MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - MobileRead April 2009 Book Club Nominations

Fledchen · 03-15-2009, 10:15 AM

I'm driving the Book Club Bus for the month of April and it's time to open the nominations!

The theme for April is MobileRead Authors. You may nominate any book written by an author who is a member of MobileRead. Yes, you may nominate your own book, if you wish. I request that you list the author's username in your nomination, as well as a brief synopsis of the book. Letting us know where the book may be acquired is also helpful.

You may nominate up to three books. Books that receive three nominations will go on to the voting round. Once a book has received three nominations, I will add it to a list at the end of this post. The nomination thread will close once 10 books have been thrice nominated, or on Sunday, March 22, at 12:00 noon Central Daylight Time, whichever occurs first.

The voting thread will be opened on March 22 and voting will close 1 week after it begins.

Thrice-Nominated Books

Berserker by Steve Jordan https://www.mobileread.com/forums/member.php?u=4762

THE FIRST VOYAGE—Carolyn Kestral, discharged Galarchy Ranger, begins her new life as a freighter captain and collects a small crew. But there is a question of whether the Berserker virus that forced her Ranger discharge is still capable of being activated and turning her into a deadly human weapon. If it is merely dormant, will it be set off by a clandestine first run and a dangerous run-in with the Spiders in deep space? Will her crew stick around long enough to find out?

Available DRM free for USD$2.50 at http://www.stevejordanbooks.com/novels.htm#berserker

Neptune Crossing by Jeffrey Carver https://www.mobileread.com/forums/member.php?u=20471

Named one of the best SF novels
of 1994
by SCIENCE FICTION CHRONICLE

Two unlikely heroes...

Survey pilot John Bandicut is ready for the worst when he sets out across the surface of Triton, his head spinning with silence fugue. But no way is he ready for the alien presence that is about to invade his mind, or for the winds of chaos set to blow through his life.

It is humanity's first contact with an alien presence--and Bandicut can tell no one about the disembodied quarx that has taken up residence in his mind. The quarx, part of an eons-old interstellar civilization that uses advanced chaos theory to predict catastrophic events, seeks to prevent a cometary collision that threatens the Earth. But it must have help--and Bandicut must trust the alien, knowing that humanity's very existence may be at stake. He must break all the rules, and sacrifice everything he holds dear, to prevent a cataclysm that would destroy an unsuspecting humanity.

Leaving friends and lover behind, hurtling across the solar system in a stolen spaceship, Bandicut can only hope that his desperate actions will save the Earth--even if he doesn't live to see it again.

Available in the MobileRead library, the Baen Free Library, and at http://starrigger.net

Union of Renegades: The Rys Chronicles Book I by Tracy Falbe https://www.mobileread.com/forums/member.php?u=18357

The Rys Chronicles begin with this character-rich adventure that follows the travels of Dreibrand Veta, an ambitious warrior who seeks to rebuild his noble family's fortune. He is the first to join the powerful rys spellcaster Shan, whose race possesses magical powers and whose Queen Onja rules many human kingdoms as their Goddess. The wickedness and tyranny of Onja disgust Shan and he desires to seize the rys throne from her. The third renegade is Miranda. After escaping from her abusive slave master, she becomes a crucial player in Shanâ's bid for power. To weaken Onja, Shan raises rebellion among her human subjects and gathers allies to his cause. Shan demonstrates his magic in battle and convinces his followers that the fearsome rys Queen can be overthrown. For over two thousand years Onja has ruled, but now, not even fear of her ability to enslave souls will stop her ambitious enemies.

Available in the MobileRead library and at Feedbooks

Hal Spacejock by Simon Haynes https://www.mobileread.com/forums/member.php?u=17427

Hal Spacejock explodes onto the science fiction scene with the subtlety of a meteor strike and the hushed reverence of a used car salesman. A perennial loser, Hal borrowed heavily to fund his intergalactic cargo business. His loyal customers evaporated after several highly publicized mishaps, and mounting bills have confined him to planet Lamira. As the book opens, the finance company is despatching heavies to all points of the compass, desperate to track Hal down and extract money and/or vital organs. Meanwhile, on a nearby planet, a wealthy businessman needs a freelance cargo pilot for a suicidal cargo mission. Ideally, he wants a desperate, debt-ridden loser. Hal Spacejock works on several levelsstraight humor, rousing adventure and social satire, and will appeal to fans of Red Dwarf, HitchHikers Guide and works by Terry Pratchett, Tom Holt and Robert Rankin.

