FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[pdurrant]

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is just £0.99 at Kobo UK (and probably at Amazon UK):

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-handmaid-s-tale-1

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

The Summer Tree (The Fionavar Tapestry #1) by Guy Gavriel Kay is £1 in the UK (Kobo, Amazon)

It's about time I read something by this author. This looks like a good starting point. Oh! My TBR!

[salty-horse]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

This looks like a good starting point.

IMO better to start with a standalone, rather than the debut novel that's the start of a trilogy.

People usually recommend The Lions of Al-Rassan, Tigana, or the Sarantine Mosaic (duology).

[salty-horse]

Chicano Frankenstein by Daniel A. Olivas is $2 on Amazon.com (only)

A modern retelling of the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley classic that addresses issues of belonging and assimilation

An unnamed paralegal, brought back to life through a controversial process, maneuvers through a near-future world that both needs and resents him. As the United States president spouts anti-reanimation rhetoric and giant pharmaceutical companies rake in profits, the man falls in love with lawyer Faustina Godínez. His world expands as he meets her network of family and friends, setting him on a course to discover his first-life history, which the reanimation process erased. With elements of science fiction, horror, political satire and romance, Chicano Frankenstein confronts our nation’s bigotries and the question of what it truly means to be human.

[curtw]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

When We Were Real by Daryl Gregory is $2 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
I read this when it was released. Recommended.

More Canterbury Tales, more Roadside Picnic, or something else?

[salty-horse]

Originally Posted by curtw

More Canterbury Tales, more Roadside Picnic, or something else?

I haven't read Roadside Picnic yet. (I know )

This is a lighthearted "feels" kind of story about different people going on a road trip, each with their own issues and agendas. The glitches are not horrific - they're just things that exist, and attract people to them (for different reasons).
And it's not a story-within-a-story.

[Cactus Chef]

The Darkwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist is $2 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)

Get all three fantasy novels in New York Times bestselling author Raymond E. Feist's the Darkwar Saga in one e-book, including: Flight of the Nighthawks, Into a Dark Realm, and Wrath of a Mad God. This explosive trilogy revisits Feist's signature worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan that ushers in the third, and most dramatic Riftwar yet: the Darkwar.

Somewhat tempted to try dipping my toes into Raymond Feist, but from reading the synopsis it seems like I'd be lost if I haven't read his previous Riftwar novels.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

The Darkwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist is $2 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)



Somewhat tempted to try dipping my toes into Raymond Feist, but from reading the synopsis it seems like I'd be lost if I haven't read his previous Riftwar novels.

What gives? The book image on that thing looks tall as hell !

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

The Darkwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist is $2 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)



Somewhat tempted to try dipping my toes into Raymond Feist, but from reading the synopsis it seems like I'd be lost if I haven't read his previous Riftwar novels.

It's not a good starting point. I'd recommended starting at the start with Magician.

[salty-horse]

The Poet Empress by Shen Tao is $3 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)

Debut author Shen Tao introduces readers to the lush, deadly world of The Poet Empress, a sweeping, epic and intimate fantasy perfect for fans of The Serpent & the Wings of Night, The Song of Achilles and She Who Became the Sun.

In the waning years of the Azalea Dynasty, the emperor is dying, the land consumed by famine, and poetry magic lost to all except the powerful.

Wei Yin is desperate. After the fifth death of a sibling, with her family and village on the brink of starvation, she will do anything to save those she loves.

Even offer herself as concubine to the cruel heir of the beautiful and brutal Azalea House.

But in a twist of fate, the palace stands on the knife-edge of civil war with Wei trapped in its center…at the side of a violent prince.

To survive, Wei must harden her heart, rely on her wit, and become dangerous herself. Even if it means becoming a poet in a world where women are forbidden to read—and composing the most powerful spell of all. A ballad of death...and love.

The Poet Empress is an epic fantasy that explores darker themes, subjects, and scenes that may not be suitable for all readers. Please see the author's content note at the beginning of the book.

[maddz]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It's not a good starting point. I'd recommended starting at the start with Magician.

I didn't finish Magician. I remember seeing it at Forbidden Planet back in the day and jibbing at the price - double the price of other paperbacks...

I picked it up in a 99p deal, started reading it, and went 'yuck'.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It's not a good starting point. I'd recommended starting at the start with Magician.

For anyone who wants to read Magician and you don't live in the UK, take the Kobo transport to the UK and buy it there because the UK version is one complete version instead of the version in the US which is split in two parts.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by maddz

I didn't finish Magician. I remember seeing it at Forbidden Planet back in the day and jibbing at the price - double the price of other paperbacks...

I picked it up in a 99p deal, started reading it, and went 'yuck'.

Then clearly that series isn't for you.

[salty-horse]

When There Are Wolves Again by E. J. Swift is £3 in the UK (Kobo, Amazon)
Critically acclaimed. Out today in paperback, so I think that's why it was discounted.

'Vivid, tremendous, unforgettable' - KIM STANLEY ROBINSON

Winner of the Best Novel Award from the British Science Fiction Association

Decades from now, two women sit beside a campfire and reflect on their life stories.

Activist Lucy's earliest memories are of living with her grandparents during the 2020 pandemic and discovering her grandmother's love of birds. Filmmaker Hester was born on the day of the Chornobyl explosion and visits the site years later to film its feral dogs in the Exclusion Zone. Here she meets Lux, the wolf dog who will give her life meaning.

Over half a century, their journeys take them from London to the Highlands to Somerset, through protests, family rifts, and personal tragedy. Lucy joins the fight to restore Britain's depleted natural habitats and revive the species who once shared the island, whilst Hester strives to give a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves.

Both dream of a time when there are wolves again.