Author Archive

WARDS OF FAERIE by Terry Brooks: 5 reasons to read it . . .

Wards of Faerie, the first fantasy novel in the brand new Dark Legacy of Shannara series by Terry BrooksHurrah! It’s released today! The new Terry Brooks novel, Wards of Faerie (UK | ANZ), book one in the brand new fantasy series The Dark Legacy of Shannara, has finally arrived.

It’s set in Terry’s core Shannara world (after all his fans begged him to return to it) and it’s delighting Brooks fans far and wide already. In the words of Aidan Moher at A Dribble of Ink:

WARDS OF FAERIE is the best novel Brooks has written in years . . . It’s full of hair-raising escapes . . . magic and monsters.

And if you’ve never tried Terry yet, this is your chance – and here are 5 very solid reasons to do so!

 

‘Terry Brooks is a master of the craft and a trailblazer . . . Required reading’ Brent Weeks, author of the Night Angel Trilogy

‘I can’t even begin to count how many of Terry Brooks’s books I’ve read (and re-read) over the years’ Patrick Rothfuss, author of THE NAME OF THE WIND

‘Terry Brooks has been my constant companion over a lifetime of exploring my beloved fantasy genre. I say with all honesty I would not be writing epic fantasy today if not for Shannara. If Tolkien is the grandfather of modern fantasy, Terry Brooks is its favorite uncle’ Peter V. Brett, author of THE PAINTED MAN

‘If you haven’t read Terry Brooks, you haven’t read fantasy’ Christopher Paolini, author of ERAGON and BRISINGR

‘Terry’s place is at the head of the fantasy world’ Philip Pulman, author of THE GOLDEN COMPASS

Cover launch! BLOODFIRE QUEST by Terry Brooks

The fantasy novel The Dark Legacy of Shannara Book Two: Bloodfire Quest by Terry Brooks, endorsed by Brent WeeksThis week, we’re supremely excited to be releasing the first book in a brand new series from the master of fantasy Terry Brooks. It’s The Dark Legacy of Shannara Book One: WARDS OF FAERIE (UK |ANZ).

It’s what all Terry’s fans have been crying out for: a series that returns to Terry’s core world of Shannara, and I can assure you this is what we’ve all been waiting for . . .

But before we release the book later this week, we wanted to unveil the stunning new cover for book 2 in that series: BLOODFIRE QUEST, released in March 2013. It’s from the highly talented illustrator Stephen Youll – thanks Steve for another great cover!

I hope you’ll all agree that with these two books, we’re establishing a stunning new look for Terry – something that really shows off the grandeur, the edge-of-your-seat excitement and, for this series in particular, the truly thrilling darkness of his writing. See both covers for the series below in their full-size splendour . . .

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How to create a fantasy book cover: The making of the new-look Terry Brooks

Wards of Faerie - the brand new fantasy novel from fantasy legend Terry Brooks, book one in his Dark Legacy of Shannara series - endorsed by Christopher PaoliniDo you ever wonder what goes into producing the cover artwork for some of the biggest fantasy books out there?

We asked the highly talented illustrator Stephen Youll about how he created the cover artwork for WARDS OF FAERIE (UK |ANZ), the first book in Terry Brooks’s brand new Dark Legacy of Shannara series – out next week on 23rd August.

We wanted a fresh new look for this series – both to appeal to Terry’s die-hard fans and to show that it’s a great point for new readers to get on board with the Terry Brooks phenomenon.

We were delighted with this artwork Stephen produced, so here, in his words, is how it came together:

For Terry Brooks’s first book in the new Dark Legacy series I was asked to create a dragon skull, hanging in a stone alcove with interesting lighting that gave the cover a rich and bold look to it that was different to everything else that was out there. Not much of a challenge?

Step 1: This involves the creation of the alcove shape in the wall. I quickly established the arched alcove with light and shadows on top of  a stone textured background.

step 1- background alcove shape1 - creation of fantasy novel WARDS OF FAERIE by Terry Brooks

Step 2: I added the detailed panels from texture cloned from an old door and colored it to match the stone. (more…)

Cover launch! EXISTENCE and the new-look David Brins

EXISTENCE, a science fiction novel from the award-winning David Brin, admired by Stephen Baxter

This November, we’re releasing the paperback edition of David Brin’s science fiction masterpiece EXISTENCE (UK | ANZ). It’s his first novel to be released in ten years, and he’s truly returned in triumphant form.

It’s a breathtaking novel about First Contact – one that asks ‘why are we alone?’ and ‘are all civilisations doomed to fail?’ And it does it in spectacular, imaginative, mind-boggling, heart-thumping style.

