FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[isarl]

The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal, is on sale for $2 (new historical low price, according to eReaderiQ) from Amazon, Kobo, possibly others. This book won a host of awards including the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards for Best Novel, just for starters.

Amazon.com
Kobo US

Amazon.ca
Kobo CA

On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process.

Elma York’s experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn’t take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can’t go into space, too.

Elma’s drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Also on sale today:
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, $3 instead of its usual $12. Winner of a Locus award for Best First Novel and nominee or finalist for several other awards as well.

Amazon.com
Kobo US

Amazon.ca
Kobo CA

The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense.

Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will be become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.

(Gideon the Ninth is also being sold without DRM.)

[salty-horse]

Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings is $3 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
Was on my wishlist. Kathleen is a wonderful artist and occasional writer you might know from many book covers and illustrations. This is her first novel-length work.

In a small Western Queensland town, a reserved young woman receives a note from one of her vanished brothers—a note that makes her question memories of their disappearance and her father’s departure.

A beguiling story that proves that gothic delights and uncanny family horror can live—and even thrive—under a burning sun, Flyaway introduces readers to Bettina Scott, whose search for the truth throws her into tales of eerie dogs, vanished schools, cursed monsters, and enchanted bottles. Flyaway enchants you with the sly, beautiful darkness of Karen Russell and a world utterly its own.

[GlennD]

On a Pale Horse, the first book of Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series, is on sale at Amazon for $.99.

This is one of Anthony's better series IMO, at least the first 5 books.

[ZodWallop]

The Thousand Earths by Stephen Baxter is $0.99 at Amazon, B&N and Kobo US.

In 2145AD John Hackett's adventure is just beginning.

In Year 30, Mela's story is coming to a close.

Hackett, in his trusty ship the Perseus, is not just a space traveller - beginning his travels with an expedition to Neptune and back - but, thanks to the time-dilation effect, a time traveller as well. His new mission will take him to Andromeda, to get a close-up look at the constellation which will eventually crash into the Milky Way, and give humanity a heads-up about the challenges which are coming.

A mission which will take him five million years to complete.

Not only is Hackett exploring unknown space, but he will return to a vastly different time.

Mela's world is coming to an end. Erosion is eating away at the edges of every landmass - first at a rate of ten metres a year, but fast accelerating, displacing people and animals as the rising Tide destroys everything in its path. Putting more and more pressure on the people - and resources - which remain.

She and her people have always known that this long-predicted end to their home, one of the Thousand Earths, is coming - but that makes their fight to survive, to protect each other, no less desperate . . . and no less doomed.

A beautiful, page-turning story which interweaves the tale of these two characters, separated by both space and time, in a hopeful exploration of humanity's future, this is Stephen Baxter at his best.

[WillAdams]

Echo One, a collection of short stories from the _Secret World Chronicles_ is up for $1.99 again on Amazon for the Kindle.

A guilty pleasure of mine, this set of books is a shared world feature Mercedes Lackey which was originally a podcast (a number of these shorts are from that), which was a re-telling of a "City of Heroes" campaign back before that video game featuring superheroes, Nazis, and other things from various fictional settings shut down.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5GCKTBH

[salty-horse]

Terminal Alliance by Jim C. Hines is $2 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
Comedy, first in a series.

The Krakau came to Earth to invite humanity into a growing alliance of sentient species. However, they happened to arrive after a mutated plague wiped out half the planet, turned the rest into shambling, near-unstoppable animals, and basically destroyed human civilization. You know—your standard apocalypse.

Now, a century later, human beings might not be what they once were, but at least they’re no longer trying to eat everyone. Mostly.

Marion “Mops” Adamopoulos is surprisingly bright (for a human). As a Lieutenant on the Earth Mercenary Corps Ship Pufferfish, she’s in charge of the Shipboard Hygiene and Sanitation team. When a bioweapon attack wipes out the Krakau command crew and reverts the rest of the humans to their feral state, only Mops and her team are left with their minds intact.

