Tag: solaris books

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Solaris to publish Tlingit epic fantasy by Caskey Russell

Solaris is delighted to announce the acquisition The Raven and Eagle Series, consisting of The Door on the Sea and its two sequels, by Caskey Russell.

From member of the Tlingit Nation of Alaska, Caskey Russell, The Door on the Sea is a Tlingit answer to Tolkien in which a bookish outcast must lead a crew including warriors, a giant wolf, and the mythical Raven to steal the only weapon that can defeat the shapeshifting colonists that threaten his community.

A modern, Indigenous reclamation of the quest fantasy genre, an ode to the power of storytelling, and an alternate-history retelling of white missionary colonialism, The Door on the Sea is a rich, adventurous debut for fans of Black Sun and The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi.

World All Languages Rights were acquired by Amy Borsuk from Lauren Bajek at Liza Dawson Literary Agency. The Door on the Sea will be released in September 2025.

Author Caskey Russell on the acquisition:

“I am thrilled and delighted to be working with Solaris on The Door on the Sea and my entire Raven and Eagle Series. And I’m very grateful for Solaris for providing a way to share these stories, which are grounded in Tlingit culture, with the world. I want to thank Amy Borsuk and the entire Solaris team for working with me to bring these books to life!”

Acquiring Editor Amy Borsuk:

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be bringing Caskey’s fun, magical and epic Tlingit fantasy series to the world. Caskey’s nautical quest tale draws from Tlingit mythos and his own personal sense of Tlingit identity as shared with his family and his clan. This wonderful story has a fantastic cast of characters, featuring a particularly crude yet wise raven, bear humans, wolf cousins, a bookish hero and the warriors holding him up. But it is also much more than that: it is a captivating and original portal fantasy adventure that comes from the heart and explores the messy, harmful and tangled reality of what happens when one’s world is shaken by the invasion of those claiming everything you know is a lie.”

Caskey Russell is from Seattle Washington, and has lived in Oregon, Iowa, Wyoming, and New Zealand. He is a father, a professor, a musician, and an enrolled member of the Tlingit Nation (Eagle / Kooyu Kwáan) of Alaska.

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

For rights enquiries please contact Sam Birkett, Rights Manager: sam.birkett@rebellion.co.uk

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Revealing the cover of Saint Death’s Herald by C. S. E. Cooney!

We’re delighted to be sharing the stunning cover of Saint Death’s Herald by C. S. E. Cooney, designed by the fabulous Kate Forrester!

Sequel to the critically-acclaimed and World Fantasy Award-winning Saint Death’s Daughter, Saint Death’s Herald continues the adventures of necromancer-with-heart, Miscellaneous “Lanie” Stones, and will be released in April 2025.

Miscellaneous “Lanie” Stones is the necromancer that Doédenna, god of Death, has been praying for.

True, she’s always been more interested in books and pastries than in creating abominations and raising armies of the undead. But still—she lives to love and serve Saint Death. And damn it duodecifold, Saint Death needs her! Lanie has many talents—her powers of death magic are growing more complex and stranger every day—but first and foremost is her ability to lay the unrestful dead to their unending slumber.

Unfortunately for Lanie, the most restless of these “unrestful dead” happens to be her own great-grandfather, the powerful necromancer Irradiant Stones. After having escaped from his temporary prison, he is possessing people from all over the realms, sucking them dry of their magic and discarding their bodies when there’s nothing left to take, growing stronger and stronger all the time. His ultimate goal? To return to the icy country of Skakmaht, where he died, and finish conquering the North for his own. First the North—then the world! After Irradiant takes care of his pesky great-granddaughter Lanie, that is: the only person on Athe who can stop him.

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Solaris to publish The Serpent Called Mercy by Roanne Lau for the UK

Solaris is delighted to announce the acquisition of The Serpent Called Mercy by Roanne Lau for the UK, a Malaysian Chinese-inspired epic fantasy novel for fans of Squid Game and The Witcher in which a debt-ridden slumdog joins an illegal monster-fighting arena.

