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Review round-up: THE WAY OF SHADOWS by Brent Weeks

The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks - US / UK paperbackShadow's Edge by Brent Weeks, US / UK paperbackBeyond the Shadows by Brent Weeks, US / UK paperback

We’ve just published The Way of Shadows, the first part of brand new fantasy series The Night Angel Trilogy by debut author Brent Weeks, in the US, the UK and Australia.

The story of street urchin Azoth’s apprenticeship to Durzo Blint, the most highly-skilled and widely-feared contract killer of the age, has already been generating some significant online buzz. Here are a few examples of the coverage we’ve seen so far:

From Grasping For The Wind:

“What Brent Weeks has done is fill his story with very human, very flawed characters. Each and every one has motivations that stem from their own involvement in law-breaking dealings. Even the most righteous of characters turns out to have made mistakes. That type of characterization makes this story very unlike traditional epic fantasies, adding a depth of character those stories often lack.”

From Civilian Reader:

“Weeks has created a vivid new world full of political intrigue, individual struggle, a dark and gritty complexity, and superb characters … Solid, extremely well written, and deftly plotted, The Way Of Shadows is a promising debut from a talented new voice in urban fantasy fiction.”

From fantasybookreviewer.blogspot.com:

“Overall, I was more than pleasantly surprised by this book. I actually loved it. The characters, the plot, and the quick pacing really worked for me. About halfway through the book I thought I would name it my debut novel of the year, but after finishing the book, I’m not sure if that claim is enough. The Way of Shadows is definitely in my top 5 novels of the year, and might even hold the top spot.”

From fantasyscifibookreview.blogspot.com:

“What you get … is a suspenseful, quick-reading action adventure. You have assassins, mad kings, crime lords, prostitutes and nobles all taking on major roles. You see Azoth’s development from a desperate child on the street to an accomplished killer. You see Durzo fight his need to connect to other human beings while being convinced that he’s better off alone. And even after almost 700 pages, I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book.”

If you’d like to check out the very start of the series for yourself, you can read the first chapter of The Way of Shadows here on the Orbit website.

And don’t forget that once you’ve discovered The Way of Shadows and found yourself eager for more, you won’t have too long to wait for the next instalment: we’re publishing part two, Shadow’s Edge, in November and the conclusion of the series, Beyond the Shadows, in December. All three volumes will be available in the US, the UK and Australia.

Plus, visit Brent Weeks’ homepage at www.brentweeks.com to find out more about the author.

Deals and Deliveries: six new Patricia Briggs titles

Orbit UK is delighted to announce the following acquisitions from urban fantasy writer Patricia Briggs:

3x NEW MERCY THOMPSON BOOKS

We have acquired a further three fabulously sharp urban fantasy books for the UK featuring the ingenious Mercy Thompson: mechanic by trade, coyote shapeshifter by nature. We plan to publish yearly from February 2010, but don’t forget that we’ve recently published the first three compulsive adventures – Moon Called, Blood Bound and Iron Kissed – with the next book in the series, Bone Crossed due for publication in February 2009.

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs, UK paperbackBlood Bound by Patricia Briggs, UK paperbackIron Kissed by Patricia Briggs, UK paperback

3x ALPHA AND OMEGA BOOKS

We’ve also acquired the first three books in a great new Briggs spin-off series, set in the same world as the above but featuring independent alpha werewolf Charles and unusually gifted omega werewolf Anna. Cry Wolf is the first book in the seres and will be published in August 2009, with book two planned for November 2009 and book three due in August 2010.

Patricia Briggs series, Marianne de Pierres script optioned for film

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs, UK paperbackWe’re delighted to be able to pass on a couple of items of film-related news from two of our urban fantasy authors: Patricia Briggs and Marianne de Pierres.

Firstly – as detailed in full in a press release posted over at PublishersWeekly.com – Patricia Briggs’ agent has sold option rights for the Mercy Thompson series (Moon Called, Blood Bound and Iron Kissed) to Mike Newell’s production company 50 Cannon Entertainment [IMDB] who are also behind a forthcoming adaptation of Terry Brooks’ The Elfstones of Shannara [IMDB].

Patricia is understandably delighted by the news, saying on her website: “Now, Hollywood options far more works than they ever make into movies, so there’s no guarantee that an actual movie will ever be made, but it’s still pretty exciting news. If we ever do hear that they’re going ahead with production we promise to pass the news on (just as soon as we quit squeeing and dancing around like crazy people!).”

Our second item of news is that Marianne de Pierres (author of the Parrish Plessis and Sentients of Orion series) and Lynne Jamneck’s SF movie script Stalking Daylight has been optioned by production company Enchanter, as per this press release on Marianne’s site.

Here’s what the release has to say about the concept: “Stalking Daylight tells the story of Dresher, a bright young gaming talent who is faced with some tough choices when her father contracts neuro-transmitter disease. The Earth has changed, and those inhabitants who worship technology are at odds with those who choose to live without it. Dresher must venture into Luddite territory to find the medication that her father needs to survive. But the cure comes at a terrible price.”

We’ll bring you more information on these two projects as we get to hear of it.

Shaun Hutson on UNMARKED GRAVES

Unmarked GravesMaster of the dark, Shaun Hutson, has two books out this month, the paperback release of Unmarked Graves and the new hardback release, Body Count.

