Friday, November 11, 2011

Regal Literary Holiday Sweepstakes ~ win books!

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Holiday Sweepstakes to Win Books!

Regal Literary - which we support at Layers of Thought, is offering nine books to win for the holidays! 

If you like a variety of literary reads link on the badge to the left to find out more about the books on offer – then pick which book(s) to sign up for.

Here is the list of books you can win!

  1. A Scary Scene In A Scary Movie ~ by Matt Blackstone
  2. The Legal Limit ~ by Martin Clark
  3. Don't You Just Hate That? ~ by Scott Cohen
  4. The Eyes of Willie McGee ~ by Alex Heard
  5. Warm Bodies ~ by Isaac Marion warmbodies
  6. Her Fearful Symmetry ~ by Audrey Niffenegger
  7. He Was My Man First ~ by Nancey Flowers and Courtney Parker
  8. Funeral For A Dog ~ by Thomas Pletzinger
  9. The Oregon Experiment ~ by Keith Scribner

Warm Bodies ~ by Isaac Marion was read and reviewed here (book cover links to Shellie’s review). We also have several others on the to be read and reviewed list.

I am thinking what a great way to start the holidays; winning a book for yourself or perhaps finding a gift for a friend or loved one?

About:  Regal Literary Inc., a full-service agency with offices in New York and London, was founded in 2002. We represent works in a wide range of categories, with an emphasis on literary fiction, outstanding thriller and crime fiction, and serious narrative non-fiction.

Contest is open until December 1, 2011 for addresses in the US, Canada and the District of Colombia.

Have fun perusing and good luck!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Review: The Windup Girl ~ by Paolo Bacigalupi

windup girl

Review by John for:  The Windup Girl ~ by Paolo Bacigalupi; 2009 Night Shade Books.

Wonderful and highly imaginative, it’s a dystopian novel set in a world-gone-wrong that is both crazy and disturbingly believable. All wrapped up into a complex and many-layered story, this book was a delight to read.

About:   It is the 23rd century, the world has been ravaged by global warming and most traditional carbon fuels have been used up. With oil and electricity now almost non-existent, biotechnology is the dominant force in the world – and not in a good way. A few biotech firms (known as calorie companies) essentially rule the world. While competing fiercely with each other, they tightly control food production, use bioterrorism to destroy competitors’ foodstuffs and natural plants, and strive to replace all natural seed stocks with genetically modified seeds engineered to be sterile. As the calorie companies use their huge private armies to help achieve dominance, much of the world’s population is close to starving and is ravaged by plagues and diseases, mostly caused by genetically modified crops or by mutant pests.

Thailand has striven to isolate itself from the rest of the world and from the calorie companies, by putting up strong barriers, fiercely guarding its natural seed stocks, using its own gene hackers to create new food supplies, and using the Ministry of the Environment to enforce harsh laws protecting Thais from disease and from outside interference. But selfishness and natural greed are now putting Thailand at risk as powerful politicians start to push back against the Ministry.

Jaidee Rojjanasukchai, known as the Tiger of Bangkok, is a captain of the White Shirts – the pseudo-military wing of the Ministry. Courageous, fearless and unwilling to take bribes, he is an icon among the White Shirts and fights to keep Thailand free of foreign influence. But he is making powerful political enemies and is being betrayed by someone within the Ministry.

Meanwhile Anderson Lake, a secret agent for one of the most powerful calorie companies, has set up a local factory in Thailand to act as a cover to hide his real goal. But life for Lake becomes a lot more complicated when he becomes involved with Emiko, a beautiful windup girl – a Japanese-designed, genetically engineered, humanoid slave. Emiko has been abandoned by her Japanese master and now lives as an illegal alien, being forced to work at a seedy night club in exchange for having the club owner pay police bribes.

With the future of independent Thailand at stake, things come to a boil as corruption, greed, politics, revenge and self-preservation push the characters towards a thrilling climax.

John’s thoughts:   While set in the future and classified as science fiction, essentially it’s a people story about the things that shape and motivate people. And in this story there are no heroes. When I was about two thirds of the way through the book I wondered how it was going to end and asked myself how I wanted it to end – and I couldn’t answer the question. It was like everything and everyone was corrupted somehow and a good ending to the story just wasn’t possible. There wasn’t anybody that I really wanted to “win”. I guess that is part of Bacigalupi’s message; when it comes to global politics, corporate economics and profit-driven technology development, we are in a world of hurt. There isn’t going to be a knight on a white charger to lead the way for us, so we’re dealing with shades of grey and trying to figure out what is the least worst outcome that we can aim for.

