Catalogues.
Catalogue 2021
Out 19 February 2021
John’s eyes were manufactured with the purpose of providing sight to those who have lost it.
Equipped with the ability to learn, the eyes develop a sense of responsibility for ensuring John’s happiness. John’s eyes strive to please and, with the power to enhance everything he sees, they soon realise that they are also able to manipulate what he sees.
With a skewed sense of emotional intelligence, combined with unquestioning loyalty to their master, the actions of John’s eyes lead to devastating consequences.
Equipped with the ability to learn, the eyes develop a sense of responsibility for ensuring John’s happiness. John’s eyes strive to please and, with the power to enhance everything he sees, they soon realise that they are also able to manipulate what he sees.
With a skewed sense of emotional intelligence, combined with unquestioning loyalty to their master, the actions of John’s eyes lead to devastating consequences.
Out 20 February 2021
Humanity has reached out to the stars, an exodus of dehydrated packets waiting to be sent down to any habitable planet with water on it, to start life anew. They are watched over by an AI, programmed to find them safe haven.
Chief Engineer Mara Loganova is reconstituted early to repair a fault the AI can’t fix, only to find the ship engaged in a war against a populated world, using weapons it didn’t leave Earth with.
With the AI breaking all of its programmed rules, it becomes frighteningly clear what the ship’s new purpose is, and the true battle for the future begins...
Chief Engineer Mara Loganova is reconstituted early to repair a fault the AI can’t fix, only to find the ship engaged in a war against a populated world, using weapons it didn’t leave Earth with.
With the AI breaking all of its programmed rules, it becomes frighteningly clear what the ship’s new purpose is, and the true battle for the future begins...
Out 21 February 2021
In the magical desert of an ancient, altered land called Zabardu, a nameless dread falls across the village, trapping a little girl. The villagers turn to their healer, Bambomiyi, the Broken Witch — a raucous transgender woman who lives in a strange wreck in the desert. She is a veteran of the endless war against invaders from the north, a battle which caused her to lose her powers.
What skills she has left, however, are valuable enough for the villagers to tolerate her promiscuity and outrageous behaviour. It helps too that she is a distant descendent of the godlike Daxu, who vanished long ago, leaving her with the gifts of above-average strength and knowledge of the uncanny.
And so the wheels of an epic journey are set in motion, as she vows to save the young child.
What skills she has left, however, are valuable enough for the villagers to tolerate her promiscuity and outrageous behaviour. It helps too that she is a distant descendent of the godlike Daxu, who vanished long ago, leaving her with the gifts of above-average strength and knowledge of the uncanny.
And so the wheels of an epic journey are set in motion, as she vows to save the young child.
Out 22 February 2021
The Future God of Love is a romance fantasy, set in an African world where stories are essential for the survival of humanity.
Jamaaro, a struggling storyteller, is the future god of love and must create a story every full moon for the prosperity of his town.
When he falls in love with a strange woman, having known loneliness all his life, he ignores the clues that she might not be what she seems.
Jamaaro, a struggling storyteller, is the future god of love and must create a story every full moon for the prosperity of his town.
When he falls in love with a strange woman, having known loneliness all his life, he ignores the clues that she might not be what she seems.
Out 23 February 2021
“And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.”
Job 2:4
Troublesome priest Eve Clements is exiled from her North London parish to remote St Jude’s, miles from the nearest village.
Carrying childhood demons with her, broken relationships and addiction, she becomes an unwilling pawn in a supernatural battle that keeps her confined within the parish grounds, with a congregation that is not what it seems.
Eve must find her purpose if she is to survive, as terrifying apparitions and her own emotional fragility drive her towards breaking point.
Job 2:4
Troublesome priest Eve Clements is exiled from her North London parish to remote St Jude’s, miles from the nearest village.
Carrying childhood demons with her, broken relationships and addiction, she becomes an unwilling pawn in a supernatural battle that keeps her confined within the parish grounds, with a congregation that is not what it seems.
Eve must find her purpose if she is to survive, as terrifying apparitions and her own emotional fragility drive her towards breaking point.
Out 24 February 2021
Aeon is a simulacra, a creation of flesh, clockwork and magic designed to protect their original humans from the deadly attacks of curse-workers.
She is an identical copy of her original, Mara, eighth princess of the Tamyin Empire, except for the brands and seals that mark her as artificial.
When Mara dies of natural causes, Aeon expects to be killed. After a botched attempt to euthanise her, she is taken in by a family of rogue simulacra living in the city slums.
When one of their number dies after injecting a dose of a serum that allows simulacra to change their bodies, Aeon is worried that someone is targeting rogues. A trail of discoveries unearths a deadly conspiracy, where friends and enemies are no longer what they seem.
