With sinister echoes of 1984 and Brave New World, this original novel features a near-future city where medical science invents a single-dose pill for eradicating many common genetic defects . . .
Read a sample
This week sees the release of ECHO CITY, an atmospheric dark fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Tim Lebbon. Described by Steven Erikson as “brilliantly conceived and exquisitely well written” ECHO CITY explores the consequences of a stranger’s arrival in a society where the outside world is no more than a myth.
Echo City lies at the heart of a poisonous desert. It is a place ruled by tradition, where history has been forgotten and the secrets of the past are little more than echoes beneath the dusty streets. The inhabitants of this labyrinthine metropolis know but one truth: they are alone in the world. No life exists beyond their walls.
So when a stranger from beyond the desert arrives, everything they’ve believed in is suddenly proven false. As centuries of tradition and stasis come to an end, different political groups prepare to fight a war for the future of their city.
Yet soon they will face a far greater threat. For unknown to them, an ancient force is awakening in the darkness below Echo City . . . and soon it will reach the surface.
ECHO CITY has already received considerable praise from both print and online media.
“Lebbon fuses high fantasy with his trademark gut-churning horror to produce a fascinating examination of calamitous change after a period of stasis” – GUARDIAN
“Lebbon’s prose is a pleasure, and so too his seamless hybridisation of horror and dark fantasy – were there to be another novel set in the same world, I’d gladly go back for a second helping” – SPECULATIVE SCOTSMAN
“Echo City is a gloriously atmospheric piece that pulls you right into the various Cantons and leaves you on the wall of the city, staring out across the desert and wondering what lies beyond the horizon . . . An engrossing story” - GRAEME’S FANTASY BOOK REVIEW
For a taster of what is one of the fantasy releases of 2011, check out this exclusive extract.
Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey is out this week in stores! Jimmy Corey is, of course, the pseudonym for the highly acclaimed fantasy author Daniel Abraham and a newcomer to the SFF scene, Ty Franck. Both are writers of astonishing talent, imagination, and enthusiasm. They are also some of the hardest working men in the business. I highly recommend you pop over to John Scalzi’s Big Idea feature where I think James Corey lays out exactly what it is in his (their) writing that readers connect with. And it is, in short, an absolute dedication to delivering the most awesome story possible.
Writing genre fiction is undignified. Reading genre fiction is undignified. If we’re going to do this, it should be joyful. We should create a little literary pocket universe where we can shuck off the irony and defensiveness and care about these imaginary people, and weep for them, feel awe when they’re awed, triumph with them when they win, and grieve with them when they fail. If there is any sense of wonder to be had, it’s there. Wonder is what we come here for.
Today we have two short fiction releases over at Orbit Short Fiction.
We have a new Jaz Parks adventure — or rather — a blast from the past for Jaz Parks fans.
An Evening for Vayl and Jaztakes place after the events of Bitten To Death -- when Vayl and Jaz spend a romantic evening together. Told from both their perspectives, it’s one of the few times we see the story from Vayl’s perspective.
We have more Jaz Parks stories here, but Jaz Parks series is now finished (this month!) with the Deadliest Bite.
So if you like this one — check out the whole series starting with Once Bitten, Twice Shy.
While the short fiction piece is set in the Living with the Dead series, the story is told from the viewpoint of completely different characters.
Avery Andrews is her name and directing celebrity telethons after tragedies is her game. But the Northwestern Zombie Outbreak isn’t your average tragedy… and once the infection spreads to the studio, Avery and her crew will have to worry about staying alive, not ratings.
One thing I love about our Orbit roster is our kickass heroines (often written by real-life kickass ladies)…but they’re not JUST kickass. (Ok, not allowed to say “kickass” for the rest of the post, promise.) Our heroines have unique voices and over the course of a series begin to feel utterly real. Sometimes when I am working on covers I literally hear a voice of a character in my head saying yea or nay. Now, I don’t create the art for Nicole Peeler’s Jane True books in the US, but I know illustrator Sharon Tancredi has got a little Jane inside her egging her on. I was so excited to see Blondie make the cover of Eye of the Tempest, Jane’s fourth adventure, and she looks like a fabulous teammate for Jane. Of course, it is known I have a soft spot for cool tattoos…and to really help our dynamic duo pop, we upped the boldness with a bright shock of red for the title bar. I’m also going to show the back cover, which I rarely do, but you must see the fantastic octopus Sharon created to go with the cover!
