A Little Love from Australia

I’m a big fan of Australia. Not only do they have kangaroos and koalas, many of my favorite actors and actresses are Aussies. I hope to go there someday. Do you suppose I’ll meet Hugh Jackman or Cate Blanchett or Margot Robbie? Probably not. But it turns out that Aussies have great taste in science fiction, as well.

An Australian SF magazine called Aurealis has just reviewed my novel Sunborn. This is amazing. How often does a book get reviewed almost 15 years after it was published? Never, that’s how often. Well, hardly ever. But in this case…I think it’s time for me to count my blessings. Reviewer Terence MacManus has just given a thoughtful (and favorable) review of the fourth book of The Chaos Chronicles, and concluded with this:

Sunborn is a wonderful synthesis of the best classic science fiction elements with the novel and unique storytelling that sets Carver’s work apart.

It’s nice to be appreciated. From Aurealis Issue #165.

Sunborn by Jeffrey A. Carver

New Sale on Audiobooks!

The Infinite Sea audiobook cover

Can we talk books for a minute? Chirpbooks is currently featuring The Infinite Sea in audiobook, price knocked down from $14.99 to a mere $.99. Can you even buy a pack of gum for that little? I don’t know. I do know that this is a great chance to pick up a few of my audiobooks for a great price.

Several other books in The Chaos Chronicles are also on sale for a limited time, including the series starter, Neptune Crossing. Click the link and you’ll see them all! Insanely good narration by Stefan Rudnicki. If you jump now, you can get it before the promotional email goes out! That ought to be worth something.

If you prefer Barnes & Noble or Spotify, several of them are on sale there, too. Prices may vary.

But they won’t last forever!

Reader’s Choice Award for The Reefs of Time

I just received word that The Reefs of Time was awarded a silver medal in the Reader’s Choice Awards from Connections eMagazine! Woot! You can read the magazine here. And while you’re at it, look to see who else got noticed. Connections is a free magazine devoted to authors and books of all kinds, with interviews and reviews, etc.

Also, here’s the page with their SF/F awards. How were they chosen? I don’t know! Huzzah!

NOT a Black Friday Sale!!

The Reefs of Time by Jeffrey A. CarverBecause the whole Black Friday thing really bugs me. This is more of a “Have you listened yet and would you like to listen for really cheap?” Yes, another Chirpbooks sale has started (Cheep! Cheep!), and as a result you can get the audiobook of The Reefs of Time for some ridiculously low price, so low I don’t even want to remember what it is. The timing of it was completely up to the Chirpbooks people—just my luck of the draw that it’s right at Thanksgiving time. (In fact, the promotional email is going out on Thanksgiving Day, but the price has already been dropped.)

Most of the other Chaos books are discounted, too, because why not. These are all really good narrations. If you’re not into audiobooks yet, maybe it’s time to give them a try, what?

Or give them to somebody you love. Note, I did not say “gift” them to somebody you love. Because that would bug me even more than calling it a Black Friday sale.

*Footnote. I just checked the link and saw the display page for the book, and right there’s a nice quote that Greg Bear gave me for the book. Damn. That, I think, was the last time we communicated. Why did he have to go so young?

 

Autographed Books for the Holidays?

Chaos Chronicles setEveryone loves autographed books! Especially sets of books. I know just where to start: The Star Rigger Bookstore

…where you can buy complete, autographed sets of the entire Chaos Chronicles (to date) in evocative Starstream Publications trade paperback editions… or the first four books in first-edition Tor hardcovers. Or signed hardcover sets of The Reefs of Time and Crucible of Time. Or autographed copies of Eternity’s End, in the shiny new trade paperback, or the first-edition Tor hardcover. And much, much more. All (most?) at amazing, mark-down prices. (Truly amazing—that they are marked down, I mean.)

Don’t see what you want? Shoot me an email. There’s a good chance I’ve got it and just haven’t listed it yet.

In case you’re wondering, StarRiggerBooks is me, using Etsy as a platform. So you’ll get the same personal service, satisfaction almost guaranteed, by using the Etsy order form. Come to think of it, I wouldn’t know how to give impersonal service. I am my only underpaid employee. And I defy you to find a marketing algorithm anywhere in this store. Go ahead and look! Seriously. Look.

To all you USians traveling for Thanksgiving, travel safely and enjoy your holiday, I hope with family and treasured friends.

Reefs Price on the Reefs! Help Me Lighten Ship!

If you subscribe to Bookbub, you probably already got the wireless flash: the ebook price for The Reefs of Time has hit submerged rocks or something, because it’s low in the water, lower than it’s ever been or was ever designed to be. This is terrible! Help me offload these ebooks before it goes under. They’re big ebooks. And the price has dropped precipitously, to $.99!

Danger! Danger! Aaoogah! Aaoogah!

And no wonder they weigh so much: The Reefs of Time takes us to the heart of the galaxy, and a billion years into the past, to find the birthplace of the malicious Mindaru. The relativistic effects alone are… well, relativistic. Think of the mass increase! At $.99? It’s staggering.

