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2016 Extracts

Shannara

Terry Brooks

Listen to a selection of highlights from our Orbit imprint.

Orbit Highlights

Listen to a pre-publication sample of January's most exciting Orbit book - heart-stopping, page-turning and brilliant! 

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr Caldwell calls her 'our little genius'. 
Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favourite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.

The Girl With All the Gifts is published on 14th January, in hardback, ebook and audiobook formats.

The Girl With All The Gifts by M R Carey

Unfettered, edited by Shawn Speakman on Audible:
http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Unfettered-Audiobook/B00HJCEGKM?source_code=SCLGB90A0WS122613

Summary:

You define life or it defines you. In Shawn Speakman’s case, it was both. Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011, Shawn quickly accrued a massive medical debt that he did not have the ability to pay. That’s when New York Times best-selling author Terry Brooks offered to donate a short story that Shawn could sell to help alleviate those bills - and suggested he ask the same of his other writer friends. Unfettered is the result: An anthology built in order to relieve that debt, featuring short stories by some of the best fantasy writers in the genre.

Twenty-three tales comprise this incredible collection, and as the title suggests, the writers were free to contribute whatever they wished. Here is the table of contents:

Foreword by Patrick Rothfuss
Introduction: On Becoming Unfettered
Imaginary Friends by Terry Brooks
How Old Holly Came to Be by Patrick Rothfuss
The Old Scale Game by Tad Williams
Game of Chance by Carrie Vaughn
The Martyr of the Roses by Jacqueline Carey
Mudboy by Peter V. Brett
The Sound of Broken Absolutes by Peter Orullian
The Coach with Big Teeth by R. A. Salvatore
Keeper of Memory by Todd Lockwood
Heaven in a Wild Flower by Blake Charlton
Dogs by Daniel Abraham
The Chapel Perilous by Kevin Hearne
Select Mode by Mark Lawrence
All the Girls Love Michael Stein by David Anthony Durham
Strange Rain by Jennifer Bosworth
Nocturne by Robert V. S. Redick
Unbowed by Eldon Thompson
In Favour with Their Stars by Naomi Novik
River of Souls by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
The Jester by Michael J. Sullivan
The Duel by Lev Grossman
Walker and the Shade of Allanon by Terry Brooks
The Unfettered Knight by Shawn Speakman

With the help of stalwart friends and these wonderful short stories, Shawn has taken the gravest of life’s hardships and created something magical. Unfettered is not only a fantastic anthology in its own right, but it’s a testament to the generosity found in the science fiction and fantasy community—proof that humanity can give beyond itself when the need arises. After all, isn’t that the driving narrative in fantasy literature?

Buy on Audible

Imaginary Friends by Terry Brooks; a story from Unfettered, edited by Shawn Speakman

Listen to an extract from The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North, to be released 8th April 2014. Pre-order now!

Harry August is on his deathbed. Again. 

No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes.

Until now.

As Harry nears the end of his eleventh life, a little girl appears at his bedside. 'I nearly missed you, Doctor August,' she says. 'I need to send a message.'

This is the story of what Harry does next, and what he did before, and how he tries to save a past he cannot change and a future he cannot allow.

"An astonishing re-invention of the time-travel narrative. Bold, magical and masterful." - M. R. Carey, author of The Girl With All the Gifts

The First Fifteen Lives Of Harry August - Claire North

Listen to an extract from Skin Game by Jim Butcher, read by James Marsters. Out today (27th May 2014) from Audible UK - click the Buy button above. 

Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, is about to have a very bad day. As Winter Knight to the Queen of Air and Darkness, Harry never knows what the scheming Mab might want him to do. Usually, it's something awful.
This time, it's worse than that. Mab's involved Harry in a smash-and-grab heist run by one of his most despised enemies, to recover the literal Holy Grail from the vaults of the greatest treasure horde in the world - which belongs to the one and only Hades, Lord of the Underworld.
Dresden's always been tricky, but he's going to have to up his backstabbing game to survive this mess - assuming his own allies don't end up killing him before his enemies get the chance . . .

Skin Game by Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files #15)

Long ago, the world of the Four Lands was torn apart by the wars of ancient Evil. But in the Vale, the half-human, half-elfin Shea Ohmsford now lives in peace - until the mysterious, forbidding figure of the druid Allanon appears, to reveal that the supposedly long dead Warlock Lord lives again.

