More Signed Books

This is a Worldbuilders blog.

A bunch more signed books today. Let’s start off with the ones donated by the authors themselves:

  • A set of The Lighthouse Duet: Flesh and Spirit, Breath and Bone by Carol Berg. Signed by the author.

I’ll admit I’ve never read Carol Berg. But when these books showed up, my assistant Valerie emitted a piercing screel of delight.

So, rather than voice my ignorant opinion, I figure we’ll just ask her what she thinks.

Heya Valerie, you remember what color you are?

A nice mellow green. So your blog readers can happily imagine you have a nice mellow assistant.

Pishaw. You’re way better than mellow. But we can pretend for the readers if you like.

Okay, here we go. Carol Berg. How good is she on a scale of one to Gaiman?

The best way I can describe my appreciation of her writing is in the fact that after I lost my first collection of books and decided to stop buying/collecting books and switched exclusively to libraries, I did re-buy copies of all her books.

Hold on. You don’t collect books?

Well I did drive across six states to come work for you, and I could only fit about six boxes of books in my car. So whenever I covet a book I ask myself if it is worthy of being personally carried around the world with me wherever I go. Final decision: no, I do not collect books and I only have two bookshelves of books in my house.

I can’t believe I didn’t know this about you. I… we… I don’t know if I can talk to you right now. I think I need to put up blurb from someone else while I wrap my head around this.

“Berg brings to life every stone in a peaceful monastery and every nuance in a stratified society, describing the difficult dirty work of ordinary life as beautifully as she conveys the heart-stopping mysticism of holiness just beyond human perception.” – Sharon Shinn

  • A set of The Books of the Rai-kirah: Transformation, Revelation, and Restoration by Carol Berg. Signed by the author.

Okay. I’m over it. Kinda. Pitch this series to me. Why should I read it?

Because, and pardon the giddy fan review, Berg writes worlds of magic and mystery. Her plots are usually grand schemes to change the world itself while the characters are full of very human flaws and failings. Plus I think her writing is classy and elegant. Is that too gushy?

Nah. You didn’t use words like “luminous” or “effulgent” or anything. You’re good.

  • A set of The Bridge of D’Arnath Quartet: Son of Avonar, Guardians of the Keep, The Soul Weaver, and Daughter of Ancients by Carol Berg. Signed by the author.

Okay. One more time. Hit me.

Everything I said before. Plus I want to add that her books aren’t just fantasy fluff. They make me think things I never thought before.

“If you enjoy fantasy with a dark thread… Carol Berg is someone you should try. If you like good characters in an exciting, unpredictable plot, this is also a series for you.” – Colleen Cahill, SFREVU

  • A set of The Twenty Palaces novels: Child of Fire and Game of Cages by Harry Connolly. Signed by the author.

Jim Butcher says Child of Fire “is excellent reading and has a lot of things I love in a book: a truly dark and sinister world, delicious tension and suspense, violence so gritty you’ll get something in your eye just reading it, and a gorgeously flawed protagonist. Take this one to the checkout counter. Seriously.”

Man. That’s a great blurb. Why can’t I get a blurb from Butcher? Every time I see him, he just curses and hucks stones at my head.

  • Five copies of Shadow’s Son by Jon Sprunk. Signed by the author.

“Masterful storytelling at its finest, be prepared for a late night.” –Maria V. Snyder, New York Times bestselling author.

Shadow’s Son is easily one of my favorite books of 2010 and I look forward to seeing what Sprunk can add to this trilogy.” –Fantasy Book Critic

“This collection of 17 stories from Card’s e-zine takes its title from his belief that writers getting readers to suspend disbelief is like old-fashioned medicine-show hawkers convincing customers that their patented elixirs will work. […] Adding value are the authors’ afterwords, which disclose the remarkable diversity of ways writers reach the Web or the page and how Card influences new writers.” – Roland Green, Booklist

From the back of the book: “Adventure . . . danger . . . romance . . . or maybe a good scare? Yearning to read some fantasy . . . science fiction . . . humor . . . urban fantasy . . . horror . . . or even a haunting Civil War tale? We’ve got what you’re looking for! The authors in Gen Con’s Writer’s Symposium have collected 22 of their favorite tales into this volume.”

The Writers of the Future anthology has a warm place in my heart, as I got my start in Volume 18. I always make a point of picking up the new one every year, as I know that these writers really had to beat out some stiff competition.

As Tim Powers says, “[Writers of the Future] is THE place to look for the writers who will be winning Hugos and Nebulas a few years from now.”

