Here’s the official blurb from Tor:

With this inaugural volume at Tor, the annual Nebula Award collection is reborn as a fiction-only anthology. This collection of nominees for 2010’s Nebula Awards includes all of the prior year’s most celebrated stories, and will be published in time for the 2011 Nebula Awards in May, 2011.

2009’s award winners, announced in May 2010, include Kage Baker’s novella “The Women of Nell Gwynne’s,” Eugie Foster’s novelette “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast,” Kij Johnson’s short story “Spar,” plus Paolo Bacigalupi’s novelette, “The Gambler.”

The book also contains contributions from: Saladin Ahmed, Paolo Bacigalupi, Kage Baker, Neal Barrett, Jr., Michael Bishop, Richard Bowes, Michael Burstein, Eugie Foster, N.K. Jemisin, Kij Johnson, James Patrick Kelly, Ted Kosmatka, Will McIntosh, Rachel Swirsky, and more.

The Nebula Awards Showcase 2011
Edited by Kevin J. Anderson
Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (May 24, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0765328429
ISBN-13: 978-0765328427

I love to hear from you. On September 30, I will have a drawing for a $5 Starbucks card. For every blog post you comment on, you will receive one entry. Leave a comment and join the fun! If you don’t want to miss a post, make sure to subscribe to my RSS or email feeds here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. 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.”

• Brandon Sanderson uploaded all of the illustrations used in The Way of Kings. Ebook users rejoice!
• More Brandon Sanderson. Tor is giving away a copy of the new Mistborn Adventure Game, one ARC of The Alloy of Law, and one copy of the audio edition of The Way of Kings. Contest deadline September 6.
• Because I love great SFF artwork. Here are the 2011 Chesley Award winners.
• Giveaway: Ganymede by Cherie Priest. Link: Contest deadline September 9.
• Need something new to read? I thought about making a list of new books coming out this month, but http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com has done a much better job than I would have. Here’s the link to 42 new SFF books coming out in September.
• Giveaway: Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge. Link: Contest deadline September 6.
• Giveaway: A signed set of Night Shade Books‘ Miserere: An Autumn Tale, Of Blood & Honey, The Whitefire Crossing, and The Winds of Khalakovo. Deadline September 30.
• Top 20 steampunk books according to The Ranting Dragon.
• A great short story by Greg Mitchell over at Avenir Eclectia: Contact.
• To celebrate Harry Connolly’s new book (Circle of Enemies), book 1 in the series, Child of Fire, is now only 99 cents on Amazon and B&N. Here’s an interview with Connolly and here’s a link to his website where you can read a sample of the book.
• Giveaway: The steampunk novel Dead Iron by Devon Monk. I can’t find a deadline, so you might want to hurry. Here’s the link.
• Just for fun: Do-It-Yourself TARDIS lollipops.
• Giveaway: The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson. Ten copies available, giveaway dates: August 29-October 7.

I think that should do it for now. Have a good weekend everyone!

I love to hear from you. Did you have a favorite link this week I missed? Please feel free to share. On September 30, I will have a drawing for a $5 Starbucks card. For every blog post you comment on, you will receive one entry. Leave a comment and join the fun! If you don’t want to miss a post, make sure to subscribe to my RSS or email feeds here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. 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.”

http://us.macmillan.com/tor/promo/mistbornprizepack?wt.mc_id=10224

Note that on that web page you will find links to several other Tor giveaways you might want to check out.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. 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.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. 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.”

To read the sample chapters, link to the Tor website here. (I believe a free registration is required.)

For more on the author, here is a link to his website: http://brandonsanderson.com/

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. 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.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. 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.”

Here’s the link to the giveaway:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9373706-map-across-time

For my review of this book, click here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above 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.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. 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.”

http://torwars.com/2011/05/01/giveaway-1-deceived-novel-signed-by-erickson-zoeller/

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. 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.”

I love giveaways! I also love passing the links on to you. If you’re interested in any of these, don’t wait too long to check them out. Some of the cut-off dates are quickly approaching.