See the paperback cover to the left and just a few of the reviews this unmissable book has been receiving:

‘Cleverly argued and uncomfortably plausible’ SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

‘A masterpiece of rock-hard SF’ SUN

‘Brin tackles a plethora of cutting-edge concepts…with the skill of a visionary futurologist’ GUARDIAN

‘Bursting with ideas, including near-future tech, first contact with aliens, and the exploration of what it means to be human’ i09.com

‘Existence is my top SF novel of 2012 and I recommend it without hesitation’ SFFWORLD.COM

But it’s not just EXISTENCE that we’re releasing this winter. We’re also giving a makeover to some of David Brin’s most classic titles. See the new-look covers below in all their glory…

New-look covers for David Brin's classic science fiction titles EARTH, POSTMAN, the UPLIFT trilogy and the second Uplifgt triology, called EXILES

See more info about each title below! (more…)

Cover launch! ARALORN by Patricia Briggs

The cover for Aralorn, a fantasy omnibus of Masques and Wolfsbane from Patricia Briggs, author of the Mercy Thompson novelsCalling all fantasy and Patricia Briggs fans! 

I’m delighted to be able to unveil the cover for a very exciting new title to be released in October this year: ARALORN (UK | ANZ).

It’s an omnibus edition of two fantasy titles that are yet to be released in the UK: Masques and Wolfsbane, from the fan favourite (and New York Times bestselling) Patricia Briggs.

Masques was in fact the first full-length novel that Patricia wrote, but since then it’s been revised and updated. It features the wonderfully unconventional heroine Aralorn, a girl who flees her noble birthright and the expectations piled upon her to become a mercenary and shapeshifting spy. 

Patricia Briggs recently revisited the series with Wolfsbane, and so we decided to collect these two novels in ARALORN. With these stories, the author expertly turns her hand to a setting which is a little more historical/high fantasy than urban fantasy – but fans of the Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega novels will undoubtedly also love this book.

ARALORN shows off Patricia at her best – with characters that are so intriguing that you’ll never want to say goodbye to them. The relationship between Aralorn and her mysterious companion Wolf, for example, is so deliciously intense that you’ll definitely want to see it through to the end.

Look out for ARALORN (UK | ANZ) this October. And you can find the blurb and a larger version of the cover below. (more…)

Terry Brooks, Patrick Rothfuss and The Measure of the Magic

The cover for the fantasy novel The Measure of the Magic by fantasy legend Terry Brooks, who recently interviewed Patrick Rothfuss

In case you’ve missed it, the fantasy legends Terry Brooks and Patrick Rothfuss have been interviewing each other on their websites throughout July, and it makes for some very compelling reading . . . 

My personal highlights include Terry describing himself as being like the OCD-ridden TV detective Monk, and where Pat talks about skipping his writing teacher’s class to go on a date with that same teacher’s daughter. Very sneaky indeed.

Check out part one here on Terry’s site. Also, check out this awesome cartoon of the two of them.

Don’t forget also that Terry’s conclusion to the Legends of Shannara duology, The Measure of the Magic (UK | ANZ), is released tomorrow in paperback! Read an extract here. And here’s what fans have been saying on online retailer sites about the book:

”Terry Brooks is one of the best fantasy novelists of our time . . . He does not disappoint his many fans with this latest book’ Dee

‘Terry Brooks continues to be my longest standing favourite author’ S. Wilson

The cover for the fantasy novel Wards of Faerie by Terry Brooks, who recently interviewed Patrick Rothfuss‘This is a really great series of books that have haunting and fleeting references to present worldwide problems. Long may he keep on writing these great books’ Colin L. Williams

There’s also not long to wait now until Terry’s brand new series begins with The Dark Legacy of Shannara: Wards of Faerie (UK | ANZ) – released 23rd August. 

If you like what you hear above, this will a great place for any new readers to jump in and experience the Terry phenomenon!

BITTER SEEDS: Blood magic, sociopaths and “good people doing bad things”

The World War II alternate history fantasy novel Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregellis, where the Nazis have superhumans and the British use dark magicsIan Tregillis’s debut fantasy novel BITTER SEEDS (UK | ANZ) is a sinister reimagining of World War II events. In this supernatural alternate history, British forces use dark magics to hold back an invading army of Nazi superhumans. Orbit’s James Long put some questions to Ian on where he got his ideas from . . .

The premise of Bitter Seeds – Nazi super soldiers versus occult powers conjured up by British Warlocks – is unusual, to say the least! What was the original inspiration behind the story?