I’m very pleased to announce that Orbit UK has acquired an imaginative, witty and action-packed new urban fantasy trilogy which is currently getting a huge buzz in the US.
The Iron Druid trilogy by Kevin Hearne is set in Arizona and introduces us to Atticus O’Sullivan. He’s a rare book salesman, herb peddler, and 2,000 year old druid – the last of his kind – who has been on the run for over two millennia from a very angry ancient Celtic god. The books are set in the modern day world, where gods, myths, and magic are very much alive. The first book HOUNDED primarily features the many Celtic gods; HEXED will focus on Coyote and the Bacchants; HAMMERED will be about a plot against Thor. (Everybody hates Thor.)
Kevin Hearne was also excited about the deal, saying: ‘I’m thrilled to be with Orbit UK and hope people will enjoy this blend of history and legend dropped into the modern world. The rich mythology of the Irish is endlessly fascinating to me, and an allusion to British lore in HOUNDEDwill eventually become important later in the series as Atticus finds himself in trouble near Windsor Castle.’
I first read the manuscript for HOUNDED in 2009 but it was before I moved to Orbit, and although I loved the story, I couldn’t see a way to make it work on my list back then (I was mainly publishing crime thrillers). When I heard the Iron Druid series was still looking for a UK home I couldn’t believe my luck, and I’m delighted to be bringing Atticus to the UK after all. And since we’re publishing these books this September, October and November, I don’t have long to wait to share them with everyone else here too. You’re in for a treat!
Shaun Mason, hero of Mira Grant’s Newsflesh Trilogy, explains what happened to the world. The trailer also features a sneak peak of the design for the third and final book in the trilogy, BLACKOUT!
Kevin J. Anderson’s TERRA INCOGNITA fantasy series began in 2010 with the release of THE EDGE OF THE WORLD - “a classic adventure story” (Total Sci-Fi Online) – that introduced the seafaring countries of Tierra and Uraba, whose fragile truce is shattered by a tragic accident, casting the world once more into the fires of war.
THE MAP OF ALL THINGS continues this epic story of politics, warfare and daring adventure upon storm-wracked, serpent-infested seas. For a map has been discovered that reveals the location of the Key to Creation - a weapon that could change the course of the war . . . and the fate of the world.
With the third book in the series, THE KEY TO CREATION, due for release in trade paperback next month, now is the perfect time to dive in to Kevin J. Anderson’s TERRA INCOGNITA.
“For a book full of fantastical events, The Map of All Things is scarily true to life in its depiction of religious fanaticism and the ruthlessness and futility of war. Such attitudes ground the novel, making it all the more effective at absorbing us into a world both brutal and beautiful” – Total Sci-Fi Online (8/10 rating)
“The Map of all Things has everything you want from a fantasy epic – intrigue, land and sea battles, assassinations and assassination attempts, discoveries, magic, strange creatures – as well as sense of wonder that is usually associated more with space opera, but the author managed to transpose that in the “swords and sails” context superbly” – Fantasy Book Critic (A+ rating)
“If you like your fantasy sweeping and epic, with a smattering of giant sea monsters, this is the ideal book for you” – The Bookbag
“The prose is sharp, the descriptiveness ideal and the characters really leap off the page to make them a cast that you just can’t wait to adventure with” – Falcata Times
I am always sad when a series comes to a close. Doubly so with this one, as I had worked with Jennifer since 2006, when we first acquired the Jaz Parks series, to 2010, when she passed away. Jennifer was one of the nicest authors to work with — and with a fabulous sense of humor to boot. Her humor, her sense of adventure, and her charm all came across in the Jaz Parks novels.
And with Jaz’s final mission to hell closing out the series in DEADLIEST BITE, I’m sad to let go. But readers will now have the chance to read and enjoy the books — as I have. We also have short fiction stories set in the Jaz Parks world that are available here.
A brief description of the final book:
I have two choices. Carve Brude’s name into Hell’s bile-encrusted gates. Or lose my soul.
