Author Archive

TOUCH by Claire North: “I am left staggered into an awed slow-clap”

Touch - a dark thriller novel by Claire North, author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live someone else’s life?

TOUCH (UK|US|ANZ) by Claire North is out now. It’s a high-concept thriller about a being who can jump from body to body, just with a touch.

Claire North is the author of THE FIRST FIFTEEN LIVES OF HARRY AUGUST (UK | US | ANZ), one of the UK’s bestselling SFF novels of last year. And her new book TOUCH is wowing critics across the board:

‘I am left staggered into an awed slow-clap at everything North has accomplished here. Touch is touching, horrifying, magnificent; step into it, and it will step into you’ NPR

‘As intriguing and breathless as it is brilliantly original, constantly defying expectations and a step (or two) ahead of the reader . . . this one will keep you awake at night in the search for answers’ LOVE READING

‘A dark thriller that asks readers to imagine whom they would be if they could be anyone. . . The high stakes and breakneck pace of the plot will draw readers in, and the meditations on what it means to be human and to be loved will linger long after the last shot is fired’ KIRKUS

‘Bolstered by an impeccable sense of setting, a challenging central character and a sinister plot that doesn’t for a second stop, Touch is its own singular, spirited thing, as fascinating and affecting as its predecessor’ TOR.COM

‘The quality of the writing and the dazzlingly imaginative heart of this exciting book will seduce even scifi sceptics, and keep readers absolutely hooked to the dramatic conclusion’ SUNDAY MIRROR

‘Triumphant . . . This novel is utterly engaging, addictive, and thought-provoking . . . simply superb’ CIVILIAN READER

‘Seriously I cannot get over how amazingly good Claire North is. I could have read this book forever. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August was so smart, Touch is beyond genius. This will be one of THE books of 2015. Mark my words’ BITE THE BOOK

‘Powerful, disquieting, and provocative’ PORNOKITSCH

‘The writing is stunning; the action . . . exhilarating; the depth and emotion – always – thought-provoking and touching’ THE LITERARY TREE

‘One of the cleverest, most compelling books I’ve read in a long time . . .  Claire North is one hell of a writer’ C. L. Taylor, author of THE ACCIDENT

‘A work of sparkling originality that works both as mesmerising thriller and exploration of what it means, at the most profound level, to be human’ Alex Marwood, author of THE WICKED GIRLS

‘Touch is fast, smart, cinematic and with a cracking central idea. This is absolutely destined to be one of the biggest thrillers of 2015’ Rick O’Shea, radio presenter

‘I was totally and utterly gripped, it’s just extraordinary. Absolutely mesmerising’ Clare Mackintosh, author, feature writer and columnist

‘The writing is gorgeous. As I read, my fingers were itching to underline quotes on virtually every page. The characters are richly drawn and compelling. The plot is utterly riveting. The book is pretty much perfect, is what I’m saying’ BOOKTOPIA

‘Fast-paced, imaginative . . . There is plenty of conspiracy and intrigue in this deftly paced novel, but North also poses subtle questions about identity and love’ WASHINGTON POST

‘Absolutely phenomenal. It is an intricate, edge-of-your-seat book that is unforgettable. It is thought provoking in ways that I never really expected or anticipated, and toys with that moral grey area that I love so much . . . My final thoughts: Read this book. Read it now’ BOOKWORM BLUES

Intrigued?

TOUCH is out now from Orbit in the UK and Redhook in the US.

Follow Claire North on Twitter as @ClaireNorth42

Two Orbit Authors on BSFA Shortlist

Congratulations to two Orbit authors who have had their titles shortlisted for this year’s BSFA Awards!

Claire North’s THE FIRST FIFTEEN LIVES OF HARRY AUGUST (UK | US | ANZ) and Ann Leckie’s ANCILLARY SWORD (UK | US | ANZ) have both been nominated in the Best Novel category.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North and Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie - both nominated for the BSFA Award 2014

You can see the full list of nominees here.

