Archive for Orbit UK

Use of Weapons: The Armoury of Epic Fantasy

When embarking on a High Epic tale like THE GATHERING OF THE LOST (UK|ANZ), with its diversity of heavily armed societies, making an inventory of the epic armoury becomes a priority. Any good armoury, after all, should comprise an array of weapons – some magical, some mythic, some even real – that may, depending on circumstances, save the day for one’s protagonists.

The Gathering of the Lost paperback is released today!

The Soul-Sucking Sword

A favoured contender for any self-respecting High Epic tale has to be The Soul-Sucking Sword. After all, they do abound within the annals of the epic literature we love: from Elric of Melniboné and Stormbringer, to CJ Cherryh’s Morgaine with Changeling, and Steven Erikson’s Anomander Rake and Dragnipur. Even Robin McKinley’s (far) more benign Blue Sword has an ambivalent sense of humour. When the chips are down, a soul-sucking sword – or one that can drop whole mountain ranges, like the Blue Sword – has to be handy to any protagonist with worlds to save and a destiny to fulfil.

There may not precisely be soul-sucking swords in THE GATHERING OF THE LOST, but there is reference to black blades:

“Fool!” the old woman spoke with asperity despite her cut and bruised mouth. “She’s carrying black blades—that’s how she defeated the siren worm five years ago. That’s where all your power is going now, too, unless I much mistake the matter.”

 “Black blades—fables for children!” Boras said, but Garan noticed they had all taken a step back.”

There is also a frost-fire sword with a liking for geasas—but to say any more than that might be a spoiler.

The Spear of Power

Spears of power are almost as popular in the epic armoury as soul-sucking swords. Tolkien’s Gil-galad carried Aiglos, which “none could withstand”, into battle against Sauron at the end of the Second Age, while the Irish hero, Cuchulain, possessed the Gáe Bolg, the spear of mortal pain. Whether the spear of power is quite as effective as a soul-sucking sword remains moot however. Tamora Pierce’s heroine, Keladry, may wield the glaive to good effect in the “Protector of the Small” series, but proficiency with a spear does not preserve Oberyn Martell in George RR Martin’s “A Son of Ice and Fire.” Nor does it appear to have done Kaladin a great deal of good, so far, in Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings. (more…)

Nebula Awards nominees announced

Today, the SFWA announced the list of 2012 Nebula Awards nominees. Congratulations to all the nominees, but especially to Orbit authors Kim Stanley Robinson and N.K. Jemisin for their nominations for Best Novel! This is Jemisin’s third nomination for the award in as many years.

The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson
(US | UK | ANZ) (US | UK | ANZ)

Novel

Throne of the Crescent Moon, Saladin Ahmed (DAW; Gollancz ’13)
Ironskin, Tina Connolly (Tor)
The Killing Moon, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
The Drowning Girl, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Roc)
Glamour in Glass, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor)
2312, Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

You can see the full list of nominees at the SFWA website.

My top six anti-heroes in film and literature

Yes, it was supposed to be five but . . .

I love an anti-hero. I think they appeal to my non-conformist nature – they tend to do what they want, as far as possible, even if it gets them into trouble. Plus there’s that whole bad-boy vibe and, very often, a darkly cynical sense of humour, which I am a sucker for.

So, that said, here’s a few of my favourites.

© AVCO Embassy Pictures
© AVCO Embassy Pictures

6. Snake Plissken (from Escape from New York). I mean, what’s not to like? Under a totalitarian government, he thumbs his nose at them and does what he wants for the most part, at least until he’s forced to do what “they” want. Weirdly – and perhaps essentially – he appears sometimes to have more morals than the “good” guys. It does not hurt that Kurt Russell looks good in leather.

5. Conan the Barbarian. Your classic anti-hero. He’s out for himself, always. He’s dark, he’s brooding, he’s itching for a fight. But if you’ve got a bad guy you want rid of, he’s your guy. Just don’t expect him not to ravish your girlfriend while he’s saving you.

4. Sandman Slim. You don’t get much downer and dirtier than the Sandman. His saving grace is, apart from his black humour, no matter how bad he gets, pretty much everyone else is worse. He’s on your side for the right price, but if he hates the guys you want dead, maybe you’ll get a freebie. Plus he has a nice little redeeming feature of falling hopelessly in love. Even men from hell just want a bit of lovin’.

© Walt Disney Pictures
© Walt Disney Pictures

3. Jack Sparrow. He lies and cheats and steals, but he doesn’t hide it, he flaunts it. But of course he’s a pirate, and who hasn’t wanted to throw off the yoke and just sail about doing whatever you felt like, especially if it involves a bit of swashbuckling and derring do? Again, crucially, he has morals. They just aren’t quite the same as everyone else’s. (more…)

Announcing THE PETROVITCH TRILOGY, now an eBook Omnibus!

