Orbit Australia are publishing the following titles from February to May 2009 (click on the title in the list or scroll down the screen for more information on a particular book, or use Ctrl+F in your browser to check for titles by your favourite author).
- Matter – Iain M. Banks (February 2009, $24.99 Pb)
- The Magician’s Apprentice – Trudi Canavan (February 2009, $29.99 Pb)
- The Stupidest Angel – Christopher Moore (February 2009, $22.99 Pb)
- Bone Crossed – Patricia Briggs (February 2009, $19.99 Pb)
- Men of the Otherworld – Kelley Armstrong (February 2009, $19.99 Pb)
- Feast of Souls – Celia Friedman (March 2009, $22.99 Pb)
- Shadow Gate – Kate Elliott (March 2009, $22.99 Pb)
- Spirit Gate – Kate Elliott (March 2009, $22.99 Pb)
- Orphan’s Alliance – Robert Buettner (March 2009, $19.99 Pb)
- Tuck – Stephen R. Lawhead (April 2009, $24.99 Pb)
- Deadly Desire – Keri Arthur (April 2009, $19.99 Pb)
- One More Bite – Jennifer Rardin (April 2009, $19.99 Pb)
- Turn Coat – Jim Butcher (April 2009, $34.99 Hb)
- Small Favour – Jim Butcher (April 2009, $19.99 Pb)
- Tuck – Stephen R. Lawhead (April 2009, $34.99 Hb)
- Marked – P.C. and Kristin Cast (May 2009, $16.99 Pb)
- Betrayed – P.C. and Kristin Cast (May 2009, $16.99 Pb)
- Chosen – P.C. and Kristin Cast (May 2009, $16.99 Pb)
- Fall of Thanes – Brian Ruckley (May 2009, $32.99 Pb)
- Fall of Thanes – Brian Ruckley (May 2009, $49.99 Hb)
- Hand of Isis – Jo Graham (May 2009, $22.99 Pb)
- The Doomsday Machine – Catherine Webb (May 2009, $16.99 Pb)
- Red-Headed Stepchild – Jaye Wells (May 2009, $19.99 Pb)
- Thicker Than Water – Mike Carey (May 2009, $20.99 Pb)
- Every Last Drop – Charlie Huston (May 2009, $22.99 Pb)
- The Grand Conjunction – Sean Williams (May 2009, $19.99 Pb)
- This is Not a Game – Walter Jon Williams (May 2009, $32.99 Pb)
February 2009
Matter
By Iain M. Banks
February 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841494197 | Science Fiction | Paperback
In a world renowned within a galaxy full of wonders, a crime within a war. For one brother it means a desperate flight, and a search for the one – maybe two – people who could clear his name. For his brother it means a life lived under constant threat of treachery and murder. And for their sister, it means returning to a place she’d thought abandoned forever.
Only the sister is not what she once was; Djan Seriy Anaplian has become an agent of the Culture’s Special Circumstances section, charged with high-level interference in civilisations throughout the greater galaxy.
Concealing her new identity – and her particular set of abilities – might be a dangerous strategy. In the world to which Anaplian returns, nothing is quite as it seems; and determining the appropriate level of interference in someone else’s war is never a simple matter.
Author Info: www.iain-banks.net
The Magician’s Apprentice
By Trudi Canavan
February 2009 | ISBN: 978-0733623967| Fantasy | Paperback
The Prequel to the Black Magician Trilogy
In the remote village of Mandryn, Tessia serves as assistant to her father, the village Healer – much to the frustration of her mother, who would rather she found a husband. But her life is about to take a very unexpected turn.
When treating a patient at the residence of the local magician, Lord Dakon, Tessia is forced to fight off the advances of a visiting Sachakan mage – and instinctively uses magic. She now finds herself facing an entirely different future as Lord Dakon’s apprentice.
