www.orbitbooks.net

Your intarwebs would have to be broken for you not to know that the shortlist for this year’s Arthur C. Clarke Award has just been announced.  Shortlists are inevitably the source of much discussion and usually some controversy, and this year’s Clarke Award shortlist is no exception. There has been much written already about whether some books have been unjustly omitted and others undeservedly included. We, of course, couldn’t possibly comment. One thing we can comment on, though, is the completely uncontroversial shortlisting of Ken MacLeod’s excellent The Execution Channel (also shortlisted for this year’s BSFA Award for Best Novel - don’t forget to vote!).

Many congratulations to Ken on The Execution Channel’s double shortlisting.  Ken’s previous book, Learning the World, was in the running for the BSFA, Clarke and Hugo Awards, in 2006. We at Orbit have our collective fingers crossed that he goes one better this year and walks away with a trophy!

Via Charlie Huston’s excellent website comes news that Charlie has been interviewed in Second Life - or, more correctly, his avatar has been interviewed on the Second Life Cable Network, SLCN.TV. As the man himself says:

“Carlos Suave is a Latin R&B Producer, the owner of a West Hollywood lounge, and a Promoter Extraordinaire, and, if you catch him on the right night, he will admit he knows a guy who can get you a little maryjane, comprende? Also, he writes bloody thrillers and horror novels. Trust us: This ese es loco!”

This will all make sense if you go here and here. Your third destination should probably be your local book shop to pick up a copy of Half the Blood of Brooklyn, published by Orbit in the UK just last month.

Stan Nicholls’ ORCS is one of the most entertaining fantasy books of recent years. The idea is simple: take fantasy’s ultimate bad guys (the orcs); add a teaspoon of compassion, followed by a great big dollop of aggression. Sit back and enjoy the fun. ORCS has already been a huge bestseller, with worldwide sales rapidly approaching a million copies. Orbit will be unleashing them for the first time in the US this September. And do we love this cover? We certainly do.

Biting the Bullet — book three in Jennifer Rardin’s Jaz Parks series — is out, and over at Jaye Wells’ blog there’s a memo from Jaz about the challenges of working for a vampire boss. Be sure to bookmark Jaye’s blog (blahg?) while you’re there. Her urban fantasy debut — Red-Headed Stepchild –- will be out from Orbit in 09.

We recently offered copies of Jo Graham’s Black Ships as part of the Librarything early reviewer program, and the reviews are starting to come in!

“I was pleased with the first chapter, but by the end of the fourth chapter, I had to call up my sister (a fellow fan of Mary Renault) and share my excitement over this new author to follow. This book never let me down.” ( reviewed by selkins )

“… I wasn’t sure if it could compare to old favorites like Megan Whalen Turner’s Attolia series or Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon. Surprisingly, it does—not by slavishly emulating them, but by telling its own story.” (reviewed by Trismegistus)

You can see all the current reviews at Librarything, or visit the Orbit US Catalog.

Black Ships will be in bookstores in March. Read the first chapter here.

Can’t wait to get your hands on the new Iain M. Banks Culture novel? Use your ears instead!

Matter is available for pre-release download on iTunes UK. Listen to the complete, unabridged version for only £21.95. You can also buy the abridged version on CD February 7th.

Philip Palmer (who is not as malevolent in person as this photo suggests) stopped in at the Book Swede’s blog to talk about Arthur C. Clarke’s famed observation on magic and technology.

Philip’s debut novel just got a great review at Science Fiction Weekly, which observed:

“Debatable Space is clearly one of the best first novels to appear in the science-fiction field in recent years, and it marks Philip Palmer as a writer to watch for SF readers seeking innovative, cutting-edge space opera…”

You may have noticed the color difference between the US and UK editions. Is it because American readers respond well to orange? Is it because UK readers like their type to match the glow of their spaceship engines? Honestly, we’re not sure – but the inside is excellent whichever version you get.

An unseasonably warm day here in New York has us looking forward to spring — and our spring list — here at Orbit US HQ. Starting this April, look for the first book in a new trilogy from Karen Miller, the first US publication of Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Last Wish, and new books from Jeff Somers, Marie Brennan, Lilith Saintcrow, and more!

