Archive for Contents

ANCILLARY JUSTICE wins the Golden Tentacle!

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We are delighted to announce that Ann Leckie won the Golden Tentacle at the Kitschie Awards last night, in a ceremony at London’s Seven Dials Club. The judges were charged to find the most progressive, intelligent and entertaining genre novel written by a debut author in 2013, and picked ANCILLARY JUSTICE, Ann’s incredible space opera tale, released by Orbit last October.

Other winners on the night were Will Staehle, who won the Inky Tentacle for best cover art for his work on THE AGE ATOMIC; Ruth Ozeki, whose TALE FOR THE TIME BEING won the Red Tentacle for Best Novel, and Malorie Blackman, who won the Black Tentacle for a special contribution to genre literature.

Previous Kitschie winners include Patrick Ness, Lauren Beukes, China Miéville and Nick Harkaway. Winners receive £2,000 in prize money, as well as one of the prize’s iconic handmade Tentacles and (of course) a bottle of Kraken rum.

The Golden Tentacle!

Here’s what others have been saying about ANCILLARY JUSTICE:

‘Our #1 pick for the year’s best science fiction or fantasy book . . . this Iain M. Banks-esque tale was the book that made us most excited about the future of science fiction in 2013’ io9.com

‘It’s not every day a debut novel by an author you’d never heard of before derails your entire afternoon with its brilliance’ Liz Bourke, Tor.com

‘Unexpected, compelling and very cool – Ann Leckie nails it. I’ve never met a heroine like Breq before. I consider this a very good thing indeed’ John Scalzi

‘Thrilling, moving and awe-inspiring’ Guardian

‘Signals the arrival of a hard science fiction author who just might fill the gap left by Iain M. Banks. ANCILLARY JUSTICE is a highly original novel. Highly recommended’ Independent on Sunday

‘Total gamechanger. Get it, read it, wish to hell you’d written it. Ann Leckie’s ANCILLARY JUSTICE may well be the most important book Orbit have published in ages’ Paul Graham Raven

‘Establishes Leckie as an heir to Banks and Cherryh’ Elizabeth Bear

You can read a sample from ANCILLARY JUSTICE here. To find out more about the author, check out her website or follow her on twitter at @ann_leckie.

February Events

February 8
Mur Lafferty will be appearing at the Southwest Regional Library, Durham, NC, 3 PM

February 13
M.R. Carey will appear at Topping & Company Booksellers, Bath, 8 PM

February 14-16
Mira Grant (Seanan McGuire) is Guest of Honor at Boskone in Boston, MA! Mur Lafferty will also be attending.

February 15
Simon Morden will be signing ARCANUM at Forbidden Planet Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, at 1 PM

February 17
Christopher Brookmyre will be discussing BEDLAM at Primavera Bistro, The Avenue at Newton Mearns, 7:30 PM

February 20
M.R. Carey will appear at Waterstones Liverpool One, Liverpool, at 6 PM

February 21-23
Gail Z. Martin will be attending MystiCon in Roanoke, VA.

Praise for SHAMAN by Kim Stanley Robinson

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We’ve had some magnificent new praise Kim Stanley Robinson and his novel SHAMAN (US | UK | AUS). Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gary Snyder had this to say:

“KSR has turned his formidable knowledge and imagination from outer space and future science onto the deep human past. He unfolds the rich and complex lives of our upper Paleolithic forebears: a lad with no family, called Loon, makes it from boyhood to a role in his small society as a Shaman, under the difficult, nutty, mentorship of an elder named Thorn. His trials, hungers, dangers, and skills remind us that our minds and tools are sophisticated and very ancient. A moment struck by watching the great beauty of a wild horse, a vision of two young women braiding each others’ hair by a stream, put us all in the same place. Wild food, vast landscapes, insight, logic, handiness, lovely and sometimes difficult sex, and talks by the fire – all under the sky – or on a long long walk – make up a world we are still in. I don’t think anyone but Kim Stanley Robinson could have brought this off.”