A number of years ago, around 2002 or 2003, I read a magazine article about a little-known Allied secret project during the Second World War called Project Habakkuk. Habakkuk was conceived during the height of the Battle of the Atlantic, when German wolf packs were destroying Allied shipping convoys. The idea – and this is one of those wonderful places where truth is so much stranger than fiction – was to build ships out of ice. It sounds mad but it’s actually a rather clever idea! Alas, for various reasons the project never made it past the prototype stage (Maybe because it is just a little bit mad.)

But I couldn’t get that image out of my head, of vast bergships plying the North Atlantic and changing the course of the war. So I began to wonder how the Axis might have responded if Habakkuk had been a success. A few days later, as I was driving to work, the answer hit me out of the blue: obviously, Ian, the Germans would have sent a pyrokinetic spy to sabotage the shipyards . . .

The ice ship never made it into Bitter Seeds, but the pyrokinetic SS agent did. (more…)

Assassins, dreamworlds and a plague of nightmares: welcome to THE SHADOWED SUN

The fantasy novel THE SHADOWED SUN by the multilple-award winning N. K Jemisin - featuring assassins, dreamworlds and a plague of nightmaresThere are books that come along that I don’t just thoroughly enjoy, but that I feel intensely, overwhelmingly privileged to work on. THE SHADOWED SUN is one of those novels.

I don’t need to tell everyone what a stunning high fantasy writer N. K. Jemisin is. Her talents are already widely acknowledged, given that her debut novel THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS (UK | USANZ) was nominated for pretty much every fantasy award out there.

But even so, I underestimated just how utterly captivated I would be by THE KILLING MOON (UK | US | ANZ) and THE SHADOWED SUN (UK | US | ANZ ), books 1 and 2 in the Dreamblood duology. I didn’t think anything could top the Inheritance novels, but if it’s possible I was even more intoxicated. I09 seemed to agree when they said:

The Dreamblood duology is sure to cement Jemisin’s place as one of the most exciting and innovative new fantasy authors of recent years.

There’s something beautifully poetic about a little girl’s dreams becoming a plague upon a city.

Both novels in the Dreamblood duology are based around a religion of dreaming. It’s a dual world, where the realm of dreams is as real a place as the realm of waking. Where a soul that wonders in the dreamworld can find peace or be lost to ever-lasting torment.

In the city of Gujaareh, the priests of the dream goddess are able to harness the magic of the sleeping mind. These priests are both revered and feared, as they can use this gathered magic to either to heal . . . or kill those judged corrupt. And they move silently across the rooftops of the city at night to administer the chosen judgements. (more…)

Prometheus, First Contact and David Brin’s EXISTENCE

Poster for the movie Prometheus and how it relates to David Brin's science fiction novel EXISTENCEOn Friday night I could barely contain my excitement. I – along with thousands upon thousands of  people across the country – had tickets to PROMETHEUS, undoubtedly the most talked-about science fiction film release of the year so far. And where better to see it, but the glorious Empire cinema on Leicester Square, in 3D.

The air was filled with anticipation as we all crammed through the doors and were handed our 3D specs. And then when the opening scenes began, with sweeping views across spectacular landscapes on Earth, enhanced by the 3D effects (probably the most unobtrusive and therefore effective I’ve seen in a movie so far) – we knew that this was going to be something big. And then, when the shadow of a city-sized spaceship began to darken the landscape, it began to feel truly epic.

What bigger a subject is there than first contact with alien life?

Existence, a new science fiction novel from David Brin about first contact with alien life - and how it relates to the Prometheus filmI couldn’t help but constantly draw parallels with David Brin‘s new novel EXISTENCE, and not just because of the 3D effect (with our first edition featuring a very cool 3D cover). But because at the heart of EXISTENCE is the discovery of an alien artefact floating in Earth’s orbit, picked up by a galactic garbage trawler. It appears to be a message in a bottle, an invitation to “join us” from another sentient species out in the vastness of the universe. At the same time, another artefact is found in the ruins of a sunken beach-front mansion, which warns humanity away from making contact with this other life form.

This highlights the question which forever prods at us and teases us. It’s the dilemma at the very centre of both PROMETHEUS and EXISTENCE: would making contact with an alien life form be a good idea? Would these (presumably more intelligent) beings have an inherent desire to help humanity, to set us straight, sort out our squabbling, or offer us a shiny new planet when we’ve trashed our own beyond repair? Or would they in fact just try to eat our faces, use us as lovely host organisms and generally be bad news for the continuing future of mankind?

