• Giveaway: First off we have a weekly drawing to celebrate author Robert Liparulo’s new website. Every week during March, five people who sign his guestbook will be chosen to win such prizes as signed and personalized copies of Robert’s books and audiobooks, as well as signed books by Ted Dekker, Tosca Lee, Steven James, Eric Wilson, Ronie Kendig and others. To enter, visit the website HERE, click on the thrillers (left hand side of the page), and then the guestbook link.
• How many times have you wished you had a device that could make people stop talking? Well, it appears your dream just might come true. Japanese researchers have invented a speech-jamming gun that forces people into silence mid-sentence. Painlessly, I might add. Wouldn’t want to get carried away now, would we?
• Giveaway: Two copies of Shadow’s Son (Shadow Saga, #1) by Jon Sprunk will be given away via Goodreads. Deadline is March 18.
• Giveaway: Five copies of The Serpent Sea (Books of the Reksura #2) by Martha Wells are up for grabs. Deadline is April 9, 2012.
• BIG Giveaway: Sign up for the Tor/Forge newsletter and you’ll be entered for a shot at their Spring Fantasy Collection Sweepstakes — a collection of eight bestselling fantasy novels. Deadline is April 6.
• Are you a Jurassic Park fan? Check this out — a behind-the-scenes look (including 13 short YouTube videos) at the dinosaur puppets used in the movies.
• Giveaway: Tor wants to giveaway 10 copies of Gift of Fire by Walter Mosley. Deadline is April 6, 2012.
• Free Star Wars e-books: For some time, Random House has been releasing on its Suvudu.com website Lost Tribe of the Sith novelettes. The final installment (Part 8 ) has now been released. You can get all 8 e-books here.
• Need some new short SFF/Speculative fiction to read? SFSignal.com regularly posts links to such. You can find them here.
• Have you heard about the new John Carter movie opening in theaters tonight? Maybe you know all about John Carter or maybe (like me, he he…) you might have heard of the character but can’t remember where he came from. It just so happens that the guy is 100 years old this year. He was created by Edgar Rice Burroughs (you might know him as the guy who wrote the Tarzan books) and first released in a serialized form in 1912. You can pick up most of the original John Carter of Mars books for free (e-books, that is) from your favorite e-book retailer/source. If you want to know about the new Disney movie, click here. You can see a free 10-minute clip of the movie here. And, you know, he’s not bad looking for an old guy. Of course, then again, the leading lady isn’t bad either. Funny how that works. Image downloads available here, which includes a larger version of the one shown here.

Ok, stepping away from my teacher’s lectern now. If I missed any good links, let me know. I’d also be curious to know what you think of the John Carter movie if you’ve seen it. Just leave a note via the blue link below or if you’re on the web page, you can click on the gray comment bubble at the top of this post.

You guys have a great 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.”

Forbidden

This new book by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee has received so much hype that part of me wondered if it was all fluff but now, having read the book, I see that many of the endorsements were spot-on.

I am a big fan of Tosca Lee’s. She has written some amazing books (namely, Havah and Demon) with beautiful poetic language. And Ted Dekker’s books always have plenty of thrilling action (which I love), but I have been less than satisfied with some of his endings.

Nonetheless, both Lee and Dekker are very talented writers with very specific skills and I was excited when I heard they were combining their talents on a new book. Wait…a new series? Even better!

As I waited (impatiently, I might add) for the book’s release, part of me was fearful for the authors and their work. For writers, collaborations can be the most difficult projects ever and hard to pull off brilliantly. But I needn’t have worried. Lee and Dekker pulled this one off admirably.

Lest this sound too much like a love-fest, I read the entire book last night in one sitting and am still on that satisfied high that I sometimes get when I finish a book that really hit the sweet spot. In the midst of that, I have to sit back and look carefully to find a downside. But here goes…

Some people will not like this book. The basic premise of the story is that in a post-apocalyptic world, humans have released a retrovirus that infected every person in the world, effectively editing out of their DNA all emotions except fear in an effort to keep humanity from destroying itself again through ambition and war.

Because the book explores the heights of every emotion known to man, more gentle souls might be offended by the authors’ explorations of desire, rage and lust. Regardless, I think that roughly 90% of my reader friends would not be offended and would enjoy this book to its fullest, including its explorations of joy, peace and love as the basis for a living society.

I dare not say more lest I give away too many spoilers. This book deserves to be read as a new experience, allowing the reader to discovers new vistas in every chapter.

Forbidden hits bookstores September 13, 2011.

You can get $10 off if you pre-order through Amazon (here) or Barnes & Noble (here). For more information on the authors, here are links to their websites: http://www.teddekker.com, http://www.toscalee.com

Publisher: Hachette Book Group; Imprint: Center Street
Format: Hardcover
Publication Date: 09/13/2011
Pages: 432
ISBN: 9781599953540
List Price: $24.99

I love to hear from you. Do you have a favorite Ted Dekker or Tosca Lee novel? 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: 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.”

Forbidden, the first novel in The Forbidden series, will release in September 2011 from Center Street (Hachette Book Group). Described by the authors as “a thriller for tomorrow”, the world as we know it is unrecognizable. Four hundred eighty years have passed since civilization’s brush with extinction. Perfect order reigns and humanity’s greatest threats have all been silenced under the rule of a totalitarian government. There is no disease, no malice, no hate, and no war. There is only peace until the day one man discovers the truth: Every single soul walking the earth is actually dead and the human heart has been stripped of all that makes it human. Now only he is alive and has the knowledge that can once again awaken humanity.

You can visit the authors at:
http://www.teddekker.com/
http://www.toscalee.com/

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.”

(Note added 8/28/11: It has come to my attention that this deal is no longer available at the iTunes store.) 

Can you believe it? A free Ted Dekker audiobook? Yep, you heard me right. Right now you can download a copy of Ted Dekker’s novel Black from the iTunes Music Store–free of charge. This is the 13-hour, unabridged version. Here’s the iTunes link:
Ted Dekker Black Audiobook

Here’s a short synopsis of Black from Ted Dekker’s website:

By day’s end, three million people will be carriers of the deadliest virus in history. There is no vaccine. There is no anti-virus. The world’s only hope is Thomas Hunter, and he has already been killed. Twice. Enter an adrenaline-laced epic where dreams and reality collide – and the fate of two worlds hangs in the balance of one man’s choices.

For more info on the author, here’s a link to his website:
http://www.teddekker.com

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.”