Archive for Extracts

Oath of Fealty

Elizabeth Moon’s writing has enriched the genre for many years and in her latest book, Oath of Fealty, her magic is clearly alive and well. I’ve read many of her books, and amongst them I’ve particularly enjoyed her Vatta’s War military SF adventures, as did the Guardian). And I still recommend the extraordinary and thought-provoking Speed of Dark  to anyone who thinks SF isn’t for them (Nebular Award winner, critially lauded plus shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke award: think Flowers for Algernon or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time).

But with Oath of Fealty we also have something very special. A return to the world of the classic Paksenarrion books, as Elizabeth writes fantasy for the first time in ten years. And so no one misses out on the earlier books, we’ve also reissued the original backlist trilogy in super-giant omnibus form as The Deed of Paksenarrion. Elizabeth recently posted for us on how she found out what subgenres suited her (and which didn’t!) but she is rare in her ability to easily swing from SF to fantasy and back again.

Please see here for a bit of background on how Elizabeth made her way back to fantasy, with an extract from Oath of Fealty. And here’s what others have thought of this return so far, with some early praise for Oath of Fealty, book 1 of Paladin’s Legacy:

‘What sheer delight! Oath of Fealty is an engrossing new adventure returning old friends to us in the first of three more books in the Paksenarrion universe. It’s quite simply a smashing story, and I am panting to read the next instalment from this consummate storyteller. Hurry up, Elizabeth!’ Anne McCaffrey

‘I found the book hard to put down because of Elizabeth Moon’s ability to make the story flow’
SFSite.com

‘A must-read … thoroughly entertaining’
Romantic Times (4 1/2* Top Pick)

‘A stirring start to a new story arc … I can’t wait for more episodes’
BookLoons

THE WAR OF THE DWARVES

Following Celine Kiernan’s post below on translation into the German language, it seems appropriate to make a quick mention about one of our own titles in translation released this month: The War of the Dwarves (UK/ US/ ANZ), from international bestseller Markus Heitz.

Translated from the original German by the very talented Sally-Ann Spencer, this is the eagerly anticipated sequel to The Dwarves (UK/ US/ ANZ), described by SFRevu as: ‘The kind of solid fantasy that the market thrives upon’, and by The Bookbag as ‘A fabulous addition to the fantasy genre’. Read an extract here!

C is for Cobley

C is for Cobley. Michael Cobley‘s Seeds of Earth, the opening volume of his Humanity’s Fire series, was published last year to great acclaim and a very gratifying response from the reading public, whose voracious demands sent it back for multiple reprints.
The mass market paperback is now unveiled for your reading pleasure – and a pleasure it is, indeed. The great Iain M. Banks thought well of it, calling Seeds of Earth:

‘Proper galaxy-spanning Space Opera with lots of weird aliens, secret ancient technologies and mysterious hyperweapons – a worthy addition to the genre’

Volume two, The Orphaned Worlds, will be published in trade paperback in April, giving you ample opportunity to addict yourself to this wonderful new series. 

You can read an extract from Seeds of Earth here.

B is also for Bennett

Mr Shivers B is also for Bennett. Robert Jackson Bennett, whose remarkable debut, Mr Shivers, is published this month in the UK, US and Australia. Robert’s US editor, DongWon, has waxed lyrical about Mr Shivers in this post, and has summed up the excitement perfectly. Go read it (the post and the book).

‘Mr Shivers is a startling début, a deft amalgam of thriller, cerebral horror and American gothic’ Guardian

You can read an extract here.

B is for Bakker

B is for Bakker, the author of the groundbreaking Prince of Nothing trilogy, who now returns to the world of Earwa with the first book of The Aspect-Emperor, The Judging Eye.

For readers who haven’t heard the buzz, no less an authority than Steven Erikson says:

‘Exquisitely intelligent and beautifully written . . . this is fantasy with muscle and brains, rife with intrigue and admirable depth of character, set in a world laden with history and detail. Take note, one and all, something remarkable has begun here . . .‘

You can read an extract from The Judging Eye here.

Fans of rich, robust fantasy rejoice! R. Scott Bakker is back.

