Archive for Orbit UK

You Know, I Honestly Can’t Think of a Pun for the Title of this Post

Saturn Returns by Sean WilliamsWonderful news just in that Sean Williams’ Saturn Returns has made the final ballot for the Philip K. Dick Award, presented annually for distinguished science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States.

Sean is quite naturally extremely pleased and reports receiving “a wave of Dick jokes, the likes of which I haven’t seen since High School”.

Many congratulations to Sean and all of the shortlisted authors.

Get Cultured

Matter by Iain M Banks

Matter (UK | US ) the new Culture novel by Iain M. Banks, is set to hit shelves in three weeks. Can’t wait? Then send us your name, email, and place of residence in an email with the subject ‘Matter contest’ for a chance to win a free advance copy. One (1) lucky US and one (1)lucky UK winner will get a copy sent directly to them — so be sure to let us know where you’re emailing from! The contest closes at midnight (GMT) on Sunday, January 13th. Good luck!

Debatable Space launches this month!

Debatable Space by Philip Palmer

Debatable Space, by debut author Philip Palmer, is available this month from Orbit UK and US and it’s already getting some fantastic praise. SFRevu says:

Seldom have I read anything so relentlessly energetic, inventive and shamelessly ambitious – all highly laudable qualities…This is one of those rare books that holds your focus on every page, and feeds your imagination as it does so…Palmer is a new, fresh, entirely original voice in British science fiction, and one that looks like he will be around, like Lena, for some considerable time.

And Fantasy Book Critic calls it:

One heck of a trip. It’s ambitious, original, a self-contained story, laugh-out-loud funny, gleefully violent, and wildly unpredictable…much more than a typical science fiction novel and I think readers would be making a huge mistake in overlooking Philip Palmer’s excellent debut.

Interested in checking out one of the most exciting new SF novels of 2008? You can check out an extract here or pick up a copy at a bookstore near you later this month!

Calling all MMORGS

Halting State by Charles Stross
Welcome back! As we ring in 2008 it seems a good time to look to the (not-so-far) future with Halting State, Charles Stross’s near-future techno thriller, which is getting some great reviews.

Starbust is calling it a ‘highly effective thanks to some great twists and an entirely convincing paranoid overtone’ and this month’s DeathRay describing it as ‘a surprisingly buoyant thriller about the meat puppets: you and me…his writing is muscled and lively’.

Over in the blogosphere, The Book Swede, who reviewed it earlier last year, says ‘the story and characterisation is typical Stross, that is to say, brilliant’ and SF Reviews.net says:

‘Fans of Stross’s earlier technothrillers — this book reads in many ways like one of his Laundry stories played straight — will go nuts over Halting State. The zeitgeist-savvy incorporation of the gaming world as a central narrative motif is handled to perfection.’

Halting State will be hitting bookshelves later this month. Until then, be sure to check out The Jennifer Morgue, out now, which DeathRay calls ‘a wonderfully entertaining read.’

Podcasts with Karen Miller and Tim Holman

Karen Miller talked with The Dragon Page Radio about The Innocent Mage and The Awakened Mage, as well as her upcoming Godspeaker trilogy, which will launch this Spring with Empress. You can listen to the podcast here.

And Orbit Publishing Director Tim Holman had a long ranging interview with Rick Kleffel at the Agony Column podcast. They talk about the launch of Orbit US and the future of genre fiction publishing. If you’re interested in the strategy behind Orbit’s publishing program, or the future of the genre, don’t miss it! Link.