With sinister echoes of 1984 and Brave New World, this original novel features a near-future city where medical science invents a single-dose pill for eradicating many common genetic defects . . .
Read a sample
Ever feel like you need more adrenaline-fuelled adventure in your life, where technological gadgetry and big explosions come as standard? If so, then you’re in luck: today sees the ebook releases of Andy Remic’s turbo-charged techo-thrillers, SPIRAL, QUAKE and WARHEAD.
In Remic’s future vision of Earth, nuclear warheads can be hidden in a suitcase, bio-plagues can be held in a teardrop . . . and the elite organisation known as Spiral is humanity’s last line of defence against global armageddon. Operating in secret, Spiral fights a constant war against rogue states, deadly assassins and ruthless dictators that will not stop at anything to get what they want – even if it means the Earth’s destruction.
Praise for Andy Remic’s Spiral trilogy:
Hugely entertaining and packed with more explosive action scenes than is probably decent, SPIRAL starts off loud and ends in a bang” WATERSTONE’S BOOKS QUARTERLY
“Spiral is certainly chock full of action … ideal summer reading if you’re looking for something filmic” SFRevu
“A new writer who knows what a regular reader sitting on the bus wants - action . . . Pure Die Hard, pure Rambo. This has got to be a film, surely!” LADSMAG
“Fans of the action adventure genre will not be disappointed by SPIRAL . . . A light, fast read with quick action” THE REVIEWS PAGE
About the author:
ANDY REMIC is a larger-than-life action man, chainsaw warrior and chef. He has written a variety of thriller, SF and fantasy novels, and sometimes delves into the murky underworld of teaching. If pushed to describe himself, Remic claims to have a love of extreme sports, violent computer games and kickass bikes. Andy is also married and has sired two strapping young boy cubs. Remic is now working on various new SF and fantasy projects, and threatens he will never stop writing.
As we’ve had such a fine crop of reviews for Philip Palmer’s rumbustious tale, we thought it was only fair to share. Click on the following links for more on Hell Ship’s swashbuckling story (UK | ANZ | US ) plus here’s a free extract and reviews follow below … the Sun review is just hilarious in itself!
No one writes SF quite like Palmer… Hell Ship is a freewheeling extravaganza replete with a hundred varieties of alien, vast spacecraft, exotic worlds… aficionados of bizarre space opera will be amazed and delighted” GUARDIAN
“The triumphs and tragedies of this novel are told in the style of ancient legend. But there is also a sense of irrepressible fun … This is epic science fiction with a twinkle in its eye” SUN
“I really do recommend Palmer’s work – he’s an unflinching and relentlessly ballsy writer” SFREVU.COM
“Great storytelling … a joy to read. Great stuff from Philip which proves why he’s fast becoming my favourite science fiction author” FALCATA TIMES WEBSITE
“Palmer’s imagination knows no bounds … readable and enjoyable” THEBOOKBAG.CO.UK
“I knew I would love it after reading just a couple of pages … You will be treated to an entertaining tale of heroics, tragedy and selfless sacrifice all written with a gleam in the eye” IWILLREADBOOKS.COM
It’s publication time (UK | ANZ) for Blood Rights — the first book in Kristen Painter’s eagerly-awaited, explosive, down-right fabulous new urban fantasy series. The books are set in a version of our world, but one twisted so it’s not quite as we know it. And US readers only have to wait a short time longer, as Blood Rights is released next month in the US. You can also get a free extract of the book here. Book one will be closely followed by the next two books Flesh and Blood (US | UK | ANZ) and Bad Blood (US | UK | ANZ). All three covers are fabulously striking too and check out all of them below:
We’ve had amazing advance coverage of these fast-paced adventures and just look at what these experts have to say about the rising star that is Kristen Painter!