A is for Abraham

It seems appropriate to begin the New Year with an ABC (for those of us who celebrated the Yule so . . . enthusiastically, that they’ve managed to mislay, for the moment, the neurons that deal with such matters). And so, in the finest traditions of children’s television, these are Orbit UK’s new releases for January . . .

A is for Abraham, whose Long Price Quartet has garnered extraordinary praise from the great and good of the literary world – not least, this fulsome endorsement from Junot Diaz, winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Literature:

‘Daniel Abraham is one of the reasons the fantasy genre continues to haunt my dreams. Abraham is fiercely talented, disturbingly human, breathtakingly original and even on his bad days kicks all sorts of literary ass . . . If you are meeting him for the first time I envy you: you are in for a remarkable journey.’

Orbit is delighted to be publishing Daniel Abraham‘s Long Price novels – A Shadow in Summer, A Betrayal in Winter, An Autumn War & The Price of Spring – in two omnibus editions: Shadow and Betrayal & Seasons of War. You can read extract from Book One here.

Get an extract of Pamela Freeman’s FULL CIRCLE, HERE

As Darren said in his round-up, the fantastic final volume of Pamela Freeman’s beautifully written Castings Trilogy is now here.  Full Circle (UK I ANZ I US) is a tremendous read, set in a troubled land of warlords and outcasts where the echoes of past atrocities taint the present. The Eleven Domains were forged in blood a thousand years ago and old wounds have been reopened as a ghost army marches to avenge ancient wrongs. But don’t just take our word for it, read a free extract HERE and check out just some of the praise we’ve had, below.

Plus, we have our fingers crossed for Pamela this weekend, as her illustrated children’s book Victor’s Challenge is on the shortlist for its category at the prestigious Australian Aurealis Awards.

PRAISE FOR THE CASTINGS TRILOGY

  • ‘Lots of great ideas … A very effective fantasy debut’
    — BookGeeks.co.uk
  • ‘Sometimes, a jewel rises to the top … I loved reading Blood Ties’
    — Grasping for the Wind
  • ‘Freeman shies away from simplistic morality, building elegantly well-rounded characters’
    — Publishers Weekly
  • ‘A rich and magical world where insurgency is definitely brewing’
    — Romantic Times
  • ‘Blood Ties has the feel of Ursula le Guin’s fantasy novels … a wonderfully satisfying series’
    — Aurealis Xpress
  • ‘An impressively different fantasy novel’
    — Sydney Morning Herald
  • ‘There is nothing predictable about Freeman’s storytelling … I was completely hooked’
    — Good Reading Magazine

And see Blood Ties (bk 1, UK I ANZ I US) and Deep Water (bk 2, UK I ANZ I US) here too:

 

An Extract from Charlie Huston’s My Dead Body

In case you hadn’t noticed, vampires are very much the In Thing at the moment, pretty comfortably dominating the worlds of literature, television and movies. Yes, indeed – with a twinkle in the eye and a disturbingly pointy smile, the debonair bloodsuckers are doing very nicely, thank you.

With one exception: Joe Pitt. Joe’s not doing so well, as it happens. (more…)

Available now, your extract of Ian Irvine’s THE DESTINY OF THE DEAD

Ian Irvine has been impressing with his latest mighty trilogy, as you can see from SFX’s review for The Destiny of the Dead, the fabulous conclusion to The Song of the Tears books:

‘Thanks to Irvine’s light prose and insane sense of entertainment the story fairly flies off the page … Even the ending doesn’t let up — the series of dastardly twists leave you frazzled and you’re grateful for the warm fuzzy feeling on the last page. For sheer excitement there’s just no one else like Irvine around at the moment’

But Ian Irvine is no stranger to great reviews, as these comments on previous books show:
‘ Epic, non-stop action adventure’ — Starburst
‘An intense story … a worldbuilding labour of love with some truly original touches’ — Locus
‘A page-turner of the highest order … Irvine can now consider himself comfortably ranked next to the works of Robert Jordan and David Eddings. Formidable’ — SFX

And to find out what all the fuss is about, click HERE for your Destiny of the Dead extract.