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Busy publication week for Iain M. Banks

Mr Banks has had a busy publication week for Surface Detail – and he’s not going to be relaxing any time soon!  He spent last week being interviewed by all sorts of national and regional press – appropriately including the New Scientist and BBC TV filming him at the Science Museum.

Iain’s first event on the eve of publication at the Round House was a sell out, and he answered the audience’s questions for nearly 2 hours!  Then on Thursday he signed for a great crowd at Forbidden Planet.

If you haven’t managed to attend any of the events so far, Forbidden Planet, Blackwells in London and Foyles all have signed first editions of Surface Detail (though probably not for long!) (more…)

“The Heir of Night”: Keeping It Real with Armour and Weapons

As a kid, I always loved armour and weapons. We lived in Singapore for some years, too, so in addition to western traditions including medieval armour, then cuirassiers, and later the long rifle, I was also aware of oriental armour and weaponry. I even had a Chinese sword—imitation, of course—and horse rider’s composite bow. From endless childhood games in which wars and battles were re-enacted, it is perhaps not surprising that I graduated to fencing during my high school and university years. As an adult, I trained first in tai chi and kung fu, and then the Japanese martial art aikido, which involves both “empty hand” training and weapons, including the Japanese sword, knife, and staff. (more…)

Version 43 is here

You’ve seen the new wallpaper and the dueling videos.

You’ve probably read the extract.

You may have seen the brand new and exclusive Amazon interview and article.

And you might even have heard when SFREVU called Philip Palmer’s work ‘relentlessly energetic, inventive and shamelessly ambitious.’

But if you don’t pick up a copy of Version 43 for yourself this month, or do any of the above actions for that matter, then… well, you should.  Or the cyborg will know.

Wallpaper: Version 43 by Philip Palmer!

New Wallpaper time! I know all your assorted screens and devices would love some new art, and I am happy to provide new visuals, this time from Version 43 by Philip Palmer.

I love how this series is shaping up (Red Claw, Version 43, and soon you’ll see the cover launch for Hell Ship), and I think the pulp-retro feel of the covers works for these books – if you’re looking for classic, in your face, action-packed scifi then Philip Palmer is your man.

The creepy-cool image was shot by Eric Westpheling, who I’m sure is still haunted by visions of the doll props taking over his apartment.

Enjoy!

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

The day’s arrived for The Heir of Night

If you’re in Australia and New Zealand, you’re definitely in the right place to get your hands on some exciting new fantasy as Helen Lowe’s Orbit debut, The Heir of Night, hits bookshelves today in all of its beautifully plotted and blazing red glory!

In case you missed it, the author has explained the world of The Heir of Night for us here, and the blogosphere has already weighed in favourably on this start to a new series:

‘The Heir of Night is a carefully plotted story in a complex world’ – fantasyliterature.com

‘Very promising and fast-paced new epic fantasy.’ – bookloons.com

‘A very rich and complex story with a perfect balance between action and character development that got me hooked from the first page.’ – fictionkingdom.blogspot.com

‘Helen Lowe’s prose flows effortlessly from the first pages to the last page and she uses magic in a good way.’ – risingshadow.net (more…)

New York Comic Con: Joe Abercrombie and Mira Grant

If you’re in the Big Apple for New York Comic Con, be sure to stop by the Orbit booth (#2315) to meet authors Joe Abercrombie and Mira Grant.

Joe (BEST SERVED COLD) will be signing Friday 10/8 from 3-4 PM, and on Saturday 10/9 from 12-1 PM in the Orbit booth.  And, don’t miss the fantasy writer’s panel Friday night from 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm in Room 1A15.  Joining Joe Abercrombie on the panel will be Peter V. Brett (The Warded Man), Jim Butcher (Changes), Naomi Novik (His Majesty’s Dragon) Brandon Sanderson (The Way of Kings) and Deborah Harkness (A Discovery of Witches) – making this panel full of about as much awesome as the fire department will allow.

FEED fans! Mira Grant (a/k/a Seanan McGuire) will be signing on Saturday 10/9 from 3-4 pm in the Orbit booth. On Saturday night she’ll be on the panel “Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep?”  from 7:45 pm – 8:45 pm in Room 1A23. Her fellow panelists will include  Alaya Dawn Johnson (contributor to Zombies Vs. Unicorns), Robin Becker (Brains: A Zombie Memoir), Alan Goldsher (Paul is Undead), and Richard Kadrey (Kill the Dead). Again, not a panel to be missed.

So unless of course while in attendance at NYCC you find yourself a) in the midst of an very, very blood-drenched sword battle, or b) in the midst of a ravenous gaggle of brain-chomping zombies — we’ll see you there!

Steampunk Fun at NYCC

This Fri-Sat-Sun is the New York Comic-Con and there’s a lot of exciting stuff going on at Orbit’s booth (#2315). I’m here to tell you about a really fun art-department project that all you Parasol Protectorate fans and Steampunk experts can be a part of. I am always super impressed by the imagination and care that Gail’s Steampunk fans put into their wardrobe and to celebrate that, we’re going to induct you all into the Parasol Protectorate!

If you are showing off your best Steampunk finery Friday or Saturday, come by the Orbit booth and we’ll be taking pictures of you in your best Victorian action poses. Next week we will be turning those pictures into custom Parasol Protectorate covers of your very own! We’ll be uploading them here on the blog a batch at a time, and we’ll have our blog readers vote on their favorite covers. The winner may even get a prize! (more…)

The exclusive first chapter of Towers of Midnight

The wheel has been turning and now it’s almost time to release Towers of Midnight in hardback, the extraordinary penultimate volume of the Wheel of Time. It will be available from 2nd November, but we want to give you a taste of what is to come …

Click here for an exclusive free extract of chapter one!

And in taking on the mantle of genre grandmaster Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson has done some fantastic Wheel of Time re-reads. For a quick catch up on the previous Wheel of Time books please click here.

So what more can be said than the Wheel of Time turns, and ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the age that gave it birth comes again. But now, the end draws near. It’s time to roll the dice.

Thieves, Scoundrels, and Demon Seeds

The time has come. . . Orbit is once again presenting you with three books in three months. So from October to December if you’re hungry for your fix of adventure fantasy, please run or log online to get these three new fantasies from Rachel Aaron.

But if you’re super lucky, you might be able to get one for free! Rachel is giving away 20 copies of The Spirit Thief here.

Eli Monpress is talented. He’s charming. And he’s a thief.

But not just any thief. He’s the greatest thief of the age – and he’s also a wizard. And with the help of his partners – a swordsman with the most powerful magic sword in the world but no magical ability of his own, and a demonseed who can step through shadows and punch through walls – he’s going to put his plan into effect.

The first step is to increase the size of the bounty on his head, so he’ll need to steal some big things. But he’ll start small for now. He’ll just steal something that no one will miss – at least for a while.

Like a king.

We also have a few awesome quotes in for The Spirit Thief:

“A romp of a lighthearted fantasy starring an absolutely darling rogue.” – Publishers Weekly

“Wry humor, engaging characters and full-tilt action plus an inventive twist on magic make for an exciting adventure.” — Gail Z. Martin

“Witty, smart, snappy, sassy, fast, furious and let’s not forget fun… Rachel Aaron isn’t so much knocking at the door as kicking it down.” — Tom Holt

“The Spirit Thief is a delightfully giddy romp of a novel.” — Karen Miller

Read the first two chapter of The Spirit Thief here.