www.orbitbooks.net

Marianne says:

With Dark Space (Book One of the Sentients of Orion series), I began small. Most of the narrative focused on one planet with tantalizing glimpses (I hoped!) of a much grander storyline. In Chaos Space I step firmly into that wider landscape, delving deeper into the psyches of the less-developed characters and increasing the stakes for the heroine.

It was a planned seduction of the reader; become intimate with a couple of the players and perhaps, maybe … a little intrigued by the lesser known ones. For me then, the most satisfying and challenging thing about Chaos Space was bringing all those disparate strands together. Kind of like a dance.

Not so much a space opera as an interplanetary mambo…

Sentients of Orions book two: Chaos Space is out now from Orbit in the UK and Australia, as is the first part of the series, Dark Space [UK | AUS].

Marianne de Pierres is also the author of the Parrish Plessis novels, and you can find out all about her work at her official website, www.mariannedepierres.com as well as catching up with all her latest developments via her regularly updated blog.

Robert says:

An easy thing to tell you about Orphan’s Alliance is that Jason Wander - high school dropout, accidental Major General, terminal wise ass and reluctant hero - returns, and so do the Slugs. But Alliance shows you things military SF usually doesn’t, like Paleozoic swamps and monsters, and Parisian sidewalk cafés. Alliance also shows you things military SF often does, like gravity-bending fighters, vast battles for galactic crossroads, and trench warfare.

A hard thing to tell you is that Jason is growing up, and growth hurts.

C.S. Lewis, gravely wounded in World War I, wrote about soldiers who write about war that “We know how much of the reality the romantic view left out. But we also know that heroism is a real thing, that all the plumes and flags and trumpets … were not there for nothing [but] to honour … what is truly honourable … precisely because everyone knew how horrible war is.”

Orphan’s Alliance is out now from Orbit US and will be published in January 2009 by Orbit UK and Orbit Australia. Orphan’s Alliance is the fourth of Robert’s Jason Wander novels, the first of which was Orphanage [UK | US | AUS].

You can find out more about Robert Buettner and Jason Wander at his website, www.robertbuettner.com and read his blog at robertbuettner.wordpress.com for all his latest news and developments.

Ian says:

Who is the Numinator, the never-seen figure who has manipulated the world of Santhenar for more than a hundred and fifty years, for some unknown, terrible purpose?

That’s the most frequently asked question by my fans, and it’s why I’ve been dying to write The Curse on the Chosen. I too wanted to find out who he (or she, or it) really was, and the answer shocked me as much as it astonished our old friends Nish, Maelys and Flydd, who are in dire trouble once again.

I love storytelling. My chief pleasure in life is making my characters suffer until they can take no more - and then making things much, much worse for them, until they’re lining up to march out of the book, take the author by his scrawny throat and put a stop to their agony forever. But he’s thought of that one too – ha, ha! – and their suffering continues to the ultimate cliffhanger ending. This time, there really is no way out.

The author types on, laughing maniacally …

The Curse on the Chosen (UK) is out now from Orbit and is available from all good booksellers. The story is part two of Ian’s current series, The Song of the Tears and is part of his ongoing ‘Three Worlds’ story arc, which began with the View From the Mirror quartet - see Orbit Editor Bella Pagan’s overview of the entire saga for more information.

You can find out more about Ian Irvine and his Three Worlds books at his website, www.ian-irvine.com.

Sean says:

From its conception, I pictured Astropolis as three fundamentally different books: Saturn Returns is about Imre putting the pieces of his mind and team back together; The Grand Conjunction is a chase novel ranging far and wide across the Milky Way. Earth Ascendant, then, is the “empire” section of Imre’s story, taking a long, hard look at how difficult it would be for someone like us to rule the galaxy, especially someone literally warring with another version of himself.

Like Saturn Returns, this draws inspiration from one of my favourite Gothic classics, this time: ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ by Edgar Allen Poe. The image of a fractured façade made it irresistible, along with many other wonderful aspects of that story. Astropolis is a Gothic tale, and a wildly anachronistic one, so it made sense to trawl for inspiration in the works of the masters. Any excuse.