Click here for our Spring 2008 list
Click here for our Fall 2007, Winter 2008 list
Visit us at librarything.com/catalog/orbitbooks

We’ve received a number of queries from fans asking if there is any news regarding the final volume of The Wheel of Time, which Robert Jordan was writing when he sadly passed away last month. At this stage, there is no news. As soon as we have news, we will announce it here.

Today is 4 October. That means two things:

1. It’s the Fiftieth Anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, the Soviet satellite that lit the fuse on the Space Race and captured the hearts and minds of millions of young SF fans around the world (and as an aside, if any of you haven’t seen October Sky or read Homer Hickam’s extraordinary memoir, Rocket Boys, upon which it was based, do so immediately!).

2. It’s publication day for Daniel Abraham’s extraordinary Orbit debut, The Long Price. Comprising A Shadow in Summer and A Betrayal in Winter (published separately in the US), The Long Price is an original and elegant debut that has already garnered effusive praise from some giants of the genre:

‘A thoroughly engrossing debut novel from a major new fantasist. A poignant human tale of power, heartbreak, and betrayal’ — George R.R. Martin

‘An architecturally-perfect fantasy world filled with a fascinating, highly distinctive set of characters’ — Walter Jon Williams

‘One of the most elegant and engaging fantasies I’ve read in years’ — Jacqueline Carey

‘Intricate, elegant, and almost hypnotically told, this tale of gods held captive will hold you captive, too’ — Connie Willis

Don’t know about you, but I’d take notice of these folks — I mean, they’ve only got about two dozen Hugos and Nebulas between them! I’d also get used to seeing Daniel Abraham’s name on award short lists — as George R.R. Martin notes, he’s a major new voice in fantasy fiction.

Jennifer Rardin talks about her urban fantasy debut Once Bitten, Twice Shy over at Scifichick.com (The scifichick.com review is here.)

And Jeff Somers appears as part of Largehearted Boy’s “Book Notes” series with a soundtrack to The Electric Church.

Iron Maiden, Two Minutes to Midnight
The greatest. Song. Ever. Bar none. You can write action sequences to this endless dual-lead-guitar gem until your hands fall off. Fun fact: Every movie fight sequence ever filmed can be synchronized to this song. Go ahead, try it. You might need to drink a little first. It seems to help.

Click here for the full playlist.

Over at the Unfiction message board a team of players just solved the last puzzle on The Electric Church Website: unlocking the story hidden in the site, saving Ty’s old friend, and learning the secret ingredient in author Jeff Somers’ homemade moonshine. If you were one of the players at Unfiction, drop us a line at the email listed at the finish line, we’d love to hear from you. And thanks to everyone for playing!

If you haven’t poked around the site, you can still play the game – and if you get stuck, Unfiction provides a lively walkthrough.

This is our first attempt at building an ARG for a book promotion, and it was a lot of fun to put together. We’d love to know what you thought – what we did right, what we did wrong, and how we can improve next time.

For posterity, (and any players who need to find the penultimate password ) the blogad is here.

Mike Carey, the author of the Felix Castor novels, recently came in to the Orbit offices, and we thought we’d take the opportunity to sit him down in front of a camera and ask him to talk about his new book, Dead Men’s Boots (which is attracting some really good early reviews — as you can see here).

Of course, having Mike talk about the third book was too good a chance to pass up, so we also recorded him talking about the two previous books in the series, The Devil You Know and Vicious Circle.

You can see the resulting videos by following the link below, and also on our YouTube page.

(more…)

Bookgasm.com just posted a fantastic review of Karen Miller’s The Innocent Mage.

It’s a rare book indeed that after 640 pages, it ends on a cliffhanger, and you sit back and go, “Damn, I wish I had the second book in the series to start.” But that’s exactly what I thought after plowing through Karen Miller’s marvelous The Innocent Mage… read more >>

To all you readers dangling from the edge of that cliff, we cry from below: hold on! The second book in the series, The Awakened Mage, will be in stores this October. If you haven’t read the book yet, you can find chapter one right here.

