Giveaway! Win a copy of L.E. Modesitt Jr.’s new Recluce novel, Cyador’s Heirs!

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Stefan (Far Beyond Reality)

CyadorsHeirs

Please note this giveaway is completed and the winners have been announced — but check back here soon for more giveaways!

Folks, I usually try to stagger the giveaways around here so there’s just one per week, but this one is simply too good to pass up so, for once, I’m running two giveaways simultaneously. (The other one is here, and yes, feel free to enter both!)

Thanks to the kind people at Tor Books, I have two copies of L.E. Modesitt Jr.’s forthcoming Recluce novel Cyador’s Heirs to give away to two lucky readers in the US or Canada.

To enter this giveaway, simply send an email with subject line “HEIR” to fbrgiveaway AT gmail DOT com with your full name and mailing address. One entry per giveaway per person, please: multiple entries will result in immediate disqualification, but please feel free to tell your friends! Please note again that, at the publisher’s request, this giveaway is limited to the US and Canada only.

The giveaway will end on Sunday, May 18th at 11:59 PM, and I’ll announce the winners here the following day. Void where prohibited by law, rules are subject to change, batteries not included, and of course, harmful when swallowed.

Cyador’s Heirs will be available from Tor Books on May 20th, 2014. And … check back here on that day for a great guest post by L.E. Modesitt Jr.!

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I’ve got a rumblr in my Tumblr

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Stefan (Far Beyond Reality)

A brief PSA: I’ve finally created a Tumblr… Tumblog? Tumbl-thing. You can find it here.

Links to my regular FBR posts should appear there, as well as a bunch of other things — mostly related to science fiction and fantasy books, but also art, music, and whatever else strikes my interest.

I’m very new at this, and there’s not a whole lot of stuff there yet, but check it out!

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Afterparty by Daryl Gregory (includes giveaway!)

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Stefan (Far Beyond Reality)

AfterpartyIn the future depicted in Afterparty, Daryl Gregory’s excellent new science fiction novel, making designer drugs has never been easier. Since the Smart Drug revolution, anyone can create and print their own pharmaceuticals, whether they’re copies of old-fashioned street drugs or wild new inventions that are as likely to damage your mind as give you a solid high:

Any high school student with a chemjet and an internet connection could download recipes and print small-batch drugs. The creative types liked to fuck with the recipes, try them out on their friends. People swallowed paper all the time without knowing what they were chewing. Half the residents of the NAT ward weren’t addicts; they were beta testers.

Continue reading →

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American Craftsmen by Tom Doyle

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Stefan (Far Beyond Reality)

AmericanCraftsmenBecause I only read about 80 pages of Tom Doyle’s debut novel American Craftsmen, this is not so much a review as a summary of what I liked and ultimately didn’t like.

But first, here’s the blurb:

In modern America, two soldiers will fight their way through the magical legacies of Poe and Hawthorne to destroy an undying evil—if they don’t kill each other first.

US Army Captain Dale Morton is a magician soldier—a “craftsman.” After a black-ops mission gone wrong, Dale is cursed by a Persian sorcerer and haunted by his good and evil ancestors. Major Michael Endicott, a Puritan craftsman, finds gruesome evidence that the evil Mortons, formerly led by the twins Roderick and Madeline, have returned, and that Dale might be one of them.

Dale uncovers treason in the Pentagon’s highest covert ranks. He hunts for his enemies before they can murder him and Scherie, a new friend who knows nothing of his magic.

Endicott pursues Dale, divided between his duty to capture a rogue soldier and his desire to protect Dale from his would-be assassins. They will discover that the demonic horrors that have corrupted American magic are not bound by family or even death itself.

In Tom Doyle’s thrilling debut, American Craftsmen, Seal Team Six meets ancient magic–with the fate of the United States hanging in the balance . . .

Continue reading →

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Giveaway winners! (Deadroads giveaway)

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Stefan (Far Beyond Reality)

Deadroads 9781597805131The winners of last week’s giveaway are…

Patti S. of Winchester, TN

Jason N. of Elko, MN

Christopher T. of Taunton, MA

Congratulations to all the winners! Your copies of Deadroads by Robin Riopelle will be sent out soon, courtesy of the wonderful people at Night Shade books.

And… for those of you who didn’t win this time: thanks for dropping by the site and participating, and make sure to keep an eye on Far Beyond Reality. I will have some more great giveaways coming up soon, as well as the usual slew of reviews and other SF/F-related ramblings!

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Speculative Fiction 2013 (Ana Grilo and Thea James, Eds.)