“The anthology stood out for one reason to me–each story captured some of the magic and uniqueness that can only be found if you live in a city.  Amid the constant lights, streams of traffic, and seeming sleeplessness, a city holds a powerful magnetism for ordinary and paranormal folks alike.  This collection spotlighted the best of those feelings.” – BSC Reviews

  • A set of the As You Wish series: How Not to Make a Wish, When Good Wishes Go Bad, and To Wish or Not To Wish by Mindy Klasky. Signed by the author.

“Fresh and often hysterically funny, this story also has a solid emotional core. Heroine Kira’s fire-person perspective keeps it all real for the reader…” – Romantic Times.

  • Two copies of The Fall of Ossard by Colin Taber. Signed by the author.

“Brave… Innovative… Bold…” – Stefen Brazulaitis, reviewer and columnist, Australian Bookseller and Publisher.

“I stayed up all night!” – Sara Douglass

“I have thoroughly enjoyed this book. The pages turn at a rapid pace and I loved the ending. This is not your expected fantasy-type book. I can’t wait for the next of the series.” – Rebecca’s Book Blogspot.

Kat Howard will always have a warm place in my heart, as she invited me to one of my first conventions as a professional writer.

I didn’t find out until much later that she’s a hell of a writer, as evidenced by the story she’s got in Gaiman’s new Anthology.

Robert J. Wiersema wrote in the National Post: “There’s not a single misstep, not a single story that can, or should, be skipped: Stories is a winner from cover to cover. […] Kat Howard’s A Life in Fictions, for example, is a strangely powerful account of what happens to a writer’s muse in both good times (when she is becoming different characters, taking on their traits and quirks) and bad (as when her world freezes, the writer suffering from writer’s block).”

*     *     *

In the two years I’ve been running Worldbuilders, I’ve hit up authors and publishers for books. It’s worked out petty well, and I’ve been really impressed at how generous people have been.

This year, just to see what would happen, I threw the doors open wider, inviting anyone to donate books. Amazingly, a lot of fans and readers have been willing to donate some really lovely stuff to the cause. All of the following are signed.

  • A copy of Odd and The Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman. Signed by the author.

On a scale of one to Gaiman, this book unsurprisingly ranks in at a full Gaiman.

“Gaiman does it again…this sweet, wistful, slyly funny novella…succeeds both as a delightful children’s book and an adult collectible. Children will enjoy Odd’s quiet heroism and the simple adventure; adults will love the squabbling gods and the strong women. All in all, another winner.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

  • A hardcover copy of Hyddenworld: Spring by William Horwood. Signed by the author.

“This is the first installment in a new series that builds on the fantasy genre, taking in elements from historical fiction, folk tales and legends. The real hook, though, is the characters: each is introduced with such care that the reader really gets to know them and is genuinely concerned about their story.” – Waterstones Books Quarterly.

  • A hardcover first edition copy of Nocturnes by John Connolly. Signed by the author.

“Connolly creates those rarest of books – literate and beautifully written page-turners.” – Mark Billingham, Daily Mail.

  • A copy of Redemption Falls by Joseph O’Connor. Signed by the author.

Redemption Falls…is told with extraordinary ingenuity, the tone a mixture of the playful and the grave, at times fast-moving, smart, and very clever, and then full of beautiful writing and heartbreaking sequences. The cadences of the competing voices in the book combine to produce a dazzling narrative.” – Colm Tóibín, author of The Master, winner of the 2006 Dublin International IMPAC Award

  • A hardcover signed numbered limited edition of The Corpse King by Tim Curran. Signed by the author.

“Horror finds its roots in many places […] Often overlooked, however, but perhaps even more potent are the pages of history. We didn’t always live in such a sanitized, advanced, progressive world.  For all but a few, especially those who lived in crowded urban areas, life was often a miserable, filthy, degrading experience that offered little hope for the future, and in this sewer-bound world very real, tangible horrors, inescapable abounded.” — Kevin Lucia, Shroud Magazine

  • A hardcover copy of Under the Poppy by Kathe Koja. Signed by the author.

“This book made me drunk. Koja’s language is at its poetic best, and the epic drama had me digging my nails into my palms. It’s like a Tom Waits hurdy-gurdy loser’s lament come to life, as sinister as a dark circus.” — Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing

This book is a serious treasure. Not only is it a massive collection filled with a lot of hard-to-find Ellison stories, but it’s signed by Ellison AND Dowling. I covet it.

