Posts Tagged ‘epic fantasy’

Wallpaper: THE RED KNIGHT by Miles Cameron

THE RED KNIGHT

Forget George and the Dragon. Forget Fancy Knights and daring deeds. Slaying dragons is a bloody business.

So sharpen your blades, folks, because as 2012 draws to an end, the creatures of the Wild will rise up. THE RED KNIGHT is the fantasy debut of Miles Cameron and the first book of the Traitor Son Cycle. Look for it in stores next month, and in the meantime download these wallpapers for your computer and electronic devices.

Here’s all the  download links, and if anyone needs a specific dimension made, let us know!

1024 x 768 | 1280 x 800 | 1440 x 900 | 1680 x 1050 |1920 x 1200 | iPhone | iPad | Facebook

There is much more to come from this exciting January release. So keep your eyes trained on TraitorSon.com and Miles Cameron’s Facebook page for news, extras, and some awesome action shots of live, armored combat!

An interview with Gail Z. Martin on ICE FORGED

Who would you be, if everything you were and everything you had was stripped from you? Blaine McFadden will find out when Gail Z. Martin’s latest novel, ICE FORGED (UK | US | AUS), releases this January.

ICE FORGED is the first book of Gail’s new series – The Ascendant Kingdoms Saga. Check out the interview below to find out what you can expect from this series debut including tidbits about about the magic and world of the Ascendant Kingdoms.

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Your previous five novels, including the Chronicles of the Necromancer trilogy and the Fallen Kings cycle, were all set in the same world and featured many of the same characters. ICE FORGED marks the beginning of a new series. How much of a departure are we in for? How did the new series come about?

This is a whole new enchilada!  Brand new world, completely new characters, totally new magic system and gods.

I love my Fallen Kings Cycle and Chronicles of the Necromancer series characters (and do plan to come back to tell more stories about them at some point), but let’s be honest—after everything I’ve put them through,  in what for the characters is a little over 2 years, the survivors really deserve to put their feet up and have a few beers for a while.

So I’d been playing with the idea of what if magic broke (as it nearly did in the Chronicles books), and what if we had a post-apocalyptic medieval world, and what if a world sent its convicts to the northern rim (instead of, in our world, Australia)….and I was off and running.

Read the rest of the interview…

Wallpaper: RED COUNTRY by Joe Abercrombie

RED COUNTRY

Forget about White Christmas this season.  Make it a Red Christmas by decorating your computer and favorite electronic devices with these fabulous wallpapers with art from RED COUNTRY – Joe Abercrombie’s bestselling, new novel.

Here’s all the  download links, and if anyone needs a specific dimension made, let us know!

1024 x 768 | 1280 x 800 | 1440 x 900 | 1680 x 1050 |1920 x 1200 | iPhone | iPad | Facebook

Were you able to participate in Joe’s Ask-Me-Annything on Reddit yesterday? Catch up on his answers to a ton of great fan questions here.

 

THE CROWN TOWER by Michael J. Sullivan

The Crown TowerWe are excited to announce the next book by Michael Sullivan, THE CROWN TOWER! Orbit will be publishing worldwide in August 2013!  It is the first book in the Riyria Chronicles and it will be a two book series, with the second novel, THE ROSE AND THORN, following soon after.

Two men who hate each other. One impossible mission. A legend in the making.

Hadrian, a warrior with nothing to fight for is paired with a thieving assassin, Royce, with nothing to lose. Together they must steal a treasure that no one can reach. The Crown Tower is the impregnable remains of the grandest fortress ever built and home to the realm’s most prized possessions. But it isn’t gold or jewels that the old wizard is after, and if he can just keep them from killing each other, they just might do it.

For more information, please see Michael Sullivan’s website here.

Theft of SwordsRise of Empire

Heir of Novron

Cover art by Larry Rostant, visit his website to see his full portfolio. 

THE BLINDING KNIFE is a Bestseller!