World-renowned artist Marina Abramović said simply that it was the “best book of the year.”

And finally the New Yorker added that “Robinson is one of our best, bravest, most moral, and most hopeful storytellers.”

You can read the full admiring piece on the author and his work here or read a sample from the novel.

BSFA Awards shortlisting for Ann Leckie!

ANCILLARY JUSTICE cover
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Ann Leckie’s ANCILLARY JUSTICE has just been shortlisted for the BSFA Award for Best Novel!

With shortlistings also announced for the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Kitschie Awards, Ann’s debut novel has so far been shortlisted for every single science fiction award it is eligible for. Wow!

Our biggest congratulations go to Ann and to all of the other finalists this year! The shortlists were as follows:

Best Novel

GOD’S WAR by Kameron Hurley (Del Rey)
ANCILLARY JUSTICE by Ann Leckie (Orbit)
EVENING’S EMPIRES by Paul McAuley (Gollancz)
ACK-ACK MACAQUE by Gareth L. Powell (Solaris)
THE ADJACENT by Christopher Priest (Gollancz)

Best Short Fiction

SPIN by Nina Allan (TTA Press)
“Selkie Stories are for Losers” by Sofia Samatar (STRANGE HORIZONS)
“Saga’s Children” by E. J. Swift (THE LOWEST HEAVEN, Pandemonium)
“Boat in the Shadows Crossing” by Tori Truslow (Beneath Ceaseless Skies)

Best Artwork

Cover for Tony Ballantyne’s DREAM LONDON by Joey Hi-fi (Solaris)
Poster for METROPOLIS by Kevin Tong (tragicsunshine.com)
“The Angel at the Heart of the Rain” by Richard Wagner (INTERZONE #246)

Best Non-Fiction

WONDERBOOK by Jeff VanderMeer (Abrams Image)
“Going Forth by Night” by John J. Johnston (UNEARTHED, Jurassic)
“Sleeps with Monsters” by Liz Bourke (Tor.com)

The winners will be announced in a ceremony at the Satellite4 Eastercon science fiction convention the Crown Plaza Hotel, Glasgow, where you can also meet Orbit authors such as Charles Stross and Ken MacLeod.

The power of the ordinary: hero tropes in epic fantasy

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There’s a whole fantasy trope based around the protagonist of the story discovering that, after the initial skirmish with the forces of evil, he or she is the Chosen One, the one person who has all the skills – mental, physical and magical – to defeat the big bad and win the day.

And we love hearing about them because we can dream we are them. We’re no longer ordinary; quite the opposite. We become, for the length of the tale, extraordinary; possessing such skills, strength and stamina that no other mortal can command. The Chosen One is the archetypal super-hero story: think of Greek and Persian legends, and you’re halfway there already.

But when the story ends, the clouds come over, the sky darkens, and the world becomes colder, harsher and less caring. We’re not the Chosen One. We’re nothing unusual. Not only can we not take the battle to the forces of evil, we don’t even know where to start. We simply have to accept the way things are, with no hope of changing the slow grind of life.

But hang on. That’s not necessarily the case. We know through experience that we can claim small, if temporary, victories that bring life and light to us and ours. And we know that being inspired by our fictional heroes and heroines can make us better people – G. K. Chesterton spoke the truth when he said: ‘Fairy tales don’t tell children that dragons exist; children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed.’ (more…)

Ann Leckie’s ANCILLARY JUSTICE nominated for The Kitschies Golden Tentacle Award!

ANCILLARY JUSTICE cover
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We’re thrilled to see Ann Leckie has been named a finalist for The Kitchies Golden Tentacle Award for her debut novel ANCILLARY JUSTICE (US | UK | AUS).

The Golden Tentacle is awarded annually to the debut novel that best fits the criteria of progressive, intelligent and entertaining.

Here are the rest of the nominees:

  • Stray by Monica Hesse (Hot Key)
  • A Calculated Life by Anne Charnock (47 North)
  • Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (Orbit)
  • Nexus by Ramez Naam (Angry Robot)
  • Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloa

Congratulations to Ann and the rest of the nominees!

