As shadows threaten to consume the kingdom of Southmarch, Barrick Eddon, heir to March throne, battles his way across the sinister Shadowlands. He must journey through this dangerous, inhuman realm to fulfil a pact – as this may be all that can prevent the atrocities of a full-scale war with the Twilight people of Qul-na-Qar.

Princess Briony, Barrick’s twin sister, finds herself in no less danger at the court of Tessis in Syan. When those close to her fall dead from poisoning, she is to learn the true extent of the betrayal surrounding her. Her only option is to flee, as all those in Tessis turn against her – all, that is, except for one important ally.

Meanwhile, the assault upon Southmarch has truly begun. Yasammez, the formidable head of the Qar army, has ordered the attack, believing that the pact between humans and Qar has been broken. Unless Ferras Vansen, Captain of the Southmarch Royal Guard, can convince her otherwise, the humans are sure to meet the dark end that has been promised to them . . .

We are very pleased to announce that Orbit has agreed to a three-book deal with internationally bestselling author Kim Stanley Robinson. The first novel, scheduled for publication in 2012, has the working title 2312.

Tim Holman, Orbit VP and Publisher, says: “Kim Stanley Robinson is a writer who can make the future credible, no matter how incredible it might seem. 2312 will be set in our solar system three hundred years from now; a solar system in which mankind has left Earth and found new habitats. This will be a novel for anyone curious to see what our future looks like – a grand science-fictional adventure in every sense – and I’m thrilled that Orbit will be publishing it in both the US and the UK.”

Robinson, best known for his critically acclaimed Mars Trilogy, is a winner of the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, Campbell, World Fantasy, and BSFA Awards, and in 2008 was named a Hero of the Environment by Time magazine. He says: “It’s a real pleasure to join Orbit and their ambitious program to extend the reach of science fiction to the entire reading public.”

The next book will be called Bearers of the Black Staff, Book One of the Legends of Shannara duology.

Bearers of the Black Staff takes place 500 years after the events in The Gypsy Morph, where the descendants of the valley survivors are finally confronted with the outside world and its multitude of dangers. The book is written and edited and is as we speak with the production editing team at Del Rey. Artwork has just been commissioned and after several months hopefully we’ll have something to show you.

Terry is as we speak writing the second book in the duology. It has a tentative title I cannot yet reveal but I think it matches up nicely with the first one. Terry hopes to be finished with the second book by April or May 2010. More about this will be revealed in the 2009 Holiday Letter, to be released soon.

As you have probably surmised, the Genesis of Shannara series is complete at three books. Legends of Shannara will push the pre-First King of Shannara novels forward. There will be at least one or two more series after Legends that will bring the timeline up to Galaphile and the First Druid Council. We’ll have to wait and see how Terry does it.

Filming on the Game of Thrones pilot has wrapped, according to VFX producer Julia Frey. So ends three weeks of shooting that took place in three different countries and involved a primary cast two dozen strong and more than a hundred extras. Cogratulations to the hard-working cast and crew, who pulled a number of all-nighters to get the job done!

Where to next? As we reported early last month, Modern VideoFilm will be carrying out some sort of post-production duties in February, with HBO expected to give its decision on a greenlight in around March. In the interim, we’ve really no idea what will be going on, though we hope to learn more soon.