FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

^


Yes, but I would occasionally like to see a paradigm shift in these 'epic' fantasy novels:

I want Hansel and Gretel put into a cauldron with a hearty supply of onions and carrots.

I would like to see the villain succeed and the heroes utterly destroyed - or become undead.

I would like to see the heroes take a short journey (preferably around the block), and then they go home and make love or watch television - perhaps both at the same time and/or with each other - until the next threat in their kingdom.

Now, I ask you: Is that asking too much? Huh?

Yes, that would be great. I know I've wanted to read books where the good guys lose. Where they get utterly slaughtered. We have too many good guys win books and because of that, we know the endings before they happen. The good guys win, the bad guys lose and everyone lives happily ever after except the bad guys. If someone was to write an epic fantasy where the bad guys win, that's going to be a book we won't see the ending coming.

[salty-horse]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If someone was to write an epic fantasy where the bad guys win, that's going to be a book we won't see the ending coming.

If you want it to be a surprise, how can we recommend anything of the sort?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

If you want it to be a surprise, how can we recommend anything of the sort?

But are there such books?

[brouer]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

Lots of stuff in the Amazon.com US daily deal, including many Brandon Sanderson and Leigh Bardugo novels.

I will highlight A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark, $2.99 - Link
I bought it a few days ago, which probably triggered this sale, so you're welcome.
The other short stories and novella set in the same universe are excellent.

Dang. I got here to late

I didn't know there were more stories in that universe.

I loved A Dead Djinn in Cairo: https://www.tor.com/2016/05/18/a-dead-djinn-in-cairo/


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[salty-horse]

Originally Posted by brouer

Dang. I got here to late

I didn't know there were more stories in that universe.

I loved A Dead Djinn in Cairo

There's also The Angel of Khan el-Khalili (recently republished for free on Tor.com), and the novella The Haunting of Tram Car 015, which has humorous bent.
Kevin Hong, who illustrated the Dead Djinn cover for Tor.com, and later the Angel of Khan el-Khalili, was later hired by Subterranean Press to create more illustrations - you can peek at those here once you're done.

[salty-horse]

The Dragonriders of Pern: Dragonflight / Dragonquest / The White Dragon by by Anne McCaffrey is $2.99 on Amazon.com
This is a collection of all the Dragonriders of Pern books.

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow is $2.99 on Amazon.com
Fairytale retelling. Standalone, but there's a loosely-connected sequel coming.

It's Zinnia Gray's twenty-first birthday, which is extra-special because it's the last birthday she'll ever have. When she was young, an industrial accident left Zinnia with a rare condition. Not much is known about her illness, just that no-one has lived past twenty-one.

Her best friend Charm is intent on making Zinnia's last birthday special with a full sleeping beauty experience, complete with a tower and a spinning wheel. But when Zinnia pricks her finger, something strange and unexpected happens, and she finds herself falling through worlds, with another sleeping beauty, just as desperate to escape her fate.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Manabi

My brain first read that as "Big Bird" and it was quite the hilarious mental image.

Big bad Big Bird?

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But are there such books?

I mentioned one already.

There's also Mark Waid's graphic novel, Empire, set in a world where the supervillain was successful and rules the Earth.

There's others.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Yes, that would be great. I know I've wanted to read books where the good guys lose. Where they get utterly slaughtered.

Watch the Italian western The Great Silence.

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But are there such books?

"The Black Company" series?

[brouer]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

There's also The Angel of Khan el-Khalili (recently republished for free on Tor.com), and the novella The Haunting of Tram Car 015, which has humorous bent.

Kevin Hong, who illustrated the Dead Djinn cover for Tor.com, and later the Angel of Khan el-Khalili, was later hired by Subterranean Press to create more illustrations - you can peek at those here once you're done.

Excellent. Thanks a lot.

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[DNSB]

Originally Posted by ratinox

"The Black Company" series?

Not sure if the Black Company qualified as villains. To me, they were more in the grey area of just trying to survive.

[salty-horse]

Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn begins many years after the heroes have failed, and the world is ruled by an immortal villain. His comic, Dark One (recently on sale) also has an evil ruler as its protagonist. There are many stories from the villiain's point of view.

As for stories where the good guys fail at the end (rather than in the middle of a series, which is common), I can't think of any. I have some examples of a Pyrrhic victory where the protagonists are left broken AFTER defeating the big bad. This reddit thread on the same question brings up grimdark series.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

As for stories where the good guys fail at the end (rather than in the middle of a series, which is common), I can't think of any.

*Ahem* Watch the Italian western The Great Silence.

Also, Watchmen.

[salty-horse]

I read Watchmen - it's a good example, although it's a mystery where the characters don't really know what they're fighting for most of it, and the bad guy isn't looking to destroy or rule the world, so maybe not a perfect fit, if I get what the question was going for.

I didn't think we're including movies, but I'll check this one out