But along with the excitement and privilege, Tessia is about to discover that her magical gifts bring with them a great deal of responsibility. Events are brewing that will lead nations into war, rival magicians into conflict, and spark an act of sorcery so brutal that its effects will be felt for centuries …
Author Info: www.trudicanavan.com
The Stupidest Angel
By Christopher Moore
February 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841496184 | Comic Fantasy | Paperback
‘Twas the night (okay, more like the week) before Christmas and little Joshua Barker is in desperate need of a Christmas miracle. Josh is sure he saw Santa take a shovel to the head and now the seven-year-old has only one prayer: Please Santa, come back from the dead!
But coming to Earth, seeking a small child whose wish needs granting, is none other than Archangel Raziel. Unfortunately, he’s not sporting the brightest halo in the bunch and before you can say ‘mistletoe’, he’s botched his sacred mission and sent the residents of Pine Cove headlong into Christmas chaos, culminating in the most hilarious and horrifying holiday party the town has ever seen.
Author Info: www.chrismoore.com
Bone Crossed
By Patricia Briggs
February 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841496863 | Urban Fantasy | Paperback
Car mechanic and sometime shapeshifter Mercy Thompson has learned, the hard way, why her race was almost exterminated. When European vampires immigrated to North America, they found Mercy’s people had a hidden talent – for vampire slaying. Unfortunately for Mercy, the queen of the local vampire seethe has discovered her true identity.
She’s also furious when she learns Mercy has crossed her and killed one of her vampires. Mercy may be protected from direct reprisals by the werewolf pack (and her interesting relationship with its Alpha), but that just means Marsilia will come after Mercy some other way. So Mercy had better prepare to watch her back.
Author Info: www.patriciabriggs.com
Men of the Otherworld
By Kelley Armstrong
February 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841497433 | Urban Fantasy | Paperback
I don’t remember the first time I changed into a wolf. One night I passed out, and awoke to find my body covered in yellow fur. My brain was beyond reacting. It took this in its stride, as it had everything else in my new life. I got to my feet and went in search of food.
As a curious and independent six-year-old, Clayton didn’t resist the bite – he asked for it. But as a lone child werewolf his life is under constant threat. So when enigmatic Pack member Jeremy Danvers saves him, Clayton is determined to protect his adoptive father, no matter what the cost.
So begins this gripping collection of four tales chronicling the bloody feuds of the American Pack, and the coming of age of Clay Danvers, a very powerful – and very singular – werewolf.
Author Info: www.kelleyarmstrong.com
Feast of Souls
By Celia Friedman
March 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841495323 | Fantasy | Paperback
In the High Kingdom of Danton Aurelius, magisters from across the known world are gathering for an unusual meeting. The High King’s son is dying of an apparently incurable wasting disease, and he has charged them with providing an explanation and a cure. There is a mystery here, but not the one the High King thinks: the magisters know the cause of the prince’s illness but they dare not reveal it for fear that it will expose the secret at the heart of their order. No, the mystery is not what is responsible, but who …
Now the magisters must embark upon a manhunt, racing against time, before the High King learns the truth. But they have not counted on the young prince’s determination to control his own fate, nor on the existence of Kamala, a young woman schooled in their own arts, who will soon shake the world to its very roots.
Author Info: www.csfriedman.com
Shadow Gate
By Kate Elliott
March 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841492971 | Fantasy | Trade Paperback
Marit was pretty sure she had been murdered. She recalled the assassin’s dagger, thrust up to pierce her heart. A certain path to a swift death, as any reeve would know. Her dying vision had shown her the next world but her spirit had not made the journey. She woke alone, sprawled on a Guardian altar with only a cloak for a covering. Her eagle was dead.