Shea must embark upon the elemental quest to find the only weapon powerful enough to keep the creatures of darkness at bay: the fabled Sword of Shannara. 

THE SWORD OF SHANNARA is the first volume of the classic series that has become one of the most popular fantasy tales of all time. A masterful work from a master storyteller.

The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks (Audiobook Excerpt)

A Beautiful Melody by Lilliana Anderson on Audible:
http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B017HY594I&source_code=AUDORWS1009159F5L

Get this audiobook for free when you try Audible:
http://www.audible.com/offers/30free?asin=B017HY594I&source_code=AUDORWS1009159F5L

Summary:
  

Naomi thought she'd met someone wonderful when Elliot came into her life, but he simply wasn't into her. It's the story of her life. While everyone around her is settling down, she gives up on trying to find her Mr. Right, and turns back to the one thing she has always loved - music.

Enter Marcus - he was a year above Naomi at school and she always had a killer crush on him. He now fronts a band with his older brother, Theo. Marcus has the reputation of a playboy, and Theo, well...he's just bad news. But their band is doing well, and Naomi has the chance to join. After spending some time in their company, Naomi see's something in each of them she can't ignore. She wonders if joining the band was perhaps a bad idea - you should never mix business with pleasure. Especially when that pleasure could divide families.... 


A Beautiful Melody by Lilliana Anderson, Narrated by  Cat Gould and Tom Bromhead

Read by Colin Beavan

About the Book

The author of No Impact Man and founder of the No Impact Project returns with this trailblazing guide to living a meaningful and fulfilling life while also contributing to the wellbeing of our communities and the planet.

When Colin Beavan embarked upon a yearlong experiment to lead a zero net-impact existence in the middle of New York City, he had no idea what a profound effect it would have upon himself and others around him. For Colin, the project—chronicled in a book, a documentary, and an ongoing lecture series—formed the basis of a radical “lifestyle redesign” that reached beyond just environmental activism. And, in the course of his travels and lectures, he encountered scores of people who were similarly breaking from traditional ideas about work, home, and even family in order to take their futures, and the planet’s, in their own hands. In the process they made a startling discovery—a happier way of life that is also having a deeply positive impact on the world.

For most of us, though, even contemplating this kind of transformation is overwhelming and confusing. In How to Be Alive, Beavan shares his insights on finding the path that’s right for you. Drawing on everything from classic literature and philosophy to current science, and combining that with his own experiences alongside those of the many people he has met along the way, Colin explores a broad array of transformational lifestyle adjustments—small and large—that offer security and meaning in a world confronted by ecological crises, economic upheaval, and ongoing war and social injustice. In the process, he helps readers embark on the quest for a “good life” of their own—lives both better for them and the planet.

HOW TO BE ALIVE by Colin Beavan

Performed by P.J. Ochlan

About the Book

To save an innocent friend, soldier and spy Jim Chapel will risk his own life and reputation to stop a deadly conspiracy from threatening the country in this relentless, non-stop action adventure from the author of the acclaimed thrillers Chimera and The Hydra Protocol.

Jim Chapel pledged his life to protect his country from its enemies. But now, the one-armed Special Forces soldier turned spy is on the wrong side of the law. The person he trusts most in the world, the brilliant hacker known only as Angel, is suspected of terrorism. When his boss calls for Angel’s arrest, Chapel—certain it’s a frame job—has only one option: to go rogue.

To protect Angel—a woman he’s never actually met—Chapel must clear her name. But first he has to find her, before a deadly Marine sniper, a drone aircraft gone feral, and the entire intelligence community closes in. With the aid of old friends and his ex-lover Julia, the search to find who framed Angel leads Chapel deep into the dark and lethal underbelly of the covert intelligence world . . . to a conspiracy with deep roots that shocks even this hardened veteran—and a plan that will destroy the United States as we know it if it succeeds. 

THE CYCLOPS INITIATIVE by David Wellington

A Beautiful Rock by Lilliana Anderson on Audible:
http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B017BRDR5O&source_code=AUDORWS1009159F5L

Get this audiobook for free when you try Audible:
 http://www.audible.com/offers/30free?asin=B017BRDR5O&source_code=AUDORWS1009159F5L

Summary:
  
New adult romance - contains sexual references suitable for mature audiences only.

