FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

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.

I tried searching for that to add a report, but I can't find it. Hopefully that means it's been taken down.

[Dr. Drib]

^

Here's the link:

https://www.amazon.com/Great-Book-Am...3594817&sr=8-1

There is no Kindle edition (as was pointed out to me). However, what I reported was a totally different book when one clicks on the Kindle edition. Unfortunately, this wrong book is still listed. The paper edition (published by Avon?) is listed. I'm assuming that the paper edition is legitimate. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong.)

[salty-horse]

The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard is £0.99 in the UK (Kobo, Amazon)
Was on my wishlist. Space pirates, sapphic romance, political intrigue. Set in the universe of Xuya, but you don't need to have read any of the other stories.

Xích Si: bot maker, data analyst, mother, scavenger. But those days are over now-her ship has just been captured by the Red Banner pirate fleet, famous for their double-dealing and cruelty. Xích Si expects to be tortured to death-only for the pirates' enigmatic leader, Rice Fish, to arrive with a different and shocking proposition: an arranged marriage between Xích Si and herself.

Rice Fish: sentient ship, leader of the infamous Red Banner pirate fleet, wife of the Red Scholar. Or at least, she was the latter before her wife died under suspicious circumstances. Now isolated and alone, Rice Fish wants Xích Si's help to find out who struck against them and why. Marrying Xích Si means Rice Fish can offer Xích Si protection, in exchange for Xích Si's technical fluency: a business arrangement with nothing more to it.

But as the investigation goes on, Rice Fish and Xích Si find themselves falling for each other. As the interstellar war against piracy intensifies and the five fleets start fighting each other, they will have to make a stand-and to decide what kind of future they have together...

An exciting space opera and a beautiful romance, from an exceptional SF author.

[salty-horse]

Flint and Mirror by John Crowley is $3 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)

As ancient Irish clans fought to preserve their lands and their way of life, the Queen and her generals fought to tame the wild land and make it English.

Hugh O'Neill, lord of the North, dubbed Earl of Tyrone by the Queen, is a divided man: the Queen gives to Hugh her love, and her commandments, through a little mirror of obsidian which he can never discard; and the ancient peoples of Ireland arise from their underworld to make Hugh their champion, the token of their vow a chip of flint.

From the masterful author of Little, Big comes an exquisite fantasy of heartbreaking proportion.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

Flint and Mirror by John Crowley is $3 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)

Long ago I had paperbacks of Beasts and The Deep by Crowley, but didn't read them. I started The Deep, but felt like it was over my head.

I did pick up Little, Big on sale, but haven't read it yet.

Anyone more familiar with John Crowley than me?

[ZodWallop]

Couple of Gregory Benford deals.

The Martian Race is $1.99 at Amazon, B&N and Kobo US.

From the Nebula Award-winning author of "Timescape" and "Foundation's Fear" comes a hard-science thriller about the race to Mars that will tie into NASA's upcoming landing on the planet.

The sequel: The Sunborn is $2.99 at Amazon, B&N and Kobo US.

The multiple award-winning author of Timescape and Eater, Gregory Benford returns with a gripping new novel set in the same dynamic future as his wildly popular The Martian Race.
The first manned mission to Mars has been successful. However, there is a gathering mystery surrounding "marsmat"- the complex, anaerobic life-form that the expedition discovered inside a honeycomb of tunnels below the planet's surface. The search for the answers to humanity's ultimate questions about life in the universe will lead to the fringes of the solar system-to the dark and cold void beyond the planet Pluto.

[ZodWallop]

Red Moon by Kim Stanley Robinson is $1.99 at Amazon, B&N and Kobo US.

Red Moon is a magnificent novel of space exploration and political revolution from New York Times bestselling author Kim Stanley Robinson.

It is thirty years from now, and we have colonized the moon.

American Fred Fredericks is making his first trip, his purpose to install a communications system for China's Lunar Science Foundation. But hours after his arrival he witnesses a murder and is forced into hiding.

It is also the first visit for celebrity travel reporter Ta Shu. He has contacts and influence, but he too will find that the moon can be a perilous place for any traveler.

Finally, there is Chan Qi. She is the daughter of the Minister of Finance, and without doubt a person of interest to those in power. She is on the moon for reasons of her own, but when she attempts to return to China, in secret, the events that unfold will change everything -- on the moon, and on Earth.

