Archive for Orbit US

Cover launch: ANGEL OF STORMS by Trudi Canavan

Last month we released the paperback edition THIEF’S MAGIC, from the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author Trudi Canavan. It’s book one in a brand new fantasy series called Millennium’s Rule – and judging from the fantastic reader reviews, it’s going down very well indeed!

We can now unveil the cover for the second book in the Millennium’s Rule series – ANGEL OF STORMS – out this November. We think this is looking stunning – if we do say so ourselves! – and we feel it really captures the sense of adventure and mystery that makes this series so thrilling.

The illustration shows the character Rielle, who is going to be swept away on a breath-taking journey in this book – by the Angel of Storms himself. Meanwhile Tyen, who has become a teacher of mechanical magic, will learn that the formidable ruler of all worlds, long believed to be dead, is back and enforcing his old laws . . .

Whether you’re an existing fan of Trudi Canavan or just a fan of fantasy in general, this series needs to be moved to the top of your to be read pile ASAP! #justsayin

The cover for Angel of Storms by Trudi Canavan, book two of Millennium's rule and sequel to THIEF'S MAGIC

 

Now available for pre-order

SIX WAKES: Thriller in Space — WITH CLONES!

Fans of Mur Lafferty! Fans of Firefly, Sunshine, Leviathan Wakes! Fans of awesome sf with a cool hook! Come hither!  (Or was that yon? Or hither and yon? Its hard to tell on the intrawebs…)

When we first got the proposal for Mur’s new novel, SIX WAKES, the whole team fell in love with the hook: The whole crew is murdered — but when their clones wake up, they know that one of them is the killer. How cool is that? I will answer that question for you — SO COOL!

It was not common to awaken in a cloning vat streaked with drying blood.
 
 At least, Marie Shea iv had never experienced it. She had no memory of how she died. That was also new; before, when she had awakened as a new clone, her first memory was of how she died: from illness once and from injury once…
 
Maria’s vat was in the front of six vats, each one holding the clone of a crew member of the starship Pituitary, each clone waiting for its previous incarnation to die so it could awaken. Apparently Maria wasn’t the only one to die recently…

Mur Lafferty Photo 2 - JR BlackwellMur Lafferty should be a familiar name to most. She is a writer, podcast producer, gamer, geek, and martial artist. She is the host of the award winning podcast I Should Be Writing, and the host of the Angry Robot Books Podcast. She is the winner of the 2013 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. And she is also a writer who has a million awesome ideas ready to leap out of her brain.  We are excited that this is her next big project with Orbit and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

We’ll be publishing in trade paperback next Fall.

Harry August wins John W. Campbell Memorial Award!

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
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Many congratulations to Claire North, whose THE FIRST FIFTEEN LIVES OF HARRY AUGUST (UK | US | ANZ) has won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year.

The Award was presented at the Campbell Conference Awards Banquet and Conference, held at the University of Kansas and which focusses on the writing, publishing, illustration and criticism of science fiction.

Claire flew over from for the ceremony and – despite having had some issues getting the trophy through airport security – she is delighted and honoured to have received this prestigious award.

Congratulations to Claire, and to all the other nominees!

Cover Launch: THE IMMORTALS by Jordanna Max Brodsky

THE IMMORTALS by Jordanna Max Brodsky, the first volume of a new contemporary fantasy series, will be hitting shelves February 2016.

When I was first approached to work on this project, I was told there were three key ingredients I needed to keep in mind for this contemporary fantasy cover:

  1. History of New York to appeal to folks who love to find out about the city’s secret history
  2. Greek Gods to appeal to adults who read Greek mythology & legends growing up
  3. Bring New York and Greek Mythology together in a dark and eerie package

These kinds of projects are always a challenge because I need to convey specific information in a very specific way. In this case I need to show:

Greek Gods + New York City = Fantastical and Menacing

I didn’t want the cover to be campy and so the search began looking for the perfect image that would set the stage for the gods and the supernatural. I looked for a long time across a lot of stock sites and finally found the perfect image. The shot of Central Park and the graininess of the image perfectly set the tone.

