Archive for Orbit UK

Bad Blood now out!

The latest Kristen Painter title is now out! BAD BLOOD is now available (US/UK/AUS)!

We are super excited to publish Kristen — so excited that we decided to publish the first three of her quintet in three consecutive months.  These novels are lush, fabulous and  hearken back to classic vampire novels like Anne Rice — but with a Gothic, near-future edge that grabs readers from the get-go.

A bit about the story:

Samhain approaches, bringing with it the final melding of the mortal and othernatural worlds. No one knows just how much power the night holds…

Violent murders occur in Paradise City as counterfeit comarré are systematically hunted. The police and the Kubai Mata have more than enough trouble to keep themselves occupied. As war erupts at home, Malkolm and Chrysabelle head to New Orleans to recover the Ring of Sorrows. Chrysabelle is forced to make a life and death decision and will realize that her relationship to Malkolm may have fatal consequences.

The clock is ticking . . .

The full series is shown below:

       

Read an extract of Blood Rights (US/UK/AUS) here!

The fourth novel, Out For Blood, will be out in November 2012.

Cover Launch: THE FALLEN BLADE by Jon Courtenay Grimwood

‘Gritty, grimy, decadent and compelling’ the Sunday Times said of Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s fantasy novel THE FALLEN BLADE. The same can be said for the fabulous new cover art for the UK mass market paperback edition, created by our wonderfully talented in-house designer Emma Graves.

Emma kindly agreed to speak about her creation:

“To redesign the Grimwood series was an exciting and interesting project. We wanted a cover which gave the reader a taste of the gripping setting of this series as well as reflecting the dark and dangerous surroundings and characters. Having visited Venice myself, I knew the challenge was to find images and textures to project this captivating city with its narrow streets and alleys to the reader.

Before deciding what each cover in the series would feature, I set up mood boards of visual ideas, photographs, colours and typefaces inspired by the storylines and the atmosphere of the books.

We wanted the new style to be appealing to both existing Grimwood fans as well as new readers. By choosing sophisticated images and colours, and mixing this with typefaces with a historical feel, the design sits well both within its genre and the larger historical fiction market. The textured frames tie the books together as a series and I am really looking forward to getting my hands on the third book in the set and creating another cover to match the first two.”

Many thanks to Emma, whose cover we feel perfectly encapsulates the brooding atmosphere of Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s alternative Venice!

THE FALLEN BLADE (UK | US | ANZ) will be released in mass market paperback in the UK on 5 April 2012. The second novel in the trilogy, THE OUTCAST BLADE – with a similarly fantastic cover! – will follow in trade format everywhere in May 2012.

Fortune Favours the Thief: Michael J. Sullivan’s Rise of Empire Out This Month

The book cover for Michael J. Sullivan's 'Rise of Empire', showing a hooded, roughly shaven man and the text 'Fortune Favour the Thief'
UK Cover
US Cover

You’ve read Theft of Swords, which came out from Orbit last month, and now we’re proud to announce the release of Rise of Empire, [US | UK | ANZ] the second installment in the Riyria Revelations epic fantasy series.

The birth of the Nyphron Empire has brought war to Melengar. To save her kingdom, Princess Arista runs a desperate gamble when she defies her brother and hires Royce and Hadrian to perform a dangerous mission behind the enemy’s lines. As the power of the Nyphron Empire grows, so does Royce’s suspicion that the wizard Esrahaddon is using the thieves as pawns in his own shadowy struggle for power. To find the truth, he must unravel the secret of Hadrian’s past. What he discovers leads the thieves to the ends of the world on a journey amid treachery and betrayals, forcing Hadrian to face a past he hoped never to see again.

We know you’ll be pleased to see these characters back again, though perhaps not quite as pleased as the author’s wife (Michael recently wrote a guestpost for the Proud Book Nerd entitled ‘Why My Wife’s Love Affair is Entirely My Fault’).

Here’s what reviewers have had to say about the series:-

 “I couldn’t get enough of ‘Theft of Swords’ and there is no way that I won’t be following this series through to its conclusion.” – Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review

“Great Fun and a romp end to end… highly recommended” – Fantasy Book Critic

You can find Michael on twitter @author_sullivan, and find out more about him and the Riyria Revelations at his website.

Out today – Philip Palmer’s Artemis

Artemis is the heroine of my fifth novel for Orbit Books, and she’s a lot like me in many ways.  She’s a cool, sexy, superfit, ruthless, murdering bitch who loves reading books.

Okay, she’s a lot like me in ONE way.  I also, um, love reading books.

I find I’m naturally attracted to characters with a hint of evil in their souls.  Like Lena, or indeed Flanagan, in DEBATABLE SPACE. Or Saunders in RED CLAW.  Even Sharrock in HELL SHIP is a warrior, and hence a cold blooded killer.

Some of the characters I’ve created in these books are, however, Good Guys. Version 43, for instance, in the novel called (would you credit it?) VERSION 43 is an honest cop in a dishonourable world.  He may have flaws but he’s not corrupt.  In fact his main flaw is that he’s not nearly corrupt enough.  He is, exasperatingly, too good to be true; because he’s a cyborg and not a true human.  But, as time goes by, he gets more and more human…and that makes him, in my view, easier to warm to.  And he’s also very good at his job, of enforcing law and order, usually by killing people.

Artemis, though,  is very much at the ultraviolet end of the spectrum of amorality.  She is a one woman killing machine.    But does that make her an unsympathetic character? Well, I’d argue not. Because she has reasons for what she does.  Good reasons…

But she’s flawed, without a doubt. Highly flawed.  Murderous – sometimes selfish – obsessive – and vengeful.  I like characters with flaws;  perhaps because I am myself a character with many flaws… And I believe firmly that characters who are nice and full of virtue aren’t the ones we root for when we read stories.  That’s why Satan is the one we cheer on in Paradise Lost, not those wretched angels; certainly not God.

