by Jason Joyner | Aug 25, 2010 | Blaggard's Moon, Blog, CSFF, pirates, speculative fiction, top books
|
| What?? |
Ah, this is it!
The CSFF Tour for August has the loose theme of “favorites.” Some bloggers have talked about their all-time favorite books. My take was to go over all the tours I’ve been a part of and pull out my favorite books and tours. Which books inspired me?
Honorable mention goes to Robin Parrish and his book Fearless. A wildly suspenseful read, and it inspired my most-visited post, “Why Do We Need Heroes?”
BUT…out of over 40 Christian Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog Tours, the book (and tour) that came out on top..
I give you number
This book is special.
Bryan writes with a descriptive touch that “sets the reader on the high seas feeling the salt air, or ducking the musket balls and choking on the gunpowder.” He writes characters that each leap off the page, with individual voices that make them seem real (
sometimes too real).
This book was written after his Trophy Chase trilogy of pirate books, but is actually a prequel. It sets up the trilogy in a marvelous way, but stands on its own with a heartfelt tale of revenge, love, and loss.
 |
| Make it so, number one |
The book has a unique structure, with pirate Smith Delaney waiting for a certain, gruesome death recalling a story told by master pirate storyteller Ham Drumbone. The back and forth between two different storytellers and the story is a little confusing at first, but is well worth the effort.
The book follows pirate king Conch Imbry, pirate hunter Damrick Fellows and mysterious lady Jenta Smithmiller as intrigue, battle, and death weaves throughout. The reader is left guessing how this all ties together, which it does very nicely at the end. Will Damrick succeed in clearing piracy from the waters, or will the wily Conch outwit the determined vigilante? And how does beautiful Jenta affect both men’s plans?
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| That’s right! #1! |
I have to say that I had fun with the tour as well because I had a special visitor for this blog tour. One of the scurvy scoundrels from the book, Spinner Sleeve, stopped by to, uh, “oversee”
what I had to say. Having a pirate at your back and a cutlass at your throat makes for an interesting blogging experience.
For the rest of my posts on
Blaggard’s Moon and the rest of Polivka’s Trophy Chase trilogy,
see these posts.
by Jason Joyner | Aug 24, 2010 | Andrew Peterson, Blog, CSFF, pirates, speculative fiction, top books
Greetings, wayward travelers. You have come upon the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Tour for August. This month you are treated to a “free-for-all”, as we had no specific book or website to promote. Instead, you will find a wide variety of books discussed, from all-time favorites such as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, to newer books by contemporary authors.
Here at Spoiled for the Ordinary, I am focusing on books from the 4 years I’ve been doing the tour (o_O). My how time flies…
Coming in at number
I can’t think of a better series (other than Narnia) to recommend for kids other than the Wingfeather Saga. Andrew Peterson has created a fun fantasy series with peril, adventures, and toothy cows. Who can ask for more than that?
Peterson is an accomplished singer/songwriter, so his prose, as I’ve mentioned before, has a lyrical quality to it. He keeps a great pace, leaving my kids dying whenever we hit a cliffhanger as I read to them (which is pretty much every chapter!) It is probably most reminscent of
The Princess Bride, with whimsy and suspense. I mean, how great is it to have a bad guy who is a Nameless Evil, (named Gnag the Nameless, natch). This leader of the Fangs of Dang (dang Fangs!) is after the Lost Jewels of Anniera. He thinks the Igiby children have them in the first book, only to find out (spoilers) that the three kids ARE the lost jewels.
The world Peterson has created is a magical place, with a great literary history (Peterson often quotes from these imaginary works, the footnotes are worth reading in this book). There is a thoughfulness about this work, and the deep themes within it, that continue to resonate in me after several readings.
