Posts Tagged ‘Fated’

Benedict Jacka Cover Launch: The Bumper Issue

We’re delighted to launch the cover for MARKED, designed by Ceara Elliot and Emily Courdelle! This is the ninth book in Benedict Jacka’s magic-filled Alex Verus series, publishing in July next year.

MARKED sees probability mage Alex Verus tracking down dangerous magical items unleashed into the world by dark mages. When the Light Council decide they need his help in negotiating with the perpetrators, Alex must use all his cunning and magic to strike a deal…

MARKED continues the bold, colourful new look for the series that we established with BURNED and BOUND. Now – at Alex’s request (and who are we to deny a probability mage’s predictions?) – we’ve given the first six books brand new designs to match. If you think these new covers are vivid and irresistibly eye-catching, well . . . Alex Verus knew you would!

These fabulous new designs – also courtesy of Ceara Elliot and Emily Courdelle – will be appearing in bookstores throughout 2018.

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Cover Launch: BOUND by Benedict Jacka

Everyone’s favourite probability mage, Alex Verus, returns in April with the publication of BOUND – the eighth book in this thrilling urban fantasy series.

We’re excited to present the cover for your viewing pleasure, beautifully designed by Ceara Elliot.

bound2-2

Read on for a taste of what’s in store:

Alex Verus can see the future. But he never thought he’d see this day.

Manoeuvred by forces beyond his control, the probability mage has made a terrible choice: he’s agreed to work for his old master once more. Richard Drakh, the sadistic dark mage Alex escaped as an apprentice, has him in his clutches again. And this time, he won’t let go so easily.

Urban Fantasy at its best - the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka

 

Orbit’s Urban Fantasy Covergram

Looking to recommend or discover the perfect urban fantasy book to keep you warm through the long winter months? Orbit has you covered with our covergram. Featuring a range of bestselling authors alongside newcomers to the genre, we’ve dissected the world of urban fantasy and re-assembled it so every reader can find their next book.

Click on the image below to see a full size version.

Urban Fantasy Covergram

 

If you can’t decide and would like a little bit of everything, try Charlie Fletcher’s delightfully dark adventure set in Victorian London, THE OVERSIGHT (US|UK |ANZ), which has garnered the praise ‘exciting, exhilarating, scary and moving in equal measure . .  . this feels like the start of something amazing’ from Mike Carey, and Cory Doctorow called ‘a dark and glinting book . . . told in a kind of compelling and hypnotic poesie that I just lapped up’.  The second book in the series, THE PARADOX (US|UK|ANZ) is out in paperback this month.

Benedict Jacka Works his Magic on Audiobook

Everybody’s favourite probability mage arrives on audiobook today! The complete Alex Verus series is now available to buy in audio. This London-based urban fantasy series by Benedict Jacka has a growing legion of fans including Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs and Charles Stross. The sixth book in the series, VEILED, will be out in August.

Listen to a sample here:

Cover launch: VEILED by Benedict Jacka, coming August 2015

We’re delighted to launch the cover for the sixth novel in the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka. VEILED will be released in August this year.

In VEILED, probability mage Alex Verus has agreed to join the Keepers, the magical police force who can protect him and his friends from his old master, Richard Drakh. Going legit was always going to be difficult for an outcast like Alex, and there are some in the Keepers who aren’t keen to see an ex-Dark mage succeed, especially when the Dark is making a play for a seat on the mages’ council, for the first time in history.
Alex finally has the law on his side – but trapped between Light and Dark politics, investigating a seedy underworld with ties to the highest of powers, will a badge be enough to save him?

VEILED – the new Alex Verus novel by Bendict Jacka, coming August 2015 Cover designed by Ceara Elliot.

London-based urban fantasy at its best – the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka

HIDDEN: Out Today from Benedict Jacka

HIDDEN is released today – the fifth book in Benedict Jacka’s addictive urban fantasy series about the adventures of Camden-based mage Alex Verus.

Alex has successfully fought Dark mages, assassins, golems, angry apprentices and even the odd Light mage or two, but what happens when someone close to Alex doesn’t want his help?

We also release the first volume of this fantastic series, FATED, in audiobook today. Go to Soundcloud now to listen to a sample of FATED read by the fabulous Gilbert Jackson who does an amazing job with Alex’s voice:

‘It was a slow day, so I was reading a book at my desk and seeing into the future . . .’

With five Alex Verus novels now to enjoy and big name fans such as Charles Stross, Patricia Briggs and Jim Butcher, this is an urban fantasy series well worth sinking your teeth into. Try it in paperback or audio today!

The Alex Verus series, books 1-4

 ‘Harry Dresden would like Alex Verus tremendously – and be a little nervous around him.  I just added Benedict Jacka to my must-read list’

Jim Butcher

‘Jacka writes a deft thrill-ride of an Urban Fantasy – a stay-up-all-night read.  Alex Verus is a very smart man surviving in a very dangerous world’

Patricia Briggs

CHOSEN: Out Today From Benedict Jacka

Happy publication day to Benedict Jacka! The latest Alex Verus novel, CHOSEN (UK|ANZ), is released today, after much anticipation from the fans!

Alex Verus, the Camden-based mage who just can’t stay out of trouble despite his ability to see the future, returns in CHOSEN, when someone comes looking for revenge for deeds Alex commited in his past, as an apprentice to the Dark mage Richard Drakh . . .

See Benedict talk about CHOSEN’s moral abiguity here in John Scalzi’s The Big Idea: ‘In FATED, CURSED and TAKEN, Alex had gotten into quite a few fights, but not because he wanted to – it had usually been a case of self-defence. But what would he do if someone was coming after him for a justified reason? What if they wanted him dead for something that really was his fault?’

