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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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OUT NOW: The House of Styx by Derek Künsken!

Derek Künsken’s completely brilliant first novel in the Venus Ascendant series, The House of Styx, is out now in beautiful, shining hardback!

Discover the beginnings of the Quantum Evolution with The House of Styx , the start of a groundbreaking new series set 250 years before The Quantum Magician .

Life can exist anywhere. And anywhere there is life, there is home. In the swirling clouds of Venus, the families of la colonie live on floating plant-like trawlers, salvaging what they can in the fierce acid rain and crackling storms. Outside is dangerous, but humankind’s hold on the planet is fragile and they spend most of their days simply surviving.

But Venus carries its own secrets, too. In the depths, there is a wind that shouldn’t exist. And the House of Styx wants to harness it.

“Künsken has, to my mind, already established a place as one of the best pure hard science writers of the current generation, and this book is further evidence of that. — Rich Horton, Locus

Künsken’s vivid worldbuilding is a knockout…This is a must-read. — Publishers Weekly, starred review

“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.” — The Library Journal, starred review

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OUT NOW: The House of Styx (eBook and audio)

The House of Styx

The highly anticipated new novel from Derek Künsken, The House of Styx, is now out on eBook and audiobook!

Set 250 years before The Quantum Magician, The House of Styx is book #1 in the brand new science fiction series, Venus Ascendant.

Buy the eBook

Buy the audiobook

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

In the swirling clouds of Venus, the families of la colonie live on floating plant-like trawlers, salvaging what they can in the fierce acid rain and crackling storms. Outside is dangerous, but humankind’s hold on the planet is fragile and they spend most of their days simply surviving.

But Venus carries its own secrets, too. In the depths, there is a wind that shouldn’t exist.

And the House of Styx wants to harness it.

Buy the eBook with us from our online bookshop and get an article by Derek, The Science Behind the Quantum Magician, for free.

The House of Styx will be available in hardback April 2021, pre-order it from your favourite bookshop today!

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Two more books confirmed for the Quantum Evolution series

Two more books confirmed for the Quantum Evolution series

Calling all Derek Künsken fans, we are very excited to confirm that the Quantum Evolution series will in fact be a quartet! The third instalment titled The Quantum War will be out from Solaris in autumn 2021, followed by a fourth book The Quantum Temple in 2023.

Derek discusses the upcoming novels with Paul Semel in an interview:

“I’ve been working through my thoughts on The Quantum Evolution series, and think that the third book will be The Quantum War, which will be about the Congregate-Union war and the nature of the involvement of the Homo quantus. It should be out in 2021.

The (previously unmentioned) fourth novel would be The Quantum Temple,and will be the story focusing on the Homo quantus exploration of the permanent wormhole network that humanity has discovered, and Belisarius’ quest to resurrect the Hortus quantus.”

[https://paulsemel.com/exclusive-interview-the-house-of-styx-author-derek-kunsken/]

We are also delighted to be publishing the novella Pollen from a Future Harvest by Derek, in 2021, along with more exciting short fiction in the next few years.

But until then, get ready for The House of Styx, the start of a brand new series, Venus Ascendant, set in the clouds of Venus 250 years before The Quantum Magician.

Out in eBook August 20th (and hardback April 2021) pre-order The House of Styx with Rebellion Publishing and receive The Science Behind the Quantum Magician for free; an article revealing the scientific thinking behind the Quantum Evolution books.

The sequel, The House of Saints, will be coming out in 2022.

Pre-order The House of Styx eBook with free article

For press and review enquiries please contact Hanna Waigh, Fiction – PR & Marketing Manager: hanna.waigh@rebellion.co.uk.

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Pre-order the eBook of The House of Styx by Derek Künsken

The House of Styx by Derek Künsken, available in eBook 20 August 2020.

Pre-order the eBook of The House of Styx by Derek Künsken direct with us at Rebellion and receive The Science Behind the Quantum Magician for free; an article by Derek Künsken revealing the scientific thinking behind the Quantum Evolution books.

This article will be included exclusively in The House of Styx eBooks that are pre-ordered through rebellionstore.com.

