Archive for Contents

N.K. Jemisin in “If Tolkien Were Black”

Laura Miller interviewed N.K. Jemisin for her article “If Tolkien Were Black,” up today at Salon:

“The genre can go many, many more places than it has gone,” said Jemisin. “Fantasy’s job is kind of to look back, just as science fiction’s job is to look forward. But fantasy doesn’t always just have to look back to one spot, or to one time. There’s so much rich, fascinating, interesting, really cool history that we haven’t touched in the genre: countries whose mythology is elaborate and fascinating, cultures whose stories we just haven’t even tried to retell.”

Read the rest of the article at Salon.com. While you’re at it, don’t forget to read Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (US | UK | ANZ) – or, if you’ve already done that, The Kingdom of Gods (US | UK | ANZ), which just last month concluded the acclaimed Inheritance Trilogy.

THE ASCENDANT STARS – out now!

Iain M. Banks is someone who knows a thing or two about science fiction, so when he labelled Michael Cobley’s SEEDS OF EARTH (UK | ANZ) as ‘Proper galaxy-spanning space opera’, you just knew something special had begun. Two years on, tens of thousands of fans have been enthralled by Cobley’s war-torn universe where the human race battles ancient alien civilisations just for the right to survive, an epic tale continued in THE ORPHANED WORLDS (UK | ANZ).

Now, in THE ASCENDANT STARS (UK | ANZ) – the explosive final book in the Humanity’s Fire trilogy – the fate of the human race will be decided. Ancient forces are awakening. Battle fleets are converging. Sentients and machines will lock horns in a devastating battle where there are only two outcomes: survival or the sterile dusts of space.

Praise for the Humanity’s Fire trilogy:

A convincing portrayal of political machinations and the plight of individuals caught up in events beyond their comprehension’ – GUARDIAN

‘A great hunky juggernaut of a Space Opera novel . . . that should be greeted with enthusiasm by fans of Peter F. Hamilton and Iain M. Banks’ – SFFWORLD

‘A really good, enjoyable and compelling book, written with verve and more than a little humour’ – BOOKGEEKS

‘There is a lot of depth to be found in Michael Cobley’s richly imagined universe, the characters beg deeper exploration, and the series as a whole possesses tremendous potential . . . Highly recommended’ – FANTASY BOOK CRITIC

‘This is really a fine piece of work and could, when it’s all finished, be up there with the aforementioned Tolkien or Asimov’s ‘Foundation’ series as one of the all-time greats’ – SF CROWSNEST

‘Another author that is being added to my buy-on-release list and one that is a breath of fresh air into the genre with an intriguing, complicated and a well executed story. Highly recommended’ – WALKER OF WORLDS

Michael Cobley can be found online at www.michaelcobley.com. A video Q&A with Michael about the Humanity’s Fire series can be found here.

Wallpapers for THE HEROES by JOE ABERCROMBIE

I loved working on these epic covers of badassery (technical term) with Gene Mollica & Michael Frost…so now that The Heroes is out, it’s totally time for wallpapers! I think these covers are set to volume 11, just like Joe Abercrombie’s writing, so if you like gritty, brutal, real-life epic fantasy with fabulous characters and a helping of political backstabbing, then you really should pick up The Heroes, out now in Trade Paperback.

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

Congratulations Robert Jackson Bennett and N.K. Jemisin!

After a sweltering FantasyCon in Brighton last weekend, I was delighted to collect the Sydney J Bounds Award for Best Newcomer on behalf of Robert Jackson Bennett for his wonderful novel Mr Shivers (US | UK | ANZ). The judges commented he ‘created an atmospheric tale, reminiscent of the best of Block and King, skilfully evoking the ambience of the Great Depression, while demonstrating compelling storytelling’. Quite right! Congratulations, Robert – your statuette is in the post, but meanwhile here’s a picture of it looking rather lovely next to the winning book:

On the shortlist for the same award was another fabulous Orbit author, N.K. Jemisin, for her debut The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (US | UK | ANZ). It’s widely available (as is Mr Shivers) so grab a copy now if you haven’t read it yet. Jemisin’s new book The Kingdom of Gods (US | UK | ANZ) hit the bookshops in the UK, Australia and New Zealand on 6 October and is out in the US next month.

THE REVENGE OF THE DWARVES

“Impressive height or exceptional length of a limb is not the be all and end all of a creature. What I say is: the taller you are, the more likely you are to get hit!”

—Boïndil “Ireheart”, Doubleblade of the Secondling Clan of the Swinging Axes.

 “Now and then you hear malicious remarks about dwarves. They are said to be of inferior build, to be cranky, to have a weird sense of humor; it is told that they only drink beer that is as black as night and are not able to appreciate music unless a hundred voices are bellowing in unison. But I say: only when you have been a guest in their majestic halls, as once I was, should you have the right to pronounce on these rumors and confirm them all to be true. Let us not laugh at them as if they were lovable children with long beards, but, on the contrary, let us praise the magnificent way they have preserved all of us from total destruction. More than once.”

—Excerpts from the ten-volume work My Life and Uniquely Heroic Exploits—the Memoirs of the Incredible Rodario.

The Revenge of the Dwarves (UK / US / ANZ) is out now in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and is released next month in the US. Join the adventure – read the start of their tale right here.

Orbit’s First E-Book Only Launch!

We’re thrilled to announce our first ebook only publication from New York Times Bestselling author Lilith Saintcrow! We’ll be publishing The Hedgewitch Queen in December 2011, and the sequel, The Bandit King, in July 2012 in both the US and the UK.  The series will be available across all digital reader platforms.

The story centers around a young woman who must advance to the throne amidst court intrigue, conspiracies, and magic.

Vianne di Rocancheil is a lady waiting at the Court of Arquitaine, where she studies her books, watches for intrigue, and shepherds her foolhardy Princesse through the glittering whirl. Court is a sometimes-unpleasant waltz, especially for the unwary, but Vianne treads its measured steps well.

Unfortunately, the dance has changed. Treachery is afoot in gilded and velvet halls. A sorcerous conspiracy is unleashed, with blood, death, and warfare close behind. Vianne must flee, carrying the Great Seal of Arquitaine with her. This is the one thing the conspirators need to rule, and they won’t rest until they have it. A life of dances, intrigues, and fashion has not prepared Vianne for this. Nor has it prepared her for Tristan d’Arcenne, Captain of the King’s Guard and player in the most dangerous games conspiracy can devise. Yet to save her country and avenge her Princesse, Vianne will become what she must and do whatever is required.

A Queen can do no less.

Lili is a class act and with such an exciting story – that’s so different from anything she’s done before—we felt we couldn’t pass up this opportunity to try something new.

SPR-SUM 2012 US COVERS: EARLY LOOKS

 Wow, now that’s a lot of covers! A whole season in fact. With our US Spring-Summer 2012 catalog sneaking out into the world we wanted to go ahead and post all the early covers in one place so you don’t have to go sneaking about the interwebs looking for them. As this is catalog time, and pretty much a whole year before these books will go to print, a lot is still in development, and a lot will still change, so I’ve marked the not-final covers so there is no confusion. After the jump you can link and download each cover individually.

So go ahead! Get excited! Make your christmas lists, birthday lists, and beach-reading lists, and in the coming months we will be launching each of these covers with all the pomp and circumstance (and fun background videos, insider info, and semi-lucid ravings of yours truly) you have come to expect right here on orbitbooks.net

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