Category: New Titles
- Anna Gregson - March 29th, 2011
THROUGHOUT THE CAPITAL, THE SIGNS ARE APPEARING
THE APOCALYPSE IS ALMOST HERE
AND WHAT WILL REMAIN IS THE LONDON METROZONE
WE STRONGLY ADVISE THAT YOU MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE INZONE
INDIVIDUALS LEFT IN THE OUTZONE WILL NOT BE GRANTED CITIZENSHIP
BORDERS WILL SOON BE CLOSING
FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO GAIN ENTRY, VISIT THE NEW OFFICIAL WEBSITE HERE
by Anna Gregson • 1 Comment • Posted in: New Titles, News, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Uncategorized
- Anna Gregson - March 25th, 2011
Behold the new artwork for the upcoming Kingdoms of Dust - Amanda Downum’s rich and exotic fantasy adventure featuring necromancer-spy Isyllt Iskaldur.
Larry Rostant has done us proud yet again with his luxurious imagery, which we feel perfectly suits Amanda’s lush and atmospheric writing style. And the visual sums up the epic setting for this book: think fiery red deserts, swirling sandstorms and ruined cities . . .
It’s the perfect addition to the gorgeous artwork for the rest of the Necromancer Chronicles series (see all the covers together below). And the joy is that, since these books can be read as stand-alones, you can pick up whichever book most appeals to you first . . . A difficult choice indeed! Larry Rostant: we truly heart you. And tons of thanks must also go to our very talented UK designer Peter Cotton, who put all of these covers together. Read the rest of this entry »
by Anna Gregson • 3 Comments • Posted in: Covers, New Titles, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US
author post
Alchemy is a knot downright Gordian when it comes to finding an entry point for the young scribe trying to introduce his readers to the subject. One solution is to tackle the problem as Alexander would, but this in turn leaves us with a conundrum every bit as frustrating as the one we began with—instead of a compact but impenetrable knot of information, we now have countless loose, frayed ends that are just as likely to take us nowhere as they are to reveal how the intricately assembled whole came to be.
Perhaps the best approach, then, is to do as I have done and open with an overly convoluted and essentially imperfect metaphor for the problem—the encryption of meaning in complex symbolism that references the historical, the mythological, or the biblical is, after all, an essential part of the European alchemical tradition. How else to accurately pass along your wisdom without it being exploited by the unworthy? Read the rest of this entry »
by Jesse Bullington •2 Comments • Categories: Guest Post, New Titles, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US • Tags: fantasy, history, Jesse Bullington
- James Long - March 18th, 2011
The UK’s premier fantasy and science-fiction magazine, SFX, has recently launched its 2011 Blog Awards. Rubbing shoulders with other nominees for ‘Best Celebrity Blog’ – a list that includes such luminaries as Neil Gaiman – is none other than Orbit’s very own Kate Griffin, author of the much-acclaimed Matthew Swift novels A MADNESS OF ANGELS, THE MIDNIGHT MAYOR and THE NEON COURT.
Be sure to check out Kate’s blog, which is a fascinating mix of writing anecdotes, tales of her experiences working in theatre and ruminations on how it feels to be up against Sir Terry Pratchett in the ‘best novel’ category at the SFX Awards . . . and if you enjoy what you see, feel free to vote for Kate in the ‘Best Celebrity Blog’ category!
Speaking of THE NEON COURT, its publication last month was met with widespread acclaim:
‘Few can claim to share the same level of creativity and individual style as Griffin, who at her young age, and expressing this level of assured skill, is almost certainly set to become a leading voice in the genre.’ SCIFI NOW
‘Overall the book reads like a hybrid of Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden stories and early Christopher Fowler: there’s a wisecracking, beaten-up, powerful hero, but also a real love of London, down to its grimiest corners and most dimly-remembered legends.’ SFX
‘Great pace alongside a plot outline to keep you going to the last line . . . this series really has got a lot more potential to evolve into something entirely unique. A real joy to read and I really can’t wait for the next instalment.’ FALCATA TIMES
And if you’ve not yet delved into Kate Griffin’s magical, murky London – why not? – then perhaps this article by Orbit author N. K. Jemisin will convince you.
by James Long • Post a Comment • Posted in: Awards, New Titles, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Uncategorized
- Devi Pillai - March 10th, 2011
I recently came across the original cover letter from Lili’s agent in 2004. That’s when I still had @twbg as part of my email!! I remember looking at this letter — on letterhead, back before all manuscripts were emailed – and putting a note on it for my Editorial Director at the time. I remember I drew little stars on it (What? I was an Assistant Editor! I thought that’s what you did when you wanted to buy something!) and I wrote something to the effect of “I love this. Give it to me!” Hm. Perhaps not in those exact words… but that was the gist.
Read the rest of this entry »
by Devi Pillai • Post a Comment • Posted in: New Titles, Orbit UK, Orbit US
author post
I don’t have as much time for reading as I used to, these days. Day jobs and deadlines aren’t exactly conducive to being well-read, even though the folks at Orbit keep me nicely supplied whenever I do my periodic “Hi guys how’s the kids here’s a manuscript by the way any new books OK don’t mind if I do mooch a few” visits to their HQ in midtown. But despite my disconnection from the new/hot/now book scene, there are a few books and series for which I will stop, drop everything, and read myself blind. One such series is Kate Griffin’s Matthew Swift novels, of which the third, The Neon Court, is out now.
