Archive for Covers

Cover Launch: The Labyrinth Index by Charles Stross

The Labyrinth Index by Charles Stross

Feast your eyes on the latest Charles Stross cover, with design by Crush Creative and Ellen Rockell. THE LABYRINTH INDEX, coming later this year, is the ninth novel in The Laundry Files, where spy thrillers meet the supernatural . . .

Britain is under New Management. The disbanding of the Laundry – the British espionage agency that deals with supernatural threats, has culminated in the unthinkable – an elder god in residence in 10 Downing Street.
But in true ‘the enemy of my enemy’ fashion, Mhairi Murphy finds herself working with His Excellency Nylarlathotep on foreign policy – there are worse things, it seems, than an elder god in power, and they lie in deepest, darkest America.

A thousand-mile-wide storm system has blanketed the midwest, and the president is nowhere to be found – Mhari must lead a task force of disgraced Laundry personnel into the storm front to discover the truth. But working for an elder god is never easy, and as the stakes rise, Mhari will soon question exactly where her loyalties really lie.

Cover Launch: EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU by Heather Child

We’re beyond excited to share the cover for Heather Child’s cutting-edge debut novel EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU (UK|AUS). Gripping, heartrending and quietly terrifying, this  novel imagines a world where people can be recreated as data ghosts and lives can be changed by the information they’ve left behind. It’s perfect for fans of Black Mirror and Margaret Atwood.

 

Everything About You

Cover designed by Ellen Rockell at Little, Brown Book Group

Read on for a taste of what’s in store:

Freya has a new virtual assistant. It knows what she likes, knows what she wants and knows whose voice she most needs to hear: her missing sister’s.

It adopts her sister’s personality, recreating her through a life lived online. This data ghost knows everything about Freya’s sister: every date she ever went on, every photo she took, every secret she ever shared.

In fact it knows things it shouldn’t be possible to know. It’s almost as if her sister is still out there somewhere, feeding fresh updates into the cloud. But that’s impossible. Isn’t it?

EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU will be available in hardback, ebook and audio from 26 April.

Cover Launch: TORN by Rowenna Miller

TORN is the first book in Rowenna Miller’s enchanting debut series featuring a seamstress who stitches magic into clothing, and the mounting political uprising that forces her to choose between her family and her ambitions.

Perfect for fans of The Queen of the Tearling and Throne of Glass, TORN comes out in March 2018, and this beautiful story is everything you could want in a fantasy book. While you’re waiting, check out the amazing cover of TORN, with art by Peter Bollinger and design by Lisa Marie Pompilio!

 

In a time of revolution, everyone must take a side.

Sophie, a dressmaker and charm caster, has lifted her family out of poverty with a hard-won reputation for beautiful ball gowns and discreetly embroidered spells. A commission from the royal family could secure her future—and thrust her into a dangerous new world.

Revolution is brewing. As Sophie’s brother, Kristos, rises to prominence in the growing anti-monarchist movement, it is only a matter of time before their fortunes collide.

When the unrest erupts into violence, she and Kristos are drawn into a deadly magical plot. Sophie is torn—between her family and her future.

Praise for Torn:

“One of the best novels I’ve read this year! Torn is masterfully written—full of fascinating politics and compelling characters in a vividly rendered, troubled city. Sophie is a believable, layered, and wonderful heroine. I absolutely loved this book!”
—Sarah Beth Durst, author of The Queen of Blood

“A gorgeous weave of romantic fantasy and urgent politics.”
—Anna Smith Spark, author of The Court of Broken Knives

“Miller weaves a fresh, richly textured world full of magic-stitched ball gowns and revolutionary pamphlets. The vivid, complex setting and deeply human characters make for an absorbing read!”
—Melissa Caruso, author of The Tethered Mage

 

Cover launch: AUTONOMOUS by Annalee Newitz

We’re thrilled to announce that Orbit UK is publishing Annalee Newitz’s stunning new novel AUTONOMOUS – a wildly inventive science fiction debut from the co-founder of io9.

Released in the US this autumn, AUTONOMOUS has already received tonnes of praise and we’re delighted to be bringing it to a new audience with a colourful twist on Will Staehle’s wonderful cover.

Look out for our early ebook release (available now) or buy the audio or paperback edition from 15th March 2018.