Available in the MobileRead library or at http://www.spacejock.com.au/Hal1Download.html

Tide Mill by Richard Herley https://www.mobileread.com/forums/member.php?u=14875

The setting is feudal Sussex in the thirteenth century, a landscape and society that have changed almost beyond recognition.

The power of the Church is at its zenith, and the bishop of Alincester is one of the richest men in England. He derives income from the watermills in his diocese: the forces of wind and rain are held to be divine.

Ralf Grigg is the only son of a master carpenter whose business fails when Ralf is small. The family go to live in the seaside village of Mape, where Ralf's mother was born.

Its lord, Baron Gervase de Maepe, is in debt. He hopes to make a strategic match for his elegant young daughter, Eloise - a match of great importance to the pacific faction at court, lessening the danger of war with France. An exorbitant dowry must be found.

Despite his lowly rank, Ralf makes a close friend of the Baron's youngest boy. Ralf regards Eloise as haughty; but her attraction to the good-looking carpenter's son is as strong as it is turbulent, and she must keep her feelings hidden.

At seventeen, still imagining that she despises him, Ralf falls headlong for his best friend's sister. By now she also is seventeen. Her marriage, sanctioned by the King, has been contracted. The wedding will take place in the autumn of the following year.

Learning of the Baron's forlorn wish that he could afford a mill, Ralf's father has the novel idea of a wheel driven not by the wind or rain, but by the tide. Dismissive at first, Gervase changes his mind when he finds that the Church apparently has no call upon such a mill. Here is the answer to his woes. He commissions Master Grigg to build it, and Ralf discovers his vocation: engineering.

The King rules by divine right. His sanction is likewise divine. To violate it is treasonable. The mill forms the focus not only of an intense and dangerous love-affair between Eloise and Ralf, but a legal dispute between baron and bishop which, spiralling out of control, turns into a ruthless power-struggle between Westminster and Rome.

Available at http://www.richardherley.com/TM.html

The Penal Colony by Richard Herley https://www.mobileread.com/forums/member.php?u=14875

It is 1997. The British government now runs island prison colonies to take dangerous offenders from its overcrowded mainland jails.
Among all these colonies, Sert, 25 miles off the north Cornish coast, has the worst reputation. There are no warders. Satellite technology is used to keep the convicts under watch. New arrivals are dumped by helicopter and must learn to survive as best they can.
To Sert, one afternoon in July, is brought Anthony John Routledge, sentenced for a sex-murder he did not commit.
Routledge knows he is here for ever. And he knows he must quickly forget the rules of civilized life.
But not all the islanders are savages. Under the charismatic leadership of one man a community has evolved. A community with harsh and unyielding rules, peopled by resourceful men for whom the hopeless dream of escape may not be so hopeless after all ...

Available at http://www.richardherley.com/PC.html

The Moon and the Sun by Vonda McIntyre https://www.mobileread.com/forums/member.php?u=21734
1997 Nebula Award winner

Set in Versailles, France, in 1693, The Moon and the Sun tells the story of a Marie-Josephe, a lady-in-waiting to the niece of Louis XIV -- the Sun King. Marie-Josephe's brother, Father Yves de la Croix, is a Jesuit and also the King's natural philosopher and explorer. He has brought the King a living sea woman and a dead male, both captured on an ocean voyage. So begins a rich tale of conscience, politics, science, history, and love.

Available at http://www.vondanmcintyre.com/index-fiction.html

Twice-Nominated Books (need 1 more nomination to go to voting round)

Catherine M. Wilson's When Women Were Warriors: Book 1 The Warrior's Path.