Although the book won’t be published until February next year, we’ve just received the advance jacket proofs of Charlie Huston’s third Joe Pitt novel, Half The Blood of Brooklyn, and we proclaim it to be the best yet! Behold!

If you haven’t delved into the Vampyre Manhattan of the Joe Pitt novels, you’re missing a treat (a very dark, very violent kind of treat — but a treat nonetheless). Charlie Huston’s Orbit debut Already Dead and follow-up No Dominion have been variously described as ‘bloody great’, ‘brilliantly rendered’, ‘well worth seeking out’ and — in a nutshell — ‘a damn fine read and, crucially, a very interesting new take on vampires’.

That pretty much says it all. If you want a seamless blend of pulp noir, crime thriller and the supernatural, Joe Pitt’s your man!

Lilith Saintcrow’s third novel in the Dante Valentine series is just out in the US. (It will be available in the UK from Orbit in November)

If you haven’t checked them out – you should – especially since we’re reissuing the first two books with brand new covers, along with #3! I’ve posted the covers below. There’s also a Dante Valentine desktop wallpaper at Lilith’s site (it’s especially appropriate if your boss is demonic)

The final two books will be out in November 07 and January 08.

And even more exciting – for those who want a sneak peak — here is the first book in the Jill Kismet series Night Shift, due out July 2008.

We’ve told you about Jeff Somers’ compulsory blog (*), now check out the-electric-church.com , a front for the actual Electric Church that purports to be an “official” book site. The site includes a puzzle of such devious design most of the Orbit team is convinced no one will solve it. (Jeff and I have more faith in the amateur codebreakers out there) Visit the site to take a crack at it. Or just poke around and chat with a Monk-bot to learn more about Dennis Squalor. You can also read the first chapter of The Electric Church here.

(*) Jeff Somers’ blog is not actually compulsory (but then we would say that, wouldn’t we.)

Next month sees Orbit’s publication of Heart of the Mirage by Glenda Larke. Born and raised in the Australian outback, Glenda has travelled the world and has spent the last 30 years living in Malaysia. Passionate and down-to-earth, she has dedicated her life to conservation and actively supports other writers.

Glenda’s writing has won acclaim from many of her peers. Kate Elliott writes: “I adore the rich landscapes, the complicated and believable characters who deal with life as real people not as caricatures, and the storylines that join thoughtful explorations of human nature with exciting, robust adventure. I will read anything she writes.” Russell Kirkpatrick describes her work as “powerful, down to earth and filled with the sharpness of the true storyteller”. Finally, Karen Miller says: “Words just don’t do her justice, really . . . If you haven’t read Glenda’s wonderful fantasy novels, you’re missing out on a treat.”

You can sample the first chapter of Heart of the Mirage here.

Philip Palmer
(photo: Charlie Hopkinson)

In January 2008, we’re publishing Debatable Space, a debut novel by Philip Palmer. Subtitled ‘a tale of revenge and revolution’, it’s a space opera of extraordinary imagination, a brilliantly plotted revenge novel, and a vividly realised future history.

It is being published by Orbit on both sides of the Atlantic, and is beginning to attract praise from readers — award winning SF writer Jon Courtenay Grimwood describes it as: “well written, fast moving and defiantly weird in places — definitely a new voice worth listening to.”

Philip Palmer’s official website has launched this week. You can learn more about Philip’s life as a soldier of fortune, lover, murder detective, military interrogator, forensic pathologist and captain of a pirate spaceship, follow his blog, and read an extract from Debatable Space.

Hot on the heels of the publication of Dark Space, Marianne de Pierres has decided on a title for the second book in the Sentients of Orion series: Chaos Space. With chaos theory at the heart of her new space opera, it’s an elegant and appropriate title, and we can’t believe it never occurred to us before.

But let’s not forget about book one! Dark Space continues to draw rave reviews from all corners of the SF world. Like these, for instance, at SFF World and Specusphere, not to mention this interview, also at SFF World.