Earth, 2144. Jack is an anti-patent scientist turned drug pirate, traversing the world in a submarine as a pharmaceutical Robin Hood, fabricating cheap medicines for those who can’t otherwise afford them. But her latest drug hack has left a trail of lethal overdoses as people become addicted to their work, doing repetitive tasks until they become unsafe or insane.
Hot on her trail is an unlikely pair: Eliasz, a brooding military agent, and his indentured robotic partner, Paladin. As they race to stop information about the sinister origins of Jack’s drug from getting out, they begin to form an uncommonly close bond that neither of them fully understands.
And underlying it all is one fundamental question: is freedom possible in a culture where everything, even people, can be owned?

Autonomous is to biotech and AI what Neuromancer was to the internet’ NEAL STEPHENSON
‘Something genuinely and thrillingly new’ WILLIAM GIBSON
‘Holy hell. Autonomous is remarkable’ LAUREN BEUKES

Cover Launch: AFTERWAR by Lilith Saintcrow

History is written by the victors; but when you’ve been fighting your fellow patriots, your own brothers and sisters, does anyone really win?  

A harrowing gut-punch of a novel, AFTERWAR tells the story of a dark future where America has been devastated by a second civil war. As the fighting draws to a close, the camps are liberated, and the fascist regime crumbles, the work of rebuilding begins. But can a population who’s spent years divided and hell-bent on victory at any cost ever be truly reunited?

AFTERWAR is bestselling author Lilith Saintcrow’s answer to the dystopian genre: a timely and all-too-realistic glimpse of a future that we hope never comes to pass.

Credits:

Design by Lisa Marie Pompilio
Art by Shutterstock

Cover Launch: SENLIN ASCENDS and ARM OF THE SPHINX by Josiah Bancroft

Josiah Bancroft’s series, The Books of Babel, presents an enormously intriguing fantasy world. Thomas Senlin, a mild-mannered schoolteacher, quickly becomes trapped in this dangerous, ever-changing, and labyrinthine world. We are delighted to present the covers for the first two books in the series: SENLIN ASCENDS (US | UK | AUS) and ARM OF THE SPHINX (US | UK | AUS). Art by Ian Leino with design by Lauren Panepinto.

 

Praise for The Books of Babel:

“One of my favorite books of all time.” – Mark Lawrence

“I loved it, and grabbed the next one as soon as I turned the last page.” – Django Wexler

“An adventure rife with character, voice and beauty – a well-polished knife drawn out slowly.” – Sam Sykes

“A unique masterpiece. A brilliant debut.” — Michael R. Fletcher

“Goes off like a firework and suggests even greater things in the author’s future.” – Publishers Weekly

“Ticks along with the tight precision and artistry of a well-wound watch.” – Kirkus

“The most unlikely yet likeable hero since a certain hobbit rushed out of Bag End leaving his second breakfast half-finished.” – Fantasy Faction

Cover Launch: OF GODS AND MEN by Stephen Aryan

We’re excited to reveal the stunning cover for an original epic fantasy novella by Stephen Aryan. OF GODS AND MEN (UK|US|ANZ) is set before the events of BATTLEMAGE and focuses on a fan-favourite character from the Age of Darkness trilogy . . .

The gruff and mysterious warrior known as Vargus has meant many things to many people over the course of his long life. But when he hears of mauled livestock and strange disappearances in the village of Morgan’s Creek, he must once again take up the mantle of the Gath – the people’s protector – before any more children go missing.

OF GODS AND MEN will be available to buy in ebook and audio from February. And if you haven’t discovered the original trilogy yet, it’s never too late to dive into this world of furious battles, lethal magic and valiant heroes.

Cover design for OF GODS AND MEN is by the wonderful Elena Kidman.

Praise for the series:

‘A vivid and rousing adventure with the kind of magic that punches you right in the face’  Jen Williams, author of The Ninth Rain

‘Stephen Aryan puts the epic into Epic Fantasy’ Den Patrick, author of The Boy with the Porcelain Blade

‘Aryan’s battle scenes are visceral masterpieces that transport the reader deep into the mêleé’  Taran Matharu, author of the Summoner novels

‘Abundant politics, intrigues, double-crossings, and plot twists to keep the pacing brisk and whet readers’ appetites for future installments’ Publisher’s Weekly

Cover Launch: ADRIFT by Rob Boffard

Lost in the depths of space . . . No contact with civilisation . . . no way home . . . what would you do?

We’re very proud to present the cover for a gripping new science fiction novel we have coming in June 2018:

Adrift - a science fiction adventure novel by Rob Boffard

Rob Boffard’s ADRIFT is a tale of survival against all odds in the depths of space.