I was seriously considering selling this one in an auction this year, but I’ve decided to leave it in the general lottery instead. Why? Because I like having some rarer stuff in the lottery, that way, everyone gets a shot at it, not just collectors or folks with a ton of money to spend.

I also hope things like this in the mix will help to nudge people to donate a little more. Because you never know, you might get lucky…

“Ellison has never fit comfortably in any category. Instead, he’s tackled them all (or so it seems) and more often than not has come out on top. Considering the often insular tastes of genre readers, that alone is reason enough to place this book at the top of every recommended reading list.” – Jayme Lynn Blaschke SF Site

Remember folks, for every 10 dollars you donate to Heifer International, you get a chance to win these books and hundreds of others like them. Plus there’s the whole helping make the world a better place thing. That’s nice too.

Don’t forget, Worldbuilders is matching 50% of all donations made. So why not head over to my page at Team Heifer and chip in. Trust me. You’ll feel great afterward.

If you want to go back to the main page for Worldbuilders, you can click HERE.

This entry was posted in a few words you're probably going to have to look up, Neil Gaiman, Worldbuilders 2010By Pat33 Responses

33 Comments

  1. spikyc
    Posted November 16, 2010 at 3:31 PM | Permalink

    After you, Patrick, Carol Berg is one of my favorite authors! I can’t recommend her work enough. (The others in the list are Guy Gavriel Kay, Jim Butcher, Brandon Sanderson, Scott Lynch, George R. R. Martin, Brent Weeks, and probably a few others I’m forgetting at the moment.) Your book beats them all, but that doesn’t make their work any less awesome. ^^

    • bearthehunter
      Posted November 17, 2010 at 1:00 PM | Permalink

      Nice Collection. Speaking of signed books. Will you have hardcover copies of The Name of the Wind for sale this weekend at Daisho Con for you to sign?

  2. Sister_Spider
    Posted November 16, 2010 at 3:43 PM | Permalink

    Hey Pat! Thanks for showing us all of the fantastic books you have for wordbuilders. One of my favorite things about your blog is hearing about new stuff to cram into my brain. Hooray.

    And…um…I think you have a typo. When you’re talking about Jim Butcher’s blurb you put in, “Man. That’s a great blurb. Why can’t I get a blurb from Butcher? Every time I see him, he just curses and hucks stones at my head.”

    I believe you means chucks. He chucks stones at your head. Unless ‘huck’ is an advanced verb I’ve never heard before.

    To the dictionary!

    • Posted November 16, 2010 at 8:56 PM | Permalink

      Yeah. That’s intentional. It’s a colloquialism.

  3. midnitesmask
    Posted November 16, 2010 at 4:32 PM | Permalink

    That Carol Berg’s Rai-kirah series is so killer, on the second book I stayed up all night until the sun came up reading it, knowing I had a bachelor party that night to go to, but it was so worth being tired for. And I just read Jon Sprunk’s book Shadow’s sona couple months ago, it was super good too and I cant wait for the next one. If you like the night angel trilogy by brent weeks you’ll like it as well. Both authors are spectacular, but Pat, your the best, lol.

  4. Posted November 16, 2010 at 5:43 PM | Permalink

    My fave line in the whole blog post:

    [re: Odd and the Frost Giants] “On a scale of one to Gaiman, this book unsurprisingly ranks in at a full Gaiman.”

    You always make me smile, Pat, so thanks for that :)

  5. Mickey
    Posted November 16, 2010 at 5:49 PM | Permalink

    Hi Pat, just waned to let you know that I’ve had a bit of a think, and I’m still peeved about the Batman critique. I shall not include you in the list of people that I hope get a free hot chocolate every day until you opine on the awesomeness of the Bat…consider yourself reprimanded sir.

    Ha ! Touche !

    • Posted November 16, 2010 at 8:59 PM | Permalink

      Woah. Did I ever claim that Batman wasn’t cool? He’s cool. He’s THE cool.

      But dude’s not a good role model. He is, in fact, a sociopath. An appealing, empathetic sociopath, but a sociopath nonetheless.

      • Widow Of Sirius
        Posted November 16, 2010 at 9:49 PM | Permalink

        Agreed.

      • Mickey
        Posted November 17, 2010 at 8:17 AM | Permalink

        Good enough for me, I like my heroes with a bit of darkness. All forgiven then ! May you be suddenly presented with a steaming mug of warm and frothy goodness at a time in your day when you really need it.

        Maybe I’m being daft but I can’t find the cut off date for sending donations etc. Little help anybody ?

