Archive for Contents

Cover Launch: WARRIOR OF THE WIND by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

Take your first look at the cover of Warrior of the Wind (US | UK) by Suyi Davies Okungbowa! You can pick up the sequel to Son of the Storm (US | UK) this November.

Warrior of the Wind by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

Cover Design by Lauren Panepinto; Cover Illustration by Dan dos Santos

The empire has been reshaped. There is no peace in the season of the Red Emperor.

Traumatized by their escape from Bassa, Lilong and Danso have found safety in a vagabond colony on the edge of the emperor’s control. But time is running out on their refuge. A new bounty makes every person a threat, and whispers of magic have roused those eager for their own power.

Lilong is determined to return the Diwi—the ibor heirloom—to her people. It’s the only way to keep it safe from Esheme’s insatiable desire. The journey home will be long, filled with twists and treachery, unexpected allies and fabled enemies.

But surviving the journey is the least of their problems.

Something ancient and uncontrollable awakens. Trouble heads for Bassa, and the continent of Oon will need more than ibor to fix what’s coming.

For more from Suyi Davies Okungbowa, check out:

The Nameless Republic
Son of the Storm (US | UK)

Cover Launch: THE DARKNESS BEFORE THEM by Matthew Ward

We’re excited to share the cover for Matthew Ward’s upcoming epic fantasy novel THE DARKNESS BEFORE THEM, with art by Joe Wilson and design by Charlotte Stroomer.

 

 

THE DARKNESS BEFORE THEM is packed with intrigue, magic and adventure, and is set in a brand new world perfect for new readers and existing fans alike.

Here’s what to expect from the first book in the Soulfire Saga . . .

 

These are dark times for the Kingdom of Khalad. As the magical mists of the Veil devour the land, the populace struggles beneath the rule of ruthless noble houses and their uncaring immortal king.

Kat doesn’t care about any of that. A talented thief, she’s pursuing one big score that will settle the debt that destroyed her family. No easy feat in a realm where indentured spirits hold vigil over every vault and treasure room. However, Kat has a unique gift: she can speak to those spirits, and even command them. She’ll need every advantage she can get.

Kat’s not a hero. She just wants to be free. To have her old life back. But as rebellion rekindles and the war for Khalad’s future begins, everyone – Kat included – will have to pick a side.

 

THE DARKNESS BEFORE THEM publishes in November.

Pre-order UK / Pre-order US

 

If you haven’t yet read Matthew’s superb Legacy trilogy, the series is complete and so now is the perfect time to dive in!

 

Cover Launch: THE HEXOLOGISTS by Josiah Bancroft

In case you missed it, take your first look at the cover of The Hexologists (US | UK) by Josiah Bancroft! You can pick up this start to a new series in September 2023. We want to thank FanFiAddict and The Fantasy Inn for sharing this cover with their readers.

The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft

Cover Design and Illustration by Ian Leino

The first book in a wildly inventive and mesmerizing new fantasy series from acclaimed author Josiah Bancroft where magical mysteries abound and only one team can solve them: The Hexologists. “Bancroft is a magician.” —Madeline Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Circe

The Hexologists, Iz and Warren Wilby, are quite accustomed to helping desperate clients with the bugbears of city life. Aided by hexes and a bag of charmed relics, the Wilbies have recovered children abducted by chimney-wraiths, removed infestations of barb-nosed incubi, and ventured into the Gray Plains of the Unmade to soothe a troubled ghost. Well-acquainted with the weird, they never shy away from a challenging case.

But when they are approached by the royal secretary and told the king pleads to be baked into a cake—going so far as to wedge himself inside a lit oven—the Wilbies soon find themselves embroiled in a mystery that could very well see the nation turned on its head. Their effort to expose a royal secret buried under forty years of lies brings them nose to nose with a violent anti-royalist gang, avaricious ghouls, alchemists who draw their power from a hell-like dimension, and a bookish dragon who only occasionally eats people.

Armed with a love toughened by adversity and a stick of chalk that can conjure light from the darkness, hope from the hopeless, Iz and Warren Wilby are ready for whatever springs from the alleys, graves, and shadows next.

For more from Josiah Bancroft, check out:

The Books of Babel
Senlin Ascends (US | UK)
Arm of the Sphinx (US | UK)
​The Hod King (US | UK)

The Fall of Babel (US | UK)

Cover Launch: EMILY WILDE’S MAP OF THE OTHERLANDS by Heather Fawcett

Everyone’s favourite intrepid Professor of Dryadology is back, in the second instalment in the Emily Wilde series.

This beautiful cover was designed by Ella Garrett, with illustrations from Bex Parkin. Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands is publishing in January 2024, and is available to pre-order now!

You can read on for a taste of what’s in store for Emily Wilde and Wendell Bambleby as they travel to the Alps. . .

Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore, and has catalogued many secrets of the Hidden Folk in her encyclopaedia with her infuriatingly charming fellow scholar, Wendell Bambleby, by her side.

But Bambleby is more than just a brilliant and unbearably handsome scholar. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother, in search of a door back to his realm.

By lucky happenstance, Emily’s new project, a map of the realms of faerie, will take them on an adventure to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambleby’s realm, and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.

But with new friendships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors, and of her own heart.

If you haven’t started the series yet, you can pick up Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries now!

 

Cover Launch: THE LAST HOUR BETWEEN WORLDS by Melissa Caruso

Take your first look at the cover of The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso! You can pick up this start to a new series in Winter 2024.

The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso

Cover Design by Lisa Marie Pompilio

A whip-smart adventure fantasy packed with rival guilds, reality-bending magic, and sapphic pining, The Last Hour Between Worlds is the brilliant launch of a new series from David Gemmell Award-nominated author, Melissa Caruso.

Kembral Thorne is spending a few hours away from her newborn, and she’s determined to enjoy herself at this party no matter what. But when the guests start dropping dead, Kem has no choice but to get to work. She is a Hound, after all, and she can’t help picking up the scent of trouble.

She’s not the only one. Her professional and personal nemesis, notorious burglar Rika Nonesuch, is on the prowl. They quickly identify what’s causing the mayhem: a mysterious grandfather clock that sends them down an Echo every time it chimes. In each strange new layer of reality, time resets and a sinister figure appears to perform a blood-soaked ritual.

As Kem and Rika fall into increasingly macabre versions of their city, they’ll need to rely on their wits—and each other—to unravel the secret of the clock and save their home.

For more from Melissa Caruso, check out:

Swords and Fire
The Tethered Mage (US | UK)
The Defiant Heir (US | UK)
​The Unbound Empire (US | UK)

Rooks and Ruin
The Obsidian Tower (US | UK)
The Quicksilver Court (US | UK)
The Ivory Tomb (US | UK)

Cover Launch: THE HEMLOCK QUEEN by Hannah Whitten

Long live the Sainted King. Long reign the Poison Queen. Take your first look at the cover of The Hemlock Queen (US | UK) by Hannah Whitten! You can pick up this sequel to The Foxglove King in Winter 2024.

The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten

Cover Design by Lisa Marie Pompilio; Cover Illustration by Mike Heath

In the second installment of New York Times bestselling author Hannah Whitten’s lush, romantic epic fantasy series, a young woman who can raise the dead must navigate the dangerous and glamorous world of the Sainted King’s royal court.

The corrupt king August is dead. Prince Bastian has seized the throne and raised Lore—a necromancer and former smuggler—to his right hand side. Together they plan to cut out the rot from the heart of the sainted court and help the people of Dellaire. But not everyone is happy with the changes. The nobles are sowing dissent, the Kyrithean Empire is beating down their door, and Lore’s old allies are pulling away. Even Prince Bastian’s changed. No longer the hopeful, rakish, charismatic man Lore knows and loves, instead he’s reckless, domineering and cold.

And something’s been whispering in her ear. A voice, dark and haunting, that’s telling her there’s more to the story than she knows and more to her power than she can even imagine. A truth buried deep that could change everything.

With Bastian’s coronation fast approaching and enemies whispering on all sides, Lore must figure out how to protect herself, her prince, and her country before they all come crumbling down and whatever dark power has been creeping through the catacombs is unleashed.

The Nightshade Crown
The Foxglove King (US | UK)
The Hemlock Queen (US | UK)

Cover Launch: RED RIVER SEVEN by Anthony Ryan

Anthony Ryan needs no introduction – the author of the Raven’s Shadow, Raven’s Blade, Draconis Memoria and Covenant of Steel series is one of the biggest names in modern epic fantasy and has sold more than a million books worldwide.

However, Anthony’s storytelling skills extend far beyond the fantasy genre. We’re excited to announce that in October we’ll be publishing RED RIVER SEVEN – an action-packed thriller that combines a gripping mystery with a strong dose of horror. If Jason Bourne meets Annihilation by way of The Last of Us sounds like your sort of thing, then this is a book you won’t want to miss.

Here’s the brilliant cover, designed by Ellen Rockell.

 

 

And here’s what RED RIVER SEVEN is about . . .

Internationally bestselling fantasy author Anthony Ryan – writing as A. J. Ryan – delivers a nerve-shredding thriller in which seven strangers must undertake a terrifying journey into the unknown.

A man awakes on a boat at sea with no memory of who he is or how he came to be there. He’s not alone – there are six others. None of them can remember their names, but all bear the scars of recent surgery.

When a message appears on the onboard computer – Proceeding to Point A – the group agrees to work together to survive whatever is coming.

