Free and Bargain SciFi/Fantasy in November 2012

[NightBird]

Free from Story Merchant - Upon This World of Stone
by James A. Hillebrecht.

THE SECOND BOOK IN THE PALADIN TRILOGY

The Juggernaut has smashed its way across the Plains of Alencia to the very walls of Jalan’s Drift. But even as Darius rallies the forces of the Southlands to oppose it, questions begin to arise as a darker and more sinister purpose begins to make itself known. Mraxdavar the Great, Eldest of Dragons, heeds the call to render aid, but are dragons coming to the succor of their deadliest foes, mankind, simply at the behest of one human wizard? Duke Argus barters for the aid of the murderous priests of a renegade god, but are the blackest and most powerful summonings of their deity to be handed to a mortal lord merely for his personal advancement? And did the demonic scepter, the Ohric, actually exert all this time and power merely to enable a barbarian horde to break a single city, even one as large and rich as Jalan’s Drift?

In this second novel of the Paladin Trilogy, Darius struggles to understand the significance of these questions, while the unlikely team of the thief Adella and Shannon, Darius’ teen-aged Daughter, is diverted to an isolated castle where the Tyrant Regnar holds the power that has enslaved the states of the Plains of Alencia.


THE PALADIN TRILOGY

Three Novels of Heroism

Juggernaut, a weapon of the ancient wars, bursts forth from a shattered vault deep beneath the mountains to smash its way through the walls of castles and cities alike, clearing the path for the conquest of the barbarian horde of Alacon Regnar. In answer comes a single warrior, Darius Inglorion, riding a great stallion, wearing antiquated armor, and armed with a living sword, Sarinian the Avenger to rally the divided principalities which lie paralyzed before this terrible armada. Darius is a Paladin, a holy warrior, who overcomes treachery and accusations of heresy to stir the hearts of men and lead them to fight the invaders to a bloody standstill. But it is then that the true purpose for the release of the Juggernaut explodes upon all involved, and Paladin and monstrosity alike are revealed as naught but pawns in a far greater Game, a Game for dominion of all the world.

Other books in the series $3.99 each.

[NightBird]

Robert Rankin's The Gollancz Collection - Eight books - is on sale.

List price $41.59

Amazon has it for $33.27.

BOB $31.28 plus $3.44 rebate.

Kobo $29.99 minus any available coupon (Bargainmoose40 for $40% off still working = $17.99 = $2.25 per book).

Eight books from the master of fantasy humour, collected into one bundle at a great price.

Contains eight fantastic novels: THE HOLLOW CHOCOLATE BUNNIES OF THE APOCALYPSE, THE WITCHES OF CHISWICK, KNEES UP MOTHER EARTH, THE BRIGHINOMICON, THE TOYMINATOR, THE DA-DA-DE-DA-DA CODE, NECROPHENIA and RETROMANCER.

The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse

Toy Town—older, bigger, and certainly not wiser. The Old Rich, who have made their millions from the royalties on their world-famous nursery rhymes, are being murdered one by one. A psychopath is on the loose, and he must be stopped at any cost. It’s a job for Toy Town’s only detective—but he’s missing, leaving only Eddie Bear, and his bestest friend Jack, to track down the mad killer.

The Witches of Chiswick

A great and sinister conspiracy exists to keep mankind from uncovering the truth about its past. The Victorian authors and artists, for instance, did not simply dream up their various fantastic futuristic fictions; instead, their ideas were all based upon fact. The war of the worlds was a true account of real events; Captain Nemo's Nautilus even now lies rusting at the bottom of the North Sea; and there really was an invisible man. Furthermore, Queen Victoria had a sexual relationship with Dr. Watson, the elephant man was a product of an E.T./human hybridization program, and Jack the Ripper was a terminator robot sent from the future. In actuality, a cabal of Victorian Witches from the Chiswick Townswomen's Guild—working with advanced Babbage super-computers—rewrote 19th-century history. But now a 23rd-century boy called Will Starling has uncovered the truth about everything.

Knees Up Mother Earth (Brentford Trilogy)

Developers are planning to destroy Brentford's beloved football grounds. Something must be done, and the lads of The Flying Swan, Brentford’s celebrated drinking house, take up the challenge. Norman has recently discovered a Victorian computer that holds the secrets of the super-technology of a bygone age, and Archroy, Brentford’s lone explorer, has just returned from his seventh voyage, bringing with him the fabled Golden Fleece. Surely, with these stalwarts working for the cause, the field is as good as saved. But this is Brentford, and the ancient forces of evil—Old Testament horrors, beasties from the bottomless pit, that sort of evil—are stirring.

