Archive for Orbit UK

The exclusive first chapter of Towers of Midnight

The wheel has been turning and now it’s almost time to release Towers of Midnight in hardback, the extraordinary penultimate volume of the Wheel of Time. It will be available from 2nd November, but we want to give you a taste of what is to come …

Click here for an exclusive free extract of chapter one!

And in taking on the mantle of genre grandmaster Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson has done some fantastic Wheel of Time re-reads. For a quick catch up on the previous Wheel of Time books please click here.

So what more can be said than the Wheel of Time turns, and ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the age that gave it birth comes again. But now, the end draws near. It’s time to roll the dice.

Thieves, Scoundrels, and Demon Seeds

The time has come. . . Orbit is once again presenting you with three books in three months. So from October to December if you’re hungry for your fix of adventure fantasy, please run or log online to get these three new fantasies from Rachel Aaron.

But if you’re super lucky, you might be able to get one for free! Rachel is giving away 20 copies of The Spirit Thief here.

Eli Monpress is talented. He’s charming. And he’s a thief.

But not just any thief. He’s the greatest thief of the age – and he’s also a wizard. And with the help of his partners – a swordsman with the most powerful magic sword in the world but no magical ability of his own, and a demonseed who can step through shadows and punch through walls – he’s going to put his plan into effect.

The first step is to increase the size of the bounty on his head, so he’ll need to steal some big things. But he’ll start small for now. He’ll just steal something that no one will miss – at least for a while.

Like a king.

We also have a few awesome quotes in for The Spirit Thief:

“A romp of a lighthearted fantasy starring an absolutely darling rogue.” – Publishers Weekly

“Wry humor, engaging characters and full-tilt action plus an inventive twist on magic make for an exciting adventure.” — Gail Z. Martin

“Witty, smart, snappy, sassy, fast, furious and let’s not forget fun… Rachel Aaron isn’t so much knocking at the door as kicking it down.” — Tom Holt

“The Spirit Thief is a delightfully giddy romp of a novel.” — Karen Miller

Read the first two chapter of The Spirit Thief here.

Prepare to Gland Woot

Iain M. Banks fans take note — SURFACE DETAIL is out in October, and here’s what you need to know: General Systems Vehicles, Special Circumstances, Orbitals. Plus Unfallen Bulbitians, Smatter, Hells and Intagliates.

For those of you who have no idea what we are talking about, don’t worry.  It is never too late for you to join the Culture. You can start with SURFACE DETAIL.

Read the first chapter here.

In advance of the book’s release, it appears that the Culture is tweeting ship names. Or perhaps it’s an Iridian ruse. Whatever the case, it’s probably worth following. @_TheCulture_

Jennifer Rardin

With great sadness, we report that our author Jennifer Rardin passed away on Monday, September 20th. Our heart goes out to her family and friends.

The Runelords Series – Cover Panorama

This month Chaosbound (UK /ANZ) is out – book eight in David Farland’s Runelords series. It’s already had some top-notch reviews, such as: ‘Chaosbound is a profound fantasy that explores deep complex philosophical issues . . . with timely applications for our world’ from Harriet Klausner in SFRevu and ‘Stark, dark and elegiac’ from Publishers Weekly.

You may have heard of this series, and some impressive names raving about it (see below), but have you spotted what’s special about the covers of our UK editions? Designed by the highly talented Paul Young, it just so happens that when you put the covers side by side they form a continuous fantasy landscape . . .

 
You can click here to see the whole panorama.

And as for that praise we were talking about . . . (more…)

Gail Carriger’s British Debut…

We are hereby exceptionally proud to announce that Gail Carriger’s exquisitely charming Parasol Protectorate series has finally found its way to the seat of the empire – the green and pleasant lands of the British Isles. Delivered via dirigible direct into Hyde Park’s airfield, all three titles have arrived just in time to stem the Commonwealth’s desperate need for treacle tart, parasols and lessons in vampire social etiquette.

If you perchance found yourself at Britain’s most glorious festival of steampunk this weekend – the so-called Weekend at the Asylum – then you will undoubtedly be acquainted with Miss Alexia Tarabotti already.

With the gift that she has bestowed upon every privileged guest, she has imparted the vital knowledge of how best to protect the Commonwealth on behalf of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. And that’s not to mention her terribly useful tips on which hats are to be avoided this season if one is to protect one’s reputation in polite society. Please do take heed of her sage advice.

UNconventional: Worldcon & Me

Opening Ceremony; Photo: J Horlor

Those of you who read my pre-Worldcon post on Marianne de Pierre’s blog, will know that even getting there was a big deal for me. Although a long time avid reader of scifi-fantasy (SFF) and lover of shows such as Babylon 5, Buffy and Firefly, I am still something of a moss gatherer by nature and not unhappy with the quiet life of study and garden, manuscripts and books . . .  But the opportunity to attend the 68th Worldcon, or Aussiecon4, in Melbourne seemed just too good to miss—and I am so glad that I did go!

Firstly, it was fabulous to get together with so many other people who love SFF as much as I do. My very first panel was “Eowyn and Sam, Underappreciated Heroes in The Lord of the Rings” and of course, the hall was full (I mean: LoTR!), with both audience and panelists all enthusiasts for the topic. I know I had a great time, because I was pretty much in Fantasy heartland territory, but I got the feeling everyone else was enjoying themselves as much as I was. And when all’s said and done, it’s a pretty easy topic to roll with.

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Two New York Times Bestsellers!

This week we had two New York Times bestsellers!

Gail Carriger hit the New York Times mass market paperback list at #20 for Blameless!

Brent Weeks’ The Black Prism is on the hardcover list for his second week at #29.

Congratulations to both Gail and Brent!

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Another big award has come and gone, and I’d like to congratulate all the Orbit authors who won or were nominated. It’s great for them because, while being an author is a fabulous line of work, it can also be discouraging. Unless one is in the awards sphere, or one manages to claw his or her way onto one of the increasingly elusive lists, it’s hard to know if you’re really reaching anyone.

Which is why social media rocks. In my new university’s MFA in popular fiction, I’m teaching a course on building author platforms, and we’re talking a lot about social media. One of the things we’ve brought up peripherally is how rewarding it is to interact with fans of our books.

This weekend, I received some lovely letters and messages on Twitter and Facebook. It’s almost impossible for me to express how much these interactions mean for authors like me. I feel very disconnected, sometimes, from my life as a writer. So to see that people are not only reading my books, but really connecting with the issues they contain and really connecting with my characters means the world to me. (more…)