Voting will now be opened to BSFA members and attending members of Eastercon. The winner will be announced at a ceremony at the 66th Eastercon, aka Dysprosium, taking place from 3-6 April 2015.

This May: Resistance is Futile

Here’s a little sum for you:

What do you get if you take the square root of a love story, multiply by an awkward mathematician, add on extra-terrestrial life-forms and cringe-worthy close encounters?

You get Resistance is Futile! A whirlwind adventure about love, friendship . . . Oh yes, and the total obliteration of mankind.

It’s due for release in May this year – and we can’t wait.

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE is the SF debut of Sunday Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan. SF fans may know Jenny as the author of the Doctor Who tie-in novel Dark Horizons and the Doctor Who short stories Into the Nowhere, Long Way Down and All the Empty Towers. And if you like Doctor Who, there’s a good chance you’ll love this too!

Check out what some incredibly funny, successful and really very clever people have already been saying about this stormer of a book:

‘It’s not very often that I fall in love so completely with book . . . Resistance is Futile is bright, charming, intelligent, funny, moving and beautiful, full of wonderful imagination and expert storytelling. I think Jenny was born to write this book’ Rowan Coleman, author of The Memory Book

‘Resistance is Futile is funny, romantic and just the right side of geeky. Set phasers to ‘fun’…’ Danny Wallace, comedian, author and presenter 

‘A riotous cocktail of action, maths geeks, and kissing. I enjoyed every single page. Resistance really is futile’ Matt Haig, author of The Humans

We couldn’t agree more!

Follow Jenny on Twitter as @jennycolgan (she’s highly amusing indeed).

And get ready to let your defences down in May . . .

TOUCH – the new thriller from the author of HARRY AUGUST

TOUCH, the electrifying new thriller from Claire North, the author of THE FIRST FIFTEEN LIVES OF HARRY AUGUST
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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live another person’s life?

Claire North has, and we’re very excited to now present the cover for TOUCH (UK | US | ANZ) – her electrifying new thriller with a protagonist who can jump from one body to another, just with a touch.

Claire is the author of THE FIRST FIFTEEN LIVES OF HARRY AUGUST (UK | US | ANZ), one of the bestselling genre books of the year which was picked for all three of the Richard and Judy Book Club, the Waterstones Book Club and the BBC Radio 2 Book Club in the same year – a feat which is almost unprecedented.

The novel has impressed people across the board, from Peter F. Hamilton:

“Claire North’s sophisticated writing and astute plotting have made this my book of the year”

To M. R. Carey:

‘Astonishing . . . Bold, magical and masterful’

To Judy Finnigan:

‘Utterly readable, utterly believable and compelling . . . one of the fiction highlights of the decade’

Her new novel TOUCH, dare I say it, may impress them even more.

It’s coming in February 2015 and is available for pre-order now. Catch it while you can . . .

Interstellar – the film that should have been a TV series

Interstellar movie, reviewed by Rob Boffard, author of scifi thriller Tracer
Interstellar official movie poster © Warner Bros UK

*Spoiler alert!*

It took me a little while to work out what was bothering me about Interstellar.

The realisation came about two thirds of the way in, when Matthew McConaughey and his merry band of intergalactic explorers were contemplating another dive into the black hole which has flung them to the other end of the universe in the search for a new home for humanity. It was then that I had the thought, “This would work so much better as a TV series.”

Going through a black hole, if we are to believe physicist (and executive producer) Kip Thorne, is a very noisy, turbulent, chaotic experience. So is the movie. Director Christopher Nolan never stops blasting you with information: quantum mechanics, on-planet disasters, portentous imagery, space-time fluctuations, really loud music, and lots and lots of Dylan Thomas.

And boy, do things happen fast. One minute, McConaughey and company are puttering about on Earth trying to grow corn, and the next they’re at the other side of the cosmos, seeing if humanity can survive on a watery planet with mountainous waves (spoiler: we can’t).

