Archive for Orbit US

New Short Fiction from Jennifer Rardin

Over at Orbit Short Fiction, we have a new short story from Jennifer Rardin. It is a standalone — and it’s completely different from the Jaz Parks novels.

What do you do when you’re in college and can’t think of anything better to do with your time? Make a deal with a voodoo queen, of course! And so starts the journey of Paul and Brady in PAUL AND BRADY GET HOODOO WITH THE VOODOO.

You can find the rest of Jennifer’s short fiction here, or you can start by reading the first novel in the Jaz Parks series, Once Bitten, Twice Shy.

Cover Launch: ARTEMIS by Philip Palmer

Philip Palmer’s Red Claw was one of the first covers I designed when I joined the Orbit team, and it’s still one of my faves. I love working on these covers, they’re so much fun, because his writing has this fabulous pulp scifi feel to it, and you can get that feel with the photo shoots. That’s one of the fun things about establishing a really strong author look, it anchors a book, and let’s you get crazy within that framework. It’s kind of like a mullet—business up front, party in the back! (Yes, I really just compared Book Cover Design to Mullets, call the graphic design police, it’s been a rough week.)

Photographer Laura Hanifin was my partner-in-crime for this cover, which we shot at the same time we shot for Hell Ship and the new e-book cover for Debatable Space. It was an exhausting (and smelly!) shoot, but we got three fantastic cover images out of the day, and you don’t get 3-cover-days very often, trust me!

After the jump, see the whole series of covers together, as well as a teaser!

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Hell Ship – its maiden voyage

Hell Ship by Philip Palmer (UK | US | ANZ)  is now unleashed, unabashed, unstoppable and available for reading! And it   is in truth a rollercoaster ride featuring adventure at its most adventurous. Look no further than the info below and this free extract to see what we mean:

The Hell Ship hurtles through space. Inside the ship are thousands of slaves, each the last of their race. The Hell Ship and its infernal crew destroyed their homes, slaughtered their families and imprisoned them forever. But one champion refuses to succumb. Sharrock, reduced from hero to captive in one blow, has sworn vengeance. Although Sai-as, head of the alien slave horde, will ruthlessly enforce the status quo. But help is close. Jak has followed the Ship for years and their battles have left Jak broken, a mind in a starship’s body, focussed only on destroying the Ship. Together, can hunter and slave end this interstellar nightmare?

Philip has been kind enough to put up a ‘moodboard‘ of what has influenced his writing journey (a.k.a. time spent exploring space) and will be unveiling further creativity on this site and his blog over the next few weeks. You can also meet the man in person at Orbit’s upcoming London Summer signing on 30th July, so please come along and say hello! (more…)

The rise of The Reluctant Mage . . .

THE PRODIGAL MAGE (UK/US), book one of The Fisherman’s Children duology, saw Karen Miller returning to the world of her bestselling debut novel THE INNOCENT MAGE (UK/US), spinning an epic tale of a kingdom threatened by a natural cataclysm, where the only hope of salvation was the forbidden talents of a young man named Rafel.

This absorbing story is concluded in THE RELUCTANT MAGE (UK/US), which sees Rafel’s sister Deenie setting out on a desperate quest to find her brother, missing beyond Barl’s treacherous mountains. Deenie is convinced that only her brother’s magic can heal a fractured land, yet the more she sees of the dark sorceror Morg’s deadly legacy, the more she starts to suspect her brother is somehow involved in the scheme of an evil power that now seems reborn . . .

For a taster of this powerful fantasy, check out this exclusive excerpt.

Here’s what readers have been saying about The Fisherman’s Children:

“A compelling portrait of a blighted world in the company of flawed, fascinating people” SFX

“The Reluctant Mage is one of those rare tales that keep you entertained from beginning to end” SFBOOK.COM

“All the elements that will please fans of fantasy, and above all else it’s the characters that really bring this book to life” FALCATA TIMES

 

The Final Evolution – out now!

Out now worldwide is the explosive conclusion to the Avery Cates series, The Final Evolution (UK / US/ ANZ).

