The Vanishing Sculptor, by Donita K. Paul

With The Vanishing Sculptor, Donita K. Paul begins a new series set in the same universe as her DragonKeeper Chronicles, with the exception that this newest novel is set in an earlier time period.

The book centers around Tipper, a young emerlindian woman who has been trying to manage her family’s estate in her father’s absence. Unfortunately, she has no idea where her father went when he disappeared years earlier. In addition, her mother has become confused and befuddled as she has gotten older, thus leaving Tipper even more alone. Fortunately, she has Beccaroon to rely on, a giant parrot her father asked to watch over her if something should happen to him.

To make ends meet in her father’s absence, Tipper has been selling off her father’s artwork without realizing her actions have placed the world at risk of collapse. The only way disaster can be averted is to reunite some of the statues. But Tipper cannot brave the trip alone and a group of companions is formed to undertake the quest.

As this is Day 1 of the three-day Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour, I will continue my review of The Vanishing Sculptor tomorrow. Let’s see what the others have to say:

Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Rachel Briard
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Linda Gilmore
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Eve Nielsen (posting later in the week)
Nissa
John W. Otte
Lyn Perry
Crista Richey
Cheryl Russell
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Elizabeth Williams
KM Wilsher

For more info on The Vanishing Sculptor, see: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400073391

Information on the author:
Donita Paul’s Web site – http://www.donitakpaul.com/
Donita Paul’s blog – http://dragonbloggin.blogspot.com/

Free SciFi and Fantasy Novels on Suvudu

Just this summer, Random House launched a new website called Suvudu with the purpose of providing fans with news about upcoming sci/fi and fantasy “creative media” – a term Random House is using to include books, audiobooks, gaming, manga, comic books and movies. The website includes podcasts, videos, reviews, interviews and blog posts and is open to visitor input. Random House plans to expand the site to include a library of free science fiction and fantasy books, advanced reads of upcoming projects, and a forum for fans to interact with each other.

So far, the video section includes interviews with several authors such as Troy Denning, Aaron Allston, Dan Wallace, and Christie Golden, as well as interviews from ComicCon and movie actors such as Hugh Jackman.

In addition, Suvudu has posted for free download several full-length novels. Here are the titles just posted for August:

- The Briar King: Book One of the Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, By Grey Keyes
- King’s Property: Book One of the Queen of the Orcs Trilogy, By Morgan Howell
- The Brass Bed, By Jennifer Stevenson

Books that were posted previously include:

- Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith: Skyborn, By John Jackson Miller
- Darkfever, By Karen Marie Moning
- Manifold: Time, By Stephen Baxter
- Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith: Precipice, By John Jackson Miller
- Magic Kingdom for Sale–Sold!, By Terry Brooks
- For Love of Mother-Not, By Alan Dean Foster
- Weapons of Choice, By John Birmingham
- Elric: The Stealer of Souls, By Michael Moorcock
- Kiss of Midnight, By Lara Adrian
- Star Wars Fate of the Jedi: Dramatis Personae

The books are available in pdf, Kindle, Sony Reader, and Scribd.com formats.

Here’s the link: http://www.suvudu.com

Win a copy of LE Modesitt, Jr.’s THE LORD PROTECTOR’s DAUGHTER

Lord Protector's Daughter

A lot of press surrounded the release of The Lord Protector’s Daughter by L.E. Modesitt, Jr., a few months ago, so I decided to give away a copy. To be entered in the drawing, leave a comment after this post. Make sure to include your email address so I can contact the winner. (You might want to disguise your email address to protect against spam robots, for instance, dona [at] fantasyandfaith dot com. Here’s the publisher’s info on the book:

The Lord-Protector’s Daughter is a standalone fantasy novel that takes place in Tempre, the capital city of Lanachrona on Corus, the world of Modesitt’s Corean Chronicles.

Mykella, the eldest daughter of the Lord-Protector of Lanachrona, discovers that someone is diverting significant sums of money from her father’s treasury. One of the ancient soarers appears to Mykella, telling her that she must go to the antique stone Table in the cellars of the Palace and find her Talent in order to save her land and her world.

From there, matters become more perilous. There are attempts to remove Mykella and her sisters from Tempre by marrying them off to lords in neighboring lands, and fatal and near fatal accidents occur to members of her family and trusted retainers. While Mykella develops a solid idea of who stands behind it all, every attempted solution is used to discredit her. How can she save their father and land?

Fablehaven, by Brandon Mull

[amazon-product alink="0000FF" bordercolor="000000" height="240"]1416947205[/amazon-product]A friend recently introduced me to the Fablehaven books by Brandon Mull. I found Fablehaven, the first book in the series, a fun romp through a fairy tale landscape. There were trolls, satyrs, witches, imps, fairies, and a pair of elderly caretakers looking over this odd assortment of characters in a preserve meant to hide them from prying eyes. Unknown to the modern world, this sanctuary for mythical creatures depends upon secrecy to hide its inhabitants. Therefore, when Kendra and Seth’s parents leave them at their grandparents’ house for almost three weeks, no one knows the adventures in store for these two kids, certainly not their parents. However, this inquisitive young boy and his protective older sister inevitably discover the preserve’s secrets and, in doing so, encounter one problem after another. After a well-paced climax and satisfying ending, the stage is well set for the next book in the series. Fablehaven is written primarily for ages 9-12, but has enough ingredients and intrigue to hold older readers as well. 

Shameless plug: To purchase Fablehaven, you can connect to the Amazon store by clicking on the book’s cover above. If you buy through this Amazon link, I will receive a small percentage commission.

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Free Warbreaker Wallpaper

I neglected to mention yesterday that you can download free wallpaper for your computer screen or iPhone showing the cover of Brandon Sanderson’s Warbreaker, compliments of Tor Books. All that is required is a free registration to the Tor.com website. Click here.

We Are Not of This World

Dona Watson

As I alluded to earlier, fantasy fiction is intriguing for me because when I read, it takes me into another world. As it turns out, that is a completely natural desire. 

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ said, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” (John 17:16, NKJV) That is music to my ears! This world can be so filled with yuck that it is not unrealistic to want to be taken away. And yet, herein lies the danger. Christ also petitioned his Father (in verse 15), “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.”

It comes back to the Great Commission–we are to spread the Gospel throughout the world. As fun as it is to escape for a short time in the pages of a great story, I have to remind myself that Scripture teaches us to live in this world, holding up Christ’s standard while we are here. Yes, we may not be of this world, but we are Christ’s emissaries in this world. 

But someday…God’s children will indeed escape and spend eternity with Him. And that is better than any novel.

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