Passion and murder, vampires and courtesans — original and un-put-downable. Do yourself a favor and read this one” Patricia Briggs
“Dark and rich with layer after delicious layer. This spellbinding series will have you begging for more”
Gena Showalter
“A world full of rich potential. Excellent!” P.C. Cast
“Kristen Painter brings a sultry new voice to the vampire genre, one that beckons with quiet passion and intrigue” L.A. Banks
“Gripping, gritty, and imaginative. If you love dangerous males, kick-ass females, and unexpected twists, this is the series for you!” Larissa Ione
The Business of Death (ANZ | UK | US) is out this month and a fun-packed, fast-paced basket of grim it is too! Trent Jamieson’s fantastic Death Works trilogy is a lively, urban fantasy read featuring a hard-pressed hero whose job is to ease the passing of spirits from one world to the other. But as Steven de Selby’s life goes rapidly to hell in a handcart, he finds there’s more rather more at stake than the job description indicated:
Steven de Selby has a hangover. Bright lights, loud noise, and exercise are the last thing he wants. But that’s what he gets when someone starts shooting at him. Steven is no stranger to Death – Mr. D’s his boss after all – but it’s still a shock when a dead girl saves him from sharing her fate. It’s a bigger shock when he finds his friends, family and colleagues have also been targeted. His job is to guide the restless dead to the underworld, but he didn’t expect to find his loved ones among his ‘clients’.
With Mr. D missing and no one in charge, the living are being hunted, the dead start rising and the whole city is headed for a regional apocalypse. Steven must shake his hangover, not fall for the dead girl, and find out just what’s going on – or there’ll be hell to pay.”
The Business of Death is a three-book omnibus (you can get a sample chapter here) so no need to wait for next instalments. And terrific quotes for this series include the following:
Jamieson writes a fast-paced story studded with action-movie beats” Financial Times
”An intriguing evolution of the undead genre” The Telegraph
“Refreshingly original and enjoyable” TheBookBag.co.uk
“There is a lot to like … Combine this with the corporate version of Death, the subtle blend of humour and dry wit and you get a well-thought-out rewarding story. I heartily recommend.” SFBook.com
Having a long series of books (aka more than a trilogy) is a lot of fun, because over time, just as the reader does, you get a better feel for the character, and it definitely comes out in the cover art. Craig White has been really hitting his stride with Sabina Kane, I feel like each cover has more and more personality. The great photo shoots by Shirley Green with Toni Busker as our model certainly help. Toni is a veteran of many geek projects, and she is super fun to work with as she is always game for climbing about and playing with all kinds of weapons…Actually you may recognize her as a mermaid in the recent Pirates of the Caribbean #4. If that’s not geek cred for a cover model, I don’t know what is.
So, back to the cover at hand – as you can see, Sabina is back and prowling in NYC, and after the jump you can get a little teaser, along with the covers in order…
The wonderful drama that is Kate Elliott’s Cold Fire (US | UK | ANZ) is at last out and ready for reading! This follows up last month’s mass market paperback publication of Cold Magic (US | UK | ANZ) and moves on that story with high tension and style. You can get a free extract here and here’s a bit more on this wonderful, stirring tale of two girls finding their path in a world of magic, deceit and complex politics:
Cat and her cousin Bee are key players in a drama of dragons and politics. Warring factions want to use or destroy their growing powers, and they’re closing in. The Cold Mages are conspiring to take them prisoner and the warlord Camjiata thinks it’s their destiny to help him conquer Europa – whether they want to or not. And the man Cat was forced to marry is back, as arrogant and annoyingly handsome as ever. Worse still, as Hallows Night approaches, powers hidden deep within the spirit world are rising. Cat must seek allies against these threats, for if she makes the wrong choices, she’ll lose everything.
Only one thing is certain. When Hallows’ Night comes the Wild Hunt will ride – and it feeds on mortal blood.”
Also, if you’re still here (not dashing around already trying to get hold of the book …) here are a few of the great things that have been said already:
Elliott skillfully blends intrigue and romance in this lively series about strong women caught among powerful and deadly forces’ Publishers Weekly
‘Something pretty unique. Add to this the author’s usual authoritative writing voice, a cracking love story and wrap it all up in politics, machinations alongside double dealing and the result is a very tired but sated reader after a marathon night time session … the result is something that makes this for me Kate’s best series to date. Great stuff’ Gareth Wilson, Faltaca Times
This week Terry Brooks’ The Measure of the Magic (UK /ANZ) is released. It’s the striking conclusion to his Legends of Shannara duology, which began with Bearers of the Black Staff (UK / ANZ) and explores the pre-history of Terry’s beloved Shannara world. You can read a sample chapter here.
To mark the occasion, we’d like to draw your attention to a special auction that is happening for a very good cause.
Stuart Finnie, who lives in Scotland and is undoubtedly one of Terry Brooks’ biggest ever fans, has been collecting Terry Brooks books and memorabilia of all kinds since age 11. From manuscripts, proof copies and first editions, to a spectacular sword and stunning maps, the collection is extremely extensive and wide-ranging, with almost all of the items included signed by Terry or the artists involved. The estimated value of Stuart’s entire collection, which he calls his “whole life”, is £30,000.
