Review and International Giveaway: “Virga” series ~ by Karl Schroeder

 

We have a review by John for the first book in the “Virga” series ~ “Sun of Suns” and an international  giveaway for two copies of  Pirate Sun ~ the third in this series.

Now for John’s Review ~ of the first book “Sun of Suns”: From Virga: Cities of the Air ~ by Karl Schroeder  (this is an omnibus of two books, “Sun of Suns” and “Queen of Candesce”, originally issued in 2006 and 2007)

---

Highly original – a space-based steampunk thriller set in a weird and wonderful future world.

About:  Virga is a world three thousand kilometers in diameter that is floating in space; the twist is that Virga is in effect a balloon and that people live on the inside, totally sealed off from whatever lies beyond the surface. Also inside are many artificial suns, air, water, and floating towns and cities that need to be spun to create gravity. The world of Virga contains many mini empires based around the larger cities; they live in a state of uneasy peace that often turns into conflict.

Outside of this self-contained world, the rest of the universe is very different. You get some glimpses into it and the people that created Virga, but we’re not yet sure why Virga was set up and what its purpose is. This is he first in a series of novels so I’m sure all becomes clear later.

For now, the first story in the series centers around Hayden Griffin, a boy whose home nation of Aerie is destroyed by the larger migratory empire of Slipstream. On a lifelong quest to take revenge on the leaders of Slipstream, he eventually finds himself sucked into a wild mission led by the admiral of Slipstream, who is trying to defend his own world against plotting neighbors by undertaking a daring pre-emptive raid. As Griffin becomes ever more embroiled with the leaders of the mission and things build to a dangerous climax, he starts to question some of his loyalties and motivation.

John’s Thoughts:  So why is it steampunk? The towns are made mostly out of wood and rope, the ships of Virga are also made out of wood, and most of the weapons seem like they’re out of the Victorian era. Indeed, while this is set in space, the story often seemed like an episode straight out of Horatio Hornblower.

Schroeder has a fabulous imagination and has created a unique world for these stories. He creates some interesting characters and fills in the story with lots of details that give the book a solid and believable foundation – despite its fantastic setting. The story became a little too action-packed for my taste; nonetheless it was an entertaining read and I’d rate the book 3.5 stars. If you’re in the mood for some “space opera” that’s full of action, then this one is for you.

For more information on the series please see Layers of Thought’s preview for the series. Amazon links for the first of the series which includes the story which John reviewed and the book pictured above ~ US|UK|Canada. 

Since this is a combo review and giveaway post John will be answering comments, which are specifically centered around the review. All give away entries will not be addressed.

---

International Giveaway:

We have two copies of this book for two winners! Since the books will be sent by the publisher - you do not need to be a “reader” for this giveaway. Anyone can enter, copies of these book are available for mailing internationally (please note that international shipping does take some time).

Amazon links for US|UK|Canada for the book to the right.      

Contest Info:

To enter you must:

• comment
• include in the post your email so that I can contact you

You do not have to do these options but ~ for optional extra points you can do any, all or none of the below for 1 entry point each: (Please use separate comments for each entry.)

1. Be a subscriber of Layers of Thought – google or facebook. (I need to be able to see you! – to get updates in facebook feed and add me as a friend otherwise it does not count.)
2. Blog it - side bars are great - please provide links
3. Tweet it – provide links please
4. Friend on Twitter
5. Friend on Goodreads
6. Friend on Book Blogs
7. Friend on Glue  - new to glue? have questions? let me know.

As stated above, this giveaway is for anywhere.

Contest ends Wednesday January 19th, 2011 at 12 pm US Pacific time. Winner will be posted and notified on Tuesday January 25th, 2011. 

If you have a question or concern (like a typo or bad link) please email me via my profile – Shellie.

Thanks for entering and good luck!