Hellhole by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn

The Unremembered by Peter Orullian

The Beloved Dead by Tony Hays

The Pirate Hunters by Mack Maloney

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. 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.”

Artificial intelligence gone wrong — that’s the basis of this faith-based sci-fi thriller.

Abigail Caldwell, a missionary daughter raised in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, flees her home for the first time to get medical help for her dying village besieged by a strange disease. But helps comes too late and at the age of 34, she travels to the United States for the first time, only to find that Christianity is now a dead religion there. And yet, she feels it her calling to renew America’s faith in God.

Complicating matters is an artificial intelligence expert who has found a way to download the human brain into a silicon form, thus ensuring the person virtual immortality. The big question is whether a person loses their spirit when they lose their biological brain.

Historian Creighton Daniels finds himself pulled with Abby into a race of life or death when they begin to question the methods and goals of the men behind the artificial intelligence technology.

In The Last Christian, author David Gregory employs an interesting technique of presenting both first- and third-person points of view. While most first-person books I’ve read are told completely in that person’s voice, this book varies from that model. Instead, we get an interesting blend of a story told from a third-person point of view, with the exception of Creighton Daniels, whose story is told directly from his point of view.

This technique works well in The Last Christian, allowing the reader to see the story from the outside. Somehow, though, the author does a good job of letting us also see inside the mind of one of the major characters — and what a mind it is.

The Last Christian is unapologetically a Christian novel. Through its pages, the author spells out in no uncertain terms what one must do to be a true believer in Jesus Christ. In addition, a second aspect of the book’s Christian themes revolves around the need for those who are already believers to examine their own walk with God, to determine for themselves who is in charge of their faith. Does the Christian believe they must try to be the best Christian they can, to take up the responsibility to perform the best they can, to help God spread the gospel?

At first blush, this doesn’t sound wrong, but when this philosophy is held up against one that places God in charge (not the person, but God), it falls flat. I believe what the author is trying to say is: (1) all mankind is in need of a Savior, and (2) that Savior, Jesus Christ, wants to give us life, wants us to rest in him, to trust him to guide us rather than take that task upon ourselves. As Christ himself said, “My yoke is easy and my burden light.” (Matthew 11:30)

The Last Christian by David Gregory
Publisher: WaterBrook Press
Date: May 2010
ISBN-13: 978-1400074976
Paperback, 416 pages
List Price: $14.99

Fore more information, here is my Amazon affiliate link: The Last Christian

David Gregory’s Website: http://www.davidgregorybooks.com

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book for review purposes.

Note added 1/31/11: This contest is now closed. A winner has been chosen.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. 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.”

The Paradise War, Song of Albion, Book 1
By Stephen R. Lawhead, Amazon link here.

The official cover blurb:

From the dreaming spires of Oxford, Lewis Gillies drives north to seek a mythical creature in a misty glen in Scotland. Expecting little more than a weekend diversion, Lewis finds himself in a mystical place where two worlds meet, in the time-between-times–and in the heart of a battle between good and evil.

The ancient Celts admitted no separation between this world and the Otherworld: the two were delicately interwoven, each dependent on the other. The Paradise War crosses the thin places between this world and that, as Lewis Gillies comes face-to-face with an ancient mystery–and a cosmic catastrophe in the making.

Bright of the Sky, Book 1 of The Entire and the Rose
By Kay Kenyon, Amazon link here.

The official cover blurb:

Kay Kenyon, noted for her science fiction world-building, has in this new series created her most vivid and compelling society, the Universe Entire. In a land-locked galaxy that tunnels through our own, the Entire is a bizarre and seductive mix of long-lived quasi-human and alien beings gathered under a sky of fire, called the bright. A land of wonders, the Entire is sustained by monumental storm walls and an exotic, never-ending river. Over all, the elegant and cruel Tarig rule supreme.

This is high-concept SF written on the scale of Philip Jose Farmer’s Riverworld, Roger Zelazny’s Amber Chronicles, and Dan Dimmons’s Hyperion.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. 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.”

http://torforge.wordpress.com/2010/11/15/wheel-of-time-library-giveaway/

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. 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.”