Lythlet and her only friend Desil are shackled to a life of debt and poverty that she fears they will never escape. Desperate for money, they sign up as conquessors: arena combatants who fight sun-cursed beasts in the seedy underworld of the city.

Match-master Dothilos is initially enamoured of Desil’s brawling reputation, but after seeing Lythlet lead the pair to triumph with her quick cunning, he takes her under his wing, scorning Desil. Ambition takes root in Lythlet’s heart as a life of fame and wealth unfolds in her imagination.

But Lythlet isn’t the only one out for coin and glory, and she soon finds herself playing an entirely different game—a game of politics and deception. As the cost of her ambition grows, she will have to decide if sacrificing her honour, and only friendship, is worth the chance to shape her own fortune.

UK/BC, excluding Canada, English Language Rights were acquired by Amanda Rutter from Keir Alekseii at Azantian Literary Agency.

The Serpent Called Mercy will be released in January 2025.

Author Roanne Lau on the acquisition:

“I am beyond delighted to be working with Solaris in bringing my debut The Serpent Called Mercy over to the UK and the Commonwealth. From day one, Amanda Rutter’s enthusiasm for my book has been nothing short of serotonin-boosting, and with her keen editorial eye and the brilliant Solaris team behind her, I have no doubt my book is in safe hands.”

Acquiring Editor Amanda Rutter:

“From the first time I read The Serpent Called Mercy, I knew that this was an exceptionally special book, which explores brilliant themes of friendship and the price of honour. Roanne’s writing is sublime, and I know readers will eat up Lythlet’s world.”

Roanne Lau is a speculative fiction author whose works are informed by her experiences living in Malaysia, Australia, Taiwan, and Japan and being the descendant of Chinese immigrants. She was selected for the Pitch Wars mentorship program in 2021. The Serpent Called Mercy is her debut novel.

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

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Solaris acquires Vajra Chandrasekera’s award-winning fantasy novel The Saint of Bright Doors for the UK

Against a black background with white stars and the white Solaris logo in the top right corner, two blue circles. In the larger circle, white text "Acquisition Announcement. Vajra Chandrasekera. THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS. June 2024." In the smaller circle, an author photo of R. T. Ester.

Solaris is delighted to announce the acquisition of Vajra Chandrasekera’s The Saint of Bright Doors and Rakesfall in a two-book deal for the UK.

The winner of the Crawford Award and a finalist for the Nebula Award, The Saint of Bright Doors sets the high drama of divine revolutionaries and transcendent cults against the mundane struggles of modern life, resulting in a novel that is revelatory and resonant.

Fetter was raised to kill, honed as a knife to cut down his sainted father. This gave him plenty to talk about in therapy.

He walked among invisible powers: devils and anti-gods that mock the mortal form. He learned a lethal catechism, lost his shadow, and gained a habit for secrecy. After a blood-soaked childhood, Fetter escaped his rural hometown for the big city, and fell into a broader world where divine destinies are a dime a dozen.

Everything in Luriat is more than it seems. Group therapy is recruitment for a revolutionary cadre. Junk email hints at the arrival of a god. Every door is laden with potential, and once closed may never open again. The city is scattered with Bright Doors, looming portals through which a cold wind blows. In this unknowable metropolis, Fetter will discover what kind of man he is, and his discovery will rewrite the world.

UK/BC, excluding Canada, English Language Rights were acquired by Amanda Rutter from Chris Scheina at Tordotcom.

The Saint of Bright Doors will be released on 6th June 2024. Preorder here.

Author Vajra Chandrasekera on the acquisition:

“I’ve long been a fan of the wonderful work that Solaris publishes, and I’m utterly delighted that they will be bringing my books to readers in the UK.”

Acquiring Editor Amanda Rutter:

“I am so thrilled to be publishing Vajra’s work for a UK audience – his books are vital and challenging, and I adored every word when I read them both. New readers can expect stunning prose, vivid characters, and utter originality, and I can’t wait to see what people think!”

