The Rebellion Publishing 2021 Roundup
23rd December 2021
Well here we are, it’s been another extraordinary year and as 2021 starts to draw to a close we thought we’d take a moment to look back on all the brilliant books we’ve released across our Solaris, Abaddon, and Rebellion imprints.
And we think it’s fair to say it’s been a busy year for us! We’ve published 42 books this year, including novels and novellas, fiction and non-fiction, encompassing the very best of outstandingly original science fiction, fantasy and horror!
We launched our brand new Solaris Satellites novella program, which brings new and exciting voices in genre fiction to the page in a series of three novellas each year – with the first three from the brilliant Premee Mohamed, Wayne Santos and Derek Künsken. And if that weren’t enough we also started a podcast! The RP Book Club began in June and features our fantastic authors talking about their books, writing, and life.
We’re incredibly proud of and grateful to all the wonderful staff, authors, designers, proofreaders, reviewers, booksellers and everyone who made it all happen this year against the backdrop of yet more uncertainty, here’s to doing it all again in 2022.
Happy Holidays, and happy reading!
The Fictional Man by Al Ewing (reissue)
In LA, where today’s star is tomorrow’s busboy, discarded “Fictionals”—characters spun into flesh-and-blood by technology—are everywhere. Screenwriter Niles Golan’s therapist is a Fictional. So is his best friend. So (maybe) is the woman in the bar he can’t stop staring at. It’s getting so you can’t tell who’s real and who’s not. Niles isn’t completely sure how real he is…
Europe at Midnight (The Fractured Europe Sequence 2) by Dave Hutchinson (US reissue)
In a fractured Europe, new nations are springing up everywhere, some literally overnight. For an intelligence officer like Jim, it’s a nightmare. Every week or so a friendly power spawns a new and unknown national entity which may or may not be friendly to England’s interests. It’s hard to keep on top of it all. But things are about to get worse for Jim. A stabbing on a London bus pitches him into a world where his intelligence service is preparing for war with another universe, and a man has come who may hold the key to unlocking Europe’s most jealously-guarded secret…
Shadow in the Empire of Light by Jane Routley (paperback)
Shine’s life is usually dull: an orphan without magic in a family of powerful mages, she’s left to run the family estate with only an eccentric aunt and telepathic cat for company. But when the family descend on the house for the annual Fertility Festival, Shine is plunged into dark intrigue; stolen letters, a fugitive spy, and family drama mix with murder, sex and secrets, and Shine is forced to decide both her loyalties and future…
Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky 1) by Rebecca Roanhorse (UK)
In the holy city of Tova the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily.
Judge Dredd Year Three by Michael Carroll, Matt Smith and Laurel Sills
Mega-City One, 2082. In two short years, Judge Joseph Dredd has tackled hardened killers and would-be revolutionaries; he’s taken beat-downs and bounced back; and he’s even arrested his own brother. There’s no such thing as a “normal year” in the Big Meg. In his third year on the sked, he’ll become embroiled in the growing anti-robot movement; he’ll head back out to the Cursed Earth; and he’ll fall afoul of the secretive SJS – and not for the last time…
The Lady From The Black Lagoon by Mallory O’Meara (UK)
The Lady from the Black Lagoon uncovers the life and work of Milicent Patrick—one of Disney’s first female animators and the only woman in history to create one of Hollywood’s classic movie monsters. A true-life detective story and a celebration of a forgotten feminist trailblazer, Mallory O’Meara’s The Lady from the Black Lagoon establishes Patrick in her rightful place in film history while calling out a Hollywood culture where little has changed since.
Spec Ops Z by Gavin G. Smith (UK reissue)
When Vadim Scorlenski and his elite Spetznaz squad are sent to New York at the height of the Cold War, they’re told it’s a ‘training exercise.’ They discover, too late, that the ‘practice’ chemical weapon they’re carrying is all too real. They go to their deaths… and awaken to a city overwhelmed by the walking dead, even now spreading across the globe. Somehow holding onto their identities amid the mindless monsters, Scorlenski and his squad of zombie commandos set out to return to Russia. Someone’s going to pay.
