FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[ZodWallop]

Dragonflight: Volume I in The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey is $1.99 at Amazon US.

On a beautiful world called Pern, an ancient way of life is about to come under attack from a myth that is all too real. Lessa is an outcast survivor—her parents murdered, her birthright stolen—a strong young woman who has never stopped dreaming of revenge. But when an ancient threat to Pern reemerges, Lessa will rise—upon the back of a great dragon with whom she shares a telepathic bond more intimate than any human connection. Together, dragon and rider will fly . . . and Pern will be changed forever.

[salty-horse]

The Seventh Perfection by Daniel Polansky is $3 on Amazon.com
Novella.

When a woman with perfect memory sets out to solve a riddle, the threads she tugs on could bring a whole city crashing down. The God-King who made her is at risk, and his other servants will do anything to stop her.

To become the God-King's Amanuensis, Manet had to master all seven perfections, developing her body and mind to the peak of human performance. She remembers everything that has happened to her, in absolute clarity, a gift that will surely drive her mad. But before she goes, Manet must unravel a secret which threatens not only the carefully prepared myths of the God-King's ascent, but her own identity and the nature of truth itself.

[Tarana]

The Library of the Unwritten By A. J. Hackwith $1.99 Amazon, Kobo and B&N
First of a series

While working as a librarian in Hell, Claire must track down a restless hero who has escaped from his book.

[salty-horse]

Anthropocene Rag by Alex Irvine is $3 on Amazon.com

"A rare distillation of nanotech, apocalypse, and mythic Americana into a heady psychedelic brew." —Jeffrey Ford

In the future United States, our own history has faded into myth and traveling across the country means navigating wastelands and ever-changing landscapes.

The country teems with monsters and artificial intelligences try to unpack their own becoming by recreating myths and legends of their human creators. Prospector Ed, an emergent AI who wants to understand the people who made him, assembles a ragtag team to reach the mythical Monument City.

In this nanotech Western, Alex Irvine infuses American mythmaking with terrifying questions about the future and who we will become.

[salty-horse]

Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson is $3 on Amazon.com

One man—visionary billionaire restaurant chain magnate T. R. Schmidt, Ph.D.—has a Big Idea for reversing global warming, a master plan perhaps best described as “elemental.” But will it work? And just as important, what are the consequences for the planet and all of humanity should it be applied?

Ranging from the Texas heartland to the Dutch royal palace in the Hague, from the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas to the sunbaked Chihuahuan Desert, Termination Shock brings together a disparate group of characters from different cultures and continents who grapple with the real-life repercussions of global warming. Ultimately, it asks the question: Might the cure be worse than the disease?

Epic in scope while heartbreakingly human in perspective, Termination Shock sounds a clarion alarm, ponders potential solutions and dire risks, and wraps it all together in an exhilarating, witty, mind-expanding speculative adventure.

[ReadingManiac]

Rune Knight by M.R. Kelly is free on Kindle for a few days.

First of a series of course.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KGH4DM5

[ReadingManiac]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

What can I say? I like to live on the edge!

Actually, I don't get the complaints about customer reviews. I wonder if I use them differently than others? I'm not looking for 'This book sux!' or 'Fantastic! Five Stars!!!1!'

On Last Exit, what I got is that though the synopsis makes it sound like urban fantasy, the book is more literary. The author is striving for more than a potboiler. (This was mentioned in both good and bad reviews.) That was enough for me to risk my $3 on it.

I find a lot of bad reviews by people with low reading levels.

That both are calling it Literary tells the story. I'm interested now.

[ReadingManiac]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've read the first two books and I have to say the series is worth getting.

I read the first book and enjoyed it, but not enough to continue. Different strokes. Part of the reason is I want a time travel book to show me time travel, not just pop to one location, have the story there and pop back.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by ReadingManiac

I find a lot of bad reviews by people with low reading levels.

Yes. And then you, as a person of obviously superior taste and breeding, should be able to filter out those troglodyte reviews.

[salty-horse]

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi is $3 on Amazon.com
Was on my wishlist.

When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization.” Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on.

What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at least. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm, human-free world. They're the universe's largest and most dangerous panda and they're in trouble.

It's not just the Kaiju Preservation Society who have found their way to the alternate world. Others have, too. And their carelessness could cause millions back on our Earth to die.

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by ReadingManiac

I find a lot of bad reviews by people with low reading levels.

There's a lot of totally idiotic reviews online in general. Like one star reviews complaining the item was damaged in shipping. (So, uhh, maybe get it replaced?) Also idiotic answers to questions on Amazon. I want to use a clue-by-four¹ on people who answer questions with "I don't know." If you don't know, don't freaking try to answer the question.


¹ A two-by-four used to bash a clue into people's heads.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Manabi

There's a lot of totally idiotic reviews online in general. Like one star reviews complaining the item was damaged in shipping. (So, uhh, maybe get it replaced?) Also idiotic answers to questions on Amazon. I want to use a clue-by-four¹ on people who answer questions with "I don't know." If you don't know, don't freaking try to answer the question.


¹ A two-by-four used to bash a clue into people's heads.

I agree that there are a lot of stupid reviews/star ratings on Amazon.

[salty-horse]

For aggregated book reviews, use dedicated sites like Goodreads. I scan both low and high ratings to get a sense what people like and don't like, and I consider how I feel about the topics raised.
I also search twitter for "people I follow", and look for some reviews from well-known publications (I don't read these in detail, as sometimes they reveal too much of the story - I just read the last paragraph).

I find that Amazon reviews are mostly helpful to know if the ebook has some technical issues, like bad formatting, bad OCR, or missing text.

[salty-horse]

Re: Colonised Planet 5, Shikasta by Doris Lessing is $2 on Amazon.com

The first volume in the Canopus in Argos: Archives series is resented as a compilation of documents, reports, letters, speeches and journal entries, and purports to be a general study of the planet Shikasta–clearly the planet Earth–to be used by history students of the higher planet Canopus and to be stored in the Canopian archives.

For eons, galactic empires have struggled against one another, and Shikasta is one of the main battlegrounds. Johar, an emissary from Canopus and the primary contributor to the archives, visits Shikasta over the millennia from the time of the giants and the biblical great flood up to the present.

With every visit he tries to distract Shikastans from the evil influences of the planet Shammat but notes with dismay the ever-growing chaos and destruction of Shikasta as its people hurl themselves towards World War III and annihilation.

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

I find that Amazon reviews are mostly helpful to know if the ebook has some technical issues, like bad formatting, bad OCR, or missing text.

I find them helpful not just for technical issues, but quality issues as well.

I read fanfic, and hang around some fanfic writer's groups, and some authors get a distorted view of their own abilities and talent, and go to jump right in to the professional market.

I find a 1-star review, stating that the work 'reads like bad fanfic', is a great timesaver for me. I grab hundreds of freebies in a year, for fun, and will bypass anything that smacks of bad fanfic. Even for free.