Vajra Chandrasekera is from Colombo, Sri Lanka and is online at vajra.me. His debut novel The Saint of Bright Doors was a New York Times Notable Book of 2023, and his short fiction, anthologized in The Apex Book of World SF, The Gollancz Book of South Asian Science Fiction, and The Best Science Fiction of the Year among others, has been nominated for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. His second novel Rakesfall is out in 2024.

For press enquiries please contact Natalie Sorrell Charlesworth, Digital Marketing and Social Media Executive: natalie.charlesworth@rebellion.co.uk.

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Solaris acquires dark sci-fi debut The Ganymedan by R.T. Ester

Solaris is thrilled to announce the acquisition of The Ganymedan by R.T. Ester, a dark and compelling science fiction debut that examines agency and sacrifice through one man’s desperate attempt to reach home.

The prodigal son of an anti-AI rebel faction, Kerwin Dotnet tried to make a life for himself as a mixologist on Mars. Now his tyrannical employer, the richest man alive, has been murdered, and K-Dot must depend on first-generation AI spaceship TR-8901 to get him to safety on Jupiter—or suffer a fate worse than death. But TR has a direct interest in identifying the murderer, and its devotion to law and order is the only thing keeping it from purposely self-destructing after 200 years of obsolescence.

World English Language Rights were acquired by Amy Borsuk from Jason Yarn at Jason Yarn Literary Agency.
The Ganymedan will be released in November 2025.

Author R.T. Ester on the acquisition:

“I am very pleased to have joined the Solaris family. Meeting Amy Borsuk last November, I connected instantly with her vision for The Ganymedan, her very observant take on its protagonist, and her enthusiasm for the themes it explores. I was quickly assured the story had found its home and, seeing a notable commitment to publishing thought-provoking fiction, I am thrilled it will be in the caring hands of the Solaris team. I look forward to working with Amy and everyone else to get my scorpion-and-turtle retelling that blends the transhumanist noir of Altered Carbon with the gritty spacefaring of The Expanse out into the world.”

Acquiring Editor Amy Borsuk:

“I’m so excited to be the editor for this provocative and brilliantly intense sci-fi story from R.T. Ester! This compelling story of one man’s doomed and determined journey home explores thought-provoking themes of agency and autonomy, and sacrifice in the name of goodness. It also has a brilliant outmoded, sentient spaceship who acts as counterpoint to everything. R.T. is a brilliant writer and those ready for darker shades of sci-fi, or journeys home, or sentient AI, will love this book.”

Originally from Nigeria, R.T. Ester moved to the United States in 1998 and, catching the creative bug early on, studied art with a focus on design. While working full time as a graphic designer, he began to write speculative fiction in his spare time and, since then, has had stories published in Interzone and Clarkesworld. The Ganymedan is his first novel.

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

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OUT NOW: Redsight by Meredith Mooring

We’re wishing Redsight by Meredith Mooring a very happy book birthday!

A blind priestess must learn to take control of the power she never knew she had in this own voices science fantasy debut for fans of Dune and Sisters of the Vast Black.

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Heresy is power. Chaos is divine.

Korinna has simple priorities: stay on the Navitas, stay out of trouble, and stay alive. She may be a Redseer, a blind priestess with the power to manipulate space-time, but she is the weakest in her Order. Useless and outcast. Or so she has been raised to believe.

As she takes her place as a navigator on an Imperium ship, Korinna’s full destiny is revealed to her: blood brimming with magic, she is meant to become a weapon of the Imperium, and pawn for the Order that raised her. But when the ship is attacked by the notorious pirate Aster Haran, Korinna’s world is ripped apart.

Aster has a vendetta against the Imperium, and an all-consuming, dark power that drives her to destroy everything in her path. She understands the world in a way Korinna has never imagined, and Korinna is drawn to her against her better judgment.

