Ken MacLeod… A modern-day George Orwell?

- Rose Tremlett - March 8th, 2013

If you could fix the world, with just one pill, how far would you go to force society to swallow?

Imagine a near-future London where advances in medical science have led to the development of a single-dose pill which, taken when pregnant, eradicates many common genetic defects from an unborn baby.

When Hope Morrison refuses to take the pill, is this a private matter of individual choice, or wilful neglect of her unborn child?

‘This near-future sci-fi novel could almost be a sequel to George Orwell’s 1984 – 2084, perhaps’ Sun

‘A disturbingly real socialist dystopia’ Guardian

‘Thoughtful, plausible and scary’ Sunday Telegraph

‘Excellent’ Daily Mail

‘Intrusion is a finely-tuned, in-your-face argument of a novel… MacLeod will push your buttons – and make you think’ SFX

‘The message is powerful and the warning crystal clear’ SciFi Now

‘MacLeod creates a frighteningly plausible dystopia’ Interzone

‘A twistedly clever, frighteningly plausible dystopian glimpse’ Iain M. Banks

‘A haunting, gripping story of resistance, terror, and an all-consuming state that commits its atrocities with the best of intentions’ Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing

‘MacLeod certainly delights in raising questions which creatively discomfort his fellow socialists’ Morning Star

‘It’s all so close to the bone it’s almost painful… Intrusion is a rather frightening vision of the road we are taking with our smoking bans and our obesity epidemics and our CCTVs. Particularly if you’re a woman’ Bookbag.co.uk

by Rose Tremlett • 1 Comment • Posted in: Orbit UK, Reviews, Uncategorized

Civilisation: are we doomed? SKYFALL and 3 other ways of looking at it . . .

- Anna Gregson - November 1st, 2012

Last weekend, along with millions of other people I’m sure, I went to see the latest Sam Mendes Bond movie, SKYFALL. I found the film highly entertaining – with some very impressive action scenes, a slickest of slick opening sequence, a surprisingly believable plot (for an action movie I mean…), and a rather irresistible performance from the easy-on-the-eye Daniel Craig.

But I also found it interesting (with my Orbit hat on) that this time, 007 wasn’t having to save the world by disarming a nuclear warhead (think MOONRAKER or THUNDERBALL) or stopping the spread of a deadly virus (think ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE) or prevent an evil communist plot (think CASINO ROYALE and a whole host of other Bonds).

This time, Bond’s role was to combat the destruction looming from the leak of confidential information – by the world’s most sophisticated cyber-terrorist. Highly believable in this age of Wikileaks and hackers being potentially extradited for infiltrating US military systems.

It seems that the disasters befalling the various James Bonds have been evolving through the years – seemingly to keep up with the ways in which our world, our technology and our political and social struggles have been constantly changing. Because it appears that as we progress as a species, the potential pitfalls waiting to bring down Western world and civilisation itself seem to be constantly evolving too – and growing dangerously more numerous by the day. Read the rest of this entry »

by Anna Gregson • 2 Comments • Posted in: Ebooks, Fiction, New Titles, News, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Videos