FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

In what sense would you say they're important? Did they influence many other works that succeeded them? Was it a proto-grimdark?
In any case, I don't think people should care that much about whether or not a work is influential or not, when deciding if they should read it (or look positively at stuff they have previously read, in this case.) There are lost of good books to read and many modern works can be much better than the "canon" that inspired them.

Yeah, the books aren't nearly as influential as the TV series. The show has influenced all of TV, from the way tv shows open to the way "cliffhangers" are viewed by the public.

It's my personal opinion that, for cultural influence, the books pale in comparison to the TV show. The show was a 'game changer', the books are merely a good story that will never be finished.

[lkmiller]

At the time the first books came out in the 90's, they were definitely game changers in the fantasy genre. Characters were often very black and white, good vs evil. GRRM's characters are grey -- no one all good or all bad. Also, having chapters from different pov's is common now, but not then.

[Kieran Seymour]

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

Free


Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours by David Mack

Aboard the Starship Shenzhou, Lieutenant Michael Burnham, a human woman raised and educated among Vulcans, is promoted to acting first officer. But if she wants to keep the job, she must prove to Captain Philippa Georgiou that she deserves to have it.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQ0N509

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MQ0N509

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[jhowell]

I am not sure if this is the right place to post this because it is not yet available, but...

In a press release Amazon announced a new 6-part science fiction collection, Forward, which will a available free to Prime and Kindle Unlimited customers on September 17 on both Kindle and Audible.

Andy Weir (Artemis, The Martian) imagines a high-tech Las Vegas casino heist; Paul Tremblay (The Cabin at the End of the World) immerses readers in a patient’s mysteriously slow healing process; Amor Towles (A Gentleman in Moscow)explores a fertility clinic’s god-like abilities to alter an unborn child’s life path; Veronica Roth (Divergent trilogy) spins a story of finding connection in the face of our world’s certain destruction; N.K. Jemisin (The Broken Earth series) subverts all expectations when an explorer returns to the ravaged Earth his ancestors fled; and Blake Crouch (Dark Matter) follows a video game designer whose character Maxine unexpectedly “wakes up.”

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

Free


Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours by David Mack

Aboard the Starship Shenzhou, Lieutenant Michael Burnham, a human woman raised and educated among Vulcans, is promoted to acting first officer. But if she wants to keep the job, she must prove to Captain Philippa Georgiou that she deserves to have it.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQ0N509

I get "This title is not currently available for purchase"

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I get "This title is not currently available for purchase"

I get that, too, until I actually click on 'Kindle'.

(Please do a refresh: ADDED)
But the price is $11.99

Huh?

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

In what sense would you say they're important? Did they influence many other works that succeeded them? Was it a proto-grimdark?

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

...the books are merely a good story that will never be finished.

I'm not a fantasy fan myself and don't have plans to read A Song of Ice and Fire, but I think you're giving short shrift to the books. As if the success of the TV series has no relation to Martin's storytelling skills.

Before the show premiered in 2011, the series were bestsellers that were garnering praise from literary critics who normally don't care about fantasy.

Even if there were no TV show, the books would be a fantasy masterwork (and the series would likely have been finished).

Respect. That's all I'm saying.

[GlennD]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

At the time the first books came out in the 90's, they were definitely game changers in the fantasy genre. Characters were often very black and white, good vs evil. GRRM's characters are grey -- no one all good or all bad. Also, having chapters from different pov's is common now, but not then.

I have not read GoT so I cannot comment on Martin's writing skills. But everything you're describing is also true of the Wheel of Time, which was seven books in by the time the first book of GoT was published. I've always perceived GoT as following the trend of doorstop epic fantasy already established by Robert Jordan.

[BetterRead]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

Yes, it's awful to have read some of the best and most important fantasy books in decades.

I read the first 3 books twice, so I don't know what you're blathering about. (Also, many fans consider the 4th & 5th books to be the weakest, especially #4).

I simply decided to not invest any more time into a series that will likely never be completed.

[tubemonkey]

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[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by GlennD

I have not read GoT so I cannot comment on Martin's writing skills. But everything you're describing is also true of the Wheel of Time, which was seven books in by the time the first book of GoT was published. I've always perceived GoT as following the trend of doorstop epic fantasy already established by Robert Jordan.

Wheel of Time is still clear cut good vs evil. Not so with A Song of Ice and Fire. But I am glad we'll get the TV show conclusion soon because I'm tired of waiting for Martin.

[tch65721]

Originally Posted by BetterRead

I simply decided to not invest any more time into a series that will likely never be completed.

So did I for exactly the same reason. I felt just the same about the Wheel of Time series. In fact, these two examples are the reason I try to avoid any series unless it is complete with all parts readily available.

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by BetterRead

I read the first 3 books twice, so I don't know what you're blathering about. (Also, many fans consider the 4th & 5th books to be the weakest, especially #4).

Which of these is the one with the "there's no way he could have survived that!" ending? After 2000-odd pages (two books' worth) of not much happening? That's the last one I read. Because...

I simply decided to not invest any more time into a series that will likely never be completed.

... I decided to stop wasting my time with the Waste of Time.

Also, Jordan didn't establish doorstop fiction. That most likely was L. Ron Hubbard.

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I get that, too, until I actually click on 'Kindle'.

(Please do a refresh: ADDED)
But the price is $11.99

Huh?

Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours by David Mack

seems to be free in UK only!

Was $1.99 in January 2018

Sorry

[salty-horse]

Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen is $1.99 on Amazon.com

Lila Bowen is a pen name of Delilah S. Dawson.
First in a (completed) fantasy western series of 4 books.

A rich, dark fantasy of destiny, death and the supernatural world hiding beneath the surface.

Nettie Lonesome lives in a land of hard people and hard ground dusted with sand. She's a half-breed who dresses like a boy, raised by folks who don't call her a slave but use her like one. She knows of nothing else. That is, until the day a stranger attacks her. When nothing, not even a sickle to the eye can stop him, Nettie stabs him through the heart with a chunk of wood and he turns to black sand.

And just like that, Nettie can see.

But her newfound sight is a blessing and a curse. Even if she doesn't understand what's under her own skin, she can sense what everyone else is hiding—at least physically. The world is full of evil, and now she knows the source of all the sand in the desert. Haunted by the spirits, Nettie has no choice but to set out on a quest that might lead her to find her true kin . . . if the monsters along the way don't kill her first.