Book Giveaway: The Rise of Ransom City by Felix Gilman

Last year, I reviewed Felix Gilman's novel The Half-Made World.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, and now the sequel, The Rise of Ransom City, has recently been published--and I have a free copy to give away!

Here is how I described the setting of this world from the first novel:

It’s an alternate Steampunk world, with two competing forces.  The Agents of the Gun are demonically half-possessed Gunslingers, somewhat like the Marvel character Ghost Rider, transformed by the Gun they carry into fighting the armies of the Line.  The Line is based on technology for this world: railroads, super-trains, planes, factories, telegraph machines, etc.  Some kind of A.I. behind the Line is hinted at through the communications to Linesman Lowry, the main antagonist.  The Line wants to expand into new territories in the West, and they have Borg-like efficiency when they move into a new area.

The end of the first book left both John Creedmoor (a former Agent of the Gun) and Liv Alverhuysen in dire straits.  They possessed a vital clue to a weapon that could eradicate the Line, while the Gun sent an agent named Knoll after Creedmoor.  And to make it even sweeter, Marmion, Creedmoor's former possessor, went along for the ride, looking for revenge.

While the sequel is set in the same world, it doesn't follow the same narrative structure of flipping between viewpoint characters.  Instead, Gilman wrote it in the first person voice of Harry Ransom, a mad inventor, who travels through the Western Rim in search of audiences and investors, dodging both the Line and the Gun.  Eventually Ransom meets Liv and Creedmoor in his travels and learns the truth about their terrible weapon.  

Here is the official description from the publisher:

THE RISE OF RANSOM CITY

This is the story of Harry Ransom. If you know his name it’s most likely as the inventor of the Ransom Process, a stroke of genius that changed the world.

Or you may have read about how he lost the battle of Jasper City, or won it, depending on where you stand in matters of politics.

Friends called him Hal or Harry, or by one of a half-dozen aliases, of which he had more than any honest man should. He often went by Professor Harry Ransom, and though he never had anything you might call a formal education, he definitely earned it.

If you’re reading this in the future, Ransom City must be a great and glittering metropolis by now, with a big bronze statue of Harry Ransom in a park somewhere. You might be standing on its sidewalk and not wonder in the least of how it grew to its current glory. Well, here is its story, full of adventure and intrigue. And it all starts with the day that old Harry Ransom crossed paths with Liv Alverhyusen and John Creedmoor, two fugitives running from the Line, amidst a war with no end.

Read an Excerpt from The Rise of Ransom City

To learn more about the author and his work, visit Felix Gilman’s website. You can also follow him on Twitter.  You can also read this Reddit interview with Felix Gilman or check out the Salon Review: The Rise of Ransom City.

And now for the giveaway!  Thanks to the kind folks at AuthorsOnTheWeb, I have one copy of The Rise of Ransom City to giveaway to one lucky reader in the US or Canada. To enter, simply send an email with subject line “Ransom City” to giantsizegeek AT gmail DOT com with your full name and mailing address.  One entry per person, please: multiple entries will result in immediate disqualification, but please feel free to tell your friends! Please note again that this giveaway is limited to the US and Canada.

The giveaway will be open until the end of the day on Friday, January 4th.   I will announce the winners the following day.

Please note email addresses & information will only be used for the purpose of sending the book to the winner. Once the giveaway is over all the emails will be deleted.  Nuff Said!