The same goes with Render, Imre’s friend who speaks solely in Gary Numan lyrics. You won’t find much of me in the gender-bending sex scenes, but in the nerdy stuff, definitely.

Earth Ascendant (UK | AUS) is out now from Orbit and is available from all good booksellers. The first part of the Astropolis series, Saturn Returns, is also available from Orbit [UK | AUS].

You can find out more about Sean Williams‘ work at his website, www.seanwilliams.com, and keep up with his latest news and developments via his blog at ladnews.livejournal.com.

Brent says:

Shadow’s Edge is a much more ambitious book than The Way of Shadows. If you look at the map at the beginning of TWoS, that whole book takes place within about one square centimeter on the map. In Shadow’s Edge, you’re going to get a fuller sense of this huge world. More cultures, more people. The surprises definitely continue. In fact, I can’t even say the two things I think readers are going to love most because they’re both spoilers.

This much I can say: deep, conflicted characters who continue to grow throughout the whole trilogy, impossible dilemmas, truly awful bad guys, more magic, more surprises, and a huge battle that changes everything. But this book IS a complete story that has an actual ending - no lame cliffhangers just to squeeze another eight pounds out of you.

And of course, there’s one more thing that’s brilliant: you don’t have to wait five years to get your hands on the next book. If you like the first one, you can grab this one right away, and if you like this one, at most you have to wait a month for the last one. You also have the assurance that it’s going to be a trilogy and be finished…

Shadow’s Edge (UK | US | AUS) is out now and you can find it at all good high street and online booksellers.

Don’t forget to read book one, The Way of Shadows before you start on this one. You can get a taste of how the series starts by reading an extract here and see what Brent had to say about the first instalment here.

The final part of the Night Angel Trilogy, Beyond the Shadows, will be published next month, so look out for one more ITOW from Brent Weeks in a few weeks . . .

Kelley says:

This is a story I’ve wanted to tell since I first decided that Bitten would launch a series, rather than be the stand-alone novel I originally intended. In the Otherworld, I’ve introduced a lot of women, and they’ve all had one thing in common: they’re supernaturals. But what about the humans? What if a human woman was thrown into this universe? It’s taken nine books, but here I finally get to tell that story. Robyn Peltier is the very human friend of Hope Adams (from Personal Demon). Robyn knows nothing about her friend’s secret life … but she’s about to find out, as she becomes embroiled in a supernatural murder.

Living With the Dead, the brand new novel in Kelley Armstrong’s best-selling Otherworld series, is out now from Orbit in the UK and is available now from all good bookstores and online retailers.

And don’t forget to check out Kelley’s official website at www.kelleyarmstrong.com for loads of background information on her Otherworld series, including a number of serialised novellas and short stories set in the same world that haven’t been published elsewhere… just yet.

Brent says:

The Way of Shadows is going to appeal to readers who love big fantasy stories but get bored the fifth time an author describes a six-course meal or the twenty slashes on a noblewoman’s dress. This story flies. There’s murder, betrayal, magic, and lots of ass-kicking.

But to be honest, a lot of authors can offer that. I think what’s going to keep readers coming back is the deep, surprising characters. Everyone has secrets. Everyone runs into hard choices, and not everyone makes the right choice. Heck, not everyone makes it, period. Cenaria is a city infamous for crime and brutality. It’s the kind of place that makes legendary assassins, so expect some tough stuff - but out of that, expect characters who are very human in how they’ve been touched by or participated in the darkness around them. Expect people looking for redemption and hope. Unusual for an assassin story? Definitely. Do I pull it off? I hope people check it out and judge for themselves.

The Way of Shadows (UK | US | AUS) is out now and you can find it at all good high street and online booksellers. Get an advance taste by reading an extract here.

We’re publishing the next two books, Shadow’s Edge and Beyond the Shadows, in the next two months so keep your eyes peeled for some more ITOW from Brent Weeks very soon . . .