She is an identical copy of her original, Mara, eighth princess of the Tamyin Empire, except for the brands and seals that mark her as artificial.
When Mara dies of natural causes, Aeon expects to be killed. After a botched attempt to euthanise her, she is taken in by a family of rogue simulacra living in the city slums.
When one of their number dies after injecting a dose of a serum that allows simulacra to change their bodies, Aeon is worried that someone is targeting rogues. A trail of discoveries unearths a deadly conspiracy, where friends and enemies are no longer what they seem.
Out 23 March 2021
Halloween is drawing near and Ally is far from the safety of Troutespond.
Her attempts at a normal life have netted her a role in a cursed-to-die orchestra club, haunted by its past members.
Now, unwittingly tied to thirteen musical ghosts, the more they play, the more their fates are bound to the dead.
With the help of Alana, her boyfriend the Piper, and the new friends she’s made on campus, Ally must find a way to break the curse, while trying to be a model student, girlfriend and mandolin player.
Her attempts at a normal life have netted her a role in a cursed-to-die orchestra club, haunted by its past members.
Now, unwittingly tied to thirteen musical ghosts, the more they play, the more their fates are bound to the dead.
With the help of Alana, her boyfriend the Piper, and the new friends she’s made on campus, Ally must find a way to break the curse, while trying to be a model student, girlfriend and mandolin player.
Out 26 March 2021
Fourteen stories, ranging from science fiction to weird, mixing future scenarios (on and off-Earth) and alternate realities, but in fact, they are essentially about one thing: love and its malcontents.
A man who refuses to let death erase the memories of his loved ones; two time-travellers leaping through the aeons in a literal love-and-death relationship; a murderer in love with the ghost of his prey - and more.
What would you do for love? What lengths, in space and time, would you go to? These characters have done it all.
A man who refuses to let death erase the memories of his loved ones; two time-travellers leaping through the aeons in a literal love-and-death relationship; a murderer in love with the ghost of his prey - and more.
What would you do for love? What lengths, in space and time, would you go to? These characters have done it all.
Out 30 March 2021
The stories in Nova Hellas take us on a dystopian, harsh journey. Yet their protagonists are resilient, cunning and resourceful; they thrive, not only survive.
In doing so, they reflect both the history of Greece itself, always surviving and rebuilding, always claiming a better tomorrow – and, perhaps, to a smaller degree, the stubbornness of Greek science fiction, which insisted on thriving in adverse circumstances and against much opposition.
“Often underwater, sometimes entirely virtual, facing calamities from austerity to beepocalypse, near-future Greece comes to life in these stories. Forget everything you learned in school, on vacation, or from the faded memories of your immigrant γιαγιά. Λοιπόν, this is the real deal.”
Nick Mamatas, author of The Planetbreaker’s Son and The Second Shooter.
In doing so, they reflect both the history of Greece itself, always surviving and rebuilding, always claiming a better tomorrow – and, perhaps, to a smaller degree, the stubbornness of Greek science fiction, which insisted on thriving in adverse circumstances and against much opposition.
“Often underwater, sometimes entirely virtual, facing calamities from austerity to beepocalypse, near-future Greece comes to life in these stories. Forget everything you learned in school, on vacation, or from the faded memories of your immigrant γιαγιά. Λοιπόν, this is the real deal.”
Nick Mamatas, author of The Planetbreaker’s Son and The Second Shooter.
Out 12 April 2021
Hosted online, the Tolkien Society 2020 seminar sought to explore how J.R.R. Tolkien’s legacy partly relies on the continued adaption of his works, characters, and languages. It offered insights into a range of artistic adaptions and evaluated how the tangible result expands the Tolkien fanbase and readership while cultivating a love and appreciation of Tolkien through the adaptor’s creative vision. It further examined the ways in which Tolkien’s creations have been interwoven into the very fabric of our primary world.
His words no longer simply exist on the page, they are transformed in our minds and are cast out into the stars. They inspire new universes and invite fresh interpretations from across the globe.
Published under the auspices of the Society’s Peter Roe Memorial Fund, this proceedings features a collection of six papers delivered at the Tolkien Society 2020 Online seminar.
His words no longer simply exist on the page, they are transformed in our minds and are cast out into the stars. They inspire new universes and invite fresh interpretations from across the globe.
Published under the auspices of the Society’s Peter Roe Memorial Fund, this proceedings features a collection of six papers delivered at the Tolkien Society 2020 Online seminar.
Out 15 May 2021
In many stories, myths and legends, the sea can be a beautiful and peaceful expanse of water, a dangerous and ferocious obstacle to be overcome, or a threat waiting to be unleashed. In Tolkien’s works this is no exception.