        • spikyc
          Posted November 17, 2010 at 1:57 PM | Permalink

          It’s the first question answered in the Worldbuilders FAQ blog. December 13th.

          • Mickey
            Posted November 17, 2010 at 5:20 PM | Permalink

            Cheers, I knew it would be posted somewhere, think I may have advanced stage lazy-ass or something…

  6. He without a clever name
    Posted November 16, 2010 at 5:56 PM | Permalink

    Yes, Pat does do a good job at making us all smile. A huzzah to your assistant for playing along as well.

    I know My wife loved Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg, but I don’t know if she’s read anything else by her. Perhaps a Christmas idea…

    For me, the best one up there is John Connolly’s Nocturnes. Hard cover signed first edition? Who has two thumbs and wants that in his collection? *points at self. This guy.

    The Book of Lost Things by Connolly is one of the best books I’ve ever read, I recommend it to people all the time. As I suppose I’m doing now. It’s really just a beautiful book.

  7. dwaith
    Posted November 16, 2010 at 6:08 PM | Permalink

    Carol Berg’s The Bridge of D’Arnath Quartet and Lighthouse Duet are both brilliant. When I mailed a copy of TNOTW for you to sign I actually suggested you check out the latter. Just curious – did you get the Jamaican Tiki of Shame I sent with it?

  8. justajenjen
    Posted November 16, 2010 at 8:02 PM | Permalink

    Ooh, can I give a gushing review of The Elf Queen by Lyndie Alexander? The author has been one of my dearest friends for, um…a really long time. Wow, how long has it been? Thirteen years. Yeah, it’s been a long time.

  9. LaisLindsay
    Posted November 16, 2010 at 9:30 PM | Permalink

    Odd and the Frost Giants is awesome. It’s a cozy blend of fairy tale and myth..lightly poignant, uniquely creative, exceptional story value. My kids and I loved this book!

  10. Widow Of Sirius
    Posted November 16, 2010 at 9:54 PM | Permalink

    1 – Sweet deal, signed Gaiman up for grabs :D

    2 – I’m sort of blown away by Valerie’s lack of books. Let her know she’s welcome to borrow from my excessively-large-for-my-apartment library at anytime. I don’t think I could do what she did. When I moved out of my parents’ house, I had to get extra boxes for my books, and had to go back for more later.

  11. Aedistopholes
    Posted November 16, 2010 at 10:52 PM | Permalink

    Patrick Rothfuss, I was stumbling around Wikiquote and I came across one set of entries that made me think of you and your book and your blog almost instantly. These quotes from a serious world-builder:

    ” The prime motive was the desire of a tale-teller to try his hand at a really long story that would hold the attention of readers, amuse them, delight them, and at times maybe excite them or deeply move them.”

    “Some who have read the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it boring, absurd, or contemptible; and I have no cause to complain, since I have similar opinions of their works, or of the kinds of writing that they evidently prefer.”

    “The most critical reader of all, myself, now finds many defects, minor and major, but being fortunately under no obligation either to review the book or to write it again, he will pass over these in silence, except one that has been noted by others: the book is too short.”

    Kudos for those who can guess the origin off-handedly, and shame for those who immediately go to Google without putting a single thought to it. The rest of us will wait for one of the above mentioned to give us the answer.

    • Mickey
      Posted November 17, 2010 at 8:23 AM | Permalink

      The words of the Lord High Fantast himself. In the foreword to the revised edition.

  12. kniko
    Posted November 17, 2010 at 12:13 AM | Permalink

    Think you could put up a signed copy of your next book? would be worth the wait :-) since its only months away now.
    or did you already and i just didn’t see it? (hate when the happens)

    • Posted November 17, 2010 at 1:01 AM | Permalink

      Wait for it. We’ve got something like that coming….

  13. Posted November 17, 2010 at 7:58 AM | Permalink

    Pat, first of all, I want to thank you for my 1-year wedding anniversary present: a beautiful hardcover NotW signed by you with a little comment.

    My wife and I went out to eat last Saturday evening at Bonefish Grill. First, I gave her my present: 2 floor level seats to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in December in Columbia, SC. I thought my gift to her would be better than what she got me. I was ready to burst with pride… that is, until my wife plopped your book down in front of me. I was scared to open it. I hoped that there would be a signature in it, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. But I opened it, and there on the title page was your childlike scrawl. I nearly cried. It may be the best gift I’ve ever received, for any occasion. It showed how much my wife knows me.

