Goodreads Choice Awards: Semifinal Round!
The second round of voting for the Goodreads Choice Awards is now live! Check it out and vote for your favorites. Below are the Orbit books we’re thrilled to see still on the list. (more…)
Archive for Orbit UK
Cover launch: SOFT APOCALYPSE and HITCHERS by Will McIntosh
You might have noticed a new name starring on the Orbit schedule for next year: the phenomenal talent Will McIntosh.
Why we think he’s exceptional – why we were all desperate for him to join the Orbit list – is that he writes not only ground-breaking science fiction, but also some of the most moving, touching, and simply human stories you’ll ever read. They’ve affected me deeply – and I can’t imagine how anyone could read his novels without being equally entertained and moved.
So perhaps it’s no surprise that Will already has a Hugo Award to his name, as well as nominations for the Nebula, Locus, John W. Campbell and Compton Crook awards.
Next June, Orbit is launching a worldwide release for Will’s novel LOVE MINUS EIGHTY, a spectacular full-length novel based on Will’s Hugo Award-winning short story, BRIDESICLE. It imagines love and loss 100 years into the future, in a world where technology has reached the outer limits of morality and romance. Check out the cool cover above.
However, we know that it’s a long time to wait till June to see just what kind of stunning fiction this author is producing. So this December, in the UK, Australia and New Zealand we’re releasing ebook editions of two titles previously only released in the US: SOFT APOCALYPSE and HITCHERS. They’ll both be available to buy digitally on 6th December 2012.
SOFT APOCALYPSE, which was nominated for the Locus, John W. Campbell and Compton Crook Awards, is Will’s debut novel. It asks the question: what if the world isn’t destined to end as we always imagined it – in explosive, dramatic fashion – but what if instead, humanity is set to just slowly crumble?
Following Jasper and his nomadic tribe, a group of formerly middle-class Americans, the novel sees a world going from bad to worse – and then worse still. Resources keep getting scarcer, people keep getting poorer, and the fabric of society is slowly disintegrating.
This account of a severe decline is highly intelligent and chillingly realistic. But at the heart of the tale is a very human, touching story about how a normal guy tries to make ends meet and find love in the dangerous new place his world has become.
HITCHERS is something rather different, but with an equally engrossing human story at its core. It’s a chilling supernatural thriller in which both horror and dark humour collide.
When an act of terrorism kills hundreds of thousands in Atlanta, USA, Finn Darby is lucky enough to survive the attack. But Finn soon develops a disturbing affliction – when he starts to blurt things out in a strange voice beyond his control. And it seems he’s not the only one experiencing this problem – in fact thousands of people are suffering from the same affliction.
Either all of Atlanta is having a mass psychological breakdown, or else the dead are returning to possess the living . . .
So there are many different ways to enjoy the exceptional writing of Will McIntosh. And don’t forget that Orbit fans worldwide can also get a very quick taster of what Will’s writing with his Orbit Short Fiction title THE PERIMETER. It’s a chilling tale about the planet Clay and the perimeter fence that keeps its strange creatures at bay. One unlucky woman is about to discover just what lives beyond it . . .
The Legend of Eli Monpress: Voice Mail Edition
With the fifth and final book of my Eli Monpress series, SPIRIT’S END (UK | US | AUS)*, coming out November 20, it was high time to crawl out of my coffee splattered writer cave and do some promotion. Seeing as this is the final shebang, though, I knew I wanted to do something different, something spectacular… But then I lost my voice and my lit themed parody video of Carly Rae Jepson’s Call Me Maybe had to be put on indefinite hold. (Sample: “Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but I wrote this series, so read it maybe?”)
The disappointment is crushing, I know, but as a consolation (and an apology to everyone who just got Call Me Maybe stuck in their heads), I wrote a short piece about what would happen if the Eli gang had voice mail instead. So if you’re a fan, get ready, because this fansevice is all for you! And if you haven’t read the series yet and want in on the joke, you can read the first few chapters of The Legend of Eli Monpress here.
*SPIRIT’S END is being published in the UK and Australia as an omnibus called THE REVENGE OF ELI MONPRESS which includes THE SPIRIT WAR and SPIRIT’S END.
So, without further ado, please enjoy The Legend of Eli Monpress: Voice Mail Edition!
Become a fan of James S. A. Corey on Facebook!
There is a new way to receive updates on James S. A. Corey’s publishing activities over on Facebook. Become a fan of the official Facebook fanpage and connect with other fans of the Expanse series. You’ll also gain access to exclusive excerpts from the upcoming novel ABADDON’S GATE!
