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Happy Halloween from everyone here at Orbit! In honor of this most scary holiday, Jennifer Rardin, author of Once Bitten, Twice Shy (US / UK ) and the upcoming Another One Bites the Dust, has written us a Jaz Parks treat!

Taking Out the Trash: A Jaz Parks Mini-Mission

The demon appeared just as the president’s psychics had predicted, clattering from the furnace of the deserted glass blowing studio. He saw us immediately, targeting him with the only weapon that would vanquish him. A bazooka whose charges were packed mainly with shredded law books. Apparently to this devil, justice was a killer.

“Wait!” he squeaked. “Avarice! Apartheid! What the hell is the word!” He banged his knobby knuckles against his forehead so hard they left red marks.

Vayl and I traded puzzled looks as he screamed, “I’m not the one you want! Please!” He went to his knees, probably staining his white pants. Since it was Halloween, it made sense that he wore a sailor suit. And people might actually buy that his bulbous nose and square, yellow teeth were part of a mask—if he survived the night. It was our job to see he didn’t.
(more…)

Another great review for Jennifer Rardin, as LoveVampires is calling Another One Bites the Dust:

Fast-paced, exciting and entertaining . . . recommended reading. It has mystery, spies, mad villains, romance, humour and vampires. Really, what’s not to like?

In other kick-ass vampire news, check out the interview they did with Charlie Huston, whose latest novel, No Dominion, is described by The Gravel Pit as:

[A] blast. It offers the same gritty noir-style with the brutal pace as did Already Dead . . . Bring on the third Joe Pitt!

And over at The Book Swede, there’s a wonderful review of Daniel Abraham’s The Long Price:

The ideas on which Abraham has built this series are original and thought-provoking . . . he is surely one of the brightest stars to come into the genre for quite a while.

Finally, Gav’s Blog gives Dead Men’s Boots an impressive five stars, saying:

Carey is a master plotter. His plots are focused and well planned though with enough clues that you mentally kick yourself when you start to see the connections . . . It’s a great read. You can’t help yourself from wanting to know how deep in shit Castor can go before he drowns.

Devices and Desires is getting terrific reviews for its US launch. The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly said:

“Parker’s intricately plotted and meticulously detailed book, the first in a proposed trilogy, moves as deliberately and precisely as an antique watch.”

Publishers Weekly called it an “exquisite feat of literary engineering.” And in the December issue of Realms of Fantasy Magazine, Paul Witcover says:

“…the first volume of the Engineer Trilogy is an audacious and utterly captivating novel that, like the great Gormenghast books of Mervyn Peake, eschews magic in the creation and elaboration of an intricately detailed fantasy world.”

Read chapter one of the book right here. Book two, Evil for Evil, is out now in the UK, and will be in stateside stores this November.

Sarah over at Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books has a lot to say about Jennifer Rardin’s Once Bitten Twice Shy — and lot of it has to do with how Jasmine “Jaz” Parks kicks serious ass. They’re hilarious and irreverent and I have to say, I love their taste in books!

There are some great reviews coming in for Daniel Abraham’s The Long Price. Starburst says of it:

In this enjoyable, intelligent, original fantasy series, plot springs with tragic inevitability from character and there are no heroes and villains but only often flawed but eminently understandable human beings

SFX go further in their review:

Far from being a bog-standard tale of swords and sorcery, Daniel Abraham has served up a compelling, emotionally brutal and edgy fantasy that’s genuinely worthy of comparison with genre heavyweights like George R.R. Martin . . . [pushes] way beyond the genre’s comfortable boundaries, into bold and unsettling new territory.

Jeff Somers has achieved a trifecta of geekery, with a review of The Electric Church on Aint It Cool, another review at the indispensable CHUD.com, and an interview in Your Mom’s Basement.

Elsewhere, at Ficlets, he talks about the book’s journey to publication.

We’re extremely sorry to say that the Mike Carey event scheduled for Thursday 25 October has been cancelled by the organisers.

We’ve received a number of queries from fans asking if there is any news regarding the final volume of The Wheel of Time, which Robert Jordan was writing when he sadly passed away last month. At this stage, there is no news. As soon as we have news, we will announce it here.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy is getting great reviews! The The New York Post featured it in their “Required Reading” column, and over at Katie’s Reading, Katie says:

“Before I started reading Once Bitten, Twice Shy I had read several reviews that claimed that this was a good book, a great book even. But in no way was I prepared for how truly wonderful Once Bitten, Twice Shy turned out to be. I loved it, plain and simple as that.”

Curious? Get to know Jaz with this excerpt, and then stop by Jennifer’s blog to meet the author.

Orbit UK author Mike Carey will be doing a talk and signing on Thursday 25 October. It’s at at the Rutherford Theatre, 76 Portland Place, W1B 1NT, from 7.00pm. Tickets are £7 (£5 for concessions), and are available by contacting events.london@blackwell.co.uk, calling 0845 456 9876 or dropping into the Blackwells bookshop at 100 Charing Cross Road.

There’s also a competition to win tickets and signed copies of Mike’s new book, Dead Men’s Boots, on the SFX website.

Update: unfortunately, this event has been cancelled by the organisers.

SFCrowsnest has just added some fantastic reviews of classic and new Orbit books. Now’s your chance to check out some great SF & Fantasy you might have missed:

Of Spindrift, the latest book in Allen Steele’s critically acclaimed Coyote series, they say:

Steele’s clean, crisp writing and careful scientific invention reminds me of Clarke’s Rendezvous With Rama. There’s a definite feel of classic Science Fiction storyline brought up-to-date with technology and science. That’s no bad thing and the easy pace and good characterisation make it a pleasure to read.

