It’s always exciting to announce new acquisitions. Today I have the particular pleasure to say that Tor.com has acquired Hammers on Bone and In the Living City, two novellas from Cassandra Khaw, author of the novella Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef as well as stories in Clarkesworld, Shimmer, and various anthologies.
Hammers on Bone is a dark and powerful neo-noir story about John Persons, an ancient intelligence in the body of an ageing detective who finds himself hired by a ten-year-old to murder the child’s stepfather. As he investigates he discovers that beneath the surface of the abusive factory worker bubbles an infestation that could poison the heart of London. World Fantasy Award-winning author Lavie Tidhar describes Hammers on Bone as “So hardboiled you could crack demon heads with it.” Hammers on Bone is scheduled for Fall 2016.
In the Living City is a fantasy epic about a sentient subterranean city that is losing its mind. As it expands its architecture over its helpless inhabitants, gang wars threaten to consume those who escape the encroaching concrete and stained glass. In the Living City is scheduled for Fall 2017.
In addition to her fiction, Cassandra Khaw writes for technology and video games outlets like Eurogamer, Ars Technica, The Verge, and Engadget. She had this to say about being signed by Tor.com:
I’m over the moon about Tor.com buying my two novellas as both stories, for very different reasons that I may or may not explain in a future blogpost somewhere on the internet, are very special to me. Additionally, have you seen that publishing roster? I have. It’s gorgeous. Ever since the novella line got announced, I’ve dreamt of fitting a book into those ranks. I love the weird. I love the strange. I love the gloriousness of those covers. It’s like being adopted by Willy Wonka and Gandalf all at once.
Anyway, long story short: absolutely bloody delighted.
“Cassandra Khaw‘s explosive, evocative prose is a treat to read. Khaw‘s ability to transform the mundane into the deeply phantasmagorical is nothing short of magical. Prepare to take a long leap into the gory, the weird, and the fantastic in the hands of a fresh new voice in fiction.” — Kameron Hurley, author of God’s War and The Mirror Empire.
Khaw was signed by Tor.com’s senior editor, Lee Harris.
