Archive for Contents

Give in to your GREEN-EYED DEMON . . .

Now unleashed in all territories: a big whopping Green-Eyed Demon (UK/ US/ ANZ). No need to get jealous – you can now get your hands on your very own copy of the latest addictively-compulsive instalment in the Sabina Kane series. Jaye Wells is bringing us more from the eternally feisty vamp-mage Sabina Kane, more from the sexy badass mage Adam Lazarus, more from the fiendishly ridiculous cat-demon Giguhl – AND more of her trademark ‘faboulous snarkiness’ – as Book Chick City puts it . . .

Jaye Wells: ultimate Queen of Snark – we salute you!

The clock is ticking for Sabina Kane. With her sister taken by mysterious captors, the Dark Races on the brink of war and a sinister order manipulating everyone behind the scenes, she’s really got her work cut out.

Using information provided by an unlikely ally, Sabina and her trusty sidekicks – the sexy mage Adam Lazarus and Giguhl, the Mischief demon – head to New Orleans to begin the hunt for her sister. Once there, they must contend with belligerent werewolves, magic-wielding vampires and, perhaps most frightening of all, humans.

But before Sabina can save those she cares about, she’s got to save herself from the ghosts of her former life. Because the past is haunting her. Literally.

If you want a sneaky peek at what’s in store for you, you can read a juicy little extract here.

Orbit acquires three new Charles Stross novels

I’m delighted to announce our acquisition of three wonderful new books by the award-winning Charles Stross, and there’s been a big buzz of excitement at Orbit HQ over this new deal. I’ve loved Charles Stross’s books for years and always enjoy his wit, his storytelling wizardry and his playful familiarity with the cutting edge of technology. The new novels are The Apocalypse Codex, Neptune’s Brood and The Lambda Functionary and span the full range of Stross’s work – from Lovecraftian horror to space opera to near-future crime. And we’ll be publishing these in the UK/ANZ from Summer 2012.

Here’s just a snapshot of the great things that have been said about Charles Stross’s work:

As keenly observant of our emergent society as it is of our emergent technologies …one extremely smart species of fun” William Gibson
“Not only edgy and smart but grounded in human concerns” Wired
“Stretches the limits of narrative to make us see how wonderful ideas can be”
Time Out
“Stross is an author who anyone interested in SF should read and relish” SFX
“The cutting edge of modern science fiction” SFSite.com

Tricia Sullivan’s Lightborn on Arthur C. Clarke award shortlist

We’re delighted to see Tricia Sullivan’s novel Lightborn make the shortlist for this year’s Arthur C. Clarke award – one of the UK’s most prestigious awards for SF literature. Everyone at Orbit extends  their congratulations to Tricia, and to all of the other finalists.

It’s a finely balanced shortlist this year, with no publisher having more than one book on the list. There’s already been plenty of enthusiastic debate on twitter, with readers discussing the merits of the various novels. It seems the list sprung one or two surprises – needless to say, no one won the competition on the Torque Control blog for guessing the shortlist. That’s how hard it is to predict!

Here’s the shortlist in full:

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes (Angry Robot)
The Dervish House by Ian McDonald (Gollancz)
Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (Walker Books)
Generosity by Richard Powers (Atlantic Books)
Declare by Tim Powers (Corvus)
Lightborn by Tricia Sullivan (Orbit)

The winner – picked by a panel of judges – will be announced at SciFi London on 27 April 2011. Naturally, the Orbit UK team will be in attendance and suitably glammed up for the occasion (though on our best behaviour, promise).

Daniel Abraham Speaks

“The characters and world in THE DRAGON’S PATH, for instance, are supposed to remind you of other characters you already know, so that by the time you meet them, you already have a little bit of a relationship with them. I want this to be a book you can fall into effortlessly.”

Daniel Abraham’s forthcoming novel is just one of many topics touched upon in a fascinating interview with Aidan Moher of A Dribble of Ink. He discusses, among much else, the value of pseudonyms, why fantasy is a safe place to explore exoticism, gender roles and writing from a woman’s perspective, and what makes a good story — any story — good.

“There is something at the base of genre – and it’s commercial and accessible and low-class and embarrassing – that brings people to what we do, and I think writers turn away from that at our peril.”

THE DRAGON’S PATH will be published by Orbit April 7, 2011.