Of Moving Target, Elizabeth Moon’s military SF thriller, they say:

The last eighty pages are complete page-turners . . . If you like space opera then this is a series I think you would enjoy.

Adding to the praise for Charles Stross’ The Atrocity Archives, SF Crowsnest says:

Stross mixes the weird monsters of a Lovecraft novel with the gadgets and clever action of a techno-thriller. . .an enjoyable romp through a crazy mix of genres.

And for the fantasy readers out there, here’s what they say about Ian Irvine’s The Fate of the Fallen:

[Irvine] delights in creating sweeping sagas and great journeys for the characters. There are some wonderful colourful passages of people and landscapes. What he really likes is to bring his characters right down into the core of themselves as they face great challenges.

Words of praise in the latest Aurealis magazine for two of Orbit’s top Australian scribes, Sean Williams and Marianne de Pierres:

Sean has produced some good work in the past; he’s had the opportunity to flex his writing muscles in a wide variety of projects. In Saturn Returns, I felt a new assuredness, a strength of voice that was compellingly entertaining and thought-provoking. Saturn Returns is Sean’s best yet — go out and buy it.

Dark Space is an exciting adventure with plenty going on to keep you turning the pages. The story is primed to enter uncharted territory at the end of Book One. Marianne has a knack for creating compelling characters in complex realities — the Parish Plessis novels showed us that — so this is one to watch as it develops through the next two volumes.”

A shout out to former Aurealis editor, now reviewer, Keith Stevenson for his insightful reviews, which will appear in full in issue #38.

Keith also had some nice things to say about Orbit’s new global presence, so it would be rude — rude, I say! — not to repeat some of that niceness here:

The enthusiasm comes from what’s happening in the Australian market lately. This could be another false dawn — we’ve been through so many — but with the arrival of Hachette Livre and its much respected imprint Orbit into the local arena there is a level of energy and enthusiasm that I haven’t seen for a long while in Australian genre publishing . . . And so to another Orbit SF release (see what I mean: the release of two Australian science fiction books in as many months is unheard of in recent years).

Thanks, Keith. I hope we can continue to excite SF readers in Australia — and all around the world — for years to come!

Are you a US resident? Are you concerned about surviving (and thriving!) in a future populated by cybernetic monks and brutal security forces? If you answered yes, check out the near-future-dystopia-survival-kit sweepstakes at the Orbiteer. And be sure to sign up to our newsletter for upcoming contests and exclusives.

We’re delighted to see that Ken MacLeod has gone from writing SF to appearing in an SF short story! The critically acclaimed author of The Execution Channel and the Hugo, Clarke and BSFA Award-nominated Learning The World, gets a mention from a character in Security Question by Ramon Rozas III, an online short story appearing at Every Day Fiction:

“How far in the future do you come from?”

“Pretty far, actually. I made it to the ships, if that means anything to you.”

“Should it?”

“I can’t remember whether you’ve read Ken MacLeod yet.”

“Never heard of him.”

“Oh, you will. Anyway, I’m far enough in the future that I have to offload memories from this old brain,” the man tapped his skull, “and store them elsewhere.”

Go on, check it out. And then spend some time contemplating which, if any, MacLeodian future the time traveller comes from. Hey, why not? It’s the weekend, after all . . .

Scifichick.com is hosting a giveaway of Jennifer Rardin’s Once Bitten, Twice Shy. Stop by for a chance to win.

Today is 4 October. That means two things:

1. It’s the Fiftieth Anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, the Soviet satellite that lit the fuse on the Space Race and captured the hearts and minds of millions of young SF fans around the world (and as an aside, if any of you haven’t seen October Sky or read Homer Hickam’s extraordinary memoir, Rocket Boys, upon which it was based, do so immediately!).

2. It’s publication day for Daniel Abraham’s extraordinary Orbit debut, The Long Price. Comprising A Shadow in Summer and A Betrayal in Winter (published separately in the US), The Long Price is an original and elegant debut that has already garnered effusive praise from some giants of the genre:

‘A thoroughly engrossing debut novel from a major new fantasist. A poignant human tale of power, heartbreak, and betrayal’ — George R.R. Martin

‘An architecturally-perfect fantasy world filled with a fascinating, highly distinctive set of characters’ — Walter Jon Williams

‘One of the most elegant and engaging fantasies I’ve read in years’ — Jacqueline Carey

‘Intricate, elegant, and almost hypnotically told, this tale of gods held captive will hold you captive, too’ — Connie Willis

Don’t know about you, but I’d take notice of these folks — I mean, they’ve only got about two dozen Hugos and Nebulas between them! I’d also get used to seeing Daniel Abraham’s name on award short lists — as George R.R. Martin notes, he’s a major new voice in fantasy fiction.

Following on a fantastic review and interview, The Book Swede is now giving away six copies of Karen Miller’s The Awakened Mage.

Be sure to visit for a chance to win one of the most popular books this year!

Congratulations to Karen Miller, whose second novel, The Awakened Mage (out this week), has charged straight to the top of the SFF paperback bestseller charts in the UK. In the US, both The Innocent Mage and The Awakened Mage are among the Top 5 mass-market fantasy bestsellers. Karen is very happy — and so are we!

Over at BN.com, Paul Di Filippo writes about the history of SF dystopias, and says of The Electric Church:

Somers’ strategy of blending Invasion of the Body Snatchers with allusions to contemporary cults coats this profane, kickass thriller with a veneer of social commentary reminiscent of some Galaxy-era novel reinterpreted by Warren Ellis.

Read the whole piece here.