Today at io9.com, Orbit Creative Director Lauren Panepinto provides a fine introduction and overview of what makes an unforgettable cover unforgettable, be it for a work of epic fantasy, space opera, urban fantasy or steampunk/cyberpunk.
There are two simple rules for creating an image that won’t be easily forgotten. So if you want to know what they are — head on over and see if you agree, or disagree.
io9.com has posted their list of the forthcoming Autumn 2010 SF/F titles readers won’t want to miss, and it goes without saying (though we’ll say it) that there are Orbit titles on the list — Gail Carriger’s Blameless, Iain M. Banks’s Surface Detail, N.K. Jemisin’s The Broken Kingdoms, and Greg Bear’s Hull Zero Three.
We agree with io9 — read them all!
The epic conclusion to Kate Elliott’s Crossroads trilogy (UK|ANZ) is out this month in the UK, in mass market paperback. And it’s out soon in Oct for Australia/New Zealand. To celebrate Kate’s huge achievement — and it must be in the region of 600k carefully chosen words! — there’s a free extract HERE. The author’s prose has been described as “oozing with texture, taste and even aroma” so I’m also giving a taste of the plot to whet the appetite below:
GUARDIANS HAVE RETURNED TO THE HUNDRED TO SPREAD CHAOS AND DESTRUCTION UNDER THE BANNER OF A TWISTED STAR.
Reeve Joss is struggling to defend a country ravaged by the assaults of twin armies. His men now patrol a land of burning villages and homeless refugees as Joss tries to separate traitor from friend. The Reeve’s thoughts are also plagued by the intriguing Zubaidit, pleasure-giver, spy and temple-trained assassin. But Zubaidit is focused on a dangerous mission, her target being warped Guardian Lord Radas. His death would leave the invading militia in chaos, but the old tales tell truly of the Guardians’ immortality – and of the powers they now wield to twist the hearts of men. Joss’s nights are also troubled, disturbed by dreams of Marit. His lost love has returned from death to become a feared Guardian herself, but Marit rejected the corrupt temptations they offered. She now seeks others of her kind, praying some are yet uncontaminated by the blight on the land — and have the will to fight it.”
Plus here are few quotes for the series are HERE to show just what a damn fine read is in store.
Lastly, and very excitingly indeed, get ready to grab a copy of Cold Magic (US | UK | ANZ). Publication is imminent and this is book 1 in Kate Elliott’s superb new fantasy with a touch of steampunk. More on that very soon …
Every year we ask our summer intern to do a survey of cover art elements for the top US fantasy novels published in the previous year. You can find more of our findings on the Chart of Fantasy Art, the Changing Fashion of Urban Fantasy Heroines, and Color Trends in Dragons. Today we look at book titles — both what the titles say AND how they look. (more…)
THE BLACK PRISM is out worldwide in less than a week, but we’ve got some early reviews coming in that we just had to share.
Over at Fantasy Book Critic Liviu writes:
And over at Grasping for the Wind, John Ottinger writes:
Brent Weeks will be touring the US starting on the 25th (full tour schedule here) but he’s been doing a pre-release video tour online. Today he stopped by Janicu’s Book Blog to talk about his love of Magic (the Gathering!) and how many books we can expect in The Lightbringer Series. Next week he’ll be at thebooksmugglers.com – so stay tuned!
Glenda Larke, author of the superlative Stormlord series, answers some questions posed by Galaxy Bookshop based in Sydney. See what she has to say for herself here!
Every year we ask our summer intern to do a survey of cover art elements for the top US fantasy novels published in the previous year. You can find more of our findings on the Chart of Fantasy Art, and the Changing Fashion of Urban Fantasy Heroines. Today: Dragons. (more…)
Ms. Jaye Wells and Ms. Nicole Peeler are duking it out on Babel Clash !
Every year we ask our summer intern to do a survey of cover art elements for the top US fantasy novels published in the previous year. This year we looked at covers from 2009, and compared them against 2008′s findings. (more…)
Every year we ask our summer intern to do a survey of cover art elements for the top fantasy novels published in the previous year. This year, our wonderful intern Jennifer looked at covers from 2009, and compared them against 2008’s findings. Over the next few days we’ll be releasing a number of charts that show what she found. After the jump, some initial observations on the data. And join us in the comments to talk about the trends.
(more…)
