Archive for All posts

On the Death of Geek Culture

I read Patton Oswalt’s dissection of geek culture the other day, and I’ve had some mixed feelings about it. He’s going to catch a lot of hell of it, that I can tell, but really, I think he’s not wrong. He’s mostly right, in fact. I just think that he doesn’t assess the real danger of geek culture, nor does he prescribe an appropriate response.

Personally, I’ve always had a touch-and-go relationship with geek culture, if you can believe it. In my family, I’m definitely the geekiest, I’d say. I’m the guy who’s On The Internet All The Time, dredging up obscure memes and silly trends and finding the most bizarre articles to send to people during slow work hours. I’m also the guy who is sometimes unapologetically geeky in my tastes. Yes, I had Hellboy comics on my Christmas list. I also had Avatar: the Last Airbender DVDs, and I asked for Windows 7 so that maybe I can fix my laptop up to play Portal 2. (A pipe dream if ever there was one.)

These tastes are geeky. But if you asked me if I was a geek, I’m not sure I’d say I am.

Part of it is that I’m a coward.
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2010, Over and Out!

Power down the reactor-core,  that’s all from us until the New Year.

Congratulations to our epic loot winners: Abdel M, Katie B, Leeann P, Jennifer K, Storm H, Rachel K, Neal S, and David M!

And if you find yourself here over the next week — and you still need holiday cheer — be sure to check out ‘Twas the Night Before the Uprising,  our Holiday Study of the Genus Elvum, and Robert Jackson Bennett on The Truth About Santa Claus.

See you in 2011!

Epic Loot #8: Necromancer Posters!

Update – This giveaway is now closed!

The year is winding down, and so are our Epic Loot Giveaways. To finish it off, we’ve got posters of the first two books of The Necromancer Chronicles by Amanda Downum. Sign up after the jump for a chance to win these two art prints, along with copies of The Drowning City and The Bone Palace. We’ll select the winner on Thursday the 23rd of December. And thanks everyone for reading!

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Epic Loot #7: An Orbit Festive Stocking!

Update – This giveaway is now closed!

It’s that time of the year — good cheer, decorations, warm fires, and of course: Loot! We’ve traveled deep into the Orbit HQ dungeon and returned with a chest of magnificent offerings that we’re giving away for the holidays. So check back here (or follow us on twitter or facebook) for updates, and chances to win.

We’ve got a stocking full of goodies from the London office. Enter after the jump for a chance to win it. We’ll select one winner on Thursday, December 23rd!

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‘Twas the Night Before the Uprising…

St. Nick by way of the undead… Brought to you by the fabulously talented (and creatively deranged) Seanan McGuire, winner of this year’s Campbell Award, aka Mira Grant, the author of Feed and Deadline, amazing books that you really must read. And if you have already read Feed then you know that, and I know you’re buying like 10 copies to pass along as holiday presents! Enjoy! Below is a link to a jpeg version, suitable for making into ecards, facebook links, wallpapers, etc. and a pdf set up for printing letter-size. ENJOY!

Lo-Res Jpeg •   Hi-Res Jpeg •    PDF

Epic Loot #6: Leviathan Wakes Poster

I have to admit, one of the perks of working in the Art Department is never having to look hard for wonderful things to adorn your walls. I admit I have been printing out an extra copy or two of these Loot prints to decorate my office, and I’m definitely making room for this fabulous Leviathan Wakes art by Daniel Dociu.

Enter for a chance to win this art print on fancy glossy paper by signing up after the jump! We’ll choose one winner on Wednesday, December 22nd.

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Epic Loot #5: Night Angel Trilogy Mashup Poster

More Epic Loot today from the Art Department, and it’s a good one! Like Brent Weeks? Like the Night Angel Trilogy? (The Way of Shadows, Shadow’s Edge, and Beyond the Shadows)? Well how about a schnazzy mashup of all three epic Calvin Chu-illustrated covers?

Printed on glossy high-quality art paper, this one is definitely suitable for framing. Sign up after the jump for a chance to win it! We’ll select one winner on Wednesday, December 22.

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We like charts! Yes we do!

Google did a cool thing with their massive archive of data. I don’t really understand what exactly it is they did and I rest easy in the knowledge that many people, much smarter than me are hard at work figuring it out. You can read more about cool things those smart people are doing here and here. But, me and the rest of the Orbit team, had a different thought. That thought mostly being “ooh shiny!” and we hopped on the totally awesome public tool and started plugging things in like the children in a candy store we were.

Seriously, give a science fiction editor something that mashes up math and words and then we get happy.

Elves! Way more popular than Orcs or Dwarves. And still rising.

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Orbit on 2010’s Best-Of Lists

We are pleased to announce that Orbit titles are once again plentifully represented in this year’s Best Of lists, including those at Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Financial Times, the Times of London, NPR and more.

Congratulations to all of our recognized authors as we look forward to having Orbit books appear on even more lists in 2011! This year’s full rundown appears after the jump.
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