The Guardians had ruled the Hundred, but they had long disappeared from the world, leaving the reeves to administer justice in their stead. But this peace has been shattered by a desperate army, slaughtering all in its path. And its leaders are shadowy undead, wearing the cloaks of lost Guardians…
Author Info: www.kateelliott.com
Spirit Gate
By Kate Elliott
March 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841492742 | Fantasy | Paperback
The launch of a spectacular new fantasy epic – a violent struggle for land and power in a world of fabled cities, terrible dangers and mysterious gods. For hundreds of years the Guardians ruled the Hundred, but these unearthly beings have faded from human sight and no longer exert their will on the world. Only the reeves, patrolling from the skies, still represent the Guardians’ power. But there is a corruption in the land that not eventhey can control, and fanatics are devastating villages, towns, and cities, slaughtering all who oppose them.
Outlanders Anji and Mai are fleeing their homeland with a company of dedicated warriors. On reaching the Hundred, they form an alliance with Reeve Joss, and determine to stand against the devouring horde. But, as region after region slips into chaos, a young woman sworn to the Goddess may be all that keeps them from annihilation… A haunting tale of individuals swept up by the chaos of war, this is fantasy adventure at its best – rich in texture, filled with colour and excitement.
Author Info: www.kateelliott.com
Orphan’s Alliance
By Robert Buettner
March 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841497556 | Military SF | Paperback
Jason’s army defeated the slugs on Bren and now, fifteen years later, he finds himself once more commanding an invasion force.
This time they must expel the Slugs from a small moon, where they decimated the human inhabitants. And although Earth has finally begun to mobilise against the aggressors, a new and problematic faction has arisen. The totalitarian government of Tressel, a strategically-situated planet, is willing to defeat the Slugs at any cost – regardless of the human casualties.
Unfortunately for Jason, his godson, Jude, is attracted to Tressel’s total-war policies. As the struggle continues, Jason is not only fighting for the survival of the human race, but for his relationship with the only family he has left.
Author Info: www.robertbuettner.com
Tuck
By Stephen R Lawhead
April 2009 | ISBN: 978-1905654130 | Historical Fantasy | Paperback
As King Raven, Bran is Lord of the Forest. But his true crown seems out of reach. Bran is still fighting to bring his people justice from the shadows of the green wood. But Abbot Hugo is used to playing the long game and has been watching – and learning. Abbot Hugo plans to bring the invading Norman marchogi to the forest in force, heralding the start of a campaign to wipe out King Raven and his band once and for all.
Their merciless attack, the first of many, marks a dark day for the realm. And the dream of seeing a true king take the throne of Elfael seems increasingly remote. Bran and his few stalwarts desperately need encouragement and reinforcement if they are to survive. But Friar Tuck, a most unconventional priest, may just have a solution to their dilemma…
Author Info: www.stephenlawhead.com
Deadly Desire
By Keri Arthur
April 2009 | ISBN: 978-0749909345 | Fantasy | Paperback
Guardian Riley Jenson always seems to face the worst villains. And this time’s no different. For it’s no ordinary sorceress who can raise the dead to do her killing. But that’s exactly what Riley expects to find at the end of a trail of female corpses used – and discarded – in a bizarre ritual of evil.
With pressure mounting to catch the fiend, the last thing Riley needs is the heat of the upcoming full moon bringing her werewolf hormones to a boil – or the reappearance of a sexy bounty hunter, the rogue wolf Kye Murphy. Riley has threatened Murphy with arrest if he doesn’t back off the investigation, but it’s Riley who feels handcuffed by Kye’s lupine charm.
Torn between her vamp and wolf natures, between her love for Quinn and her attraction to Kye, Riley knows she’s courting danger and indulging the deadliest desires. For her hunt through the supernatural underworld will bring her face-to-face with what lurks in a darkness where even monsters fear to tread.
Author Info: www.keriarthur.com
One More Bite
By Jennifer Rardin
April 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841497099 | Urban Fantasy | Paperback
I’ve already smoked the guy who was the pain in the CIA’s you-know-what for the past few years. But now, in the power vacuum left by the death of Edward ‘The Raptor’ Samos, a struggle for supremacy has begun between his former allies.
