84K by Claire North
Claire North , Orbit , Sci-Fi / May 24, 2018

What if your life were defined by a number? What if any crime could be committed without punishment, so long as you could afford to pay the fee assigned to that crime? Theo works in the Criminal Audit Office. He assesses each crime that crosses his desk and makes sure the correct debt to society is paid in full. But when Theo’s ex-lover Dani is killed, it’s different. This is one death he can’t let become merely an entry on a balance sheet. Because when the richest in the world are getting Read more […]

The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn by Tyler Whitesides
Fantasy , Orbit , Tyler Whitesides / May 17, 2018

“I’m hiring you to steal the king’s crown.” Ardor Benn is no ordinary thief. Rakish, ambitious, and master of wildly complex heists, he styles himself a Ruse Artist Extraordinaire. When a priest hires him for the most daring ruse yet, Ardor knows he’ll need more than quick wit and sleight of hand. Assembling a dream team of forgers, disguisers, schemers, and thieves, he sets out to steal from the most powerful king the realm has ever known. But it soon becomes clear there’s more at stake Read more […]

Everything About You by Heather Child
Heather Child , Orbit , Sci-Fi , Thriller / May 3, 2018

Freya has a new virtual assistant. It knows what she likes, knows what she wants and knows whose voice she most needs to hear: her missing sister’s. It adopts her sister’s personality, recreating her through a life lived online. But this virtual version of her knows things it shouldn’t be possible to know. It’s almost as if the missing girl is still out there somewhere, feeding fresh updates into the cloud. But that’s impossible. Isn’t it? I’m sure many of you have a digital Read more […]

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz
Annalee Newitz , Orbit , Sci-Fi / March 29, 2018

When anything can be owned, how can we be free Earth, 2144. Jack is an anti-patent scientist turned drug pirate, traversing the world in a submarine as a pharmaceutical Robin Hood, fabricating cheap scrips for poor people who can’t otherwise afford them. But her latest drug hack has left a trail of lethal overdoses as people become addicted to their work, doing repetitive tasks until they become unsafe or insane. Hot on her trail, an unlikely pair: Eliasz, a brooding military agent, and his Read more […]

Arm of the Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft
Fantasy , Josiah Bancroft , Orbit / March 22, 2018

Please note Arm of the Sphinx is a direct sequel to Senlin Ascends. There will be spoilers if haven’t read the first book in this series. Consider yourself suitably forewarned. Forced by necessity into a life of piracy, Senlin and his crew struggle to survive aboard their stolen airship. Senlin’s search for his lost wife continues, even as her ghost hounds his every step. But the Tower of Babel proves to be as difficult to re-enter as it was to escape. While searching for an unguarded Read more […]

Blood of Assassins by R J Barker
Fantasy , Orbit , R J Barker / February 15, 2018

Blood of Assassins is a direct sequel to Age of Assassins. If you haven’t read book one in this series, then it is entirely likely that this review will contain something akin to minor spoilers. Don’t say I didn’t warn you all… THE KING IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE KING . . . The assassin Girton Club-foot and his master have returned to Maniyadoc in hope of finding sanctuary, but death, as always, dogs Girton’s heels. The place he knew no longer exists. War rages across Maniyadoc, with Read more […]

Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft
Fantasy , Josiah Bancroft , Orbit / January 18, 2018

Senlin, a mild-mannered school teacher, is drawn to the Tower of Babel by the grandiose promises of a guidebook. The ancient and immense Tower seems the perfect destination for a honeymoon. But soon after arriving, Senlin loses his young wife, Marya, in the crowd. Senlin’s search for Marya carries him through slums and theaters, prisons and ballrooms. He must survive betrayal, assassination, and the long guns of a flying fortress. But if he hopes to find Marya, Senlin will have to do more than Read more […]

Beyond the Empire by K B Wagers
K B Wagers , Orbit , Sci-Fi / November 16, 2017

Please note, Beyond the Empire is the third book in The Indranan War trilogy. If you haven’t read books one and two then read no further. This review will likely contain minor spoiler. I’d suggested picking both books, reading them and and then coming back when you’re ready. It’s ok, I’ll wait. Gunrunner-turned-Empress Hail Bristol was dragged back to her home planet to take her rightful place in the palace. Her sisters and parents have been murdered, and the Indranan Empire is reeling Read more […]

Jade City by Fonda Lee
Crime , Fantasy , Fonda Lee , Orbit / November 9, 2017

FAMILY IS DUTY. MAGIC IS POWER. HONOR IS EVERYTHING. Magical jade—mined, traded, stolen, and killed for—is the lifeblood of the island of Kekon. For centuries, honorable Green Bone warriors like the Kaul family have used it to enhance their abilities and defend the island from foreign invasion. Now the war is over and a new generation of Kauls vies for control of Kekon’s bustling capital city. They care about nothing but protecting their own, cornering the jade market, and defending the Read more […]

The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso
Fantasy , Melissa Caruso , Orbit / October 19, 2017

In the Raverran Empire, magic is scarce and those born with power are strictly controlled — taken as children and conscripted into the Falcon Army. Zaira has lived her life on the streets to avoid this fate, hiding her mage-mark and thieving to survive. But hers is a rare and dangerous magic, one that threatens the entire empire. Lady Amalia Cornaro was never meant to be a Falconer. Heiress and scholar, she was born into a treacherous world of political machinations. But fate has bound Read more […]

The Eternity War: Pariah by Jamie Sawyer
Jamie Sawyer , Orbit , Sci-Fi / October 5, 2017

The soldiers of the Simulant Operations Programme are mankind’s elite warriors. Veterans of a thousand battles across a hundred worlds, they undertake suicidal missions to protect humanity from the insidious Krell Empire and the mysterious machine race known as the Shard. Lieutenant Keira Jenkins is an experienced simulant operative and leader of the Jackals, a team of raw recruits keen to taste battle. They soon get their chance when the Black Spiral terrorist network seizes control of a space Read more […]

Provenance by Ann Leckie
Ann Leckie , Orbit , Sci-Fi / September 28, 2017

A power-driven young woman has just one chance to secure the status she craves and regain priceless lost artifacts prized by her people. She must free their thief from a prison planet from which no one has ever returned. Ingray and her charge will return to her home world to find their planet in political turmoil, at the heart of an escalating interstellar conflict. Together, they must make a new plan to salvage Ingray’s future, her family, and her world, before they are lost to her for good. Read more […]

Raising Fire by James Bennett
Fantasy , James Bennett , Orbit / August 31, 2017

Please note Raising Fire is a direct sequel to Chasing Embers and it is entirely possible the following review will contain some minor spoilers if you have not read the first book in the series. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Ben Garston has broken the Lore. Now it’s time to face the music. Life isn’t treating Red Ben well. He’s lost everything he held dear, including the love of his life. Still, at least he escaped the clutches of a malevolent spirit bent on total destruction. So there is that. Now Read more […]