ANCILLARY JUSTICE was also recently nominated for the  Philip K. Dick Award.

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS is here

It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for . . . Melanie is here. The superb THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS (UK|US|ANZ) is released today in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Do you know Melanie’s secret yet? Get your copy to find out . . .

The incredible reviews for The Girl with all the Gifts by M R Carey

NOT EVERY GIFT IS A BLESSING

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class.

When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don’t like her. She jokes that she won’t bite. But they don’t laugh.

Melanie is a very special girl.

Emotionally charged and gripping from beginning to end, THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS is the most powerful and affecting thriller you will read this year.

To read the first few chapters for free, visit the Girl with all the Gifts Facebook page.

Ann Leckie’s ANCILLARY JUSTICE nominated for a Philip K. Dick Award!

ANCILLARY JUSTICE cover
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The nominees for the 2013 Philip K. Dick Award were announced today, and we’re thrilled that Ann Leckie’s science fiction debut ANCILLARY JUSTICE (US | UK | ANZ) is among them! Here’s the full list:

  • A CALCULATED LIFE by Anne Charnock (47North)]
  • THE MAD SCIENTIST’S DAUGHTER by Cassandra Rose Clarke (Angry Robot)
  • SELF-REFERENCE ENGINE by Toh EnJoe, trans. Terry Gallagher (Haikasoru)
  • ANCILLARY JUSTICE by Ann Leckie (Orbit)
  • LIFE ON THE PRESERVATION by Jack Skillingstead (Solaris)
  • SOLARIS RISING 2: THE NEW SOLARIS BOOK OF SCIENCE FICTION edited by Ian Whates (Solaris)
  • COUNTDOWN CITY by Ben H. Winters (Quirk Books)

Congratulations to Ann and the rest of the nominees! The award will be presented at Norwescon in Seattle, WA, on Friday, April 18th.

Five things you didn’t know about Terry Brooks’ Shannara

With a hugely popular writing career reaching back more than thirty years, some fantasy readers may think they know all there is to know about the books of bestselling fantasy author Terry Brooks and his seminal world, Shannara. But think again.

To celebrate the conclusion of Terry Brooks’ most recent trilogy, the Dark Legacy of Shannara, we thought we’d unearth a few facts about the world of Shannara which may surprise fantasy readers out there . . . 

 

1. While influenced by The Lord of the Rings, the Shannara series is more influenced by William Faulkner, who wrote generational sagas where family secrets can destroy from within.  Terry Brooks wrote his college senior thesis on Faulkner.

2.  The Shannara series is set in a far future after the destruction of own world.  That means Elves are living in our world right now…

TV

3.  Jon Favreau (Iron Man) and Miles Millar & Alfred Gough (Smallville) are trying to bring THE ELFSTONES OF SHANNARA (UK|AUS) to television à la Game of Thrones.

 4.  WARDS OF FAERIE (UK|AUS), BLOODFIRE QUEST (UK|AUS), and WITCH WRAITH (UK|AUS) are the three books comprising the Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy. They are an indirect sequel to THE ELFSTONES OF SHANNARA (UK|AUS), widely regarded as Terry’s best novel.

 5.  Terry created airships in the Shannara series because he thinks there should be a natural progression in technology from a medieval setting. He also grew tired of keeping track of long treks on horseback.

Talking airships in Terry Brooks's brand new Dark Legacy of Shannar novel WARDS OF FAERIE - perfect for fans of Christopher PaoliniTalking airships in Terry Brooks's brand new Dark Legacy of Shannar novel BLOODFIRE QUEST, book two in the series and perfect for fans of Christopher PaoliniThe new Uk cover for WITCH WRAITH, book three in the Dark Legacy of Shannara series by Terry Brooks - perfect for fans of Christopher Paolini

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dark Legacy of Shannara is out now in paperback. Terry Brooks’ next novel, THE HIGH DRUIDS BLADE (UK|AUS), is published in March.