Archive for Orbit US

The Orbit Podcast: Episode 1, with Joe Abercrombie

This week we’re thrilled to launch the Orbit podcast, hosted by Jack Womack. The first episode features a wide-ranging conversation with Joe Abercrombie, whose new book, THE HEROES, is out now. Subjects covered include: hand-to-hand combat,  warfare and film, gallows humor, death metal, the American Civil War,  and more. You can listen to the full episode below, or subscribe on itunes or the RSS feed.

UPDATE: It looks like some people are having problems downloading via itunes. It should be resolved shortly, but if you can’t download directly, try subscribing to the podcast in itunes.

BLONDE BOMBSHELL – landing near you now

There is a fizzingly funny, cosmically comic new Tom Holt book available now! This is the UK paperback edition of Blonde Bombshell (UK | US), a heart-warming tale of Armageddon, and you can get a free extract. Looks like reviewers prefer blondes too, as we’ve had a huge amount of praise for this bombshell:

A pacy romp with some beautifully executed set pieces’ Guardian
‘A comic SF caper reminiscent of Terry Pratchett’ Independent on Sunday
‘One of the most ludicrously funny intergalactic shaggy dog stories ever told’
Daily Express
‘From a very clever author, with some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments’
News of the World
‘A nifty comic read, fizzing with one-liners … enjoyably deranged’ SFX
‘Exceptionally well-written’ SciFi Now

You can also play our highly addictive ‘Blondesweeper’ game. A little healthy competition on the scoreboard would be good for our in-house champions  … make them work for their glory!

Joe Abercrombie, Non-Nihilist

Recently, on Andrew Breitbart’s Big Hollywood, an intriguing essay by Leo Grin entitled “The Bankrupt Nihilism of Our Fallen Fantasists” appeared, finding Joe Abercrombie’s latest novel, THE HEROES,(as well as the work of a number of other contemporary fantasy writers) to be a bit lacking — allusions to “Abercrombie’s jaded literary sewer” and a “small, pathetic chapter in the decades-long slide of Western civilization into suicidal self-loathing” rather clearly convey the author’s position.

Joe has written a very effective response on his website, among other things noting that he simply hadn’t realized he was recognized as such a threat to fantasy in general, and Western civilization in particular. Especially, as observed in both sites’ comment threads, by those who haven’t gone so far as actually reading Joe Abercrombie’s more recent work in order to comprehend its dangers.

Lilith Saintcrow’s Bannon and Clare

I’m excited to announce that we’ll be publishing a whole new series with Lilith Saintcrow. Lili is one of the first urban fantasy authors I acquired and I’m over the moon to tell you about her new series, a combination of historical urban fantasy and steampunk.  We’ll be publishing the first book in Summer 2012. (more…)

This Valentine’s Day, Say it With BRAAAAAINS

Jesse Petersen’s Living With The Dead series follows the unlikely adventures of a couple whose marriage is saved by the Zombie Apocalypse. Truly, nothing brings a couple closer than trying to survive  in a world overtaken by the undead. Which is why you should click through below for some zombie Valentine’s Day cards…

Cover Launch: THE FINAL EVOLUTION by Jeff Somers

I hate to see a good series of covers come to a close, but I can’t be too sad because Avery Cates is finishing with a bang…or, more accurately, with SILVER INK. This is a case where the cover jpeg just doesn’t do the image justice, because there’s just no way to show you the metallic silver hotness this cover will convey in print. Just trust me.

The Final Evolution by Jeff Somers is the 5th Avery Cates book and if you have been enjoying the series so far you certainly won’t be disappointed. If you haven’t been reading the series yet — I understand, there are some readers out there that can’t stand being tortured by open-ended series and will only read series as a set — now is the time to get started!

After the jump, I’ll give you a bit of a teaser and all the covers in the series… (more…)

A Must-Read Short Story by Jesse Bullington

Jesse Bullington, well regarded for his debut novel The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart (and who soon will become even more highly regarded when his next novel, THE ENTERPRISE OF DEATH, goes on sale March 25), has quite a remarkable short story up at Beneath Ceaseless Skies entitled “The Adventures of Ernst, Who Began a Man, Became a Cyclops, and Finished a Hero.”

If you’re already familiar with Jesse’s work, you’ll already have some idea as to what to expect.

If you aren’t yet familiar, this is the perfect introduction.

(And visit his website, if you want to know more.)

LA Fans: Have Tea with Gail Carriger April 10

Fans in the greater Los Angeles area (that is to say, a good part of SoCal) will be pleased to know that Gail and Donna Ricci, familiar to all as the model for Alexia Tarabotti on the covers of SOULLESS, CHANGELESS, and BLAMELESS, will be hosting a tea in Pasadena on Sunday, April 10, 2011. Full details will be provided to ticket holders; tickets are limited.

Gail will be happy to answer questions and sign books at the event. She highly recommends that hats be worn. Stylish, silly — so long as they’re memorable.

Ingredients for a Fantasy Battle

As a writer you take your inspiration wherever you can find it – from everything you read, watch, play, experience and particularly like or don’t – and I’ve always found myself as much influenced by film, TV, and computer games as I am by books. In writing The Heroes, then, the fantasy war-story of a single great battle told from various points of view on both sides – and which I’ve occasionally pitched as Lord of the Rings meets A Bridge Too Far – war films, and scenes of battle of all kinds, from the fantastic to the brutally realist, were just as much on my mind as books on the subject. Here are some of my filmic touchstones for summoning up a realistic fantasy battle…
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Joe Abercrombie in Time Magazine

Joe Abercrombie’s latest, THE HEROES, appears on Time Magazine′s “Short List of Things to Do” this week:

Here’s what to do while you wait for George R.R. Martin’s next fantasy novel: read Joe Abercrombie’s. It’s a magnificent, richly entertaining account of a single three-day battle — complete with balletic Kurosawan violence — that leaves behind no heroes, only survivors.

As a huge Kurosawa enthusiast, and the kind of guy who fast-forwards to the battle scenes in movies, let me second that. If battles are your thing, this book is for you— it’s pretty much ALL battle.

You can get a bit of background on the book with these video interviews with Joe: Part one, Part two, and Part three.

So… ready to take the field? If for some reason you are still having  doubts, let us reassure you — the Union needs you, and there’s plenty of room for new recruits. Dive into the battle here with this excerpt — just try to keep your head down.