Out now!THE BLINDING KNIFE (UK | US | AUS) by Brent Weeks is a New York Times bestseller,  a USA Today bestseller, and it was the bestselling fantasy hardcover in the US and the UK last week!

Congratulations to Brent from all of us at Orbit!

And remember, you can read a sample here, but be warned: there are spoilers ahead for those of you who may not have read the first book of the Lightbringer series. You can also read the first three chapters of THE BLACK PRISM (UK | US | AUS).

There are also a few more tour stops on the east coast before Brent crosses the Atlantic to visit UK readers. We’ve gotten numerous reports from fans who had a wonderful time. There was laughter. There was merriment and even a reading from book three. Visit the Brent Weeks Facebook page for full details.

*Goes live on Sunday the 23rd!

THE BLINDING KNIFE by Brent Weeks releases this week!

THE BLINDING KNIFE (UK | US | AUS) is out today in the US and Canada and will be hitting shelves in the UK and Australia on September 13th. For those not already in-the-know this is the second book of Brent Weeks’s New York Times bestselling Lightbringer series which started with THE BLACK PRISM (UK | US | AUS).

If you’re stuck at work, school, or otherwise unable to dive into THE BLINDING KNIFE immediately, check out these early reviews to whet your appetite. Staffer’s Book Reviews called it “a tremendous achievement… It isn’t only the best book [Brent’s] written, I consider it one of the best epic fantasies I’ve read.” You can read the rest of the spoiler free review here. Comic Book Therapy has another great spoiler-free review up.

The book tour also begins today starting with a launch day event at Powell’s Books in Beaverton, Oregon. Brent will be making stops in the US and UK. Find out which cities and stores he’ll be appearing at here or RSVP on Facebook.

In other series news, Brent recently announced that the Lightbringer series has been expanded to four books. So look forward to even more action after you’ve finished the second exciting installment.

“I’m happy to tell you that the Lightbringer Series will be four books. (No, don’t worry, I’m not floating down the Never-Ending Series River, though yes, I do feel the current!) I was always torn between three books and four for this series, and as I got working on book three, I realized I was going to have to cut way too much great stuff to fit the story into three books, so Orbit and I have agreed to a fourth book. Progress on the next one has been fantastic.” – Brent Weeks.

There is also an updated map posted to Brent’s website illustrating the Seven Satrapies that may aide you as you travel with Gavin, Kip, Karis, and your other favorite characters through the war-torn lands of the Seven Satrapies.

The stakes have grown since THE BLACK PRISM and so have the obstacles facing Gavin and the others. The only thing that is certain is that time is running out.

Wallpapers: THE BLINDING KNIFE by Brent Weeks

Only two weeks to go before the big release of THE BLINDING KNIFE (UK | US | AUS) by Brent Weeks! Gavin, Kip, Karris, and all of your favorites are gearing up for the next adventure. If you haven’t pre-ordered your copy, be sure and do so through your favorite retailer.

Meanwhile, show your true colors as a fan of the Lightbringer series with these striking wallpapers.

iPad | iPhone/iPod | 1024 x 768 | 1280 x 800 | 1440 x 900 | 1680 x 1050 | 1920 x 1200 | Facebook cover image

In other Brent Weeks news, the book tour kicks-off on the 11th in Beaverton, Oregon. Visit the Brent Weeks Facebook page to see if he’ll be coming to a town near you.

Staffer’s Book Reviews posted a spoiler-free review of THE BLINDING KNIFE yesterday saying, “It isn’t only the best book he’s written; I consider it one of the best epic fantasies I’ve read.” Click to read the full review.

Comic Book Therapy also posted an interview with Brent earlier today. As a warning to those of you who have not read THE BLACK PRISM yet there will be spoilers here.

 

 

WARDS OF FAERIE by Terry Brooks: 5 reasons to read it . . .

