Archive for Orbit UK

In Their Own Words: David Farland on WORLDBINDER

David says:

Worldbinder by David Farland - UK paperbackSometimes as an author, you feel impressed to write something in response to what others are doing. As I was brainstorming one day, I looked at some fantasy novels on the shelves and I felt rather despairing: most of them had nothing wondrous or wonderful in them. All that they offered seemed to be wars in a medieval setting.

So I decided to write a book where something major happened: two completely different fantasy worlds get slammed together. People die. Continents sink, and a frightening new world order grows out of the mix.

To tell the truth, I was afraid to do it. I wasn’t sure what my editors or my audience would think. But the review from both the critics and my fans have been fantastic! In fact, once email I received today was from a fan in England who said, “I loved every page of it. I couldn’t put it down. I had to find out what happened next, and by the time that I did, I had to find out what happened next again!”

Worldbinder, book six in David Farland‘s Runelords saga, is out now from Orbit in the UK. The first volume in the series is The Sum of All Men – new readers should start here…

You can find out more about David Farland and the world of the Runelords at www.runelords.com.

Orbit Links for October 3rd 2008

Plenty of Orbit author-related online activity to tell you about this week, so without further ado:

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…)

Orbit UK schedule update: December 2008

The Orbit UK Schedule page has just been updated with details of the three great new titles that we’ll be publishing in the first week of December 2008:

  • The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore – Chaos ensues as the none-too-bright Archangel Raziel attempts to make a young boy’s Christmas wish come true.
  • Dark Heart by Russell Kirkpatrick – The second part of the Husk trilogy sees continents torn apart by cataclysm and war.
  • Beyond the Shadows by Brent Weeks – the concluding volume of the Night Angel trilogy, from a new author who’s set to take the fantasy genre by storm.

Click the titles to read the trailer text over at the UK schedule page. Don’t forget, they’ll all be available from early December from all good bookstores and online retailers.

In Their Own Words: Karen Miller on THE RIVEN KINGDOM

Karen says:

The Riven Kingdom by Karen Miller - UK paperbackOne of the major themes I want to explore in the Godspeaker trilogy is the use and abuse of power.

In book one, Empress, with Hekat you’ve got a woman whose childhood experiences of powerlessness drive her to extraordinary abuses, once she has power to wield. But in book two, The Riven Kingdom, much of the action shifts to a new location and we meet another young woman, Rhian, who was born into power … and then learns, through personal tragedy, how much of an illusion that power really was.

Then the question becomes: how far will she go to get it back? What lines will she cross? Does all power corrupt, or is it possible to wield it for the greater good and remain untouched by brutality, or evil? And what happens when she realises that perhaps the only way to save her kingdom is to fight fire with fire, and become as ruthless as the enemy she’s trying to defeat?

These are the questions I was wrestling with, writing The Riven Kingdom – and I hope the answers I came up with will keep readers entertained.

The Riven Kingdom, part two of Karen Miller‘s Godspeaker trilogy, has just been published in the UK and was published by Orbit in the US at the beginning of September. Part one, Empress is also available from Orbit in both the UK and US. The conclusion of the series, Hammer of God will be published in January 2009.

You can find out more about Karen Miller and her work at www.karenmiller.net and read her blog at karenmiller.livejournal.com.

Orbit Links for September 26th 2008

Welcome once again to our weekly round-up of online Orbit author activity:

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…)

2008 SFX Awards now open for online voting

The UK’s largest sci-fi magazine, SFX, has opened its annual reader’s poll – the SFX Awards – for online voting.

Along with all the film and tv-related categories, there’s also one for Best Novel and we’re delighted to note that three Orbit titles have been included in SFX’s drop-down selection of suggested titles:

  • Matter [UK | US | Aus] by Iain M Banks
  • The Escapement [UK | US | Aus] by K.J. Parker
  • Halting State [UK | Aus] by Charles Stross
Matter, by Iain M Banks, UK hardbackThe Escapement by KJ Parker, UK paperbackHalting State by Charles Stross, UK paperback

Visit the SFX website if you’d like to cast your votes for this year’s Awards.

Orbit Links for September 19th 2008

Arrrrrr me hearties! Cap’n Orbit here, markin’ International Talk Like a Pirate Day wi’ another fine haul o’ Orbit Author Links, plundered from the briny depths of T’Interwebs! Arrrrrr!

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…)

Arrrrrr! ;)

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.