Winner: Winds of Khalakovo Giveaway

With the help of Random.org, I picked a winner for my extra copy of The Winds of Khalakovo by Bradley P. Beaulieu(Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound). The winner is:

Maria from Iona, Greece.

Congrats Maria!

Giveaway: The Winds of Khalakovo by Bradley P. Beaulieu

From time to time there are mix-ups and I get sent more than one copy of a book for review. Often I give away those books in one way or another, and this is one such case. Since I’ve got an extra copy of The Winds of Khalakovo by Bradley P. Beaulieu (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound), I’m going to give it away to a lucky Neth Space reader. 

Among inhospitable and unforgiving seas stands Khalakovo, a mountainous archipelago of seven islands, its prominent eyrie stretching a thousand feet into the sky. Serviced by windships bearing goods and dignitaries, Khalakovo's eyrie stands at the crossroads of world trade. But all is not well in Khalakovo. Conflict has erupted between the ruling Landed, the indigenous Aramahn, and the fanatical Maharraht, and a wasting disease has grown rampant over the past decade. Now, Khalakovo is to play host to the Nine Dukes, a meeting which will weigh heavily upon Khalakovo's future. When an elemental spirit attacks an incoming windship, murdering the Grand Duke and his retinue, Prince Nikandr, heir to the scepter of Khalakovo, is tasked with finding the child prodigy believed to be behind the summoning. However, Nikandr discovers that the boy is an autistic savant who may hold the key to lifting the blight that has been sweeping the islands. Can the Dukes, thirsty for revenge, be held at bay? Can Khalakovo be saved? The elusive answer drifts upon the "Winds of Khalakovo"...

Entry is easy – just send me an email at nethspace [at] gmail [dot] com. Remove the anti-spam measures as appropriate or use the handy link in the sidebar. Include WINDS as the email subject and make sure to include your full mailing address. Only one entry per person and this contest is open to anyone (though winners not from the US can expect that it’ll take a while for your book to arrive). The contest is open for about 2 weeks – enter by April 6, 2012.

Good Luck!

Winner of The Sacred Band by David Anthony Durham

With the help of Random.org, I picked a winner for my extra copy of The Other Lands by David Anthony Durham (Book Depository, Powell's Books, Indiebound). The winner is:

Zoe from Carterton, UK

Congrats Zoe!

Giveaway: The Sacred Band by David Anthony Durham

Sometimes when a publisher sends me books they never arrive – and sometimes when a publisher sends me books I get double. Thanks to the latter, I have an extra copy of The Sacred Band by David Anthony Durham (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound). This book finishes up the Acacia Trilogy in great fashion (read my full review) and I highly recommend this largely underrated series (my reviews of book 1 and book 2).

With the first two books in the Acacia Trilogy, Acacia and The Other Lands, David Anthony Durham has created a vast and engrossing canvas of a world in turmoil, where the surviving children of a royal dynasty are on a quest to realize their fates—and perhaps right ancient wrongs once and for all. As The Sacred Band begins, one of them, Queen Corinn, bestrides the world as a result of her mastery of spells found in the ancient Book of Elenet. Her younger brother, Dariel, has been sent on a perilous mis­sion to the Other Lands, while her sister, Mena, travels to the far north to confront an invasion of the feared race of the Auldek. Their separate trajectories will converge in a series of world-shaping, earth-shattering battles, all ren­dered with vividly imagined detail and in heroic scale.

David Anthony Durham concludes his tale of kingdoms in collision in an exciting fashion. His fictional world is at once realistic and fantastic, informed with an eloquent and dis­tinctively Shakespearean sensibility. (Read Chapter 1)

So, the giveaway is simple. Just send an email to nethspace ‘at’ gmail ‘dot’ com. Remove and replace the ‘at’ and ‘dot’ with the appropriate symbols or use the email link in the sidebar. Use the subject of ‘SACRED’. Include you're name and mailing address. The deadline is Friday, October 7^th. Only one entry please and this is open to all. Good luck!

Winners: Wild Cards I Giveaway

With the help of Random.org, a winner has been chosen for Wild Cards I edited by George RR Martin for giveaway (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound).

The winners are…

Angela from Mattapan, Massachusetts

Matthijis from Almere, Netherlands

Luke from Inman, South Carolina

Joe from Ripon, Wisconsin

Cleveland from Omaha, Nebraska

Congrats to all the winners!

