Giveaway: “Venom and Song” by Batson & Hopper

In honor of the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour, I am giving away a copy of this month’s book, Venom and Song by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper. To enter, email your snail-mail address to contests [at] fantasyandfaith [dot] com. Winner will be notified by email. (Because of shipping costs, this contest is only open to U.S. residents.)

To see my review of Venom and Song, click here. To see what the other CSFF Bloggers have to say, click on the links in the sidebar to the right.

(Note added on 10/10/10: This contest is now closed. A winner has been chosen.)

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Venom and Song, by Batson & Hopper (CSFF Blog Tour)

Venom and Song is Book 2 in “The Berinfell Prophecies” series by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper and the subject of this month’s Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy (CSFF) Blog Tour. As the sequel to The Curse of the Spider King, this latest book in the series throws readers right into the action, picking up where Book 1 left off. (In other words, make sure you read Book 1 first!)

The story follows the adventures of seven young elf lords as they not only learn how to use their unique, special powers, but also learn how to work together toward a common goal. When the cryptic Berinfell Prophecies are revealed, the young lords find themselves drawn into unraveling the secrets of the mysterious Rainsong, which then leads them to seek out the legendary keystone. When the elves attack the Spider King in his fortress, it is anyone’s guess who will win.

Venom and Song is a wonderful book for intermediate readers (ages 9–12). Not only does it contain plenty of adventure, but it also is filled with themes of truthfulness, cooperation and forgiveness.

Here’s a bit about the authors:

Wayne Thomas Batson’s Rise of the Wyrm Lord is the winner of the 2009 Lamplighter Award. He is also the author of the bestselling The Door Within trilogy and Isle of Fire, a 2008 Moonbeam Award winner. A middle school reading teacher in Maryland for 17 years, Batson tailors his stories to meet the needs of the young people he cares so deeply about. Batson writes adventures set in imaginative locales because he believes that on a deep level, we all dream of doing something that matters and that we all long for another world. When last seen, Batson was tromping around Westfarthing with his beautiful wife and four adventurous children.

Christopher Hopper, whose other books include Rise of the Dibor and The Lion Vrie, has often been called a modern day renaissance man. Not only an author, Christopher is a recording artist with nine CDs to his name, a youth pastor, president of a Christian discipleship school, and a motivational speaker for schools across the U.S. and Europe. Christopher has dedicated his life to positively affecting the culture of his generation and longs to see young people inspired to live meaningful and productive lives.

If you want to find the authors on the web, here are a couple of links:
Wayne Thomas Batson: http://enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com/
Christopher Hopper: http://www.christopherhopper.com/

I urge you to see what the other CSFF Bloggers have to say. You will find their links on the sidebar directly to the right.

Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Date Published: July 13, 2010
Hardcover, 384 pages
Retail Price: $14.99

For more info, here’s an Amazon link: Venom and Song by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Masters & Slayers, by Bryan Davis

Masters & Slayers is Book 1 in a new adult fantasy series being written by Bryan Davis to complement Starlighter, Book 1 in his new “Dragons of Starlight” series for young adult (YA). (Starlighter was released by Zondervan March 2010. To see my 3-day review, click here: Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3. Book 2 in the YA series will be released January 2011.)

The adult Masters & Slayers novel takes place in the same universe first introduced in the YA Starlighter novel, yet each book follows different characters in the same story. Masters & Slayers focuses on Adrian Masters, an expert swordsman who resigns his position as bodyguard to the governor in order to follow an older brother through a portal to another world where humans are enslaved by dragons. Marcelle, headstrong childhood friend and tournament rival, becomes Adrian’s partner in a plan to free those who have forgotten they were captured and transported to the dragons’ world as slave laborers. Once the two heroes arrive, however, they are in for a few surprises that force them to face obstacles they never planned for.

Book 1 in the young adult series "Dragons of Starlight"

This book differs from the YA book in that it deals with more adult themes in a decidedly more complex storyline. At first it seemed odd to follow a storyline that parallels the same events in another book, yet from different viewpoint. However, before long Adrian and Marcelle’s story took a different turn and it was then that I settled into the book and the pages started flying by. Davis created an interesting set of characters with very different personalities, put them in a unique fantasy world, then packed it full of intrigue, danger and emotional turmoil to create a timeless, inspirational story that kept me turning pages far into the night. I greatly look forward to the second book in this series.

Bryan Davis and his books can be found at: http://www.daviscrossing.com

Publisher: Living Ink Books (AMG Publishers, Inc.)
Release Date: September 13, 2010
Length: 432 pages
List Price: $14.99, Trade Paperback
Preorders available from Amazon here:
Masters & Slayers

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Marcher Lord Press Announces 3 New Novels

Inspirational speculative, science fiction and fantasy publisher Marcher Lord Press has released its 2010 list of new novels. As usual, all three have beautiful covers and sound very interesting. Here are the official synopses and covers.

The Sending, by Matt Koceich

LOSE YOUR FAITH. SAVE YOUR SOUL.

Mark Grant has a unique ability to see distant places and has earned millions in his quest to locate the Garden of Eden. Now dark forces want him to uncover a 4,000 year-old secret that holds the key to eternal life.

This is no harmless quest for Paradise. Armies of darkness seek to reclaim their place in heaven. To do so, they must escape their ultimate death in the lake of fire by using Mark as their human host. The fruit of the Tree of Life will solidify their insidious plan. So Mark is sent to find the way back into Eden—and his family is kidnapped to ensure his compliance.

The minions of Satan think Mark is working completely for their errands. But someone else is sending Mark, as well.

Racing time to find them and the Tree of Life, Mark must decide if he’s willing to lose his faith to save his soul.

The Tenth Crusader, by Kirk Outerbridge
A Rick Macey Cyberthriller:
Thirty years of unrequited revenge stuffed into the body of a high powered combat cyborg

The Philippines of the future is a dangerous place. A country ravaged by 20 years of Islamic civil war. A nation fractured by religious fundamentalism and socioeconomic decay—and a place General Rick Macey thought he’d never have to see again.

But when a political assassination takes place at the US embassy in Manila, a calling card is left that Macey can hardly ignore.

Charged with mending US-Philippine relations, Macey must uncover the assassins, known only as The Tenth Crusaders, before the U.S. is accused of politically sabotaging the Philippines’ efforts to join the Islamic Alliance of Oceania—a pan-Islamic Supercountry comprised of the former Malaysia and Indonesia.

Failure could mean a new conflict between the U.S. and I.A.O., but to find the Crusaders, Macey will have to confront his past in the Philippines and the truth behind why he never wanted to return.

König’s Fire, by Marc Schooley

They Called Me Nebuchadnezzar

The Nazis have established a torture center in a mine at the heart of a Romanian forest. Here they interrogate prisoners and, sometimes, throw them into the furnace at the heart of the mine.

Only now, the primeval forest is rising against them, unleashing a preternatural army to besiege the great iron gate of the mine. The fearsome guards become terrified prisoners and the furnace itself burns with hungry anger against them.

Sascha König, a man they called Nebuchadnezzar, is their only hope. He is master of the furnace. All along, he has been Hitler’s ardent servant. But now…König is wrestling with demons of his own, and the Master of all fires is calling him to Himself through the haunting eyes of a little gypsy girl König did not save.

You can find the publisher and sample chapters here: Marcher Lord Press

Release date is October 1, 2010.

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”