But with Oath of Fealty we also have something very special. A return to the world of the classic Paksenarrion books, as Elizabeth writes fantasy for the first time in ten years. And so no one misses out on the earlier books, we’ve also reissued the original backlist trilogy in super-giant omnibus form as The Deed of Paksenarrion. Elizabeth recently posted for us on how she found out what subgenres suited her (and which didn’t!) but she is rare in her ability to easily swing from SF to fantasy and back again.

Please see here for a bit of background on how Elizabeth made her way back to fantasy, with an extract from Oath of Fealty. And here’s what others have thought of this return so far, with some early praise for Oath of Fealty, book 1 of Paladin’s Legacy:

‘What sheer delight! Oath of Fealty is an engrossing new adventure returning old friends to us in the first of three more books in the Paksenarrion universe. It’s quite simply a smashing story, and I am panting to read the next instalment from this consummate storyteller. Hurry up, Elizabeth!’ Anne McCaffrey

‘I found the book hard to put down because of Elizabeth Moon’s ability to make the story flow’
SFSite.com

‘A must-read … thoroughly entertaining’
Romantic Times (4 1/2* Top Pick)

‘A stirring start to a new story arc … I can’t wait for more episodes’
BookLoons

The Matthew Swift series by Kate Griffin is absolutely that series. And this is not just a cover post, it is a love letter.

The first book, A Madness of Angels (now out in mass market, so you have no excuse not to pick it up) got me right in my geek soft spot. It has Kate’s lyrical, literary writing that made me think immediately of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, a really inventive magic system (Image’s Phonogram comics are the only similar feel I can think of, although it has nothing to do with music), and such good description of London that I spent my whole last trip there remembering bits of book 2, The Midnight Mayor, which I had most recently read. When I knew The Neon Court was put on the list I plagued the editor daily for the manuscript. And I was thrilled to find out this series is really developing, and getting better. I’m not the only one here who feels this way – even some other Orbit authors were begging to get an early copy of The Midnight Mayor (just released in March).

So what are you waiting for? Go out and read A Madness of Angels already! Maybe you should pick up Midnight Mayor while you’re there — out now in Hardcover — I’m pretty confident it’ll save you a trip.

Okay, whew, sorry. For you guys out there that are already hooked, here’s a teaser:

Mid-sentence and mid-kebab, Matthew Swift is surprised to discover himself summoned across London to a burning tower block.  Inside, there are a variety of angry and/or dead people, having a minor war.

There is also Oda, with a stab wound through her heart and the symbol of the Midnight Mayor drawn on the floor next to her.  Curious thing about Oda, though, is the way in which, despite having a hole in her heart, she’s not dead.  That, and she keeps on saying ‘we’ when she means ‘I’…

It will be up to Matthew Swift to stop an impending war, find a mysterious ‘chosen one’, and figure out if Oda has been inhabited by his very own electric angels – or something far more malevolent.

Available now in hardcover and mass market paperback

Available now in hardcover

Out in hardcover March 2011

‘Jemisin’s first novel has a wistful, lyrical tone, and the intrigue – both romantic and political – is skilfully handled. Book one in the Inheritance Trilogy is sensitive, restrained high fantasy.’ - The Guardian, Eric Brown

‘…a story that manages to be both fantastically grand and very personal. Definitely recommended.’ - Waterstone’s Books Quarterly

‘More than the sum of its parts… Jemisin is well worth keeping an eye on.’ - SFX, Guy Haley [also included in the SFX books of 2010 round-up]

‘Extremely well-written, imaginative, emotionally gripping, and featuring a compelling narrator, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is an almost perfect debut… and could end up being one of the best fantasy releases of the year.’ - Fantasy Book Critic, Robert Thompson

‘Convoluted without being dense, Jemisin’s engaging debut grabs readers right from the start… a complex, edge-of-your-seat story with plenty of funny, scary, and bittersweet twists.’ - Publishers Weekly

‘Debut author Jemisin creates a mesmerizingly exotic world where fallen gods serve as slaves to the ruling class and murder and ambition go hand in hand… an engaging heroine and a fresh take on traditional dynastic fantasy make this trilogy opener a delight for the fantasy reader and introduce a strong new voice to the genre.’ – Library Journal

‘A similar blend of inventiveness, irreverence, and sophistication — along with sensuality — brings vivid life to the setting and other characters… The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms definitely leaves me wanting more of this delightful new writer.’ – Locus

‘Wonderfully filled with family secrets, brutal betrayals, a remarkable romance and the mystery of a mother’s love, the book rises above others of its type not only by creating a complex world and mythology, but by populating the former with characters of many different skin colors.  In this reviewer’s opinion, this is the must-read fantasy of the year.’ – Bookpage

‘The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is an impressive debut, which revitalizes the trope of empires whose rulers have gods at their fingertips.  It feels suitably big, and yet incredibly intimate as well.  And we can’t wait to read the other two volumes of the Inheritance Trilogy.’ – io9.com

‘The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is an excellent novel… brilliantly weaves the themes of revenge, patience, justice, love, and power into an original fantasy setting that will hook you until the end, and leave you wanting more… A highly recommended read… one of the most captivating new voices in fantasy. I eagerly await the next novel in the trilogy.’ - Civilian-Reader.blogspot.com

‘I was not prepared for how GOOD this book turned out to be… Damn Near Perfect debut novel that is a great blend of fantasy and romance, religion, mythology, politics, gender and race. The writing is lovely, the plot is superb (with a few surprises) and the characters made a hole in my heart the size of a volcano. The only thing that can fill it now is book 2’ - The Book Smugglers.com [9/10]