Kelley says:

This is book eight in my Otherworld series and, with it, I decided to shake things up. So far, the series has been moving along nicely as I explore different corners of it. Now it’s time for action. Time for changes. Time to jumpstart the Cortez Cabal plot thread I’ve been playing with since book three, Dime Store Magic.

Lucas Cortez is one of the narrators of Personal Demon, and the Cabal story is his. But the star of the book is half-demon Hope Adams, a character I created for a novella (Chaotic in Dates from Hell) Hope is my most ‘human’ supernatural protagonist, and my most conflicted. She’s joined here by Karl Marsten - the ‘bad guy I couldn’t kill’ from Bitten. I won’t say I’ve redeemed Karl, but here he gets a chance to tell his side of the story.

The paperback edition of Kelley Armstrong’s Personal Demon is published by Orbit in the UK and is available now from all good bookstores and online retailers. Kelley’s brand new Otherworld novel, Living With the Dead will be published by Orbit in hardback early next month, so keep an eye out for another ITOW piece from Kelley in a few weeks’ time.

In the meantime, be sure to check out Kelley’s official website at www.kelleyarmstrong.com for tonnes of background information on her Otherworld series, including a number of serialised novellas and short stories set in the same world that haven’t been published elsewhere… just yet.

On the subject of Unmarked Graves, Shaun says:

The only reason to write a book is to entertain. I’ve believed that for twenty five years and I still do. However, if you can frighten the hell out of readers while you’re entertaining them then that’s even better. Unmarked Graves is designed to do both. I also wanted to do a book that, in these days of political correctness gone mad, challenged people’s views of something as contentious as race relations and racism. I wanted to mix this up with what looks like a traditional horror and crime story and then, as I always do, give it a twist. All of it done at the usual breakneck pace that’s become something of a trade mark for me. I loved the old Hammer films of the 60’s so this is a kind of homage to them but with a modern day angle.

Anyone who’s read my other books will know what to expect. Anyone who’s never read one will be faced with the kind of book they’ve never encountered before. It isn’t cosy. It isn’t predictable. It may offend you. It might even disgust you. It will frighten you. But the only guarantee I make is that it will entertain you.

And about Body Count, Shaun says:

I get sick of the kind of clichéd characters who populate horror and fantasy novels so I always try to write about real people with real problems. Something that’ll be identifiable to the readers. Body Count contains people like this. All coping with their own trials and tribulations but caught up in something beyond their control. The violence was also included so graphically because I find violence repulsive and the only way to illustrate this is to show it in detail. If anyone finds the violence or sex offensive then that’s unfortunate but ignoring it isn’t going to make it go away. This is a novel about hate and fury and it’s also, quite possibly, the most violent thing I’ve written for ten years.

It’s fast paced, disturbing and it covers issues that are very close to my heart. That’s one of the reasons I wrote it. I always think that something close to the writer make for a better book. It gives you the chance to play out your own worst fears and nightmares from the safety of your armchair. It’s just that, with my books, the nightmares tend to start after you’ve finished reading them…

Shaun Hutson’s brand new novel of terror and suspense, Body Count, is out now from Orbit in the UK. The Orbit paperback edition of his previous novel, Unmarked Graves is likewise available in the UK from all good bookstores and online retailers.

Find out everything you ever wanted to know about Shaun Hutson at his official website, www.shaunhutson.com.

Pamela says:

Deep Water was intriguing to write because I got to play around with time and with people’s expectations. Many of the aspects of the past presented as ‘true’ in Deep Water were different in reality; playing with that, and developing minor characters, such as Leof, was very satisfying.

I hope Deep Water is a better book than Blood Ties: faster paced, more complex, even more emotionally engaging. But I was careful not to let the plot overwhelm everything – I am bored by fantasy novels where you don’t learn any more about the world or the enchantments of that world once the set up is completed in the first book.

So there are surprises and revelations about the world of the Domains and the powers which inhabit it. And of course the story introduces a major new character: Acton.