The CIA feels the balance must be maintained. So when a Valencian Were agent discovers a plot to assassinate the Coven of Inverness’ leader, me and my vampire hottie (and boss), are drafted in. Our mission – to take out the woman hired to do the deed, a killer who might be as wily and Gifted as ourselves. So it’s off to the Scottish Highlands for some twisted fun among murderers, demons and half-crazed relatives.
Sometimes being a top-secret CIA assassin isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Author Info: www.jenniferrardin.com
Turn Coat
By Jim Butcher
April 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841496979 | Urban Fantasy Noir | Hardback
Harry Dresden, professional wizard, has done his best to keep his nose clean where the White Council of Wizards is concerned. Even so, his past misdeeds have cast a constant shadow of suspicion over him in the eyes of the Wardens, those wizards responsible for enforcing the Laws of Magic. Now Dresden finds himself faced with a nightmarish dilemma: Morgan, formerly his chief persecutor among the Wardens, has been wrongly accused of treason against the White Council – and has come to Harry for help.
Dresden faces a daunting task: clear Morgan’s name while simultaneously hiding him from the Wardens and the supernatural bounty hunters sent to find him, discover the identity of the true turncoat and, of course, avoid accusations of treachery of his own. A single mistake may mean that heads – quite literally – will roll. And one of them could be his own …
Author Info: www.jim-butcher.com
Small Favour
By Jim Butcher
April 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841496887 | Urban Fantasy | Paperback
Harry Dresden’s life finally seems to be calming down. The White Council’s war with the vampiric Red Court has entered a period of detente, no one’s tried to kill him in nearly a year, and the worst problem he’s had lately is working out how to remove the stains his apprentice bungled into his carpeting. The future looks fairly bright. Unfortunately, the past isn’t nearly as promising.
An old bargain placed Harry in debt to Mab, monarch of the Winter Court of the Sidhe and the Queen of Air and Darkness. Harry still owes the Winter Queen of Faerie two favours, and it’s time to pay one of them off. It’s a small favour that he really can’t refuse, but it will trap Harry between a nightmarish foe and an equally deadly ally, stretching his skills and loyalties to their very limits.
It figures. Everything was going too well to last.
Author Info: www.jim-butcher.com [back to list]
Tuck
By Stephen R Lawhead
April 2009 | ISBN: 978-1904233749 | Historical Fantasy | Hardback
As King Raven, Bran is Lord of the Forest. But his true crown seems out of reach. Bran is still fighting to bring his people justice from the shadows of the green wood. But Abbot Hugo is used to playing the long game and has been watching – and learning. Abbot Hugo plans to bring the invading Norman marchogi to the forest in force, heralding the start of a campaign to wipe out King Raven and his band once and for all.
Their merciless attack, the first of many, marks a dark day for the realm. And the dream of seeing a true king take the throne of Elfael seems increasingly remote. Bran and his few stalwarts desperately need encouragement and reinforcement if they are to survive. But Friar Tuck, a most unconventional priest, may just have a solution to their dilemma…
Author Info: www.stephenlawhead.com
Marked
By P.C. and Kristin Cast
May2009 | ISBN: 978-1905654314 | Fantasy | Paperback
When sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird gets Marked as a fledgling vampire she must join the House of Night school where she will train to become an adult vampire. That is, if she makes it through the Change. But Zoe is no ordinary fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the Goddess Nyx and discovers her amazing new power to conjure the elements: earth, air, fire, water and spirit. When Zoey discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school’s most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look within herself to embrace her destiny – with a little help from her new vampire friends.