Now we all know that PROMETHEUS is a prequel to the other ALIEN films, so could safely assume that these otherwordly creatures were not going to be our BFFs. But what a thrilling experience to see the journey up until that point: where we hope to find out that mankind can have a meaningful and significant place within the universe by uniting with another sentient species. And then how awesomely epic to see those hopes dashed in spectacular, breathtaking and violently dramatic ways?

I’m glad to say that my expectations for PROMETHEUS were certainly met. The special effects are magnificent – the kind where you have to pinch yourself to remember that this isn’t real footage, and that massive organic-looking Titus of an alien spaceship did not actually just rise from behind them yonder hills. And even if it sometimes seems that the need for great effects can take over from the need for flawless acting, the performance of Michael Fassbender more than made up for it, as the eerie robot David. The pace of the film was also a real strong point. There wasn’t a single moment when my concentration lapsed and the plot was sturdy enough (although not as strong as the original ALIEN movies). Overall it was a totally enthralling, enjoyable experience.

If I was going to have one small criticism, it would be that the characters seemed a tad nonplussed when they finally discover solid proof of alien life. Whereas the beauty of EXISTENCE is that it really focuses on the question of how proof of alien life would affect mankind. What would the initial evidence of alien life mean for all different people in different walks of life? Would the politician try to veil the truth from the general public? Would the journalist become set on letting the public know what they’re in for? Would the anti-technology prophet claim that the only way to survive would be to end democracy? What would it mean for each  of us? How would the world react? Is this the end, or a new beginning?

I won’t give any spoilers, but what happens all feels frighteningly, awe-inspiringly real. EXISTENCE is set a few decades in the future, but who knows if the day when we’ll actually be answering some of these questions is closer than we think? Let’s see if 2012 might really be as significant a year as the Mayans thought…

PROMETHEUS is at cinemas nationwide now, and EXISTENCE (UK | ANZ) will be released on 21st June 2012 with a limited edition 3D cover.

David Brin on EXISTENCE, Google’s Project Glass and the transformative power of science fiction

Cover for the near-future science fiction novel EXISTENCE by David Brin, author of the Uplift novels - with a limited-edition 3D coverAt the end of last year, we here at Orbit received a very exciting treat in our inboxes . . . a new manuscript from the critically acclaimed David Brin.

Author of the classic UPLIFT series, EARTH and THE POSTMAN (made into a major motion picture), he’s widely lauded not just for writing thrillingly addictive science fiction, but also for his track record for accurately predicting the future within his novels.

It’s been ten years since the release of David’s last book, so the arrival of the manuscript for EXISTENCE (UK | ANZ) really was quite an event. And it’s no exaggeration to say that this could well be his pièce de resistance.

It’s an edge-of-your-seat novel of the near-future, where discovery of an alien artefact throws the world into chaos. The absolute compelling nature of this book, and the sheer breadth and brilliance of the ideas expressed within it made me want to find out more about David’s thought processes behind it (beyond the usual questions I’d ask as part of our author/editor relationship!). Read on for an insight into what lead to its creation . . .

David Brin, author of the near-future science fiction novel EXISTENCE - credit Cheryl Brigham
David Brin - photo by Cheryl Brigham

AG: Despite your incredible success as a writer, you’ve mentioned elsewhere that being an author wasn’t your first career of choice. Tell us more?

DB: Writing was the first truly verifiable, repeatable and effective form of magic. Picture how it must have impressed ancient people to look at marks – on papyrus or clay – and know they conveyed the words of scribes and kings long dead. Knowledge, wisdom and art could finally accumulate, and death was robbed some of its sting. Writing still is magical. To create strings of black squiggles that millions of others can skillfully de-code with just their eyes – into emotions and thoughts, or the struggles of believable characters.

Still, every culture had storytellers. I was drawn toward a much newer kind of profession, that only gained real momentum the last few generations. Science. A shared endeavor to find out what is true, despite our preconceptions.  Wow, that too is amazing! And I managed to contribute a few new bits of knowledge.

Still, when a chance came along to combine the two? Who wouldn’t grab such an opportunity?

AG: It’s been almost a decade since the release of your last novel. Have scientific developments over the last 10 years forced you at all to reassess the vision of the future you’ve held in previous books?

DB: Well of course. But remember, good science fiction isn’t about any static view. It should offer thought experiments about change.  How it transforms real societies and realistic characters.  Change has been the one, great constant of modernity and its rate is accelerating.  Many of our social and political squabbles spiral around this one fact. A lot of folks don’t like the staccato pace of disruptions and new ideas, even good ones. 

But if we don’t poke ahead, peering into the fog, how will we ever find our way?  (more…)