FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[andyh2000]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky is currently $3.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DN8BQMD
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/children-of-time-6

The other two novels in the series have yet to ever reach this price, and I don't know if a fourth novel is in the works, either, so the series may or may not be complete.

I think it's complete as a trilogy.

Andrew

[Fbone]

Dragonsbane (Winterlands Book 1) by Barbara Hambly is $1.99

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004TC149G...v_ov_lig_dp_it

[Fbone]

Anno Dracula by Kim Newman is $1.99

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ZZNYYK...v_ov_lig_dp_it

[salty-horse]

Originally Posted by andyh2000

I think it's complete as a trilogy.

A fourth novel is in the works. It was never meant to be a series, let alone a trilogy, so no story arc planned in advance.

[salty-horse]

Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway is £1 on Amazon.co.uk
Futuristic cyberpunk noir thingy, where rich people are actual giants. Was on my wishlist.

Cal Sounder is a detective working for the police on certain very sensitive cases. So when he's called in to investigate a homicide at a local apartment, he is surprised at first to see that the victim appears to be a rather typical techie. But on closer inspection, he finds the victim is over seven feet tall. And even though he doesn't look a day over thirty, he is actually ninety years old. Clearly, he is a Titan - one of this dystopian, near-future society's genetically-altered elites.

There are only a few thousand Titans worldwide, all thanks to Stefan Tonfamecasca's discovery of the controversial T7 genetic therapy, which elevated his family to near godlike status. A dead Titan is big news . . . a murdered Titan is unimaginable. But Titans are Cal's specialty. In fact, his ex-girlfriend, Athena, is a Titan. And not just any Titan - she's Stefan's daughter, heir to the Tonfamecasca empire.

As Cal digs deeper into the murder investigation, he begins to unravel the complicated threads of what should have been a straightforward case, and it soon becomes clear he's on the trail of a crime whose roots run deep into the dark heart of the world. Titanium Noir is a tightly woven, intricate tale of murder, betrayal, and vengeance.

[Aleron Ives]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

It was never meant to be a series, let alone a trilogy, so no story arc planned in advance.

Does that mean each book is a stand-alone story in the same universe?

[andyh2000]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

Does that mean each book is a stand-alone story in the same universe?

They can possibly be read stand alone but they follow on from and reference each other. I think the third one would probably be pretty confusing if you hadn't read the first two.

Andrew

[salty-horse]

Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee is $3 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
Novella. Was on my wishlsit.

Ester's family was torn apart when a manticore killed her mother and baby brother, leaving her with nothing but her father's painful silence and a single, overwhelming need to kill the monsters that took her family.

Ester's path leads her to the King's Royal Mews, where the giant rocs of legend are flown to hunt manticores by their brave and dedicated ruhkers. Paired with a fledgling roc named Zahra, Ester finds purpose and acclaim by devoting herself to a calling that demands absolute sacrifice and a creature that will never return her love. The terrifying partnership between woman and roc leads Ester not only on the empire's most dangerous manticore hunt, but on a journey of perseverance and acceptance.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by andyh2000

They can possibly be read stand alone but they follow on from and reference each other. I think the third one would probably be pretty confusing if you hadn't read the first two.

Andrew

They cannot be read out of order.

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

They cannot be read out of order.

Of course they can.
Whether or not they should is a different matter.

[Fbone]

Midworld (Humanx Commonwealth) by Alan Dean Foster is now $1.99. It was $2.99 in August.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090WS0QU...v_ov_lig_dp_it

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ratinox

Of course they can.
Whether or not they should is a different matter.

Never ever listen to someone who said books in a series are standalone. Just read them in either published order, chronological order, or author preferred order (if such exists). But do not just take one at random and read it.

[andyh2000]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Never ever listen to someone who said books in a series are standalone. Just read them in either published order, chronological order, or author preferred order (if such exists). But do not just take one at random and read it.

If the books are good then later ones will make references back to previous ones without doing an annoying info dump. I've enjoyed books in the 'wrong' order - the earlier ones just effectively become the equivalent of a prequel, and according to you you can read a book first followed by its prequel as that's published order.

Andrew

[DNSB]

I've read books in a series out of order when someone whose opinion I trust has recommended a book which turned out to be part of a series and I have been impressed enough to read the series. A half decent author will write the books in a series to allow for them to be enjoyed as a standalone.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Never ever listen to someone who said books in a series are standalone. Just read them in either published order, chronological order, or author preferred order (if such exists). But do not just take one at random and read it.

There's Alan Dean Foster's Humanx Commonwealth books where there's not continuity book to book, though they all take place in the same shared universe. There are series within the series (Icerigger and Pip and Flinx), but aside from those it doesn't much matter where you start.