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We’re excited to announce the acquisition of Stealing Fire by Jo Graham, a novel about the theft of the body of Alexander the Great and the founding of a new era for Egypt.

As the new guy here at Orbit US, I am very pleased to announce my first acquisition: Robert Bennett’s fantastic debut, Mr Shivers. It’s a genre-bending thriller set during Great Depression, following a man searching for his daughter’s killer in a lawless West ruled by railmen and filled with the desperate poor searching for a better life. Chock-full of hobos and murder and blood, this is a truly excellent first novel that reminds all of us here at Orbit of an early Stephen King as much as the finest sort of revenge western. (Fall/Winter 09/10)

I’m very excited about this project for a lot of reasons, not least maybe they’ll let me stop mopping the floors around here and bringing Devi her margaritas to “earn my keep.”

Its been a busy few months at Orbit US and I should mention some titles that were delivered recently. Hm…It’s very interesting how they all come in together. Now perhaps I can slack and get my cabana boy to bring me my margaritas. . .

First, MONSTER by A. Lee Martinez has delivered. An exciting story about Monster, who specializes in pest control, for — you guessed it — monsters!! (May 2009)

Avery Cates is back in THE ETERNAL PRISON, with more bullets, action, and more government factions than what is currently in the political horizon (August 2009)

THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS, by N.K. Jemisin is lushly imaginative world where a young woman becomes an heir and must contest for the throne of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, where gods, family and murder all go hand in hand. (Fall/Winter 2009)

SOULLESS by Gail Carriger introduces Alexia Tarabotti, a preternatural who gets involved with the politics of Victorian London when she “accidently” kills a vampire. (Fall/Winter 2009)

We also have in Karin Lowachee’s GAS LIGHT DOGS. Very different from her previous military science fiction novels, this is a Victorian era steampunk novel in the style of Philip Pullman taking us from the Arctic North to steeped rooftops of civilization and the savages to the east. (Fall/Winter 2009)

Orbit is excited to announce that we’ve bought three more Jaz Parks novels starting with Bite Marks in October 2009.

For those of you who can’t get enough– or just can’t wait that long –don’t forget that Bitten to Death is just out and we’ll have One More Bite in January 09.

And take the facebook quiz to find out what kind of urban fantasy star you really are!

We’ve just had an eagerly-awaited delivery in the form of The Destiny of the Dead, the final volume in Ian Irvine’s fabulous Song of the Tears trilogy, set within Ian’s wider Three Worlds sequence.

This really is a major occasion, as it marks the end of an eleven-book cycle and a huge amount of hard work by the author. At around 2.3 million words this is an epic feat indeed. And you never know, there might be room for a few more Three Worlds books one day, if we’re lucky. But for now, that’s it from Santhenar. Except to say that Ian has topped a million Three Worlds books in print worldwide: hurrah!

All three series can be read alone, but reading more books in the wider cycle adds a real sense of historical depth, and a picture of three worlds at war down the ages.

Here are just some of the great things that have been said about the series:

“A worldbuilding labour of love with some truly original touches”
Locus Magazine on A Shadow on the Glass

“Irvine has brought both a lively intelligence and a keen moral sense to the heroics and spell-play of the modern fantasy novel”
Roz Kaveney on The Way Between the Worlds

“A page-turner of the highest order … Irvine can now consider himself comfortably ranked next to the works of Robert Jordan and David Eddings. Formidable”
SFX Magazine on Geomancer

“Epic, non-stop action adventure”
Starburst on The Curse on the Chosen

“Hang on with both hands, because this story waits for no one”
SFX on The Curse on the Chosen

And please read on for book blurbs and more info …
(more…)

Orbit is pleased to announce the upcoming releases of four new books from four new stars of fantasy fiction: BEST SERVED COLD by Joe Abercrombie (June 2009); THE SAD TALE OF THE BROTHERS GROSSBART by Jesse Bullington (Sept. 2009); SOULLESS by Gail Carriger (Nov. 2009); and THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS by N.K. Jemisin (Sept. 2009). (more…)

Orbit US is excited to announce the acquisition of a debut fantasy trilogy by N. K. Jemisin that combines the politics of George R. R. Martin with the magic of Neil Gaiman. The trilogy will open with The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms in Fall 2009.

Robert Buettner

Fans of military SF will be delighted to hear that Orbit UK will be publishing Robert Buettner’s action-packed Jason Wander series, starting with Orphanage, Orphan’s Destiny and Orphan’s Journey in August 2008.

Jaye Wells

Orbit UK will also be publishing Jaye Wells’ compulsively readable urban fantasy trilogy. The first book, Red-Headed Stepchild, is scheduled for April 2009.

We’re thrilled to announce the acquisition of Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera sequence in a major four book deal.

Jim Butcher is the bestselling and critically-acclaimed author of the Dresden Files series, featuring wizard-detective, Harry Dresden, which has sold over 150,000 copies for Orbit and was recently televised by the SciFi Channel.