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Jaidee comes close to being a hero, but the White Shirts enforce a brutal regime and his naivety dooms him to personal failure. In many senses Anderson Lake is the central character, but as the story progresses and you find out more about what he’s trying to achieve and who’s he’s trying to achieve it for, I went from a supporter to thinking “how could he?”. None of the characters surrounding Jaidee and Lake are very appealing, and many are repulsive. It turns out that the most moral and genuine person is the windup girl who is, essentially, manufactured.

Does that make it sound like a depressing read? It certainly isn’t. It’s an entertaining read with some fascinating ideas. Bacigalupi has imagined a world where the oil has run out and global warming has run amok, and he’s done a tremendous job of envisaging what weird technologies will crop up and how civilization might develop. While not complimentary – he’s pretty damning about “the west“ and man’s ability to direct technology in a positive way – it’s wonderfully imaginative and makes for a thought-provoking read. It’s also a damned good story with lots of twists and turns and an ending that will keep you guessing right up to the final pages.

This is Bacigalupi’s first full-length novel, which is truly impressive. It is an excellent book and I’d rate it 4.5 stars. It is highly recommended for all lovers of science fiction, anyone who likes to think where our crazy world might end up and, indeed, anyone who likes a good, well-written story.


A multiple award winning book, this novel won the 2010 Nebula Award for best novel published in 2009. The Nebula Award is the best in Science Fiction and Fantasy - chosen by peers from the SFWA –Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. The cover for the Nebula Awards Showcase 2011 links to a review for the nominated short stories, novelettes, winning novella and more.

This book will be included in a variety of challenges – The 2011 Global Reading Challenge – Asia, Dystopia Challenge 2011, 42 Challenge, Mind Voyages, and LGBT Book Challenge (minor character).

As always John will be addressing any comments on his review so don’t forget to check the follow up box.

Thanks for reading.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Incoming Books: November 9th ~ 2011

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Incoming Books ~ November 9, 2011.

Welcome to our listing of books that we’ve received for review.

It’s our fun feature where we ask a very important question for all those bibliophiles out there in internet land - since we have some incredibly wonderful books to share. All are listed with truncated blurbs and some book data all leading us to ask you the most fun question of the day: Which of these books would you choose to read first?


kafkaesque

Kafkaesque: Stories Inspired by Franz Kafka ~ edited by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel;  (Slip Stream); November 2011;    This anthology explores fiction from writers and artists who have drawn inspiration from Franz Kafka's writings. Including Philip Roth, Jorge Luis Borges, Carol Emshwiller, Paul Di Filippo and R. Crumb. Each author also responds to the question Why Kafka?

endurance

Endurance (Green Universe #2) ~ by Jay Lake;  (High Fantasy)  November 2011;            A stand alone second in a series novel - Green is back. Purchased from her father in sunny Selistan when she was four years old, she was harshly raised to be a courtesan, companion, and bedmate of the Immortal Duke of Copper Downs. Yet she is still claimed by the gods and goddesses of her world, and their demands are greater than any dgreenuke’s could have been.

Green (Green Universe #1)June 2009;     She does not remember her mother, she does not remember her own name. She calls herself Green. The world she inhabits is one of political power and magic, where Gods meddle in the affairs of mortals. At the center of it is Copper Downs, which controls all the trade on the Storm Sea where Green has made many enemies and has become a very dangerous woman indeed.

fighting

Fighting to Survive (As the World Dies: A Zombie Trilogy #2) ~ by Rhiannon Frater;  (Horror/Apocalyptic) November 2011;        Picking up where The First Days ends, this sequel features the further zombie-killing, civilization-saving adventures of a pair of sexy, kick butt heroines and the men who love them. Now the hard work of survival begins—finding enough food; creating ‏first dayssafe, weather-resistant shelter; establishing laws; and fighting off both the undead who want to eat them and the living bandits who want to rob and kill them.

