Finally! I’m very excited to announce the release of THE HEDGEWITCH QUEEN by Lilith Saintcrow at ebook retailers in the US and the UK. This is Orbit’s first ebook only publication, and if you are curious to read a bit before hitting buy–you can read an excerpt here.
Lili also has a short fiction piece, Unfallen, that is available now in the US and to come in the UK.
After winning much critical acclaim for her Coldfire trilogy, Celia Friedman embarked on a new, epic tale of a dangerous world where to use magic is to sacrifice your own vitality . . . or that of an unwitting victim. The first novel in the Magister trilogy, FEAST OF SOULS [UK | ANZ], introduced us to Andovan, a prince suffering from a terrible disease, and Kamala, a young woman whose magical powers threaten centuries of tradition. Their fates – and those of many others – become entwined as a ancient force awakens to threaten their world. WINGS OF WRATH [UK | ANZ] continued the story, raising the stakes as the horrifying might of the Souleaters is gradually revealed.
Now, in LEGACY OF KINGS [UK | ANZ], the final confrontation is at hand. Secrets will be spilled, blood will run and magic will be unleashed. The fate of the world lies in the hands of a select few . . . but will their powers be enough to hold back the darkness?
Praise for Celia Friedman’s Magister trilogy:
Perhaps the most staggering achievement of FEAST OF SOULS is how purposeful every scene feels. There is no filler in this book — Ms. Friedman’s prose is crisp and to the point, just as every scene in this book serves as an integral part to the novel as a whole . . . FEAST OF SOULS is a fantastic, superior work of speculative fiction’ – THE BOOK SMUGGLERS
‘Friedman has her hands firmly on the reins and delivers scenes that are tightly controlled while sparkling with vitality’ – GRAEME’S FANTASY BOOK REVIEW
‘Friedman truly knows what she is doing as a storyteller, since she is following one of the great axioms: “Always leaving them wanting more.” I, for one, want more; especially after reading the last couple of exhilarating chapters’ – SFF WORLD (more…)
The Griffin Mage (US | UK | ANZ) by Rachel Neumeier is now out!
It contains the full Griffin Mage Trilogy: Lord of the Changing Wind, Land of the Burning Sands and Law of the Broken Earth.
When I first read the book, I thought her writing style was exactly like Patricia McKillip — and instead of Naomi Novik’s dragons — we have griffins. And of course, the griffins put me in the mind of another popular series: Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern.
In case you haven’t spotted it yet, Shadowheart (UK / ANZ) was released this month in paperback. It’s the breathtaking conclusion to Tad Williams’ sweeping epic fantasy, the Shadowmarch series. The finale to this tale sees Barrick Eddon, prince of Southmarch, choosing where his loyalties lie – with the humans, or with the dark Qar race, whose legacy he has promised to safeguard . . .
It’s a fantastic ending to a knock-out series and, as a massive Tad Williams fan, I must say this is certainly not to be missed. A few other people think so too:
‘Rich in detail and exploding with imagination. Dive in there and lose yourself’ SFX
‘It’s always bittersweet to see a series come to an end; as fans, we are always eager to find out what happens to our heroes and heroines, but, equally, we don’t want them to ever leave our lives . . . Williams convinced me to care utterly for his characters and there’s a hole now in my life where they once lived. Few storytellers can do that. Williams does it with alarming regularity’ A Dribble of Ink
‘Shadowrise and Shadowheart are as good an ending to a fantasy saga as I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading . . .’ Fantasy Book Critic
Read an extract right here. Tad Williams has also been under the Orbit spotlight this month, so if you haven’t tried Tad yet, go here to see just what you’re missing.
I’m very happy to announce that Orbit UK has acquired Bitter Seeds plus two further novels by the highly talented Ian Tregillis.
Bitter Seeds is an audacious fantasy retelling of the events of World War II – where Nazis create superhumans that can throw fire, see the future and turn invisible, whilst the British warlocks use dark magics to hold back the German invasion. I was totally wowed by the deliciously sinister atmosphere of this novel, with its endlessly imaginative plot twists and awesome superhero-like characters. Ian has a very bright future ahead of him and I’m so glad that we’ve been able to take him on in the UK.
Bitter Seeds was released in the US last year to huge acclaim – here’s what people have said so far:
‘A major talent… I can’t wait to see more’ George R. R. Martin
‘Mad English warlocks battling twisted Nazi psychics? Yes please, thank you. Tregillis’s debut has a white-knuckle plot, beautiful descriptions, and complex characters– an unstoppable Vickers of a novel’ Cory Doctorow
‘Tregillis delivers a dynamite first novel in Bitter Seeds’ SFRevu.com
‘Bitter Seeds is hands down the best debut of 2010 so far’ Fantasy Book Critic
‘The crème de la crème of SFF debuts this year!’ Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist
Look out for Bitter Seeds in December next year! Its sequels The Coldest War and Necessary Evil will be released in February 2013 and April 2013 respectively.