Deep Water - out now from Orbit in the UK and will be published in mid-November by Orbit in the US - is part two of the Castings trilogy and the sequel to Pamela Freeman’s first novel for Orbit, Blood Ties [UK | US]

You can find out more about Pamela’s fantasy writing for adults at the Castings Trilogy website and more about her writing for younger readers at her homepage, www.pamelafreemanbooks.com.

David says:

Sometimes as an author, you feel impressed to write something in response to what others are doing. As I was brainstorming one day, I looked at some fantasy novels on the shelves and I felt rather despairing: most of them had nothing wondrous or wonderful in them. All that they offered seemed to be wars in a medieval setting.

So I decided to write a book where something major happened: two completely different fantasy worlds get slammed together. People die. Continents sink, and a frightening new world order grows out of the mix.

To tell the truth, I was afraid to do it. I wasn’t sure what my editors or my audience would think. But the review from both the critics and my fans have been fantastic! In fact, once email I received today was from a fan in England who said, “I loved every page of it. I couldn’t put it down. I had to find out what happened next, and by the time that I did, I had to find out what happened next again!”

Worldbinder, book six in David Farland’s Runelords saga, is out now from Orbit in the UK. The first volume in the series is The Sum of All Men - new readers should start here…

You can find out more about David Farland and the world of the Runelords at www.runelords.com.

Karen says:

One of the major themes I want to explore in the Godspeaker trilogy is the use and abuse of power.

In book one, Empress, with Hekat you’ve got a woman whose childhood experiences of powerlessness drive her to extraordinary abuses, once she has power to wield. But in book two, The Riven Kingdom, much of the action shifts to a new location and we meet another young woman, Rhian, who was born into power … and then learns, through personal tragedy, how much of an illusion that power really was.

Then the question becomes: how far will she go to get it back? What lines will she cross? Does all power corrupt, or is it possible to wield it for the greater good and remain untouched by brutality, or evil? And what happens when she realises that perhaps the only way to save her kingdom is to fight fire with fire, and become as ruthless as the enemy she’s trying to defeat?

These are the questions I was wrestling with, writing The Riven Kingdom - and I hope the answers I came up with will keep readers entertained.

The Riven Kingdom, part two of Karen Miller’s Godspeaker trilogy, has just been published in the UK and was published by Orbit in the US at the beginning of September. Part one, Empress is also available from Orbit in both the UK and US. The conclusion of the series, Hammer of God will be published in January 2009.

You can find out more about Karen Miller and her work at www.karenmiller.net and read her blog at karenmiller.livejournal.com.

K.J.says:

Most everything I write starts with a physical object, a thing I hold in my hand. Colours In The Steel began nearly forty years ago with a pitchfork. It was very old, handmade by some backwoods blacksmith, and I used it to help my father carry the hay from the orchard out back of the house. As I walked along with it on my shoulder, I saw my shadow and imagined it was a soldier; and once I’d called that soldier into existence, I felt under an obligation to him to provide him with a story. Thirty-odd years later, in a foul mood, I started writing it down. The rest, as they say, is bibliography.

The Engineer trilogy started with a Bridgeport universal milling machine, a seventy-year-old miracle of engineering with which a competent machinist could make anything from an earring-back to a battleship. Its owner, who was teaching me to use it, spoke a strange language, where the words seemed familiar but had new and radically different meanings.

To him, ‘tolerance’ wasn’t an abstract. You could stick a definite article in front of it, or make it plural. A tolerance to him was the degree to which you were allowed to deviate from an unattainable ideal, and it was quantified in ten-thousandths of an inch. One ten-thousandth this side of the line was OK; the other side, and the thing you’ve been working on for two days straight turns into scrap and goes in the trash. It’s not often you get three complete books handed to you on a plate like that. All I had to do was go away and shuffle the words around.

The Company started with the flying jacket my father brought back from the War. It spoke for itself. I just hope I was paying attention.