Alex Verus has a considerable number of readers rooting for him, including Harry Dresden author Jim Butcher and Laundry Files author Charles Stross, so let’s hope he survives the experience!

Harry Dresden would like Alex Verus tremendously – and be a little nervous around him. I just added Benedict Jacka to my must-read list.”

– Jim Butcher

Whoop-ass excitement from the new master of magical London”

– Charles Stross on CHOSEN

Banner shows the Alex Verus series: magical London urban fantasy by Benedict Jacka

Francis Knight interviews Benedict Jacka, author of the Alex Verus novels

In September we release CHOSEN (UK|ANZ), the fourth Alex Verus urban fantasy novel from Benedict Jacka. In an interview below, another Orbit fantasy star Francis Knight
(author of FADE TO BLACK – UK|US|ANZ, and the soon-to-be-released BEFORE THE FALL  –UK|US|ANZ) finds out more about the writing of this highly popular series . . .

Chosen, an Alex Verus urban fantasy novel by Benedict Jacka, perfect for fans of Jim Butcher, in an interview with Francis Knight, author of Fade to BlackFrancis Knight: So, Alex Verus, wizard in London. I suppose certain comparisons are inevitable, if a bit easy. So who and/or what were your inspirations for this series? I know when I start, the first idea generally morphs into something bigger. What was the initial spark, the first ‘what if…’ that led to the book becoming reality?

Benedict Jacka: The Alex Verus setting is an adult version of a YA setting that I’ve been using on and off for almost 15 years – the whole mage world and the magic types was something I first came up with back in 2000-ish.  Between 2000 and 2008 I wrote four YA books in the setting, all with teenagers as the main characters who all had elemental powers of some kind.  None of the books got published, so I kept giving up and shelving the series and trying something else.

In 2009 I decided to pull out the setting yet again to give it another shot, with an adult main character this time.  I was getting dissatisfied with the elemental mages as protagonists, though, and at some point I had the idea of using a protagonist whose abilities were information-based instead of brute force.  The rest of the story snowballed from there! (more…)

Benedict Jacka interviews Francis Knight, author of FADE TO BLACK

Next week sees the release of the fantasy novel BEFORE THE FALL (UK|US|ANZ), the second Rojan Dizon novel by Francis Knight (following FADE TO BLACK – UK|US|ANZ).

Below, another Orbit fantasy star Benedict Jacka, author highly popular Alex Verus novels, interviews Francis on the towering fantasy world of Mahala . . .

Before the Fall, book two of the Rojan Dizon novels, following Fade to Black by Francis Knight - a dark, noir fantasy series with a dystopian feel - perfect for fans of Scott Lynch, Douglas Hulick, Benedict Jacka and Ben AaronvitchBenedict Jacka: One way to describe the Rojan Dizon books would be dark fantasy – how did you end up moving into that genre, and what’s it like to write in compared to other things you’ve done in the past?

Francis Knight: By accident! It started off as an antidote to what I had been writing – romance – and went from there. I like to challenge myself each time I start something new, and this was it. Every genre has its restraints, and I wanted to explore not-so-nice “heroes” and not-so-Happy-Ever-After endings and lots of other things that a romance reader might be very disappointed to find in her book! In particular I wanted to explore how being a not particularly nice chap doesn’t have to prevent you from doing the right thing.

BJ: How difficult do you find it to write a protagonist of the opposite sex?  Do you find yourself asking guys for advice on how a male character would react in a particular scene you’re writing?

FK: The first time it was hard, I have to say. I actually find I prefer it nowadays. It’s a lot easier to separate my characters from me for a start! Also I love trying to get inside a guy’s head, see what makes them tick. I do sometimes ask husband/male friends/betas for advice about whether a guy would do X – but it’s just not that simple. It’s not about whether he’s a guy or not, it’s about who he is. Some guys would do one thing, and others would do the opposite. They’re still both guys.

Fade to Black, book one of the Rojan Dizon novels, by Francis Knight - a dark, noir fantasy series with a dystopian feel - perfect for fans of Scott Lynch, Douglas Hulick, Benedict Jacka and Ben AaronvitchBJ: So, the scenes in Fade to Black which go into detail on exactly what Rojan and the other pain-mages do to themselves to fuel their pain magic . . . did you deliberately make them wince-inducing or did it just work out that way?

FK: I actually tried not to be too graphic there, but it was necessary to show something, I think, or it wouldn’t have been honest. There’s a fine line between glossing over something important and showing graphic things that are unnecessary. Of course, that line is going to be different for everyone. I inferred more than I showed (I think/hope), but that goes for lots of things. (more…)

Meet Jim Butcher’s new friends Benedict Jacka and Alex Verus

The first Alex Verus novelIt’s been a long time coming, but the wait is finally over! Orbit UK published FATED (UK | ANZ) yesterday in the UK and our international markets. FATED is the first book in Benedict Jacka’s superb urban fantasy series starring probability mage Alex Verus. FATED and the series are already off to a running start, with an enthusiastic Jim Butcher giving it the thumbs up in this online conversation with Benedict Jacka, as well as Patricia Briggs saying that FATED is ‘a deft, thrill-ride of an urban fantasy – a stay-up-all-night read. Alex Verus is a very smart man surviving in a very dangerous world.’

I’m very proud and happy to be Benedict Jacka’s UK editor, and although it’s felt like a very long time to wait to bring you this book, I hope you enjoy it too. If you are a fan of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series or Ben Aaronovitch’s RIVERS OF LONDON, I think you’re going to love Alex Verus and FATED. You can read the first chapter here.