Giveaway: Wild Cards I edited by George RR Martin

Just in time for the holidays I have some books to give away courtesy of the good folks over at Tor. George RR Martin started the shared-world of Wild Cards, featuring many of SFF’s best and brightest. After 20+ years, the series is getting re-published, including new, original stories. Fans of comics, SFF, GRRM and many other authors should re-joice with this new edition. So, I have 5 copies of the updated Wild Cards I edited by George RR Martin for giveaway (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound).

There is a secret history of the world—a history in which an alien virus struck the Earth in the aftermath of World War II, endowing a handful of survivors with extraordinary powers.  Some were called Aces--those with superhuman mental and physical abilities. Others were termed Jokers--cursed with bizarre mental or physical disabilities.  Some turned their talents to the service of humanity. Others used their powers for evil. Wild Cards is their story.

Originally published in 1987, Wild Cards I features contributions from Roger Zelazny, Walter Jon Williams, Howard Waldrop, Lewis Shiner, and George R. R. Martin himself.  And this new, expanded edition contains further original tales set at the beginning of the Wild Cards universe, by eminent new writers like Hugo–winner David Levine, noted screenwriter and novelist Michael Cassutt, and New York Times bestseller Carrie Vaughn.

Entry is easy – just send me an email at nethspace [at] gmail [dot] com. Remove the anti-spam measures as appropriate or use the handy link in the sidebar. Include WILD CARDS as the email subject and make sure to include your full mailing address. Only one entry per person and this contest is open to anyone (though winners not from the US can expect that it’ll take a while for your book to arrive). The contest is open for 2 weeks – so make sure you enter by December 23^rd.

Good Luck!.

Winner: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

With the help of Random.org, a winner has been chosen for The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound). The winner is…

Laura from Vero Beach, Florida

Congrats to all the winners!

Giveaway: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

Sometimes when a publisher sends me books they never arrive – and sometimes when a publisher sends me books I get double. Thanks to the latter, I have an extra copy of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound). This book is building tons of buzz and looks to be THE debut of 2010 (and I really liked it). Below is the publisher’s description of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and you can read the first 3 chapters on-line for free.

Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky, seat of the ruling Arameri family. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle with a pair of cousins she never knew she had. As she fights for her life, she draws ever closer to the secrets of her mother’s death and her family’s bloody history.

With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, Yeine will learn how perilous it can be when love and hate — and gods and mortals — are bound inseparably.

So, the giveaway is simple. Just send an email to nethspace ‘at’ gmail ‘dot’ com. Remove and replace the ‘at’ and ‘dot’ with the appropriate symbols or use the email link in the sidebar. Use the subject of ‘100K’. Include you're name and mailing address. The deadline is Friday, February 26. Only one entry please and this is open to all. Good luck!

Winners of 10th Anniversary Edition of Gardens of the Moon

Anyway, enough about me. With the help of Random.org, winners have been chosen for the 10th Anniversary Edition of Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound) from the good people over at Transworld. So the winners are…

Shellie from Scottsdale, Arizona
Kevin from San Francisco, California
Michael from Egelsbach, Germany
Philip from Olathe, Kansas
Maria from N. Ionia , Greece

Congrats to all the winners!

Giveaway: 10th Anniversary Edition of Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson

I’ve got 5 copies of the 10th Anniversary Edition of Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound) to giveaway courtesy of Transworld. This sounds like a great edition for fans and is the first hardback edition of GotM in the UK.

It’s been an astounding 10 years since the first Malazan title, Gardens of the Moon was published in the UK. To celebrate this we are releasing a special edition hardback of the title and I have a handful of these available for competition prizes for you to giveaway on your sites or in your magazines. This is the first ever UK hardback edition of the book and it includes a special foreword from Steven Erikson. Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen has established itself as one of the most celebrated and acclaimed works of epic fantasy in the new Millennium.

Erikson is an extraordinary writer...my advice to anyone who might listen to me is: treat yourself to Gardens of the Moon.
STEPHEN R. DONALDSON

Bled dry by interminable warfare, infighting and bloody confrontations with Anomander Rake, Son of Darkness, the Malazan Empire simmers with discontent. Its legions yearn
for some respite from the chaos and killing.