This book explores the theme of the sea in Tolkien’s works, and understanding what Tolkien was trying to achieve in his writings, and perhaps what was motivating him to do so. This diverse collection of five article will encourage readers to reflect on their own understanding of how Tolkien makes use of the sea.
First published in 1999, this book is published under the auspices of the Tolkien Society’s Peter Roe Memorial Fund, and features a collection of five papers delivered at the George Hotel in Colchester, on the 15th June 1996.
This book explores the theme of the sea in Tolkien’s works, and understanding what Tolkien was trying to achieve in his writings, and perhaps what was motivating him to do so. This diverse collection of five article will encourage readers to reflect on their own understanding of how Tolkien makes use of the sea.
First published in 1999, this book is published under the auspices of the Tolkien Society’s Peter Roe Memorial Fund, and features a collection of five papers delivered at the George Hotel in Colchester, on the 15th June 1996.
Out 25 May 2021
A Diasporic Mythography: Myth, Legend and Memory in the Literature of the Indian Diaspora is a collection of essays on how diasporic Indian authors living in the West use myth and legend to reconnect with India.
Looking at works from Salman Rushdie, Shashi Tharoor, Suniti Nam- joshi and Vikram Chandra, the analysis will revolve around hree major points: first, that the Indian diaspora is a crucible for myth-making, in which psychology, history and postcolonial politics are inextricably en- twined; second, that the nature of diasporic mythography reveals an es- sential human need to connect to an origin, however mythical it might be; and third, that no connection to an origin is possible without simul- taneously revisioning it.
Looking at works from Salman Rushdie, Shashi Tharoor, Suniti Nam- joshi and Vikram Chandra, the analysis will revolve around hree major points: first, that the Indian diaspora is a crucible for myth-making, in which psychology, history and postcolonial politics are inextricably en- twined; second, that the nature of diasporic mythography reveals an es- sential human need to connect to an origin, however mythical it might be; and third, that no connection to an origin is possible without simul- taneously revisioning it.
Out 1 June 2021
A woman walks through a virtual reconstruction of the destroyed streets where she and her lover used to live. A young man trades away his youth, and something of himself, in the plasma extracted from his blood. A clone addresses her dead, doubled ‘self’ as she tries to understand her personal history.
In these uncanny stories of virtual reality, biotech, data surveillance and communications technology, Black Mirror meets M.R. James: unsettling perspectives on contemporary and near-future scenarios are layered with hauntings; borders are blurred between living and non-living, real and not-real.
Accompanying the collection is the essay ‘Writing the Contemporary Uncanny’, an investigation of how the uncanny has shifted in the hundred years since Freud attempted to define it, and how uncanny short fiction can interrogate and illuminate our experiences of science and technology to help us understand what it means to be human in an ever-accelerating technological landscape.
In these uncanny stories of virtual reality, biotech, data surveillance and communications technology, Black Mirror meets M.R. James: unsettling perspectives on contemporary and near-future scenarios are layered with hauntings; borders are blurred between living and non-living, real and not-real.
Accompanying the collection is the essay ‘Writing the Contemporary Uncanny’, an investigation of how the uncanny has shifted in the hundred years since Freud attempted to define it, and how uncanny short fiction can interrogate and illuminate our experiences of science and technology to help us understand what it means to be human in an ever-accelerating technological landscape.
Out 8 June 2021
Paris, 1930. Monsieur D’Haricot is a secret agent with a twitchy moustache.
Out of sight and mind, a community of refugees has been forced beneath the catacombs by centuries of persecution. They have built their own city, a replica of Paris, and developed advanced technologies and transport systems. With post-WWI Europe in turmoil, now is the time for them to resurface.
Monsieur D’Haricot has no problem with this, but a planned invasion is a different story altogether. He is, after all, duty-bound to protect France.
Faced with mistaken identities, split personalities, trickery, lies, downright lies, and repugnant bicycles, he will need to engage his complete repertoire of guile and espionage training to prevail. If that fails, well, at least he can rely on a little help from his friends: a sweet-toothed crab and an angel puppeteer.
The time is right for revolution, but the clock is not.
Out of sight and mind, a community of refugees has been forced beneath the catacombs by centuries of persecution. They have built their own city, a replica of Paris, and developed advanced technologies and transport systems. With post-WWI Europe in turmoil, now is the time for them to resurface.
Monsieur D’Haricot has no problem with this, but a planned invasion is a different story altogether. He is, after all, duty-bound to protect France.
Faced with mistaken identities, split personalities, trickery, lies, downright lies, and repugnant bicycles, he will need to engage his complete repertoire of guile and espionage training to prevail. If that fails, well, at least he can rely on a little help from his friends: a sweet-toothed crab and an angel puppeteer.
