QUANTUM CANNIBALS Blog Tour
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the QUANTUM CANNIBALS by Nathan Elberg Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
Title: QUANTUM CANNIBALS (Stories from the Milky Way Book 1)
Author: Nathan Elberg
Pub. Date: August 16, 2020
Publisher: Taiku
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 487
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org
In the Stone Age Arctic, Osnat, a brilliant, pregnant, quantum scientist knows where she is but she doesn’t know when. A mysterious technology has exiled her and her people across time to a frigid wasteland above the northern radiation belts. She and her husband Simon search for food, warmth, for any kind of help. They find instead a band of indigenous Tunniq who attack, rather than assist. Though she craves vengeance, Osnat realizes that the murderous savages are the help her people need to survive. The conflict between need and ideals tears at her as she learns their ways. Must Osnat become a brutal savage in order to save her people?
Quantum Cannibals weaves a series of intersecting stories that span time, from Bronze Age Mesopotamia to a Post-Modern city-state. It’s the epic story of three incarnations of two people: alternately son and mother, husband and wife, father and daughter, savage and scholar, who simply want to return to the home they were brutally evicted from. Quantum Cannibals brings together authentic cultures and history from the far reaches of the world, from the far reaches of time.
Reviews:
“Set over a large span of time: from Bronze Age Mesopotamia to a Post-Modern city-state, this debut of Nathan Elberg is a dazzling expedition into a treacherous past…Elberg’s outstanding fluency when writing in various characters’ voices, who are born in different time periods is instantly absorbing, and he is brilliant when it comes to developing the mythologies of different cultures and societies. He proficiently balances time travel and magic with precise historical research, complex plot, intricate worldbuilding, and top-of-the-line characterization.” —Prairies Book Review
“The author pulls it all together, however, in admirable fashion through solid characterization; the sweeping mix of science, mythology, history; and precise, yet metaphor-filled writing. Those willing to decipher it all will be greatly rewarded.” —Kirkus Reviews
Top 5 favorite books
Eyeless In Gaza
Some books are entertaining. Some are informative. Others are distractions. Very few are paradigm-changing. Eyeless In Gaza, by Aldous Huxley changed the way I look at the world but more so, the way I look at myself. The main character moves from life as a wealthy academic dilettante to focusing on his responsibility to other humans. Although I don’t wear his mantle of pacifism, his decision to accept the responsibility it carried is with me every day. If the Bible influenced me as much as Eyeless In Gaza, I’d be too holy to walk on the earth with mere mortals.
The multiple timelines of Eyeless In Gaza inspired my use of multiple timelines in Quantum Cannibals.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
This five-book trilogy (yes, that’s correct) is a riot. It’s intelligent, creative, entertaining, and surprisingly insightful. Douglas Adams explains the meaning of life (forty-two), how God gets the universe to do His will (reverse engineering) and how astrology operates (“It’s just a way of thinking about a problem which lets the shape of that problem begin to emerge.”)
The Hitchiker’s Guide was originally a BBC radio series. A sixth book was published after Adam’s death, written by Eoin Colfer and including material by Adams.
Faith of the Fallen (Sword of Truth series)
Once again the issue in this book is responsibility. Captured by a sorceress, a mighty wizard is stripped of his powers, taken from his army, his wife, from anyone who supports him. Brought as a poor man to a poor, unhappy village he carries out whatever task is forced on him. People come to rely on him, to trust him. He’s arrested, tortured, released, and then given another torture. The friends he’s made in the village admire him. Eventually his sense of responsibility inspires a revolt against oppressive and corrupt leaders.
The Sword of Truth series originally consisted of eleven thick, gripping epic fantasy novels. The last of these, Confessor wrapped up the struggle against one primary foe. Another eleven followed. I’d had enough of the series by then.
Kushiel’s Dart (first of series)
The main character of this series was born with a gift from angels/genetic anomaly which allowed her to recover quickly from injuries. This in turn enabled her to experience sexual pain as pleasure. Some scenes are so visceral that I had to put the book down and take a break.
Despite the repeated violence, Phédre is not a victim. Sold into servitude as a young girl, she rose in prominence to be a desired courtesan, a spy, and finally savior of the kingdom. This is a land shaped like ancient Europe but inspired by some references in the biblical book of Genesis.
A key religious belief in Phédre’s land is unrestricted sex: “love as thou wilt.” Such a value is repugnant to me, as is the sexual violence. In the hand of Jacqueline Carey, they became elements of an intelligent beautiful, sweeping story.
I’ve read and enjoyed other works by Carey, including some light-hearted books. I started reading her recent adventure fantasy Starless but gave up when it started beating me over the head with its wokeness.
The Empire of Kalman The Cripple
I’m prejudiced. This novel by my father is one of the two that were translated and published in English. The university publisher put little effort into promotion, and the English edition never got the attention it deserved. First written in Yiddish, it was translated and published in Hebrew, English, Spanish and German.
Kalman is a clever, obnoxious cripple living in a small Jewish-Polish village. A descendant of a pious and respected family, orphaned at a young age, he was raised by his recluse grandfather. We watch as he transforms himself into a generous, loving husband and father, a benefactor respected by the entire town.
My father used alternate timelines to present stories of Kalman’s ancestors: industrialist, supplier to the army, religious leader, financier… Kalman’s initial unpleasant character is an anomaly for his family. My father’s timelines were spread a few generations apart. In Quantum Cannibals, the timelines are separated by thousands of years.
About Nathan Elberg:
Nathan Elberg is a retired Realtor, anthropologist and recovered ex-radical. He lived & hunted with Indians and Inuit. He’s been tear-gassed, rebuilt his car’s transmission, had a bayonet in his face, and hitch-hiked across the continent.
Nathan has studied folklore, warfare, Kabbalah, primitive art and communications among other things. His essays and stories have been published in a variety of venues. Elberg studied with the late Dr. Michael Harner, a practicing shaman and recognized expert on cannibalism. Nathan’s father Yehuda Elberg was a world-renowned Yiddish author and lecturer. His mother was a poet and translator.
A descendent of the biblical King David, Nathan recently put aside his plan to rule the galaxy so he could devote more time to writing. He’s a member of the Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction Association and is active with the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research, a think tank.
Elberg’s been married for many decades and has been blessed with children and grandchildren.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub
Giveaway Details:
1 winner will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card courtesy of Rockstar Book Tours, International.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
| 5/30/2022 | Viviana MacKade | Guest Post |
| 5/30/2022 | BookHounds | Guest Post/IG Post |
| 5/31/2022 | Writer of Wrongs | Guest Post |
| 5/31/2022 | Two Chicks on Books | Excerpt |
| 6/1/2022 | @jaimerockstarbooktours | IG Post |
| 6/1/2022 | Lady Hawkeye | Excerpt/IG Post |
| 6/2/2022 | Emmiepooh2 | IG Review |
| 6/2/2022 | TMBA Corbett Tries to Write | Excerpt |
| 6/3/2022 | Fyrekatz Blog | Review |
| 6/3/2022 | #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog | Excerpt |
Week Two:
| 6/6/2022 | @just_another_mother_with_books | IG Review |
| 6/6/2022 | Jazzy Book Reviews | Excerpt/IG Post |
| 6/7/2022 | The Momma Spot | Excerpt |
| 6/7/2022 | Rajiv’s Reviews | Review/IG Post |
| 6/8/2022 | Fire and Ice | Review |
| 6/8/2022 | Sadie’s Spotlight | Excerpt/IG Post |
| 6/9/2022 | Books a Plen |