And Stuart has now decided to auction this whole collection off, with proceeds going to the cancer charity Macmillan. Having suffered from cancer himself, Stuart now wants to give back to the people who have helped him. We and Terry think this is a fantastically generous idea and wish Stuart all the best with the auction. You can read more about it in this article from the Evening Times.
Anyone who is interested in buying the collection or would like further information please contact April Andrews at Macmillan on 0141 952 0085 or e-mail westofscotland@macmillan.org.uk
The enigmatic Dagmar Shaw returns in Walter Jon Williams’ THE FOURTH WALL, an exhilarating near-future thriller due for release in February 2012.
This striking cover art visual, from our designer Sean Garrehy, perfectly encapsulates the tension and sense of paranoia that the novel invokes.
If you’ve not yet been exposed to the frenetic action of a Walter Jon Williams thriller, then you’ve got time to see what you’ve been missing before THE FOURTH WALL is released. THIS IS NOT A GAME (UK | US | ANZ) and DEEP STATE (UK | US | ANZ) are both available in paperback.
Walter Jon Williams is a New York Times bestselling author and has been nominated multiple times for the Hugo and Nebula awards.
Here’s some praise for his Dagmar Shaw novels:
Powerful ideas, brilliantly executed . . . you should take this as a recommendation” – Charles Stross
“With admirable topicality, DEEP STATE concerns the fomenting of revolution against an repressive regime using modern networked communications” – Telegraph
THE BLACK PRISM by Brent Weeks is available now in paperback in the US (it will be out in the UK and AUS in September!) To celebrate, Orbit teamed up with up-and-coming filmmaker Leo Kei Angelos to create a book trailer that’s chock-full of wild stunts, explosive action, flintlock guns, and glowy magic. Enjoy the trailer below!
There are authors who chest thump about military experience (the same way guys buff their muscle-cars) and then claim this experience is why their military science fiction is better than the other guy’s (or girl’s). Me? I drive an old Toyota pickup, which hasn’t been washed in donkey’s years, that’s missing one hubcap, and which shimmies at sixty because one rim is bad. It’s a great car, though. Much more useful than a Camaro, that truck carried me across the country twice, hauled just about everything in the world, and is so beaten up that people just laugh when they open the door and look inside – if they don’t throw up.
Germline is my debut novel and it’s military science fiction. But it’s also my response to what I see as a subgenre that’s losing its way, a middle finger to books in which the importance of military jargon overshadows that of sympathetic characters, believable tactics, at least some glimpse of strategy, and a decent ending. Don’t get me wrong: the books I’m flipping-off have a place. They entertain, and a large segment of science fiction readership buys and enjoys them. It’s just that the last time I picked up a military science fiction book and then dropped my jaw at its awesomeness was when I finished The Forever War (in 1983) so when 2008 rolled around it became put-up-or-shut-up time – time to write the book I’d want to read. Read the rest of this entry »
- - September 15th, 2011
Ever feel like you need more adrenaline-fuelled adventure in your life, where technological gadgetry and big explosions come as standard? If so, then you’re in luck: today sees the ebook releases of Andy Remic’s turbo-charged techo-thrillers, SPIRAL, QUAKE and WARHEAD.
ANDY REMIC is a larger-than-life action man, chainsaw warrior and chef. He has written a variety of thriller, SF and fantasy novels, and sometimes delves into the murky underworld of teaching. If pushed to describe himself, Remic claims to have a love of extreme sports, violent computer games and kickass bikes. Andy is also married and has sired two strapping young boy cubs. Remic is now working on various new SF and fantasy projects, and threatens he will never stop writing.
The Business of Death (
The wonderful drama that is 
THE BLACK PRISM by Brent Weeks is available now in paperback in the 
Germline is my debut novel and it’s military science fiction. But it’s also my response to what I see as a subgenre that’s losing its way, a middle finger to books in which the importance of military jargon overshadows that of sympathetic characters, believable tactics, at least some glimpse of strategy, and a decent ending. Don’t get me wrong: the books I’m flipping-off have a place. They entertain, and a large segment of science fiction readership buys and enjoys them. It’s just that the last time I picked up a military science fiction book and then dropped my jaw at its awesomeness was when I finished The Forever War (in 1983) so when 2008 rolled around it became put-up-or-shut-up time – time to write the book I’d want to read. 