Gollancz wins 'high-octane' thriller The Hatching

Gollancz has won a "fun as hell" thriller at auction from a "remarkable new talent", US writer Ezekiel Boone.

The book is about a desperate fight against a long-dormant, ancient species that hatches from an unsual egg following a nuclear bomb drop. The novel of "non-stop action" has been compared to Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park and Max Brooks’s World War Z.

Promising to be "relentless, attention-grabbing thriller" full of "engaging characters", the TV and film rights to the book have already been snapped up at auction by Lionsgate on behalf of Joel Silver (the producer of "The Matrix" and "Die Hard").

Gollancz commissioning editor Marcus Gipps acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to The Hatching, plus two sequels, from Anna Webber at United Agents.

Gipps said: “The multi-viewpoint narrative, kinetic pace and accessible science combine to make The Hatching the perfect water cooler book.”

Boone promised the book was “fun as hell and just scary enough to make you afraid to put it down.”

Rights to the book have been sold in nine territories and seven languages: US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Brazil, Italy, Latin American and North American Spanish, and Japan.

It is due for release on 5th July in hardback, priced £12.99, e-book, priced £6.99, and audiobook, priced £25.