THE HAMMER has hit the mark

It’s great to see that others share our extremely high opinion of K. J. Parker’s The Hammer (UK I US I ANZ) which has been getting some fantastic reviews below. K. J. tells a mean tale of justice, betrayal and how far a man will go for his cause. Gritty, tense, fabulously written and you can see for yourselves in our free extract.

Or take a look at what these people of good taste have to say …

This fantasy is less about wizards (of which there are none) and more about morality, family and notions of justice and duty … the small size of the stage makes the enormity of Gignomai’s actions all the more powerful’ SFX

“As a big fan of the author’s work, I had the highest expectations for The Hammer … it was as good as I expected and it’s an early candidate for my best of 2011″ SFFWorld.com

“The dark humor and superb style of the author are on display continually through the novel, while the twists, turns, jaw dropping moments characteristic of a K. J. Parker novel materialize often” FantasyBookCritic blog

“A story with guts, glory and above all else a principle character facing not only personal dilemmas but also overcoming the odds to succeed …  definitely beautifully written” The Falcata Times blog

“The Hammer is vintage Parker – a fascination with, and a central role for, made objects like swords and guns, a revenge plot carried out with clear-eyed viciousness … in a book steeped in moral ambiguity and the complex thought processes of realistic, not fantastical, characters” Bookgeeks.co.uk

Orbit acquires self-published ebook bestseller

Orbit is pleased to announce that it has acquired rights to publish the Riyria Revelations series by self-published author Michael J. Sullivan.  Orbit will be publishing the complete series in three volumes in consecutive months in Fall/Winter 2011-2012. The first volume, Theft of Swords, will be published in November 2011; the second volume, Rise of Empire, in December 2011, and the final volume, Heir of Novron, in January 2012.

Michael J. Sullivan has already self-published the series in ebook and print-on-demand editions, and each volume has been prominent on the ebook fantasy bestseller charts. (more…)

Introducing the Orbit Books Podcast

We’re thrilled to launch the Orbit podcast, hosted by Jack Womack. The first episode features a wide-ranging conversation with Joe Abercrombie, whose new book, THE HEROES, is out now. Subjects covered include: hand-to-hand combat, warfare and film, gallows humor, death metal, the American Civil War, and more. You can listen to the full episode below, or subscribe on itunes or the RSS feed.

UPDATE: It looks like some people are having problems downloading via itunes. It should be resolved shortly, but if you can’t download directly, try subscribing to the podcast in itunes.

BLONDE BOMBSHELL – landing near you now

There is a fizzingly funny, cosmically comic new Tom Holt book available now! This is the UK paperback edition of Blonde Bombshell (UK | US), a heart-warming tale of Armageddon, and you can get a free extract. Looks like reviewers prefer blondes too, as we’ve had a huge amount of praise for this bombshell:

A pacy romp with some beautifully executed set pieces’ Guardian
‘A comic SF caper reminiscent of Terry Pratchett’ Independent on Sunday
‘One of the most ludicrously funny intergalactic shaggy dog stories ever told’
Daily Express
‘From a very clever author, with some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments’
News of the World
‘A nifty comic read, fizzing with one-liners … enjoyably deranged’ SFX
‘Exceptionally well-written’ SciFi Now

You can also play our highly addictive ‘Blondesweeper’ game. A little healthy competition on the scoreboard would be good for our in-house champions  … make them work for their glory!

Joe Abercrombie, Non-Nihilist

Recently, on Andrew Breitbart’s Big Hollywood, an intriguing essay by Leo Grin entitled “The Bankrupt Nihilism of Our Fallen Fantasists” appeared, finding Joe Abercrombie’s latest novel, THE HEROES,(as well as the work of a number of other contemporary fantasy writers) to be a bit lacking — allusions to “Abercrombie’s jaded literary sewer” and a “small, pathetic chapter in the decades-long slide of Western civilization into suicidal self-loathing” rather clearly convey the author’s position.

Joe has written a very effective response on his website, among other things noting that he simply hadn’t realized he was recognized as such a threat to fantasy in general, and Western civilization in particular. Especially, as observed in both sites’ comment threads, by those who haven’t gone so far as actually reading Joe Abercrombie’s more recent work in order to comprehend its dangers.

Lilith Saintcrow’s Bannon and Clare

I’m excited to announce that we’ll be publishing a whole new series with Lilith Saintcrow. Lili is one of the first urban fantasy authors I acquired and I’m over the moon to tell you about her new series, a combination of historical urban fantasy and steampunk.  We’ll be publishing the first book in Summer 2012. (more…)