Archive for Orbit US

On The Edge – a look at ICE FORGED

Gail Z. Martin’s Days of the Dead tour kicks off today! For exclusive excerpts from her upcoming novel, ICE FORGED (UK | US | AUS) and other literary goodies, keep an eye on www.ascendantkingdoms.com and her partner sites for the next week. Visit her website for further details or head on over to Goodreads and participate in a week-long Q & A with the author! 

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Ice Forged, which debuts in January, is my seventh epic fantasy novel, and it’s definitely the darkest and edgiest so far.
My main character Blaine McFadden is exiled to a prison colony at the northernmost edge of his world, a place where the weather itself is a remorseless enemy.  Ice, snow, bitter cold and darkness pose as deadly a threat as the wild magic, assassins, and sadistic prison guards.  Extreme conditions tend to show what someone is really made of, because life or death hinge on luck and choices.

I suspect that Ice Forged feels edgier than some of my other books for a variety of reasons.  To some extent, that edginess is probably a product of our times, which have been tumultuous—to say the least.  I imagine it also reflects the changes I’ve experienced in the almost 10 years since I wrote my first novel—perhaps some of that “youthful enthusiasm” has worn thin on the edges.  Mostly, I feel that I’m bringing a different perspective to these books, one that’s a little grittier than before.  It’s a fitting feel for the book, which hinges on a few questions my characters have to answer—and ones that I hope my readers will also try on for size:

Who would you be, if everything you were and everything you had was stripped from you?

When there’s nothing left to lose, what would you do to survive?

How much would you give for a chance to put things right?

Blaine McFadden gets to find out.

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New Short Fiction: THE PERIMETER by Will McIntosh

In 2010, Will McIntosh astonished us with his Hugo Award-winning short story, “Bridesicle,” so we signed him up to write a couple novels for Orbit. But we never lost sight of the fact that McIntosh is a consummate short story writer, and we are thrilled to publish his new one on our Orbit Short Fiction program.

The Perimeter” is set in a human colony on a distant planet; beyond the colony’s borders, strange fauna with sinister agendas lurk. All this creepy tale needs is Rod Serling standing in the foreground, saying “Picture if you will …”

Buy it today at your favorite online retailer!

Orbit US Spring/Summer 2013: EARLY LOOK

Hey everybody! It’s the time of year again when we can release  a sneak peak of what we’ve been doing to earn our keep in the Art Department! Here are the finalized covers from Orbit US’s Spring/Summer 2013 so far.  We’re still finishing up a few more — including Mur Lafferty’s The Shambling Guide to New York City, Daniel Abraham’s Tyrant’s Law, and Fortune’s Pawn by Rachel Bach — so look for those in the weeks to come.  In the month’s ahead we’ll also have detailed posts about the design process behind many of these covers, with interviews with the artists, details about the photo shoots, videos, and more.

We’ve uploaded these new covers to our US Pinterest page , so dive in there to admire the full size images. And keep an eye out for more fun stuff on the Pinterest page in the months to come!

Enjoy!

 

THE HYDROGEN SONATA by Iain M. Banks is a Sunday Times Bestseller!

Iain M. Banks’s brilliant new Culture novel THE HYDROGEN SONATA (UK | US | ANZ), just published last week, is delighting fans and critics alike and will hit #4 on the Sunday Times bestseller chart this weekend. Everyone at Orbit would like to offer our congratulations to Iain for this wonderful achievement, which continues the stellar success of the Culture novels.

THE HYDROGEN SONATA has already received some high praise:

“Banks has created one of the most enduring and endearing visions of the future . . . The Hydrogen Sonata confirms his pre-eminence in the field” – GUARDIAN

“Fantastically good fun that throws in some big ideas about life, the universe and everything” – SCIFI NOW

“Banks’s charming prose and the scale of his imagination continue to delight Culture vultures” – SFX

“The action tumbles along at a dizzying pace, bouncing among a fascinating array of characters and locales. It’s easy to see why Banks’s fertile, cheerfully nihilistic imagination and vivid prose have made the Culture space operas bestsellers and award favorites” – PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY (starred review)

Iain has had a busy couple of weeks, taking part in a Google Hangout with fellow SF authors Peter F. Hamilton and Alistair Reynolds, before embarking on a UK signing tour that took in several cities and included an appearance at Manchester Literary Festival. Many thanks to everyone who attended!

