Category: Reviews
- Alex Lencicki - April 22nd, 2008
Over at Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist Patrick posts one of the first reviews of Bloodheir, book two in Brian Ruckley’s Godless World Trilogy, and concludes: “Without the shadow of a doubt, it should be one of the fantasy books to read in 2008.”
U.S. readers can find the mass market edition of book one, Winterbirth, in stores next week. Bloodheir will be out in both the US and the UK in June.
by Alex Lencicki • Post a Comment • Posted in: Contents, Orbit US, Reviews
- Alex Lencicki - April 7th, 2008
Publishers Weekly gives Marie Brennan’s Midnight Never Come a starred review in this week’s issue:
“Stunningly conceived and exquisitely achieved… Brennan’s myriad fantastical creations ring as true as her ear for Elizabethan and faerie dialogue.”
You can read the whole review here (with a bit of scrolling)
by Alex Lencicki • Post a Comment • Posted in: Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
- Alex Lencicki - April 7th, 2008
Over at Fantasy Book Critic, Robert reviews Blood Ties, book one in the Castings Trilogy and concludes:
“… Pamela Freeman’s “Blood Ties” will probably be one of my favorite fantasy novels of the year and I absolutely can’t wait to finish reading the trilogy…”
Read the whole review here. You can catch an interview with the author over at Grasping the Wind, and visit the author’s site at www.castingstrilogy.com.
by Alex Lencicki • Post a Comment • Posted in: Contents, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
- Alex Lencicki - March 25th, 2008
The web-comic Unshelved took a look at Jeff Somer’s The Electric Church over the weekend. Check it out!
by Alex Lencicki • 1 Comment • Posted in: Contents, News, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
- Alex Lencicki - March 1st, 2008
There’s a terrific review of Matter over at the Onion’s A.V. Club.
“Kings, princes, evil viziers, treachery, and court intrigue share the stage with galactic civilizations, manufactured hollow worlds, interstellar spies, and terminal technologies in Matter, the triumphant new novel in Iain M. Banks’ loosely connected Culture series.”
Read the whole review here, and be sure to check out the lively discussion in the comments.
by Alex Lencicki • Post a Comment • Posted in: Contents, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
- Alex Lencicki - February 20th, 2008
The official Iain (M.) Banks website has been re-launched at www.iain-banks.net. Check it out for all the news and reviews, along with some very interesting contests coming up…
Meanwhile, in an interview at io9.com Banks reveals the hidden Thunderbirds influence that runs through the Culture novels:
“Thunderbirds gave me a love of big explosions I’ve yet to shake off. It’s kind of ingrained by now. Almost the first thing I think of when I’ve come up with an idea for a Really Big Artifact is how you could blow the living bijeesus out of it…”
And in the i09 review of Matter, Annalee Newitz sums up her thoughts on the book in the headline: “Iain M. Banks’ New Novel Kicks Ass on a Galactic Scale.”
While at BookPage Gavin Grant writes:
Matter is Banks in top form. His characters—whether human, alien or drone—are spiky, opinionated, diverse, occasionally short-sighted and tragically believable
Matter is available from Orbit in the US and the UK.
by Alex Lencicki • Post a Comment • Posted in: Contents, Interviews, News, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
- The Orbit Team - February 7th, 2008
Iain M. Banks’ new Culture novel, Matter, is getting lots of well-deserved praise from reviewers! Lisa Tuttle reviews Matter in The Times and calls it ‘Unexpectedly savage, emotionally powerful and impossible to forget’.
The latest issue of SFX gives it a 5-star review:
Throughout the book, people are observed covertly or even have concealed weapons trained on them – sound like any place you know? But as always with Banks, this is not preachy, and the author’s trademark wit is everywhere. His wry character observations are a joy to read, and the book has a rich seam of humour. . .this long-awaited return for both a writing legend and his finest creation is a delight.
And Starburst’s February issue says:
Banks can bring across the essence of a character with one sentence where others might hammer things home over the course of a chapter. . .Matter is as engrossing as you’d expect a Banks book to be.
Iain M. Banks has also been recently interviewed in The Times and The Guardian Unlimited. You can get details of his England tour here and read an extract of Matter here.
by The Orbit Team • Post a Comment • Posted in: All posts, Contents, Interviews, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
- The Orbit Team - February 5th, 2008
Debatable Space is on Facebook! Give us a poke here and become a fan of the sci-fi debut of the year, which the Guardian is calling:
So crammed with startling ideas, scintillating prose, incredible aliens and plot twists that it evokes wonder and admiration . . . Palmer has achieved the very difficult feat of presenting big ideas that don’t overshadow the human element. It’s a debut of rare accomplishment.
Don’t have a Facebook account? You can still get all the latest news at Philip Palmer’s website and read an extract here.
by The Orbit Team • Post a Comment • Posted in: All posts, Contents, News, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
- Alex Lencicki - February 4th, 2008
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.
by Alex Lencicki • Post a Comment • Posted in: Contents, New Titles, News, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
- Alex Lencicki - January 25th, 2008
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.
by Alex Lencicki • Post a Comment • Posted in: Contents, New Titles, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