Fighting to Survive won the Dead Letter Award for Best Novel from Mail Order Zombie. The First Days, the first book in the As the World Dies trilogy, was published by Tor Books in the Spring of 2011.

fallen queen

The Fallen Queen ~ by Jane Kindred; (High Romantic Fantasy)  December 2011;        Heaven can go to hell. Until her cousin slaughtered the supernal family, Anazakia’s father ruled the Heavens, governing noble Host and Fallen peasants alike. Now Anazakia is the last grand duchess of the House of Arkhangel’sk, and all she wants is to stay alive—even if it means saving the man who murdered everyone she loved.

hermetica

The Hermetica of Elysium ~ by Annmarie Banks;  (Historical Fantasy)  December 2011;      1494 Barcelona - as fires of religious fervor spread throughout the cities of Spain, accused heretics are not the only victims. Thousands of books and manuscripts are lost to the flames. Nadira lives a dreary life as servant to a wealthy spice merchant until the night a dying scholar is brought to the merchant’s stable, beaten by mercenaries who are on the hunt for The Hermetica of Elysium. Will she escape the fires of the Inquisition, the clutches of the Borgia pope, Alexander VI and the French king, Charles VIII?

cloudburst

Cloudburst (Storms #2) ~ by V.C. Andrews; (Horror/Urban Fantasy) October 2011;    High school senior Sasha Porter is in search of her sister—but instead she learns secrets that could tear her family apart.

family storms

Family Storms (Storm #1) February 2011;     Living on the streets with her destitute mother, selling knickknacks and trinkets just to survive, Sasha Porter dreams of someday having a normal life, with a real house and family. But she never dreamed a devastating tragedy would bring her those very things.

december

Three Weeks in December ~ by Audrey Schulman;  (Literary Fiction) February 2011;     Told in alternating perspectives that interweave the two characters and their fates.

In 1899 Jeremy, a young engineer, leaves a small town in Maine to oversee the construction of a railroad across British East Africa. He becomes the reluctant hunter of two lions that are killing his men in nightly attacks on their camp and he takes increasing solace in the company of an African man who scouts for him.

In 2000 Max, an American ethnobotonist, travels to Rwanda in search of an obscure vine that could become a lifesaving pharmaceutical. Stationed in the mountains, she shadows a family of gorillas. But soon both are threatened as a violent rebel group from the nearby Congo draws close.

conference

The Conference of the Birds ~ by Peter Sis;  (Literary Fiction); October 2011;       Based upon a foundational Sufi poem, it is the story of an epic flight of birds in search of the true king. Drawn from all species, the band of birds is led by the hoopoe.

The voyage to the mountain of Kaf, where the king lives, will be perilous and many birds resist, afraid of what they might encounter. Others perish during the passagewhisperer through the seven valleys – which are named quest, love, understanding, friendship, unity, amazement, and death.

The Whisperer ~ by Donato Carrisi; (Literary Thriller); January 2012;     The severed arms of five girls who vanished in broad daylight are discovered buried in a clearing in the woods. Alive or dead, the remainder of the girls' bodies are nowhere to be found. At first, the case seems simple. A series of clues leads investigators Mila Vasquez and Goran Gavila, but when they begin to follow the leads for the second missing child, it points in a vastly different direction.


So dear friends and readersWhich of these books would you choose to read first?

Happy reading!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Harvest Header ~ 2011

harvest goddess 921 header

We have a new header posted in honor of ~ The Harvest Season! ……. just in case you stop by and don’t recognize Layers of Thought.

For those of you that are new readers (there are quite a few from the Halloween giveaway hop), we change our header seasonally, and occasionally on a whim, because it’s intriguing and fun.

Attributions for the gorgeous artwork will be added when we arrive back home since the information is on the good blogging computer and we are currently traveling. California wine country is exceptional this time of year, and the ripe grapes are hanging on the vine.

We adore this beautiful harvest goddess and are honored to have her oversee our celebrations of thanks for the upcoming seasonal events!

Happy harvests everyone!

Friday, November 4, 2011

Winners ~ two of them!

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We have winners for:

Eyes to See ~ by Joseph Nassise

Blood Song ~ by Cat Adams

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**Drum Roll**

Chosen by the Random.org fates, the lucky winners are:

Krysta B. from West Virginia for Eyes to See!

and

Martina K. from Bulgaria (A Little Bit of Everything) for Blood Song!

Congrats to our winners!

*Showers of Applause*

For more information please see our giveaway post (now closed).

Our next giveaway is coming up very close to Thanksgiving. The book we have on offer is the second in a series and is a young adult/tween fantasy written by an indie author. The book and its predecessor will be a perfect Holiday gift for some youngsters. Hang tight as it will be here so very soon.

Thanks for reading!

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