Archive for Orbit Australia

Cover launch: COLD MAGIC by Kate Elliott

We’ve spent a long time working on this wonderful visual for Cold Magic (US I UK I ANZ), first in a fabulous new trilogy by Kate Elliott. Kate has created something special,  a fantasy advenure with a Victorian-era feel and a dash of steampunk — featuring mages, dragons and two girls who’ll decide the fate of their world. I think the illustrator Larry Rostant and designer Peter Cotton have done a great job in capturing these elements, showing a moment in time where ancient magic and new technologies meet, generating powerful individual dramas.

And here’s a bit more on Cold Magic, book 1 of the Spiritwalker trilogy, out from Orbit in September.

As they approach adulthood, Cat Barahal and her cousin Bee think they understand the society they live in and their place within it. At a select academy they study new airship technologies and the dawning Industrial Revolution, but magical forces still rule. Drawn into a labyrinth of politics involving blood and old feuds, Cat is betrayed by her family and forced to marry a powerful Cold Mage. As she is carried away to live a new life, fresh dangers threaten her every move and secrets form a language she cannot read. At least, not yet.’

THE ORPHANED WORLDS storms into existence

The Orphaned Worlds is now out and available for just a few earth pounds from a book vendor near you. Or have a taster first with this entirely free extract or perhaps a free Orphaned Worlds wallpaper. But Michael Cobley can tell you more about the masterwork himself, as he will be taking part in the SFX Summer of SF Reading event and signing on 10th May, at Waterstone’s London Piccadilly store. For SFX competition winners (closing date is tomorrow) the open signing will be followed by a VIP party and panel discussing why more fans of SF on TV/in films don’t also read the books, also featuring the talented Mr Cobley. Signed copies of the book will also be available soon from The Forbidden Planet‘s London branch.

So, to go back to the book itself, The Orphaned Worlds is a rip-roaring ride and we’ve had a lot of great review coverage from fans. We’re lucky to count the Guardian, Waterstone’s Books Quarterly and also SFX amongst those fans. Bloggers have also been very supportive and good things have been said by Bookgeeks (win a copy of the Orphaned Worlds comptition currently running) and Walker of Worlds.

So, all in all, hooray for the book!

FROSTBITTEN: The Book Trailer

It’s been a Kelley Armstrong kind of month. Two weeks ago, Kelley shared her first trip across the pond for World Horror Con with us, and we heard about her new books last week.  So, in the balance of thirds, we thought we’d cap it off with a bang.

We’ve got an exciting new book trailer for Frostbitten, out this Thursday in the UK, and while there are book trailers, there are also BOOK TRAILERS!!!! We tend to think that this one falls into the latter category, but we’ll let you be the judges of that, as always. . .

TURN COAT and CHANGES by Jim Butcher – free extracts and info

We recently published the hardback of Changes by Jim Butcher, the latest instalment of the eagerly awaited Dresden Files series, and we’ve been blown  away by the response so far. And to see what all the fuss is about, read a few chapters of the book here. Below is just a bit of the early praise this book has received as PI Harry Dresden, the only wizard in the Chicago phonebook, goes from strength to strength.

Fast-paced and compelling … Butcher throws one high-stakes curveball after another at his hero”
Publishers Weekly

“Changes is a compelling installment in what continues to be an outstanding series … A can’t-miss entry in one of the best urban-fantasy series currently being published” Booklist (starred review)

“If you’re only going to read one Dresden Files novel, this is the one to read, as it’s got all the aspects that make the series great, with magic thrown around, lots of characters from both the worlds Dresden inhabits and wonderful pacing” TheBookbag.co.uk

“Changes is yet another excellent instalment in what is arguably the finest urban fantasy series being written at the moment” Bookgeeks.co.uk

“I am always delighted by these books and always taken by surprise but this one. Damn. Really that’s about all I have to say. This is a fantastic series with a brilliant lead and awesome cast of supporting characters” Un:bound blog

“It doesn’t stop til the OH MY GOD moment at the end of the book.  It’s an emotional, engaging, gritty ride that doesn’t really let up apart from the laugh out loud sections that Butcher has such a talent for … Jim Butcher at his very best” Bookthing.co.uk

 We also published Turn Coat  just ahead of Changes, this being Harry Dresden’s previous outing. It was out in hardback last year, but SFX had this to say on release of the recent paperback edn “The Dresden Files are the best novels in the supernatural PI subgenre, and Turn Coat is more of the same — and a very welcome return it is too”. Here is a sample extract of this too for your delectation — and Harry Dresden will be back next year with Ghost Story!