Solaris Satellites: These Lifeless Things by Premee Mohamed (novella)
Eva is a survivor. They invaded without warning and killed nearly all of humanity, and all she can do to stay sane is keep a journal about her struggle. Fifty years later, her words are found by Emerson, a young anthropologist sent to the ruins to study what happened, unlocking a story of hope and defiance.
Sexton Blake: On The Home Front (Sexton Blake Library 4) introduced by Mark Hodder
It’s the Second World War, and Sexton Blake is matching minds with the very best… and the very worst. When an innocent woman is condemned as a spy and her fiancé arrested while trying to escape to France, Sexton and Tinker have to travel into enemy territory in their hunt for the mastermind… and on the home front, a man is found murdered – but the suspect doesn’t know if he did it! Who else to find the truth but Sexton Blake? Join the greatest detective as he battles with a mysterious house, a ring of traitors – and a deadly secret.
One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky (novella)
Nobody remembers how the Causality War started. Really, there’s no-one to remember, and nothing for them to remember if there were; that’s sort of the point. We were time warriors, and we broke time. I was the one who ended it. Ended the fighting, tidied up the damage as much as I could. Then I came here, to the end of it all, and gave myself a mission: to never let it happen again.
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?
The Black Coast (God-King Chronicles 1) by Mike Brooks (US)
When the citizens of Black Keep see ships on the horizon, terror takes them because they know who is coming: for generations, the keep has been raided by the fearsome clanspeople of Tjakorsha. Saddling their war dragons, Black Keep’s warriors rush to defend their home only to discover that the clanspeople have not come to pillage at all. Driven from their own land by a daemonic despot who prophesises the end of the world, the raiders come in search of a new home… Meanwhile the wider continent of Narida is lurching toward war. Black Keep is about to be caught in the crossfire – if only its new mismatched society can survive.
Solaris Satellites: The Difficult Loves of Maria Makiling by Wayne Santos (novella)
Maria is, in no particular order: a concept artist at a videogame studio, the goddess of Mount Makiling in the Philippines, and in love. And when Maria falls in love, tragedy and death follow. It’s going to take everything a goddess, her newly-befriended demon-horse, and Canadian national treasure Margaret Atwood have to break the cycle.
A Broken Darkness (Beneath the Rising 2) by Premee Mohamed
It’s been a year and a half since the Anomaly, when They tried to force Their way into the world from the shapeless void. Nick Prasad is piecing his life together, and has joined the secretive Ssarati Society to help monitor threats to humanity – including his former friend Johnny. Right on cue, the unveiling of Johnny’s latest experiment sees a fresh incursion of Them, leaving her protesting her innocence even as the two of them are thrown together to fight the darkness once more…
Sexton Blake’s New Order (Sexton Blake Library 5) introduced by Mark Hodder
The intrepid Sexton Blake enters the swinging 60’s – and it’s all happening. Psychics and aliens clash on a secret volcanic base as the fate of the world lies in peril; the hunters become the hunted as a series of horrific murders strike a peaceful village; a scientist uses new techniques to bring ancient creatures to life; and a brilliantly planned heist gets double-crossed – and triple-crossed! The New Age brings in a new era for the famous detective – and things are getting interesting.