For those of you who haven’t picked up these books yet, you can read a sample from LEVIATHAN WAKES (UK | US | AUS) here and get hooked on this critically-acclaimed SF series.
Praise for The Expanse series
“It’s been too long since we’ve had a really kickass space opera. Leviathan Wakes is interplanetary adventure the way it ought to be written.” — George R.R. Martin
This is the future the way it was supposed to be.” – The Wall Street Journal on Leviathan Wakes
“A worthy sequel to Leviathan’s Wake. Compelling characters and a plot that combines political intrigue with military sf create a memorable story that begs for film adaptation.” – Library Journal
Good…bad…they’re the guys with the legislative power.
I love me some fictional politicians. Right, left, good, evil, it doesn’t matter, as long as they’re interesting and prepared to present me with a new look at legislation. Here’s my top ten, at least for right now.
10. Katherine Vaughn Powers, President of the United States of America, The President’s Daughter, Ellen Emerson White.
The President’s Daughter series of young adult novels—starting with The President’s Daughter and concluding with Long May She Reign, which is arguably an adult novel—mostly focuses on the trials of being the old daughter of the first female President of the United States, but we see President Powers’s term through her daughters eyes. President Powers is firm in her convictions, dedicated to her family and to her country, and does not negotiate with terrorists. President Powers is really pretty damn bad-ass, when you get right down to it. The whole series was reissued in 2008 with new covers and with the pop culture and technology references updated for the time. I do think it’s kind of sad that when the first book came out, in 1984, everyone just sort of assumed we’d have a woman in the White House by now. Maybe soon.
9. Greg Stillson, New Hampshire Congressman, The Dead Zone, Stephen King.
Oh, Congressman Stillson, what can I say about you, apart from “stay the hell away from me”? Congressman Stillson may have been the first fictional politician I ever encountered, during my marathon reading of the works of Stephen King. I was too young to appreciate his vile “viper* in human form” qualities, and was surprised all over again when I finally picked up the book as an adult. (*I actually like vipers, a lot more than I like Greg Stillson. It’s just a good shorthand for his spiteful awfulness.) This is the kind of man who makes our real-world politicians look good. The version of Stillson presented by the television version of The Dead Zone is a different kind of monster, but is no less interesting, and no less terrible for being somewhat humanized by the ongoing demands of the serial drama format. Both of them will give you nightmares, and quite rightly. (more…)
PW’s Best Books of 2012
Publishers Weekly announced their list of the best books of the year today, including two of our own! Both Robert Jackson Bennett’s THE TROUPE (US | UK | ANZ) and N.K. Jemisin’s THE KILLING MOON (US | UK | ANZ) were awarded accolades in the SF/Fantasy/Horror category.
Congratulations to all the authors on the list!
2012 Goodreads Choice Awards
The first round of voting is open for the 2012 Goodreads Choice Awards! Check out the nominees and vote for your favorites. We’re pleased to see a bunch of Orbit books on the ballot, in a variety of categories.
- THE KING’S BLOOD by Daniel Abraham (US | UK | ANZ)
- THE TRAITOR QUEEN by Trudi Canavan (US | UK | ANZ)
- THE KILLING MOON by N.K. Jemisin (US | UK | ANZ)
- PERCEPLIQUIS by Michael J. Sullivan. The final book of the Riyria Revelations from HEIR OF NOVRON [US | UK | ANZ])
- THE BLINDING KNIFE by Brent Weeks (US | UK | ANZ)
- THIRTEEN by Kelley Armstrong (UK)
- TIMELESS by Gail Carriger (US | UK | ANZ)
- TRICKED by Kevin Hearne (UK | ANZ)
Civilisation: are we doomed? SKYFALL and 3 other ways of looking at it . . .
Last weekend, along with millions of other people I’m sure, I went to see the latest Sam Mendes Bond movie, SKYFALL. I found the film highly entertaining – with some very impressive action scenes, a slickest of slick opening sequence, a surprisingly believable plot (for an action movie I mean…), and a rather irresistible performance from the easy-on-the-eye Daniel Craig.
But I also found it interesting (with my Orbit hat on) that this time, 007 wasn’t having to save the world by disarming a nuclear warhead (think MOONRAKER or THUNDERBALL) or stopping the spread of a deadly virus (think ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE) or prevent an evil communist plot (think CASINO ROYALE and a whole host of other Bonds).
