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Friday 8 January 2016

Book Blast & Giveaway - Hedon by Jason Werbeloff

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Hedon
Author:
Jason Werbeloff
Genre: Dystopian Science Fiction

Book Description:
What if happiness were compulsory?
What if your thoughts were not your own?
Plunge into HEDON for soul-twisting sci-fi.

In 2051, the Bhutanese Empire rules post-apocalyptic Shangri with iron-fisted Buddhist compassion. Happiness is compulsory, but making everyone happy isn’t easy in an overpopulated world. Breeders are ghettoed, homosexuality is mandatory, and Shangrians’ happiness levels are strictly monitored by hedometers implanted in their heads. Become depressed, or feel too happy without helping others feel the same, and The Tax Man will get angry. Very angry.

Gemini and Cyan, winners of the pregnancy lottery, are on the run. Cyan can’t fall pregnant, and Gemini is addicted to the Experience Machine. Will they evade The Tax Man, and find a way to end the brutal pleasures of Shangri?

The lovechild of Brave New World and The Handmaid’s Tale, HEDON is gritty satire on a dystopia drunk with bigotry and positive thinking.

“A one of a kind dystopian novel.”
“As politically depraved as anyone could desire.”
“This is storytelling at its best”.
– ReadersFavorite.com 5 star review of HEDON

Hedon is FREE on Amazon today only. Grab your copy now!
 
Buy Links:


Excerpt

The day before his father died, Gemini had carried the old, old man to the summit of the district heap. Cardboard boxes, plastic packets, clothes hangers, rags, and a thousand other remnants of the past had sagged, crunched and scratched beneath Gemini’s bare feet. By the time he’d reached the top, he was out of breath. But it wasn’t the weight of his father in his arms, clinging to his neck. His father weighed less than a memory. No, it was the thought that this would be the last time they would share the view together.

The heap was higher than the ghetto Wall, higher than the Devas. From the top, they could see it all. Rows and rows, and rows, of tin shacks stretched behind them. And before them, a mile away, was the great Wall, brown as the earth. Beyond was the city, its brown-white spires shrouded in fog. Brown fog.

His father had looked at Gemini then. Really looked. Looked at him, his son, not as a war veteran. Not as someone from the past. “Boy,” his father’s voice was hollow, soaked up by the heap, “are you happy?”

The breath in Gemini had caught. Of course he was happy. Everyone was happy. It was Shangri. But his lips formed a different reply. “No,” he said, and stared out beyond the Wall. His cheeks burned.

“That’s okay, boy. They say they’re happy. But they’re not. Nobody is.”

Gemini swung his head to study his father’s eyes. The blasphemy. Sure, there was unrest here, in the ghetto. Sure, there was discontent. But few spoke such … such blatant heresy. Such negativity.

“Find a girl,” his father said, placing a veined hand on his son’s. “Be happy with her, but not too much. Never forget …” His head twitched. “Never forget that there is more.”

His father fell silent. Gemini scooped together a pillow of detritus so the dying man could lie comfortably as he stared out at the city. The city the old man had fought for, and lost.


About the Author
Human. Male. From an obscure planet in the Milky Way Galaxy. Sci-fi novelist with a PhD in philosophy. Likes chocolates, Labradors, and zombies (not necessarily in that order). Werbeloff spends his days constructing thought experiments, while trying to muster enough guilt to go to the gym.

He's written two novels, Hedon and The Solace Pill, and the short story anthology, Obsidian Worlds. His books will make your brain hurt. And you'll come back for more.

Subscribe to his newsletter to receive a free novel, and a lifetime of free and discounted stories: http://smarturl.it/werbeloff


Author Links:
Goodreads ¦ Facebook ¦ Website


***GIVEAWAY***


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22 comments:

  1. Thank you for featuring my book! Readers, note that the book is available for FREE download today from Amazon. Download it now by clicking here: http://smarturl.it/hedon?IQid=Jan16BB

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  2. thanks for the great giveaway and good luck with the book

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  3. It sounds like a great read. If you don't know what sadness is you can't appreciate being happy :)

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    1. Thanks, Judy. That's a really interesting point, and it's one of the central ideas I explore in the novel. One of the characters, Donys, is perfectly happy, or at least he thinks he is, until a series of calamities befall him. And it's only after those disasters that his life takes on meaning.

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  4. Love the author bio and that His books will make your brain hurt

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    1. Thank you! Hope you enjoy the book. You can grab a free copy today from Amazon - it's currently on promotion.

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  5. I love Jason's books! They do make your brain hurt, that's for sure.

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    1. Thank you, PJ. Good to hear from you again.

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  6. Hedon sounds awesome ♡ looking forward to reading this book. Thank you

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    1. Thank you, Linda. Hope you enjoy it. And please let me know what you think when you're done by submitting a review on Amazon/Goodreads. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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  7. Love the cover and excerpt.

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  8. Thank you, Solange! Don't forget to grab your free copy from Amazon today - it's currently on promotion.

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  9. This is now on my TBR list ask really like dystopian lit.

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  10. What an intriguing book! Thanks for sharing the great excerpt and for the free copy on Amazon.

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  11. Looks like a great book! Thanks for the giveaway.

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    1. Thank you, Jenny. The book is free on Amazon - currently on promotion - if you'd like to grab a copy.

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  12. On my reading list now. Thank you for featuring it.

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    1. Hope you enjoy the book, Deanne. Thank you for checking in.

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