Mulling on this theme, I’ve coined the term ‘Rootability’, to refer to that special quality in a character that makes us want to root for him, or her.  Tyrion Lannister (in George R. R. Martin’s  Games of Thrones series) has it in abundance. Eddard Stark is far more heroic. Daenerys is more exotic, and has those wonderful dragons. But Tyrion is the evil dwarf we love to hate; he’s the underdog; he’s the smart one.

Harry Potter, for my money, DOESN’T have Rootability. He’s too powerful.  He’s too nerdy. He has those glasses. I’d like those stories much more if Hermione were the heroine – the ‘little girl’ who no one takes seriously but who always wins the day.  But then again I’m strange; and JK Rowling’s fans seem to like Harry’s books just the way they are. (more…)

The Official Website for THE TROUPE!

Shirley Jackson Award-winner Robert Jackson Bennett’s new novel THE TROUPE (US | UK | AUS)–  a tale of Gothic intrigue set during the Vaudeville era — is coming in February 2012. But to whet your appetite the author has launched an evocative new website about the book. Visit www.silenustroupe.com for a sneak peek, and be sure to have your speakers on!

The Hedgewitch Queen is out!

Finally! I’m very excited to announce the release of THE HEDGEWITCH QUEEN by Lilith Saintcrow at ebook retailers in the US and the UK. This is Orbit’s first ebook only publication, and if you are curious to read a bit before hitting buy–you can read an excerpt here.

Lili also has a short fiction piece, Unfallen, that is available now in the US and to come in the UK.

 

LEGACY OF KINGS now available!

After winning much critical acclaim for her Coldfire trilogy, Celia Friedman embarked on a new, epic tale of a dangerous world where to use magic is to sacrifice your own vitality . . . or that of an unwitting victim. The first novel in the Magister trilogy, FEAST OF SOULS [UK | ANZ], introduced us to Andovan, a prince suffering from a terrible disease, and Kamala, a young woman whose magical powers threaten centuries of tradition. Their fates – and those of many others – become entwined as a ancient force awakens to threaten their world. WINGS OF WRATH [UK | ANZ] continued the story, raising the stakes as the horrifying might of the Souleaters is gradually revealed.

Now, in LEGACY OF KINGS [UK | ANZ], the final confrontation is at hand. Secrets will be spilled,  blood will run and magic will be unleashed. The fate of the world lies in the hands of a select few . . . but will their powers be enough to hold back the darkness?

Praise for Celia Friedman’s Magister trilogy:

Perhaps the most staggering achievement of FEAST OF SOULS is how purposeful every scene feels. There is no filler in this book — Ms. Friedman’s prose is crisp and to the point, just as every scene in this book serves as an integral part to the novel as a whole . . . FEAST OF SOULS is a fantastic, superior work of speculative fiction’ – THE BOOK SMUGGLERS

‘Friedman has her hands firmly on the reins and delivers scenes that are tightly controlled while sparkling with vitality’ – GRAEME’S FANTASY BOOK REVIEW

‘Friedman truly knows what she is doing as a storyteller, since she is following one of the great axioms: “Always leaving them wanting more.”  I, for one, want more; especially after reading the last couple of exhilarating chapters’ – SFF WORLD (more…)

Felicia Day on LEVIATHAN WAKES

There are a lot of Felicia Day fans here in the Orbit office, so we were excited to see that she loved James S.A. Corey’s Leviathan Wakes (US | UK | ANZ). Here’s what she had to say:

I loved this book because in a lot of ways it humanized a BIG SF world in a way that is normally tough. I cared about the characters, I yelled at them a lot, and I enjoyed every minute!

You can read the rest of her review on GoodReads. Look out for book 2, Caliban’s War, in June of 2012!

The Griffin Mage — Now in one Volume!

The Griffin Mage (US | UK | ANZ) by Rachel Neumeier is now out!

It contains the full Griffin Mage Trilogy: Lord of the Changing Wind, Land of the Burning Sands and Law of the Broken Earth.

When I first read the book, I thought her writing style was exactly like Patricia McKillip — and instead of Naomi Novik’s dragons — we have griffins.  And of course, the griffins put me in the mind of another popular series: Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern.

(more…)

Press Release: ORBIT SHORT FICTION TO LAUNCH INTERNATIONALLY

Orbit announces the international launch of its digital short fiction publishing program.

Last April, Orbit US launched Orbit Short Fiction, publishing digital editions of original short fiction written by its authors. Starting in 2012 Orbit UK will be joining the initiative. Stories published under the program will be released simultaneously in the US, UK, and other markets in which its ebooks are routinely distributed.

Anne Clarke, Editorial Director, Orbit (UK) said: “The digital short fiction market is clearly gaining momentum, and I’m delighted that we’ll now be able to make our authors’ stories available internationally. The success of the program in the US has been very encouraging, and we’re very much looking forward to working with our authors and colleagues in the US on this next stage in its development.”

Tim Holman, Orbit VP & Publisher (US and UK), said: “From the outset we hoped to expand the Orbit Short Fiction initiative, and we feel that now is the time to do it. Stories will be available far more widely, and through all major ebook retailers, which is good for our authors, for fans, and for the publishing program.”

Orbit (UK) is the Science Fiction and Fantasy imprint at Little, Brown Book Group, a leading trade publisher based in London. Little, Brown Book Group is a division of Hachette UK, the largest book publisher in the UK.

Orbit (US) is the Science Fiction and Fantasy imprint at Hachette Book Group, a leading trade publisher based in New York. HBG publishes under the divisions of Little, Brown and Company, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, Grand Central Publishing, FaithWords, Center Street, Orbit, and Hachette Digital.