I just can’t express enough how much I’ve loved the post-apocalyptic, action-noir thrill ride that is the Avery Cates series. But I can try… 

*Ahem*. In alphabetical order:

It’s attitude-drenched, balls-to-the-wall, cybernetic, ducking-and-diving, electric-monk-thumping, filthy-mouthing, gung-ho, hell-bent, intelligent, jugular-grabbing, killa–kool, lily-liver-kicking , mind-blowingly–apocalypting, nasty-ass, octane-fast, punks-en-masse, quick-witted, right-fisted, slidin’-slammin’, twisting-turning, unrelentingly-unforgiving, voraciously-violent, world-class-wrecking-balling, YEAH!, zip-zoomingly–zeighteisty.

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Orbit Podcast Episode 4 – With Mira Grant

In this episode,  Jack Womack chats with Mira Grant (AKA Seanan McGuire)  author of  the Hugo nominated FEED, and the recently released DEADLINE.  Subjects covered include The West Wing,  the American health care crisis, the Spanish Flu, and the horrible diseases you can get from a contaminated ice-maker. Enjoy!

You can listen to the full episode below, or subscribe on itunes or the RSS feed.

 

Eat, Slay, Love

Eat, Slay, Love is one of my favorite titles to date! I think it captures the book — a novel of zombies –perfectly.

Sarah and David have survived the zombie apocalypse.  They stood side by side and fought the undead, mad scientists, and even bionic monsters until the unthinkable happened. A zombie bite.  But not even that could stop them. Now, with a possible cure in hand, they’re headed east, looking for a safe zone behind the rumored “Wall.”  They’re feeling pretty optimistic.

That is until Dave stops sleeping and starts lifting huge objects.

Eat. Slay. Love.

Because they haven’t got a prayer.

 

Eat, Slay, Love is the third book in the Jesse Petersen’s Living With the Dead series. We published Married with Zombies and Flip This Zombie last fall. Jesse also has a short fiction, Shambling with the Dead, over at Orbit Short Fiction.

And if you ever wanted to find out if you would survive the zombie apocalypse — take Jesse’s Quiz!

Heartless is out!

Alexia Tarabotti-Maccon is back in her newest adventure! And this time she’s on the warpath.  With an assassination attempt on the Queen, and dealing with a pregnancy, Alexia has more than enough to keep her occupied.

A bit more about Heartless:

Lady Alexia Maccon, soulless, is at it again, only this time the trouble is not her fault. When a mad ghost threatens the queen, Alexia is on the case, following a trail that leads her deep into her husband’s past. Top that off with a sister who has joined the suffragette movement (shocking!), Madame Lefoux’s latest mechanical invention, and a plague of zombie porcupines and Alexia barely has time to remember she happens to be eight months pregnant.

Will Alexia manage to determine who is trying to kill Queen Victoria before it is too late? Is it the vampires again or is there a traitor lurking about in wolf’s clothing? And what, exactly, has taken up residence in Lord Akeldama’s second best closet?

We’re releasing the first chapter of Heartless on Facebook and you can find Gail on twitter @gailcarriger.

And for those of you who have yet to read the first three– we’ll be doing an ebook bundle of the first three books at $9.99 in the US.  So that’s Soulless, Blameless and Changeless in one bundle starting July 5th!

Timeless is the final book in the Alexia Tarabotti-Maccon series and it will be published in March 2012. If you’d like a sneak peak at the cover of Timeless, find it here.

Robert Jackson Bennett on the Point(s) of Plot

Robert Jackson Bennett’s most recent novel, THE COMPANY MAN, published by Orbit in April, has been receiving rave reviews across the board:

“Bennett does the seemingly impossible here. He’s written an alternate-history novel that measures up in every respect to Philip K. Dick’s masterful The Man In the High Castle.” — Booklist

“The novel is a genuine original, something like an episode of ‘The X-Files’ written by Clifford Odets. Strongly recommended.” —Michael Berry, San Francisco Chronicle

“THE COMPANY MAN made me realize how far sci-fi has come in my lifetime.” —Tom Shippey, Wall Street Journal

Robert knows plenty about plot. On his blog he has just posted a piece in which he talks about the point of plot, expressing his forthright opinions on the academic’s view of plot as opposed to the reader’s; the different uses of plot, character, and voice; and how and for what reason spoilers can be advantageously ignored.

“The very best novels are a space in your head, a secret little corner only you know about, and you want to return to that place and spend a few hours enjoying yourself. What goes on in that place could matter less.”

Check out Robert’s thoughts at his blog; and if you haven’t yet read THE COMPANY MAN or his first novel, the critically acclaimed, multiple award-nominated MR. SHIVERS — do.