Archive for Contents

James S. A. Corey’s CALIBAN’S WAR is out!

Please stand by for a tightbeam from Orbit Books:

For anyone who enjoyed last year’s Hugo-nominated barnburner LEVIATHAN WAKES  (US | UK | AUS) the next book in the Expanse series is a must-read.

Earth and Mars are rattling sabers following a grisly attack on the asteroid colony Ganymede, and heroes familiar and new are drawn into the fray. This reader would happily follow Captain James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante to the ends of the solar system, and may yet. But some new faces have joined the cast, including Bobbie Draper, gunnery sergeant in the Martian Marines (and her beyond-deadly combat suit), and Chrisjen Aravasala, an Earth politician as grandmotherly as she is shrewd, sharp-tongued, and determined to keep UN forces and Mars from all-out war.

CALIBAN’S WAR (US | UK | AUS) keeps up the faster-than-light pace set by LEVIATHAN WAKES, and raises the stakes, putting the fate of the entire solar system (and one missing little girl) in the balance. Says Kirkus Reviews: “Topnotch space opera … The characters, many familiar from before, grow as the story expands; tension mounts, action explodes and pages turn relentlessly.”

More Stories:

Trailer for EXISTENCE by David Brin

Released today is EXISTENCE (UK | ANZ) – the phenomenal new science fiction novel from the multi-award winning David Brin. A book that io9 said will “make you think about the future in a whole new way.”

Truly a tour-de-force of storytelling, it’s his first novel to be released in ten years, and in the words of the Guardian: ‘It’s been well worth the wait’.

To mark this fantastic event we have released a first edition of the book with a limited-edition 3D cover. Watch the trailer below to see what lies ahead . . .

 

Behind the Cover Video: THE SPIRIT WAR by Rachel Aaron

Here in the Art Department, we work over a year in advance on our book covers, so it’s a thrill to finally be able to go back and share these process posts with you. Today we have a special treat, because last year when the fabulous illustrator Sam Weber was working on the Eli Monpress series for us, he invited us into his studio in Brooklyn to take a peek at THE SPIRIT WAR in progress.
I have really enjoyed working with Sam on this series because not only does he paint such gorgeous covers for us, he’s also a gigantic geek and loves to read the books as well. It really makes a difference in a cover when your artist really gets into the story and characters…especially in the case of Eli, master thief and scoundrel extraordinaire.

In the video below, Sam walks us through his process from thumbnails to final art. Even seeing him work up close, I still can’t believe he gets the amazing textures and luminosity he creates out of the watercolors. Let me tell you, if you are not an artist or have never tried painting in any medium, never mind watercolors, you have no idea how unforgiving a medium it can be.

I know the sketches and stages he shows go by pretty quickly in the video, so I’ll post a bunch of the cover stages so you can see what he’s describing up close. Enjoy! And look forward to part two, when we move past the process of physically creating the cover, and reveal how big of a geek Mr. Weber really is.

After the jump, see the process images up close and personal…
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BITTER SEEDS: Blood magic, sociopaths and “good people doing bad things”

The World War II alternate history fantasy novel Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregellis, where the Nazis have superhumans and the British use dark magicsIan Tregillis’s debut fantasy novel BITTER SEEDS (UK | ANZ) is a sinister reimagining of World War II events. In this supernatural alternate history, British forces use dark magics to hold back an invading army of Nazi superhumans. Orbit’s James Long put some questions to Ian on where he got his ideas from . . .

The premise of Bitter Seeds – Nazi super soldiers versus occult powers conjured up by British Warlocks – is unusual, to say the least! What was the original inspiration behind the story?

A number of years ago, around 2002 or 2003, I read a magazine article about a little-known Allied secret project during the Second World War called Project Habakkuk. Habakkuk was conceived during the height of the Battle of the Atlantic, when German wolf packs were destroying Allied shipping convoys. The idea – and this is one of those wonderful places where truth is so much stranger than fiction – was to build ships out of ice. It sounds mad but it’s actually a rather clever idea! Alas, for various reasons the project never made it past the prototype stage (Maybe because it is just a little bit mad.)

But I couldn’t get that image out of my head, of vast bergships plying the North Atlantic and changing the course of the war. So I began to wonder how the Axis might have responded if Habakkuk had been a success. A few days later, as I was driving to work, the answer hit me out of the blue: obviously, Ian, the Germans would have sent a pyrokinetic spy to sabotage the shipyards . . .

The ice ship never made it into Bitter Seeds, but the pyrokinetic SS agent did. (more…)

Tempests have never been hotter!

TEMPEST’S FURY (US | UK | AUS) is the perfect name for this awesome new novel by Nicole Peeler. Jane True comes into her own as the champion and it has the trademark quirkiness, humor and the zaniness that only Nicole can bring to urban fantasy. People have been comparing her for years to Charlaine Harris and with her newest covers, I think she’s too fabulous to miss.

