Archive for Contents
Jeff Somers takes Comicon
Orbit’s Jeff Somers posted a hilarious video of his experiences as a Comicon newbie. Check it out!
Deals and Deliveries: new Runelords novels by David Farland
We have just bought two new books in David Farland’s fabulously imaginative Runelords series, which began with The Sum of all Men. Berserker (Runelords book eight) and Runelords book nine continue the story of a world that was torn into damaged shadows of itself in ages past, creating a multitude of worlds all corrupted by darkness. Fallion, a powerful flameweaver, is trying to banish evils from his world by uniting these broken pieces. But the healing goes badly wrong. Instead of a harmonious binding of many lands, only two worlds are merged, with the greatest ills of each vying for supremacy. Now monstrous beasts known as wyrmlings haunt the nightmares of men.
We plan to publish Berserker in September 2010, and you can catch up on all previous Runelords books by clicking here.
Orbit UK schedule update: April 2009
We’ve updated the Orbit UK Schedule page with details of our forthcoming titles for April 2009. The following Orbit books will be available from all good bookstores – high street and online alike – round about April 2nd:
- A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin – Matthew Swift… murdered, resurrected, angry. A sorceror in life and now… something more? A tale of London’s seedy magical under-belly; one that’s sure to appeal to fans of Neil Gaiman, China Miéville or Mike Carey’s brand of dark, urban fantasy noir.
- Turn Coat by Jim Butcher – In the latest instalment of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, Harry Dresden is in trouble up to his neck as an old adversary turns to him for help: to clear his name and to save his life. But one false step could spell disaster for Chicago’s leading freelance wizard-for-hire.
- The Night Sessions by Ken MacLeod – A priest is murdered in Edinburgh: is this the first sign of a religious rebellion that’s about to sweep a world still trying to forget the dark days of The Faith Wars? A thought-provoking, near-future thriller from the author of The Execution Channel.
- Bloodheir by Brian Ruckley – The war between the Black Road and the True Blood clans is escalating as invading forces sweep down from the far north. But darker powers are growing and gaining influence in the second instalment of Brian Ruckley’s debut fantasy saga, The Godless World.
- Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells – Brand new urban fantasy from debut author Jaye Wells. In a world where being of mixed-blood is a major liability, Sabina doesn’t really fit in. And being an assassin – the only profession fit for an outcast – doesn’t help matters. But she’s never brought her work home. Until now …
You can also see a preview of Orbit UK’s March 2009 titles, or you can check out our UK publishing schedule for February to April 2009.
Ken MacLeod talks about Digital Evolution
Award-winning Night Sessions author Ken Macleod is set to host a discussion on how computer games inform our ideas of evolution at The Drill Hall, Edinburgh this Saturday 7th February 2009.
How life-like are games like Spores and Second Life and what can they teach us about human evolution?
Ken and synthetic biologist Dr Alistair Elfick will be leading this debate, hosted by The Skinny Magazine and the ESRC Genomics Policy and Research forum.
For more information on this free, ticketed event click here.
Cover Launch: Best Served Cold
Good Afternoon from the Orbit US Art Department. Today we’re giving you a sneak peak at the new Joe Abercrombie title, BEST SERVED COLD. (Out in July in the US)
This book is an exciting new chapter for Abercrombie fans, and a great place to jump on if you’ve never read Joe’s books before. This title is a standalone, so don’t worry about needing to know backstory, just jump in…
Best Served Cold is the story of Monza Murcatto, the Snake of Talins, the most feared and famous mercenary in the ruthless Duke Orso’s employ. Her victories have made her popular — a shade too popular for her employer’s taste. Betrayed, thrown down a mountain, and left for dead, Murcatto arises with a broken body and a burning hunger for vengeance.
“A Girl?!” you say? Well, trust me, this is pure Joe Abercrombie. It is as action-packed, as edgy, and as bloody (as you can see from the cover) as any epic fantasy I’ve read in a long time. However, it also opens the door for a brand new audience of female readers (myself included) to get sucked into Joe’s vivid storytelling and the world of Styria. This book is both true to Joe’s First Law Trilogy and a huge step forward into exciting new terrain. (more…)
The Making of an Urban Fantasy Cover: Part I
The Art Department of a book publisher is a mysterious thing to a lot of people. Sure, you know what we do, we’re the ones who make the pretty bookcovers. But friends and family are always kind of mystified about the process of designing a cover. How do we find art? Who decides what the cover is going to look like? How can you possibly have memorized 5,000 fonts and yet still bemoan that you just can’t find the right one? (This is not unlike a teenager looking into a full fridge and complaining that there’s nothing to eat). So I thought I’d take you, loyal readers, through the process of a cover, start to finish. (more…)
The Judging Eye – Chapter 1 Extract
Some exciting news for all you Prince of Nothing fans! A full chapter one extract of R. Scott Bakker’s The Judging Eye is now available to read:
The tracks between whim and brutality are many and inscrutable in Men, and though they often seem to cut across the impassable terrain of reason, in truth, it is reason that paves their way. Ever do Men argue from want to need and from need to fortuitous warrant. Ever do they think their cause the just cause. Like cats chasing sunlight thrown from a mirror, they never tire of their own delusions.
At the behest of their Holy Aspect-Emperor, the priests of the Thousand Temples harangued their congregations, and the Judges of the Ministrate scoured the land, seeking out and destroying all those who would either dispute the Truth or choose avarice over the mortal demands of the darkness to come. Everyone, whether caste-slave or caste-noble, was taught the Great Chain of Missions, how the words and works of each made possible the words and works of the other. They learned how Men, all Men, warred all the time, whether tilling fields or loving their kin. All lives, no matter how humble, were links that either fortified the Great Chain or impaired it, leading to the First Ring, the link from which the world itself hung: the Holy War against the apocalyptic designs of the Consult …
Or as it came to be called, the Great Ordeal.
Ken MacLeod’s THE NIGHT SESSIONS shortlisted for BSFA Award
Following on from Ken MacLeod‘s excellent showing on last year’s awards shortlists, we’re delighted to announce that 2009 has begun in similar fashion. We’ve just received news that his dark, near-future SF thriller, The Night Sessions, has been shortlisted for the BSFA Award for Best Novel!
Many congratulations to Ken and thanks to those who nominated The Night Sessions. The award will be presented over the Easter weekend at LX, the 60th National Science Fiction Convention, in Bradford. In the meantime, may I urge you to vote early and vote often!
Two Chances to Win a Walk-On Role in A Memory of Light
Brandon Sanderson, who is completing Robert Jordan’s epic Wheel of Time series, is giving fans two chances to win a walk-on role in A Memory of Light and raise money for charity at the same time.
From his website:
I realized that we had something very special in the Wheel of Time book–an opportunity that shouldn’t be passed up. I wrote an email to Harriet, telling her about the charity that Pat had been using for his drive. It’s called Heifer International. Instead of just giving food to the poor, they go into developing countries, give them animals to care for, and teach them how to use the livestock to create a sustainable source of income and food. It’s a fantastic idea, and a worthy charity. I asked Harriet if she’d mind me auctioning off a character in A Memory of Light. She was behind that 100%. As some of you may know, Robert Jordan did something like this once, giving a walk-on part to a fan in one of the books. There are a LOT of people who need to be named in this story, and so why not let a few of those names and descriptions go to real people?
You can get the full details of both chances at his website here.