably shoulders the burden of two heavy genres and distills them into an exhilarating and heart-breaking journey of discovery.” – SciFiNow

“Künsken’s vivid worldbuilding is a knockout… This is a must-read.” – Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

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Solaris to publish queer space western by Grace Curtis

Solaris is thrilled to announce the acquisition of Frontier by Grace Curtis, a queer space western for fans of Firefly and The Mandalorian, for publication in Spring 2023.

Three hundred years after most of the human race fled the Ravaged Earth, Captain Kei Marshal is a crewmember on the first ship to attempt a return to the homeworld. When the ship crashes and Kei’s escape pod lands hundreds of miles away from the rest of the wreckage, she must go on a long and dangerous journey through an inhospitable landscape to find her way back to the woman she loves.

North America English Language Rights were acquired by Jim Killen from Zoë Plant at The Bent Agency.

Author Grace Curtis on the acquisition:

“I could not be more stoked about the US release of Frontier. Not only is the cover gorgeous, but I get to work with an actual bona-fide legend in the form of Jim Killen. Plus, my space western is gonna be on sale in the actual west. How cool is that?”

Acquiring Editor Jim Killen:

“Grace Curtis‘s Frontier is a book I loved from the first page. The character, her journey and her story are everything I want in a book. It’s such an incredibly strong and compelling debut novel I’m excited to have it on Rebellion’s list.”

Outside of novels, Grace Curtis mostly makes her living from video games. She’s written for magazines like Eurogamer and Edge, and has a wonderful day job at an indie game publisher called Future Friends. When not writing she can usually be found up a hill somewhere, climbing or hiking or lolling idly in the grass. She lives in Bristol, UK.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk.

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Solaris to publish Yoon Ha Lee’s debut YA trilogy, Lancers, for the UK

Solaris is delighted to announce the acquisition of Yoon Ha Lee’s debut YA trilogy, Lancers, with book one planned for late 2023.

Space opera Lancers follows trainee Imperial lancer pilot, Hwa Young. When she uncovers a terrible secret the Empire has been hiding from its citizens, she’s forced to return to her rebel roots to save her world.

UK/BC English Rights were acquired by David Moore from Anna Carmichael at Abner Stein.

Author Yoon Ha Lee on the acquisition:

“I’m extremely excited to be working with Rebellion again, and happy that the books have found a home here!”

Acquiring Editor David Moore:

“Delighted to welcome Lee home again! Lancers is a thrilling story and one I’m excited to bring to our readers.”

Yoon Ha Lee’s novel Ninefox Gambit came out from Solaris in 2016 and quickly garnered massive critical acclaim and was short-listed for the Arthur C. Clarke, Hugo and Nebula Awards. It won the Best First Novel Award in the Locus Awards and the Reddit Fantasy Award. His story collection Conservation of Shadows was released by Prime Books in 2013. He lives in Louisiana with his family and an extremely lazy cat, and has not yet been eaten by gators.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk

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Solaris to publish cyberpunk mosaic novel by Lavanya Lakshminarayan

Solaris is delighted to announce the acquisition of The Ten-Percent Thief by Lavanya Lakshminarayan, a sci-fi novel of corporate greed and resistance with an Indian twist, for publication in Spring 2023.

In a future where the world’s nations have collapsed and Bangalore has been rebranded as Apex City, the elite Virtuals and downtrodden Analogs live on either side of an electric shield that strikes through the city’s centre. Technology is the key to power, so when Analog thief Nāyaka steals a genetically-modified jacaranda bud, and plants it on the Analog side of the city, the tree that blossoms becomes a clarion call for rebellion.

World All Languages Rights, excluding Asia, and French and Italian languages, were acquired by David Moore from Cameron McClure at the Donald Maas Literary Agency.

Author Lavanya Lakshminarayan on the acquisition:

“This is a “pinch me, I must be dreaming” moment! I’ve always admired Rebellion Publishing’s list, and I’m thrilled to have found a place on it, in the company of so many wonderful writers whose work I love and cherish.

The Ten-Percent Thief is my debut novel, and it’s a mosaic woven through the streets of India in the near future. It’s part-satirical, part-hopeful, all cyberpunk and revolution, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it.