The Recollection by Gareth L. Powell (tenth anniversary edition)
Four hundred years ago, Ed and Alice Rico threw themselves through a mysterious portal on the London Underground, hunting for Ed’s lost brother—Alice’s husband—Verne. Now, starship captain Katherine Abdulov embarks on a desperate race against ruthless rival captain—and her former lover—Victor Luciano, to try and earn back her family’s trust. Tomorrow, all their lives will be thrown together by disaster, as an ancient evil stirs among the stars, threatening the survival of all life…
The Storm’s Betrayal (The Bourshkanya Trilogy 2) by Corry L. Lee
The great Stormhawk—Bourshkanya’s paranoid, fascist leader—is seemingly unkillable. But for the rebellion to succeed, he must die. Celka Prochazka uses magic in ways no one believed possible. She could be the perfect resistance assassin—if she can avoid being discovered as a traitor. Gerrit Kladivo, the Stormhawk’s son, is determined to end his father’s tyrannical rule. But to get Celka close enough to his father he must first prove unflinching loyalty to the regime. Filip Cizek swore his life to protect Gerrit and the regime. But with Gerrit’s actions twisting him into a stranger, Filip must decide how deep his loyalty runs. Together, they will attempt the impossible—but the cost may be everything they hold dear.
Whitaker’s 2021 and Whitaker’s Concise
A totally unique combination of every aspect of UK infrastructure, current affairs, world politics, history, finance, astronomical data and reviews of the year, ‘Whitaker’s remains the most comprehensive compendium of information in the English language’ (Jon Snow) and will save hours of research and cross-referencing between different sources.
Anna is a possession. She is owned by the man named Will, shielded from a struggling world by his care. Anna is obedient, dutiful, and compliant. When Anna finds the strength to run, she leaves her name behind. But in her new idyllic town, the past—and Will—catch up with her. Carrying a child and a dark secret, she must face the scars he gave her—and learn to be everything Anna was not.
The House of Styx (Venus Ascendant 1) by Derek Künsken (hardback)
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.
The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison (paperback)
London 1888. Angels inhabit every public building, and vampires and werewolves walk the streets with human beings in a well-regulated truce. A utopia, except for one thing: Angels can Fall, and that Fall is like a nuclear bomb in both the physical and metaphysical worlds.Dr J. H. Doyle returns to London having been wounded in Afghanistan by a Fallen, and finds himself lodging in Baker Street with the enigmatic angel Crow. But living with a rogue angel is not so easy; the pair find themselves drawn into the supernatural and criminal worlds of London, from a man kidnapped by a vampire nest to Jack the Ripper’s horrific murders.Besides Doyle’s nightmares, there is the lingering worry that Crow might Fall…
Solaris Satellites: Pollen From a Future Harvest by Derek Künsken (novella)
Major Chenesai Okonkwo is an Auditor for the Sub-Saharan Union. Her mission: to find out if the Sixth Expeditionary Force’s newly discovered time gate has been compromised. Is the Union’s revolutionary discovery already doomed, eleven years in the future?
Seven Deaths of an Empire by G.R. Matthews
General Bordan has a lifetime of duty and sacrifice behind him in the service of the Empire. But with rebellion brewing in the countryside, and assassins, thieves and politicians vying for power in the city, it is all Bordan can do to protect the heir to the throne. Apprentice Magician Kyron was assigned to the late Emperor’s honour guard escorting his body on the long road back to the capital.But even a magician’s power may fail when enemies emerge from the forests intent on seizing their precious cargo.
Heartbreak Incorporated by Alex de Campi
Evie Cross had big dreams of becoming an investigative journalist but at 25 and struggling to make it in New York City, she’s finally starting to admit that her dream is her side hustle and her day job is actually… her job. That is, until she signs on as a temp for a small consultancy whose principal, Misha Meserov, specializes in breaking up relationships. Misha is tall, infuriatingly handsome, and effortlessly charismatic – he can make almost anyone, man or woman, fall into bed with him. And he often does.