This time, Bond’s role was to combat the destruction looming from the leak of confidential information – by the world’s most sophisticated cyber-terrorist. Highly believable in this age of Wikileaks and hackers being potentially extradited for infiltrating US military systems.
It seems that the disasters befalling the various James Bonds have been evolving through the years – seemingly to keep up with the ways in which our world, our technology and our political and social struggles have been constantly changing. Because it appears that as we progress as a species, the potential pitfalls waiting to bring down Western world and civilisation itself seem to be constantly evolving too – and growing dangerously more numerous by the day. (more…)
Ding Dong!: What the House of Comarré Characters Will be Handing Out To Trick-or-Treaters.
As Halloween approaches, so does the need for many of us to stock up on candy and other assorted treats in order to successfully bribe the neighborhood children into not TP-ing our houses or soaping our cars.
Paradise City is no different. Okay, maybe it’s a little different considering many of the inhabitants are creatures most likely to become Halloween costumes. Doesn’t mean they’re not in the Halloween spirit, though! Should you go trick-or-treating in Paradise City, here’s what my characters will be filling your goody bag with:
1. Malkolm, vampire – Let’s be honest. You can knock all you want. Mal’s not opening the door. If he does? Run.
2. Chrysabelle, comarré – If you can actually make it onto the private island where she lives, then past her estate’s security gates, you deserve a treat. Chrysabelle’s treats are the uber expensive Amedei Porcelana dark chocolate bars. She’ll then send someone along with you to make sure you don’t run into trouble the rest of the night.
3. Doc, varcolai (leopard-shifter) – Since juicy steaks are liable to ruin your other treats, Doc’s handing out packages of locally made gator jerky. Try it. You’ll like it. It bites back.
4. Fi, sometimes ghost – With Fi’s sense of humor, she’ll be stuffing your goody bag full of gummy spiders, severed finger cookies and skeleton bone lollipops. If you think that’s gross, you should see her ghost form. Mal’s the one who killed her, you know…
5. Dominic, vampire – Ever the entrepreneur, Dominic will be handing out coins good for one free entrance to Seven, his night club. Note I said entrance. Getting out of Seven is up to you.
6. Creek, Kubai Mata agent – Halloween isn’t really Creek’s thing, but his grandmother, Rosa Mae Jumper, has stepped in to help, providing him with enough raven feather charms for everyone. Put yours on immediately. You never know who might be trying to steal your soul.
7. Tatiana, evil vampiress – If you happen to be in the hidden city of Corvinestri, Romania and you’re unfortunate enough to knock on Tatiana’s door, that will probably be your last stop of the night. See, Tatiana isn’t known for her hospitality, but she loves humans. Mostly as a snack. On the off chance she does put something in your bag…trust me, the apple’s poison.
As you can see, the House of Comarré characters are an interesting bunch with different takes on the meaning of treat. If you want to see them in action, check out the next book in the series, OUT FOR BLOOD (UK | US | AUS), which is available now!
Press Release: Orbit UK to Publish Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices Manga
Tomorrow Orbit UK will publish the manga adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s New York Times bestseller CLOCKWORK ANGEL, the first book in her Infernal Devices series. The deal was agreed with leading US manga publisher Yen Press.
The manga tells the story of the London Institute of Shadowhunters, humans fighting against a supernatural menace in Victorian London. With another Shadowhunters series, The Mortal Instruments, being released as a movie next year, fans of Clare’s world have never been more numerous!
With a script adapted by the author herself and art by the phenomenal manga artist HyeKyung Baek (BRING IT ON! and GOSSIP GIRL), this series will appeal to new and established fans of Clare’s witty series and charm young adults and adults alike!
THE INFERNAL DEVICES: CLOCKWORK ANGEL
Cassandra Clare | 1st November 2012 | £7.99 | PB
The first magical adventure in this manga set in Victorian London. Tessa Gray thought that life would change when she moved to a new city, but kidnapped on arrival and rescued by the human warriors of the London Institute of Shadowhunters, she never could have anticipated how much! Possessed of strange abilities that allow her to talk to the dead, unlike her rescuers, Tessa is not human, and she must decide where she stands in the war between humans and supernatural creatures to come. This is the first volume adapting the New York Times bestselling series The Infernal Devices. Art by HyeKyung Baek.
Look out for news of more steampunk manga from Orbit UK, with Gail Carriger’s SOULLESS: THE MANGA Volume 2 hitting the shelves in December!
