FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[beenaamsa]

Originally Posted by itisbomb

Spinning Silver

by Naomi Novik

is $2.99 at Kobo U.S.

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/spinning-silver

Below is the blurb:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “One of the year’s strongest fantasy novels” (NPR), an imaginative retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale from the bestselling author of Uprooted.

NEBULA AND HUGO AWARD FINALIST • NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST FANTASY BOOKS OF THE DECADE • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • NPR • Time • Tordotcom • Popsugar • Vox • Vulture • Paste • Bustle • Library Journal

With the Nebula Award–winning Uprooted, Naomi Novik opened a brilliant new chapter in an already acclaimed career, delving into the magic of fairy tales to craft a love story that was both timeless and utterly of the now. Spinning Silver draws readers deeper into this glittering realm of fantasy, where the boundary between wonder and terror is thinner than a breath, and safety can be stolen as quickly as a kiss.

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father’s inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge of poverty—until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold. When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk—grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh—Miryem’s fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. She will face an impossible challenge and, along with two unlikely allies, uncover a secret that threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike.

To be fair, romance was not a major thread in Spinning Silver. It's lightly present in Miryem's storyline and to an extent in Irina's. Irina is a noblewoman whose father decides to use jewelry made from Staryk gold to make his daughter desirable to the unmarried czar.15-Jan-2019

[Kieran Seymour]

There's a Daily Deal on five Neil Gaiman novels today at Amazon UK - 99p each

American Gods / Anansi Boys / Neverwhere / The Ocean at the End of the Lane/ Stardust

Not a dud among them IMO.

[ZodWallop]

Gauntlgrym (The Legend of Drizzt Book 20) by R.A. Salvatore is $1.99 at Amazon US.

With nothing left to lose, Drizzt and Bruenor begin an arduous search for the lost dwarven kingdom of Gauntlgrym

The peace between the dwarves of Mithral Hall and the orcish Kingdom of Many-Arrows has not come without its costs. But even grief and old age cannot dissuade Bruenor Battlehammer from pursuing his dream of finding the fabled kingdom of Gauntlgrym—ruins said to be rich with ancient treasure and arcane lore. As always, Drizzt Do’Urden is at his side, ready to make the most of his friend’s final years.

But Jarlaxle and Athrogate are two steps ahead. In their own search for treasure and magic, Jarlaxle and Athrogate inadvertently set into motion a catastrophe that could spell disaster for the unsuspecting people of the city of Neverwinter—a catastrophe big enough to lure even the mercenary Jarlaxle into risking his own coin and skin to stop it. Unfortunately, the more they uncover about the secret of Gauntlgrym, the more it looks like they can’t stop it on their own. They’ll need help from the last people they ever thought to fight alongside again: Drizzt and Bruenor.

Gauntlgrym is the first book in the Neverwinter Saga and the twenty-third installment in the Legend of Drizzt series.

[salty-horse]

The Name of All Things (A Chorus of Dragons Book 2) by Jenn Lyons is $2.99 on Amazon.com

This is the sequel to The Ruin of Kings.

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by Tarana

Kim Harrison Bundle #1 By Kim Harrison $3.99 Amazon, Kobo and B&N

This bundle includes Dead Witch Walking, The Good, the Bad, and the Undead, Every Which Way But Dead, and A Fistful of Charms. Books 1-4 of Hollows series.

That's a fun series, and that's a good price.

[bookmarked]

Master of the Five Magics (Magic by the Numbers Book 1) by Lyndon Hardy is on sale for $2.99.

Alodar was a mere journeyman, learning the least of the five arts of magic. He had no right to aspire to the hand of Vendora, Queen of all of Procolon. But aspired by the lure of romance, he did.

Fleeing a frontier castle as it falls, Alodar's quest takes him from one magical art to another—each with its own distinct powers and constraints. Aided by a mysterious eye from a smoldering volcano, at a college for magicians he discovers the secret lying behind the hypnotic flicker of common flame.

Volume 1 of the Magic by the Numbers series

Master of the Five Magics -- a stirring tale of adventure,action, magic -- and romance.
In the tradition of Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague deCamp
A classsic fantasy, back in print after almost thirty years
Contains additional chapters, glossary, and author's afterward.

[GlennD]

Originally Posted by bookmarked

Master of the Five Magics (Magic by the Numbers Book 1) by Lyndon Hardy is on sale for $2.99.

I read these in high school and didn't even realize there were more past the third book. I reread the first two about a year ago, the rest is still languishing on my TBR pile. They're entertaining, with an interesting magic system. Definitely on the lighter side, the reference to Pratt/de Camp isn't a terrible one. I'd add Raymond Feist as another comparison.

