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THE ORIGIN OF (UNDEAD) SPECIES

I wonder if Charles Darwin was a zombie fan.

Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was published in 1859, and you’re probably aware of the resulting, yet-to-be-settled battle between Evolutionists and Creationists. But there’s also another great Darwinian debate, affecting not just zoologists but zombologists, too:

What actually is a species?

In science, this is known as the ‘species problem,’ and it arises when bickering biologists attempt to classify two nearly identical species of animal. Take the Baltimore Oriole, for example, that beloved black-and-orange bird of baseball mascot fame. The truth is, it’s really the Northern Oriole. Or wait — no, it isn’t. Fifty years ago it was the Northern Oriole, but after lots of nasty debate and name-calling, scientists finally decided that there’s no such thing as the Northern Oriole. They split the species into two: the Baltimore Oriole and the Bullock’s Oriole.

So, you ask, what does all this have to do with zombies?

I don’t know if you’ve ever braved a visit into an online zombie fan forum. (If not, what are you waiting for?) In those discussion boards, you might notice that while biologists haggle over birds, many zombie fans are divided over what constitutes a ‘real’ zombie. Is the zombie slow or fast? Alive or dead? Mute or able to talk your ear off, right before it bites your ear off?

Or… can a zombie can be all those things?

As a fan myself, I’ve resisted that last hypothesis for years now. Oh, how I’ve resisted. But perhaps the time has come; at last I should channel my inner Darwin and admit to zombie evolution. My favorite monster, once classified solely as Zombi Zombus, has gone the way of the Northern Oriole, split apart into separate unique species.

Presenting the new taxonomy of the living dead: (more…)

Orbit Reviewer Party 2012

Last night the Orbit UK team threw open the doors to Orbit Towers and invited in an assortment of bloggers, journalists and reviewers for a sneak preview at what we’ve got lined up for the rest of 2012.

After dazzling them with a spectacular array of books and various sweets – the 2312 cupcakes drew many admiring glances – we led them into our inner sanctum (otherwise known as the boardroom) and delivered a presentation covering a selection of the titles that we’re excited to be publishing this year. The presentation was concluded with a raffle, the winner of which took home a gorgeous slipcase hardback of THE EYE OF THE WORLD.

Afterwards, there was more time for mingling and book-chat, before everyone eventually left with bulging bags of books (some reviewers no doubt had sore shoulders this morning). The Orbit UK team would like to thank everyone who came along and contributed to what was a wonderful evening. Same time next year? Excellent.

Here are some photos we managed to snap during the action.

A swag bag with the much-admired 2312 cupcakes (more…)

Glenda Larke on Aurealis Awards Shortlist

The cover for Glenda Larke's fantasy novel Stormlord's ExileCongratulations to Glenda Larke, whose STORMLORD’S EXILE has been shortlisted for Best Fantasy Novel by the Aurealis Awards – the awards for excellence in Australian speculative fiction.

This is the third novel in Glenda’s Stormlord trilogy to make the list!

Trent Jamieson’s THE BUSINESS OF DEATH also receives an ‘honourable mention’ for Best Horror Novel, although as yet there’s no shortlist for this category.

The awards will be announced on the 12th of May . . .

Two new short stories from Orbit Short Fiction

We’re shaking things up this March by publishing TWO new pieces of short fiction for fantasy and science fiction readers alike. Whether you like swords or railguns, Orbit Short Fiction has something to suit your fancy.

STRANGE DAYS IN OLD YANDRISSA by John. R. Fultz: In an age of untamed miracles and curses, a mad vagabond may solve the mystery of a king’s dilemma. Yet in a world gone mad, the only wise man is a fool. This is a great story for readers who enjoy new voices in epic fantasy. John R. Fultz’s short fiction has appeared in Black Gate, Weird Tales, Lightspeed, and Space & Time.

A PEOPLE’S ARMY by T.C. McCarthy: In the distant future, on an ice-bound world, Choi Chung Ho is a loyal soldier in the Dear Leader’s army. Stuck in a damaged tank with the American advance quickly approaching, he must find a way to survive. Survive the Americans, the blindly patriotic members of his own crew, and, most dangerous of all, the shifting politics of the North Korean military. T.C. McCarthy  explores the nature of military and political conflict in vivid and graphic detail in a futuristic world war like no other.

If this is your first time reading the work of either author, be sure and check out their full-length novels too.

