Category: Orbit Australia
- James Long - December 7th, 2011
‘Gritty, grimy, decadent and compelling’ the Sunday Times said of Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s fantasy novel THE FALLEN BLADE. The same can be said for the fabulous new cover art for the UK mass market paperback edition, created by our wonderfully talented in-house designer Emma Graves.
Emma kindly agreed to speak about her creation:
“To redesign the Grimwood series was an exciting and interesting project. We wanted a cover which gave the reader a taste of the gripping setting of this series as well as reflecting the dark and dangerous surroundings and characters. Having visited Venice myself, I knew the challenge was to find images and textures to project this captivating city with its narrow streets and alleys to the reader.
Before deciding what each cover in the series would feature, I set up mood boards of visual ideas, photographs, colours and typefaces inspired by the storylines and the atmosphere of the books.
We wanted the new style to be appealing to both existing Grimwood fans as well as new readers. By choosing sophisticated images and colours, and mixing this with typefaces with a historical feel, the design sits well both within its genre and the larger historical fiction market. The textured frames tie the books together as a series and I am really looking forward to getting my hands on the third book in the set and creating another cover to match the first two.”
Many thanks to Emma, whose cover we feel perfectly encapsulates the brooding atmosphere of Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s alternative Venice!
THE FALLEN BLADE (UK | US | ANZ) will be released in mass market paperback in the UK on 5 April 2012. The second novel in the trilogy, THE OUTCAST BLADE - with a similarly fantastic cover! – will follow in trade format everywhere in May 2012.
by James Long • Post a Comment • Posted in: Art, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US
- Jenni Hill - December 5th, 2011
You’ve read Theft of Swords, which came out from Orbit last month, and now we’re proud to announce the release of Rise of Empire, [US | UK | ANZ] the second installment in the Riyria Revelations epic fantasy series.
The birth of the Nyphron Empire has brought war to Melengar. To save her kingdom, Princess Arista runs a desperate gamble when she defies her brother and hires Royce and Hadrian to perform a dangerous mission behind the enemy’s lines. As the power of the Nyphron Empire grows, so does Royce’s suspicion that the wizard Esrahaddon is using the thieves as pawns in his own shadowy struggle for power. To find the truth, he must unravel the secret of Hadrian’s past. What he discovers leads the thieves to the ends of the world on a journey amid treachery and betrayals, forcing Hadrian to face a past he hoped never to see again.
We know you’ll be pleased to see these characters back again, though perhaps not quite as pleased as the author’s wife (Michael recently wrote a guestpost for the Proud Book Nerd entitled ‘Why My Wife’s Love Affair is Entirely My Fault’).
Here’s what reviewers have had to say about the series:-
”I couldn’t get enough of ‘Theft of Swords’ and there is no way that I won’t be following this series through to its conclusion.” – Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review
“Great Fun and a romp end to end… highly recommended” – Fantasy Book Critic
You can find Michael on twitter @author_sullivan, and find out more about him and the Riyria Revelations at his website.
by Jenni Hill • Post a Comment • Posted in: Fantasy, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US
- Alex Lencicki - December 1st, 2011
Shirley Jackson Award-winner Robert Jackson Bennett’s new novel THE TROUPE (US | UK | AUS)– a tale of Gothic intrigue set during the Vaudeville era — is coming in February 2012. But to whet your appetite the author has launched an evocative new website about the book. Visit www.silenustroupe.com for a sneak peek, and be sure to have your speakers on!
by Alex Lencicki • Post a Comment • Posted in: Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US
- James Long - December 1st, 2011
After winning much critical acclaim for her Coldfire trilogy, Celia Friedman embarked on a new, epic tale of a dangerous world where to use magic is to sacrifice your own vitality . . . or that of an unwitting victim. The first novel in the Magister trilogy, FEAST OF SOULS [UK | ANZ], introduced us to Andovan, a prince suffering from a terrible disease, and Kamala, a young woman whose magical powers threaten centuries of tradition. Their fates – and those of many others – become entwined as a ancient force awakens to threaten their world. WINGS OF WRATH [UK | ANZ] continued the story, raising the stakes as the horrifying might of the Souleaters is gradually revealed.
Now, in LEGACY OF KINGS [UK | ANZ], the final confrontation is at hand. Secrets will be spilled, blood will run and magic will be unleashed. The fate of the world lies in the hands of a select few . . . but will their powers be enough to hold back the darkness?
Praise for Celia Friedman’s Magister trilogy:
Perhaps the most staggering achievement of FEAST OF SOULS is how purposeful every scene feels. There is no filler in this book — Ms. Friedman’s prose is crisp and to the point, just as every scene in this book serves as an integral part to the novel as a whole . . . FEAST OF SOULS is a fantastic, superior work of speculative fiction’ – THE BOOK SMUGGLERS
‘Friedman has her hands firmly on the reins and delivers scenes that are tightly controlled while sparkling with vitality’ – GRAEME’S FANTASY BOOK REVIEW
‘Friedman truly knows what she is doing as a storyteller, since she is following one of the great axioms: “Always leaving them wanting more.” I, for one, want more; especially after reading the last couple of exhilarating chapters’ - SFF WORLD Read the rest of this entry »
by James Long • Post a Comment • Posted in: New Titles, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Uncategorized
- Ellen Wright - November 30th, 2011
There are a lot of Felicia Day fans here in the Orbit office, so we were excited to see that she loved James S.A. Corey’s Le
viathan Wakes (US | UK | ANZ). Here’s what she had to say:
I loved this book because in a lot of ways it humanized a BIG SF world in a way that is normally tough. I cared about the characters, I yelled at them a lot, and I enjoyed every minute!
