Archive for Orbit US

Cover Launch: A SH*TLOAD OF CRAZY POWERS by Jackson Ford

TEAGAN FROST IS BACK!

And so is Annie, and Reggie, and Tanner, and the Batmobile, and burgers, and fried chicken, and explosions, and swear words . . .

Yes that’s right! This is the latest instalment in Jackson Ford‘s insanely awesome Frost Files series, A SH*TLOAD OF CRAZY POWERS (May 2022) . And we sh*t you not, this is Teagan’s awesomest adventure yet.

The spectacular cover was designed by Sophie Harris, and you can read on to find out what’s in store for Teagan and the China Shop crew.

Teagan Frost has enough sh*t to deal with, between her job as a telekinetic government operative and a certain pair of siblings who have returned from the dead to wreak havoc with their powers. But little does she know, things are about to get even more crazy . . .

Teagan might have survived the flash flood of the century, but now she’s trapped in a hotel by a bunch of gun-toting maniacs. And to make matters worse, her powers have mysteriously disappeared. Faced with certain death at every turn, Teagan will need to use every resource she has to stop a plot that could destroy Los Angeles – maybe even the entire world.

A SH*TLOAD OF CRAZY POWERS publishes in May 2022. If you haven’t had the impeccable honour of meeting Teagan Frost yet, then you can remedy that right now. Find links to the first three books below and you can follow Jackson Ford on Twitter here.

Buy THE GIRL WHO COULD MOVE SH*T WITH HER MIND (UK |US | ANZ)

Buy RANDOM SH*T FLYING THROUGH THE AIR (UK |US | ANZ)

Buy EYE OF THE SH*T STORM (UK |US | ANZ)

    

Praise for the Frost Files series:

‘Proceeds at breakneck speed through almost 500 pages of madcap adventure’ Guardian

‘Fast-paced and a lot of fun to read . . . a modern action movie that just happens to be in book form’ The Fantasy Inn

‘A drunken back-alley brawler of a book’ Robert Brockway, author of The Unnoticeables

‘Ford’s breakneck pace keeps the tension high, and the thrills coming the whole way through’ BookPage

‘A fast-paced, high-adrenaline tale’ Kirkus

Cover launch: The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings

Today, we’re so excited to reveal the cover of THE BALLAD OF PERILOUS GRAVES, a spectacular new debut fantasy by author Alex Jennings!

This imaginative novel is a love letter to New Orleans. It is a story of perseverance and survival, of love and joy after the darkest storms, highlighting African American music, folk magic, and history. We hope you’re ready to fall in love with New Orleans as you’ve never seen it before!

While you must wait until June 2022 for THE BALLAD OF PERILOUS GRAVES to land in bookstores, here is the stunning cover, designed by Lisa Marie Pompilio, to whet your appetite. You can preorder the book now, and don’t forget to say hi to author Alex Jennings on Twitter!

 

Cover design by Lisa Marie Pompilio

 

Nola is a city full of wonders. A place of sky trolleys and dead cabs, where haints dance the night away and Wise Women keep the order, and where songs walk, talk and keep the spirit of the city alive. To those from Away, Nola might seem strange. To failed magician, Perilous Graves, it’s simply home. Then the rhythm stutters. 

 Nine songs of power have escaped from the magical piano that maintains the city’s beat, and without them, Nola will fail. Unexpectedly, Perry and his sister, Brendy, are tasked with saving the city. But a storm is brewing, and the Haint of All Haints is awake. Even if they capture the songs, Nola’s time might be coming to an end.

 

Alex Jennings is a teacher, author, and performer living in New Orleans. His debut collection, Here I Come and Other Stories published in 2012, and his writing has appeared in Strange Horizon, Obsidian Lit, and in numerous anthologies. He also serves as MC and co-producer of Dogfish, a monthly literary readings series.