She is offering the first book free in PRC and PDF in a thread here...
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...light=warriors
...the book can be downloaded here...
http://www.catherinemwilson.com/free-ebook.html

03-15-2009, 10:15 AM	#1
Fledchen Guru Posts: 663 Karma: 84658 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Minnesota, USA Device: PB360+, Sony950, VR Stream, iPod Touch, iPad	April 2009 Book Club Nominations I'm driving the Book Club Bus for the month of April and it's time to open the nominations! The theme for April is MobileRead Authors. You may nominate any book written by an author who is a member of MobileRead. Yes, you may nominate your own book, if you wish. I request that you list the author's username in your nomination, as well as a brief synopsis of the book. Letting us know where the book may be acquired is also helpful. You may nominate up to three books. Books that receive three nominations will go on to the voting round. Once a book has received three nominations, I will add it to a list at the end of this post. The nomination thread will close once 10 books have been thrice nominated, or on Sunday, March 22, at 12:00 noon Central Daylight Time, whichever occurs first. The voting thread will be opened on March 22 and voting will close 1 week after it begins. Thrice-Nominated Books Berserker by Steve Jordan https://www.mobileread.com/forums/member.php?u=4762 THE FIRST VOYAGE—Carolyn Kestral, discharged Galarchy Ranger, begins her new life as a freighter captain and collects a small crew. But there is a question of whether the Berserker virus that forced her Ranger discharge is still capable of being activated and turning her into a deadly human weapon. If it is merely dormant, will it be set off by a clandestine first run and a dangerous run-in with the Spiders in deep space? Will her crew stick around long enough to find out? Available DRM free for USD$2.50 at http://www.stevejordanbooks.com/novels.htm#berserker Neptune Crossing by Jeffrey Carver https://www.mobileread.com/forums/member.php?u=20471 Named one of the best SF novels of 1994 by SCIENCE FICTION CHRONICLE Two unlikely heroes... Survey pilot John Bandicut is ready for the worst when he sets out across the surface of Triton, his head spinning with silence fugue. But no way is he ready for the alien presence that is about to invade his mind, or for the winds of chaos set to blow through his life. It is humanity's first contact with an alien presence--and Bandicut can tell no one about the disembodied quarx that has taken up residence in his mind. The quarx, part of an eons-old interstellar civilization that uses advanced chaos theory to predict catastrophic events, seeks to prevent a cometary collision that threatens the Earth. But it must have help--and Bandicut must trust the alien, knowing that humanity's very existence may be at stake. He must break all the rules, and sacrifice everything he holds dear, to prevent a cataclysm that would destroy an unsuspecting humanity. Leaving friends and lover behind, hurtling across the solar system in a stolen spaceship, Bandicut can only hope that his desperate actions will save the Earth--even if he doesn't live to see it again. Available in the MobileRead library, the Baen Free Library, and at http://starrigger.net Union of Renegades: The Rys Chronicles Book I by Tracy Falbe https://www.mobileread.com/forums/member.php?u=18357 The Rys Chronicles begin with this character-rich adventure that follows the travels of Dreibrand Veta, an ambitious warrior who seeks to rebuild his noble family's fortune. He is the first to join the powerful rys spellcaster Shan, whose race possesses magical powers and whose Queen Onja rules many human kingdoms as their Goddess. The wickedness and tyranny of Onja disgust Shan and he desires to seize the rys throne from her. The third renegade is Miranda. After escaping from her abusive slave master, she becomes a crucial player in Shanâ's bid for power. To weaken Onja, Shan raises rebellion among her human subjects and gathers allies to his cause. Shan demonstrates his magic in battle and convinces his followers that the fearsome rys Queen can be overthrown. For over two thousand years Onja has ruled, but now, not even fear of her ability to enslave souls will stop her ambitious enemies. Available in the MobileRead library and at Feedbooks Hal Spacejock by Simon Haynes https://www.mobileread.com/forums/member.php?u=17427 Hal Spacejock explodes onto the science fiction scene with the subtlety of a meteor strike and the hushed reverence of a used car salesman. A perennial loser, Hal borrowed heavily to fund his intergalactic cargo business. His loyal customers evaporated after several highly publicized mishaps, and mounting bills have confined him to planet Lamira. As the