With a little glowy magic here and a constellation there to introduce the Greek mythology, all the elements came together really nicely.

So with everything said and done, I am thrilled to present the cover to the The Immortals by Jordanna Max Brodsky.

Brodsky_TheImmortals_HC.jpg

LILITH SAINTCROW GOES DARK!

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I have, over the course of the past few years, published approximately twenty books with Lilith Saintcrow.  Which is amazing when you think of the range of titles she’s done, from her very first book with me, WORKING FOR THE DEVIL, about a necromancer who makes a deal with the devil, to THE HEDGEWITCH QUEEN a high fantasy about a lady-in-waiting who grows to become a queen. Her novels have been imaginative, fun, thrilling and most of all, an absolute pleasure to read— and edit.

So I’m excited to announce that this year, Lili is embarking on a new series starting with TRAILER PARK FAE (out this month)—and she is also doing a standalone.  Both are available for pre-order, but I wanted to tell you a bit about the standalone because it is a departure  for Lili — which I always love!  I’m happy to give you all the information your heart could desire about this fantastic novel, BLOOD CALL.

BLOOD CALL is, at its core, a supernatural thriller. It has all the perfect elements, a woman on the run, a hired killer, & a mysterious agency that is hunting for both.

A bit about the novel:
Anna Caldwell has spent the last few days in a blur. She’s seen her brother’s dead body, witnessed the shooting of innocent civilians, and been shot at herself. Now she has nowhere to turn — and only one person she can possibly call.

Since Anna dumped him, it seems waiting is all Josiah Wolfe has done. Now, she’s calling, and she needs his help — or rather, the “talents” she once ran away from. As a liquidation agent, Josiah knows everything about getting out of tough situations. He’ll get whatever she’s carrying to the proper authorities, then settle down to making sure she doesn’t leave him again.

But the story Anna’s stumbled into is far bigger than even Josiah suspects. Anna wants to survive, Josiah wants Anna back, and the powerful people chasing her want the only thing worth killing for — immortality. An ancient evil has been trapped, a woman is in danger, and the world is going to see just how far a liquidation agent will go…

BLOOD CALL is available for pre-order in the US at Amazon |Barnes & Noble | Google | iTunes | Kobo and in the UK at Amazon | Google | iTunes | Kobo.

Cover Launch: THE UNFORTUNATE DECISIONS OF DAHLIA MOSS

We are excited to introduce you to an exciting novel from our sibling imprint Redhook, THE UNFORTUNATE DECISIONS OF DAHLIA MOSS, a novel about geeks, capers and a MMORPG or two:)

We loved it and wanted to share the cover reveal here — and we believe that Orbiteers will fall in love with Dahlia. Because this is a book for everyone who has a little bit of geek in them (who doesn’t have a little bit of geek in them??).

Print

A bit about THE UNFORTUNATE DECISIONS OF DAHLIA MOSS:

Meet Dahlia Moss, the reigning queen of unfortunate decision-making in the St. Louis area. She is unemployed, broke, and on her last bowl of ramen. But that’s all about to change.  Before Dahlia can make her life any messier on her own she’s offered a job. A job that she’s woefully under-qualified for. A job that will lead her to a murder, an MMORPG, and possibly a fella (or two?).

Dahlia-Job-Application

Praise for the novel: 

“Dahlia’s story is a zany, hilarious, laugh fest that made my inner geek girl sit up and search for a caper to solve!  Take the clumsy sweetness of Bridget Jones, combine with the intriguing geekiness of Felicity Smoak, and you have Dahlia Moss in this delightful romp!”

—Rebecca Zanetti, New York Times Bestselling author

“A hilarious read sure to delight mystery lovers and gamers alike. With unforgettable characters and a stand-out heroine, DAHLIA kept me guessing until the very end. A laugh-out-loud gem of a book.”

—N.K. Traver

Max Wirestone cr Elizabeth FrantzMax Wirestone is a librarian in a small New Hampshire town. He lives in New England with his editor-husband and his non-editor son.

Follow him on Twitter.

[Cover design by Lauren Panepinto.]