Judges: Necessary Evil by Michael Carroll (novella)
Chief Eustace Fargo is dead… A routine stop, a gunshot, and the world changes. It’s been twenty years since Francesco Deacon first put on the badge, and it grows heavier every year; but today more than ever, there’s work to do. And then Judges in Philadelphia pick up Dallas Hawker, a long-time fugitive and Deacon’s closest ever link to a crime-lord he’s been chasing his whole career…
When the Sparrow Falls by Neil Sharpson (UK)
In the future, AI are everywhere. They are our employers, our employees, our friends, lovers and even our children. Over half the human race lives online. But in the Caspian Republic, the last true human beings have made their stand, and their repressive, one-party state is locked in perpetual cold war with the outside world. Security Agent Nikolai South is tasked with escorting a dead journalist’s widow through the virulently anti-AI and repressive Caspian Republic. But as they delve deeper into the circumstances surrounding the death and the secrets it uncovers, South must choose between his loyalty to his country and his conscience.
Assassin’s Orbit by John Appel
On the eve of the planet Ileri’s historic vote to join the Commonwealth, the assassination of a government minister threatens to shatter everything. Private investigator Noo Okereke and spy Meiko Ogawa join forces with police chief Toiwa to investigate and discover clues that point disturbingly toward a threat humanity thought they had escaped.
The Witness for the Dead (Goblin Emperor 2) by Katherine Addison (UK)
Murder, politics and intrigue. When the young half-goblin emperor Maia sought to learn who had set the bombs that killed his father and half-brothers, he turned to an obscure resident of his Court, a Prelate of Ulis and a Witness for the Dead. Thara Celehar found the truth, though it did him no good to discover it. Now he lives in the City of Amalo, far from the Court though not exactly in exile. He has not escaped from politics, but his position gives him the ability to serve the common people of the city, which is his preference. He lives modestly, but his decency and fundamental honestly will not permit him to live quietly.
Barista, activist, and were-monkey Maya McQueen was well on her way to figuring herself out. Well, part of the way. 25% of the way. If you squint. But now the Bay Area is being shaken up. Occupy Wall Street has come home to roost; and on the supernatural side there’s disappearances, shapeshifter murders, and the city’s spirit trying to find its guardian. Maya doesn’t have a lot of time before chaos turns up at her door, and she needs to solve all of her problems. Well, most of them. The urgent ones, anyhow. But who says the solutions have to be neat? Because Monkey is always out for mischief.
Phoenix Extravagant (paperback) by Yoon Ha Lee
Gyen Jebi isn’t a fighter, or a subversive. They just want to paint. One day they’re jobless and desperate; the next, Jebi finds themself recruited by the Ministry of Armor to paint the mystical sigils that animate the occupying government’s automaton soldiers. But when Jebi discovers the depths of the Razanei government’s horrifying crimes—and the awful source of the magical pigments they use—they find they can no longer stay out of politics. What they can do is steal Arazi, the ministry’s mighty dragon automaton, and find a way to fight…
Judges: What Measure Ye Mete by C.E. Murphy (novella)
There’s not a lot left for the last few cops of what was once New York City to do, these days. Officer Cera Cortez once dreamed of chasing down killers, but now she mostly just puts a friendly face on the implacable justice of the Judges. Until a tiny robot falls onto her face screaming murder, giving her one last chance to do her job—and signs point to the killer being a Judge…
The Splinter King (God-King Chronicles 2) by Mike Brooks (US)
Darel, dragon knight and the new leader of Black Keep, must travel to the palace of the God-King to beg for the lives of his people. But in the capital of Narida, Marin and his warrior husband will be drawn into a palace coup, and Princess Tila will resort to murder to keep her hold on power. In the far reaches of the kingdom an heir in exile is hunted by assassins, rumours of a rival God-King abound, and daemonic forces from across the seas draw ever nearer…
The Liar of Red Valley by Walter Goodwater
In Red Valley, California, you follow the rules if you want to stay alive. But they won’t be enough to protect Sadie now that she’s become the Liar, the keeper of the town’s many secrets. Friendships are hard-won here, and it isn’t safe to make enemies. And though the Liar has power—power to remake the world, with just a little blood—what Sadie really needs is answers: Why is the town’s sheriff after her? What does the King want from her? And what is the real purpose of the Liar of Red Valley?
