Star Rigger Universe – Page 2 – Science Fiction Worlds of Jeffrey A. Carver

30 Sep 2020

New Look for Eternity’s End Ebook!

posted in: cover art, ebooks, Eternity's End, my books, Star Rigger Universe | 2

Back some years ago, when Tor published the first edition of my Star Rigger novel Eternity’s End, they commissioned cover art from Stephen Youll, one of the leading artists in the SF field. Stephen had a great vision for the book, and the Tor cover looked like this:

Later, when I brought out my own ebook edition, I had a much smaller budget. I bought some stock art I liked and enlisted writer/artist Pat Ryan to put it all together for me. I was quite pleased with the result, which looked like this:

I used that cover for many years, and it served me well. But I never forgot the original, which I loved for the way it popped off the page, and also actually reflected the story inside. As I started to think about a new paper edition of the book, I also thought about that painting. I got in touch with the artist, and Stephen was excited at the chance to have the art used again. He cut me a deal, and I proudly took a high-res jpg of the art to Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, who’s been doing my cover layouts. She outdid herself in the type design and gave me this new ebook and print book cover, and this week I have released it into world! (Click on it to see it full size.)

And if you’d like to see the full, glorious, wraparound art, without any text, here it is (click image to biggify).

Sometimes I really love my job.

15 Jul 2020

New Edition: Eternity’s End!

posted in: books, new editions, print editions, Star Rigger Universe | 0

I’m pleased to let the world know that Eternity’s End is back in print—and by print, I mean treebook, paper! For this new edition, I have arranged for the use of the cover painting created by Stephen Youll for the original Tor hardcover and paperback. This time, it’s paired with great type design by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff. It’s a big book, too—very hefty. I’m extremely pleased with the way this came out.

Eternity's End_print cover — Click image for a better look.

This cover design will very soon be applied to the ebook, as well.

I did the interior layout myself, using Vellum software, which I thought did a really snazzy job.

You can get it right now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble online. Soon, elsewhere.

12 Apr 2017

Dragons Fly Free!

posted in: BookBub, books, dragons, ebooks, free ebooks, my books, specials, Star Rigger Universe | 0

Big news for dragon lovers! Today, Dragon Rigger is FREE in ebook, for a limited time only. With a little help from my friends at Bookbub, another boost from the folks at eBookDaily, and (I hope) the help of all of you in spreading the word, I hope to put a lot of copies of Dragon Rigger in a lot of new readers’ hands!

Dragon Rigger is science fiction, but with a distinct flavor of mythic fantasy. It’s one of my favorite children! If you like interstellar space stories, I hope you’ll like it. If you like dragons, I’m sure you’ll like it. It’s the sequel to Dragons in the Stars, and is part of the much larger Star Rigger Universe.

If you don’t already own a copy in ebook, now’s the time to grab one. And please let others know! Thanks!

Kindle | Nook | iBooks | Kobo | Google | Smashwords

5 Jan 2017

I Should Fire My Publicist

posted in: BookBub, ebooks, specials, Star Rigger Universe | 0

Guess what! I’m running a special on Dragons in the Stars, for $.99 in all the major ebook stores! Zowie!

When did this sale start? Oh, almost a week ago. Did my lazy-ass publicist go online to tell the world, or did he sit back and let Bookbub do all the work? (Hint: the second one.)

It’s not too late! You can pick up this popular, genre-bending SF nov for less than a buck right through the last minutes of Three Kings Day! Which is Friday.

But as for that no-good, sandbagging, flea-bitten publicist, for you I have three words: You’re fired!

Wait—what do you mean, you’re me?

12 Sep 2016

Let’s Celebrate — Eternity’s End on Special!

posted in: ebooks, my books, specials, Star Rigger Universe | 0

Life’s good, so let’s celebrate! My novel Eternity’s End, linchpin of the Star Rigger universe—certainly the biggest in scope of all of the Star Rigger books—is available for a very limited time for $.99, or roughly the cost of a tiny but tasty soft-serve ice cream cone at McD’s. That, in my opinion, is a very attractive price for an ebook—and for a book that was a finalist for the prestigious Nebula Award, no less! Why, it would cost you more in gas to drive to the library to borrow the hardcover for “free.”

