Archive for Fiction

Two new short stories from Orbit Short Fiction

We’re shaking things up this March by publishing TWO new pieces of short fiction for fantasy and science fiction readers alike. Whether you like swords or railguns, Orbit Short Fiction has something to suit your fancy.

STRANGE DAYS IN OLD YANDRISSA by John. R. Fultz: In an age of untamed miracles and curses, a mad vagabond may solve the mystery of a king’s dilemma. Yet in a world gone mad, the only wise man is a fool. This is a great story for readers who enjoy new voices in epic fantasy. John R. Fultz’s short fiction has appeared in Black Gate, Weird Tales, Lightspeed, and Space & Time.

A PEOPLE’S ARMY by T.C. McCarthy: In the distant future, on an ice-bound world, Choi Chung Ho is a loyal soldier in the Dear Leader’s army. Stuck in a damaged tank with the American advance quickly approaching, he must find a way to survive. Survive the Americans, the blindly patriotic members of his own crew, and, most dangerous of all, the shifting politics of the North Korean military. T.C. McCarthy  explores the nature of military and political conflict in vivid and graphic detail in a futuristic world war like no other.

If this is your first time reading the work of either author, be sure and check out their full-length novels too.

Praise for SEVEN PRINCES:

“A stand-out fantasy series from an author with an exceptional talent for characterization and world building.” — Library Journal (Starred Review)

“What Seven Princes [offers] is breakneck pacing and nonstop insanity. It’s epic with a capital EPIC.”
— io9.com, 2012

Praise for GERMLINE and EXOGENE

“Simultaneously heartbreaking and triumphant.”
— Publishers Weekly, 2012  (Starred Review)

“This exciting and thoughtful story marks McCarthy as one of sci-fi’s most promising new talents.”
— Kirkus, 2012  (Starred Review)

Meet Jim Butcher’s new friends Benedict Jacka and Alex Verus

The first Alex Verus novelIt’s been a long time coming, but the wait is finally over! Orbit UK published FATED (UK | ANZ) yesterday in the UK and our international markets. FATED is the first book in Benedict Jacka’s superb urban fantasy series starring probability mage Alex Verus. FATED and the series are already off to a running start, with an enthusiastic Jim Butcher giving it the thumbs up in this online conversation with Benedict Jacka, as well as Patricia Briggs saying that FATED is ‘a deft, thrill-ride of an urban fantasy – a stay-up-all-night read. Alex Verus is a very smart man surviving in a very dangerous world.’

I’m very proud and happy to be Benedict Jacka’s UK editor, and although it’s felt like a very long time to wait to bring you this book, I hope you enjoy it too. If you are a fan of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series or Ben Aaronovitch’s RIVERS OF LONDON, I think you’re going to love Alex Verus and FATED. You can read the first chapter here.

 

The Final Alexia Tarabotti Adventure!

Sadly, it is that time. It is Alexia’s last—and latest—madcap adventure. Alexia began her adventures with SOULLESS (US/UK/ANZ) and now finishes her adventures with TIMELESS (US/UK/ANZ). More about her adventure below.

Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire’s second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell’s acting troupe’s latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia’s enjoyment of her new London lifestyle.

Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?

If you want more of Alexia — please do check out SOULLESS, THE MANGA, VOL 1 (US/UK/ANZ), which is also out now!

Check out the whole series of novels below:

 

The cover for the steampunk romance urban fantasy, SOULLESS by Gail CarrigerThe cover for the steampunk romance urban fantasy Changeless by Gail Carriger

The cover for the steampunk urban fantasy romance BLAMELESS by Gail Carriger

Epic fantasy fans rejoice – more Terry Brooks ebooks now available!

The classic epic fantasy title The Sword of Shannara by bestselling author Terry Brooks - now available as an ebook
The Sword of Shannara - ebook now available

Great news for all Terry Brooks and fantasy fans! We had previously already released a whole host of Terry Brooks titles as ebooks . . . but this week Orbit UK has released even more, meaning that all of the books listed below are now available to download for your digital pleasure.

And we’re sure that many people will be interested to hear that featuring among their ranks is Terry’s classic The Sword of Shannara (UK | ANZ) – this year celebrating its 35th anniversary of publication.

Devices at the ready! Feast your eyes on the list of digital delights that are available below . . .