Shaun was kind enough to answer some questions for us in anticipation of the books’ release:

Did the idea for Unmarked Graves come to you fully realised or did you have one particular starting point from which it grew?
It came from one idea and I expanded it. Every book I’ve ever written has come about like that. I think Unmarked Graves went through more changes than any novel I’ve ever written. The ideas I originally wanted to explore ended up disappearing in successive re-writes but the racism thing was there from the beginning.

How does it compare to your other novels?
For what it’s worth, I like to try and do something different in each novel and it contained an idea and themes I hadn’t tackled before. I’d never done voodoo before so it was something new for me. I don’t like to keep recycling the same idea over and over again in a different guise. That’s cheating your readers and I’d never do that.

You can read the rest of the interview in the back of Unmarked Graves, out this month!

In Their Own Words: Pamela Freeman on DEEP WATER

Pamela says:

Deep Water by Pamela Freeman - UK / US paperbackDeep Water was intriguing to write because I got to play around with time and with people’s expectations. Many of the aspects of the past presented as ‘true’ in Deep Water were different in reality; playing with that, and developing minor characters, such as Leof, was very satisfying.

I hope Deep Water is a better book than Blood Ties: faster paced, more complex, even more emotionally engaging. But I was careful not to let the plot overwhelm everything – I am bored by fantasy novels where you don’t learn any more about the world or the enchantments of that world once the set up is completed in the first book.

So there are surprises and revelations about the world of the Domains and the powers which inhabit it. And of course the story introduces a major new character: Acton.

Deep Water – out now from Orbit in the UK and will be published in mid-November by Orbit in the US – is part two of the Castings trilogy and the sequel to Pamela Freeman‘s first novel for Orbit, Blood Ties [UK | US]

You can find out more about Pamela’s fantasy writing for adults at the Castings Trilogy website and more about her writing for younger readers at her homepage, www.pamelafreemanbooks.com.

In Their Own Words: David Farland on WORLDBINDER

David says:

Worldbinder by David Farland - UK paperbackSometimes as an author, you feel impressed to write something in response to what others are doing. As I was brainstorming one day, I looked at some fantasy novels on the shelves and I felt rather despairing: most of them had nothing wondrous or wonderful in them. All that they offered seemed to be wars in a medieval setting.

So I decided to write a book where something major happened: two completely different fantasy worlds get slammed together. People die. Continents sink, and a frightening new world order grows out of the mix.

To tell the truth, I was afraid to do it. I wasn’t sure what my editors or my audience would think. But the review from both the critics and my fans have been fantastic! In fact, once email I received today was from a fan in England who said, “I loved every page of it. I couldn’t put it down. I had to find out what happened next, and by the time that I did, I had to find out what happened next again!”

Worldbinder, book six in David Farland‘s Runelords saga, is out now from Orbit in the UK. The first volume in the series is The Sum of All Men – new readers should start here…

You can find out more about David Farland and the world of the Runelords at www.runelords.com.

Orbit Links for October 3rd 2008

Plenty of Orbit author-related online activity to tell you about this week, so without further ado:

As always, if you see any online articles, reviews or interviews that feature an Orbit author, please feel free to drop us a line and let us know! We’ll happily name-check your website or blog with a heads-up credit in return (please remember to provide us with a link…)

Orbit UK schedule update: December 2008

The Orbit UK Schedule page has just been updated with details of the three great new titles that we’ll be publishing in the first week of December 2008:

  • The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore – Chaos ensues as the none-too-bright Archangel Raziel attempts to make a young boy’s Christmas wish come true.
  • Dark Heart by Russell Kirkpatrick – The second part of the Husk trilogy sees continents torn apart by cataclysm and war.
  • Beyond the Shadows by Brent Weeks – the concluding volume of the Night Angel trilogy, from a new author who’s set to take the fantasy genre by storm.

Click the titles to read the trailer text over at the UK schedule page. Don’t forget, they’ll all be available from early December from all good bookstores and online retailers.

In Their Own Words: Karen Miller on THE RIVEN KINGDOM

Karen says:

The Riven Kingdom by Karen Miller - UK paperbackOne of the major themes I want to explore in the Godspeaker trilogy is the use and abuse of power.

In book one, Empress, with Hekat you’ve got a woman whose childhood experiences of powerlessness drive her to extraordinary abuses, once she has power to wield. But in book two, The Riven Kingdom, much of the action shifts to a new location and we meet another young woman, Rhian, who was born into power … and then learns, through personal tragedy, how much of an illusion that power really was.

Then the question becomes: how far will she go to get it back? What lines will she cross? Does all power corrupt, or is it possible to wield it for the greater good and remain untouched by brutality, or evil? And what happens when she realises that perhaps the only way to save her kingdom is to fight fire with fire, and become as ruthless as the enemy she’s trying to defeat?

These are the questions I was wrestling with, writing The Riven Kingdom – and I hope the answers I came up with will keep readers entertained.

The Riven Kingdom, part two of Karen Miller‘s Godspeaker trilogy, has just been published in the UK and was published by Orbit in the US at the beginning of September. Part one, Empress is also available from Orbit in both the UK and US. The conclusion of the series, Hammer of God will be published in January 2009.

You can find out more about Karen Miller and her work at www.karenmiller.net and read her blog at karenmiller.livejournal.com.