I’m super grateful to David Moore and Cameron McClure for giving my words a home, and for letting my imaginings thrive unfettered. They’ve travelled with me on journeys into the unknown, and transformed my dreams into the pages of The Ten-Percent Thief. I can’t wait for you to step into this future we’ve built, and I’m excited about the many worlds we’re shaping beyond!”

Acquiring Editor David Moore:

“The Ten Percent Thief is a book for our time, cyberpunk revisited for the 2020s. It’s a scathing satire on social media, on the gig economy, on the inequalities of our society and the lies it tells to preserve them. And it’s fun, too, and often funny. I’m hugely looking forward to working with Lavanya on this.”

Lavanya Lakshminarayan lives between Bangalore and Hyderabad, and grew up in the former. She spent ten years as a game designer, building worlds and crafting narratives for massive successes like FarmVille and Mafia Wars. She’s travelled across the world, but loves coming home to her two dogs and the legion of stray cats she cares for. She can be found on Instagram at @lavanya.ln and Twitter at @lavanya_ln.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk.

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Mickey7 to be adapted by Bong Joon Ho!

We’re absolutely delighted to share the news that Edward Ashton’s unputdownable sci-fi thriller, Mickey7, is set to be adapted for the big screen by Bong Joon Ho, the Oscar-winning director of Parasite.

Mickey7 will be released on 17 February 2022, so now’s the perfect time to pre order your copy!

Dying isn’t any fun…but at least it’s a living.

Mickey7 is an Expendable: a disposable employee on a human expedition sent to colonize the ice world Niflheim. Whenever there’s a mission that’s too dangerous—even suicidal— the crew turns to Mickey. After one iteration dies, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact. Mickey signed on to escape from both bad debts and boredom on Midgard.

After six deaths, Mickey7 understands the terms of his deal…and why it was the only colonial position unfilled when he took it.

When he goes missing and is presumed dead at the hands of deadly indigenous creatures, Mickey8 reports for duty, and their troubles really begin.

“Excellent” — The FT

“Andy Weir, watch out!” — Stephen Baxter

For press enquiries, please contact Jess Gofton, PR and Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk

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OUT NOW: Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley (Paperback)

We’re thrilled to announce that Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley is out now in paperback!

Jamaica Inn by way of Jeff Vandermeer, Ursula Le Guin, Angela Carter and Michel
Faber, Skyward Inn is a beautiful, literary tale of belonging, identity and regret.

Drink down the brew and dream of a better Earth.

Skyward Inn, within the high walls of the Western Protectorate, is a place of safety, where people come together to tell stories of the time before the war with Qita.

But safety from what? Qita surrendered without complaint when Earth invaded; Innkeepers Jem and Isley, veterans from either side, have regrets but few scars.

Their peace is disturbed when a visitor known to Isley comes to the Inn asking for help, bringing reminders of an unnerving past and triggering an uncertain future.

Did humanity really win the war?

Whiteley explores questions of identification, attachment and belonging, tying everything together in a wonderfully surreal and weirdly uplifting denouement.”The FT

When it comes to misdirection, Aliya Whiteley is the very devil.” — The Times

“Skyward Inn feels like an instant classic of the genre.” — The Guardian

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Solaris to publish queer sci-fi Hamlet retelling by debut author Em X. Liu

Solaris is thrilled to announce the acquisition of The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu, a queer, locked-room sci-fi mystery inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet, for publication in September 2023.

Hayden Lichfield’s breakthrough in his pursuit of immortality should be cause for celebration. Then he finds his father murdered, and everyone thinks he did it. As he flees with their research, his uncle puts Elsinore Labs on lockdown, and Hayden’s only ally is the laboratory’s AI, Horatio…

World All Languages Rights were acquired by David Moore from Penelope Burns at the Gelfman Schneider Literary Agency.

Author Em X. Liu on the acquisition:

“The Death I Gave Him is an alchemic mixture in its own right—born out of the copious liner notes in my copy of Hamlet, biochemistry equations from my senior’s thesis, a healthy dose of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the night I watched Ex Machina three times in a row, and my enduring love of manic, overambitious blond protagonists as instilled in me by encountering Death Note at a formative age. I’m absolutely galvanized that it’s found a home at Rebellion, pointy bits and all.”

Acquiring Editor David Moore:

“I’m a sucker for: Shakespeare adaptations, really good AI characters and rich, beautiful prose. The Death I Gave Him is smart, engrossing and gorgeously written; it’s gonna knock some socks off.”