(more…)

HELL SHIP reviews — featuring aliens, invaders and pirates in spaaaace!

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

Get in at the start with BLOOD RIGHTS

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

Put THE BUSINESS OF DEATH on your to-do list

The Business of Death (ANZ | UKUS) 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

COLD FIRE has roared into September

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

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of comedy

Tom Holt’s comic fantasy Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages (UK | US | ANZ) was published recently and has delighted reviewers already. With some trepidation, we asked Tom the classic author interview question: where the heckers does he get his ideas from?

“One disadvantage I suffer from is that I don’t lead a funny life. Hilarious things don’t happen to me, which means I have to make it all up. Whoever arranges these things sees to it that somebody else gets all the good material – the wrong suitcase picked off the airport carousel, the hilarious mistaken-identity incident, all that – while I’m left with days that go something like –

7.00am: wake up
7.15am: drive to smallholding; feed pigs; feed chickens; feed pigs; feed cows; cut firewood
10.30am – 3.30pm: sit in front of computer trying to think of funny stuff
3.35pm as 7.15am
8.00am – 2.00pm as 10.30am

 And so on, day after day (except in winter, when it’s still as dark as a bag at 7am), with never a hint of a free joke or a spontaneously-occurring outbreak of hilarity that I can pick up, shove under my coat, take home and effortlessly convert into marketable prose. The only break in the routine comes when I have to dispose of the body of the latest person foolish enough to tell me about some comic incident in their own life, with the recommendation (usually the last thing they ever say) that I ought to put it in one of my books. (more…)

Jim Butcher on Harry Dresden

We are enormously excited that Ghost Story is out THIS THURSDAY and we hope a lot of you are too!!!

To start launch week on a real high note and to keep you going for just a few days longer, we asked Jim Butcher himself a few questions about his biggest creation…

Did you always know Harry’s grizzly fate (thinking of his ghostly nature by Ghost Story) or do his adventures evolve for you organically as you write?

Oh, I knew from the get-go that I was going to kill him at some point — and then make him solve his own murder. That’s just how the universe seems to treat the poor guy. : ) There are some story events that are fixed in my mind — mostly the large-scale stuff, such as the war with the Red Court, the rise of the Fomor, and the oncoming events of the story’s endgame. The fluid organic things tend to be very personal matters — Dresden’s friends, his family, and especially his romantic relationships.

Do you sometimes find yourself slipping into the Harry Dresden character when say at the supermarket? What would he buy?!

Nah, I’m not Harry Dresden and not much like him, except maybe when he’s screwing up somehow. : ) Getting into character is something that happens after several minutes at the keyboard, and it doesn’t really intrude on the rest of my life.

Dresden buys bachelor chow — things you can prepare by popping in the oven for a few minutes, or maybe by boiling a little water — and which are not too expensive. He’s never really had an expansive budget. : )

Who is your favourite minor character and why?

Butters, I think. He was supposed to be a one-off character when I first designed him, a kind of wacky ME that provided a little color and humor while I was dishing out some grisly details about a murder. But I liked the guy so much, I had to give him a job, and now he’s become part of the regular cast. Butters is such a contrast of clueless and spooky-smart, and while he’s never going to be a studly hero, he’s never going to leave a friend in the lurch, either. I just like the guy.

What’s the strangest question you’ve ever been asked about the Dresden Files series?

“How do I get in touch with the real White Council?”

Followed closely by a statement: “I’m from the real White Council, and we aren’t pleased with what you’re doing.”

Finally, could you give us one little-known fact about Harry and his world?

Harry loves horses! He doesn’t get to ride much anymore, but when he was living with Ebenezar on his farm in the Ozarks, they went riding all the time. Granted, given his size, it might be fair to say that horses don’t like him nearly as much as he likes them, but I wouldn’t want to be presumptuous about the opinions of Equine-Americans.

Thanks Jim!

Jim Butcher’s all-new Dresden Files novel is out this week (27th July). If you haven’t already met Harry Dresden, check out our quick rereads to the rest of the series below:

STORM FRONT
FOOL MOON
GRAVE PERIL
SUMMER KNIGHT
DEATH MASKS
BLOOD RITES
DEAD BEAT
PROVEN GUILTY
WHITE NIGHT
SMALL FAVOUR
TURN COAT
CHANGES