The Escapement, part three of K.J. Parker’s Engineer trilogy, has just been published by Orbit in the UK in paperback and is also available in large paperback from Orbit in the US. Together with the first two parts of the series - Devices and Desires [UK | US] and Evil for Evil [UK | US], it tells the story of Ziiani Vaatzes, Engineer, and a whole lot more…

K.J.’s new novel, The Company tells the story of a group of war veterans trying to come to terms with peacetime (although of course, as with any of K.J.’s books, you can never assume that there’s just the one level of meaning in play). The Company will be published early next month by Orbit in both the UK and US.

Lilith says:

Hunter’s Prayer was actually the first-written of the Jill Kismet series. It came about because I was just finished with the Dante Valentine books and I needed a character who wasn’t so ‘broken’. I actually thought nobody would ever want to publish it because of some of the themes - abuse, prostitution, human sacrifice, and the like - so I let myself go and just went to the darkest corners, the places where I usually hold back when I’m writing something with a specific goal in mind. It was a shock to find that my editor wanted it, and wanted it yesterday!

With both my editor and agent so certain I went ahead and sold the book - and I’ve been endlessly glad I did. There’s nothing like stretching out of your comfort level to really challenge a writer.

Hunter’s Prayer - the second of Lilith Saintcrow’s Jill Kismet novels - is out now in paperback in both the US and UK.

Lilith writes a regularly-updated blog on her website at www.lilithsaintcrow.com, which includes frequent items of advice for aspiring writers. You can also read the free Saint City serial novel, Selene at www.lilithsaintcrow.com/selene.

Jennifer says:

Bitten to Death is a love story. Sometimes it’s twisted. And a little sick. And there are parts you shouldn’t read while eating. But it faces the fact that sometimes people fall so hard they want to fold the objects of their affections into origami swans and lock them in cedar boxes forever. (No, that doesn’t literally occur in BTD, but you’ll get what I mean by the end.)

Of course my books are also all about the assassination. When you’ve based your operations in a Vampere community, however, you’ve created a dilemma. Namely, which ubercreep should you smoke first? The serial killer who greets you at the door? The snappy dresser who calls for your head before he even gets your name? The ally who may be just as evil as your target? Or Edward ‘The Raptor’ Samos, the guy you’ve been chasing forever? Decisions, decisions…

Read an Extract!

Ken says:

The Night Sessions is a crime novel set in 2037. It’s also an SF novel that asks the question: what if we finally got fed up with the influence of religion on politics, education, and law, and decided to drive it out of these areas for good?

We wouldn’t get the consequences we intended - quite apart from the blowback of faith-based terrorism that drives the plot of the book. The cops (there’s a reason why it’s regular beat cops, and not the army or the secret police) who enforced the reforms could be warped by the experience. Even years later, when they’re Detective Inspectors.

Besides, you can’t have an Edinburgh detective without a dark past. It’s the law.

The book also has robots, space elevators, presbyterian terrorists, a creation science park and a gothic lolita secret policeman.

And Russians. Sinister Russians. In Leith.

These are some of the reasons why I think you might like this book.

Multpile award-winner and award-nominee (he’s been shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Awards no fewer than five times) Ken MacLeod’s new novel, The Night Sessions, is out now from Orbit UK in hardback. You can read an extract over at fantasybookspot.com.

Visit Ken’s blog, The Early Days of a Better Nation for more of Ken’s thoughts on a whole range of topics related to his writing, interests and the major themes of his work.

Jacqueline says:

At heart, Kushiel’s Scion is a simple coming-of-age tale – one that just happens to feature a boy with a treasonous mother, a perilously attractive foster-mother and an impossibly heroic foster-father. Oh, and a childhood based on lies, a terrible abduction and long months of torment in captivity that would have crushed a lesser spirit. Imriel de la Courcel comes into his story with a lot more baggage than the ordinary protagonist, and the essence of Kushiel’s Scion is about his struggle to transcend it.

It’s also about the redemptive power of love in all its forms, intrigue, trust, betrayal, possession, war, and the true meaning of heroism. And sex, lots of sex. There’s something here for everyone to enjoy!