Cover launch: FOR THE THRONE by Hannah Whitten

In case you missed it, readers were at the edge of their keyboards for Hannah Whitten’s cover reveal for FOR THE THRONE this past Wednesday on Twitter. FOR THE THRONE is the sequel to Hannah’s instant New York Times-bestselling debut For the Wolf. And, with the help of over 500 readers, we all got to witness the glory of her new cover! With design by Lisa Marie Pompilio, this cover is full of amazing details that hint at the story to come: twisting vines, a royal crown, and a deep sense of looming danger. We are so excited for you to read the book when it finally comes out in Summer 2022! In the meantime, you can pre-order your copy now: US | UK. And, if you haven’t had a chance to check out For the Wolf, order a copy here: US | UK!

Design by Lisa Marie Pompilio

 

The First Daughter is for the Throne
The Second Daughter is for the Wolf…

Red and the Wolf have finally contained the threat of the Old Kings but at a steep cost. Red’s beloved sister Neve, the First Daughter, is lost in the Shadowlands, an inverted kingdom where the vicious gods of legend have been trapped for centuries and the Old Kings have slowly been gaining control. But Neve has an ally–though it’s one she’d rather never have to speak to again–the rogue king Solmir. 

Solmir wants to bring an end to the Shadowlands and he believes helping Neve may be the key to its destruction. But to do that, they will both have to journey across a dangerous landscape in order to find a mysterious Heart Tree, and finally claim the gods’ dark, twisted powers for themselves.

Cover Launch: THE CITY OF DUSK by Tara Sim

Life, Death, Light, and Darkness—all converge on the city of dusk…

We are so excited to share with you the stunning cover for The City of Dusk, Tara Sim’s adult fantasy debut—or, as the author puts it (quite perfectly), “the queer goth metal fantasy of her dreams.”

Set in a lush and intricate world of bone and shadow magic, of vengeful gods and defiant chosen ones, we knew this epic story needed an equally epic design. Orbit associate art director Lisa Marie Pompillio and illustrator Ben Zweifel certainly delivered! But don’t take our word for it. Take Tara’s, who says: “The first time I saw this cover, I gasped. From the foreshadowing design elements to the incredible depiction of Nexus, I couldn’t ask for a more perfect way to capture the book’s atmosphere.”

Feast your eyes on the gorgeous cover below, and prepare to enter the city of dusk next March by preordering the book here, and by following Tara Sim on twitter, @EachStarAWorld!

Design by Lisa Marie Pompilio

City illustration by Ben Zweifel

For every realm, there is a god.

For every god, there is an heir.

For every heir, there is a price.

Nexus was once a thriving and vibrant city. But 500 years ago, the gods withdrew their favor, sealing the four realms away from each other. And now, all the realms are dying.

Unwilling to stand by and watch the destruction, the four heirs to the divine power—Angelica, an elementalist with her eyes set on the throne; Risha, a necromancer fighting to keep the peace; Nik, a soldier who struggles to see the light; and Taesia, a shadow-wielding rogue with a reckless heart—will sacrifice everything to save the city.

But their rebellion will cost them dearly.

Cover launch: TERMINAL WORLD by Alastair Reynolds

One of Alastair Reynolds’ most imaginative visions of the future is getting a fresh new look to match his other brilliant space operas. Terminal World is an adventure like no other—set in humanity’s only surviving city, an ex-spy gets sucked into a dangerous quest that will take him beyond the city walls when a mysterious winged man turns up dead in his morgue. Check out Terminal World available on December 21st! 

Cover design by Lauren Panepinto

Spearpoint, the last human city, is an enormous atmosphere-piercing spire. Clinging to its skin are the zones, a series of semi-autonomous city-states, each of which enjoys a different—and rigidly enforced—level of technology. 

 

Following an infiltration mission that went tragically wrong, Quillon has been living incognito, working as a pathologist in the district morgue. But when a near-dead angel drops onto his dissecting table, Quillon’s world is wrenched apart one more time, for the angel is a winged posthuman from Spearpoint’s Celestial Levels—and with the dying body comes bad news.