Lend your voice to the cast of the Avery Cates series

Ever think you know exactly how a character in a novel should sound? Think you could put on a good performance of playing that character yourself?

Well Jeff Somers has set up a competition in which you have the chance to do just that. For the official website of his next novel, The Terminal State (UK/ US), Jeff is creating four mini video clips to represent four different characters from his series. He’s already provided some superb images to depict the nature of each character, and mini excerpts from the book have been supplied as scripts.

All that’s missing is you – the reading public – to put on your best acting voices and provide voiceovers for the videos. Whichever voice clip that Jeff feels best represents each character will be used on the final site. Visit this site to hear some examples that Jeff has provided himself, such as the one below. There, you’ll also find more information on how you can get creative and start sending in your own voiceover submissions. 

 

New titles from Kelley Armstrong

Following Kelley Armstrong’s very successful trip to the UK, during which she had fans from as far as Germany queuing up to meet her, we thought we’d remind you just how busy she’s been on the writing front.

Last month saw the release of The Reckoning (UK /ANZ), the third book in Kelley’s Darkest Powers young adult series. This is definitely one to look out for, considering that the second book in this series was a No. 1 New York Times children’s bestseller, and that Charlaine Harris claimed about the series that ‘there’s never a slow moment in their journey or a false line in Armstrong’s writing’. (more…)

Winners! Spectrum Annual #17!

I know all of you are scifi/fantasy geeks (or else why are you here, really), but not all of you are art geeks as well, so you may not have heard of Spectrum, the annual competition for contemporary scifi/fantasy/horror art…but to those of us you might classify as “geek artists”, inclusion in the Spectrum annual is a big deal. So I am thrilled to announce that 3 of our books made the annual:

Black Ships by Jo Graham (painting by John Jude Palencar)

Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler (digital illustration by Sharon Tancredi)

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (digital illustration by Cliff Nielsen)

(more…)

Mountains of books

THE EDGE OF THE WORLD by Kevin J. Anderson has been announced as a finalist in the Colorado Book Awards. The promotional poster (at left) clearly shows THE EDGE OF THE WORLD on top. Not only that, but the two big mountains in the background – we’re assured – are the Maroon Bells, and Kevin has climbed both of them. (Note that in real life these mountains are far taller than a pile of books.)

Congratulations to Kevin, and for everyone who enjoyed THE EDGE OF THE WORLD don’t miss the sequel, THE MAP OF ALL THINGS, coming in June.

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

When Harlan Ellison was asked “Where do you get your ideas from?” he famously answered “Schenectady.” Ellison was commenting on the absurdity of pinning down a process as ephemeral, multi-dimensional and just plain murky as the origin of an idea. However, if the question had been modified to exclude the final word from the sentence then Ellison’s answer would work for me.

Author by Mohawk River in Schenectady

I’ve lived in Schenectady. It’s an industrial city on the Mohawk River in Upstate New York. It’s famous for being the site of the Schenectady Massacre of 1690, where French and Native American forces attacked the fledgling settlement at midnight, burning it to the ground and slaying sixty men, women and children who were still in their bedclothes, and also for being the place where Thomas Edison chose to headquarter his fledgling General Electric Company. Schenectady is built on land that was once the territory of the Mohawk nation, and its name comes from the Mohawk phrase, “over the pine plains.”

I wrote a great chunk of Watcher of the Dead within the city’s limits.  And as the answer to the question, “Where do you get your ideas?” is always “Where I was physically located at that moment the idea occurred to me,” then my ideas are officially from Schenectady. (more…)