You can read the rest of her review on GoodReads. Look out for book 2, Caliban’s War, in June of 2012!
by Ellen Wright • 1 Comment • Posted in: Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US
- Devi Pillai - November 30th, 2011
The Griffin Mage (US | UK | ANZ) by Rachel Neumeier is now out!
It contains the full Griffin Mage Trilogy: Lord of the Changing Wind, Land of the Burning Sands and Law of the Broken Earth.
When I first read the book, I thought her writing style was exactly like Patricia McKillip — and instead of Naomi Novik’s dragons — we have griffins. And of course, the griffins put me in the mind of another popular series: Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern.
Read the rest of this entry »
by Devi Pillai • Post a Comment • Posted in: New Titles, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US
- Anna Gregson - November 29th, 2011
In case you haven’t spotted it yet, Shadowheart (UK / ANZ) was released this month in paperback. It’s the breathtaking conclusion to Tad Williams’ sweeping epic fantasy, the Shadowmarch series. The finale to this tale sees Barrick Eddon, prince of Southmarch, choosing where his loyalties lie – with the humans, or with the dark Qar race, whose legacy he has promised to safeguard . . .
It’s a fantastic ending to a knock-out series and, as a massive Tad Williams fan, I must say this is certainly not to be missed. A few other people think so too:
‘Rich in detail and exploding with imagination. Dive in there and lose yourself’ SFX
‘It’s always bittersweet to see a series come to an end; as fans, we are always eager to find out what happens to our heroes and heroines, but, equally, we don’t want them to ever leave our lives . . . Williams convinced me to care utterly for his characters and there’s a hole now in my life where they once lived. Few storytellers can do that. Williams does it with alarming regularity’ A Dribble of Ink
‘Shadowrise and Shadowheart are as good an ending to a fantasy saga as I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading . . .’ Fantasy Book Critic
Read an extract right here. Tad Williams has also been under the Orbit spotlight this month, so if you haven’t tried Tad yet, go here to see just what you’re missing.
by Anna Gregson • Post a Comment • Posted in: New Titles, News, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK
- Anna Gregson - November 23rd, 2011
I’m very happy to announce that Orbit UK has acquired Bitter Seeds plus two further novels by the highly talented Ian Tregillis.
Bitter Seeds is an audacious fantasy retelling of the events of World War II – where Nazis create superhumans that can throw fire, see the future and turn invisible, whilst the British warlocks use dark magics to hold back the German invasion. I was totally wowed by the deliciously sinister atmosphere of this novel, with its endlessly imaginative plot twists and awesome superhero-like characters. Ian has a very bright future ahead of him and I’m so glad that we’ve been able to take him on in the UK.
Bitter Seeds was released in the US last year to huge acclaim – here’s what people have said so far:
‘A major talent… I can’t wait to see more’ George R. R. Martin
‘Mad English warlocks battling twisted Nazi psychics? Yes please, thank you. Tregillis’s debut has a white-knuckle plot, beautiful descriptions, and complex characters– an unstoppable Vickers of a novel’ Cory Doctorow
‘Tregillis delivers a dynamite first novel in Bitter Seeds’ SFRevu.com
‘Bitter Seeds is hands down the best debut of 2010 so far’ Fantasy Book Critic
‘The crème de la crème of SFF debuts this year!’ Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist
Look out for Bitter Seeds in December next year! Its sequels The Coldest War and Necessary Evil will be released in February 2013 and April 2013 respectively.
by Anna Gregson • 1 Comment • Posted in: News, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK
- Ellen Wright - November 21st, 2011
It’s down to
the final round in the 2011 GoodReads Choice Awards, and some Orbit books are still going strong. Keep voting for your favorites!
In Paranormal Fantasy: Ghost Story (UK | ANZ) by Jim Butcher and River Marked (UK | ANZ) by Patricia Briggs.
In Science Fiction: Leviathan Wakes (US | UK | ANZ) by James S.A. Corey.
In Horror: Deadline (US | UK | ANZ) by Mira Grant and Eat Slay Love (US) by Jesse Petersen.
by Ellen Wright • Post a Comment • Posted in: Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US
- Ellen Wright - November 17th, 2011
Robert Jackson Bennett is thinking over on his blog today about the obligation an author has to his audience and why originality in art is so important, from Louis C.K. to Tom Waits. Check it out.
[Tom] Waits had a dependable night club schtick well into the 80’s, popular with a decent-sized demographic – a boozy, romantic, down-on-his-luck hipster, a callback to Kerouac and Bukowski. But Waits eventually got sick of it, and wanted to do something new.
When his producer, Bones Howe, heard what Waits wanted to try, he advised against it. He’d lose his audience, he’d lose all his contracts, and most of all, he’d lose Bones himself. But Bones’s reasoning wasn’t that it was bad, but that it wasn’t accessible – he said, “I knew that where [Tom] wanted to go, I couldn’t follow.” Suggesting that no one else could, either.
But Waits, despite the advice of nearly everyone around him, trusted his vision. He did not listen to his producers, or his fanbase, but went out and did his own thing. And what he made was and is wholly original. For a long time, it was impossible to describe a Tom Waits album – it was just that, a Tom Waits album, and there was no other word for it.
Robert’s third book, The Troupe, will be out in February (US | UK | ANZ). You may also remember that he recently won the Shirley Jackson Award and the Sydney J. Bounds Award for his first novel, Mr. Shivers.
by Ellen Wright • Post a Comment • Posted in: All posts, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US
‘Gritty, grimy, decadent and compelling’ the Sunday Times said of Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s fantasy novel THE FALLEN BLADE. The same can be said for the fabulous new cover art for the UK mass market paperback edition, created by our wonderfully talented in-house designer Emma Graves.