Jane’s not happy. She’s been packed off to England to fight in a war when she’d much rather be snogging Anyan. Unfortunately, Jane’s enemies have been busy stirring up some major trouble — the kind that attracts a lot of attention. In other words, they’re not making it easy for Jane to get any alone time with the barghest, or to indulge in her penchant for stinky cheese.

Praying she can pull off a Joan of Arc without the whole martyrdom thing, Jane must lead Alfar and halflings alike in a desperate battle to combat an ancient evil. Catapulted into the role of Most Unlikely Hero Ever, Jane also has to fight her own insecurities as well as the doubts of those who don’t think she can live up to her new role as Champion.

Along the way, Jane learns that some heroes are born. Some are made. And some are bribed with promises of food and sex.

THE HEIR OF NIGHT wins the David Gemmell Morningstar Award!

The first book in the Wall of Night epic fantasy seriesWe’re all absolutely thrilled to announce that Helen Lowe has won the David Gemmell Morningstar Award for her brilliant debut fantasy THE HEIR OF NIGHT! (UK | ANZ)

Biggest congratulations go to Helen – we can’t think of anyone who deserves this more. We’re constantly amazed by her hard work and her skillfully plotted fantasy writing, (we just can’t wait for her third novel, DAUGHTER OF BLOOD) and we’re delighted that she’s been recognised in this way.

The win was announced on Friday evening, in a glamorous ceremony held at the Magic Circle Headquarters in London – some photos of the awards ceremony below. Congratulations also go to the other winners on the night: Patrick Rothfuss, who won the Legend Award, and Raymond Swanland, who took home the Ravenheart Award for best cover art.

The Morningstar is awarded to the Best Fantasy Newcomer of the year. Here’s Helen’s announcement on her website, and the acceptance speech that was read out on the night.

Helen Lowe's trophy for Best Fantasy Debut
The award itself! To be posted very carefully to New Zealand today.
Orbit Commissioning Editor Anna Gregson and Editorial Assistant James Long
Orbit’s James Long and Anna Gregson chatting to agent John Berlyne at the awards ceremony
Orbit Commissioning Editor Jenni Hill collects the Morningstar award on behalf of fantasy author Helen Lowe
The award is collected by Orbit on behalf of Helen Lowe. Credit to Stan Nicholls and Sandy Auden for their photos of the ceremony.

Germline and Beyond: How my Short Fiction Links to the Subterrene Novels

Caution: this isn’t a blog post about fiction as much as it’s a post about a weirdo. Me. Because you’d have to be weird to (a) hammer out three books in 1.5 years, (b) write one that wins a major genre award, and (c) figure it would also be easy to also generate a short story and two novelettes to compliment the books’ universe. But that’s exactly what I did. Why? Because people fascinate me in the number of ways they can be ridiculous and murderous, and sometimes I wonder: where will war take us in the future and will people ever change?

Germline, my first book and winner of the Compton Crook Award, is a gonzo-like account of futuristic front lines — the way an outsider sees things, someone not indoctrinated to the military lifestyle and who feels like a teenage outsider going in, an adult alien coming out. But where Germline is a coming of age story, Exogene is something different. Truth be told: I don’t know what it is. Exogene goes deep into the mind of the artificial, a manufactured human-like creature whose path to existence includes brutality too bizarre to be fiction. Some readers dig it. Wildly. Others can’t relate, and that’s just fine. The characters are strong women who find it difficult to tolerate incompetence or cowardice. Looking back, the main character, Catherine, took over the story and I had to follow her lead, a mind that dragged me in some strange directions. I was listening to a lot of The Distillers and Spinerette at the time so Brody Dalle may have seeped in through the cracks.

Then there’s Chimera. If Germline and Exogene are character studies about a man who can’t handle war and a girl who rejects it, respectively, then Chimera is a study of someone for whom war is a natural habitat: Stan Resnick. I’ve seen this. These types of soldiers exist — ones who genuinely thrive in settings that would make most of us want to huddle under a rock and stay there until everything dies down. And by the time writing began for Chimera, a few silly comments regarding Germline came in, comments suggesting it was an Apocalypse Now or Full Metal Jacket derivative (because anything that features a reporter from Stars and Stripes has to be channeling Full Metal Jacket, right?). Neither movie entered my thoughts in writing Germline. But to poke a finger in the eyes of these critics, I watched Apocalypse Now — over and over and over — and decided Chimera would address the enigma of Richard Colby.

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First contact with alien life . . . how will the world react?

David Brin's new science fiction novel EXISTENCE, about first contact with alien lifeDavid Brin’s upcoming science fiction novel EXISTENCE (UK |ANZ) centres around the discovery of an alien artifact floating high in Earth’s Orbit. It also boldly suggests that our continued existence was never a given. So we wanted to ask, what could First Contact mean for mankind? Are we on a tipping point? Read on for a collection of short excerpts from the book – and see this instance of First Contact from multiple angles . . .

In all of human history, only a few cultures ever managed to guide themselves across such a transition after making contact with superior outsiders, without first passing through long generations of intimidation and victimhood. Or tearing themselves apart . . .