For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his Bridgeburners, and Tattersail - the lone surviving sorceress of the Second Legion - the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to draw breath and mourn the dead. But Empress Laseen's gaze has moved on and fallen upon the ancient citadel of Darujhistan. The last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, it proclaims its defiance and still holds out against her. However the empire is not alone in this great and bloody game. Sinister forces are gathering, and it would seem that the gods themselves are preparing to play their hand...

Gardens of the Moon is the defining opening chapter in what has been hailed a landmark of epic fantasy - Steven Erikson's awesome, multi-volume sequence, 'The Malazan Book of the Fallen'.

Rare is the writer who so fluidly combines a sense of mythic power and depth of world, with fully realized characters and thrilling action, but Steven Erikson manages it spectacularly.
MICHAEL A STACKPOLE

Gripping, fast-moving, delightfully dark...utterly engrossing.
ELIZABETH HAYDEN

A world that is both absorbing on a human level and full of magical sublimity...a wonderfully grand conception...splendidly written...fiendishly readable.
ADAM ROBERTS

I stand slack-jawed in awe of The Malazan Book of the Fallen. This masterwork of the imagination may be the high watermark of epic fantasy.
GLEN COOK

Erikson's strengths are his grown up characters and his ability to create a world every bit as intricate and messy as our own.
J. V. JONES

Entry is easy – just send me an email at nethspace [at] gmail [dot] com. Remove the anti-spam measures as appropriate or use the handy link in the sidebar. Include GARDENS as the email subject and make sure to include your full mailing address. Only one entry per person and this contest is open to anyone. The contest is open for 2 weeks – so make sure you enter by November 17th.

Winners of the Fantasy Firsts Contest

With the help of random.org, I have the winners for the Fantasy Firsts contest curtesy of Tor. Each winner will receive a copy of The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound) and Mistborn: Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound).

The winners are

• Oren D. of Herndon, Virginia
• Mark J. of Grenada Hills, California
• Joel J. of Spring City, Utah

Contrats again to the winners and thanks again to Tor for sponsoring the giveaway. With only 17 entries, the odds on this were pretty great.

Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson ‘Fantasy Firsts Giveaway’

Thanks to the good folks over at Tor and in honor of the release of The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound) later this month, I have a set of ‘fantasy firsts’ to giveaway to 3 lucky winners. The sets include paperback copies of The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound) and Mistborn: Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound). These books begin the landmark series of these great authors and this is a wonderful giveaway to celebrate the coming release of The Gathering Storm.

So, if you want a chance to win, just shoot me an email at nethspace ‘at’ gmail ‘dot’ com (replace the ‘at’ and ‘dot’ as needed or follow the link in the sidebar). Be sure to include your mailing address in the email and the subject line: EYE OF MISTBORN. The deadline of course is October 27th, the release date of The Gathering Storm and it’s limited to addressed in the US, Canada, and the UK and only one entry per person.

Good Luck!

News and Winners Announced

Well, I’m seemingly hopelessly behind around here. I review pretty much every book I read and I generally only read one book at a time. A quick glance over at the Currently Reading widget shows 4 books. Well, I’m really only reading one right now – Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound). I’ve finished the others, but still need to right reviews for them. I got behind with work and personal travel last month, almost got caught up, and then got really busy again. Dust of Dreams is a huge book (just shy of 900 pages in hardback), so I’ll probably get caught up before I finish reading it. And maybe I’ll find some spare time for other posts, but we’ll see.

Anyway, enough about me. With the help of Random.org, winners have been chosen for the WIND BAGS OF DUNE giveaway…err… the giveaway of two copies of The Winds of Dune by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound) and 5 string Winds of Dune bags from the good people over at Tor Books. So the winners are…

Winds of Dune bags:

• David from Toronto, Ontario
• Linda from Burford, Ontario
• John from Winder, Georgia
• Ric from Cutler Bay, Florida
• Bill from Greensburg, Pennsylvania

Signed copies of The Winds of Dune:

• Jeff from Fitchburg, Massachusetts
• Andrew from Toronto, Ontario

Congrats to all the winners!

The Winds of Dune Giveaway!

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a giveaway around here, so when Tor approached me, I couldn’t turn them down. In celebration of the release of The Winds of Dune by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound) going on sale tomorrow (August 4th), I have 5 Winds of Dune bags (black and white string backpacks) to give away, and 2 signed hardback copies of The Winds of Dune as a grand prize.