book opens, the finance company is despatching heavies to all points of the compass, desperate to track Hal down and extract money and/or vital organs. Meanwhile, on a nearby planet, a wealthy businessman needs a freelance cargo pilot for a suicidal cargo mission. Ideally, he wants a desperate, debt-ridden loser. Hal Spacejock works on several levelsstraight humor, rousing adventure and social satire, and will appeal to fans of Red Dwarf, HitchHikers Guide and works by Terry Pratchett, Tom Holt and Robert Rankin. Available in the MobileRead library or at http://www.spacejock.com.au/Hal1Download.html Tide Mill by Richard Herley https://www.mobileread.com/forums/member.php?u=14875 The setting is feudal Sussex in the thirteenth century, a landscape and society that have changed almost beyond recognition. The power of the Church is at its zenith, and the bishop of Alincester is one of the richest men in England. He derives income from the watermills in his diocese: the forces of wind and rain are held to be divine. Ralf Grigg is the only son of a master carpenter whose business fails when Ralf is small. The family go to live in the seaside village of Mape, where Ralf's mother was born. Its lord, Baron Gervase de Maepe, is in debt. He hopes to make a strategic match for his elegant young daughter, Eloise - a match of great importance to the pacific faction at court, lessening the danger of war with France. An exorbitant dowry must be found. Despite his lowly rank, Ralf makes a close friend of the Baron's youngest boy. Ralf regards Eloise as haughty; but her attraction to the good-looking carpenter's son is as strong as it is turbulent, and she must keep her feelings hidden. At seventeen, still imagining that she despises him, Ralf falls headlong for his best friend's sister. By now she also is seventeen. Her marriage, sanctioned by the King, has been contracted. The wedding will take place in the autumn of the following year. Learning of the Baron's forlorn wish that he could afford a mill, Ralf's father has the novel idea of a wheel driven not by the wind or rain, but by the tide. Dismissive at first, Gervase changes his mind when he finds that the Church apparently has no call upon such a mill. Here is the answer to his woes. He commissions Master Grigg to build it, and Ralf discovers his vocation: engineering. The King rules by divine right. His sanction is likewise divine. To violate it is treasonable. The mill forms the focus not only of an intense and dangerous love-affair between Eloise and Ralf, but a legal dispute between baron and bishop which, spiralling out of control, turns into a ruthless power-struggle between Westminster and Rome. Available at http://www.richardherley.com/TM.html The Penal Colony by Richard Herley https://www.mobileread.com/forums/member.php?u=14875 It is 1997. The British government now runs island prison colonies to take dangerous offenders from its overcrowded mainland jails. Among all these colonies, Sert, 25 miles off the north Cornish coast, has the worst reputation. There are no warders. Satellite technology is used to keep the convicts under watch. New arrivals are dumped by helicopter and must learn to survive as best they can. To Sert, one afternoon in July, is brought Anthony John Routledge, sentenced for a sex-murder he did not commit. Routledge knows he is here for ever. And he knows he must quickly forget the rules of civilized life. But not all the islanders are savages. Under the charismatic leadership of one man a community has evolved. A community with harsh and unyielding rules, peopled by resourceful men for whom the hopeless dream of escape may not be so hopeless after all ... Available at http://www.richardherley.com/PC.html The Moon and the Sun by Vonda McIntyre https://www.mobileread.com/forums/member.php?u=21734 1997 Nebula Award winner Set in Versailles, France, in 1693, The Moon and the Sun tells the story of a Marie-Josephe, a lady-in-waiting to the niece of Louis XIV -- the Sun King. Marie-Josephe's brother, Father Yves de la Croix, is a Jesuit and also the King's natural philosopher and explorer. He has brought the King a living sea woman and a dead male, both captured on an ocean voyage. So begins a rich tale of conscience, politics, science, history, and love. Available at http://www.vondanmcintyre.com/index-fiction.html Twice-Nominated Books (need 1 more nomination to go to voting round) Catherine M. Wilson's When Women Were Warriors: Book 1 The Warrior's Path. She is offering the first book free in PRC and PDF in a thread here... https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...light=warriors ...the book can be downloaded here... http://www.catherinemwilson.com/free-ebook.html Last edited by pilotbob; 03-21-2009 at 11:44 AM. Reason: moved Sun/Moon up to thrice nominated section