Escaping the attacking aliens—not to mention her shambling crewmates—is only the beginning. Sure, Mops and her team of space janitors and plumbers can clean the ship as well as anyone, but flying the damn thing is another matter. As they struggle to keep the Pufferfish functioning and find a cure for their crew, they stumble onto a conspiracy that could threaten the entire alliance… a conspiracy born from the truth of what happened on Earth all those years ago.

[ZodWallop]

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson is $1.99 at Amazon, B&N and Kobo US.

A young woman living in a rigid, puritanical society discovers dark powers within herself in this stunning, feminist fantasy debut.

In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet's word is law, Immanuelle Moore's very existence is blasphemy. Her mother’s union with an outsider of a different race cast her once-proud family into disgrace, so Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the other women in the settlement.

But a mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet once chased and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still lurking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the journal of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood.

Fascinated by the secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realizes the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And she starts to understand that if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her.

[sufue]

Almost a year-and-a-half later, the Narnia books are £0.99 each again, again as part of the Big Deal at Kindle UK. The link below is still good...

Originally Posted by sufue

Today's Big Deal at Kindle UK is all seven Narnia books, by CS Lewis, for £0.99 each. Titles include: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Horse and his Boy, The Magician's Nephew, and The Last Battle.

Link to the webpage: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=s9_ac...d_i=4725112031

[bookmarked]

In a reversal of the usual order of things, books 1 & 2 of The Chronicles of Amber series by Roger Zelazny are on sale at Kobo but NOT Amazon at 67% off $1.99 each (vs $5.99 normally).

Nine Princes in Amber

Guns of Avalon

[salty-horse]

Platinum Pohl: The Collected Best Stories by Frederik Pohl is $4 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
Contents: https://isfdb.stoecker.eu/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?89360

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by bookmarked

In a reversal of the usual order of things, books 1 & 2 of The Chronicles of Amber series by Roger Zelazny are on sale at Kobo but NOT Amazon at 67% off $1.99 each (vs $5.99 normally).

Nine Princes in Amber

Guns of Avalon

Whatever you do, DON'T order the complete Amber set (Kindle / $6.99) from Amazon U.S.A., unless you're an adult who wants to improve his/her math skills. (I checked the 'Look Inside' just to make sure.)

I've already Reported the issue.

[salty-horse]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Whatever you do, DON'T order the complete Amber set (Kindle / $6.99) from Amazon U.S.A.

It used to be an actual unauthorized Amber ebook, but I notified the agent for Zelazny's estate, and they got it removed. Looks like the entry is back - I wonder if they'll try to sell it again and this is the first step in avoiding detection.

To be clear, there's no omnibus ebook edition of the Amber books.

[SomeSteve]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Whatever you do, DON'T order the complete Amber set (Kindle / $6.99) from Amazon U.S.A.

Originally Posted by salty-horse

To be clear, there's no omnibus ebook edition of the Amber books.

But there are two five-book collections available from Gateway, at least in some markets: The Chronicles of Amber with the first five novels, and The Second Chronicles of Amber with the last five.

At the moment, The Chronicles of Amber is available for £2.99 from Kobo UK.

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the...icles-of-amber

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the...icles-of-amber

[salty-horse]

Originally Posted by SomeSteve

But there are two five-book collections available from Gateway, at least in some markets: The Chronicles of Amber with the first five novels, and The Second Chronicles of Amber with the last five.

Thanks for the links. The one I was referring to was pretending to be The Great Book of Amber by Avon Books.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

It used to be an actual unauthorized Amber ebook, but I notified the agent for Zelazny's estate, and they got it removed. Looks like the entry is back - I wonder if they'll try to sell it again and this is the first step in avoiding detection.

To be clear, there's no omnibus ebook edition of the Amber books.

Thanks for reminding me about that earlier discussion on the bogus Amber set.

To be clear, the 'Look Inside' does NOT reference an Amber Omnibus ebook, even though there is a Kindle rectangle for its selection. Amazon needs to remove that selection choice, in addition to the KU choice.