I have to also give a personal story. For a homeschool English assignment, I thought it would be a good exercise for my two older boys to write a letter to Peterson. They asked their own questions and offered their favorite parts of the book, as well as offering their artistic interpretations of key scenes (they each drew him a picture). My boys called me a couple weeks later at work so excited, because Andrew had written them each a personal handwritten letter, refering to their letters specifically, and commenting on their art. What a class act!
So for number 2 in CSFF Tours, I have to give a shout out to a good man, a great musician, and a thoughtful writer, Andrew Peterson! If you have missed these books, you have missed a treat. And bomnubbles. Don’t forget the bomnubbles.
See what else is going on for the CSFF Tour this month with the latest at Becky’s blog (the mother ship as we like to say…)
Oh, and a note from Becky: “Before I forget, we have just a little over a week left in the voting for the Clive Staples Award for Christian Speculative Fiction – Readers’ Choice. I hope you’re planning to vote.”
I voted for North! Or Be Eaten. What’s your vote?
—
by Jason Joyner | Aug 24, 2010 | Andrew Peterson, Blog, CSFF, pirates, speculative fiction, top books
Greetings, wayward travelers. You have come upon the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Tour for August. This month you are treated to a “free-for-all”, as we had no specific book or website to promote. Instead, you will find a wide variety of books discussed, from all-time favorites such as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, to newer books by contemporary authors.
Here at Spoiled for the Ordinary, I am focusing on books from the 4 years I’ve been doing the tour (o_O). My how time flies…
Coming in at number
I can’t think of a better series (other than Narnia) to recommend for kids other than the Wingfeather Saga. Andrew Peterson has created a fun fantasy series with peril, adventures, and toothy cows. Who can ask for more than that?
Peterson is an accomplished singer/songwriter, so his prose, as I’ve mentioned before, has a lyrical quality to it. He keeps a great pace, leaving my kids dying whenever we hit a cliffhanger as I read to them (which is pretty much every chapter!) It is probably most reminscent of
The Princess Bride, with whimsy and suspense. I mean, how great is it to have a bad guy who is a Nameless Evil, (named Gnag the Nameless, natch). This leader of the Fangs of Dang (dang Fangs!) is after the Lost Jewels of Anniera. He thinks the Igiby children have them in the first book, only to find out (spoilers) that the three kids ARE the lost jewels.
The world Peterson has created is a magical place, with a great literary history (Peterson often quotes from these imaginary works, the footnotes are worth reading in this book). There is a thoughfulness about this work, and the deep themes within it, that continue to resonate in me after several readings.
I have to also give a personal story. For a homeschool English assignment, I thought it would be a good exercise for my two older boys to write a letter to Peterson. They asked their own questions and offered their favorite parts of the book, as well as offering their artistic interpretations of key scenes (they each drew him a picture). My boys called me a couple weeks later at work so excited, because Andrew had written them each a personal handwritten letter, refering to their letters specifically, and commenting on their art. What a class act!
So for number 2 in CSFF Tours, I have to give a shout out to a good man, a great musician, and a thoughtful writer, Andrew Peterson! If you have missed these books, you have missed a treat. And bomnubbles. Don’t forget the bomnubbles.
See what else is going on for the CSFF Tour this month with the latest at Becky’s blog (the mother ship as we like to say…)
Oh, and a note from Becky: “Before I forget, we have just a little over a week left in the voting for the Clive Staples Award for Christian Speculative Fiction – Readers’ Choice. I hope you’re planning to vote.”
I voted for North! Or Be Eaten. What’s your vote?
—
by Jason Joyner | Aug 23, 2010 | Blog, CSFF, speculative fiction, The Gifted, top books
Hearken back to May of 2006. Do you remember what was happening back then? Do you even remember what you had for breakfast yesterday?
Anyway, I recall (thanks to the power of the web) that it was the first time I participated in the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy tour! Amazing how time flies. There have been a lot of good books that we’ve covered, and for this special August 2010 edition of the CSFF Tour, I give you Spoiled for the Ordinary’s best of:
Coming in at number…
is The Gifted series by Lisa T. Bergren, from April 2009. The CSFF Tour featured the first book of the series,
The Begotten for this tour. The story continues in
The Betrayed and
The Blessed.