[salty-horse]

The Ikessar Falcon by K. S. Villoso is $4.99 on Amazon.com

This is the sequel to The Wolf of Oren-Yaro. The last novel in this Filipino-inspired fantasy comes out next month.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by GlennD

I read these in high school and didn't even realize there were more past the third book. I reread the first two about a year ago, the rest is still languishing on my TBR pile. They're entertaining, with an interesting magic system. Definitely on the lighter side, the reference to Pratt/de Camp isn't a terrible one. I'd add Raymond Feist as another comparison.

I picked up the first 3 books from Kobo a while back. I enjoyed re-reading them but ghod, the covers! Nothing wrong with an enjoyable light read and fewer puns that another author who comes to mind.

[salty-horse]

Beasts of Tabat by Cat Rambo is $0.99 on Amazon.com
Book 3 in the quartet comes out next month.

When countryboy Teo arrives in the coastal city of Tabat, he finds it a hostile place, particularly to a boy hiding an enormous secret. It’s also a city in turmoil, thanks to an ancient accord to change governments and the rising demands of Beasts, the Unicorns, Dryads, Minotaurs and other magical creature on whose labor and bodies Tabat depends. And worst of all, it’s a city dedicated to killing Shifters, the race whose blood Teo bears.

When his fate becomes woven with that of Tabat’s most famous gladiator, Bella Kanto, his existence becomes even more imperiled. Kanto’s magical battle determines the weather each year, and the wealthy merchants are tired of the long winters she’s brought. Can Teo and Bella save each other from the plots that are closing in on them from all sides?

[maddz]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I picked up the first 3 books from Kobo a while back. I enjoyed re-reading them but ghod, the covers! Nothing wrong with an enjoyable light read and fewer puns that another author who comes to mind.

I've got the Del Rey editions of the first 3, and Amazon.co.uk as the first at £2.16 and the rest at £4.30 and up. It's been years since I read them.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I picked up the first 3 books from Kobo a while back. I enjoyed re-reading them but ghod, the covers! Nothing wrong with an enjoyable light read and fewer puns that another author who comes to mind.

Those new covers are atrocious!

I just now replaced those atrocities with the old covers. And presto! zingo! all the old memories return.

[ZodWallop]

Past Imperative by Dave Duncan is $1.99 at Amazon US. (First book in The Great Game trilogy.)

The Great Game of Gods is afoot in a world on the brink of madness... In the summer of 1914, a young man of reputation beyond reproach awakens under police guard—grievously injured and accused of heinous, impossible murder.

And in a strange, distant place, the youngest member of a penniless acting troupe has been taken prisoner by the loyal minions of a corrupt, vengeful goddess. For an ancient prophecy has divided the realm’s ruling deities into warring factions—a prophecy that mentions the crippled captive child and a youth recovering from inexplicable wounds in a British hospital bed.

The game weaves through worlds and dimensions as it has since time immemorial—a deadly contest of skill and manipulations that ruthlessly creates wizards, destroys human pawns, and transforms ordinary men, women, and children into something more.

The book really sounds interesting to me. But more than one reviewer says that the first third of the book is tedious, though it picks up later.

[ZodWallop]

Upon a Burning Throne by Ashok K. Banker $2.99 at Amazon US. A fantasy series from India. The synopsis sounds great. Those reviews though: whew!

Has anyone yet read the book? Are the Amazon reviews accurate?

From international sensation Ashok K. Banker, pioneer of the fantasy genre in India, comes the first book in a groundbreaking, epic fantasy series inspired by the ancient Indian classic, The Mahabharata

In a world where demigods and demons walk among mortals, the Emperor of the vast Burnt Empire has died, leaving a turbulent realm without an emperor. Two young princes, Adri and Shvate, are in line to rule, but birthright does not guarantee inheritance, for any successor must sit upon the legendary Burning Throne and pass The Test of Fire. Imbued with dark sorceries, the throne is a crucible—one that incinerates the unworthy.

Adri and Shvate pass The Test and are declared heirs to the empire . . . but there is another with a claim to power, another who also survives: a girl from an outlying kingdom. When this girl, whose father is the powerful demonlord Jarsun, is denied her claim by the interim leaders, Jarsun declares war, vowing to tear the Burnt Empire apart—leaving the young princes Adri and Shvate to rule a shattered realm embroiled in rebellion and chaos . . .

Welcome to the Burnt Empire Saga

[lkmiller]

There is a series of stories related to the Burnt Empire Saga online at Lightspeed Magazine. (Also available as podcasts.) After reading the first of them, I had no interest in reading the book. Based on the story, I could see those reviews for the book being accurate. But YMMV!