Archive for Reviews

The Grand Conjunction

The Grand Conjunction (UK/AUZ), Sean William’s fantastic conclusion to the Astropolis series, is out this month and the reviewers have been saying some great things about it. Gary at Conceptscifi.com thinks that:

‘The Grand Conjunction is an absolute winner and a joy to read.’

And Liviu at Fantasy Book Critic says:

‘The novel succeeds grandly indeed. Highly, highly recommended.’

This is certainly a book on a ‘grand’ scale. Readers can expect more of the awe-inspiringly mind-boggling concepts that make Sean Williams’ space opera so exceptional. (more…)

Red-Headed Stepchild

It’s got vampires, it’s got mages, it’s got assassins . . . and it’s got feisty vamp-mage-assassins! That’s right, it’s Red-Headed Stepchild (UK/US), Jaye Wells’ fantastic debut, and it’s out this week. Here are some of the great reviews it’s been getting:

Kat Richardson calls it ‘Brassy, sassy and hip’.

Karen Chance thinks it’s ‘Fast-paced and funny . . . very enjoyable!’

And SciFi Chick says ‘Red-Headed Stepchild is action-packed suspense at its best. And urban fantasy doesn’t get much better than this. Steeped in mystery, intrigue, and magic, this debut is one of the best I’ve read in months. Jaye Wells is a promising new talent.’

Here’s what’s in store for you lucky readers: (more…)

Deals and Deliveries: new Runelords novels by David Farland

The Sum of All MenWe have just bought two new books in David Farland’s fabulously imaginative Runelords series, which began with The Sum of all Men. Berserker (Runelords book eight) and Runelords book nine continue the story of a world that was torn into damaged shadows of itself in ages past, creating a multitude of worlds all corrupted by darkness. Fallion, a powerful flameweaver, is trying to banish evils from his world by uniting these broken pieces. But the healing goes badly wrong. Instead of a harmonious binding of many lands, only two worlds are merged, with the greatest ills of each vying for supremacy. Now monstrous beasts known as wyrmlings haunt the nightmares of men.

We plan to publish Berserker in September 2010, and you can catch up on all previous Runelords books by clicking here.

In Their Own Words: Jennifer Rardin on ONE MORE BITE

Jennifer says:

One More BiteI guess this time the title really does say it all. Like chips and salsa or squeezy cheese on Ritz crackers, this story should fire up a hunger in you that keeps you plowing through the pages like a fourth-day dieter at an all-you-can-eat buffet. The ghosts. The witches. The repeated assassination attempts. The fact that Jaz’s dad has brought his cigars and his room-clearing farts to the show. It all kinda makes you go, “Oh, no! I can’t! I shouldn’t! GIMME!”

And you thought Scotland was all just cute dudes in kilts and wee bonnie lasses. Ha!

One More Bite [UK | US] is out this month and you can find it at all good booksellers.

David Gemmell Legend Award update

David Gemmell Legend Award

Just a quick reminder that the public ballot to decide the finalists of the inaugural David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy opens on December 26th.

Following a recently announced change to the voting system, the five most popular fantasy titles of 2008 – as decided by the voters – will then be put forward to a second round of public voting in April 2009 (as opposed to the original panel of judges) for final consideration, with the winner announced on Friday 19th June 2009.

The final long-list of eligible nominated titles – including entries from Orbit authors Brian Ruckley, K.J. Parker, Brent Weeks, Kate Elliott, Jennifer Fallon, Karen Miller and Russell Kirkpatrick – has been made available via the DGLA website as a pdf download and an online voting form will be available from Thursday, with an additional incentive to participate early: the fist 100 voters will receive a limited edition DGLA wristband.

Visit www.gemmellaward.com for more information on the award, or to discuss the nominated titles. And don’t forget to vote, from December 26th onwards!