Pre-order the eBook today

The House of Styx is the first in a groundbreaking, action-packed and exciting new science fiction series from the best-selling author of The Quantum Magician, Derek Künsken.

Life can exist anywhere. And anywhere there is life, there is home.
In the swirling clouds of Venus, the families of 
la colonie live on floating plant-like trawlers, salvaging what they can in the fierce acid rain and crackling storms. Outside is dangerous, but humankind’s hold on the planet is fragile and they spend most of their days simply surviving.
But Venus carries its own secrets, too. In the depths, there is a wind that shouldn’t exist.
And the House of Styx wants to harness it.

Pre-order the hardback (out April 2021)

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Cover reveal: The House of Styx by Derek Künsken

We are thrilled to share the cover for The House of Styx, the first in a new blockbuster science fiction series by Derek Künsken, publishing in eBook August 2020 and hardback April 2021.

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

In the swirling clouds of Venus, the families of la colonie live on floating plant-like trawlers, salvaging what they can in the fierce acid rain and crackling storms. Outside is dangerous, but humankind’s hold on the planet is fragile and they spend most of their days simply surviving.

But Venus carries its own secrets, too. In the depths, there is a wind that shouldn’t exist.

And the House of Styx wants to harness it. 

Derek Künsken has built genetically engineered viruses, worked with street children and refugees in Latin America, served as a Canadian diplomat, and, most importantly, taught his son about super-heroes and science. His short fiction has appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Beneath Ceaseless Skies and multiple times in Asimov’s Science Fiction. His stories have been adapted into audio podcasts, reprinted in various Year’s Best anthologies, and translated into multiple languages. They have also been short-listed for various awards, and won the Asimov’s Readers’ Award in 2013. He tweets from @derekkunsken, blogs at BlackGate.com, and makes his internet home at DerekKunsken.com

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Introducing ‘The House of Styx’, the brand new novel from bestselling author Derek Künsken

Great news, Derek fans! We’re bringing you a brand new novel from the bestselling author of sci-fi thrillers The Quantum Magician and The Quantum Garden.

Before we release the wonderful new hardcover into the wild, though, the champion team at Analog magazine will be serialising the novel. The House of Styx will run for three issues, beginning in the March / April edition. Analog is known for housing the writings of some pioneering SF authors, including Isaac Asimov, Anne McCaffrey, and Frank Herbert, so we’re delighted our Derek will be in good company. 

This isn’t the first time Derek’s writing has been featured in Analog. The Quantum Magician was also serialised in the magazine, and has gone on to be nominated for a whole host of awards, including the Locus, Aurora, and Chinese Nebula Awards, and longlisted for the British Science Fiction Association and Sunburst Awards. It has also been translated into various languages, including Chinese, Japanese, French, and Russian. 

The House of Styx, the first book in the Venus Ascendant series, is a prequel to the events in The Quantum Magician and The Quantum Garden and will introduce fans to the rise of the Venusian Congregate. A second book, The House of Saints, is scheduled for 2022. 

Here’s the synopsis:

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

In the swirling clouds of Venus, the families of la colonie live on floating plant-like trawlers, salvaging what they can in the fierce acid rain and crackling storms. Outside is dangerous, but humankind’s hold on the planet is fragile and they spend most of their days simply surviving.

But Venus carries its own secrets, too. In the depths, there is a wind that shouldn’t exist.

And the House of Styx wants to harness it.

Analog’s editor Trevor Quachri said of the serialisation: “We’re thrilled to be able to present the next installment in Derek Künsken’s hard SF future history. Readers who enjoyed the nuanced characters, hard science, and imaginative world building in Persephone Descending and The Quantum Magician will no doubt treasure The House of Styx.

Our very own Michael Rowley continued: “Derek has that rare ability to weave action, adventure, science and story together in a way that not just entertains, but makes the reader think about the world around us, as well as the future landscape he has crafted so magnificently. It’s a wonderful opportunity for both new readers and existing fans to jump in and enjoy the ride.

We’ll be bringing you the novel in its entirety in August 2020, so keep your eyes peeled! 

For review copies of The House of Styx and author interviews please contact Hanna Waigh, PR & Marketing Manager: hanna.waigh@rebellion.co.uk