    She recounted how she went on your blog and found instructions on how to get a signed book from you. She did this back in September, I believe, with a hand-written letter, writing something about how I am anal about the upkeep of my books like Master Lorren. Your inscription commented on that.

    Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks. My wife said you had replied with the book in about a week. That’s remarkable. In September, you probably were up to your nostrils in revisions, but you pulled yourself out of your work to make two random people a thousand miles away very happy.

    So, thanks, Pat. It’s just one more reason you’re my favorite author.

    P.S. – I hope I win some cool stuff this year from the Heifer drive. I didn’t win anything last year, but here’s to hoping my luck changes this time around! Good luck with the charity drive, it will probably beat last year’s figure.

  14. TimAZ
    Posted November 17, 2010 at 9:12 AM | Permalink

    Yeah, Carole Berg, thanks for the reminder! I really enjoyed her Rai-kirah books, and then somehow lost track of her. Glad to see that her books are available for Kindle, very much looking forward to the newer series.

  15. fb
    Posted November 17, 2010 at 10:08 AM | Permalink

    Addressed to “He without a clever name” (no insult intended!)

    I also utterly love The Book of Lost Things, a wonderfully clever, bittersweet book, but have been hesistant about reading any of his other stuff as it seemed from the blurbs that TBOLT was a bit of a odd one out in terms of subject/genre. Is this right or should Iget some of his other book? Thanks.

    • He without a clever name
      Posted November 17, 2010 at 4:49 PM | Permalink

      I could be very wrong, but from my reading of him, I like to think that John Connolly would really like to be a Gaimanish fantasy writer, but how somehow found himself being more popular as a mystery writer.

      After Book of Lost Things, I had to see what else he had to offer and bought “The White Road,” which according to many reviews from papers and magazines was his best thriller. I found it to be very boring, which greatly depressed me. So I do not recommended his mysteries and popular Charlie Parker novels.

      On the other hand, he has written some more quirky stuff since Book of Lost Things. Nocturnes is a book of short stories that I enjoyed, although it still doesn’t have the same voice and magic that Book had. “The Gates…of Hell are about to Open” Is a fun read by him thought. It reminded me a lot of Gaiman and Pratchett’s “Good Omens.” Here’s a sampling, one of my favorite lines.

      “Children were dangerous, Mrs. Abernathy knew, more so than adults. They believed in things like right and wrong, good and evil. They were persistent. They interfered.” (John Connolly, The Gates)

      You’ll love some of the characters, and others you’ll promptly forget.

      This has gotten much lengthier than I set out to write. Apologies. I’ll probably keep reading his fantasy work in the hopes that he’ll catch lightning in a bottle again and five us another Book of Lost Things, and I can’t think of many worse fates than missing out on that.

  16. Posted November 17, 2010 at 10:17 AM | Permalink

    I didn’t know about your awsomeness when you did this last year so I’m hoping that I’ll be able to scrounge up some money and donate. If that’s not possible then I really really hope I can do it next year.

  17. bearthehunter
    Posted November 17, 2010 at 1:03 PM | Permalink

    Whoops, posted that wrong before. Pat, will you have hardcover copies of The Name of the Wind for sale at Daisho Con this weekend? I’d like to get one to have you sign it.

  18. magelord23
    Posted November 17, 2010 at 10:31 PM | Permalink

    Wow, I have a book collection of around 233 books and only recognized a few of the books listed.

  19. word5mith
    Posted November 18, 2010 at 11:28 AM | Permalink

    I worry that you think we all have enough money to buy all the books we’ve just learned about and now NEED. Irresponsible. And Batman’s not a sociopath.

    • Mickey
      Posted November 18, 2010 at 1:43 PM | Permalink

      Hi Word5mith,

      Now don’t get me wrong here, I’m a level 26 Bat fan-boy, thus my vehemence at Pat’s unseemly tantrum a while back…but even I had to admit that the guy has some serious issues; schizophrenia, repressed memories, attachment disorders to name just the most obvious…Thank God he’s on our side !

      Doesn’t stop him from being the coolest hero ever to grace a page though.

  20. molsen
    Posted November 21, 2010 at 6:58 PM | Permalink

    Pat,
    Is the contest open to people in other countries?
    As I wasnt sure due to the cost of shipping the items to them.

    Cheers.

  21. Albender
    Posted December 1, 2010 at 3:31 AM | Permalink

    Ok, just donated 10 bucks, not much but I wanted to be part of this.
    Greetings from Spain.

    :D

  22. chat
    Posted February 26, 2012 at 3:28 AM | Permalink

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