Kushiel’s Scion, the first part of Jacqueline Carey’s Treason’s Heir series, is out now in paperback from Orbit UK.

Visit www.jacquelinecarey.com for more information her writing, and to read an extract from Kushiel’s Scion. You can also join her emailing list to be kept up-to-date with all the latest developments.

Philip says:

Space pirates, exotic aliens, battles in outer space, exploding stars, and characters we care about and love or hate (or both) and secretly or not so secretly want to be.

Those were the elements I wanted to include in Debatable Space. I think of it as a rocket fired through the reader’s imagination.

The several narrators of Debatable Space - the pirate crew who steal and pillage and murder and endeavour to save the universe - are like a family to me. Which means, sometimes annoying! But always my family.

And Lena is my favourite of all the characters I’ve ever created. She has many flaws, and one redeeming feature; she is vividly alive.

Debatable Space is Philip Palmer’s gloriously mind-mashing debut space opera and is out now in paperback from Orbit UK and large paperback from Orbit US (the regular paperback will be published in the US on September 1st). Click here to read an extract.

You can catch up with the latest news from Philip Palmer at www.philippalmer.net, where he regularly blogs about his writing (screenplays and radio-plays as well as prose), the movies he’s seen, the books he’s read… all sorts of good stuff.

Robert says:

What are the Jason Wander books about?

My inner teen thinks they are about cool stuff: hovertanks, dinosaurs, captured alien starships, firefights, swordfights, and cracking wise when authority least welcomes it.

My inner grown-up thinks the books are about the distance between Eisenhower and the paratroops shown here, west of London on D-Day eve, 1944. That distance is an armspan across the grass of Greenham Common Airfield, but the journey of a soldier’s lifetime across the calendar.

Why do I think you’ll like them over there? I strive to write prose spare and funny enough to make readers smile, while jammed in middle airline seats, after twelve-hour days, with headaches.

Plus, there’s all the cool stuff…

Robert Buettner’s Jason Wander series is officially published by Orbit UK on August 7th and all three books were published by Orbit US in April this year:

• - Orphanage [US / UK]
• - Orphan’s Destiny [US / UK]
• - Orphan’s Journey [US / UK]

Book four in the series, Orphan’s Alliance is scheduled for publication by Orbit US in November 2008.

Image Credit: U.S. Army. “Dwight Eisenhower giving orders to American paratroopers in England.” 1944 June 5. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Kevin says:

Yeah, I know you’ve been burned before. As a SF/F reader, you tend to look at anything touted as “a new epic series” with a jaded eye. You’ll believe it when the author actually delivers finished books instead of promises.

You’ve gotten hooked before by reading the first volume or two, and then the author goes AWOL, losing interest in the series, or being years late on delivery, or — worse — the purported trilogy turns out to be ten books or more, with no end in sight.

I stand before you humbly offering my “Saga of Seven Suns” — planned as a seven-volume continuous story (“Seven Suns” = 7 volumes, get it?) with a beginning and an actual end, not to mention a lot of high points in between.

Just as a good architect draws a detailed blueprint of a skyscraper complex before breaking ground and erecting the framework, so I outlined the “Saga,” knowing generally where all the features were going to be, but leaving plenty of room for embellishments.

I’ve worked eight years of my life on this series, which I consider to be my love letter to the science fiction genre: galactic empires, alien races, lost civilizations, strange worlds, horrifying monsters, exciting space battles, a vast cast of characters, dozens of tangled plot threads, romance, betrayal, politics, religion, and even some nasty robots.

Each book in the “Saga” came out on time, each year, seven years in a row. As a fan and a reader myself, I know what you expect from your authors — and if you read this series, I hope you think I’ve delivered what I promised.

Book 1: Hidden Empire
Book 2: A Forest of Stars
Book 3: Horizon Storms
Book 4: Scattered Suns
Book 5: Of Fire and Night
Book 6: Metal Swarm
Book 7: The Ashes of Worlds