Three from Orbit

Cursed by Benedict Jacka is now available from Orbit (£7.99). Jim Butcher’s quote: “I just added Benedict Jacka to my must-read list” so I imagine that gives some indication of the book’s narrative.

“Things are going well for Alex Verus. He’s on moderately good terms with the Council, his apprentice is settling in and his shop in Camden is gaining quite a reputation. But when a mysterious woman bursts into the Arcana Emporium one night with an assassin on her tail, Alex is thrown into a plot to revive a long-forbidden ritual. His old enemies are after the secret, as well as a Council mage named Belthas and a mercenary named Garrick, and at least one of them is trying to get Alex killed – if he only knew which. He can see the future, but knowing who to trust is something else.”

Book two of The Dreamblood, The Shadowed Sun by N K Jemisin is published this month (Orbit £7.99):

“Gujaareh, the city of dreams, suffers under the imperial rule of the Kisuati Protectorate. A city where the only law was peace now knows violence and oppression. And nightmares: a mysterious and deadly plague haunts the citizens of Gujaareh, dooming the infected to die screaming in their sleep. Trapped between dark dreams and cruel overlords, the people yearn to rise up – but Gujaareh has known peace for too long. Someone must show them the way.”

Blackout by Mira Grant is out in June (Orbit £7.99). If you like zombies, this is probably dead right for you!

“The year is 2041, and Shaun Mason is having a bad day. Everyone he knows is dead or in hiding. The world is doing its best to end itself for the second time. The Centre for Disease Control is out to get him. With too much left to do and not much time left to do it in, he must face mad scientists, zombie bears and rogue government agencies before the conspiracy that killed Georgia manages to kill the only thing he has left of her – the truth. And if there’s one thing he knows is true in this post-zombie, post-resurrection America, it’s this: Things can always get worse.