Free/Bargain Science Fiction & Fantasy in June 2014

[pdurrant]

A thread for June.

We point out free and bargain SF/Fantasy titles to each other. Please don't post any self-published books*, and please do a search before posting to avoid duplicates.

Be aware that many freebies are only free for a day, so grab them fast!

*Unless you have read them yourself, think they are excellent, and you're not connected to the author in any way.

[worktolive]

Bite Me by Shelly Laurenston on sale for $2.99.

This is the latest release in her Pride shifter series, so this is a nice bargain.

[AnemicOak]

A couple of repeat L. Ron Hubbard freebies...

The Invaders Plan: Mission Earth Volume 1

Earth does not exist. . . .

Or so they want you to believe.

Who are they? What do they want? And who do they think they are?

They are the Voltarians of Voltar—an empire 110 planets strong.

They are already among us. And the invasion is about to begin . . . in a hundred years or so.

Or is it?

The truth is far more sinister. Undercover, underground and out of sight, the invaders plan what may in fact be a massive diversion. In the darkest recesses of Voltar’s Coordinated Information Apparatus (otherwise known as the CIA), a tyrant of terror sets out to exploit the invasion in order to seize power. All that stands in his way is a planet that doesn’t exist.

Discover a world where corporations rule and political corruption is rife. Where governments are driven by oil and controlled by drugs. Where global warming is getting hotter by the minute . . . and a scorching love affair could determine the fate of millions. Where a cosmic conspiracy is about to hit home and the intergalactic intrigue knows no bounds.

They call it Blito-P3. We call it Earth.

You can’t afford to look the other way. It’s the end of the world as you know it . . . and the beginning of one of the most spectacular, thought-provoking, and wildly inventive works of science fiction and espionage of our time.

Dead Men Kill (Stories from the Golden Age)

Detective Terry Lane is a standout homicide cop who thought he’d seen it all…until now.

As tough as Eliot Ness of The Untouchables—and just as incorruptible—Lane has seen the darkest side of human behavior. But he’s never seen a murder spree like this, targeting the wealthy, the powerful and the privileged. For the evidence is clear: the killers have not emerged from the seamy underside of the city…but from six feet under it. They are the walking dead, spreading terror and showing no mercy.

Following a trail of drugs, blackmail, and the twisted clues of a seductive nightclub singer, Detective Lane will have to think outside the box…or he could end up inside one, buried alive.

[Dngrsone]

I read the first five or six Mission Earth books. They were okay, but I just got tired of them after a while.

Battlefield Earth was better...

[rguion]

I saw that the Hugo Voter Packet was released a couple days ago. Anyone know if WoT ebooks are epub or mobi?

[Valhalla]

I believe they are epub and mobi but each format is one massive file. Still, it wouldn't be hard to split them up.

[odo]

Originally Posted by Valhalla

I believe they are epub and mobi but each format is one massive file. Still, it wouldn't be hard to split them up.

They are epub and prc, yes. 28MB and 81MB, iirc.

[Calenorn]

At Barnes & Noble:

The Barbed Crown (Ethan Gage Series #6) by William Dietrich for $1.99.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-...=9780062194077

Historical fiction flavored with hints of things mystical and mysterious. Does it qualify as fantasy? I'm not sure, but the first novel in this series was a lot of fun.

[Pax]

Originally Posted by rguion

I saw that the Hugo Voter Packet was released a couple days ago. Anyone know if WoT ebooks are epub or mobi?

How do I get that? Is this a bargain?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Pax

How do I get that? Is this a bargain?

You have to be a member of the Science Fiction WorldCon that's being held in London this year. Associate memberships are a moderate price and give you voting rights for the Hugos.

It also gets you electronic copies of (most of) the Hugo nominees.

Of course, the authors get no direct income from the books in the Hugo Voter packets. I wouldn't just sign up to get the books, since the payment isn't for the books, it's for membership and voting rights.

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

I read the first five or six Mission Earth books. They were okay, but I just got tired of them after a while.

Battlefield Earth was better...

I read them all a few years back (had actually started them as a kid, but library didn't have them all and never finished them). They aren't bad, but they really needed some serious editing to pare things down. The way I put it was "they needed to be edited with an axe."

If they had been pared down to say 3-4 volumes from 10, they'd have been quite excellent.

Originally Posted by Pax

How do I get that? Is this a bargain?

You need a membership with the 2014 World Science Fiction Convention held in London this year. A supporting membership will allow you to vote but doesn't give attendance rights. I had to hunt down the price on another page, but it's £25 (US$40 / €35) for the supporting membership. With that you can download the voting packet and vote for the Hugo awards.

[Manabi]

Phoenix Pick's June book of the month (pay what you want, even free) is Brain Plague by Joan Slonczewski.

This book won universal critical acclaim from critics and readers alike. It's the fourth (and totally independent) book in the Elysium Cycle. Books two and three are offered in the package deal below. Book one (A Door Into Ocean) is published by a different publishing house.

“In Joan Slonczewski’s Brain Plague ... a starving artist on the planet Veledon agrees to let a colony of 'brain enhancers' occupy her skull. These microscopic creatures live in the brain’s outer linings, causing bursts of genius—or irreparable harm. The creatures themselves are like tiny human beings; one of their greatest concerns is getting their young to breed.”—The New Yorker

“Slonczewski shows imaginative breadth of vision in her depiction of nanotechnology’s pervasive impact on Fold civilization ... her narrative, though hip-deep in biotech jargon, is rich in subtle analyses of the relationships between individuals and societies, art and life, the organic and inorganic, health and disease, free will and personal responsibility, and spiritual and scientific aspirations.”—Publishers Weekly

“A most compelling and engrossing read.”—SF Site

“One of the most interesting SF novels I have read in a long time ... Not to be missed.”—Nancy Kress

“Fascinating, flawlessly developed, meticulously detailed.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Slonczewski’s world building is magnificent”—Booklist

Additionally, you can get that book together with the other two Elysium Cycle novels that Phoenix Pick publishes in a bundle for a minimum price of $4.99. (Daughter of Elysium and The Children Star) This offer is on the same page, just lower down.

Unfortunately, book one is published by another publisher, so it's not available with this deal.

[itisbomb]

Seven Forges (Seven Forges Series #1)
by James A. Moore

is today's Nook Daily Find. It can be downloaded for $2.99.

Below is the blurb:
Those who forget the past are destined to be haunted by it. In the start of this epic fantasy series from James A. Moore (The Blasted Lands), Captain Merros Dulver discovers a path beyond the mountains known as the Seven Forges and finds a forgotten race who live there--and appear to have been expecting him. This discovery may have consequences, as the gods of this race are the gods of war.

[stutzj]

Theft of Swords by Michael J Sullivan is on sale for 2.99:

http://www.amazon.com/Swords-Riyria-...ael+j+sullivan

I read the first novel in the 2 book volume and really enjoyed. Really great light fantasy read.

[kyrilson]

Malice by John Gwynne is on sale for Kindle for $1.99.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...KMH4SQMTBLTJ5X

BTW, this is a Hatchette book, so I'm a little confused as to why this is discounted considering the war that's going on between Amazon and Hatchette.