After an assassination attempt on Vayl, I find myself pulled into a tangled web that takes the gang to Romania. So how will I save a ghost, rescue a demon, and cheat the Great Taker out of a soul he’s slavering for while defeating my nastiest foe yet so that Vayl can, at last, cherish a few precious years with his sons? With careful planning, major violence, and one (hopefully) final trip to Hell.
Iain Banks (IB) and Simon Morden (SM) recently discussed Science Fiction’s role in the wider world of literature. Read on below for the whole discussion.
SM: I think you occupy a unique position, certainly in British literature, as a writer who whole-heartedly embraces science fiction – defends it vigorously in public, even – and also writes successfully outside of the genre without the aid of a pseudonym. Just the additional M. There are, of course, other writers who’ve used SF as a vehicle for story telling – Kasuo Ishiguro (Never Let Me Go) who was up for the Clarke the year I was a judge, PD James (Children of Men), Margaret Atwood – who don’t seem to attract what fantasy author Stephen Hunt has described as “the sneer”.
Do you find that reviewers more used to ‘literary’ novels (for the want of a better word) – when they’re covering books like Steep Approach, or talking about your whole body of work – tend to not talk about the SF stuff, despite it being pretty much half your output?
IB: Yes, the SF does tend to be ignored but that by itself isn’t so terrible; better that people don’t comment on stuff they don’t read and likely have no sympathy with than pass judgements in ignorance or filtered through a kind of prejudiced contempt. It is, after all, my choice to work in two quite different fields and to insert/delete the ‘M’.
In the end I’m happy to be judged for the SF alone, the literary – for want of a better term – alone, or (c) all of the above, and it would be unfair to expect somebody – critic or book-buying reader – who just isn’t into SF to have to take that side of my work into account when trying to come up with any sort of comprehensive evaluation beyond that based on a single novel. The problem comes more from the attitude that the mainstream somehow automatically ranks higher than the SF, that it takes precedence over it.
I think a large part of the problem comes from the way our cultural elite are educated, at the tertiary stage particularly; especially in England there seems to be a disconnect between the Humanities and, well, everything else, to the detriment of a fully rounded world view from those generally regarded as being most qualified to comment on matters literary.
Too many very intelligent and otherwise well-educated people seem to have a sort of disdain for technology and – by association – for any literature that deals with it. This may be born of a sort of subtly inculcated fear, or perhaps just intellectually inherited snobbery; hard to be sure. Anyway, I think that attitude is at least unfortunate and arguably – for our whole shared culture – both damaging and dangerous.
SM: The thing is, I can’t imagine our forebears putting up with such a situation. Boasting – boasting – about being essentially ignorant about ‘natural philosophy’ would have been seen as utterly shameful.
I was listening earlier today to a radio programme about the Eighteenth century Enlightenment philosopher David Hume. He’s best known for his work on reason, but he was pretty much all over the entire syllabus. And as far as I can tell, his breadth of knowledge was far from unique, at least up to the beginning of the twentieth century. Engineers, scientists, philosophers, writers, artists: all moved in the same circles and appreciated each others’ knowledge. So how did the humanities become so isolated? And, more importantly, who’s going to listen to us when we suggest there’s a genuinely serious problem here?
IB: I don’t know exactly why the humanities have become so isolated. I think it is a problem, and arguably a serious one – though the effects will be subtle and spread over generations, so hard to spot – and I think all anybody can do is keep banging on about it to anybody who’ll listen.
Ultimately the societies / states which take heed will be the ones which flourish in the future and so the problem will – in a sense, if one is being bloody-minded about it – sort itself out. Trouble is, that scenario implies the waste of a lot of human potential, if that’s the only way it sorts itself out. Better that those in a position to do something about it listen, understand and do something. However I wouldn’t hold your breath; humanity’s record of civilisational witlessness in such matters does not encourage any great optimism.
SM: A panel at the Eastercon just past debated whether or not SF had won the culture war: the conclusion – that we have, and are just mopping up the last of the resistance – seemed a little optimistic to me. While we have magnificently science-fictional devices akin to Star Trek communicators in our pockets, very few people have the slightest idea how or even why they work. It’s as if Clarke’s Third Law isn’t so much a literary device as a prophecy.