Wards of Faerie, the first fantasy novel in the brand new Dark Legacy of Shannara series by Terry BrooksHurrah! It’s released today! The new Terry Brooks novel, Wards of Faerie (UK | ANZ), book one in the brand new fantasy series The Dark Legacy of Shannara, has finally arrived.

It’s set in Terry’s core Shannara world (after all his fans begged him to return to it) and it’s delighting Brooks fans far and wide already. In the words of Aidan Moher at A Dribble of Ink:

WARDS OF FAERIE is the best novel Brooks has written in years . . . It’s full of hair-raising escapes . . . magic and monsters.

And if you’ve never tried Terry yet, this is your chance – and here are 5 very solid reasons to do so!

 

‘Terry Brooks is a master of the craft and a trailblazer . . . Required reading’ Brent Weeks, author of the Night Angel Trilogy

‘I can’t even begin to count how many of Terry Brooks’s books I’ve read (and re-read) over the years’ Patrick Rothfuss, author of THE NAME OF THE WIND

‘Terry Brooks has been my constant companion over a lifetime of exploring my beloved fantasy genre. I say with all honesty I would not be writing epic fantasy today if not for Shannara. If Tolkien is the grandfather of modern fantasy, Terry Brooks is its favorite uncle’ Peter V. Brett, author of THE PAINTED MAN

‘If you haven’t read Terry Brooks, you haven’t read fantasy’ Christopher Paolini, author of ERAGON and BRISINGR

‘Terry’s place is at the head of the fantasy world’ Philip Pulman, author of THE GOLDEN COMPASS

Cover launch! BLOODFIRE QUEST by Terry Brooks

The fantasy novel The Dark Legacy of Shannara Book Two: Bloodfire Quest by Terry Brooks, endorsed by Brent WeeksThis week, we’re supremely excited to be releasing the first book in a brand new series from the master of fantasy Terry Brooks. It’s The Dark Legacy of Shannara Book One: WARDS OF FAERIE (UK |ANZ).

It’s what all Terry’s fans have been crying out for: a series that returns to Terry’s core world of Shannara, and I can assure you this is what we’ve all been waiting for . . .

But before we release the book later this week, we wanted to unveil the stunning new cover for book 2 in that series: BLOODFIRE QUEST, released in March 2013. It’s from the highly talented illustrator Stephen Youll – thanks Steve for another great cover!

I hope you’ll all agree that with these two books, we’re establishing a stunning new look for Terry – something that really shows off the grandeur, the edge-of-your-seat excitement and, for this series in particular, the truly thrilling darkness of his writing. See both covers for the series below in their full-size splendour . . .

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How to create a fantasy book cover: The making of the new-look Terry Brooks

Wards of Faerie - the brand new fantasy novel from fantasy legend Terry Brooks, book one in his Dark Legacy of Shannara series - endorsed by Christopher PaoliniDo you ever wonder what goes into producing the cover artwork for some of the biggest fantasy books out there?

We asked the highly talented illustrator Stephen Youll about how he created the cover artwork for WARDS OF FAERIE (UK |ANZ), the first book in Terry Brooks’s brand new Dark Legacy of Shannara series – out next week on 23rd August.

We wanted a fresh new look for this series – both to appeal to Terry’s die-hard fans and to show that it’s a great point for new readers to get on board with the Terry Brooks phenomenon.

We were delighted with this artwork Stephen produced, so here, in his words, is how it came together:

For Terry Brooks’s first book in the new Dark Legacy series I was asked to create a dragon skull, hanging in a stone alcove with interesting lighting that gave the cover a rich and bold look to it that was different to everything else that was out there. Not much of a challenge?

Step 1: This involves the creation of the alcove shape in the wall. I quickly established the arched alcove with light and shadows on top of  a stone textured background.

step 1- background alcove shape1 - creation of fantasy novel WARDS OF FAERIE by Terry Brooks

Step 2: I added the detailed panels from texture cloned from an old door and colored it to match the stone. (more…)