Beautiful Series, book 4. Can be listened to on its own or in order.

After the video of his public outburst catapulted him to superstardom, Marcus now has everything he ever wanted.

Or so he thought. Be careful what you wish for, his mother always told him....

After spending two years touring the globe, he's growing tired, and that endless line of women has become a sea of blurry and meaningless faces.

When he returns home and receives a visit from Naomi, his previous object of affection, he finally starts to look at himself and what he's become. He doesn't like it.

Something has to change....

On the surface, Lisa is a pretty simple girl. She goes to work, spends time with her friends, and adores her dog, Perry. She loves the quiet life and isn't interested in the bright lights of Marcus' world. So when he takes an interest in her, she makes it very clear that she doesn't want what he's offering. You see, Lisa has secrets, and being seen with Marcus will be the key to her undoing.

Being a man used to getting what he wants, Marcus won't be taking no for an answer. For the first time, he has met someone who he feels a definite connection with, and he won't be taking no for an answer - even if it means inadvertently ruining everything Lisa has worked so hard to conceal....

Will Marcus and Lisa find a way to deal with her secrets and be together? Or will she push him away, ensuring Marcus is destined to always have his affections unreturned? 


A Beautiful Rock by Lilliana Anderson, Narrated by  Tom Bromhead, and Cat Gould

Devotion by Lilliana Anderson on Audible:
http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B017HYJJB2&source_code=AUDORWS1009159F5L

Get this audiobook for free when you try Audible:
http://www.audible.com/offers/30free?asin=B017HYJJB2&source_code=AUDORWS1009159F5L

Summary:

Theo and Naomi want nothing more than to spend the rest of their life together as husband and wife. The only hold up has been Theo's brother Marcus - without him there, Theo didn't feel right about sealing his union with the woman he loves. When Marcus finally swallows his pride and returns to the family, he realizes just how much damage his silence has done and endeavors to right some of those wrongs by giving his brother and Naomi their dream wedding. The problem is - whose dream wedding is it? 


Devotion by Lilliana Anderson, Narrated by Cat Gould

What if you began to suspect your child of an unspeakable crime?

One night changed everything. A father murdered in his bed. A mother beaten almost to death. A daughter who claims she knew nothing about her boyfriend's murderous plans. But is she telling the truth?

Hanna can't remember the details of what happened that traumatic night, she barely survived the brutal assault that left her a widow.  However, if she is to keep her husband's killer in jail, she knows she has to try. But Hanna hadn't realised that those memories may cause her to question everything she thought she knew about her daughter...

If She Did It by Jessica Treadway (Audiobook Extract)

In the sapping summer heat of 1665 there is little celebration in London of the naval victory at the Battle of Lowestoft. The King, his retinue and anyone with sufficient means has fled the plague-ridden city, its half-deserted streets echoing to the sound of bells tolling the mounting number of deaths. Those who remain clutch doubtful potions to ward off the relentless disease and dart nervously past shuttered buildings, watchful for the thieves who risk their lives to plunder what has been left behind.

At Chelsea, a rural backwater by the river, with fine mansions leased to minor members of the Court avoiding the capital, there are more immediate concerns: the government has commandeered the theological college to house Dutch prisoners of war and there are daily rumours that those sailors are on the brink of escaping. Moreover, a vicious strangler is stalking the neighbourhood.

Thomas Chaloner is sent to investigate the murder of the first victim, an inmate of a private sanatorium known as Gorges. There have been thefts there as well, but the few facts he gleans from inmates and staff are contradictory and elusive. He realises, though, that Gorges has stronger links to the prison than just proximity, and that the influx of strangers offers plenty of camouflage for a killer - a killer who has no compunction about turning on those determined to stop his murderous rampage.

The Chelsea Strangler by Susanna Gregory (Audiobook Extract)

An ancient evil threatens the Elves and the Races of Man. The Ellcrys, the tree of long-lost Elven magic, is dying, unravelling the spell of Forbidding that locks the hordes of Demons away from the world. Already the fearsome Reaper is free. Only by quickening a new seed in the mysterious Bloodfire can the Ellcrys be reborn and the Forbidding made whole. Amberle, a young Elven girl, is chosen to undertake the quest for the Bloodfire.  