Philip K. Dick award winning The Samuil Petrovitch Trilogy by Simon MordenThe Philip K. Dick award-winning series, THE PETROVITCH TRILOGY (UK | US) by Simon Morden is about to be released as an ebook omnibus for the first time.

This is ahead of the release of  brand new title from Simon called THE CURVE OF THE EARTH (UK | US | ANZ) – also coming in March.

All these novels star Russian émigré and super-genius Samuil Petrovitch, whose incredibly low tolerance for fools and penchant for getting on the wrong side of pretty much everyone makes him the most unlikely hero the world has ever seen.

Or what’s left of the world, anyway.

See, there’s the small issue of the apocalypse. London as we know it has suffered an Armageddon . . . but hey! Life still goes on right?

If you’re entering the Metrozone for the first time, we’ve put together a handy guide to its genesis, and what sort of things you might expect to find there . . . (more…)

Become a fan of The Powder Mage Trilogy on Facebook!

promise-of-blood“The age of kings is dead and I have killed it.”  I just get goose bumps every time I see that line gracing the marvelous cover of PROMISE OF BLOOD (US | UK | AUS).   It won’t be much longer now before this new epic fantasy series begins hitting shelves. (April 16th!) In the meantime, we’ve just launched The Powder Mage Trilogy Facebook fanpage as way of introducing you to this explosive debut.  “Like” the page and you’ll get access to the first chapter of PROMISE OF BLOOD  and be eligible to receive other exclusive content as it becomes available.

A little about the book in case this is the first time you’re hearing about it.

It’s a bloody business overthrowing a king…
Field Marshal Tamas’ coup against his king sent corrupt aristocrats to the guillotine and brought bread to the starving. But it also provoked war with the Nine Nations, internal attacks by royalist fanatics, and the greedy to scramble for money and power by Tamas’s supposed allies: the Church, workers unions, and mercenary forces.

It’s up to a few…
Stretched to his limit, Tamas is relying heavily on his few remaining powder mages, including the embittered Taniel, a brilliant marksman who also happens to be his estranged son, and Adamat, a retired police inspector whose loyalty is being tested by blackmail.

But when gods are involved…
Now, as attacks batter them from within and without, the credulous are whispering about omens of death and destruction. Just old peasant legends about the gods waking to walk the earth. No modern educated man believes that sort of thing. But they should…

Sounds good right? Check it out for yourself by becoming a fan of The Powder Mage Trilogy on Facebook. Believe us, you don’t want to miss a minute of the action.

 

Press Release: Orbit announces acquisition of bestselling self-published fantasy series

dalglishThe short version of this post is that I’m excited to announce the acquisition of David Dalglish’s Shadowdance series! For the formal version, the official press release is below.

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NEW YORK, NY (February 15, 2013) – Today Orbit US & UK announced the international acquisition of the Shadowdance novels – an epic fantasy series by self-publishing success David Dalglish. The author has already digitally published the first four books in the series, all of which have been e-book bestsellers.

Dalglish said of the deal, “I’ve seen the limits of what I can accomplish self-publishing and hope that with Orbit I can reach the next level, both in the quality of my writing and the size of my audience. I’m thrilled with everything Orbit has offered me, and feel this is the next step I need to take in my career.”

The Shadowdance series includes the novels A DANCE OF CLOAKS, A DANCE OF BLADES, and A DANCE OF DEATH. Orbit will launch A DANCE OF CLOAKS in October 2013, and the two sequels will follow in consecutive months in November and December.

A dark, gritty epic fantasy, the Shadowdance series is a character-driven tale of assassins, thieves, and treachery. The series begins when Aaron Felhorn – the son of the greatest assassin of the age – is sent to kill the daughter of a priest, but instead chooses to protect her.

Acquiring editor Devi Pillai said, “We are looking forward to building on David’s self-publishing success and helping to make him a worldwide bestseller in all formats.”

The challenges of building a vertical city

While world-building a city is an exercise in imagination, it’s always preferable, I think, to make sure you’re grounded in at least the basics of reality.

