Archive for Commentary

Thicker Than Water (A Felix Castor Novel)

One of the best things about working for Orbit is having so many great new books to read each month. The one I’ve just finished reading is Thicker Than Water, Mike Carey’s excellent new Felix Castor novel. This is the first of his novels I’ve read, but I had no trouble getting instantly engrossed in the storyline, as Mike has a great way of subtly filling you in while keeping the action nail-bitingly fast and fresh.

Felix is a hard-nosed and sharp-tongued freelance exorcist who doesn’t take any bull, but still manages to get himself into the direst of demonic situations. When a man is found slashed up and unconscious in his own vehicle, detectives surmise that it may be linked to Castor somehow – not least because Castor’s name is smeared over the windscreen in blood … Whilst on a mission to clear his own name, Fix discovers that the victim’s home – a depressing South London council estate – seems to be a hotspot for an unusually high number of sickeningly inventive crimes … and it may be more than failing social systems that are inciting the inhabitants to violence. Darker forces are definitely at work, so with the help of Nicky, his un-dead informant, and Juliet, the succubus who is drop-dead gorgeous (literally – she’ll draw you in then eat you alive), Fix investigates what’s behind this most hellish of situations …

With deadpan humour and super-slick style, Mike Carey paints a gritty portrait of London in this noirest of noir urban fantasies. And Castor is the kind of fast-quipping narrator that makes you want to quit your day job and hit those mean demon-filled streets just for the hell of it! Thicker Than Water is out now – highly recommended!

You can read an extract here.

Author Tweets

If you’ve ever wondered what’s going on in an author’s head, you can get a sense of it by following them on twitter. Here, Jeff Somers waxes eloquent on technology.

See more author tweets after the jump, and click any of them to follow on twitter yourself!
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Cover Launch: Best Served Cold

Good Afternoon from the Orbit US Art Department. Today we’re giving you a sneak peak at the new Joe Abercrombie title, BEST SERVED COLD. (Out in July in the US)

This book is an exciting new chapter for Abercrombie fans, and a great place to jump on if you’ve never read Joe’s books before. This title is a standalone, so don’t worry about needing to know backstory, just jump in…

Best Served Cold is the story of Monza Murcatto, the Snake of Talins, the most feared and famous mercenary in the ruthless Duke Orso’s employ. Her victories have made her popular — a shade too popular for her employer’s taste.  Betrayed, thrown down a mountain, and left for dead, Murcatto arises with a broken body and a burning hunger for vengeance. 

“A Girl?!” you say? Well, trust me, this is pure Joe Abercrombie. It is as action-packed, as edgy, and as bloody (as you can see from the cover) as any epic fantasy I’ve read in a long time. However, it also opens the door for a brand new audience of female readers (myself included) to get sucked into Joe’s vivid storytelling and the world of Styria. This book is both true to Joe’s First Law Trilogy and a huge step forward into exciting new terrain. (more…)

In Their Own Words: Jennifer Rardin on ONE MORE BITE

Jennifer says:

One More BiteI guess this time the title really does say it all. Like chips and salsa or squeezy cheese on Ritz crackers, this story should fire up a hunger in you that keeps you plowing through the pages like a fourth-day dieter at an all-you-can-eat buffet. The ghosts. The witches. The repeated assassination attempts. The fact that Jaz’s dad has brought his cigars and his room-clearing farts to the show. It all kinda makes you go, “Oh, no! I can’t! I shouldn’t! GIMME!”

And you thought Scotland was all just cute dudes in kilts and wee bonnie lasses. Ha!

One More Bite [UK | US] is out this month and you can find it at all good booksellers.

David Gemmell Legend Award update

David Gemmell Legend Award

Just a quick reminder that the public ballot to decide the finalists of the inaugural David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy opens on December 26th.

Following a recently announced change to the voting system, the five most popular fantasy titles of 2008 – as decided by the voters – will then be put forward to a second round of public voting in April 2009 (as opposed to the original panel of judges) for final consideration, with the winner announced on Friday 19th June 2009.

