Tag Archives: Free Stuff

Best Links of the Week

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Happy Friday, all! Here are my favorite links from this week. Enjoy!

That’s about it this week. Have a good weekend!

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.”

The Last Christian, by David Gregory

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Note: I’m giving away a copy of The Last Christian. To enter, leave a comment below. Now to my review…

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: 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.”

Relentless by Robin Parrish, Free for Kindle

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That’s right, Relentless by Robin Parrish is being offered free for Kindle. Here’s the scoop, straight from the author:

Starting today, Amazon is offering my first novel, Relentless (Book One of the Dominion Trilogy), as a free ebook. That’s right, Relentless is now a 100% free download, no strings, no hidden charges.

What’s more, the ebook prices for Fearless and Merciless, Books Two and Three of the trilogy, have been slashed down to $5.49. It’s all part of a special promotion my publisher convinced Amazon to run for my ebooks, so those who’ve never read the Dominion Trilogy can give it a try.

The promotion will run for a limited time only — unless it’s a hit, which would cause Amazon to keep it going longer than initially planned, possibly even indefinitely. And no, you don’t have to have a Kindle ereader to readRelentless. Amazon has free software available to download for every computer, laptop, smartphone, and tablet device there is, that makes it possible to download ebooks on any device you own.

Interested in more info about the book? Here’s the blurb:

Grant Borrows’ life has just taken a drastic left turn. There’s another man in the world wearing his face and living his life. What’s more, the man he sees in the mirror is a stranger.

Somehow, he’s been Shifted — his whole life fundamentally altered, in the space of a single breath. But the changes don’t stop at skin-level. Inexplicably, he’s able to affect objects around him by simply thinking about them. And as he soon learns, he’s become the central figure in a vast web of intrigue that stretches from an underground global conspiracy to a prophecy dating back over seven thousand years, that tells of his coming. Enemies and allies find him at every turn, but one thing they all learn very quickly is that you don’t want to push Grant Borrows too far…

Can destiny be undone?

The players are ready. The game is in motion. And the pace is Relentless.

In the allegorical tradition of Tolkien and Lewis comes a powerful new myth for a new generation.

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.”

Giveaway: “Venom and Song” by Batson & Hopper

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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.”

Summer Giveaway: Psalms of Isaak (Books 1 and 2) by Ken Scholes

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Summer has officially begun at our house. My kids’ last day of school for this year was Friday and so summer vacation really, truly is upon us. It seems one of the questions for summer always is, “What are you going to read this summer?” I have to work (although I thank God that I can and have a job), but I can always make time for another book or two.

I was thinking about this and looking through my bookshelf at the books I haven’t read yet and decided I really need to make some space on my shelf. In fact, my husband heartily agrees. He he.

And so…to celebrate the beginning of summer, I am giving away two books from my personal collection, the first two books in the Psalms of Isaak series by Ken Scholes: Lamentation (Book 1) and Canticle (Book 2). Here are the official blurbs from the publisher (Tor):

Lamentation: An ancient weapon has completely destroyed the city of Windwir. From many miles away, Rudolfo, Lord of the Nine Forest Houses, sees the horrifying column of smoke rising.  He knows that war is coming to the Named Lands.

Nearer to the Devastation, a young apprentice is the only survivor of the city – he sat waiting for his father outside the walls, and was transformed as he watched everyone he knew die in an instant.

Soon all the Kingdoms of the Named Lands will be at each others’ throats, as alliances are challenged and hidden plots are uncovered.

This first novel from an award-winning short fiction writer will take readers away to a new world – an Earth so far in the distant future that our time is not even a memory; a world where magick is commonplace and great areas of the planet are impassable wastes. But human nature hasn’t changed through the ages: War and faith and love still move princes and nations.

Canticle: Come back to the Named Lands in this sequel to Ken Scholes novel Lamentation.

It is nine months after the end of the previous book.  Many noble allies have come to the Ninefold Forest for a Feast in honor of General Rudolfo’s  first-born child.  Jin Li Tam, his wife and mother of his heir, lies in childbed.

As the feast begins, the doors of the hall fly open and invisible assassins begin attacking.   All of Rudolfo’s noble guests are slain, including Hanric, the Marsh Queen’s Shadow.  And on the Keeper’s Gate, which guards the Named Lands from the Churning Waste, a strange figure appears, with a message for Petronus, the Hidden Pope.

To enter the drawing, send a email to: contests@(no-spam)fantasyandfaith.com. Make sure to remove “(no-spam)” before you send the email. Please include your physical address so I know where to send the books if you win. (U.S. addresses only, please.)

One more thing. If you want more than one chance to win, tell a friend. If they enter the contest, have them include your name in their email and you will be entered again–another entry for every friend who signs up. You must enter by midnight, Sunday, June 27. Good luck!

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.”