Synopsis:

Paul Atreides, Muad’Dib—cheered as a hero, worshipped as a messiah, hated as a tyrant—has vanished into the endless deserts of the planet Dune. Blinded in an assassination attempt and grieving after the death of is beloved Chani, Paul abandons his newborn twins and leaves his galaxy-spanning empire in the hands of his young sister Alia.

Living in self-imposed exile on Caladan, Lady Jessica and the faithful Gurney Halleck receive word that Paul has vanished and is presumed dead. They race to Dune, the Heart of Muad’Dib’s empire, where they find a planet in turmoil and Jessica’s daughter Alia— along with the resurrected Duncan Idaho—willing to impose more and more extreme measures to maintain order.

Fuelling the flames of dissent, the outspoken rebel Bronso of Ix, once a friend of Paul Atreides, releases hateful treatises and disrupts sacred ceremonies, doing everything he can to destroy the myth of Paul-Muad’Dib, who—through his Jihad and his corrupt priesthood—is responsible for more deaths than any other in history.

As winds of rebellion brew and treachery occurs from outside the government and within, Jessica discovers that her son had plans that extend far beyond history, and that Muad’Dib may have knowingly planted the seeds for his own downfall. And that Bronso of Ix has a secret mission of his own, one that will force Jessica to choose between the memory of her son and the future of the human race…

The authors are touring as well – dates are found at The Winds of Dune webpage.

So, if you want a chance to win the backpack or a signed copy of The Winds of Dune, all you need to do is email me at nethspace [at] gmail [dot] com (remove the at and dot as needed) or use the relatively spam-free link in the sidebar. The subject of the email needs to be WIND BAGS OF DUNE* and be sure to include your name and mailing address (snail mail, US and Canada only). Contest is open for the next 2 weeks, so get your entry to me by August 18th (Arizona time) for the chance to win. Good Luck!

Edit: I edited the contest details after clarification from Tor - there are 5 bags and 2 copies of the book for giveaway. Sorry about the confusion (trust me, odds are good for giveaways are here).

*Ok, so the real reason I agreed to sponsor a giveaway in this case was because I simply could not resist this pun.

Winner of the Brent Weeks Contest

With the help of random.org, I have the winner of a copy of the first two books in Brent Weeks’ new epic fantasy The Night Angel Trilogy – The Way of Shadows (US, UK, Canada) and Shadow’s Edge (US, UK, Canada). In the world of randomness, the winner happened to be the last entry - Luke from Fisher, Australia.

I suspect that he may have entered on November 2nd when the contest ended on the first, but it was still November 1st here in Arizona when the entry was received. I am amused by the subtle strangeness of that. Thanks again to the slight error over at Orbit that made this contest happen.

Brent Weeks Giveaway

Sometimes when a publisher sends me books they never arrive – and sometimes when a publisher sends me books I get double. Thanks to the latter, I have an extra copy of the first two books in Brent Weeks’ new epic fantasy The Night Angel Trilogy – The Way of Shadows (US, UK, Canada) and Shadow’s Edge (US, UK, Canada). These books are already gaining a certain amount of buzz on some SFF messageboards and look promising. Below is the publisher’s description of The Way of Shadows and you can read Chapter 1 on the Orbit webpage.

The perfect killer has no friends. Only targets.

For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art. And he is the city’s most accomplished artist, his talents required from alleyway to courtly boudoir. For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he’s grown up in the slums, and learned the hard way to judge people quickly - and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint.But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassins’ world of dangerous politics and strange magics - and cultivate a flair for death.

So, the giveaway is simple. Just send an email to nethspace ‘at’ gmail ‘dot’ com. Remove and replace the ‘at’ and ‘dot’ with the appropriate symbols or use the email link in the sidebar. Use the subject of ‘SHADOW’. Please include you're name and mailing address. We'll say the deadline is Sunday, November 2. Only one entry please and this is open to all. Good luck!

Winners of Amber and Blood by Margaret Weis

With the help of random.org, I have the winners of a copy of Amber and Blood by Margaret Weis that I had up for grabs. Congratulations to Gustav from Lund, Sweden, Buddy from Gauteng, South Africa, Zsolt from Gyomro, Hungary and Antoine from Roslindale, Massachusetts USA. Thanks again to the folks over at Wizards of the Coast for making this happen.