Praise for SEVEN PRINCES:

“A stand-out fantasy series from an author with an exceptional talent for characterization and world building.” — Library Journal (Starred Review)

“What Seven Princes [offers] is breakneck pacing and nonstop insanity. It’s epic with a capital EPIC.”
— io9.com, 2012

Praise for GERMLINE and EXOGENE

“Simultaneously heartbreaking and triumphant.”
— Publishers Weekly, 2012  (Starred Review)

“This exciting and thoughtful story marks McCarthy as one of sci-fi’s most promising new talents.”
— Kirkus, 2012  (Starred Review)

Wallpapers for THE LEGEND OF ELI MONPRESS by Rachel Aaron

So things have been a little hectic wrapping up the Fall 2012/Winter 2013 season here in the Orbit Art Department, but expect to see a lot more action from us in the coming weeks. To start off with a bang is wallpapers for one of my favorite covers, and one of my favorite Orbit series, THE LEGEND OF ELI MONPRESS by Rachel Aaron. Actually this book is a trade paperback omnibus collecting the first three books in the series (Spirit Thief, Spirit Rebellion, and Spirit Eater) and to celebrate, we had the amazing artist Sam Weber take a crack at personifying Eli, the most famous thief in the world. If you want to see more behind the scenes on the cover, read this post.

And if you haven’t met Eli yet, then you’re missing out — the best comparison I an give is The Princess Bride by way of The Lies of Locke Lamora. And I don’t invoke Dread Pirate Roberts lightly, mind you. Honestly, when you have the artist calling wanting the next manuscript early for the next book, that’s a winner.

Stay tuned, because we’ll be launching more books in the series — with a video visit to Sam’s studio.

Here’s all the wallpaper download links…if anyone needs a specific dimension made, let us know!

 

1024 x 768 | 1280 x 800 | 1440 x 900 | 1680 x 1050 |1920 x 1200 | iPhone | iPad

 

R. Scott Bakker on A Game of Thrones and deconstructing the epic fantasy genre

Cover for The White Luck Warrior, a man's face with a red backgroundOver the last few years, R. Scott Bakker has established himself at the forefront of the epic fantasy genre,  known not just for his tales of grand battles, dangerous intrigue and explosive sorcery, but also for his detailed worldbuilding and the philosophical undertones in his writing.

His latest novel THE WHITE-LUCK WARRIOR [UK | ANZ] is now out in mass market paperback, and is his best novel to date. Adam Whitehead, of excellent UK genre blog The Wertzone, had this to say:

“The White-Luck Warrior (*****) is a powerful, engrossing, ferociously intelligent novel that sees Bakker at the very top of his game. It leaves the reader on the edge of their seat for the concluding volume of the trilogy, The Unholy Consult, which we need yesterday.”

To celebrate the release of THE WHITE-LUCK WARRIOR, Adam conducted an interview with Scott and the result is a fascinating discussion that covers Scott’s entire career, from his original influences to the development of epic fantasy in recent years.

 Scott, I have to start by asking those most dreaded of general questions: how would you describe your books and what they are about for newcomers? Why should they read The Prince of Nothing and The Aspect-Emperor series?

I wrote The Prince of Nothing and The Aspect-Emperor for two kinds of fantasy readers: those who love believing in secondary fantasy worlds, and those who think they have ‘outgrown’ the genre. Over and above that, they’re dark, violent, cerebral and genuinely controversial. I’m beginning to think they have a real shot at becoming ‘classics.’

What was the original impetus behind writing the series? You’ve mentioned your appreciation of authors like J.R.R. Tolkien and Frank Herbert, and developing Earwa as a roleplaying setting when you were much younger. How did those influences feed into the writing of the series?

They say our neural architecture is wild and bushy throughout childhood, and then in adolescence the brain begins to prune and streamline its structure. This could be why our teenage reading stamps our sensibilities so profoundly: I’m sure when I die and the medical community dissects my brain in the name of scientific comedy they will find little Guild Navigators playing D&D with lecherous old orcs. The thing for me was never allowing university convince me I needed to turn my back on these things,  always remembering they were so popular and so appealing precisely because they were so profound.

Frodo read Nietzsche, you know. (more…)

Henry Marco can help you with that zombie problem

The situation is grim following the outbreak, and the United States has been split in two. Grieving families must not only deal the loss of their loved ones, but also the knowledge that those bodies may not be resting peacefully. Henry Macro is a man that brings peace…for a price.

It’s not easy to breathe life into undead, but in April we’re releasing a book in the US that does just that. Check out this new video for THE RETURN MAN, and take your first steps into the Evacuated States. (Just be sure to bring your shotgun!)

To find out more and connect with other zombie fans visit The Return Man on Facebook.

Praise for THE RETURN MAN

“Hands down one of the best zombie novels I’ve read in a long, long time. From first page to last, THE RETURN MAN is an astonishing read. With characters you genuinely give a damn about and a story that’ll keep you turning page after page, this is an outstanding debut.” — David Moody, author of Autumn

“Thrilling, melancholy, and stomach-churningly gory… This is a sturdy and crowd-pleasing novel that squarely hits its target.” — Publishers Weekly

“A hair-raising quest … Zito expertly piles on thrills, cliffhangers and numerous twists …”  — The Guardian (UK)

THE RETURN MAN will be available in stores April 1, 2012.