Here are some other reasons you and your friends and your friends’ second cousins’ guy they know want to grab some copies: It is “rich, dignified prose wedded to excellent and imaginative storytelling on the grandest scale,” according to Charles E. Gannon, author of the Caine Riordan world. It is “stunning science fiction and character-driven narrative with a strong theme of ‘coming home,’” according to Aurealis Magazine. Do you need more reasons? No, you don’t.

You can help carry away copies from all major ebookstores, for an energy expenditure of just $.99! Hurry! Just click one of these:

Oh, and tell Vinnie’s cousin’s friend, if she reads this, she’ll kind of want to read the rest of the story in Crucible of Time.

Amazing and Aurealis Magazines Bestow Thumbs-Up!

Here’s some good news: Two small, but highly regarded, SF magazines have published glowing reviews of The Reefs of Time and Crucible of Time.

A little perspective might be in order. One of the hardest things about shifting from traditional publishing to indie is trying to get your books reviewed in traditional review circles—even from publications that have been reviewing you favorably for years. This goes for mainstream press as well as most SF publications. Well, finally some reviews for Reefs and Crucible have come in! Here are some choice bits…

From Amazing Stories:

“There are giant, and brilliant, concepts in these books… If you haven’t read it you’re in for a whale of a ride! I, personally, will have to pick up more of Jeffrey Carver—not just this series—because I’ve become a fan of his world/galaxy-spanning imagination! I highly recommend these books.” —Steve Fahnestalk, Amazing Stories Magazine

And from Australia’s Aurealis Magazine:

“Jeffrey A. Carver’s long-awaited return to The Chaos Chronicles underpins its stunning science fiction and character-driven narrative with a strong theme of ‘coming home’… As narratives intertwine at separate ends of the timescale, Carver’s talent for weaving incredible technology and worldbuilding with meaningful character moments is a standout.

“Each location and the alien race that lives there feels tangible and diverse, with a realism that supports the underpinning themes of being lost, searching for connection and juxtaposing expectations against reality.

“[A] compelling narrative that combines the best of science fiction’s flair with its unique capacity to dissect the human condition. Fans of Carver’s Chaos Chronicles won’t want to miss this latest installment, and new readers will find it an easily-accessible entry to a fascinating, well-told universe.” — Terence MacManus, Aurealis

And finally:

I learned this from a friend, who sent me a screenshot—Locus Magazine apparently listed Sunborn Number One for SF ebooks at Smashwords in December. Not sure what it’s based on—but I’ll take it.

Bookbub Sunborn Supernova Blast

Sunborn by Jeffrey A. CarverIn conjunction with the good folks at Bookbub, I am knocking 83% off the price of the Sunborn ebook, for a limited time only! If you’ve read the first three books in the Chaos Chronicles and want to keep going with the fourth book, this is your chance. (Or if the dog ate your ebook copy or you’ve lost it under a pile of unpaid bills and requests for political contributions, and you need a new copy.)

That’s $.99 for a book that Library Journal said “ensures [Carver’s] place among the most inventive of contemporary authors of hard sf and speculative theory. Filled with startling ideas and ingenious plot twists, this sf adventure (along with its series predecessors) belongs in most sf collections.” Library Journal said that, not me. Not that I would go out on a limb to disagree. But if you love cosmic adventures, sentient suns, cool aliens, and malevolent AIs, this is the book you’ve been waiting for. Already read it? Why not buy a copy for a friend? Better yet, wouldn’t the whole set make a great gift?

Sadly for Nook readers, you might or might not be able to get this deal in the Barnes & Noble Nook store. I have been trying to set the sale price there, but due to an unfortunate malicious hacking of their system earlier this month, some of their back-end systems are still not working properly. I will keep trying, but you might not get the discount there. (However, the book is DRM-free, so if you buy the epub edition in another store, you can still sideload it onto your Nook.)

Sunborn is also available in a handsome print edition and an audiobook narrated by multiple award-winner Stefan Rudnicki. Click here for all editions.

Why, You Double-Dealing Little . . .

Oh, sorry—talking to myself. Bad habit. But it seems I’ve talked my way into an actual Double Deal. Audiobook and ebook!

Audiobook cover art - Neptune CrossingThe audiobook of Neptune Crossing, narrated by Stefan Rudnicki (think God gargling boulders), is on sale right now in multiple outlets! It’s $4.99 at Chirp, Downpour, Apple ($3.99 at Apple), Google, and Kobo—limited time only! It’s a great recording, and I doubt you’ll ever see it again for a price this low. Do you want to miss this? Of course not.

For you ebook readers, my omnibus volume The Chaos Chronicles: Books 1-3 will be going for the slasher price of $1.99! This is an international Bookbub special, and the email announcement will go out on Saturday. But keep an eye on those prices, because the way the logistics works is, you have to drop the prices a few days early. So you never know.

Summer reading, folks! These prices are good through the end of Worldcon.

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