It’s possible to make buildings that can support many, many levels, so why not a city that can do the same? It takes a little extra forethought and planning perhaps. In the case of Mahala, it didn’t start off meaning to grow up, that’s just the way it happened. They ran out of room sideways, so they began building up. While this is fine to start with, just building as and when, at some point things are going to start to collapse under their own weight. Not to mention other considerations, such as “what do you do with all the waste?”.

isbn9780356501666-detailSo at some point in the past, well before the story of Fade to Black starts, a bright mage-king decided it was time to sort it all out. A superstructure was grafted on to what already existed and gave a backbone for more and bigger buildings. As Mahalians are well known for their inventiveness and ingenuity, it wasn’t just any old superstructure – the steel was strengthened to withstand almost anything. Archive details are hazy, but it seems likely that magic was involved in this – in those days magic was involved in everything. The only thing the superstructure couldn’t withstand, so it turned out, was mages. But never mind, the resulting Slump made a handy dumping ground for bodies, especially when space for crypts was at a premium.

A second problem was light – once you go up far enough, light is at a premium at the bottom. That same thoughtful mage-king made sure that even the poor sods far below his sun drenched palace got at least a minute of daylight a day by the cunning installation of lightwells and mirrors to bounce all that light around, and I’m sure everyone was jolly well grateful.

(more…)

Welcome to Wink – where the sky touches the earth!

Bennet_AmericanElsewhere_TPWink, New Mexico, population 1,243, is a town unlike any other. Sure on the surface  everything appears mostly normal, but what town doesn’t have its oddities and urban legends?

Mona Bright wants to make a change in her life – a break from the endless chain of cheap motels and constant wandering.  When she discovers that she’s inherited a house in Wink from her deceased mother, Mona decides to take a chance on this small town. But a house is not all that awaits her in Wink and the mysteries she uncovers there are both twisted and strange.  “We, like Mona, feel the town closing in on us, trying to take us over. A beautifully written, claustrophobic, and deeply memorable horror novel” wrote Booklist in their review of this book. You do not want to miss this chilling novel from Edgar Award winning author Robert JacksonBennett.

Check out some of the other great reviews that AMERICAN ELSEWHERE has received or read the first chapter here.

Praise for AMERICAN ELSEWHERE (US | UK |AUS)

“Through sharp empathetic detail, the horrific becomes both achingly poignant and comic; a wholesome diner where no one can ever order just one piece of pie shares space with a harsh alien landscape where a quivering blue imp cowers in terror while pleading for his life. Readers will be captivated from start to finish.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“You’ll want to linger over this riveting and scary novel that straddles sf and suspense to startling effect. This wonderful offering is perfect for fans of Stephen King and Neil Gaiman.” Library Journal (starred review)

“THE TROUPE (US | UK | AUS), Robert Jackson Bennett’s wonderful 2012 novel was one of my favorites of the year, so I had high expectations for American Elsewhere. Luckily it far exceeded those expectations. From the moment I was introduced to Mona Bright, I was hooked.” My Bookish Ways

Interview: Francis Knight on FADE TO BLACK

Fade to BlackRojan Dizon doesn’t mind staying in the shadows, because he’s got things to hide. Things like being a pain-mage, with the forbidden power to draw magic from pain. But he can’t hide for ever.

Because when Rojan stumbles upon the secrets lurking in the depths of the Pit, the fate of Mahala will depend on him using his magic. And unlucky for Rojan – this is going to hurt.

Only two more weeks until FADE TO BLACK (US | UK | AUS) releases online and in stores. Here’s an interview with Francis Knight. Find out how the city of Mahla came to be and more about the magic system employed by Knight’s pain mages.

Have you always known that you wanted to be a writer?

No, I can’t say that I have, probably because it never occurred to me to write down all the stories in my head. I’ve always read, and always made up little stories but it was only when I was struck down with ME that I started to write—I was housebound, and it was almost a defence against day- time TV. So I wrote one of my little stories and found I was addicted to writing.

Did the idea for the Rojan Dizon books come to you fully realised or did you have one particular starting point from which it grew?

As with most of my ideas, it came a piece at a time, each piece from a different direction. The idea really takes hold when they gang up on me. The theme came from one direction, Jake from another, whereas Rojan came as I was writing. He was kind of an experiment—I’d never writ- ten in first before, and he is polar opposite to me in many areas (though we do share a trait or two), so he was almost a challenge I set myself, to see if I could do it. I splurged out fifty thousand words in a month—at this stage it was a future dystopia world, but then my writers’ group pointed out, quite fairly, that I am horrible at making up future tech. One member suggested, “Why not make it a dark fantasy?” which kind of fed into a separate idea I’d had for a world where magic lived with technology. I dabbled a bit then left it on my hard drive for a few years, tinkering with it every now and again in between other projects. It was only when I decided to actually knuckle down and do something with it, when I started with the idea of pain magic in fact, that it really came to life. It was waiting for me to have the right idea to make it work, I think.

Read the full interview here.