Autographed Book Giveaway: ‘The Apothecary’s Curse’ by Barbara Barnett

The Apothecary’s Curse is Blogcritics Executive Editor-Publisher Barbara Barnett’s debut novel. And Blogcritics is giving away two autographed copies. Read on for more details.

Published by Prometheus Books imprint Pyr, The Apothecary’s Curse is a genre-bending fantasy that blends alchemy and genetics, science and mythology, fantasy and history as a Victorian gentleman physician and an apothecary try to prevent a pharmaceutical company from exploiting the book that made them immortal centuries ago.

Called “Anne Rice meets Michael Crichton” by the New York Times bestselling author Jay Bonasinga (of The Walking Dead novel series), and a “new narrative world lovingly created with an Old World touch” by Jane Espenson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica, Once Upon a Time), The Apothecary’s Curse tells the story of Gaelan Erceldoune, a brilliant apothecary in possession of an extraordinary and ancient book of healing, and Simon Bell, a Victorian physician and member of a great medical dynasty.

When the desperate Simon gives his dying wife an elixir created by Gaelan, it kills her. Suicidal, Simon swallows the remainder—only to find he cannot die. Every injury is healed with impossible speed; every attempt at suicide is foiled, no matter the method employed by the bereft widower. Five years later, hearing rumors of a Bedlam inmate with regenerative powers like his own, Simon is shocked to discover it is the apothecary. And the only hope of reversing Simon’s condition rests with Gaelan’s manuscript, which is now missing.

The story shifts between the Victorian narrative and one set in modern-day Chicago where pharmaceutical company Transdiff Genomics unearths diaries describing the torture of Bedlam inmates. After a tragic accident, the company’s scientists suspect a link between Gaelan and an unnamed inmate described in the nearly two-centuries-old diaries. But when Gaelan and Transdiff geneticist Anne Shawe are powerfully drawn to each other, her family connection to his manuscript leads to a stunning revelation. Will it bring ruin or redemption?

Barnes and Noble says this about The Apothecary’s Curse: “Combining a little of the transtemporal fatedness of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander with the sparring immortals from the Highlander film franchise, Barnett has created a unique urban fantasy that delivers pure magic intertwined with the quotidian demands of our daily lives—even if we are not all immortals.”

You can enter in one of two ways to win an autographed copy of the The Apothecary’s Curse

1) Follow @Blogcritics on Twitter and share this article using the hashtag #ApothecaryBC.

2) Share this article on your Facebook timeline with the hashtag #ApothecaryBC

See the following for details on how to enter.

CONTEST RULES AND INSTRUCTIONS

• You must be a U.S. resident to enter, and at least 18 years old.
• Follow @Blogcritics on Twitter (if you don’t already) and share this article on Twitter adding the hashtag #ApothecaryBC. Or follow Blogcritics on Facebook and share this article on your timeline with the hashtag #ApothecaryBC
• Entries must be received by midnight Eastern time on Friday, December 9, 2016.
• Employees and freelancers at Blogcritics or Critical Lens Media are not eligible.
• Winner will be drawn on or after Saturday December 10, 2016.
• Winner will be notified via Twitter or FB direct message.
• Please read our privacy policy.

You can follow Barbara Barnett on Twitter @B_Barnett, and you can learn more about The Apothecary’s Curse on Barbara’s official site.