 

If Quillon is to save his life, he must leave his home and journey into the cold and hostile lands beyond Spearpoint’s base, starting an exile that will take him further than he could ever imagine. But there is far more at stake than just Quillon’s survival, for the limiting technologies of the zones are determined not by governments or police, but by the very nature of reality—and reality itself is showing worrying signs of instability . . .

 

Check out Alastair Reynolds’ Inhibitor Trilogy!

Cover launch: THE BOOK OF GOTHEL by Mary McMyne

What does every beautiful, gothic fairytale reimagining need? An equally beautiful, fairytale inspired cover! Feast your eyes on the cover of The Book of Gothel. Designed by Lisa Marie Pompillio, it perfectly evokes the witchcraft and magic, crumbling towers, dark woods and otherworldly secrets of this gorgeous debut novel that spins the familiar story of Rapunzel on its head by centering its villain. Get excited for The Book of Gothel to publish in Summer 2022. And in the meantime, say hello to Mary McMyne on Twitter @MaryMcMyne and at her website.

 

Haelewise has always lived under the shadow of her mother, Hedda—a woman who will do anything to keep her daughter protected. For with her strange black eyes and even stranger fainting spells, Haelewise is shunned by her village, and her only solace lies in the stories her mother tells of child-stealing witches, of princes in wolf-skins, of an ancient tower cloaked in mist, where women will find shelter if they are brave enough to seek it.

But when her mother dies, Haelewise is left unmoored. With nothing left for her in her village, she sets out to find the tower of legend—a place called Gothel, where Haelewise meets a wise woman willing to take her under her wing.

But Haelewise is not the only woman to seek refuge at Gothel. It’s also a haven for a girl named Rika, who carries with her a secret the Church strives to keep hidden. A secret that just might explain why Haelewise keeps hearing her mother’s voice.

Orbit US is hiring!

Orbit US is looking for a Marketing Manager to join our New York office. This position offers a great opportunity to join a dynamic and successful team publishing a wide range of award-winning and bestselling Science Fiction and Fantasy authors.

If you love science fiction and fantasy and are excited about developing creative and exciting marketing campaigns, you can apply through the Hachette Book Group job board. This is an in-house position based in our office in New York City.

Fantasy Authors in Conversation: Anthony Ryan and John Gwynne

Authors Anthony Ryan and John Gwynne discuss their novels THE PARIAH (US | UK) and THE SHADOW OF THE GODS (US | UK) as well as historical influences on their works. And much more!

..

Anthony Ryan: Hi John. Congratulations on The Shadow of the Gods, which you know I enjoyed immensely. It’s probably best if we deal with the big important questions first, to wit: what’s the difference between a sword and a seax?

John Gwynne: Hi Anthony, great to be here chatting to you. I’m so pleased you enjoyed The Shadow of the Gods, and I love your question about a seax, but before I get to that I’ve just got to say this; Vaelin Al Sorna [the main character in Ryan’s Raven’s Shadow series] is one of my favourite characters in fantasy, like, ever. He’s iconic and I imagine he will be remembered in the Fantasy Hall of Fame alongside characters such as Druss and Logen Ninefingers.

Okay, now that I’ve got that out of my system, onto the difference between a sword and a seax.

A seax is essentially a big knife, used during the Viking era for all manner of tasks. It’s a single-edged blade, with a broken back tapering to a point. Little to no crossguard, with the blade ranging in size roughly from 6 inches up to about 14 inches in length, although there are variations either side of these dimensions. The Norse were a practical and pragmatic people and the seax was a multi-purpose tool, useful for cutting kindling, chopping vegetables, gutting and skinning a meal, and stabbing your enemy (particularly useful whilst in the shield wall, which would be cramped conditions with little room to swing a blade, much like the Roman gladius). A sword during the same period was longer, tended to be double-edged and with a more prominent crossguard.

Another difference is the way the seax and sword would be worn. A sword would be scabbarded and hung from a baldric or belt to hang roughly diagonally across the hip. A seax would have a scabbard with two or three suspension points and usually would hang from your belt horizontally across your front, roughly around the area of your upper thighs. This was a comfortable position for rowing.