Wallpaper time again, guys and gals, and more epic fantasy for all your fancy devices. This fine art is for THEFT OF SWORDS by Michael J. Sullivan, which is the first book in the Riyria Revelations. The art is by Larry Rostant, and depicts the duo at the heart of the books. I don’t want to give too much away, but these books were so good, we just had to give them the special Orbit 3-in-3-months treatment so you could get the whole epic in your hands right away.
There’s a bit of a difference in the US/UK versions of the cover – we like to do that sometimes just to keep you all on your toes – but the illustration is the same, so both sides of the pond can enjoy. Check out both covers and read an excerpt here.
Here’s all the wallpaper download links…if anyone needs a specific dimension made, let us know!
1024 x 768 | 1280 x 800 | 1440 x 900 | 1680 x 1050 |1920 x 1200 | iPhone | iPad
M.L.N. Hanover’s fantastic Black Sun’s Daughter series will be published in the UK for the first time in the New Year, with the first four books in the series coming out monthly from January. If you like Patricia Briggs or Kelley Armstrong or Sherrilyn Kenyon you’re in for a treat with these – I read all four of them in one weekend when I first discovered them.
A great series deserves great covers, so I hope you’ll agree we’ve done them justice. Little, Brown inhouse designer Hannah Clark’s creative interpretation of my loose brief (which boiled down to “it needs to look like urban fantasy but I want it to be new and different”) has led to this wonderfully fresh and original cover style – thanks Hannah!
Michael Sullivan was an internet sensation when his first novel, The Crown Conspiracy, first came out. He self-published the first five books of the series in ebook and print-on-demand. When I first read The Crown Conspiracy, I fell in love with Royce and Hadrian. I thought their adventure — and their bro-mance — was absolutely perfect. Michael writes great characters and his pacing is spot on. So I was excited at the opportunity to publish all six books in the series in two-book omnibuses starting this month.
We’re starting with Theft of Swords [US | UK | ANZ] this month and I guarantee that once you read this you’ll be begging for more. So it’s only appropriate that the other two books in the series, Rise of Empire [US | UK | ANZ] and Heir of Novron [US | UK | ANZ] follow soon after in December and January.
A bit about Theft of Swords:
Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles–until they are hired to pilfer a famed sword. What appears to be just a simple job finds them framed for the murder of the king and trapped in a conspiracy that uncovers a plot far greater than the mere overthrow of a tiny kingdom.
Can a self-serving thief and an idealistic swordsman survive long enough to unravel the first part of an ancient mystery that has toppled kings and destroyed empires in order to keep a secret too terrible for the world to know?
And so begins the first tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend.
There’s been a lot of excitement in certain SFF circles about Kevin Hearne’s fantastic Iron Druid Chronicles series. I first read Hounded as a manuscript over a year ago, and loved it, but I was working at a different publisher and no matter how I tried, I couldn’t quite manage to disguise the book as a thriller, which was the focus of my list at the time . . . So I had to let it go – and was delighted to discover it was still available when I arrived at Orbit UK a few months ago! And I’m not alone in my delight: Hounded and the two sequels whipped up a storm of rave reviews in the US when they were published over there earlier this year, and Hounded was the fastest selling debut fantasy of 2011.
Now you lucky, lucky people get to read it over in the UK and our various other markets across the world: we published the first book, Hounded, in September, the second, Hexed, in October, and the third book, Hammered, is out this month.
SFF World described the series pretty well when they said it’s ‘American Gods meets Harry Dresden’ – what’s not to like?!
Here’s what others have said about the first two books in the series:
HOUNDED
Entertaining, steeped in a ton of mythology, populated by awesome characters’ civilianreader
‘Hearne, a self-professed comic-book nerd, has turned his love of awesome dudes whacking mightily at evil villains into a superb urban fantasy debut. Staying alive for 2,000 years takes a great deal of cunning, and sexy super-druid Atticus O’Sullivan, currently holed up in the Arizona desert, has vexed a few VIPs along the way. High up on that list is Aenghus Óg, the Celtic god of love. It’s not just that Aenghus wants his sword back – though it is a very nice magical sword – but that Atticus didn’t exactly ask permission to take it. Atticus and his trusty sidekick, Irish wolfhound Oberon, make an eminently readable daring duo as they dodge Aenghus’s minions and thwart his schemes with plenty of quips and zap-pow-bang fighting.’ Publisher’s Weekly, starred review (more…)
There is nothing that makes me sadder than finishing a series. In some ways, it’s yeah, finally — a conclusion! And in others, its harder because you’ve grown up with that character for so many years. I’ve published Lili for almost a decade and I have to say, that editing Hell and Back (her Dante Valentine series) was hard because I kept tearing up — but that was nothing compared to Angel Town.
For those of you who read the books — you’ll know that Heaven’s Spite finished with a bang. (SPOILER AHEAD! GO OVER WITH MOUSE TO READ!)
<Beginning of Spoiler>Lili doesn’t just kill her heroine — she throws her into HELL!! Angel Town opens at the gates of Hell and you can read the first chapter here. <End of Spoiler>