The Brightonomicon (Brentford Trilogy)

Having been thrown from Brighton Pier by the leader of The Canvey Island Mod Squad, the hero narrowly escapes drowning thanks to the Perfect Master, the self-styled Logos of the Aeon—not to mention the reinventer of the Ocarina—also known as Hugo Rune. The hero has lost his memory, and in desperation he agrees to join The Lad Himself in the solving of 12 mysteries based upon The Brightonomicon, the new zodiac signs formed by the alignment of Brighton streets. Together they must find the Chronovision before it falls into the wrong hands and affords ultimate power to the would-be world dictator Count Otto Black.

The Toyminator

Somewhere over the rainbow and just off the Yellow Brick Road stands Toy City, and things are not going well for the city's inhabitants. There have been outbreaks of STC—Spontaneous Toy Combustion—and there are strange portents in the Heavens. The preachers of Toy City's many religions are predicting that the End Times are approaching and that a Toy City Apocalypse will soon come to pass. With the body count rising and the forces of law and order baffled, it is time for a heroic duo to step forward and save the day. Eddie Bear, Toy City Private Eye, and his loyal sidekick Jack must face their biggest challenge yet: to save not only toykind, but the world of mankind too.

The Da Da De Da Da Code

The world's Master of Far-Fetched Fiction takes us into the heart of the Da Da De Da Da Code, wherein lies the music of the angels—and the music of the devil. Aliens, flying saucers from hell, the Multiverse, the Illuminati—every wacky, way-out conspiracy theory ever heard are all here, wrapped into a plot that will leave Dan Brown fans breathless, Michael Shea readers stupefied, and Raymond Khoury lovers incredulous.

Necrophenia

The symptoms have been studied; the diagnosis is confirmed; the prognosis is bleak. The universe will cease to exist in just 12 hours—12 hours during which all of the loose ends must be tied up, all of the Big Questions answered, and all of the Ultimate Truths revealed. It promises to be a somewhat hectic half-day—during which a Brentford shopkeeper will complete a sitting room for God, a Chiswick woman will uncover the Metaphenomena of the Multiverse, an aging super villain will put the finishing touches to his plans for transdimensional domination, serious trouble will break out at the New Messiah's Convention in Acton, and a Far-Fetched Fiction author will receive Divine Enlightenment. Will the universe end with a bang or a whimper—or something else entirely, possibly involving a time-traveling Elvis Presley with a sprout in his head?

Retromancer

In the newest madcap adventure from Robert Rankin, history has gone askew and it's up to the one and only Hugo Rune to face down aliens and monsters galore in order to put everything in its right place

There is big and evil magic upon the face of the Earth, and history has consequently been changed. The Germans have won World War II; America is a nuclear wasteland; and worst of all the breakfast menu at the Wife's Legs Café in Brentford is serving bratwurst rather than the proper British sausage. When the world is all wrong and it needs setting right, the only hope left is Hugo Rune, a man who offers the world his genius and asks only that his expenses be covered. Hugo, also known as the hokus bloke, the Lad Himself, and the Retromancer, sets out to rewrite history the way it should be, with the aid of his faithful acolyte and companion Rizla. Together they return to war-torn London to solve the 12 cosmic conundrums based upon Hugo's personal tarot deck, each mystery leading them closer to a final terrifying confrontation. They must match their wits against beautiful spies, advanced alien technology, killer robots, and death rays; do battle with an ancient god; and come face to face once more with Hugo Rune's arch-enemy, the sinister Count Otto Black.

Re: Robert Rankin:

Robert Fleming Rankin (born 27 July 1949) is a prolific British humorous novelist. Born in Parsons Green, London...

His books are a mix of science fiction, fantasy, the occult, urban legends, running gags, metafiction, steampunk and outrageous characters. According to the (largely fictional) biography printed in some Corgi editions of his books, Rankin refers to his style as 'Far Fetched Fiction' in the hope that bookshops will let him have a section to himself. Many of Rankin's books are bestsellers.

Most of Rankin's books are set in Brentford, a suburb of London where the author grew up, and which, in his novels, is usually infested with alien conspiracies and/or ancient evil.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Rankin

[BelleZora]

Dodger by Terry Pratchett is 2.99 today at Amazon US and Barnes & Noble

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by NightBird

Robert Rankin's The Gollancz Collection - Eight books - is on sale.

List price $41.59

Amazon UK has it for £19.99.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by BelleZora

Dodger by Terry Pratchett is 2.99 today at Amazon US and Barnes & Noble

If that offer was also in the UK, I'm afraid it would have broken my resolve to not buy any more books before 1st February 2013.

Luckily (?) it's not.

[BelleZora]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

If that offer was also in the UK, I'm afraid it would have broken my resolve to not buy any more books before 1st February 2013.

Luckily (?) it's not.

Sorry. How well I know the confusion of finding a great book on sale while cracking despite the resolution to stand firm.

[KentE]

Originally Posted by BelleZora

Dodger by Terry Pratchett is 2.99 today at Amazon US and Barnes & Noble

Thanks for this, BelleZora! My wife is a big Pratchett fan, and it's to be delivered to her 'virtual stocking' Christmas Eve!
KentE