With the Imperium and the justice-seeking warrior Sahar hot on her heels, Korinna must choose her side, seize her power and fulfil her destiny–or risk imperiling the future of the galaxy, and destroying the fabric of space-time itself.

“Redsight combines the vastness of Dune and Childhood’s End with a visceral, reality-warping journey of self-discovery to create a beautiful, bloody testament to the possibilities of compassion and love.” —Ryka Aoki, author of Light From Uncommon Stars

“Redsight is a stellar debut, born from a collision between epic space opera and bewitching cosmic horror. Meredith Mooring weaves echoes of classic sci-fi into a breathtakingly original tapestry — an intoxicating blend of the visceral and the romantic, the monstrous and the mythical.” —Ren Hutchings, author of Under Fortunate Stars

“A brutal, vivid, emotional gut punch of a book. With stakes both deeply personal and universe-altering, Redsight is a cutting examination of the complexities of duty, faith, and moral obligation, helmed by a trio of compellingly flawed characters wielding immense cosmic power. This fresh, high-concept SFF is perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth and Sisters of the Vast Black.” —J. S. Dewes, author of The Last Watch

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Solaris to publish sapphic Gothic horror The Needfire by MK Hardy

Solaris is thrilled to announce the acquisition of The Needfire, and a second fantasy novel, by MK Hardy.

For fans of Rebecca and The Hacienda, lush Gothic horror The Needfire brings 19th century Scotland to life as the financially ruined Norah Mackenzie accepts her father’s creditor’s hand in marriage and travels father to the north to his estate, Corrain House.

The land itself seems to speak to Norah: she is plagued by the cries of drowned sailors and the smell of burning thatch, remnants of the Clearances that swept the land decades before. Her only solace is a tumultuous and intense affair with housekeeper Agnes Gunn, who guards mist-wreathed secrets of her own. As the house begins to crumble beneath her feet, Norah must piece together the family and the land’s history to survive the ghosts haunting her – and make it out alive.

UK/BC English Language Rights were acquired by Amy Borsuk from John Baker at Bell Lomax Moreton Agency.

The Needfire will be released in July 2025.

Author MK Hardy on the acquisition:

“We are over the moon to be joining the list of authors published by Solaris, having admired their library of smart and diverse speculative books for some time. From our first call with Amy Borsuk we were invigorated by her enthusiasm and keen editorial eye and we can’t wait to work with her and the rest of the Solaris team. With their help we’ll ensure our Gothic horror The Needfire ensnares and bewitches readers, hopefully opening their eyes to an overlooked period in Scottish history and giving them a few scares – and swoons – along the way!”

Acquiring Editor Amy Borsuk:

“I’m so excited to be working with the incredible team that is MK Hardy on a story that is so creepy, haunting, and gorgeous in equal measure. The Needfire is the Scottish queer Gothic horror we’ve always needed.”

MK Hardy is the pen name for Morag Hannah and Erin Hardee, two geeky women living and writing together in Scotland. They are both communications specialists working in higher education. With backgrounds ranging from museum interpretation to web design, and from science communication to ghost tours, they are devoted to storytelling in almost every aspect of their lives and work. When they are not telling stories they can be found singing in choirs, foraging for fungi, and working on their 1880s fixer-upper.

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

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Revealing the cover for Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

We’re so excited to share the gorgeous cover of the UK edition of Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas, designed by the fantastic Katie Klim!

Vampires of El Norte hits bookshelves on 24 October 2024.

Vampires and vaqueros face off on the Texas-Mexico border in this supernatural western from the author of The Hacienda.

Nena knows a thing or two about monsters—as the daughter of a rancher in Mexico, her home has long been threatened by tensions with Anglo settlers from the north. But something more sinister lurks near the ranch at night, something that drains men of their blood and leaves them for dead–something that once attacked Nena nine years ago.

Believing Nena dead, Néstor has been on the run from his grief ever since. He has night terrors of sharp teeth, and is haunted by the life he and Nena could have had together.