‘One of the strongest debuts I’ve read for a while… A confident, mature, powerful, feminist, and entertaining debut in fantasy. And in the running for The Reads Top Five 2010.’ - NextRead.co.uk

‘Author NK Jemisin pulls off an astounding feat in managing to combine fantasy, romance, political intrigue, and superb writing… high recommendation to all.’ - TheBookBag.co.uk

‘This volume should be enjoyed as one of the freshest new fantasy voices we have had for quite some time. (It’s also the first book that’s ever made me miss my stop on the London Underground, so immersed was I!)’ - BookGeeks.co.uk

‘…there does seem to be something for just about every type of fantasy fan in here… all woven together into a vigorous whole and there are plenty of surprises along the way. If you find other fantasies predictable and overlong try this one – it might remind you what you are missing. A treat.’ - MyShelf.com

‘An enthralling read… you wouldn’t have thought that The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms was Jemisin’s debut… I’ll definitely be reading the sequel.’ – Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review [9.25/10]

I must say I. LOVE. THESE. COVERS. I love everything about them. I love Steve Stone’s wonderful art work – in particular that fact that he didn’t just pick a generic fantasy boy and girl for the first and last covers but actually made them look like Wynter and Alberon ( Not having read The Rebel Prince, he even went to the trouble of contacting me to ask what Alberon looked like!) Steve’s artwork rocks. Go! Now! Run to his website and check out all the great covers he’s done. I love how designer Peter Cotton has incorporated a vital element of the story into each cover. For example:

The castle from book three

The throne on book one

The funeral pyre on book two

I also love all the little design touches that Peter and Steve follow through on each cover. Like these, the lovely wreathed Ravens that are placed on each spine (I use birds symbolically throughout the trilogy). Touches like this – along with the illustrations under the blurbs: the ghosted ‘Arabic’ script and the framing of each character in foliage – flow from cover to cover, to give a sense of unity and cohesion to the three books.

And finally I love that each cover has its own colour scheme. Somehow the palates seems to perfectly suit the very different stories they illustrate: the cool greens of the first reflect the suppressed emotions of The Poison Throne; the reds and oranges of the second convey the frenzied violence of The Crowded Shadows, and somehow the third palette reminds me of armour and gunmetal – the cold, hard colours of the instruments of war. Wonderful work. Just wonderful. Thank you Peter and Steve!

The Poison Throne

The Crowded Shadows

The Rebel Prince

She has been getting some incredible advance praise in her native Australia:

“…a bold, inventively original world…a sweeping saga that unmistakeably marks her as one of Australia’s best speculative fiction writers.”

―Nexus, Issue 259, Dec 2009

“What a tale! Can’t wait for the next instalment. This is a GREAT book.”

―AurealisXpress, Aug 2009

“With this novel, (Larke) moves into a realm of sheer virtuosity… The plot is engrossing and the characters fascinating.”          

―The West Australian, 31^st Oct 2009

“…a fantasy novel in which everything about the world felt original and so utterly fascinating that even 640 pages didn’t seem enough.”

― Book Thingo, 10^th Sept 2009

Also, THE LAST STORMLORD has been selected in the UK as Waterstone’s SF/F Book of the Month. This is a tremendous accolade and we hope that it will get readers’ attention in Waterstone’s stores throughout the UK.

THE LAST STORMLORD is epic adventure of the first order…check it out for yourself and read the first chapter!

As you guys know, your friendly neighborhood Creative Director has been slaving away at the Fall 2010/Winter 2011 Orbit covers (yes, we work that far in advance) and now that the covers are (mostly) done I’ve started to launch them on the blog for your viewing pleasure, and general online critique. Well, I have a special treat above for devoted Orbit fans, cover design aficionados, and especially admirers of Ms. Alexia Tarabotti, heroine of Soulless. Timed to celebrate this month’s release of Changeless, Alexia Tarabotti’s second adventure, I have a special Making of the Cover Video for the next book, due out in September 2010, Blameless.

Over 6 hours of my onscreen compositing, retouching, color correction, type obsessing, all condensed down to a slim sexy one minute 55 seconds of cover design. Trust me, no one wants to watch it in real-time…and even then I left out the not-as-riveting-onscreen stages of my cover design process, such as reading the manuscript, sifting through Alexia photoshoot outtakes, background photo research, etc. And since this is a series look that has already been established for Soulless and Changeless, there weren’t the usual batches and rounds of versions of different designs that happen with standalone or first-in-a-new-series covers. That would be a weeklong video!

I of course just want to mention and thank everyone who worked on the cover or video: First, our Alexia: Donna Ricci, goth/steampunk supermodel and proprietress of Clockwork Couture, a fabulous place to shop for all kinds of fun steampunk clothing and accessories. (You can even buy many items Alexia has worn on her covers thus far. And an awesome octopus parasol I’ve been coveting.) Also the photographer of the cover, Tiny Dragon Productions. Also I cannot leave out the fabulous Eric Westpheling, whose work you might recall from this Philip Palmer’s Version 43 cover. And of course, thank you to the author, Gail Carriger, for writing such fun stories that we could have so much fun packaging.

I know you guys have been really into the little bit of behind-the-scenes action I was able to sneak in during my first year at Orbit, when I was kind of hanging on by my fingernails and not able to plan ahead so much. So hang on folks, this is only the beginning of a lot more fun art fabulousness on the blog. I hope you enjoy. And now, hopefully, my parents will finally understand just what it is I do all day.

Translated from the original German by the very talented Sally-Ann Spencer, this is the eagerly anticipated sequel to The Dwarves (UK/ US/ ANZ), described by SFRevu as: ‘The kind of solid fantasy that the market thrives upon’, and by The Bookbag as ‘A fabulous addition to the fantasy genre’. Read an extract here!