Archive for Orbit UK

Cover Launch: VERSION 43

In book design generally, but especially in sci-fi/fantasy book covers, there’s always a lot of talk about series looks, and sometimes that extends to author looks. Even if an author isn’t writing books in a series, I always attempt to establish a look for them that can tie together all of their books. As a fan, I love it when an author has a really distinctive look, so I can tell it’s a new book by them from a mile away. Yes, I know as a geek AND a designer I do pay more attention to these things, but I think it is safe to say sci-fi/fantasy fans are a design-aware bunch and very much notice these things. I get a little thrill when I see a whole row of books that are recognizably in a unit. That’s why I like to pay attention to spines alot, and try to get as much art (albeit small art) on them as I can.

That is why I am very excited to launch Philip Palmer’s next cover: Version 43. (more…)

Cover Launch: GREEN-EYED DEMON

Sabina Kane is back in a new urban fantasy, and this time she’s going to the Big Easy. (But you knew that by the ornamental ironwork balcony behind her, right?) Half mage/ half vampire and all kick-ass, I think this cover continues Craig White‘s great illustrations for the series. I’ve already read all three Sabina Kane books (aren’t you jealous?) and I have to say, if you liked Red-Headed Stepchild then definitely stick around for Mage in Black and Green-Eyed Demon, they just get better.

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Just because…

I’ve been thinking quite a bit this week about conspiracy theories.

But I guess you already knew that, huh?

Come on, tell the truth here. You, I’m talking to you!

Maybe you’ve been trawling through my emails, hmm, yeah? Find anything juicy?

Or perhaps you keep an automatic log of all my Google entries. So every time I type ‘conspiracy’ or ‘evil empire’ or ‘oppressive surveillance culture’, a little light goes on in a computer somewhere and my name is flagged up as a potential trouble-maker.

Just because (more…)

Writing a Post-feminist Character

Writers have weird quirks. Invoking the muse often involves peculiar rituals — sitting at a coffee shop with precisely the right ambiance, playing precisely the right soundtrack at precisely the right volume (or surrounding oneself with utter silence), using only a no. 1 pencil on college-ruled paper*; I hear all kinds. I’ve also noticed that most of us writerly-types are particular about language to the point of pedantry, understandably. Me? I’ve got a whole list of words I love and hate. There’s no logic to most of them. I love “pearlescent”, hate “eldritch”. The latter is probably the result of too much Lovecraft. No idea where the former comes from. (more…)

The Digital Plague in One Minute(ish)

It’s time for the next instalment in Jeff Somers’ ingeniously speedy recap of the Avery Cates series so far. Presenting: ‘The Digital Plague in One Minute’. OK, so as pointed out on the previous video, maybe it’s just a little longer than a minute, but I guess Jeff figured that ‘The Digital Plague in One Minute and Forty-Two Seconds’ isn’t nearly as catchy . . .

***SPOILER ALERT!***


 

Disclaimer: As Jeff’s publisher we cannot *quite* back up the veracity of his final statement…

Gorgeous new Celia Friedman cover

We’ve just had in the most gorgeous visual for Celia Friedman’s Wings of Wrath, in mass market paperback, out in August in the UK. This is the second book in Friedman’s masterful Magister trilogy, and I am just loving the bold design and glowing colours of these covers. Book One, Feast of Souls (UK I ANZ) is already out in mass market and you can still get Wings of Wrath (UK I ANZ) in its trade paperback size too (the same, but bigger, with less glow-y colours).

The author also had some really nice things to say, always appreciated: ‘I think the British books are GORGEOUS, especially the WoW. Your artist got the flavor of the Souleaters  beautifully — I was thrilled! — and the color and composition of the design are  breathtaking … a real delight for me.  Can’t wait to get the last one to you and see what you do with it!’

And take a look at these reasons why you should read, with this praise for the Magister trilogy:

  • ‘It’s potent stuff … Friedman is an excellent writer, so that you feel involved in the plot’s urgency’
    SFX
  • ‘Set in a casually grim world where cloak-and-dagger political intrigue is necessary for survival … Beautifully written’ 
    Publishers Weekly
  • ‘Friedman keeps the tension at a high level throughout … emotionally charged’
    SFFWorld.com
  • ‘Typically superb writing style, dark content and well-drawn characters … Wings of Wrath is highly recommended and a must for fans of C.S. Friedman’
    FantasyBookCritic
  • ‘One of the very best fantasy novels of the year … Wings of Wrath is C. S. Friedman writing at the top of her form. This series is head and shoulders above most of the competition on the market today’
    Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist
  • ‘An excellent new fantasy trilogy … highly recommended’
    NethSpace

The Engineer trilogy reissues — get your free extracts here

As well as some tempting frontlist books, January also brings Orbit UK some very handsome reissues of K. J. Parker’s Engineer trilogy. And free extracts are available here for all three books: Devices and Desires (click here for extract), Evil for Evil (extract here) and The Escapement (extract here).  The reissues will also be available via Orbit Australia from March. It’s great to see this trilogy getting a new lease of life as it’s received so much critical acclaim since its first publication. SFX deservedly called it ‘One of the finest fantasy trilogies of recent years,’ and I’ll leave you with a quote from Locus to further whet the appetite:

‘I was hooked from the very first scene … The whole thing is brilliant – disturbingly so, since these fantasies (without a whit of magic) explore the human condition and reveal it all, brain, heart, guns and bowels, with a starting precision. Parker gets back to basics, the things that drive the oldest tales: love and war, hope and betrayal’

   

The Electric Church in One Minute

The date is drawing closer for the UK release of The Eternal Prison (UK/US/ANZ), the third novel in Jeff Somers’  fast and furious techno-thriller series, the Avery Cates sequence. By putting his genius video-making skills to use, Jeff has provided us with two handy bite-size films to remind you of the series so far in speedy fashion. Here we present the first: ‘The Electric Church in One Minute.’  (And for those poor misguided individuals who haven’t  sampled the sheer awesomeness of Avery Cates yet – no fear! Doesn’t feature too many spoilers…)

Stay tuned for ‘The Digital Plague in One Minute’!