Author Info: www.pccast.net
Betrayed
By P.C. and Kristin Cast
May2009 | ISBN: 978-1905654321 | Fantasy | Paperback
It seems that (un)life is going pretty well for Zoey Redbird. She’s settled in at the House of Night finishing school and is coming to terms with the vast powers the vampyre goddess, Nyx, has given her. She even has a boyfriend…or two. Best of all, Zoey finally feels she has found somewhere she belongs. Then the unthinkable happens. Human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the vampires at Zoey’s school. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey’s past life, she begins to realise that the very powers that made her so unique might also threaten those she loves. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night. Zoey finds herself facing a betrayal that could break her heart and jeopardise the very fabric of her world.
Author Info: www.pccast.net
Chosen
By P.C. and Kristin Cast
May2009 | ISBN: 978-1905654338 | Fantasy | Paperback
‘I guess it had gone okay with Stevie Rae. I mean, she had agreed to meet me tomorrow. And she hadn’t tried to bite me, which was a plus. Of course, the whole trying-to-eat-the-street-person thing was highly disturbing…’ Zoey’s best friend, Stevie Rae, is undead – in an eww! zombie! kind-of-way, not in a cool vampire kind-of-way. She’s struggling to retain her humanity and Zoey doesn’t have a clue how to help. But she does know that anything they discover must be kept secret. Trust has become a rare commodity. Sinister forces are at work at the House of Night, where the line between friend and enemy is becoming dangerously blurred.
Author Info: www.pccast.net
Fall of Thanes
By Brian Ruckley
May 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841497877 | Fantasy | Paperback
Tension between the clans of the Black Road and the True Bloods is mounting, as each side in the conflict becomes ever more riven by internal dissent and disunity. And Aeglyss the na’kyrim continues to spread chaos in the world, exerting a dangerous, insidious influence over events both near and far. As events mount to a climax, the world will change and no side can anticipate the twisted pattern of what lies ahead.
Author Info: www.brianruckley.com
Fall of Thanes
By Brian Ruckley
May 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841494401 | Fantasy | Hardback
Tension between the clans of the Black Road and the True Bloods is mounting, as each side in the conflict becomes ever more riven by internal dissent and disunity. And Aeglyss the na’kyrim continues to spread chaos in the world, exerting a dangerous, insidious influence over events both near and far. As events mount to a climax, the world will change and no side can anticipate the twisted pattern of what lies ahead.
Author Info: www.brianruckley.com
Hand of Isis
By Jo Graham
May 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841497006 | Historical / Fantasy | Paperback
Against the rising power of Rome, Egypt is the last and strongest bastion of the Eastern Hellenistic kingdoms. Charmian is Cleopatra’s half sister, daughter of Pharaoh and a woman of the harem. She shares a great honour and a terrible burden with Cleopatra and their sister Iras – they are fated to defend Egypt from those who would destroy her.
So when Roman Julius Caesar comes to Egypt in pursuit of his enemies, Charmian and her sisters are drawn into a deadly struggle.
One that will shape the world to come.
From mysterious temples hidden in the desert to the perilous palaces of Rome, from the tomb of Alexander the Great to the very Gates of Amenti, Charmian must face foes seen and unseen in a battle for her family, her love and her gods.
Author Info: jo-graham.livejournal.com
The Doomsday Machine
By Catherine Webb
May 2009 | ISBN: 978-1905654024 | Historical / Fantasy | Paperback
London, 1865. There are many mysteries in this world that are yet to be resolved. Some of them, man was not meant to know… Scientist, inventor and occasional sleuth, Horatio Lyle, is a man of science – a man of reason. As such, he does not care for the Tseiqin and the strange, mystical enigma they represent. But when news reaches him of a plot to remove them – through the simple expedient of mass murder! – well…that presents a problem for a man of moral fortitude. A decent man. A man like Horatio Lyle… Leading his young friends, Tess and Thomas, and his faithful hound, Tate, into a series of the most appalling dangers, Lyle leaps to the rescue of his mortal enemies. But when the dust clears and the menace has been confronted, there remains one rather pressing question for occasional Special Constable Horatio Lyle: who’s going to rescue him…?