If there are two things all geeks love, it’s roleplaying games, and their pets. So why not fuse the two? It’s time to grab your dice, dust off that character sheet, and let your cat or dog (or guinea pig, or iguana, or budgie) accompany you on an epic adventure! It’ll be great… unless you have pets like these.
The Quantum War (The Quantum Evolution 3) by Derek Künsken
The war rages onward and the Union’s premier fighter pilots, the Homo Eridanus, start encountering deadly resistance from strange pilots on the Congregate side. Among wreckage, they find that new Congregate pilots are, in fact, Homo quantus, with strange wiring and AI connections. At the same time, the Puppets come to the Union with offers of an alliance for a dangerous price: the rescue of the geneticist Antonio Del Casal who is a captive on Venus, with over a hundred Homo quantus. Only one person might be able to break through the Congregate defenses at Venus, and he’s a con man.
Shackled Fates (The Hanged God Trilogy 2) by Thilde Kold Holdt
In the battle to come, all shall die, but Ragnar will do anything to save his gods. Einer scours the nine worlds for Hilda, who walks among gods and goddesses, searching the truth of the Runes. For centuries Siv has run from her past, but she knows that to protect her daughter, and Midgard, she will have to face her worst fears. It is time to confront the Alfather.
A Hole in the World by Weston Ochse
The town of Iron Hat, South Dakota, has disappeared and only one eccentric local remembers it ever existed. Investigators hear him out, but decide he’s just gone crazy. When Graves Hill, a town near Leicester, also disappears with only the MP complaining he’s missing some constituents, the Black Dragoons—a clandestine military unit dedicated to protecting Great Britain from supernatural threats—investigate. Soon, the Black Dragoons and their American counterparts are working together. Preacher’s Daughter is on the case, but Great Britain may never be the same again…
Sinopticon: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction by Xueting Christine Ni
This celebration of Chinese Science Fiction — thirteen stories, all translated for the first time into English — represents a unique exploration of the nation’s speculative fiction from the late 20th century onwards, curated and translated by critically acclaimed writer and essayist Xueting Christine Ni. From the renowned Jiang Bo’s ‘Starship: Library’ to Regina Kanyu Wang’s ‘The Tide of Moon City’, and Anna Wu’s ‘Meisje met de Parel’, this is a collection for all fans of great fiction.
The Second Shooter by Nick Mamatas
In the first reports of every mass shooting, there’s always mention of a second shooter—two sets of gunshots, a figure seen fleeing the scene—and they always seem to evaporate as events are pieced together. Commissioned by a fringe publisher to investigate the phenomenon, journalist Mike Karras finds himself tailed by drones, attacked by a talk radio host, badgered by his all-knowing (and maybe all-powerful) editor, and teaming up with an immigrant family of conspiracy buffs. Together, they uncover something larger and stranger than anyone could imagine—a technomystical plot to ‘murder America.’ Time for Karras to meet his deadline.
Judges: (In)famous by Zina Hutton (novella)
Judge Kiera Clayton’s young, idealistic… and bored, watching videos to kill the time. Amara Dawson’s bid for internet fame isn’t paying off—until she attracts the attention of a group of viral pranksters. But Amara’s not prepared for how far the gang are prepared to take things, and she’s going to need help. What’s wrong with wanting to be famous?
Firesky (The Chronicles of Stratus 2) by Mark de Jager
With his memory returning, Stratus finally knows who—and what—he is. He is a dragon, brought low by the hand of a dark magician known as the Worm King, separated from his true love, tortured for centuries and now trapped inside the body of a human.But with the memories of his old life comes a return of his true magic, and with it, his true form is slowly returning.And Stratus wants revenge. Bloody and relentless, he will fight his way through hordes of the undead to reach his archenemy, fighting not only for his own justice but for the whole of humanity…
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