On his eponymous blog, Bradley Horner praises World Fantasy Award winner Lavie Tidhar’s forthcoming UNHOLY LAND.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lior Tirosh, the main character in Lavie Tidhar’s novel, may as well be the author. I mean, the author certainly seems to think so, both being more or less a self-described semi-successful pulp-fiction writer of SF, and like writers being in their own stories, they tend to go absolutely nuts on the imagination bits.

Well, at least, the good ones do. And guess what? He’s one of the good ones. 🙂

This book wears several hats and unlike a normal hat-trick, this one does it gently enough that we barely even realize we’ve gone from a noir mystery in an alternate history to jump headlong into an existential crisis across multiple Earths where neither memory, history, or selfhood is set in stone.

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In fact, even tho the actual tale is fun to follow and only gets more and more interesting even as it amps up the bloodshed and deeper mystery, it deserves another read-through for the subtext. It’s not just about the Jewish condition although that is a big part. It’s about identity on a much deeper level. 

I only read CENTRAL STATION before this and both are very different beasts, but neither of them is lightweight or pulp in nature. Indeed, I’m rather thrilled at how many levels both succeeded. 

UNHOLY LAND is probably BETTER than Michael Chabon’s Yiddish Policeman’s Union, by the by. The other had them all retreat to Alaska and this one had them wind up in Africa, but the true joy isn’t in the location. It’s in everything. 🙂 

Photo: Kevin Nixon

CIVILIAN READER is excited about UNHOLY LAND.

A new novel from Lavie Tidhar is always something to cheer. And this one sounds really interesting. (And what a gorgeous cover…!)

Tidhar will be attending the 2018 Neukom Literary Arts Award Event.

• WHAT: The three winning authors of the inaugural Neukom Institute Literary Arts Awards will be participating in a panel discussion, hosted by the contest’s principal judge Maria Dahvana Headley, prior to receiving their awards. A reception will follow where books will be available to purchase.
• WHEN: October 1, 2018; the panel discussion will begin at 4 p.m. and will be followed by a reception from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• WHERE: Filene Auditorium, Moore Building, Dartmouth College (map)
• DETAILS: Open to the public.
• For more information, contact Christine Alberga, Christine.e.alberga@dartmouth.edu

Zeno Agency reports that CENTRAL STATION is coming to Russia!

Lavie Tidhar‘s CENTRAL STATION continues its conquest of the globe: the novel is now available in Russia! Published by Эксмо’s Fanzon Neo SFimprint as Центральная станци.

For more info on UNHOLY LAND, visit the Tachyon page.

For more info about CENTRAL STATION, visit the Tachyon page.

Covers by Sarah Anne Langton