Archive for July, 2008
- The Orbit Team - July 14th, 2008
Okay, okay… so there was this retired succubus and this model-47 femmebot… no, wait, that’s not how it goes. Alright, I’ve got it: a retired succubus and a trenchcoat-wearing wizard walk into a Chicago bar and… no, that’s not right, either.
But seriously, folks, Freya Nakamichi, star of the new Charles Stross novel Saturn’s Children, and the one and only Harry Dresden, loved the world over by fans of Jim Butcher‘s Dresden Files series, are the subjects of the latest couple of author Jackie Kessler’s Cat and Muse interviews.
In this ongoing series, fictional character Jezebel the former demon interviews fellow fictional characters about their lives, loves, longings and, in Freya’s case, fashion nightmares. Jezebel also chatted to Lune, of Marie Brennan‘s Midnight Never Come fame, not so long ago. Check them all out, well worth a tea-break read!
by The Orbit Team • Post a Comment • Posted in: Interviews, Orbit UK, Orbit US
- The Orbit Team - July 11th, 2008
Welcome to the latest weekly round up of links of interest featuring Orbit authors; various item that we’ve found online (or have been sent in to us) over the course of the past week:
As always, if you see any online articles, reviews or interviews that feature an Orbit author, please feel free to drop us a line and let us know! We’ll happily name-check your website or blog with a heads-up credit in return (please remember to provide us with a link…)
by The Orbit Team • 1 Comment • Posted in: Orbit UK, Orbit US
- The Orbit Team - July 11th, 2008
The latest special issue of the UK’s bestselling SF & Fantasy magazine, SFX takes an in-depth look at SF and Fantasy Books, and is packed full of Orbit (and Atom) author action:
- – The best bits from 13 years of SFX interviews with Iain M Banks.
- – Tom Holt lauds Isaac Asimov’s Foundation as a “bona fide SF masterpiece”.
- – Dave Golder talks to Stephenie Meyer about the phenomenal success of her Twilight series and the forthcoming movie adaptation.
- – Nine Orbit authors (Brian Ruckley, Karen Miller, Philip Palmer, Jo Graham, Sean Williams, Kelley Armstrong, Mike Carey, Charles Stross and Ken MacLeod) reveal their literary inspirations in a ‘Write On…’ feature article.
- – Charles Stross, Jennifer Rardin, Lilith Saintcrow, Jennifer Fallon, Elizabeth Moon, R. Scott Bakker and Jeff Somers each answer ten quick-fire interview questions.
- – Lots of Orbit-published authors feature in the ‘SFX Top 100 SF & Fantasy Authors of All Time’ poll results: Charles Stross (97), Ken MacLeod (94), Jacqueline Carey (85), J.V. Jones (82), Terry Brooks (61), Jennifer Fallon (58), Jim Butcher (43), Tad Williams (42), Trudi Canavan (40), Orson Scott Card (36), Arthur C. Clarke (18), Robert Jordan (17), David Gemmell (12) and Iain M Banks (7). Well done to all, and thanks to everyone who voted!
On-sale now from all good newsagents (or available to order online from the SFX website) priced £5.99, the ‘zine also comes with a free audiobook sampler that includes extracts from Matter by Iain M Banks and Stephenie Meyer‘s The Host.
by The Orbit Team • Post a Comment • Posted in: News, Orbit UK
- The Orbit Team - July 11th, 2008
In the past couple of weeks we’ve seen a flurry of reviews of Lilith Saintcrow‘s brand new novel, Night Shift [US | UK], the first in a new series starring kick-ass demon-hunter Jill Kismet.
Writing for the My Favourite Books blog, Liz was particularly impressed with the strength of Lilith’s new protagonist:
“Lilith has again created a vibrant, strong, female heroine who keeps you running behind her in a breathless charge against forces you just know you would never be able to walk away from completely unscathed.”
Graeme, of Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review fame enjoyed Lilith’s moody and atmospheric prose:
“I like what she is setting up; it’s very atmospheric (in a noir kind of way) and dark. Just the right kind of vibe for the story being told. The good news is that Saintcrow makes sure that her scene-setting doesn’t get in the way of telling a fast paced and gritty tale.”