[cromag]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Long ago I had paperbacks of Beasts and The Deep by Crowley, but didn't read them. I started The Deep, but felt like it was over my head.

I did pick up Little, Big on sale, but haven't read it yet.

Anyone more familiar with John Crowley than me?

I read Engine Summer back in the 80s. I liked it a lot -- so much so that I still remember it. It was slow moving, but very imaginative.

[Aleron Ives]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard is £0.99 in the UK

Hmm... I thought this might be a cheap way to test travelling on the Kobo store, but I guess I don't know the correct procedure. I tried to change my country to the UK and set my postal code to 020 under my account's payment settings, but I got an error saying I needed to fill in a phone number and then the page spontaneously reset back to my regular information. Is it possible to have separate accounts for each region, or will Kobo get mad if you link the same PayPal account to multiple Kobo accounts?

[salty-horse]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

I got an error saying I needed to fill in a phone number and then the page spontaneously reset back to my regular information.

When it does that, just fill in any phone number when you first fill up the form, and then it won't reset. (You can search online for a phone number)
It's odd, switching to the UK I didn't need to fill out a phone number, but switching back to the US it did. Not sure if it only sometimes requires it.

[Aleron Ives]

Thanks for the tip. At least it's not a new problem. Is there any chance of getting your account banned or otherwise sanctioned for messing with this stuff? Despite buying a dozen books, I still have to do a CAPTCHA every time I log in to my account, so it seems Kobo already thinks I'm shady, and I haven't even travelled yet. :

[SomeSteve]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

It's odd, switching to the UK I didn't need to fill out a phone number, but switching back to the US it did. Not sure if it only sometimes requires it.

When I first registered for an account, not all that long ago, I couldn't complete the process without supplying a phone number.

[isarl]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

Is there any chance of getting your account banned or otherwise sanctioned for messing with this stuff?

I think the technically correct answer to this question is probably, “Yes, there is a nonzero chance of repercussions.”

Practically speaking, I've been doing it for several months now with purchases from both the US and the UK, and my account continues to work fine. I've even successfully filed a price match request against Amazon.com for a purchase made from Kobo US, before switching my account address back. They didn't care that I was using a Manhattan postal code with my state set to Alaska. Nor did they care about the Canadian area code on my account phone number.

So my slightly longer answer is, “Probably not? But YMMV.”

Originally Posted by salty-horse

When it does that, just fill in any phone number when you first fill up the form, and then it won't reset. (You can search online for a phone number)
It's odd, switching to the UK I didn't need to fill out a phone number, but switching back to the US it did. Not sure if it only sometimes requires it.

I've similarly had inconsistent phone number behaviour on my Kobo account. I'm not sure exactly what prompted it but somehow my phone number recently got removed from my payment information. When I went to change countries, it would fail without a helpful error message and reset to my home country. I think maybe I had to switch to the desktop browser version of the site to see an error message about not having a phone number. Adding my phone number back allowed me to change countries once again as usual. Weirdness!

[Cactus Chef]

Originally Posted by isarl

I think the technically correct answer to this question is probably, “Yes, there is a nonzero chance of repercussions.”

Practically speaking, I've been doing it for several months now with purchases from both the US and the UK, and my account continues to work fine. I've even successfully filed a price match request against Amazon.com for a purchase made from Kobo US, before switching my account address back. They didn't care that I was using a Manhattan postal code with my state set to Alaska. Nor did they care about the Canadian area code on my account phone number.

So my slightly longer answer is, “Probably not? But YMMV.”

You've always got plausible deniability that you're living overseas for a few months, I suppose. Miraculously, the dates just happen to coincide with this particular book going on sale!

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Long ago I had paperbacks of Beasts and The Deep by Crowley, but didn't read them. I started The Deep, but felt like it was over my head.

I did pick up Little, Big on sale, but haven't read it yet.

Anyone more familiar with John Crowley than me?

So you went in 'Too Deep', huh? -- I thought I told you to avoid unknown waters. There's no telling what's going to pop out of the ocean when you're not looking!!


Little Big is a classic fantasy novel and, for me, one that transcends the Fantasy genre.