So while it’s true that some of the richest people on the planet got their money from actually designing and making things, the people who purport to rule us seem to have very little knowledge of science, medicine, engineering, or mathematics. I’ve just checked the academic backgrounds of the entire Cabinet of the UK government, and with a couple of notable exceptions, it’s not happy reading. The disparity seen there raises all sorts of questions. Does our artistic elite consciously feed off the sense of worth given to science and technology by our political culture? Would we have a more balanced society if decision-makers had a better understanding of scientific principles? Indeed, what would happen if more politicians read SF?
IB: I suspect our artistic elite does feed off the sense of worth given to science and technology by our political culture, though how conscious this process is I’m not sure.
Would we have a more balanced society if decision-makers had a better understanding of scientific principles? Probably, though – given the way the rascals behave sometimes – them having a better understanding of moral principles might be even more to the point. But let’s not be too down on them; I’m always pleasantly surprised how much money our politicians are prepared to sink into giant long-term projects like the LHC and the Hubble and its successors. Given the currently fashionable fetishising of the bottom line and the short term it’s almost miraculous (though the cynic in me suspects they’ve been spun a line about potential future military spin-off tech by a particularly cunning and manipulative group of scientists).
And obviously I think the world would be a much better place if more politicians read SF. But I could be wrong.
SM: I was struck by a recent Guardian article* on China Mieville, which borrowed Mieville’s The City and the City imagery of two cities occupying the same geographical space to describe the disconnect in our cultures.
It strikes me that although actual knowledge of science and technology are patchy, genre ideas are widespread and increasingly a part of life: even a B-list author like me has been reviewed in the Telegraph, the Guardian and the Financial Times. So are events like the Man Booker and the BBC’s World Book Day fiasco simply the result of a literary cultural elite talking only to itself, and ‘unseeing’ this huge other edifice of popular culture beside it? We’re pretty much everywhere, and it has to take some concentrated effort to ignore what’s happening.
IB: I don’t think it is ‘unseeing’, I think it’s just plain old-fashioned ‘ignoring’. There’s no element of self-deception involved (not at this level, anyway) and it’s entirely acknowledged that genre and other ‘lesser’ forms exist, it’s just that they’re dismissed as entertainment while the stuff the elite like is elevated to the rather more hallowed status of Art. I think art is just entertainment for the elite, for those who have self-consciously more ‘refined’ tastes than the general mass of people: even the highest art is simply entertainment for intellectuals. I don’t even mean to be insulting here (not like when I say to opera lovers, Oh, you like musicals?), I just think it’s basically snobbery which makes us separate entertainment and art and denigrate one while worshipping the other. I also don’t mean to imply that all art/entertainment is of the same worth; it isn’t. All I want to argue is that what we are faced with when we confront the vast array of creative cultural output that we currently call art and entertainment is not as crudely binary in nature as those two words suggest but rather a spectrum, and an untidy one at that, with junk and gems distributed throughout.
I think all that any of us can do is produce the best stuff we’re capable of producing – preferably without either feeling ashamed of it or (even worse in a way) working on projects our hearts aren’t really in but which pursue anyway because we feel they’ll garner a better class of praise just through their supposedly more serious or refined nature. And, I repeat, keep banging away at this very subject; don’t take it lying down, don’t accept this is just the way things have to be. We have to challenge the authorised version of our imposed cultural hierarchy.
Surface Detail, the latest Culture novelby Iain M. Banks, is out now in paperback. Equations of Life and Theories of Flight, the first two books in the Metrozone series by Simon Morden, are available now, with book 3, Degrees of Freedom, being released next month.
Iain M. Banks will be appearing at several events around the UK during June, to celebrate the publication of his latest Culture novel, Surface Detail, in paperback (on sale 26th May).
- - July 4th, 2011
This week sees the release of ECHO CITY, an atmospheric dark fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Tim Lebbon. Described by Steven Erikson as “brilliantly conceived and exquisitely well written” ECHO CITY explores the consequences of a stranger’s arrival in a society where the outside world is no more than a myth.
One thing I love about our Orbit roster is our kickass heroines (often written by real-life kickass ladies)…but they’re not JUST kickass. (Ok, not allowed to say “kickass” for the rest of the post, promise.) Our heroines have unique voices and over the course of a series begin to feel utterly real. Sometimes when I am working on covers I literally hear a voice of a character in my head saying yea or nay. Now, I don’t create the art for Nicole Peeler’s Jane True books in the US, but I know illustrator 