Heroes Who Inspired Me

I guess it’s not a big surprise, since I write about heroic adventures, that I get asked which fictional heroes within the sci-fi/fantasy genre inspired me.

I’ve  actually got a rather long list, but let me talk about some of my favorites.

I still remember the first time I saw Star Trek (the original series).  James T. Kirk captured my imagination.  From Jim Kirk, I learned that a good leader never asks from followers what he isn’t willing to do himself. That a leader takes risks and sacrifices for his people. That some decisions are a choice between two undesirable outcomes, and that innocent actions can have unintended consequences.

Sam Gamgee is another of my favorite heroes.  Everyone thinks of Aragorn or Frodo as the hero, but to me, Sam’s the real hero of the piece, the unremarkable person who is in over his head and carries the day because of loyalty and never-say-die determination.

Emma Peel from The Avengers is definitely high on the list, not only for her wardrobe.  There were very few women in action roles when I was a kid and even fewer who kicked butt.  Emma Peel could hold her own (and even rescue Mr. Steed on more than one occasion) long before today’s cadre of demon hunters, and she was way ahead of her time on the leather jumpsuits and high heels.  In 2009 when I was a writer Guest of Honour at FantasyCon in Nottingham, England, I had the pleasure of meeting Brian Clemens, the media Guest of Honour, who helped originate The Avengers.  It was terrific to have the chance to tell him how much the show meant to me.

Vanyel Ashkevron broke my heart.  Vanyel is the tragic hero of Mercedes Lackey’s The Last Herald Mage series, and a character who felt so real to me that I grieved when the books ended.  He enabled me to see the world very differently, and for that, I’ll always be grateful.  I stayed up until the wee hours one night at Lunacon for the chance to thank Mercedes Lackey personally.

Then there was Karl Cullinane in the Guardians of the Flame series by Joel Rosenberg.  As a high school D&D player, I loved his through-the-looking-glass universe, and could identify with the characters who struggled to live up to the heroic qualities of their role playing alter-egos when real life took an abrupt and dangerous turn.

More recently, John Sheridan from Babylon 5 and Mal Reynolds from Firefly made my heroes list.  In Sheridan, I saw someone who had the capacity to grow and adapt when he came to realize that his certainty about the dividing line between enemies and friends could be badly mistaken.  Mal Reynolds saw everything he believed in go down in flames, something that happens to everyone sooner or later.  He hadn’t made his peace with that, but he found a reason to keep on going–“You can’t take the sky from me.”

I’ll name a few more: Alaric Morgan from Katherine Kurtz’s Camber of Culdi series,  Han Solo, Kate Connor (Carpe Demon—gotta love a mom who hunts hellspawn and has to be done in time for the carpool line), Sarah Connor (Terminator—hell hath no fury like a mom with a mission), and a current fictional favorite from outside the genre, China Bayles from Susan Wittig Alberts’ mystery series, who reflects the unexpected growths and losses of a certain point in life.

There are so many more, I think this discussion will need to continue on my Facebook page, so join me there, and I’d love to hear YOUR favorite genre heroes!

Where I’ll be in March-April

– Guest Author at the Arizona Renaissance Festival March 23-24
– Signing at Books a Million, Carolina Mall, Concord, NC 3/30
– Signing at Park Road Books, Charlotte NC 4/27

Urban fantasy unleashed: Kate Griffin’s The Minority Council out now in the UK

The Minority Council by Kate GriffinEveryone’s favourite resurrected sorceror, Matthew Swift, is back in Kate Griffin’s latest tale of urban magic, THE MINORITY COUNCIL [UK | US | ANZ] — out now in the UK and in the US on May 1. As usual, London is in dire need of his help.

Matthew Swift, the Midnight Mayor, is in charge. He hopes. And London is having some issues.

The new drug on the market is fairy dust and it turns humans into walking drug labs. Teenage vandals are being hunted by a mystical creature and ordinary criminals are dying by magical means.

If Swift is going to save London from a rising tide of blood, he will have to learn – and fast – what it really means to be Midnight Mayor.

Check out a sample of THE MINORITY COUNCIL!

Praise for Kate’s Matthew Swift series:

A fascinating sojourn into the mind of a thoroughly unique protagonist, written in an evocative, searingly poetic style . . . We aren’t just reading about the city and its magic – we hear it, we smell it, we taste it” – ROB WILL REVIEW

“Neverwhere for the digital age . . . The best novelists transcend genre and Griffin’s excellent Matthew Swift sequence , which tells of an eldritch and fantastical London, proves this point” – SFX

“Few can claim to share the same level of creativity and individual style as Griffin” – SCIFI NOW

For more on Kate Griffin and her Matthew Swift series, be sure to stop by her website. Kate is an active blogger and regularly writes on a variety of topics, from real-life London to the changing nature of superhero powers , via the dangers of martial arts . . .