When the United States attacks Mexico, the two are thrown together on the road to war. But the shock of their reunion—and Nena’s rage at Néstor for seemingly abandoning her long ago—is quickly overshadowed by the appearance of a nightmare made flesh.

Unless Nena and Néstor work through their past and face the future together, neither will survive to see the dawn.

“Sexy, frightening, and smart.” —Karin Slaughter

“Lush, captivating, and richly imagined.” —Grace D. Li

“Cañas writes with a historian’s eye and a storyteller’s heart.” —Katie Gutierrez

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Solaris snaps up Karin Lowachee’s dragon novella trilogy The Crowns of Ishia

Solaris is delighted to announce the acquisition of The Crowns of Ishia trilogy, including The Mountain Crown, The Desert Talon and a sequel, by Karin Lowachee.

Meka’s nomadic people, the Ba’Suon, were driven from their homeland by the Kattakans. Decades later, under a fragile truce, Meka returns for an ancient and necessary rite: culling a king dragon of the Crown Mountains to maintain balance in the wild country.

Accompanied by an imprisoned dragon, a Kattakan veteran of war and a Ba’Suon traitor, Meka soon discovers the survival of the Ba’Suon people, their dragons, and the land itself will depend on the choices she and her companions make in this gunslinging fantasy of colonialism and resistance.

World English Rights were acquired by Amy Borsuk from Tamara Kawar at DeFiore & Company.

The Mountain Crown will be released in October 2024.

Author Karin Lowachee on the acquisition:

“I am absolutely thrilled to be a new part of the team at Solaris with The Mountain Crown and its sequels. I know my stories will thrive in the hands of Solaris as we work together to shepherd them into fruition. My heartfelt gratitude to Amy Borsuk and everyone at Solaris who are just as excited as I am to dive in!”

Acquiring Editor Amy Borsuk:

“I am absolutely thrilled to be working with Karin Lowachee on this incredible series. At long last, I get to work on an epic dragon fantasy! I loved this series from the first page and I’m so excited to bring it to fantasy readers across the globe. Karin is able to pack a full world rich with dragons, personal traumas, intense cultural histories and politics of colonialism and empire into the novella form with such ease. Come for the dragons, stay for the beautiful storytelling, compelling characters and gunslinging flavour.”

Karin Lowachee was born in South America, grew up in Canada, and worked in the Arctic. She has been a creative writing instructor, adult education teacher, and volunteer in a maximum security prison. Her novels have been translated into French, Hebrew, and Japanese, and her short stories have been published in numerous anthologies, best-of collections, and magazines. When she isn’t writing, she serves at the whim of a black cat.

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

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OUT NOW: Three Eight One by Aliya Whiteley

Three Eight One by Aliya Whiteley is out now!

House of Leaves meets Piranesi, with a dollop of Mona Award weirdness, in this enchantingly odd literary sci-fi tale from the Arthur C. Clarke Award-nominated author of Skyward Inn.

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You will know your place when you are done.

In January 2314, Rowena Savalas – a curator of the vast archive of the twenty-first century’s primitive internet – stumbles upon a story posted in the summer of 2024. She’s quickly drawn into the mystery of the text: Is it autobiography, fantasy or fraud? What’s the significance of the recurring number 381?

In the story, the protagonist Fairly walks the Horned Road – a quest undertaken by youngsters in her village when they come of age. She is followed by the “breathing man,” a looming presence, dogging her heels every step of the way. Everything she was taught about her world is overturned.

Following Fairly’s quest, Rowena comes to question her own choices, and a predictable life of curation becomes one of exploration, adventure and love. As both women’s stories draw to a close, she realises it doesn’t matter whether the story is true or not: as with the quest itself, it’s the journey that matters.

“A quirky, unsettling work from one of the most original writers of speculative fiction in Britain today.” —The Guardian

“Brilliant in its playful inventiveness.” –The FT

“A wonderfully alienating experience.” –SFX, five star review