We just love the premise of this: An unsuspecting group of space tourists have their short pleasure trip turn into a nightmare – when they find themselves the only survivors of a devastating attack, drifting in space, with no way home and a terrorist ship on their tail . . .

This is pulse-pounding stuff, and it’s already getting some brilliant reactions from a whole host of science fiction authors:

‘AN EDGE-OF-THE-SEAT EPIC OF SURVIVAL AND ADVENTURE IN DEEP SPACE’ Gareth L. Powell, the BSFA award-winning author of Embers of War

‘A UNIQUE MIX OF THRILLER, SPACE ADVENTURE AND CONSPIRACY NOVEL – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED’ Jamie Sawyer, author of the Lazarus War novels

ADRIFT IS RICH IN DEEP CHARACTER-DRIVEN DRAMA, BUILT ON A HIGHLY SUSPENSEFUL PREMISE‘ D. Nolan Clark, author of Forsaken Skies

Sounds pretty cool, huh? Believe us – IT IS.

ADRIFT is perfect for fans of Alastair Reynold’s Revenger, John Scalzi’s The Collapsing Empire, Becky Chamber’s The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet and Adrian Tchaikovksy’ Children of Time.

Read on for the blurb below, and look out for ADRIFT in a galaxy near you in June 2018.

In the far reaches of space, a tour group embarks on what will be the trip of a lifetime – in more ways than one . . .

At Sigma Station, a remote mining facility and luxury hotel in deep space, a group of tourists boards a small vessel to take in the stunning views of the Horsehead Nebula.

But while they’re out there, a mysterious ship with devastating advanced technology attacks the station. Their pilot’s quick thinking means that the tourists escape with their lives – but as the dust settles, they realise they may be the only survivors . . .

Adrift in outer space on a vastly under-equipped ship, they’ve got no experience, no weapons, no contact with civilisation. They are way out of their depth, and if they can’t figure out how to work together, they’re never getting home alive.

Because the ship that destroyed the station is still out there. And it’s looking for them…

Cover Launch: THE WOLF by Leo Carew

Here at Orbit, we love fantasy that is big, bold, and bloody. THE WOLF, the first book in the Under the Northern Sky series, is all of these things and more. If you’re a fan of only the most epic tales of war and political power plays, then we think you’ll love The Wolf too. The appropriately striking cover is below. Design by Patrick Insole.

Violence and death have come to the land under the Northern Sky.

Ready or not, Roper has been thrust into a position of leadership that he’s woefully ill prepared for. Now, a massive army approaches from the south, old allies turn against him, and new rivals seek to undermine his rule. Facing attack from within and without, Roper must forge reckless alliances, no matter the cost, to save his kingdom.

Bellamus is a brash but capable southern general, a commoner with the rare honor of having the discreet support of the Queen. Rising quickly from the minor ranks he was born into, Bellamus leads the march on the North. Victory means glory, power, and the favor of the king, but defeat promises much worse than disgrace.

A tale of war, rivalry, and honor, The Wolf creates a world that is both familiar and uncanny — one where the fiercest enemies are always closer than they seem.

 

Cover launch: 84K by Claire North

This is a very exciting time for Claire North.

She’s just won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel for The Sudden Appearance of Hope  (US|UK|ANZ). She’s been shortlisted for the Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award for The End of the Day (UK|US|ANZ).

And now we’re thrilled to present the cover for her new novel 84K, coming next year.

84K by Claire North, author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

84K is remarkable, innovative, gripping and utterly thought-provoking.

It’s a startling vision of a world where nothing is so precious it can’t be bought . . . and where our lives are defined only by numbers.

Theo Miller knows the value of human life – to the very last penny. 

Working in the Criminal Audit Office, he assesses each crime that crosses his desk and makes sure the correct debt to society is paid in full.

But when his ex-lover is killed, it’s different. This is one death he can’t let become merely an entry on a balance sheet. 

Because when the richest in the world are getting away with murder, sometimes the numbers just don’t add up.

This is a book which will resonate with readers around the world, and it will confirm Claire North’s place as one of the most original voices in modern fiction.

84K is coming in May 2018, and is available for pre-order now.

Praise for Claire North’s novels:

‘Poignant and intensely gripping’ Guardian

‘Little short of a masterpiece’ Independent

‘Ambitious, immensely humane and full of philosophical panache’ Sunday Times

‘Well-paced, brilliant and balanced’ New York Times

‘Extraordinary . . . wildly impressive’ Lucy Hughes-Hallett, BBC Radio 4

‘One of the fiction highlights of the decade’ Judy Finnigan, Richard and Judy Book Club