November 28th, 2012 marks the 25th anniversary of the Culture series by Iain M. Banks, considered among the best in Science-Fiction. In October, The Hydrogen Sonata was published, becoming the 10th novel in the Culture series which began with Consider Phlebasin 1987. As part of celebrating the anniversary, Orbit has organized some activities through various social medias, beginning with an interview hosted on their blog www.orbitbooks.net.
Here we're hosting a giveaway for the 25th Anniversary The Culture Boxed Set which contains the first three books in the series: Consider Phlebas, The Player of Games, and Use of Weapons. Looks like a good opportunity for those who haven't tried the series yet, like myself.
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the first three bestselling Culture novels are now gathered into one collectible boxed set.
CONSIDER PHLEBAS.
The war raged across the galaxy. The Idirans fought for their Faith; the Culture for its moral right to exist. Deep within a fabled labyrinth on a barren world, a Planet of the Dead proscribed to mortals, lay a fugitive Mind. Both the Culture and the Idirans sought it. It was the fate of Horza, the Changer, and his motley crew of unpredictable mercenaries, human and machine, actually to find it, and with it their own destruction.
THE PLAYER OF GAMES.
The Culture -- a human/machine symbiotic society -- has thrown up many great Game Players, and one of the greatest is Gurgeh. The Player of Games. Master of every board, computer and strategy. Bored with success, Gurgeh travels to the Empire of Azad, cruel and incredibly wealthy, to try their fabulous game...a game so complex, so like life itself, that the winner becomes emperor. Gurgeh accepts the game, and with it the challenge of his life -- and very possibly his death.
USE OF WEAPONS.
The man known as Cheradenine Zakalwe was one of Special Circumstances' foremost agents, changing the destiny of planets to suit the Culture through intrigue, dirty tricks and military action.
The woman known as Diziet Sma had plucked him from obscurity and pushed him towards his present eminence, but despite all their dealings she did not know him as well as she thought.
The drone known as Skaffen-Amtiskaw knew both of these people. It had once saved the woman's life by massacring her attackers in a particularly bloody manner. It believed the man to be a lost cause. But not even its machine could see the horrors in his past.http://www.goodreads.com/
Participants have to be 18 years of age or older to participate. Void where prohibited by law. Giveaway rules are subject to change.
The giveaway is open for US and Canada shipping addresses only, and it will run from November 28, 2012 until 11:59pm ET on December 7, 2012.
How to participate:
- To participate simply log-in into to the Rafflecopter and "Enter" through the easy entry.
- One entry per person, or face disqualification.
- Entries accepted until 11:59pm ET on December 7, 2012.
- There'll be 1 winners total, for the 25th Anniversary The Culture Boxed Set
- Will have to confirm email to be considered a winner within 48 hours.
- Additional entries may be had by following the steps provided in the Rafflecopter instructions, and only by doing those steps.
- Winners will be chosen by random selection using the Rafflecopter.