Time’s a-wasting! Limited time only! Word to the wise!

Kindle Nook iBooks Kobo Google

Just for fun, here’s what the Tor paperback looked like. I love this cover. (But you should buy the ebook.)

29 Jul 2016

Another Sale! (Yawn)

posted in: ebooks, my books, specials, Star Rigger Universe, Uncategorized | 0

Wait, wait, wait! We’re not getting jaded about these sales, are we? No, we are not. Not at the prices I’m paying to advertise these socko, out of the park sales! My ebook Seas of Ernathe just went on special for $.99, for one week only! Get ‘em while they’re… well, you know. Hot.

I wish I could think of a way to tie this to Hillary’s terrific speech last night—wasn’t she great?—but the truth is, when I booked the ad, I had no idea I was going to have that act to follow. Go Hillary! Balloons, people—think balloons, and buy some books!

Seas of Ernathe was my first novel, and the first novel in the Star Rigger Universe. Or, to put it another way, it’s the last novel in the Star Rigger Universe! It’s—let me try to explain.

This was the book that broke me into the book business. My first, and a book I still like a lot. Plus, it has this dynamite cover art by Chris Howard, who is a man of many talents, including both writing and painting! At the time I wrote Seas, I had published exactly one short story in the rigger world, “Alien Persuasion,” which was soon to become the starting point for my second novel, Star Rigger’s Way. For reasons I don’t remember, I set Seas in what you might call the post-rigger world, far in the future, when the secrets of starship rigging have been lost. The events of this story provide the clues that lead to the rediscovery of the art of rigging. So, it’s set at the end of the long story arc of rigging, but it’s the first written. And Ernathe has a silent e on the end.

Try it; I think you’ll like it! Did I mention it’s only $.99, for a limited time?

31 May 2016

Everything You Need to Know about My Dragon Rigger Sale

posted in: dragons, ebooks, specials, Star Rigger Universe, Uncategorized | 0

Really? Everything? Honestly, the answer is nothing. Nada. You don’t need to know that Dragon Rigger, one of my favorite books, which took me a couple of years to write, is just $.99 for a limited time only. You don’t need to know that it’s a sequel to Dragons in the Stars, and one of the most layered novels in my Star Rigger Universe. You don’t need to know that one reviewer on Amazon called it “The Best Book I’ve Ever Read!” and another reviewer called it “A masterfully written book,” and still another said, “I couldn’t put it down!” and indicated a desire to give it 7 stars on a 5-star scale.

But even if you don’t need to know that stuff, isn’t it kind of cool that you do? I admit it feels cool to me.

Speaking for my own feelings about the book, I really enjoyed delving into the dragons’ culture and their journeys through the “underrealm,” which is a layer of reality that underlies the already alternate reality of the Flux. I was emotionally exhausted by the time I finished writing it, which is good, because it meant I was emotionally invested in the dragons, Jael, and others. The ending was hard for me to write, because it hurt even though it was uplifting and redemptive at the same time. It’s a book I felt good about having written, like I’d done the universe a solid, creatively speaking. And it has a gorgeous map.

For the price of a candy bar, this tale of mythic adventure in a science fiction world can be yours. How far can you go wrong? But don’t wait too long!

Kindle | Nook | iBooks | Kobo | Google

14 Nov 2015

Get Your Red-Hot Dragons! And Supernovas! Hot Hot Hot!

posted in: ebooks, specials, Star Rigger Universe | 0

I’ve got
two specials going at once, starting today! Am I crazy or what? (Yeah, I know.)

