Bargain @ 99 cents from small press imprint Canelo in Canada and also at least the UK when I checked (couponable/VIP-eligible at Kobo, seemed to be the same price at the other retailers when I spot-checked Amazon & Google Play CA):
Duncton Wood by British author William Horwood (
ISFDB,
Wikipedia), the 1st novel in his Duncton Chronicles series of anthropomorphized nature fantasy centred around an intelligent community of moles who live near the megaliths of Great Britain and apparently have an elaborate society and religion regarding, according to its
Wikipedia entry. This was originally published in 1980 by Country Life Books, then picked up and reprinted numerous times by Ballantine and Arrow, and made the 18th spot on the Locus Awards list for Best Fantasy Novel, and is probably technically children's/YA of some sort (ISTR old copies being in that library section a long time ago).
Apparently this is being discounted to promote the new e-prints (this one came out in January, and #3 which completes the first trilogy in the series was released just last month), which look to be relatively reasonably priced, given that they're couponable. ETA: this one was apparently written standalone, and then two sequels with related characters followed, and the second trilogy has a different cast and is set in the far future.
The epic million-copy bestseller, available as an ebook for the first time
The moles of Duncton Wood live in the shadow of Mandrake, a cruel tyrant corrupted by absolute power. A solitary young mole, Bracken, is thrown into leading the fight to free Duncton Wood. Only by putting his trust in the ancient Stone, forgotten symbol of a great spiritual past, can he find the strength to challenge Mandrake’s darkness.
When Bracken falls in love with Rebecca, Mandrake’s daughter, the moles must make life and death choices as their extraordinary search for freedom and truth begins… Together Bracken and Rebecca will embark on moving journey that will challenge them in ways they could never have imagined. But can they save Duncton before it’s too late?
Duncton Wood is the first instalment in The Duncton Chronicles, an unforgettable six-book series now widely regarded as a fantasy classic. For readers of J.R.R. Tolkien, Brian Jacques and Richard Adams’ Watership Down, this is a quest into the heart of nature, the redemptive power of love and the triumph of spirit.