Archive for Contents

Review round-up: ‘Night Shift’ by Lilith Saintcrow

Night Shift by Lilith Saintcrow UK pbIn the past couple of weeks we’ve seen a flurry of reviews of Lilith Saintcrow‘s brand new novel, Night Shift [US | UK], the first in a new series starring kick-ass demon-hunter Jill Kismet.

Writing for the My Favourite Books blog, Liz was particularly impressed with the strength of Lilith’s new protagonist:

“Lilith has again created a vibrant, strong, female heroine who keeps you running behind her in a breathless charge against forces you just know you would never be able to walk away from completely unscathed.”

Graeme, of Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review fame enjoyed Lilith’s moody and atmospheric prose:

“I like what she is setting up; it’s very atmospheric (in a noir kind of way) and dark. Just the right kind of vibe for the story being told. The good news is that Saintcrow makes sure that her scene-setting doesn’t get in the way of telling a fast paced and gritty tale.”

Over at the Midwest Book Review site (not the easiest to navigate, but stick with it) Terrilyn Fleming highlights the noir-cinematic feel of Lilith’s writing:

“Lyrical language and movie-worthy fight scenes are staples in Saintcrow’s novels, and this one is no exception. In Night Shift, Saincrow’s usual beautiful language is complemented with almost Chandleresque noir phrases … Her fight scenes contain blood spatters that hang in the air and a billowing coat that snap out parachute-like when Kismet jumps from roofs. The scenes are so well painted it is like reading a graphic novel.”

And whilst Amanda at www.lovevampires.com bemoans the lack of proper vamps in Jill Kismet’s world, she was still suitably impressed enough to conclude:

“Night Shift powers readers through an action packed nightscape of bloody death – usually dispensed by our heroine Jill. In my view Night Shift makes for more engaging reading than the Dante Valentine books but I think that readers will have to make up their own minds. Certainly if you have enjoyed the earlier [series] I can’t see you being disappointed by Night Shift.”

You can sample the first part of the book for yourself by reading an extract from Night Shift here, read Lilith’s intro to the book in our recent In Their Own Words item and can find out much more about the author, her new series and her previous books, over at her official website: www.lilithsaintcrow.com.

In-depth Marie Brennan interview at Fantasy Book Critic

Marie Brennan - Midnight Never Come (UK)Over at his Fantasy Book Critic blog, Robert has posted the longest and most detailed interview we’ve seen to-date with Marie Brennan, author of Midnight Never Come [UK/US].

Robert and Marie discuss the origins of the story, the differences between Midnight Never Come and some of the other Elizabethan Faerie titles currently being published, here next novel And Ashes Lie (scheduled for publication in 2009), her earlier books (which we’re reissuing in the US this summer), her short fiction writing, her academic background in anthrolopogy and folklore and more.

Great stuff, well worth a read if you’re a fan of Marie’s first Onyx Court book already, or are at all curious about the background to the series.

Notice for Orbit US enewsletter subscribers

If you’re a subscriber to the Orbit US enewsletter, you may have had a bounce-back error when entering our most recent sweepstakes – if that’s the case, just resend your entry to orbit@hbgusa.com . Sorry for any inconvenience!

In Their Own Words: Kevin J. Anderson on The Saga of Seven Suns.

Kevin says:

The Ashes of WorldsYeah, I know you’ve been burned before. As a SF/F reader, you tend to look at anything touted as “a new epic series” with a jaded eye. You’ll believe it when the author actually delivers finished books instead of promises.

You’ve gotten hooked before by reading the first volume or two, and then the author goes AWOL, losing interest in the series, or being years late on delivery, or — worse — the purported trilogy turns out to be ten books or more, with no end in sight.

I stand before you humbly offering my “Saga of Seven Suns” — planned as a seven-volume continuous story (“Seven Suns” = 7 volumes, get it?) with a beginning and an actual end, not to mention a lot of high points in between.

Just as a good architect draws a detailed blueprint of a skyscraper complex before breaking ground and erecting the framework, so I outlined the “Saga,” knowing generally where all the features were going to be, but leaving plenty of room for embellishments.