THE LAST WISH is a New York Times Bestseller!

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Congratulations, Witcher fans, THE LAST WISH (US) by Andrzej Sapkowski is now a New York Times bestseller!

If you are new to the series, now is a great time to jump in and THE LAST WISH is a perfect place to start:

Geralt of Rivia is a witcher. A cunning sorcerer. A merciless assassin.
And a cold-blooded killer.
His sole purpose: to destroy the monsters that plague the world.
But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good. . . and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth. 

Magic and war combine in this action-packed first book in the internationally bestselling Witcher series that inspired the video game.  Also, be sure to check out the rest of the Witcher novels here.

Praise for the Witcher novels:

“The character interplay is complex, unsentimental and anchored in brutal shared history. All bodes well for twisty plotting to come.”  — SFX

“Like Mieville and Gaiman, Sapkowski takes the old and makes it new.”  — Foundation (UK)

“Sapkowski revitalizes the genre with energetic and compelling writing. A breath of fresh air in a well-worn genre.  Don’t miss it!”  — Dreamwatch (UK)

 

Orbit acquires world rights in major fantasy series

Anna Jackson, Senior Editor at Orbit UK, has acquired World Rights in a three-book contemporary fantasy series by UK novelist James Bennett for a major five-figure sum. The agent is John Jarrold, and the first book, provisionally titled ASCENT OF EMBERS, will be scheduled for the second half of 2016. The sequels will follow over the next eighteen months.

This contemporary fantasy series features the last few remaining creatures from myth and legend hiding among us in human form. But the delicate balance between their world and ours is disturbed when a centuries-old rivalry resurfaces.

Acquiring editor Jackson said, ‘This highly imaginative and massively entertaining story grabbed our attention and wouldn’t let go. Fast-paced and action-packed, it explores what happens when the realms of classic myth and the real world collide. Our hero Ben Garston is one that the reader can’t help but root for, and fans of Ben Aaronovitch and Jim Butcher are sure to be enthralled. We can’t wait to unleash this story upon the world!’

James Bennett is a British writer of fantasy and horror. Born in Loughborough and raised in Sussex, South Africa and Cornwall, his travels have furnished him with a love of different cultures, history and mythology. He’s had several short stories published internationally in the independent press, his latest ‘Broken Bridges’ in Fox Spirit’s European Monsters anthology earning a feature in Starburst magazine. James Bennett currently lives in West Wales.

Feel free to join him on Twitter: @wytcheboy

He said: ‘I’m delighted that my first major series has been acquired by one of the world’s leading publishers of SF and Fantasy. I’m sure it’s the beginning of an exciting ride!’

Advance Praise for TRACER by Rob Boffard

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We’ve been getting some impressive early praise for TRACER by Rob Boffard – the blockbuster debut thriller releasing next month.

TRACER is set on Outer Earth – a huge space station floating 300 miles above the planet’s surface. It contains all that remains of humanity – a million souls crammed into this broken-down, rusting, inescapable station.

What’s more, there’s a madman hiding on the station, and he’s about to unleash havoc . . .

If you imagine The Bourne Identity meets Gravity then you’ll be some way towards imagining what a thrill-ride this book is. See below for some of the great things people have been saying so far, and for the eye-catching full UK cover.

‘Fast, exhilarating and unforgettable, and once you start it you can’t stop. I loved it’ – Sarah Lotz, author of The Three

‘TRACER sets a new standard for all-action SF’ – Ken MacLeod

‘Riley Hale battles to save the last remnants of humanity in the claustrophobic, brilliantly evoked world of a crumbling space station where danger lies around every corner. A stunning debut by Rob Boffard that never lets up, from the nerve-jangling beginning to the explosive end’ – James Douglas, author of The Doomsday Testament

‘Ludicrously fast-paced, with a brilliant sci-fi setting, TRACER is an absolute blast of a read’ David Owen, author of Panther

‘Compelling, compulsive…Thoroughly entertaining – this one’s worth picking up if you’re in the mood for some sci-fi action’ Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviews

Full cover for TRACER by Rob Boffard, and science fiction thriller set in space (Click to enlarge)