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Stefan (Far Beyond Reality)

SpeculativeFiction2013After last year’s Speculative Fiction 2012, a collection of the best SF/F-related online commentary selected and edited by Justin Landon and Jared Shurin, the editorial reins were handed over to Ana Grilo and Thea James, also known as the proprietresses of the estimable Booksmugglers website. Now, about one year later, we have another beautiful collection of insightful online essays about speculative fiction, entitled, yes, Speculative Fiction 2013.

From the editors:

What’s wrong with “strong” female characters?
What can we do to fix the Hugo awards?
What determines a dystopian society’s dress code?
Can a video game affirm our humanity?

The Internet has the answers. Speculative Fiction 2013 collects over fifty pieces from all corners of speculative fiction fandom – from book criticism to incisive commentary on important issues like sexual harassment at conventions; from feminist themes in summer blockbusters to life-changing video games; from the merits of grittiness to the downfalls of grimdark.

Continue reading →

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Excerpt: Deadroads by Robin Riopelle (includes giveaway!)

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Stefan (Far Beyond Reality)

Deadroads 9781597805131Here’s an excerpt from Deadroads, a dark fantasy novel by Robin Riopelle released on April 15th by Night Shade Books. At the end of the post, you’ll also find a giveaway, which you can enter for a chance to win 1 of 3 copies of the novel (US only).

Here’s the novel’s synopsis:

In the backwoods of Louisiana, familiar territory for fans of the Sookie Stackhouse series, Sol Sarrazin spent his screwed-up bayou childhood leading angry ghosts and drunks and psych patients along Deadroads into the afterworld. Eventually, his family, burdened by shared supernatural powers and fractured by clashing egos, scatters. But when tragedy forces the family to reunite, Sol, his brother Baz, and his sister Lutie are thrown headlong into a world of gory sprites, brilliant angels, and nefarious demons—small potatoes compared to reconciling their familial differences. For readers of dark urban fantasy and the supernatural.

Please enjoy this excerpt from Deadroads (below the cut).

Continue reading →

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Giveaway winner! (Eternal Sky giveaway)

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Stefan (Far Beyond Reality)

StelesoftheSkyThe winner of last week’s giveaway is…

William H. of Townsend, WI

Congratulations, William! Your copies of Range of Ghosts, Shattered Pillars and Steles of the Sky by Elizabeth Bear will be sent out soon, courtesy of the wonderful people at Tor Books.

And… for those of you who didn’t win this time: thanks for dropping by the site and participating, and make sure to keep an eye on Far Beyond Reality. I will have some more great giveaways coming up soon, as well as the usual slew of reviews and other SF/F-related ramblings!

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Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Stefan (Far Beyond Reality)

RaisingSteamThe latest entry in Terry Pratchett’s sprawling Discworld series, Raising Steam, is an example of what I call the “innovation” series-within-the-series. Just like there are sets of books that focus on specific characters and areas of the Discworld, there’s an increasingly large set of books that take on specific technological innovations entering the fabric of Discworld society.

We’ve seen this as far back as 1990’s Moving Pictures (in which the movie industry hit the Discworld) and 1994’s Soul Music (rock and roll, or as Pratchett calls it, “music with rocks in it”). Recently, Pratchett seems to be on a roll with this type of narrative, having introduced the character Moist Von Lipwig and then covered, in relatively short order, the postal system (Going Postal), banking (Making Money) and now mass transportation in the series’ latest addition, Raising Steam.

Continue reading →

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Giveaway! Enter to win Elizabeth Bear’s Eternal Sky trilogy (all three books!)

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Stefan (Far Beyond Reality)

StelesoftheSkyPlease note: this giveaway is now over, and the winner has been announced.

Alright folks, I have a good one for you this time. Thanks to the generosity of the kind people at Tor Books, I have copies of all three books in Elizabeth Bear’s Eternal Sky trilogy to give away to one lucky reader in the US or Canada. To be clear: that means one copy of Range of Ghosts, Shattered Pillars and Steles of the Sky EACH. Sound good? Thought so.

If you’re not familiar with this series yet, I strongly encourage you to check it out. It’s easily one of the most unique epic fantasies of the last decade or two. You can find my review of the first book, Range of Ghosts, here. (I’ve read book two, Shattered Pillars, but have been remiss in writing out my thoughts. And the only reason I haven’t read the final installment, Steles of the Sky, is because I’m way behind. But trust me – read these books.)

To enter this giveaway, simply send an email with subject line “BEAR” to fbrgiveaway AT gmail DOT com with your full name and mailing address. One entry per person, please: multiple entries will result in immediate disqualification, but please feel free to tell your friends! Please note again that, at the publisher’s request, this giveaway is limited to the US and Canada only.

The giveaway ended on Sunday, April 27th at 11:59 PM. Void where prohibited by law, rules are subject to change, batteries not included, and of course, harmful when swallowed.

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