 THE MOMENT OF DISCOVERY

Gerald Livingstone is a galactic garbage trawler, clearing up the residue of mankind’s now long-forgotten forays into the galaxy. The strangely alien artifact he stumbles across calls to him subliminally . . .

Could this really be a messenger from some alien civilization?

Bare fingertips hovered over the translucent surface, causing ripples to flow, as if preparing to meet him at the point of contact. Whatever lay within . . . it somehow knew. It sensed the nearness of living flesh.

What if it really is alien? And dangerous?

He couldn’t help suddenly imagining the oblong ovoid — gripped between his thighs — as something out of science fiction. A cuckoo’s egg. Perhaps a Trojan Horse. “Contamination” could work both ways. Might it be a terrible mistake to touch the thing? (more…)

Assassins, dreamworlds and a plague of nightmares: welcome to THE SHADOWED SUN

The fantasy novel THE SHADOWED SUN by the multilple-award winning N. K Jemisin - featuring assassins, dreamworlds and a plague of nightmaresThere are books that come along that I don’t just thoroughly enjoy, but that I feel intensely, overwhelmingly privileged to work on. THE SHADOWED SUN is one of those novels.

I don’t need to tell everyone what a stunning high fantasy writer N. K. Jemisin is. Her talents are already widely acknowledged, given that her debut novel THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS (UK | US | ANZ) was nominated for pretty much every fantasy award out there.

But even so, I underestimated just how utterly captivated I would be by THE KILLING MOON (UK | US | ANZ) and THE SHADOWED SUN (UK | US | ANZ ), books 1 and 2 in the Dreamblood duology. I didn’t think anything could top the Inheritance novels, but if it’s possible I was even more intoxicated. I09 seemed to agree when they said:

The Dreamblood duology is sure to cement Jemisin’s place as one of the most exciting and innovative new fantasy authors of recent years.

There’s something beautifully poetic about a little girl’s dreams becoming a plague upon a city.

Both novels in the Dreamblood duology are based around a religion of dreaming. It’s a dual world, where the realm of dreams is as real a place as the realm of waking. Where a soul that wonders in the dreamworld can find peace or be lost to ever-lasting torment.

In the city of Gujaareh, the priests of the dream goddess are able to harness the magic of the sleeping mind. These priests are both revered and feared, as they can use this gathered magic to either to heal . . . or kill those judged corrupt. And they move silently across the rooftops of the city at night to administer the chosen judgements. (more…)

A Fork in the Road, by Giguhl

everybody's favourite demon cat
Sometimes a demon, sometimes a cat – Giguhl has something to say.

Editor’s note: this letter was found wrapped around a brick thrown through our office window last night. We’ve deciphered the contents (phonetic spelling, crude drawings, demons don’t go to school after all) in the hope of drawing the culprit out into the open. . .

Hello mortals. It’s me again – your favorite demon sex symbol, Giguhl. Orbit asked me to stop in again since my last visit was the most popular post in the history of this blog.*

This time I’m here to celebrate the release of BLUE-BLOODED VAMP, which is the epic conclusion to the series about my boss, Sabina Kane. A lot of people are talking about this book because they’re really worried about what’s going to happen to me now. I won’t lie, facing an eternity where I am not the star of an urban fantasy series is a bleak prospect. I’ve become so used to the groupies and piles of money. **

the fifth book in the Sabina Kane vampire series
Even though Sabina is on the cover, Giguhl says he's the star of this series. We

Luckily, in addition to being a role model for the youth of America, I am also an entrepreneur. Witness my resume, which includes being the champion of Demon Fight Club and managing a roller derby team. I am never one to sit idle, I have decided upon a new career now that my days as the savior of humanity are done.

I’m going to be an author.

I just blew your mind, right?

Look, I’ve been watching Jaye Wells do this gig for like five years now. From what I can tell all it involves is eating a lot of carbs, tapping away on a keyboard, cussing at the screen, punching the delete button and then drinking wine directly from the bottle. Easy peasy.

My first story will be an erotic coming of age tale about a changeling faery, who leaves home to find sexy adventure in the mortal realm with a billionaire CEO who likes silk neckties. It’s partially a memoir about my friend Pussy Willow combined with a little creative license I’ve gleaned from watching the Spice channel. I’m going to call it 50 SHADES OF FAE.*** 

Anyway, I’m still working on it all, but I’m pretty sure that I’m going to be a bestseller right away. Jaye tells me I’m deluded and that I should stick to be a sidekick. I think she’s just jealous of my good looks, brilliant marketing mind and impressive modesty.

While I wait for every editor on earth to fight over the privilege of paying me eight-figures for my opus, you should probably go ahead and read BLUE-BLOODED VAMP. Tell Jaye I sent you so she’ll put a good word in with those incredibly good looking and witty editors at Orbit. 

Giguhl out!

 *I’m probably lying about this. 

**What? I totally have groupies. Mortal ladies are suckers for a bad boy. The money I am totally lying about. But who needs money when you’re up to your pitchfork in adoring ladies?

***Don’t even try to steal that title, mortals. I mean it!

Books 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Sabina Kane series 'starring' Giguhl.