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR and Marketing Manager – Fiction and Non Fiction: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk

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Jonathan Strahan reveals line up for Best Science Fiction & Fastasy of the Year Volume Ten

Jonathan Strahan, anthologist extraordinaire and one of the finest minds working in genre publishing today, has revealed the line up for his next Solaris Anthology, The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume Ten.

And it is… well, it’s magnificent. Check out this list of luminaries:

  • “City of Ash”, Paolo Bacigalupi
  • “The Heart’s Filthy Lesson”, Elizabeth Bear
  • “The Machine Starts”, Greg Bear
  • “The Winter Wraith”, Jeffrey Ford
  • “Black Dog”, Neil Gaiman
  • “Jamaica Ginger”, Nalo Hopkinson & Nisi Shawl
  • “Drones”, Simon Ings
  • “Emergence”, Gwyneth Jones
  • “Dancy vs. the Pterosaur”, Caitlin R. Kiernan
  • “Another Word for World”, Ann Leckie
  • “The Game of Smash and Recovery”, Kelly Link
  • “The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn”, Usman T. Mailk
  • “Botanica Veneris: Thirteen Papercuts by Ida Countess Rathangan”, Ian McDonald
  • “Little Sisters”, Vonda McIntyre
  • “Calved”, Sam J. Miller
  • “Ghosts of Home”, Sam J. Miller
  • “The Deepwater Bride”, Tamsyn Muir
  • “The Empress in Her Glory”, Robert Reed
  • “A Murmuration”, Alastair Reynolds
  • “Oral Argument”, Kim Stanley Robinson
  • “Water of Versailles”, Kelly Robson
  • “Capitalism in the 22nd Century”, Geoff Ryman
  • “The Karen Joy Fowler Book Club”, Nike Sulway
  • “The Lily and the Horn”, Catherynne Valente
  • “Blood, Ash, Braids”, Genevieve Valentine
  • “Kaiju maximus®: ‘So Various, So Beautiful, So New’”, Kai Ashante Wilson
  • “Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers”, Alyssa Wong

The cover art, inspired by an Ian McDonald story, is by Domenic Harman, and it obviously rocks to the very foundations of the earth.

Pre-order The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume Ten now!
UK|US

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Weston Ochse’s Favourite Sci-fi Soldier

I was asked to come up with a list of my favorite five sci fi soldiers. It’s a very hard thing to do.

So many of my favorites are similar in so many ways. They’re confident and broken. They’re fearless and terrified. They can McGyver anything they come across, but sometimes trip over their own feet. They can be heels yet inspire. These favorite fictional soldiers very often mirror the traits I see in real soldiers I admire.

Chesty Puller went from a Marine private to a three star general and he had all of these traits.

Outspoken and soldier-loving David Hackworth has all of these traits.

My good friend Command Sergeant Major Scott Marshall has all of these traits.

But what fictional soldiers (and when I refer to soldiers I’m inclusive of all military men and women)? Since it wasn’t stipulated that I can take from movies, I’m going to us both movies and books.

For a fictional soldier leader, I’d enlist Paul Maud-Dib Atreides from Frank Herbert’s Dune. Not only can he ride the worm and channel the spice, but he also knows what not to do. He’s hesitant when given the ability to rule and conquer everything. And above all, he can lead.

For the tank, I’d enlist Felix, from Steakley’s Armor. The armor is the result of 10,000 years of engineering and is awesome to behold. Very little can stand in his way, even if the character is a little broken inside.

For the heart and soul of the unit, I’d take E.C. Gordon from Heinlein’s Glory Road. Every cohesive unit needs a consciences center. Easy is that man.

My two hunter killers are from Aliens, the second in the franchise. They are Private Vasquez and Private Hudson. Hudson is as much a killer as Vasquez, but he needs her to keep him in line. Alternately, she needs someone to boss around even though she’s merely a private. Together they form a two person team that is exponentially greater than the sum of their individual parts. Just point them in a direction and order them to kill everything they see.

In summary:
Paul Atreides
Felix
E.C. Gordon
PFC Vasquez
PVT Hudson

Now I’d love to send them out on a mission…

Grunt Traitor is out now!
Buy: US|UK|eBook