This series was set in Italy of the 1300’s, a dynamic time with rival popes competing for leadership of the Church and the continued mixing of cultures across the Mediterranean Sea. The premise rests on the
Lost Corinthian Correspondence of St. Paul, letters lost at the compilation of the Bible.
Fragments of the letters are being hunted by Father Pietro and Lady Daria, as it foretells the gathering of a group called The Gifted that will walk in the gifts of the Holy Spirit to bring light and healing to a dark time. The group is pursued by a lord willing to walk in very evil ways in order to bring the Gifted to ruin.
This series was considered borderline “speculative” as it is set in a historical period and wasn’t fully science fiction or fantasy. Still, the premise and supernatural aspect of the story brought it to the attention of the CSFF Tour, and it became one of my favorite series we have featured. Bergren did a lot of research and brought this intriguing pre-Renaissance period to life. The characters were rich and the suspense thick. I had two books in mind for this tour, and needing a third to feature. After skimming through all of my CSFF posts, I had almost forgotten about The Gifted. I’m tempted to pull them out and re-read them after refreshing my mind – if you missed this series and enjoy a historical tale, make sure to check this out.
In the meantime, I’m sure these folks will have some interesting posts as well – my fellow CSFF tourmates!
Brandon Barr
Thomas Clayton Booher
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
Jeff Chapman
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
George Duncan
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Becky Jesse
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Mike Lynch
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Jason Waguespac
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher
by Jason Joyner | Aug 23, 2010 | Blog, CSFF, speculative fiction, The Gifted, top books
Hearken back to May of 2006. Do you remember what was happening back then? Do you even remember what you had for breakfast yesterday?
Anyway, I recall (thanks to the power of the web) that it was the first time I participated in the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy tour! Amazing how time flies. There have been a lot of good books that we’ve covered, and for this special August 2010 edition of the CSFF Tour, I give you Spoiled for the Ordinary’s best of:
Coming in at number…
is The Gifted series by Lisa T. Bergren, from April 2009. The CSFF Tour featured the first book of the series,
The Begotten for this tour. The story continues in
The Betrayed and
The Blessed.
This series was set in Italy of the 1300’s, a dynamic time with rival popes competing for leadership of the Church and the continued mixing of cultures across the Mediterranean Sea. The premise rests on the
Lost Corinthian Correspondence of St. Paul, letters lost at the compilation of the Bible.
Fragments of the letters are being hunted by Father Pietro and Lady Daria, as it foretells the gathering of a group called The Gifted that will walk in the gifts of the Holy Spirit to bring light and healing to a dark time. The group is pursued by a lord willing to walk in very evil ways in order to bring the Gifted to ruin.
This series was considered borderline “speculative” as it is set in a historical period and wasn’t fully science fiction or fantasy. Still, the premise and supernatural aspect of the story brought it to the attention of the CSFF Tour, and it became one of my favorite series we have featured. Bergren did a lot of research and brought this intriguing pre-Renaissance period to life. The characters were rich and the suspense thick. I had two books in mind for this tour, and needing a third to feature. After skimming through all of my CSFF posts, I had almost forgotten about The Gifted. I’m tempted to pull them out and re-read them after refreshing my mind – if you missed this series and enjoy a historical tale, make sure to check this out.
In the meantime, I’m sure these folks will have some interesting posts as well – my fellow CSFF tourmates!
Brandon Barr
Thomas Clayton Booher
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
Jeff Chapman
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
George Duncan
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Becky Jesse
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Mike Lynch
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Jason Waguespac
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher
This book was written after his Trophy Chase trilogy of pirate books, but is actually a prequel. It sets up the trilogy in a marvelous way, but stands on its own with a heartfelt tale of revenge, love, and loss. 