For dragon lovers, or anyone wanting to dive more deeply into the Star Rigger Universe, I offer Dragons in the Stars! How much? Ninety-nine coppers, or a single George Washington, keep the change! That’s way less than a good cup of coffee. For a very limited time, this is, so don’t delay.

For lovers of hard SF, with layers of big cosmic stuff interwoven with nanotech and AI, not to mention interesting characters, I offer From a Changeling Star! How much? This one’s a single George Washington plus ninety-nine coppers. Still less than a cup of coffee! Think of this: the more copies you buy, the more you save!

I didn’t set out intending to do two at once, but that’s how my Bookbub and Fussy Librarian promos, respectively, shook out. So I’m riding the tiger.

Just for a few days, on this one.

7 Aug 2015

Dragons Fly Free in Dragon Rigger!

posted in: dragons, ebooks, my books, Star Rigger Universe | 0

My novel Dragon Rigger, sequel to Dragons in the Stars, has been unavailable as a stand-alone book for over a year now. No more! My new edition has just gone up in all the stores, with a new cover and all-new formatting.

Dragon Rigger continues the story of Jael and the dragons she met in Dragons in the Stars, but much of this book is the dragons’ stories more than hers, and much of the book is told from the viewpoints of fire-breathing lizards. It’s not fantasy, though, except in the broadest sense. It’s science fiction, with a mythical and fantasy feel, set in a universe of interstellar travel. It’s a book I’m particularly proud of, even if it didn’t gain its full audience in its original print publication from Tor. The ebook audience seems to like it.

Here’s the blurb (short form):

A realm at war. The star dragons struggle under the oppression of a terrible power, one that’s intent upon twisting spacetime itself into a web of subjugation and death. According to prophecy, One will come from outside to challenge the darkness. Star pilot Jael may be that One. But if the prophecy is true, the price of victory over the darkness will be Jael’s own life.

Kindle | Nook | Apple | Kobo

Google | Smashwords | Book View Café

Truth in advertising note: Dragon Rigger is part of the boxed set Dragon Space: A Star Rigger Omnibus. If you have that, you only need this edition if you’re a complete collector.

Download it and fly free with the dragons and the ifflings!

5 Jun 2015

Thar Be Dragons in Them Stars!! Arrr!

posted in: books, dragons, ebooks, my books, Star Rigger Universe | 0

It’s been almost a year since my novel Dragons in the Stars was available as a standalone book. Well, it’s back, all reformatted and with a brand-new cover! The artist, Magdalena Almero Nocea, is a European artist. This is the first time I’ve worked with her, and I’m quite pleased with the result. (She’s hard at work right now on a new cover for the sequel, Dragon Rigger.)

This book was something of a departure from the hard SF I had been writing, even from the other Star Rigger novels, which were a little more rubbery than, say, The Infinity Link. For one thing, it had dragons. In space. Dragons that felt very much like fantasy dragons. Except that they appeared in the Flux of hyperspace, and liked to duel with unsuspecting star pilots who ventured too close. (The first mention of them was in Star Rigger’s Way, in an offhand comment in a spaceport bar. They appeared for real in a short story, “Though All the Mountains Lie Between.” And that story became the basis of this novel.)

I was deliberately blending the genres of SF and fantasy, and that presented both writing challenges and marketing challenges. My editor was all for it, but my agent was a little skeptical. They were both right. The final book was one I liked a lot, and would have wanted to read, if I hadn’t written it myself. But marketing it, and especially the sequel, which ventured even further into mythic fantasy territory, was a tougher sell than my other work.

But that was then, and this is now. You don’t have to pay attention to any of that. It’s a story I’m glad to have told, and whether you already own it or are just hearing of it for the first time, I hope it’s one you enjoy.

(By the way, it’s also in ebook as part of Dragon Space: A Star Rigger Omnibus*. If you own that, you don’t need this. Unless you prefer individual books, or just really like that cover.)

*To folks who’ve recently bought Dragon Space: Some typographical issues with the recently revamped edition have come to light. I expect to have a corrected version up by sometime next week.

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