Author Info: www.littlebrown.co.uk/Authors/W/641
Red-Headed Stepchild
By Jaye Wells
April 2009 | ISBN: 9781841497563 | Urban Fantasy | Paperback
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.
Her latest mission is uncomfortably complex, and threatens the fragile peace between the vampire and mage races. As Sabina scrambles to figure out which side she’s on, she uncovers a tangled political web, some nasty facts about her family and some unexpected new talents. Any of these things could be worryingly life-changing, but together, they could be fatal …
Author Info: jayeblahg.blogspot.com/
Thicker Than Water
By Mike Carey
May 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841496566 | Urban Fantasy Noir | Paperback
Old ghosts of different kinds come back to haunt Fix, in the fourth gripping Felix Castor novel.
Names and faces he thought he’d left behind in Liverpool resurface in London, bringing Castor far more trouble than he’d anticipated. Childhood memories, family traumas, sins old and new, and a council estate that was meant to be a modern utopia until it turned into something like hell … these are just some of the sticks life uses to beat Felix Castor with as things go from bad to worse for London’s favourite freelance exorcist.
See, Castor’s stepped over the line this time, and he knows he’ll have to pay; the only question is: how much? Not the best of times, then, for an unwelcome confrontation with his holier-than-thou brother, Matthew. And just when he thinks things can’t possibly get any worse, along comes Father Gwillam and the Anathemata. Oh joy …
Author Info: www.mikecarey.net
Every Last Drop
By Charlie Huston
May 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841496818 | Urban Fantasy Noir | Paperback
After a year hiding out in the Bronx, Joe Pitt is given an assignment he can’t refuse.
One Clan needs Joe to inform on another, but he’s playing them both while keeping his eye on the main prize: his girl Evie is on the Island somewhere and he’ll do anything to get her back. And in this case, ‘anything’ means coming face to face with the horrendous secret that lies beneath the Vampyre world. It’s a quest that will drive him to the heart of the two most perplexing mysteries of the Vampyre community: how were the Clans originally formed, and where do the powerful ones get all that blood?
The search for the answer takes Joe to a dark corner of Queens, puts him face to face with a mythic and savage Clan, and leaves him in possession of a vision he’ll never scrape off his retinas – as well as a bargaining chip that redefines his place in the Vampyre universe.
Author Info: www.pulpnoir.com
The Grand Conjunction
By Sean Williams
May 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841495231 | Science Fiction | Paperback
Imre Bergamasc is lost. His search for answers has led him up an alley so blind even his sense of self has become uncertain. Before he can save the galaxy from ruin, he must find the strength to carry on and reclaim his ultimate purpose. But more than two million years in our future, the fight has changed. Former allies are now enemies, and enemies have taken on entirely new forms. Cased from the very edge of humanity’s vast empire into the heart of an ancient conspiracy, he must finally come face to face with Himself, for without the truth of his past humanity’s future will never be secured.
Author Info: www.seanwilliams.com
This is Not a Game
By Walter Jon Williams
May 2009 | ISBN: 978-1841496573 | Science Fiction / Thriller | Large Paperback
This is Not a Game is a novel built around the coolest phenomenon in the world. That phenomenon is known as the Alternate Reality Game, or ARG. It’s big, and it’s getting bigger. It’s immersive and massively interactive, and it’s spreading through the Internet at the speed of light.
To the player, the Alternate Reality Game has no boundaries. You can be standing in a parking lot, or a shopping center. A pay phone near you will ring, and on the other end will be someone demanding information. You’d better have the information handy.
ARGs combine video, text adventure, radio plays, audio, animation, improvisational theatre, graphics, and story into an immersive experience. Now, one of science fiction’s most acclaimed writers, Walter Jon Williams, brings this extraordinary phenomenon to life in a pulse-pounding thriller. This is not a game. This is a novel that will blow your mind.
Author Info: www.walterjonwilliams.net