Posts Tagged ‘Assassins’

BLOOD OF ASSASSINS and a mystery worthy of Girton Club-Foot himself

RJ Barker’s Wounded Kingdom series begins with apprentice assassin Girton Club-Foot and his master attempting to discover the identity of a rival assassin.

BLOOD OF ASSASSINS, the second book in the trilogy, is out this week, and RJ has been investigating a mystery worthy of Girton himself – who IS that assassin on the cover? In the tweets below, RJ thinks he has the answer…

What do you think, has he solved it?

We hope you’re as excited for the release of BLOOD OF ASSASSINS as we are! And if you haven’t read AGE OF ASSASSINS yet, perhaps some of these lovely people can persuade you?

‘RJ Barker is a singular sensational new voice in epic fantasy’ Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld

‘A breath of fresh air’ Peter Newman, author of The Vagrant

‘Outstanding’ James Islington

‘Simply unputdownable’ Fantasy Book Review

‘Hugely enjoyable’ Jen Williams

‘Addictive’ Bibliosanctum

‘As sharp as any blade’ Jon Skovron

‘Steel-sparking action’ Chris Brookmyre

‘I can’t wait for more!’ Melissa Caruso

Cover Launch: Age of Assassins by RJ Barker

It’s a game of
ASSASSIN VERSUS ASSASSIN
when Girton Club-Foot and his master are hired by a queen to catch the killer who’s coming for her son.

Set in a world ravaged by magic and the ambition of noblemen, this debut epic fantasy features a cast of assassins, knights and fools which will delight any fan of Brent Weeks, Robin Hobb or Assassin’s Creed. AGE OF ASSASSINS is coming to Orbit this August.

Our fantastic cover has been designed by Tom Sanderson, at the-parish.com.

If you’d like to know more about RJ Barker, watch our 2017 debut author video  (skip to 1:17 for RJ’s section) or follow him on twitter at @dedbutdrmng.

Cover Launch: HOPE AND RED by Jon Skovron

The Orbit offices in both the US and the UK haven’t stopped talking about this fantastic adventure fantasy since it first came in a year ago.  And we’re delighted to introduce it to you! Thanks very much to Lauren Panepinto and artist Bastien Deharme for the awesome cover.

Skovron_HopeAndRed-PMM.jpg

Here is a bit of a sneak peek as HOPE AND RED (US | UK) will be out this June:

A KILLER FANTASY ADVENTURE

HOPE, the lone survivor of a village massacred by the emperor’s forces, secretly trains asa  warrior and dreams of vengeance.

RED, an orphan adopted by a notorious matriarch of the criminal underworld, learns to be an expert thief and con artist.

TOGETHER THEY WILL TAKE DOWN AN EMPIRE.

If you’d like to know more — please visit the author’s website and sign up there! New newsletter subscribers will receive the first chapter in their inboxes this Monday.

Read an excerpt from A DANCE OF CLOAKS by David Dalglish

OctoberAssassin or protector; every choice has its consequences.

For the rogues and fantasy readers out there, Orbit’s Fall line-up is an exciting one, and it includes the Shadowdance series by David Dalglish! Starting in October, we’re publishing the first three books back-to-back. Here’s an excerpt from the first book, A DANCE OF CLOAKS (US | UK | AUS)

For the past two weeks the simple building had been his safe house, but now Thren Felhorn distrusted its protection as he limped through the door. He clutched his right arm to his body, fighting to halt its trembling. Blood ran from his shoulder to his elbow, the arm cut by a poisoned blade.

“Damn you, Leon,” he said as he staggered across the wood floor, through a sparsely decorated room, and up to a wall made of plaster and oak. Even with his blurred vision he located the slight groove with his fingers. He pressed down, detaching an iron lock on the other side of the wall. A small door swung inward.

The master of the Spider Guild collapsed in a chair and removed his gray hood and cloak. He sat in a much larger room painted silver and decorated with pictures of mountains and fields. Removing his shirt, he gritted his teeth while pulling it over his wounded arm. The toxin had been meant to paralyze him, not kill him, but the fact was little comfort. Most likely Leon Connington had wanted him alive so he could sit in his padded chair and watch his “gentle touchers” bleed Thren drop by drop. The fat man’s treacherous words from their meeting ignited a fire in his gut that refused to die.

Continue reading.

Become a fan of the official Facebook fanpage for the latest updates and connect with other fans of the series.

Praise for A DANCE OF CLOAKS

“A gritty book with intriguing characters and has a plot which will keep you hooked till the end’ Fantasy Book Critic

“Fast, furious, and fabulous.” – Michael J. Sullivan, author of THEFT OF SWORDS (US | UK | AUS)

“Dalglish concocts a heady cocktail of energy, breakneck pace and excitement that a reader could get drunk on.” – Sam Sykes, author of Tome of the Undergates

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Cover Launch: THE EXILED BLADE by Jon Courtenay Grimwood

Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s Assassini trilogy – described by the Sunday Times as “Gritty, grimy, decadent and compelling” – is a dark vision of a Venice in peril, and the rise of a young man cursed with amnesia and a taste for human blood. This epic tale began with THE FALLEN BLADE [UK | US | ANZ] and continued in THE OUTCAST BLADE [UK | US | ANZ]. 

The third and final instalment, THE EXILED BLADE, will be published in April 2013. For now, here’s the finished cover – courtesy of our talented designer Emma Graves – in all its grandeur.

If you’ve not yet delved into the depths of Grimwood’s dark, dangerous Venice, you can read a sample chapter from THE FALLEN BLADE here.

                                              

Assassins, dreamworlds and a plague of nightmares: welcome to THE SHADOWED SUN

The fantasy novel THE SHADOWED SUN by the multilple-award winning N. K Jemisin - featuring assassins, dreamworlds and a plague of nightmaresThere are books that come along that I don’t just thoroughly enjoy, but that I feel intensely, overwhelmingly privileged to work on. THE SHADOWED SUN is one of those novels.

I don’t need to tell everyone what a stunning high fantasy writer N. K. Jemisin is. Her talents are already widely acknowledged, given that her debut novel THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS (UK | US | ANZ) was nominated for pretty much every fantasy award out there.

But even so, I underestimated just how utterly captivated I would be by THE KILLING MOON (UK | US | ANZ) and THE SHADOWED SUN (UK | US | ANZ ), books 1 and 2 in the Dreamblood duology. I didn’t think anything could top the Inheritance novels, but if it’s possible I was even more intoxicated. I09 seemed to agree when they said:

The Dreamblood duology is sure to cement Jemisin’s place as one of the most exciting and innovative new fantasy authors of recent years.

There’s something beautifully poetic about a little girl’s dreams becoming a plague upon a city.

Both novels in the Dreamblood duology are based around a religion of dreaming. It’s a dual world, where the realm of dreams is as real a place as the realm of waking. Where a soul that wonders in the dreamworld can find peace or be lost to ever-lasting torment.

In the city of Gujaareh, the priests of the dream goddess are able to harness the magic of the sleeping mind. These priests are both revered and feared, as they can use this gathered magic to either to heal . . . or kill those judged corrupt. And they move silently across the rooftops of the city at night to administer the chosen judgements. (more…)