There are other problems too. The sound mix is ridiculous, juxtaposing the silence of space with long periods of bombarding your eardrums with noise. And there are several glaring plot-holes. My particular favourite: ace ex-NASA pilot McConaughey is living just down the road from their secret facility, but they somehow never bother to pop on over to his farm and ask for his help. Naturally, when he shows up on their doorstep, they immediately insert him into the ship crew. I feel a bit bad for the poor bastard he replaced.

Perhaps the biggest letdown is that the movie never asks the most important question. If humanity has wrecked the Earth so badly, do we even deserve to survive? At no point do any of the astronauts and scientists stop to ask whether we’ve learnt enough not to screw up the next planet we land on. Nolan is happy to speculate on spaceship mechanics, the power of family and the ability of love to cross the infinite gulf of space, but he never wonders if we’ve done enough to deserve any of it.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t see Interstellar. For one thing, there’s nothing else that looks quite like it. Everything from the different planets to the dusty, scorched fields on Earth to the black hole itself is just gob-smacking. Nolan is known for astounding imagery, but this is next level. And while McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine and company are by no means giving the best performances of their careers, there’s still enough meat to make things compelling.

In the hands of a TV showrunner like David Simon or Vince Gilligan, Interstellar would be absolutely essential. In the hands of a director like Nolan, it’s a wildly ambitious movie that doesn’t quite deliver. Caine’s scientist enjoys quoting Dylan Thomas – that old chestnut about not going gently into that good night – but perhaps a more appropriate reference would be Shakespeare. Specifically, Macbeth. Interstellar may not have been told by an idiot, but it is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Rob Boffard is a journalist and the author of the upcoming scifi thriller novel TRACER, releasing in July 2015.

DEAD HEAT, the new Alpha and Omega novel from Patricia Briggs

Great news! In March 2015 we’ll be releasing DEAD HEAT (UK | ANZ)  a new urban fantasy novel from Patricia Briggs – and it’s a brand new Alpha and Omega book. FAIR GAME (UK | ANZ) was the last novel in this series, and fans have been dying to find out what happens next to Anna and Charles . . .

It’s very much a case of “opposites attract” with these two. With Charles being an Alpha and Anna being an Omega, they  represent the different sides of the shifter personality. Watching their relationship develop, and how they face each dangerous new situation together is just so addictive . . .

Please see here our brand new cover artwork for the book, which is from the illustrator Fred Gambino. Look out for it in March 2015, and read the blurb below!

For once, mated werewolves Charles and Anna are not traveling because of Charles’s role as his father’s enforcer. This time, their trip to Arizona is purely personal, or at least it starts out that way . . .

Charles and Anna soon discover that a dangerous Fae being is on the loose, replacing human children with simulacrums. The Fae’s cold war with humanity is about to heat up – and Charles and Anna are in the cross fire.

DISCOVER THE NEW CHARLES AND ANNA NOVEL 2 FROM THE NO. 1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PATRICIA BRIGGS.

Meet Rob Boffard – author of the upcoming TRACER

Rob Boffard, author of the upcoming science fiction thriller TRACER

Tracer, the upcoming science fiction thriller from Rob Boffard

 

 

 

 

 

We’re delighted to introduce Rob Boffard, author of the upcoming TRACER, a heart-stopping SF novel set in space which will be released next summer.

As a newbie to the Orbit list, we asked Rob a few questions about what we can expect from him in 2015 . . .

– Tell us a bit about yourself!

I come from Johannesburg, and can speak enough Zulu to prove it. I have glasses, terrible hair, and exceptionally long arms. I’m 29, obsessed with hip-hop, tattoos, plane tickets, snowboarding, and the Chicago Bulls. And good stories. Both telling them, and reading them.

For the majority of my adult life, I’ve worked as a journalist, being paid specifically to not make stuff up. The fact that I can now do the exact opposite at a place like Orbit is both weird and amazing.

