FREE/BARGAIN - Science Fiction, Fantasy - 2015

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

I just finished it, HIGHLY recommended by me. An interesting organization, it isn't a traditional 'linear' story, it's more episodic in nature but still manages to tell the story. I don't know that I'd want a steady diet of this sort of organization, but it made for a fun change of pace.

That book was actually published serially, each chapter sold stand-alone as eBooks for 99 cents. Then once it was finished, it was combined and sold both as a print book and an eBook. That's why it reads that way, it wasn't really written as a traditional book.

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

I see that this book is #5 in the Old Man's War series - do they need to be read in order? I'm currently reading Locked In and enjoying it, but I don't know if I want to have to read a series that's currently on book 6.

You don't have to read them in order, but you will miss a lot of context and it will spoil some things for you, in particular the events of The Last Colony, the book that precedes it. The whole series is well worth a read, Scalzi's writing is funny and entertaining and the Old Man's War universe is quite an interesting one. If you like Locked In, you will probably like everything he's written. The witty character dialogue is in basically all of them.

BTW, the big publishing deal he signed recently includes a sequel to Locked In in the future!

[DrNefario]

The Clarke Award-winning Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel is £1.79 at Amazon UK as part of the new monthly deals, presumably until the first Tuesday in August.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

The Clarke Award-winning Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel is £1.79 at Amazon UK as part of the new monthly deals, presumably until the first Tuesday in August.

Thank you. Not an author I've heard of, but worth a punt at that price.

One of my pet hates, though, is publishers who use the Amazon description of a book to reproduce screens and screens full of "reviews" of the book before deigning to tell you what it's actually about right at the very bottom .

[Apache]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Thank you. Not an author I've heard of, but worth a punt at that price.

One of my pet hates, though, is publishers who use the Amazon description of a book to reproduce screens and screens full of "reviews" of the book before deigning to tell you what it's actually about right at the very bottom .

One of mine too.
Apache

[scottken]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Thank you. Not an author I've heard of, but worth a punt at that price.

One of my pet hates, though, is publishers who use the Amazon description of a book to reproduce screens and screens full of "reviews" of the book before deigning to tell you what it's actually about right at the very bottom .

Station Eleven is a terrific book. Great characters and a really novel story structure.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by scottken

Station Eleven is a terrific book. Great characters and a really novel story structure.

Thanks! I reckon any winner of the Clarke award is worth taking a chance on.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Thanks! I reckon any winner of the Clarke award is worth taking a chance on.

Apparently, this was a finalist for the National Book Award (2014), in one of their categories.

[Mort1997]

Originally Posted by HarryT

One of my pet hates, though, is publishers who use the Amazon description of a book to reproduce screens and screens full of "reviews" of the book before deigning to tell you what it's actually about right at the very bottom .

I usually don't bother with the book as I haven't the patience to wade through the waffle to find out if the story interests me!

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

It's set in that universe and tangentially related to the other books and knowing the previous books is not essential, but I think you'll wish you had read "Old Man's War" for basic background info.

Originally Posted by Manabi

That book was actually published serially, each chapter sold stand-alone as eBooks for 99 cents. Then once it was finished, it was combined and sold both as a print book and an eBook. That's why it reads that way, it wasn't really written as a traditional book.


You don't have to read them in order, but you will miss a lot of context and it will spoil some things for you, in particular the events of The Last Colony, the book that precedes it. The whole series is well worth a read, Scalzi's writing is funny and entertaining and the Old Man's War universe is quite an interesting one. If you like Locked In, you will probably like everything he's written. The witty character dialogue is in basically all of them.

BTW, the big publishing deal he signed recently includes a sequel to Locked In in the future!

You've convinced me! I'll buy The Human Division now and put the others on wish list and see if they go on sale too.

Edit: I just bought it and Amazon's one click system never ceases to amaze me. I can buy a book with no password, but in order to view the details of my order, I need to enter my password.

[itisbomb]

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
by Catherynne M. Valente

is $2.99 at

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/eb...her-own-making
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004GH...her+own+making

Below is the blurb:
"One of the most extraordinary works of fantasy, for adults or children, published so far this century."--Time magazine, on the Fairyland series

Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn't . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.
With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Ana Juan, Fairyland lives up to the sensation it created when author Catherynne M. Valente first posted it online. For readers of all ages who love the charm of Alice in Wonderland and the soul of The Golden Compass, here is a reading experience unto itself: unforgettable, and so very beautiful.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is a Publishers Weekly Best Children's Fiction title for 2011.

[ATDrake]

X-link to the DRM-free megathread:

Free from Wildside Press: The Evelyn E. Smith Science Fiction MINIPACK™ mini-collection of 9 50s-era Golden Age sci-fi stories by a vintage author probably best known for her mysteries (and pseudonymous gothic romances).

Also, Humble Bundle is giving away some kind of freebie sci-fi alien adventure game as a sampler for their current main-page bundle.

[cromag]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

X-link to the DRM-free megathread:

Free from Wildside Press: The Evelyn E. Smith Science Fiction MINIPACK™ mini-collection of 9 50s-era Golden Age sci-fi stories by a vintage author probably best known for her mysteries (and pseudonymous gothic romances).

Also, Humble Bundle is giving away some kind of freebie sci-fi alien adventure game as a sampler for their current main-page bundle.

Thanks! I'm a big fan!

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

X-link to the DRM-free megathread:

Free from Wildside Press: The Evelyn E. Smith Science Fiction MINIPACK™ mini-collection of 9 50s-era Golden Age sci-fi stories by a vintage author probably best known for her mysteries (and pseudonymous gothic romances).

Also, Humble Bundle is giving away some kind of freebie sci-fi alien adventure game as a sampler for their current main-page bundle.

Got it.

Thank you!

[mewmartigan]

Artifact by Gregory Benford is at Amazon US for $0.99. I read it before the days of Kindles and enjoyed it. Good hard sci-fi.

http://www.amazon.com/Artifact-Grego...regory+benford

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mewmartigan

Artifact by Gregory Benford is at Amazon US for $0.99. I read it before the days of Kindles and enjoyed it. Good hard sci-fi.

http://www.amazon.com/Artifact-Grego...regory+benford

Excellent book; I read it last week.