Orbit Links for October 31st 2008

Hello and a very Happy Hallowe’en / All Hallows’ Eve / Stuff-Your-Face-With-Candy Night to you all. Here are a few online treats (no tricks, we promise!) featuring Orbit Authors or coverage of their books:

As always, if you see any online articles, reviews or interviews that feature an Orbit author, please feel free to drop us a line and let us know! We’ll happily name-check your website or blog with a heads-up credit in return (please remember to provide us with a link…)

The Company in SFX

The CompanyK.J. Parker‘s fantastic new novel, The Company (UK/US) is out now and getting some great reviews. One of our favourites has been in this month’s SFX, on newsstands tomorrow, which describes it as:

‘Tightly written and hugely satisfying, it’s the equivalent of a four-course banquet packed into one book, and takes a long look at the kind of characters who populate your typical blood-and-thunder swordplay epic, unearthing some uncomfortable truths as a result.’

‘…A dark, bleak and fiercely intelligent portrait of the human condition, and the way that some soldiers never truly stop fighting their wars’

and

‘…Well-crafted, powerful and downright unmissable’

We couldn’t agree more.

Robert Buettner talks to ConceptSciFi.com, ORPHANAGE reviewed

We recently released all three books (to-date) in Robert Buettner‘s Jason Wander series in the UK (having first re-published them with new cover art in the US this April) and it’s lead to a definite resurgence of interest in the series.

Orphanage - UK editionOrphan's Destiny - UK editionOrphan's Journey - UK edition

Over at UK-based blog / webzine Concept SciFi, blogger Gary Reynolds has posted a detailed email interview with Robert, which covers a range of topics including the author’s inspiration for the series, his writing processes (“Compared to most writers, who are planners, I’m a duct tape improviser. I begin with an idea of where my story will end, and some idea of who will live it and how. But I don’t know exactly what has to happen next.”) and his current projects and plans for the future.

Meanwhile, over at Grasping For The Wind, John Ottinger has reviewed the first Jason Wander book, Orphanage [US / UK]. John explains that the book is a (freely-acknowledged by the author – see the ConceptSciFi.com interview, above) homage to Heinlein’s Starship Troopers and Haldeman’s The Forever War, but points out that Buettner also brings “post-9/11 sensibilities” to the classic ‘young man goes to war’ storyline. He also points out that whilst this isn’t a hard-sf novel, it’s a gripping and engaging one, summing it up by saying:

“Some suspension of disbelief will be required for those who like their science fiction to be based wholly in reality. But if you can let that go, you will end up with a deeply emotional and adventure filled novel of particularly high quality.”

We recently asked Robert to introduce the Jason Wander series in his own words, and this is what he told us.

The first three books in the series are currently available, as follows:

  • – Orphanage [US / UK]
  • – Orphan’s Destiny [US / UK]
  • – Orphan’s Journey [US / UK]

Book four in the series, Orphan’s Alliance is scheduled for publication by Orbit US in late October 2008 and Orbit UK in January 2009. Book five in the series, Orphan’s Triumph is currently being finished.

Orbit Authors talk visuals with the BookGeeks

The Glas Valley, from Brian Ruckley's 'Godless World'; sagaTwo Orbit Authors – Brian Ruckley and Jeff Somers – recently took part in the first BookGeeks SF and Fantasy Writers’ Panel.

The round-robin discussion, which also includes contributions from authors Alastair Reynolds and Jaine Fenn, is on the subject of the marriage of prose and visuals. Specifically: maps (is their inclusion in sf / fantasy books a good thing / bad thing?), cover art (should an on-cover portrayal of a book’s characters or vehicles be encouraged / avoided?) and visualised representations of the authors’ work (what would they like to see, what would work best – games, comcis, movies?)

The piece is presented in round-robin format, with each authors’ responses to the three questions then commented upon by the other three authors, which works quite nicely to build up a the discussion between the participants. It all makes for some very interesting reading. Do check it out and do leave your own comments; pieces like this always work best with plenty of feedback.

Orbit Links for August 22 2008

It’s Friday lunchtime, which can mean only one thing (well, around here, anyhow): it’s time for our weekly round-up post of links to items of interest featuring Orbit authors:

As always, if you see any online articles, reviews or interviews that feature an Orbit author, please feel free to drop us a line and let us know! We’ll happily name-check your website or blog with a heads-up credit in return (please remember to provide us with a link…)