– What can readers expect from your new book TRACER?

I wanted to make this the baddest, fastest, craziest, most intense scifi thriller you’re going to read next year, or any year after it. It’s set on a massive space station, Outer Earth, which holds the last humans in the universe. The station’s been there for a while – everything is broken, rusted, falling apart. Nothing works anymore. (more…)

THE FALCON THRONE – “Blood, dirt and backstabbing”

The Falcon Throne by Karen Miller
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We recently released THE FALCON THRONE – the  new offering from the million-copy bestselling fantasy author Karen Miller.  It’s been a real honour working with Karen on this novel – it’s epic, exciting, tragic and genuinely made me gasp out loud at certain points . . . And it’s now a joy to see the fabulous reviews which have been coming in for it, showing how much other people have been enjoying it too. Check out what people are saying below.

Blood, dirt and backstabbing . . . impressively elaborate and detailed . . . this dark world will draw you in – SCIFINOW

‘A truly epic read full of intrigue and betrayal anchored in wonderful characters – some I loved and some I loathed, but all I wanted to know more about. Whether it’s combat, politics or human interaction Karen Miller is on the money. Loved it‘ – John Gwynne

‘Complex and engrossing; fans of George R.R. Martin and Joe Abercrombie should particularly take note’ – PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

It will entrap you and hold you captive, you will look up from its pages to discover you have lost hours – APN NETWORK

‘The sheer scope and genius of this series dazzles . . . stylistically brilliant’ – SPECULATING ON SPECFIC

Excellent writing, amazing characters, intricate woven plotlines, and lots and lots of blood, most of that unfortunately spurting from the wrong people. No elves or dragons, but some of the most in-depth world-building I’ve ever read, and the heroes (and anti-heroes) could shake themselves off the page. This book drew me in with the opening sentence and held me until the end . . . I remain breathless from the read. – LIBRARY THING

Fans of George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan and other such writers of epic fantasy will find much to like here . . . a compelling read – READING LARK

Magnificent new fantasy, The Falcon Throne, out now!

The Falcon Throne by Karen Miller
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This week sees the start of a truly epic new fantasy series. Some of you may know Karen Miller already from her bestselling Kingmaker, Kingbreaker series, which begins with THE INNOCENT MAGE, and led to her selling over a million copies to date worldwide. But this novel marks the start of a brand new stage in her writing career. This novel is on a bigger, more epic scale than anything she’s ever written before, and it just blew us away here at Orbit with its brilliance. THE FALCON THRONE (US | UK | AUS) is the tale of an unquenchable thirst for power – of the atrocities people will commit in order to obtain it, and the consequences for those who stand in their path. It’s an epic fantasy that is magnificent in scope, thrilling in its emotional power, and truly something that every fantasy fan should read.

It’s on offer for a very limited time, so now is a good time to check out the start to this series, which is sure to be hugely influential in the fantasy world. Congratulations to Karen on writing such a knock-out novel!

Out now: SHIFTING SHADOWS by Patricia Briggs

Discover all your favourite characters from Patricia Briggs’ bestselling Mercy Thompson series like you’ve never seen them before: starring in their own short stories! SHIFTING SHADOWS features never-before-released original short stories, and is out now!

The Mercy Thompson series is into its eighth full-length novel with NIGHT BROKEN (UK | AUS) and has many high-profile fans such as Kelley Armstrong and Kim Harrison, but this is the first collection of short stories set in the world ever published.

Patricia Briggs had this to say about writing the short stories: “I came late to the writing of short stories, and, in many ways, they are more difficult for me to write than novels. But after twelve novels, I have a lot of stray bits of story rattling around in my head that don’t fit neatly into the books. Letting those bits out to expand the secondary characters and the world has been a lot of fun.”

If you love your urban fantasy with plenty of high-octane action, adventure and mechanics, and delivered in bite-size pieces, pick up SHIFTING SHADOWS today.