I’ve worked eight years of my life on this series, which I consider to be my love letter to the science fiction genre: galactic empires, alien races, lost civilizations, strange worlds, horrifying monsters, exciting space battles, a vast cast of characters, dozens of tangled plot threads, romance, betrayal, politics, religion, and even some nasty robots.

Each book in the “Saga” came out on time, each year, seven years in a row. As a fan and a reader myself, I know what you expect from your authors — and if you read this series, I hope you think I’ve delivered what I promised.

The (COMPLETE!) Saga of Seven Suns

Book 1: Hidden Empire
Book 2: A Forest of Stars
Book 3: Horizon Storms
Book 4: Scattered Suns
Book 5: Of Fire and Night
Book 6: Metal Swarm
Book 7: The Ashes of Worlds

‘Midnight Never Come’ competition – the winners

Marie Brennan - Midnight Never Come (UK)Midnight on Monday was the cut-off point for entries to our Midnight Never Come prize quiz competition and Tuesday saw a flurry of activity as the overall winner and runners-up were selected (by means of our polyhedral plastic random number generating system) from amongst the fantastic volume of correct entries we received.

Thank you very much indeed to everyone who took part, and we do hope you enjoyed puzzling out the answers. All the winners were contacted earlier this week, so I’m afraid if you haven’t heard from us by now, then your luck wasn’t in… at least, not this time – do keep your eye out for more Orbit competitions in the future.

The overall winner – who will soon be enjoying a $500 spending spree with their book retailer of choice, as well as receiving a signed copy of Marie Brennan‘s Midnight Never Come – is:

Carmen R from Columbus, Georgia

And the ten runners-up, who will be receiving a signed copy of Midnight Never Come, are (in approximate order of distance from Orbit’s London HQ):

– Ian S from Dunstable, Bedfordshire
– Linda R from Mildenhall, Suffolk
– Susie A from Alsager, Cheshire
– Bill T from Huyton, Merseyside
– Brian S from Beverley, East Yorkshire
– Kathleen G from Haddon Heights, New Jersey
– Charlene C from Hymera, Indiana
– Mary W from Chicago, Illinois
– Kristy G from Orem, Utah
– Dawn L from Redwood City, California

Many congratulations to our overall winner and runners-up, and we do hope you all thoroughly enjoy reading Midnight Never Come!

Jennifer Rardin talks to Brian Ruckley

Bloodheir by Brian RuckleyOver at Jennifer Rardin‘s website, she’s posted the latest in her ongoing series of blog-interviews with fellow authors.

In her latest post, Jennifer talks to fellow Orbit author Brian Ruckley – to mark the occasion of the publication of his second novel, Bloodheir [UK/US] – about the villains in his Godless World series, the main themes that run through the books, his world-building techniques, travel preferences… all sorts of things.

Read the full interview at www.jenniferrardin.com.

Read an excerpt from Ken MacLeod’s ‘The Night Sessions’

The Night Sessions UK HardbackAugust 2008 sees the UK publication of Ken MacLeod‘s brand new novel, The Night Sessions.

With a near(-ish) future setting that will definitely appeal to fans of both Ken’s last novel, The Execution Channel and Charles Stross’ recent Orbit title, Halting State, The Night Sessions tells the story of the apparent resurgence of anti-religious terrorism, fifteen years after ‘The Faith Wars’ (or ‘The Oil Wars’, depending on your point of view) and the Second Enlightenment that followed have radically altered the political and philosophical outlook of the world we know.

It’s packed full of Ken MacLeod trademarks: a mystery to unravel; one that’s wrapped in a slant-wise look at where the world might end up if the current tide of religious fundamentalism continues. And all laced with the sort of dry, laconic wit that regular MacLeod fans will know well and new readers will warm to immediately.

We’re publishing in hardback at £18.99, but if you’d like to get an early free sample, head on over to www.fantasybookspot.com, where you’ll find an excerpt from the first chapter: meet Edinburgh-based Detective Inspector Adam Ferguson and his leki-partner. Leki? Read it and see…

Plenty more from Ken MacLeod over at his blog: The Early Days of a Better Nation.