The Codex Alera is a series of epic fantasy novels set in a world where courage and ingenuity may yet triumph over magic and power. For a thousand years, the people of Alera have united against the aggressive races that inhabit the world, using their unique bond with the furies - elementals of earth, air, fire, water, and metal. But now, Gaius Sextus, First Lord of Alera, grows old and lacks an heir. Ambitious Lords manoeuvre to place their Houses in positions of power, and a war of succession looms on the horizon.

Far from city politics in the Calderon Valley, young Tavi struggles with his lack of furycrafting. At fifteen, he has no wind fury to help him fly, no fire fury to light his lamps. Yet as the Alerans’ most savage enemy - the Marat - return to the Valley, his world will change. Caught in a storm of deadly wind furies, Tavi saves the life of a runaway slave. But Amara is actually a spy, seeking intelligence on possible Marat traitors to the Crown. And when the Valley erupts into chaos - when rebels war with loyalists and furies clash with furies - Amara will find Tavi invaluable. His talents will outweigh any fury-born power - and could even turn the tides of war.

Orbit commissioning editor Bella Pagan said, ‘We are really delighted to be publishing Jim Butcher’s fabulous Codex Alera sequence. After the huge popularity of Jim’s ongoing Dresden Files series, it is exciting to have a new direction to offer fans. With its fast pace, fine world-building and compulsive plot twists, this more traditional fantasy series will also attract an army of new enthusiasts.’

The Codex Alera series will start with Furies of Calderon, to be published by Orbit in summer 2009.

Orbit is thrilled to announce that we have pre-empted a three-book urban fantasy series by debut author Jaye Wells in a six-figure deal with agent Jonathan Lyons of Lyons Literary LLC. The first volume, RED-HEADED STEPCHILD will be published in 2009. (more…)

We are delighted to confirm Orbit UK’s acquisition of Marie Brennan’s Midnight Never Come and sequel – two dark and fantastical stories of the faerie court, the first book being set in Elizabethan England.

Midnight Never Come is a lyrical and sinister tale of intrigue and betrayal, seamlessly weaving historical detail with the fantastic. And don’t miss Marie’s massively impressive academic credentials either – a B.A. in anthropology, folklore & mythology from Harvard University, with current projects including a Ph.D. in anthropology and folklore. Whew! As you’d expect with author who bears comparison with authors such as Neil Gaiman, in-house feedback has been just great. ‘Had me hooked from the start’, ‘clever and convincing’ and ‘wonderfully atmospheric’ are just some of the comments received, and I’m looking forward to when it’s unleashed for review.

To give you a taster of the plot, I can reveal the following details . . . In hidden catacombs beneath London, a second Queen holds court: Invidiana, ruler of faerie England, and a dark mirror to the glory above. In the thirty years since Elizabeth ascended her throne, fae and mortal politics have become inextricably entwined, in secret alliances and ruthless betrayals whose existence is suspected only by a few.

That’s it for now but be sure to let us know if you want to know more!

Orbit UK are so keen on this fast-paced supernatural detective series that we have just acquired two more books. Currently so far in the future that they now have the catchy titles of Dresden Files Books 12 and 13, they will probably take us up to 2013 or so. Excellent news for all Dresden-philes(!)

In the rather nearer future, White Night is out in paperback in January 08, then we move to two editions as Small Favour starts out in hardback a few months later. Harry Dresden will be a busy wizard. Not to mention Jim Butcher’s workload of course.

We’re extremely excited to announce that Orbit has bought a new series by New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson, for publication in 2009. The Terra Incognita trilogy, based on the great sea voyages of the Age of Discovery, is a departure for the author, who is best known for his SF works, such as the Dune novels (co-written with Brian Herbert) and his Saga of Seven Suns. Orbit will publish in the US and the UK, and it will be a flagship series in both territories.

Kevin J. Anderson comments: “For at least a decade I have been developing and pondering a fantasy epic about sailing ships and sea monsters and undiscovered territories. I’ve always been intrigued to stare at amazing old maps with great swatches of territory marked “Here Be Monsters” or “Terra Incognita” — when brave captains dared to go out into the unexplored vastness where, for all they knew, they could sail directly off the edge of the world. I’ve read about the exploratory voyages of Balboa, da Gama, and Magellan, coupled with the religious and political inspirations for such desperate journeys. The concepts and the imagination simply grew too large to be contained within a strict historical framework, and so I have taken the basic ideas and recast them into a brand new, and yet excitingly familiar, pattern.”

Orbit Publishing Director Tim Holman adds: “Kevin is a masterly storyteller and this is a wonderful idea for a fantasy series. With its imaginative roots in a fascinating period of history, it promises to be a series that will appeal to both genre and mainstream readers, and this makes it a particularly exciting publishing prospect for us.”