Schedule Watch: Orbit, through to November 2008

The latest copy of the Orbit Books publication schedule came through from Sam Smith earlier in the week, with new titles through to November 2008. Seems like a good opportunity to pick up where I left off last time...

Glancing down the new listing, I see that Orbit are putting out a couple of new series. Well, new to the UK, anyway. The first is the Castings Trilogy by Australian author Pamela Freeman. Orbit have had great success in recent years by importing ready-published series from Down Under and releasing them in quick succession in the UK, which is a great business model for building a fan-base as it keeps the enthusiasm-levels fresh. Look for the first two of those, Blood Ties [Amazon] and Deep Water [Amazon] in June and October '08, with the third part to follow around about September '09 (according to the schedule on Pamela's website).

The second is a feisty-heroine supernatural romance type series that's already established in the US: the 'Mercedes Thompson' ("VW Mechanic and Shapechanger") books by Patricia Briggs. Moon Called [Amazon] will be first up, in June, followed by Blood Bound [Amazon] in July and Iron Kissed [Amazon] in August. Much more Jo's sort of thing that mine, I have to admit, but she does tend to throw anything really good at my head and demand that I read it, so you never know.

A few more feisty-heroine supernatural romance type titles in the offing as well, with new books from Jennifer Rardin, Lilith Saintcrow and Kelley Armstrong, so between these and the entire Gollancz Romancz list, Jo should be anticipating a full reading schedule herself next year.

But these are the titles that I'm personally looking forward to trying to shoe-horn into my reading schedule:

Charlie Huston's new 'Joe Pitt' novel, Half the Blood of Brooklyn [Amazon] will be published in February. Good old supernatural investigation, without the excessive snogging and all the rest of that girly stuff. Much more my shot of bourbon... ;)
The Execution Channel [Amazon] by Ken MacLeod appears in paperback in February as well. I've had the hardback on my 'godsdammit, you have got to make time for these...' shelf since publication. The paperback has to be read...
A new Dresden Files title, Small Favour [Amazon] is out in April, the first time Orbit will have published Jim Butcher in hardback. So that's a double-dose of Harry Dresden early next year, then, what with the paperback of White Night [Amazon] appearing in January...
Black Ships [Amazon] by debutant Jo Graham sounds like an intriguing historical fantasy: a girl with the power of oracle journeys the ancient Middle East in the company of an exiled Trojan prince... could be interesting.

That's pretty much the cream of the crop, personally speaking. And a good crop it looks like being, too, especially with the rest of the titles on the schedule - lots of new series fantasy and a few re-issues sprinkled in for good measure - weighing in as well.

Incidentally, any other publishers who happen to glance this way, by all means feel free to send me your schedules and I'll do my best to give 'em a similar once-over...

December 19, 2007 | Filed Under Books | Leave a Comment

Recent radio silence…

Spent the best part of last week in the picturesque seaside town of Tenby, down in Pembrokeshire, South Wales. I was there on family business: my Nanna - who'll be 91 years old in just a few weeks - decided a few months back that she probably wasn't going to be able to cope through another winter on her own (my Grandad having passed away a couple of summers ago) so it was high time she relocated to a bungalow in Leeds.

A very good decision, if you ask me: her old house, was horribly inaccessible for someone of her advanced years (halfway up a hill, with steep steps at the front and back) and she's now much closer to most of my family and only an hour from Jo and I in Manchester. And it was a very brave decision, too: leaving the home she's lived in for the past 56 years to start a new life at 91 is just an incredible thing to do (and it was her decision, too; nobody pressured her into it) and I have nothing but admiration for her.

So, being the dutiful type and eager to assist in any way I could, I went on down to help out with the move: packing up the last few boxes, waving Mum, Dad and Nanna off on their car journey back to Leeds, then coordinating with the removal guys at the tail-end of the week, before making my own way back home by train on Friday.

The thing about Tenby: lovely place to visit, nice place to live if you fancy a bit of peace & quiet (except for the summer season, which can get a bit hairy), but not exactly what you'd call a wi-fi hot-spot. Hence my complete lack of T'Internet access all week, and the subsequent mad scramble to sort through my email backlog mountain and catch up with various work-related tasks (and resulting lack of blogging here) since I've been back at the weekend.

Of course, a week to myself with no WWW access - plus a six-hour train journey at the end of it - meant that I was able to read a whole two books (Charlie Huston's second Joe Pitt novel, No Dominion, the second of John Connolly's Charlie Parker novels, Dark Hollow) and make a good start on a third (K.J. Parker's Evil For Evil - finally!). And this, sadly, is something of a personal best since I knocked the daily commute on the head, not counting holiday reading...

And here - just in case you're contemplating a holiday, or even retiring to the coast (I know where you can buy a very nice semi - in need of redecoration, true, but in a great location) - are a few scenic shots of Tenby that I snapped off with my trusty old Fuji Finepix on the Monday evening. This was the last spell of sunshine that I was able to enjoy before the rain-clouds set in for the rest of the week.

The subject matter: St Catherine's Island (complete with largely-derelict C18th fort), the approach to Castle Hill (with a section of the old town walls), and the old lifeboat house (now replaced by a shiny, modern one, from where this last photo was taken).