Whenever I try to browbeat others into reading these books, I’ve been using “the Dresden Files if written by Neil Gaiman” as my pitch — but frankly that’s doing a disservice to the Dresden Files, Gaiman, and Griffin all at once. The setup is similar to that of the Dresden books on the surface: each book chronicles the adventures of a much put-upon modern magician just trying to go about his life in an urban setting. The urban setting in this case is London rather than Chicago, and the magician in question is not a wizard, but an urban sorcerer. There are wizards too in Griffin’s world, note — and warlocks, and prophets, and the kinds of magic users who can’t be described because they don’t fit neatly into any recognizable paradigm. But amid this wildly diverse set of magically-gifted (and sometimes -cursed) people, urban sorcerers stand out because their power comes, to put it simply, from their love of city life. Urban sorcerers can’t sit still during rush hour. They feel its surge and ebb in their blood, far more powerfully than any natural rhythms. They talk to pigeons, weave spells out of the fine print on subway tickets, read portents in graffiti. And though their ancestors include druids and shamans and all the natural magic users made famous by history and fantasy, these days they become powerless in the green boondocks beyond a city’s exurbs. The life they need, to thrive, is of a grittier, wilder sort. Read the rest of this entry »
by N. K. Jemisin •6 Comments • Categories: Fiction, Guest Post, New Titles, Orbit US, Reviews • Tags:
- Anna Gregson - March 9th, 2011
Now unleashed in all territories: a big whopping Green-Eyed Demon (UK/ US/ ANZ). No need to get jealous - you can now get your hands on your very own copy of the latest addictively-compulsive instalment in the Sabina Kane series. Jaye Wells is bringing us more from the eternally feisty vamp-mage Sabina Kane, more from the sexy badass mage Adam Lazarus, more from the fiendishly ridiculous cat-demon Giguhl - AND more of her trademark ‘faboulous snarkiness’ - as Book Chick City puts it . . .
Jaye Wells: ultimate Queen of Snark – we salute you!
The clock is ticking for Sabina Kane. With her sister taken by mysterious captors, the Dark Races on the brink of war and a sinister order manipulating everyone behind the scenes, she’s really got her work cut out.
Using information provided by an unlikely ally, Sabina and her trusty sidekicks – the sexy mage Adam Lazarus and Giguhl, the Mischief demon – head to New Orleans to begin the hunt for her sister. Once there, they must contend with belligerent werewolves, magic-wielding vampires and, perhaps most frightening of all, humans.
But before Sabina can save those she cares about, she’s got to save herself from the ghosts of her former life. Because the past is haunting her. Literally.
If you want a sneaky peek at what’s in store for you, you can read a juicy little extract here.
by Anna Gregson • Post a Comment • Posted in: Extracts, New Titles, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US
- The Orbit Team - March 4th, 2011
I’m delighted to announce our acquisition of three wonderful new books by the award-winning Charles Stross, and there’s been a big buzz of excitement at Orbit HQ over this new deal. I’ve loved Charles Stross’s books for years and always enjoy his wit, his storytelling wizardry and his playful familiarity with the cutting edge of technology. The new novels are The Apocalypse Codex, Neptune’s Brood and The Lambda Functionary and span the full range of Stross’s work – from Lovecraftian horror to space opera to near-future crime. And we’ll be publishing these in the UK/ANZ from Summer 2012.
Here’s just a snapshot of the great things that have been said about Charles Stross’s work:
As keenly observant of our emergent society as it is of our emergent technologies …one extremely smart species of fun” William Gibson
“Not only edgy and smart but grounded in human concerns” Wired
“Stretches the limits of narrative to make us see how wonderful ideas can be”
Time Out
“Stross is an author who anyone interested in SF should read and relish” SFX
“The cutting edge of modern science fiction” SFSite.com
by The Orbit Team • 1 Comment • Posted in: Deals and Deliveries, New Titles, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK
- The Orbit Team - March 1st, 2011
“The characters and world in THE DRAGON’S PATH, for instance, are supposed to remind you of other characters you already know, so that by the time you meet them, you already have a little bit of a relationship with them. I want this to be a book you can fall into effortlessly.”
Daniel Abraham’s forthcoming novel is just one of many topics touched upon in a fascinating interview with Aidan Moher of A Dribble of Ink. He discusses, among much else, the value of pseudonyms, why fantasy is a safe place to explore exoticism, gender roles and writing from a woman’s perspective, and what makes a good story — any story — good.
“There is something at the base of genre – and it’s commercial and accessible and low-class and embarrassing – that brings people to what we do, and I think writers turn away from that at our peril.”
THE DRAGON’S PATH will be published by Orbit April 7, 2011.
by The Orbit Team • Post a Comment • Posted in: Interviews, New Titles, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US
- The Orbit Team - February 18th, 2011
There is a fizzingly funny, cosmically comic new Tom Holt book available now! This is the UK paperback edition of Blonde Bombshell (UK 
| US), a heart-warming tale of Armageddon, and you can get a free extract. Looks like reviewers prefer blondes too, as we’ve had a huge amount of praise for this bombshell:
A pacy romp with some beautifully executed set pieces’ Guardian
‘A comic SF caper reminiscent of Terry Pratchett’ Independent on Sunday
‘One of the most ludicrously funny intergalactic shaggy dog stories ever told’
Daily Express
‘From a very clever author, with some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments’
News of the World
‘A nifty comic read, fizzing with one-liners … enjoyably deranged’ SFX
‘Exceptionally well-written’ SciFi Now
You can also play our highly addictive ‘Blondesweeper’ game. A little healthy competition on the scoreboard would be good for our in-house champions … make them work for their glory!
by The Orbit Team • 2 Comments • Posted in: Extracts, Fiction, New Titles, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
