Archive for Orbit US

Red-Headed Stepchild

It’s got vampires, it’s got mages, it’s got assassins . . . and it’s got feisty vamp-mage-assassins! That’s right, it’s Red-Headed Stepchild (UK/US), Jaye Wells’ fantastic debut, and it’s out this week. Here are some of the great reviews it’s been getting:

Kat Richardson calls it ‘Brassy, sassy and hip’.

Karen Chance thinks it’s ‘Fast-paced and funny . . . very enjoyable!’

And SciFi Chick says ‘Red-Headed Stepchild is action-packed suspense at its best. And urban fantasy doesn’t get much better than this. Steeped in mystery, intrigue, and magic, this debut is one of the best I’ve read in months. Jaye Wells is a promising new talent.’

Here’s what’s in store for you lucky readers: (more…)

In Their Own Words: Jaye Wells on RED-HEADED STEPCHILD

Jaye says:

Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye WellsI’ve always had a soft spot for outcasts and rebels. It’s no surprise then that I created a world populated by dark races, who have been literally forced to live in the shadows, hidden from the human race. And in this world, lives an outcast among outcasts. Her name in Sabina Kane, and her story is about what happens when the red-headed stepchild grows up and realizes she’s been betrayed by those who should have protected her.

All of that sounds very deep and dark, but Red-Headed Stepchild is also about how Sabina finds her own tribe of misfits in unlikely places. A mischief demon with a predilection for infomercial shopping. An idealistic nymph who used to work in faery porn. A roguish mage who introduces Sabina to the world of magic. Each helps Sabina navigate a world filled with blood-thirsty wine makers, charismatic cult leaders and hookah-smoking vampires. So really, when you think about it, there’s something in Red-Headed Stepchild for the whole family to enjoy.

Red-Headed Stephchild is out this month! [US|UK|AZ]

Iain M Banks and Charles Stross shortlisted for 2009 Prometheus Award

We’re delighted by the news that both Matter by Iain M Banks and Saturn’s Children by Charles Stross have both been shortlisted for the 2009 Prometheus Award.

This award is given by the Libertarian Futurist Society in recognition of the best pro-freedom novel published during the previous year. The award will be presented during Anticipation, the 67th World Science Fiction Convention, which takes place from August 6-10, 2009, in Montréal, Quebec, Canada.

Best of luck to both!

Deals and Deliveries: THE POISON THRONE by Celine Kiernan

Ever since I read The Poison Throne I’ve been wanting to share my great enthusiasm for this book, so I’m delighted to pass on news of our deal for the Moorehawke trilogy. Betrayal, torture, murder, an emerging rebellion and a beautifully pitched emerging romance all make for a robust, absolutely compulsive and beautifully written fantasy adventure. Without doubt, this is an Absolutely Compelling Read and I finished it in almost one sitting. So I was pretty hungry when I’d finished, I don’t mind telling you.

And to the plot … we follow young Wynter Moorehawke as she returns to Court with her dying father, finding her old home shadowed with fear and riddled with dangerous secrets. King Jonathan has become a violent despot, terrorising those he once loved, and his son Alberon has fled into exile to plan a royal coup. Meanwhile, Wynter’s half-brother Razi has been elevated to heir, and struggles to meet King Jonathan’s increasingly untenable commands while retaining his sanity. And at the heart of matters lies a war machine so lethal that no one dares speak of it. The kingdom would belong to the machine’s master, yet the consequences of using it are too appalling to consider.

The talented Celine Kiernan trained as an animator and has spent most of her career in the film business. She’s also a freelance illustrator – and writer of course! We’ll be launching this series internationally in the States and Australia as well as in the UK and we’ll be going out in mass market paperback with book one being scheduled for April 2010. Can’t wait!

Iain M Banks and Ken MacLeod talk Sci-Fi @ BBC

Two of Orbit’s legends of science fiction, Iain M Banks and Ken MacLeod have taken part in a round-robin discussion entitled How sci-fi moves with the times over on the BBC website.

Ken discusses the role that scientific theory plays within science fiction literature:

“Science fiction is the only form of literature that sets out to bring home to our imaginations the surprising universe that science has discovered. How well it does that job depends on its scientific accuracy – up to a point.”

And Iain talks about the degree of scientific reality that he tends to incorporate into his own science fiction writing:

“…in my science fiction, I merrily break as many laws as I can get my hands on. Especially faster than light travel – I have my starships going at unfeasibly high speeds. Sometimes I pay no attention whatsoever to what’s possible and realistic. It really depends on the novel.”

(Iain also lets slip some tantalising hints about his next novel, Transition…)

The piece also includes contributions from fellow UK SF stalwarts Paul Cornell and Ian Watson. Definitely worth a read-through.

Cover Launch: Mr. Shivers

Welcome to another week and another new cover! Sorry this post was delayed a bit by the Creative Director being a bit under the weather with a nasty cold. Anyway, on to…Mr. Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett.

There was already buzz about this book back when I started in November, and the cover design was already underway by Ms. Ploy Siripant, one of the fabulous designers upstairs at Little Brown (who, if you’ll recall, were handling the Orbit designs before I was brought in to be all-Orbit-all-the-time). I just finished reading it while in bed with the above-mentioned cold, and the cover is even better once you’ve read the book. It’s set in the Midwest during the Great Depression — an incredibly bleak landscape where hobos travel the rails and dust-storms cover the land. I think this cover perfectly evokes the feeling of the book, and the period, without looking too historical. Trust me, the screen doesn’t do the texture any justice. You’ll just have to wait to see it in print. (more…)