Over at the Midwest Book Review site (not the easiest to navigate, but stick with it) Terrilyn Fleming highlights the noir-cinematic feel of Lilith’s writing:
“Lyrical language and movie-worthy fight scenes are staples in Saintcrow’s novels, and this one is no exception. In Night Shift, Saincrow’s usual beautiful language is complemented with almost Chandleresque noir phrases … Her fight scenes contain blood spatters that hang in the air and a billowing coat that snap out parachute-like when Kismet jumps from roofs. The scenes are so well painted it is like reading a graphic novel.”
And whilst Amanda at www.lovevampires.com bemoans the lack of proper vamps in Jill Kismet’s world, she was still suitably impressed enough to conclude:
“Night Shift powers readers through an action packed nightscape of bloody death – usually dispensed by our heroine Jill. In my view Night Shift makes for more engaging reading than the Dante Valentine books but I think that readers will have to make up their own minds. Certainly if you have enjoyed the earlier [series] I can’t see you being disappointed by Night Shift.”
You can sample the first part of the book for yourself by reading an extract from Night Shift here, read Lilith’s intro to the book in our recent In Their Own Words item and can find out much more about the author, her new series and her previous books, over at her official website: www.lilithsaintcrow.com.
by The Orbit Team • Post a Comment • Posted in: Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
- The Orbit Team - July 11th, 2008
Over at his Fantasy Book Critic blog, Robert has posted the longest and most detailed interview we’ve seen to-date with Marie Brennan, author of Midnight Never Come [UK/US].
Robert and Marie discuss the origins of the story, the differences between Midnight Never Come and some of the other Elizabethan Faerie titles currently being published, here next novel And Ashes Lie (scheduled for publication in 2009), her earlier books (which we’re reissuing in the US this summer), her short fiction writing, her academic background in anthrolopogy and folklore and more.
Great stuff, well worth a read if you’re a fan of Marie’s first Onyx Court book already, or are at all curious about the background to the series.
by The Orbit Team • Post a Comment • Posted in: Interviews, Orbit UK, Orbit US
- Alex Lencicki - July 10th, 2008
If you’re a subscriber to the Orbit US enewsletter, you may have had a bounce-back error when entering our most recent sweepstakes – if that’s the case, just resend your entry to orbit@hbgusa.com . Sorry for any inconvenience!
by Alex Lencicki • Post a Comment • Posted in: Contents, Orbit US
- Alex Lencicki - July 9th, 2008
Author Jeff Somers put together a great little trailer for his latest novel, THE DIGITAL PLAGUE.
If you’re in New York, make sure to save the date on August 20th to see Jeff at the Fantastic Fiction reading series.
by Alex Lencicki • Post a Comment • Posted in: Contents, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Videos
- Alex Lencicki - July 7th, 2008
Kevin says:
Yeah, I know you’ve been burned before. As a SF/F reader, you tend to look at anything touted as “a new epic series” with a jaded eye. You’ll believe it when the author actually delivers finished books instead of promises.
You’ve gotten hooked before by reading the first volume or two, and then the author goes AWOL, losing interest in the series, or being years late on delivery, or — worse — the purported trilogy turns out to be ten books or more, with no end in sight.
I stand before you humbly offering my “Saga of Seven Suns” — planned as a seven-volume continuous story (“Seven Suns” = 7 volumes, get it?) with a beginning and an actual end, not to mention a lot of high points in between.
Just as a good architect draws a detailed blueprint of a skyscraper complex before breaking ground and erecting the framework, so I outlined the “Saga,” knowing generally where all the features were going to be, but leaving plenty of room for embellishments.
I’ve worked eight years of my life on this series, which I consider to be my love letter to the science fiction genre: galactic empires, alien races, lost civilizations, strange worlds, horrifying monsters, exciting space battles, a vast cast of characters, dozens of tangled plot threads, romance, betrayal, politics, religion, and even some nasty robots.