But as the boat moves through the mist-shrouded waters, divisions begin to form, and the group is plagued by questions. Who is directing them, why have they lost their memories, and what are the screams they can hear beyond the mist?

RED RIVER SEVEN publishes in October.

Pre-order UK / Pre-order US

Cover Launch: THE WITCHER: THE TIME OF CONTEMPT Media Tie-In Edition by Andrzej Sapkowski

Take your first look at the cover of The Time of Contempt media tie-in edition (US) by Andrzej Sapkowski! You can pick up this edition in June 2023.

The Witcher: The Time of Contempt Media Tie-In Edition by Andrzej Sapkowski

Andrzej Sapkowski’s New York Times bestselling Witcher series has transported millions of fans around the globe to an epic, unforgettable world of magic and adventure. The Time of Contempt is the second novel in the Witcher Saga, following Blood of Elves, and is the inspiration for season 3 of the hit Netflix series coming in summer 2023!

Geralt the Witcher has fought monsters and demons across the land, but even he might not be prepared for what is to come.

The kings and their armies are maneuvering for position, each fearing invasion from across the river, each fearing their neighbors more. And after decades of oppression, the elves and other races are fighting back and fighting one another. With growing numbers preparing for battle, the threat of a devastating war looms ever greater. Intrigue, dissent, and rebellion fester on all sides.

Against this backdrop of fear, Geralt must protect his ward, Ciri, the orphaned heir who is sought by all. A child of prophecy, she will have the power to change the world—but only if she lives to use it.

For her safety, Geralt sends her to train with the sorceress Yennefer. But all is not well within the Council of Wizards.

THE CULTURE: THE DRAWINGS by Iain M. Banks

Orbit is delighted to announce the release date for the hugely anticipated book The Culture: The Drawings by Iain M. Banks.

Packshot of The Culture: The Drawings by Iain M. Banks, showing a landscape-format book with green cover and spaceship drawingWidely acknowledged as the modern master of science fiction, Iain M. Banks created extensive original drawings detailing the universe of his bestselling and beloved Culture novels. Now these illustrations are being published together for the very first time in a book celebrating Banks’s grand vision.

The Culture: The Drawings will release on 7th November 2023. This large-format, landscape artbook will faithfully reproduce Iain’s exceptionally intricate drawings in their original format, and at their original scale.

A deluxe limited edition of The Culture: The Drawings, containing the same extraordinary illustrations, will also be available worldwide for purchase exclusively from the Orbit UK store. Beautifully bound in foiled cloth and displayed in a luxurious presentation box, this heirloom edition will be something to treasure.

 

Orbit UK Publisher Anna Jackson says: “As many fans of Iain M. Banks’ vastly popular Culture series will already know, Iain meticulously designed every element of the Culture’s universe long before the novels were published. The whole of the Culture – from language to nomenclature, from ships to weapons – already existed as intricate sketches, notes, and tables many years before it appeared in any of his fiction. This wealth of material, generously released by the Estate, provides a fascinating insight into the workings of Iain’s extraordinary mind. It will be an essential addition to the collection of any Iain M. Banks fan.”

Further good news for Banks fans is that in late 2024, Orbit is planning to publish the definitive Culture companion book, celebrating the Culture through Iain’s own writing. Curated by Ken MacLeod, it will include all of Iain’s notes, tables and charts relating to the Culture universe. More information about this book will be released in due course.

Find out how to pre-order here, and follow the Iain M. Banks Facebook page here.

Cover Launch: SHADOW BARON by Davinia Evans

Take your first look at the cover of Shadow Baron (US | UK) by Davinia Evans! You can pick up this sequel to Notorious Sorcerer in November 2023.

Shadow Baron by Davinia Evans

Cover Design by Stephanie Hess

Strap in for a thrilling adventure in the sequel to Davinia Evans’s wickedly entertaining debut fantasy that follows our favorite irreverent alchemists, high society ladies, and swashbuckling street gangs as they wrestle with the nature of reality itself. 

Siyon Velo might be acknowledged as the Alchemist. He may have even stabilized the planes and stopped Bezim from ever shaking into the sea again. But that doesn’t mean he has any idea what’s he doing—and it won’t be long before everyone knows it.

To make things worse, mythical creatures once confined to operas and myths are spotted around Bezim. A djinn invades Zagiri’s garden party, and whispers of a naga slither across Anahid’s Flower District card tables. Magic is waking up in the Mundane. It’s up to Siyon to figure out a way to stop it, or everything he’s worked hard to save will come crashing down.

Praise for The Burnished City: 
“I loved getting lost in this dazzling debut.” ―Shannon Chakraborty, author of The City of Brass

“A firework of a fantasy novel: vibrant, explosive, deliciously dangerous, and impossibly fun.” ―Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne

“Sheer, glorious fun!” ―Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light

The Burnished City
Notorious Sorcerer (US | UK)
Shadow Baron (US | UK)