Iain at his Waterstones Piccadilly signing

Iain with Paul and Marc from UK genre website Fantasy Faction

Orbit @ New York Comic Con

Orbit is going to New York Comic Con! We’ll be in the Hachette booth, #1027, with giveaways, raffles, and several author events, so be sure to stop by if you’re in town. Here’s the schedule of events:

 Friday, October 12

1 PM: Kate Locke signing GOD SAVE THE QUEEN @ booth 1027
4 PM: Nicole Peeler signing TEMPEST’S FURY and TEMPEST RISING @ booth 1027
4 PM: Senior editor Devi Pillai will be on the panel “Publisher’s Paradise: Adult Publisher Spotlight” in Rm. 1A06

Saturday, October 13

12:15 PM: Nicole Peeler will be on the panel “Myth Mixology: How Urban Fantasists Create the Perfect Cocktail” in Rm. 1A08
1:30 PM: Creative director Lauren Panepinto will be on the panel “Ladies Who Steam: The Publishing Industry on Women in Steampunk” in Rm. 1A01

Sunday, October 14

11 AM: Michael J. Sullivan will be signing THEFT OF SWORDS @ booth 1027
4 PM: Michael J. Sullivan will be on the panel “The Brave New World of E-Book Publishing” in Rm. 1A07

We’ll also be running raffles every day of the convention, with prizes including books by Gail Carriger, Joe Abercrombie, Iain M. Banks, and Rachel Aaron. See you there!

Introducing THE HYDROGEN SONATA by Iain M. Banks

This doesn’t seem possible to me, but Iain M. Banks’ first Culture novel, CONSIDER PHLEBAS (UK | US | AUS), was published 25 years ago – making this year, according to our calculations, the 25th anniversary of the Culture. For anyone who has experienced the ridiculous awesomeness of the Culture novels, this is of course a rather special occasion demanding a hearty cheer at the very least – and a large statue at most. Or something in between, such as these cupcakes we made to celebrate in our own way.

But what better way to celebrate than with a brand new Culture novel? None! Conveniently released this month around the world, THE HYDROGEN SONATA (UK | US | AUS)  is a science fiction-shaped marvel that is already grabbing the attention of reviewers. Look at these for starters:

“This rich, sweeping panorama of heroism and folly celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Culture, Banks’s far-future semi-utopian society…. The action tumbles along at a dizzying pace, bouncing among a fascinating array of characters and locales. It’s easy to see why Banks’s fertile, cheerfully nihilistic imagination and vivid prose have made the Culture space operas bestsellers and award favorites.” — Publishers Weekly

“Banks’ Culture yarns … brim with wit and wisdom, providing incomparable entertainment, with fascinating and highly original characters, challenging ideas and extrapolations, and dazzling action seamlessly embedded in a satirical-comedy matrix.” — Kirkus Reviews

“One of Banks’ best Culture novels to date.” — Booklist

“A supremely enjoyable read … Banks’ charming prose and the scale of his imagination continue to delight Culture vultures” – SFX

“It’s fantastically good fun” — SciFi Now

To help celebrate the release of THE HYDROGEN SONATA and the 25th anniversary of the Culture, you have three basic options:

  1. Say, “Hip, hip, hurrah for the Culture!”
  2. Read the first chapter of THE HYDROGEN SONATA here.
  3. Try to make Culture cupcakes better than ours.

Choose wisely.

 

The Orbit UK team celebrates 25 years of the Culture series with Iain M. Banks!

Photos From Brent Weeks’s UK Tour!

After two weeks spent travelling around the US on his 15-date book-signing tour, Brent Weeks hopped across the pond to meet his UK fans and sign copies of his New York Times bestselling novel THE BLINDING KNIFE [UK | US | ANZ].

Brent’s UK tour took in nine cities in eight days and involved hundreds of fans who enjoyed a brilliant reading (with a shocking twist for which his editor still hasn’t forgiven him!) before chatting with Brent and getting their books signed. Brent also spent a full day at Fantasycon in Brighton, where he was a Guest of Honour and took part in a variety of panels.

We thought the tour was a huge success – thanks to everyone who attended! – and Brent clearly thought so too:

Here are some photos from Brent’s week in the UK.

We thought we ought to help Brent acclimatise to the UK, so before his tour began we invited him and his wife Kristi along to Orbit HQ in London where we drank tea while discussing the weather.

Brent’s first call of duty was a signing at Forbidden Planet’s flagship store in London, where a huge crowd turned up to meet him. (more…)

Google Hangout Video – Featuring Iain M. Banks, Peter F. Hamilton and Alistair Reynolds

Last night Google’s UK headquarters in London bore witness to a very special event: a discussion between the UK’s three biggest SF writers, Iain M. Banks, Peter F. Hamilton and Alistair Reynolds. Eight lucky fans from across the world – who were all lucky enough to win a competition to join the conversation – sat in on the debate and supplied questions.

The hour-long discussion covered a wide range of subjects, such as worldbuilding versus characterisation, approaches to writing and the future of science fiction in an increasingly digital age. The entire hour-long session was watched live by hundreds of fans and was also filmed. Many thanks to the Google crew for their hospitality and for making the event possible!

Iain M. Banks is on tour in the UK next week, signing copies of his brilliant new Culture novel THE HYDROGEN SONATA [UK | US | ANZ] – the events are as follows:

Weds 3rd October – Waterstones Piccadilly, London, 7pm
Thurs 4th – Toppings & co., Bath, 8pm
Fri 5th – Waterstones, Yeovil, 1pm
Fri 5th – Waterstones Galleries, Bristol, 7.30pm
Weds 10th – Waterstones West End, Edinburgh, 6pm
Thurs 11th – Manchester Literature Festival, 7pm
Fri 12th – Formby Books, Liverpool, 7pm