Back to the regular genre-fiction-stuff next time I find a spare moment to put fingers to keyboard...

June 27, 2007 | Filed Under Books, Life, Photography | 9 Comments

Genre Cover of the Month - Vote Feb '07, Noms open Mar '07

Okay then, here we go with the first selection of nominated covers for the inaugural Genre Files Genre Cover of the Month accolade...

A quick note before we start: Nominations are now open for the March '07 Genre Cover of the Month, so please do head on over to the GCoTM page of the site for details of how to nominate your favourite covers during the coming month.

The Nominees

This month I've selected six book covers for the shortlist, based on the nominations sent in by various people (many thanks to everyone who participated) plus one that I've included myself.

[Clicking on a cover will take you to the relevant Amazon info page, where you'll be able to see a slightly larger cover image...]

The Voting

Please remember, I'm asking you to vote for the strongest book cover, not the best book itself.

It doesn't matter whether you've read the book or not, or whether you liked it or not if you have. What I'm interested in is, in your opinion, which of the six covers is the most effective. Not necessarily the most eye-catching or the most aesthetically pleasing, although both of these factors are important.

In essence though, I'd like to know which of the six covers above would be most likely to persuade you to pick up the book in a bookstore, or to click on a link online, and either buy the book there and then, or at least want to find out more.

In short: which book cover does the job of selling that book the best?

Please use the Feb '07 Poll to register your vote, or send me an email instead and I'll register the vote on your behalf.

If you'd like to discuss the covers, or add a comment as to why you registered your vote for a particular title, then please do feel free to use the comments for this post.

The Winner...

Will be announced when voting closes on March 31st. I'll email the author, publisher, artist / designer to let them know, and ask for any comment they might have on the design of the cover, then post whatever responses I'm able to elicit.

Unnecessary Footnote

Please, don't bother voting dozens of times for your favourite cover. Ballot-stuffing isn't big, or clever, and it's not like we're deciding the fate of the world here or anything, y'know..?

March 1, 2007 | Filed Under Art, Books, Marketing, Publishing | 12 Comments

New Arrivals - mid December '06

Another batch of books have come in for the Books Received section of UKSFBN, and once again there are a couple of pearls included that I'd particularly like to bring to your attention:

Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie

This one's going to cause me a real scheduling headache. Joe Abercrombie's debut novel, The Blade Itself was my definite fantasy highlight of 2006. It was an absolutely superb low-fantasy saga; chock full of action, adventure and incident, shot through with a very dry, witty sense of humour, and with none of the pomposity that the heroic fantasy genre is so prone to. Great reading, absolutely flew through it, Jo loved it as well. Part 2? Hell, yeah! (or, as Jo quite literally said upon picking up the book not ten minutes ago, "oooh! oooh!")

So, this one really demands to be shunted right to the front of my 'must read' queue... except that K.J. Parker's Evil for Evil is already occupying that spot, and I definitely want to read that one for pretty much the same reasons. And then I've got the Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, John Connolly's Nocturnes and Gail Martin's The Summoner coming up hard on the rails... damn! Decisions, decisions...

The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes

Another Gollancz proof that arrived in the same batch as the Abercrombie. I've been hearing some mixed background buzz about this one for a while; some say 'good', some say 'not sure'. But it looks like it'll fit into an oeuvre that I do have a definite affection for; you'd probably have to call it 'quasi-Victorian humourous melodrama' or something. Or then again, maybe not...

But you know the stuff I mean, anyway: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Mark Gattiss' The Vesuvius Club - which coincidentally I'd started reading the day before this one turned up - for instance. And I could theoretically include the recent Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by G.W. Dahlquist in there as well, although to be honest that one was comparatively top-heavy on the melodrama and rather devoid of humour.

Hmmm. More headaches...

No Dominion by Charlie Huston

Not one that'll immediatly challenge for must-read top-spot, but a definite medium-term contender. This is the second in Charlie Huston's current series about a vampire-gang-dominated New York; no place for a determined loner vampire like Joe Pitt, who just wants to be left alone to live his un-death in peace. But his staunch neutrality makes him useful - and also potentially dangerous - to a whole range of factions in the continually ongoing gang turf war, so peace and quiet are likely to be two commodities in short supply.

Thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the series, Already Dead, after Jo bought a US copy from Amazon and then hit me with it until I agreed to read it. Urban vamp meets hard-boiled private eye, with everything wrapped up in a dark, grungy atmosphere that you could choke on. Orbit will be releasing the first couple of volumes in the UK early next year.

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And finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention the three latest titles from PS Publishing, which also came in today: Julian - A Christmas Story by Robert Charles Wilson, Flavors of My Genius by Robert Reed, and The Voyage of Night Shining White by the much talked-about Chris Roberson. All, as it happens, with stunning artwork from a certain Les Edwards (or Edward Miller) as well.

'Julian - A Christmas Story' by Robert Charles Wilson

'The Voyage of Night Shining White' by Chris Roberson

All three look very interesting indeed, so that's three more for the already-groaning t.b.r. shelf... one day I really will have to win the lottery, just so I can actually afford the time to sit down and read all this potentially rather excellent material. I tell you, it's the only way it's ever going to happen...

December 22, 2006 | Filed Under Books | 10 Comments