The final long-list of eligible nominated titles – including entries from Orbit authors Brian Ruckley, K.J. Parker, Brent Weeks, Kate Elliott, Jennifer Fallon, Karen Miller and Russell Kirkpatrick – has been made available via the DGLA website as a pdf download and an online voting form will be available from Thursday, with an additional incentive to participate early: the fist 100 voters will receive a limited edition DGLA wristband.

Visit www.gemmellaward.com for more information on the award, or to discuss the nominated titles. And don’t forget to vote, from December 26th onwards!

Complete Orbit UK 2008 Publication List

If you point your browser towards the publishing schedules section of the site, you’ll find we’ve posted a complete list of Orbit UK’s 2008 publications.

2008 has been another fantastic year for Orbit UK. In the past 12 months we’ve published a total of 80 books by no fewer than 43 different authors, including: Brent Weeks, Brian Ruckley, Celia Friedman, Charles Stross, Charlie Huston, Christopher Moore, David Farland, Drew Karpyshyn, Elizabeth Moon, Fiona MacIntosh, Glenda Larke, Iain M. Banks, Ian Irvine, J. V. Jones, Jacqueline Carey, Jeff Somers, Jennifer Fallon, Jennifer Rardin, Jim Butcher, Jo Graham, K. J. Parker, Karen Miller, Karen Traviss, Kate Elliott, Kelley Armstrong, Ken MacLeod, Laurell K Hamilton, Lilith Saintcrow, Marianne de Pierres, Marie Brennan, Pamela Freeman, Patricia Briggs, Philip Palmer, Raymond Benson, Robert Buettner, Russell Kirkpatrick, Sean Williams, Shaun Hutson, Tad Williams, Terry Brooks, Tom Holt and Trudi Canavan.

By our reckoning we’ve published 23 science fiction titles (including 4 sf tie-in novelisations), 35 fantasy or comic fantasy titles and 22 horror or urban fantasy titles. We also published 7 UK debuts, by Brent Weeks, Jo Graham, Marie Brennan, Pamela Freeman, Patricia Briggs, Philip Palmer and Robert Buettner.

So, head on over to that full 2008 publication list and double-check to see if there are any gaps in your to-be-read list that need filling! It’s not too late to add a few titles to your Christmas wish-list, or to buy a few last-minute presents for friends and loved ones. Or why not just treat yourself to some holiday reading matter (go on… you know you want to!)

Orbit Links for October 31st 2008

Hello and a very Happy Hallowe’en / All Hallows’ Eve / Stuff-Your-Face-With-Candy Night to you all. Here are a few online treats (no tricks, we promise!) featuring Orbit Authors or coverage of their books:

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 Authors talk visuals with the BookGeeks

The Glas Valley, from Brian Ruckley's 'Godless World'; sagaTwo Orbit Authors – Brian Ruckley and Jeff Somers – recently took part in the first BookGeeks SF and Fantasy Writers’ Panel.

The round-robin discussion, which also includes contributions from authors Alastair Reynolds and Jaine Fenn, is on the subject of the marriage of prose and visuals. Specifically: maps (is their inclusion in sf / fantasy books a good thing / bad thing?), cover art (should an on-cover portrayal of a book’s characters or vehicles be encouraged / avoided?) and visualised representations of the authors’ work (what would they like to see, what would work best – games, comcis, movies?)

The piece is presented in round-robin format, with each authors’ responses to the three questions then commented upon by the other three authors, which works quite nicely to build up a the discussion between the participants. It all makes for some very interesting reading. Do check it out and do leave your own comments; pieces like this always work best with plenty of feedback.

Orbit Links for August 22 2008

It’s Friday lunchtime, which can mean only one thing (well, around here, anyhow): it’s time for our weekly round-up post of links to items of interest featuring Orbit authors:

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…)