The time is right for revolution, but the clock is not.
Out 27 June 2021
Out 3 August
Could you condemn one child to save another?
In a near-future Europe fracturing under climate change and far-right politics, biologist Lina Stephenson works in the remote Rila Mountains, safely away from London State. When an old enemy dies, Lina’s dangerous past resurfaces, putting her family’s lives at risk. Trapped with her vulnerable sister alongside the dead man’s family, Lina is facing pressure from all sides: her enemy’s eldest son is determined to destroy her in his search for vengeance, whilst his youngest carries a sinister secret...
...But the forest is hiding its own threats and as a catastrophic storm closes in, Lina realises that if she is to save her family, she must become a monster.
"Cinematic descriptions are intricately woven with engaging characters, intense narrative, and delicate relationships binding the past and the present.
The narrative explores identity, loss, family, acceptance, and the secrets that hold families together often in spite of the forces determined to break them apart.
Then there are the ghosts, monsters, gods, and heroes.
An incredible story about the costs of accepting everyday violence, losses of privacy, intrusions on wildlife, human trafficking, the legacy of harm, loss, and trauma.
It’s also a story about family, healing, forgiveness, and possibilities.
It’s a touching experience that just might indeed be our undoing."
Yvonne Battle-Felton
In a near-future Europe fracturing under climate change and far-right politics, biologist Lina Stephenson works in the remote Rila Mountains, safely away from London State. When an old enemy dies, Lina’s dangerous past resurfaces, putting her family’s lives at risk. Trapped with her vulnerable sister alongside the dead man’s family, Lina is facing pressure from all sides: her enemy’s eldest son is determined to destroy her in his search for vengeance, whilst his youngest carries a sinister secret...
...But the forest is hiding its own threats and as a catastrophic storm closes in, Lina realises that if she is to save her family, she must become a monster.
"Cinematic descriptions are intricately woven with engaging characters, intense narrative, and delicate relationships binding the past and the present.
The narrative explores identity, loss, family, acceptance, and the secrets that hold families together often in spite of the forces determined to break them apart.
Then there are the ghosts, monsters, gods, and heroes.
An incredible story about the costs of accepting everyday violence, losses of privacy, intrusions on wildlife, human trafficking, the legacy of harm, loss, and trauma.
It’s also a story about family, healing, forgiveness, and possibilities.
It’s a touching experience that just might indeed be our undoing."
Yvonne Battle-Felton
Out 21 September
The past is never far behind. If we do not leave it, if we insist on carrying it with us to the end...that end is a monster.
This stunning debut collection of dark, literary fiction drowns the reader in its themes of grief, regret, love, and hope.
A family is torn apart by tragedy and misadventure, their future creaking under the weight of judgment. Old men play at being ghosts while a young boy sees real ones wherever he turns. A wandering immortal desperately seeks an end to his pain. Intimate, unflinching, and poignant, these eleven tales of the broken and the unmade include the two previously unpublished novellas, dragonland and This House is Not Haunted.
REVIEWS
“A hauntingly beautiful, powerfully intimate collection that should establish Dines as one of the best in the field.”
Ray Cluley award-winning author of Probably Monsters
“When I start a Dines story, I know I’m going to become completely immersed in that world, and changed by it.”
Ralph Robert Moore
“...the trilogy of interlinking tales that hold this book together—‘So Many Heartbeats, So Many Words’, ‘The Harder It Gets the Softer We Sing’ and ‘This House is Not Haunted’ contain some of the best writing I think I’ve ever read in my life.”
Johnny Mains
This stunning debut collection of dark, literary fiction drowns the reader in its themes of grief, regret, love, and hope.
A family is torn apart by tragedy and misadventure, their future creaking under the weight of judgment. Old men play at being ghosts while a young boy sees real ones wherever he turns. A wandering immortal desperately seeks an end to his pain. Intimate, unflinching, and poignant, these eleven tales of the broken and the unmade include the two previously unpublished novellas, dragonland and This House is Not Haunted.
REVIEWS
“A hauntingly beautiful, powerfully intimate collection that should establish Dines as one of the best in the field.”
Ray Cluley award-winning author of Probably Monsters
“When I start a Dines story, I know I’m going to become completely immersed in that world, and changed by it.”
Ralph Robert Moore
“...the trilogy of interlinking tales that hold this book together—‘So Many Heartbeats, So Many Words’, ‘The Harder It Gets the Softer We Sing’ and ‘This House is Not Haunted’ contain some of the best writing I think I’ve ever read in my life.”
Johnny Mains