Each book in the “Saga” came out on time, each year, seven years in a row. As a fan and a reader myself, I know what you expect from your authors — and if you read this series, I hope you think I’ve delivered what I promised.
The (COMPLETE!) Saga of Seven Suns
Book 1: Hidden Empire
Book 2: A Forest of Stars
Book 3: Horizon Storms
Book 4: Scattered Suns
Book 5: Of Fire and Night
Book 6: Metal Swarm
Book 7: The Ashes of Worlds
by Alex Lencicki • 7 Comments • Posted in: Contents, Orbit US
- The Orbit Team - July 4th, 2008
Welcome to our latest round-up of links of interest featuring Orbit authors. We’ve got a bumper selection this week, all new content that we’ve found (or has been sent in to us) over the course of the past week:
- Daniel Abraham has been interviewed in the latest issue of Locus magazine, and you can read an intro / excerpt over at Locus Online.
- The Fangs, Fur & Fey LiveJournal community will be hosting a mini-con as part of the Conestoga convention later this month, with Orbit author Marie Brennan and future Orbit authors PC and Kristin Cast planning to attend.
- Marie Brennan took part in a recent online discussion of gender imbalance in genre fiction and concluded that the argument is going to remain largely subjective until someone can gather some meaningful data on the issue.
- Robert Buettner has posted a progress update on his Jason Wander series (books one to three out now from Orbit US, published next month by Orbit UK).
- The Dabel Brothers have announced the creative team that will be working on their comics adaptation of Jim Butcher‘s Dresden Files series.
- Orbit author-to-be Michael Cobley has been to see the Harlan Ellison docu-movie Dreams With Sharp Teeth.
- Kate Elliott really wasn’t at all impressed with the zero-authenticity approach of Mongol: The Movie.
- The latest edition of the Dragon Page Podcast features a full-length interview with Laurell K Hamilton.
- Tom Holt has posted his warts-and-all reminiscences of life in the legal profession over at in lawandmore.co.uk, with an ode to conveyancing thrown in for good measure.
- US comics publishers the Dabel Brothers have announced plans to produce a comic book adaptation of Robert Jordan‘s mega-selling Wheel of Time series.
- Glenda Larke has posted her Denvention events programme, so do say hello if you’re at Worldcon next month.
- Philip Palmer has confessed to moonlighting as a short fiction writer in-between completing sections of his next Orbit title, and has sold a story to UK indie Elastic Press for next year’s New Horizons anthology.
- Brian Ruckley delves into the archives to recommend a selection of books that preceded the Web.
- Over at the Amazon.com blog, Omnivoracious, The Electric Church and The Digital Plague author Jeff Somers, has been telling Jeff VanderMeer about his dystopian vision of the future.
- North American residents can win a full set of Stephenie Meyer‘s Twilight series over at the FantasyBookCritic blog, by entering the email sweepstake before August 2nd.
- Sean Williams has posted a list of his forthcoming appearances, including next month’s Worldcon.
If you see any online articles, reviews or interviews that feature an Orbit author, please feel free to drop us a line and let us know! We’ll happily name-check your website or blog with a heads-up credit in return (please remember to provide us with a link…)
by The Orbit Team • Post a Comment • Posted in: Orbit UK, Orbit US
- The Orbit Team - July 4th, 2008
Patricia says:
Blood Bound is the second of my series about Mercy Thompson, a coyote-shapeshifter VW mechanic who lives in a world where werewolves and vampires hunt the night. Moon Called, the first book, introduced the werewolves. Blood Bound focuses on the vampires. Mercy owes one of them a favor and it’s time to pay-up – but the cost turns out to be more than either of them expected.
One of the things I most love about urban fantasy is that the monsters can really be monsters. I didn’t want my vampires to be just people with fangs – they had to (forgive the pun) have a bite to them.
Blood Bound – book two of Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series is out now in paperback in the UK.
You can find our more about Patricia and her writing over at her official website, www.patriciabriggs.com.
by The Orbit Team • Post a Comment • Posted in: Orbit UK