Just to blur matters a little, there were also examples of a langseax, or long-seax during the Viking period, which is a blade with the same design as a seax (single edged, broken back, small or no crossguard) but being longer, of a roughly similar length to a sword. I’ve read various theories on why the langseax was used, and one of the ones I like the most is that the long-seax was used for ship combat, because there would be no danger from a single-edged sword in a back-swing of cutting rigging. So much of ancient history is filling in the gaps and educated guessing, so as to whether that’s true or not, I don’t know, but I like that logic.

Onto my first question to you, Anthony. I’ve recently read your latest novel due to be published later this year, The Pariah, which I loved. I felt a strong medieval and Robin Hood inspiration in its setting and style, though this is a much grittier tale, with a heavy dose of revenge thrown in. Can you tell me a little about your inspirations for The Pariah?

(more…)

Cover Launch: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO CONQUERING THE WORLD by K. J. Parker

If you’re already adept at defending walled cities and successfully ruling empires, and you’re looking for your next big challenge, we’ve got the perfect book for you. With the launch of A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO CONQUERING THE WORLD (US | UK) this November, World Fantasy Award-winning author K.J. Parker brings his acclaimed sequence of novels that began with SIXTEEN WAYS TO DEFEND A WALLED CITY (US | UK) to a refreshingly pragmatic conclusion. We’re thrilled to present the final book’s cover below.

Design by Lauren Panepinto

Praise for SIXTEEN WAYS TO DEFEND A WALLED CITY (US | UK) and HOW TO RULE AN EMPIRE AND GET AWAY WITH IT (US | UK)

“Readers are ensured a good time and a barrel of laughs to boot.” –Publishers Weekly

“Parker’s latest epic fantasy proves that all the world is, indeed, a stage, and Parker himself is a master impresario.” — Library Journal

“Full of invention and ingenuity . . . Great fun.” — SFX

“As with most of Parker’s work, there is a melancholy undercurrent that gives the humor weight. As heroes go, Orhan is a reluctant and flawed one . . . . [but] when Orhan works the problem, we can’t help but watch.” —Locus

“Launches a witty adventure series . . . Readers will appreciate the infusion of humor and fun-loving characters into this vivid and sometimes grim fantasy world.” –Publishers Weekly

Cover Launch: THE LAST WISH – ILLUSTRATED EDITION by Andrzej Sapkowski

Fantastic news for  the Witcher fans out there! This December, you’ll get to experience The Last Wish—the story collection that started it all—in a new form: a deluxe hardcover edition featuring seven stunning illustrations by seven award-winning artists.

We’ll be revealing the full artist roster soon, but today, our spotlight is on the incredible cover! ICYMI when it was revealed by Netflix during WitcherCon, here’s our favorite monster hunter as imagined by artist Tommy Arnold:

Cover art by Tommy Arnold, @tommyarnoldart. Design and art direction by Lauren Panepinto.

We asked Tommy why he chose this portrayal of Geralt for the cover, and here’s what he had to say: “Geralt is, in some ways, defined by his separation from humanity. There’s a loneliness to him. But like all consummate professionals, he’s most at home in his work. The peace he finds from existential questions in simply fighting monsters, the calm at the center of the storm—that’s what we were after here.”

This special edition is being designed by Orbit’s fabulous creative director, Lauren Panepinto, who adds, “One of the best things about working on The Witcher is the wealth of great scenes and characters—both human and mythological—that beg to be depicted. It has been very enjoyable for me to design this deluxe edition of The Last Wish around so many great artists who are also fans. There is a different artist for each of the seven stories (and maybe a bonus here and there), and each has a unique take on the characters within. The overall red and black palette will unify these diverse illustrations into a design-forward take on Sapkowski’s world. It’s been a joy to work with such a great team on such a fun project. Witcher fans are going to love seeing so many fresh views of these stories.”

The book is available for pre-order in the US and UK, so go ahead and toss a coin to your favorite bookstore!