This is a Worldbuilders Blog.
A few announcements before we get to the goods.
Firstly: Since the blog went up yesterday, we’ve gone from $328,000 to over $363,000. We blew past the Lockless Box stretch goal and are steadily climbing our way toward the extra $100,000 for Heifer. That’s the true power you folks have, right there.
Secondly: Our True Dungeon game auctions end tonight (along with many others). Mary Robinette Kowal and Jim Hines had already agreed to play with us, but we’d like to reveal one more player: John Scalzi.
As you can see from his debonair hat and sweet uke, he’s going to be our bard. If you’re at all interested in hunting lycans while being serenaded by John Scalzi, it would be in your best interest to go bid.
Thirdly: Pat isn’t writing this blog.
I (that is, Amanda) often help Pat out here on the blog. I help answer a lot of the questions in the comments, and if there’s ever a typo or other error that gets fixed, I most likely did that, too. When we extended the deadline of the fundraiser, it meant some blogs had to go up while Pat is out at ConFusion. He’s booked pretty solidly while he’s there, and won’t be able to hole himself up in the hotel to write blogs. So, he told me it was my turn.
Be gentle.
* * *
Our previous DAW blog had tons of books in it. It had so many books that even they admitted they may have gone overboard – overboard in the most awesome way possible. So, here in this second blog, you’d think we wouldn’t have very much. In fact, we struggled to squeeze everything in without it getting unwieldy. They truly went above and beyond for their donation this year.
No more preamble. Let’s get right to the books.
- 7 hardcover sets of Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines, The Silvered by Tanya Huff, and The Dirty Streets of Heaven by Tad Williams. All copies of Libriomancer and The Dirty Streets of Heaven are signed.
“This enchanting, suspenseful urban fantasy should grab fans of Charles de Lint, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, and Jim Butcher.” – Booklist (starred review) about The Silvered.
- 6 ARC copies of The Dirty Streets of Heaven. Signed by Tad Williams.
Just to add to the awesome, DAW sent along some great ARCs, including this one. Pat has a pretty lengthy review over on Goodreads where he gushes about how great it is, and this prize is extra awesome because they’re all signed.
- A set of The Book of Ler and The Transformer Trillogy by M.A. Foster.
“Foster will be ranked among the greats…” – Library Journal
Just so you know, these are both collections of M.A. Foster’s two cornerstone trilogies. That’s right, you get two books that actually contain a total of six novels–you don’t have to hunt for the rest of them.
- A set of Downbelow Station and Regenesis by C.J. Cherryh.
“Cherryh has created her strongest character and her best novel in a story of space exploration, colonization and war.” – Questar, about Downbelow Station.
- 5 copies of Shadowlands. Signed by Violette Malan.
“Violette Malan has accomplished that most difficult fusions – she’s given a complex, high fantasy world a very readable contemporary voice.” – Tanya Huff
- 3 ARCs of Dead Things by Stephen Blackmoore.
ARCs have always been cool to me. I feel like I’m holding something secret, that only really special people ever get to have. Almost every one I’ve ever held have been for Worldbuilders, or to give to Pat, so I don’t get to be one of those special people. But now you might.
This is an ARC of a book that doesn’t come out until February. In case you just can’t wait for the two in the lottery, we’ve decided to auction one off, too.
To bid on this, go to the auction here.
- 7 ARCs of A Turn of Light. Signed by Julie E. Czerneda.
Here’s another ARC which doesn’t come out until March, and they’re all signed to boot. I was beyond convinced by this review:
“I was captivated by Julie Czerneda’s A Turn of Light. Yep, she used her writerly powers and sucked me right in. Many fantasy novels out there are *about* magic. Few, like Julie’s, embody it.” – Kristen Britain
Six will go into the lottery, but we’re auctioning the seventh over here.
- A set of Diviner by Melanie Rawn, The Helix War by Edward Willett, and Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed. All but Saladin Ahmed’s are signed.
“The settings are well drawn and creative… The characters possess substance, emotions and realistic motivations… Most important, the action and surprises keep coming… this book is almost impossible to put down.” – SCI FI Weekly, about The Helix War.
- 5 hardcover sets of Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed, Silence by Michelle Sagara, and Song of the Dragon by Tracy Hickman. All copies of Silence signed by Michelle Sagara.
I’m not going to lie – this might be my favorite prize in this blog just for the all of the cover art. I mean, I used to tell my students all the time not to judge books by their covers, but… you can when they’re *really* nice.
“With this volume, bestseller Hickman (The Immortals) creates memorable characters and realms of immense richness, while holding the reader enthralled with exhilarating action.” – Publishers Weekly, about Song of the Dragon
- 3 sets of Flight of the Renshai and The Warriors of Spider by Mickey Zucker Reichert.
“… a terrific entry into the wonderful swashbuckling fantasy world of Mickey Zucker Reichert.” – Midwest Book Review, about Flight of the Renshai
- 5 hardcover copies of Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor.
“I love the way Nnedi Okorafor writes, the precise, steely short sentences like blows to the body, the accumulation of experiences that lean to inspired insights, and the strangeness and beauty of an Africa both imagined and real. Perception, courage, and grace illuminate Who Fears Death.” – Peter Straub
- Plus, all of these ARCs down here:
(Click to embiggen and read all the titles)
That’s right. Every single one of those books is an advance reader copy. You may not realize this, but some publishers are moving away from ARCs. In this digital age, sometimes it’s not worth it to do an expensive not-even-for-sale print run of a book that may not end up doing well.
But not DAW. They produce a lot of ARCs. A lot of *really* nice ARCs. They really go the extra mile to do right by their authors.
There are a ton of ARCs this year, so simply bask in the glory that is many, many books you can win just by donating via the Team Page.
* * *
You only have until Monday, January 21st to donate on the Worldbuilders Team Page. For every $10 you pitch in, you get another chance to win one of these books, as well as thousands of others.
There are a bunch of awesome auctions ending tonight, including tickets to PAX East, two different ways to game with Pat, and some awesome books and art. You can view all of them on our current auctions page here.
If you want to see the other items that have been donated to Worldbuilders, or learn more about the fundraiser itself, you can head over to our main page.
7 Comments
Amanda. my dear, you have nothing to worry about as long as you’re commited to properly using adverbs!
Just curious – what does the prize conut stand at? 1,000? 2,000?
Just thought I’d post the link to the article I wrote about worldbuilders in my local paper :)
http://issuu.com/seren-bangor/docs/227-dec-2012/47
Hope you all like it!
I’m standing up clapping my hands – yourself and of course Pat and everyone who makes this possible is just Nobel Peace Prize worthy. Finally got my ducks in a row and donated. I’m quite late with everything I do, but eventually I get there. So, I’m thrilled to have contributed in an ever so infinitesmal way towards the greater good. If I win anything, I’ll be delighted, but that’s just a bonus. Being part of this makes my heart go all fuzzy and warm, and who doesn’t want that?
There’s some really cool stuff in there! By the way, the entry “5 hardcover sets of Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed, Silence by Michelle Sagara, and Song of the Dragon by Tracy Hickman. All copies of Silence signed by Michelle Sagara.” is up there twice. :)
Woah! Good catch!
Amanda, I got your back. It’s fixed. :) Especially since I should have caught that earlier…
Wow, thanks. I have no idea how I missed that like 40 times…