Win a Copy of Amber and Blood by Margaret Weis

The good folks over at Wizards of the Coast have sent me 4 copies of the latest Dragonlance book, Amber and Blood, for giveaway. This is Volume 3 of the Dark Disciple Trilogy and I’m sure it’s highly anticipated.

The Dark Disciple's fate will alter the future of Krynn.

In the concluding volume of this post-War of Souls trilogy, Mina learns the truth about herself and the terrible knowledge drives her insane. Rhys, the monk of Majere, accompanied by his dog Atta and the kender Nightshade, is given the dangerous assignment of guarding the crazed god, escorting her on a long, strange journey to the mysterious place known as Godshome, where Mina hopes to find the answer to the riddle of her existence. Their path is fraught with peril, for the undead Beloved want to make Mina their leader, even as the death knight Krell wants to seize her and Galdar tries to deliver Mina to her most hated enemy.

So, the rules are basically the same as you see elsewhere. Send me an email at
nethspace [at] gmail [dot] com
You’ll need to appropriately edit the email so I can avoid the spambots, or you can click on the email link in the sidebar which is coded ‘special’ to block the bots. Use AMBER in the subject and include your full name and mailing address (no P.O. boxes please). Only one entry per person. This contest not geographically limited, so it’s open to all. The deadline is Saturday, May 3rd.

Winner of The Metatemporal Detective by Michael Moorcock

With the help of random.org, I have a winner of the copy of The Metatemporal Detective by Michael Moorcock that I had up for grabs. Congratulations to Teresa W. from Toledo, Ohio. Thanks again to the folks over at Pyr for making this happen.

Win a Copy of The Metatemporal Detective by Michael Moorcock

The good folks over at Pyr have offered up a copy of Michael Moorcock’s latest, The Metatemporal Detective (my review). This is fine book that can serve as an introduction to Moorcock’s multiverse or satiate the biggest fan.

Collected for the first time, eleven tales of Sir Seaton Begg vs. Count Zodiac, including the never before seen “The Flaneur of the Arcades d'Opera.”

Seaton Begg and his constant companion, pathologist Dr. “Taffy” Sinclair, both head the secret British Home Office section of the Metatemporal Investigation Department — an organization whose function is understood only by the most high-ranking government people around the world — and a number of powerful criminals.

Begg's cases cover a multitude of crimes in dozens of alternate worlds, generally where transport is run by electricity, where the internal combustion engine is unknown, and where giant airships are the chief form of international carrier. He investigates the murder of English Prime Minister “Lady Ratchet,” the kidnaping of the king of a country taken over by a totalitarian regime, and the death of Geli Raubel, Adolf Hitler's mistress. Other adventures take him to a wild west where “the Masked Buckaroo” is tracking down a mysterious red-eyed Apache known as the White Wolf; to 1960s’ Chicago where a girl has been killed in a sordid disco; and to an
independent state of Texas controlled by neocon Christians with oily (and bloody) hands. He visits Paris, where he links up with his French colleagues of the Sûreté du Temps Perdu. In several cases the fanatical Adolf Hitler is his opponent, but his arch-enemy is the mysterious black sword wielding aristocrat known as Zenith the Albino, a drug-dependent, charismatic exile from a distant realm he once ruled.

In each story the Metatemporal Detectives’ cases take them to worlds at once like and unlike our own, sometimes at odds with and sometimes in league with the beautiful adventuresses Mrs. Una Persson or Lady Rosie von Bek. At last Begg and Sinclair come face to face with their nemesis on the moonbeam roads which cross between the universes, where the great Eternal Balance itself is threatened with destruction and from which only the luckiest and most daring of metatemporal adventurers will return.

These fast-paced mysteries pay homage to Moorcock's many literary enthusiasms for authors as diverse as Clarence E. Mulford, Dashiell Hammett, Georges Simenon, and his boyhood hero, Sexton Blake.

So, the rules are basically the same as you see elsewhere. Send me an email at

nethspace [at] cox [dot] net

You’ll need to appropriately edit the email so I can avoid the spambots, or you can click on the email link in the sidebar which is coded ‘special’ to block the bots. Use METATEMPORAL in the subject and include your full name and mailing address (no P.O. boxes please). Only one entry per person. This contest limited to those who live in North Amercia. The deadline is Sunday, November 11th.

Good luck to all.