The way is perilous, though. Other demons besides the Reaper stalk the land. Amberle will need a protector if she is to prevail, and Wil Ohmsford, heir to the elven magics of Shannara, is chosen to accompany her. Amberle's quest and the fate of the Four Lands will rest on Wil's ability to unlock the magic of the mysterious Elfstones of Shannara.

THE ELFSTONES OF SHANNARA is the second volume of the classic series that has become one of the best loved fantasy tales of all time.

The Elfstones of Shannara  by Terry Brooks(Audiobook Extract)

Horror stalks the Four Lands. The Ildatch, ancient source of evil, has stirred to life. It sends its foul Mord Wraiths to make war on all living things and bring about, at last, Mankind's destruction. Once again Allanon, Druid Protector of the Races, must seek the help of a descendant of the Elven King, Jerle Shannara. Brin, daughter of Wil Ohmsford, has been born with the magic of the Wishsong, which alone can open a way to the Ildatch. Reluctantly, she joins Allanon on his perilous journey east. Meanwhile her younger brother, Jair, learns that Brin will fail and die unless he can reach her in time. As Brin walks blindly into the trap the Ildatch has set, Jair's only hope of reaching her in time is to travel through the very heart of evil. . . 

THE WISHSONG OF SHANNARA is the third volume of the classic series that set the standard for modern fantasy. A timeless work from a master storyteller.

The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks (Audiobook Extract)

They thought she was the victim, but they're the ones in danger . . .

Imagine a helpless, pregnant 16-year-old who's just been yanked from the serenity of her home and shoved into a dirty van. Kidnapped . . . Alone . . . Terrified.

Now forget her . . . 

Picture instead a pregnant, 16-year-old, manipulative prodigy. She is shoved into a dirty van and, from the first moment of her kidnapping, feels a calm desire for two things: to save her unborn son and to exact merciless revenge.

She is methodical - calculating - scientific in her plotting. Leaving nothing to chance, she waits . . . for the perfect moment to strike. The Method is what happens when the victim is just as cold as the captors.

The Method by Shannon Kirk (Audiobook Extract)

The seventh novel in this compelling urban fantasy series featuring Alex Verus, the Camden-based mage who just can't stay out of trouble despite his ability to see the future. 
 	 
Alex Verus has a magic shop in Camden, London, and an uncanny ability to see the future.
But suddenly everyone can see Alex's future. Because the Mage's Council of Great Britain just named him a traitor and ordered his death in seven days' time, and there's no way anyone can get out of that.
Alex's friends - Luna and the other apprentices he's taken in - are tainted by association. They'll be marked for death too when the ruling comes into play, and Alex becomes locked in a race against time to save them.
But with only seven days to work with, will he have time left over save his own skin?

Burned by Benedict Jacka (Audiobook Extract)

The book THE LAST DAYS OF JACK SPARKS focuses on this sinister circumstances surrounding the death of journalist Jack Sparks. 
Here Jason Arnopp interviews Jack’s surviving brother Alistair about the controversy surrounding Jack’s life and death, and the closure Alistair hopes to find in the publication of Jack’s final work. 

Read more on the book below:

Jack Sparks died while writing this book. 

It was no secret that journalist Jack Sparks had been researching the occult for his new book. No stranger to controversy, he'd already triggered a furious Twitter storm by mocking an exorcism he witnessed. 
Then there was that video: forty seconds of chilling footage that Jack repeatedly claimed was not of his making, yet was posted from his own YouTube account.

Nobody knew what happened to Jack in the days that followed - until now.

The Last Days of Jack Sparks: Jason Arnopp interviews Alistair Sparks

Hachette Audio UK is the audiobook imprint of the Little, Brown Book Group. We publish a diverse list with fantastic authors such as J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, Mark Billingham, Iain Banks, John Steinbeck, Walter Isaacson and Malcolm Gladwell. Follow us on SoundCloud for pre-publication clips, audio extras and more.  

The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks (Audiobook Extract)

Little, Brown Audio