Couldn’t get enough of George and Shaun? Neither could we — which is why we’re bringing out a collection of novellas set in the Newsflesh universe! Rise collects for the first time every piece of short fiction from Mira Grant’s acclaimed Newsflesh series, with two new never-before-published novellas. Rise will be publishing next summer in hardcover, e-book, and audio formats.

Creative Director Lauren Panepinto has worked on the the Newsflesh series since the beginning, and each cover has been more chilling than the last. We’re sure you’ll agree that Rise is a feast for the eyes. Now without further ad0, we present Rise in all its gritty, gory majesty.

“Mira Grant’s books are some of the hardest for me to design covers for, because I’m such a fangirl of the books. I know you’re not supposed to have favorite children, but let’s just say I’d be a fan of her books even if I had never worked for Orbit. And I love talking to her about her stories and the thought process behind them. The author said she cried (happy tears) when she first saw the Feed cover, and you know, that’s a hard act to follow. Clearly I’m piling the pressure on myself. Add that to the fact that her series style is all about design, which is just me, without any artist or photographer to share the spotlight (or hide behind). To this stress layer cake add the fact that I’m really proud of how Feed, Deadline, and Blackout came out, and I was very happy we were able to keep the theme strong through all three covers. Those covers have become pretty iconic for the genre, and I was very happy to have them safely squared away and move on to her next trilogy — which was also stressful because I felt like I had to one-up myself. Now, to go back and reopen the Newsflesh look was scarier than a pack of zombies (see what I did there?), but I really like how the cover for Rise has come out, and how it fits in with the rest of the series. It’s a little bit different – and it’s in hardcover, which affects the look too — but I’ve had a cover mockup on my shelf for a while next to the Newsflesh books and they seem to be getting along pretty well. It was really important to keep things really graphic and really simple, with a little bit of an off note. I think we achieved that. I can’t wait to have the final book in my hands!”―Lauren Panepinto 

Don’t think you can wait that long? Pre-order Chimera today: 

Remember Mira Grant fans, we’re only a few short weeks away from publication of Chimera, the third and final book in the Parasitology trilogy. Chimera releases on November 24th. Pre-order your copy today so you can dive right in over the Thanksgiving holiday and avoid the Black Friday shopping madness, which I hear is…killer.

Pre-order in the US: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Google Play | Indiebound | iBooks | Kobo | Indigo (Canada)

Pre-order in the UK: Amazon | Waterstones | iBooks | Kobo | iTunes | Google Play | Little Brown UK

Terry Brooks reflected on the Shannara series as The Sword of Shannara wraps filming, and later, the studio debuted a trailer at San Diego Comic-Con.

Speaking of Comic-Con, there were a lot of Expanse related happenings, which you should absolutely get caught up on.

She Who Brings Gifts, the film adaptation of M. R. Carey’s THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS (UK | US | ANZ), has also wrapped.

In more SF TV- and movie-related news, Terminator: Genisys is out and Jamie Sawyer has the low down on what to expect from Arnie’s latest, plus here’s a pretty great list by a pretty great guy of some space-based TV shows you should definitely be watching right now.

Are you a tetrachromat? Maybe the next Prism even? Chances are…likely not and here’s why.

There were a whole host of AMA’s on Reddit this month. Read through the archives below:

• Angus Watson author of AGE OF IRON (US | UK | ANZ)
• James S. A. Corey author of The Expanse series.
• Karen Miller author of THE INNOCENT MAGE (US | UK) and THE FALCON THRONE (US | UK | ANZ)
• D. J. Molles author of The Remaining series.

Several SF authors will be featured in this year’s Dispatches From The Future presented by Popular Science including our very own Kim Stanley Robinson, Ann Leckie, Will McIntosh, N. K. Jemisin, Seanan McGuire (aka Mira Grant) and James S. A. Corey. Check it out online or in their August issue.

Markus Heitz’s THE DWARVES (US | UK | ANZ)  has inspired a video game! Check out the teaser trailer for this upcoming tactical rpg.

NASA’s Kepler spacecraft may have just discovered Earth 2.0, but Kim Stanley Robinson says that interstellar colonization may not be the solution to all our problems. Check out the discussion on Science Friday.

Julius Thomas, Tight End for the Jacksonville Jaguars, has a list of recommended reads up at the Player’s Tribune including the Night Angel Trilogy and Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks.

Mark Zuckerberg selects THE PLAYER OF GAMES (US | UK | AUS) by Iain M. Banks as his next Book of the Year.

The Evolution of a Space Epic: The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey via Barnes & Noble Scifi & Fantasy blog.

Relive the hilarity and the horror of Phoenix Comic Con’s annual Author Batsu Game hosted by Sam Sykes.

Anthony Ryan participated in an AMA on /r/Fantasy answering a ton of great questions about Blood Song, Tower Lord, and the upcoming Queen of Fire (out in July).

Also on /r/Fantasy, readers discussed who they think will be the next big name in epic fantasy.

New DLC content was released this month for the Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. If you’re a fan of the game then you should definitely check out the novels.

Forbes takes a look at the fantasy genre from a scientific perspective with a shout-out for Brian McClellans’s Powerder Mage novels.

Julius Thomas, Tight End for the Jacksonville Jaguars, gave a shoutout to A DANCE OF BLADES by David Dalglish.