FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[Quoth]

https://expertbeacon.com/why-are-the...deck-of-cards/

I can't think that's the reason.
Jack of Shades is obvious.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

King of Shards and Queen of Static, the first two books in the Worldmenders trilogy by Matthew Kressel are $1 each in the US. (Amazon only, but price-matchable on Kobo)
This is a Jewish mythology-inspired dark fantasy. Only these books have been published, and I doubt a third is planned.

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2024 by Hugh Howey is $3 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
Contents

ALSO:

The Matthew Kressel titles can be downloaded after purchase.

[salty-horse]

The Fall of the Kings (Swordspoint #2) by Ellen Kushner & Delia Shermanis £3 in the UK (Kobo, Amazon)
Set in the world of Swordspoint, but is standalone.

Generations ago the last king fell, taking with him the final truths about a race of wizards who ruled at his side. But the blood of the kings runs deep in the land and its people, waiting for the coming together of two unusual men. Theron Campion is heir to an ancient house - and a modern scandal. Tormented by his twin duties to his family and his own bright spirit, he seeks solace in the University. There he meets Basil St. Cloud, a brilliant and charismatic teacher ruled by a passion for knowledge - and for the ancient kings.

Around these two are gathering those who believe the land still cries out for a king - and those who would do anything to stop them returning.

Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner is £3 in the UK (Kobo, Amazon)

A minstrel lives by his words, his tunes, and sometimes by his lies. But when the bold and gifted young Thomas the Rhymer awakens the desire of the powerful Queen of Elfland, he finds that words are not enough to keep him from his fate.

As the Queen sweeps him far from the people he has known and loved into her realm of magic, opulence - and captivity - he learns at last what it is to be truly human. When he returns to his home with the Queen's parting gift, his great task will be to seek out the girl he loved and wronged, and offer her at last the tongue that cannot lie.

Award-winning author Ellen Kushner's inspired retelling of an ancient legend weaves myth and magic into a vivid contemporary novel about the mysteries of the human heart. Brimming with ballads, riddles, and magical transformations, here is the timeless tale of a charismatic bard whose talents earn him a two-edged otherworldly gift.

Histories Within Us by Matthew Kressel is $1 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
Short story collection. Contents.

2025 Locus Recommended Reading List

An old man is forced to leave his ancestral home and migrate to a new Earth. A long-dead woman is recreated by an all-consuming evil menace in the distant future. The last surviving humans hope to escape a decimated galaxy through a collapsing black hole. Two orphans must play a game against monsters to save the world.

In these mind-blowing, tragic, and often touching stories, multiple Nebula, World Fantasy, and Eugie Award-nominated author Matthew Kressel takes the reader on adventures through time and space, love and loss, and what it means to be human.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Quoth

https://expertbeacon.com/why-are-the...deck-of-cards/

I can't think that's the reason.
Jack of Shades is obvious.

Roger Selazny has Jack of Shadows.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Roger Selazny has Jack of Shadows.

Down this road, my friend:

Roger Zelazny

[salty-horse]

The Sunforge (The Endsong #2) by Sascha Stronach is $3 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)

Sascha Stronach’s queer, Maori-inspired Endsong trilogy reopens on a city in flames, where a magic-wielding pirate crew uncovers an age-old fight between the gods that threatens their world.

The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan is £1 in the UK (Kobo, Amazon)

Lusty, dark, queer fantasy – The Red Winter is perfect for fans of The Witcher and Susanna Clarke. Inspired by the eighteenth-century legend of the Beast of Gévaudan.

A devastating love story. A bewitching twist on history. A blood-drenched hunt for purpose, power and redemption.

In 1785, Professor Sebastian Grave receives the news he fears most: the terrible Beast of Gévaudan has returned, and the French countryside runs red in its wake. Sebastian knows the Beast. A monster-slayer with centuries of experience, he joined the hunt for the creature twenty years ago and watched it slaughter its way through a long and bloody winter. Even with the help of Sarmodel, the demon he plays host to, bringing the monster down nearly cost him his life.

Now, two decades later, Sebastian has been recalled to the hunt by Antoine Avenel d’Ocerne, an estranged lover who shares a dark history with the Beast and a terrible secret with Sebastian. Drawn by both the chance to finish the Beast for good and the promise of a reconciliation with Antoine, Sebastian cannot refuse.

Some monsters, it seems, simply won’t stay buried . . .

[calming_sea]

Humble Bundle has The Best of Robert Silverberg. For me this is a great bundle, and al least available in Netherlands

[Martinoptic]

It's available in UK too.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by calming_sea

Humble Bundle has The Best of Robert Silverberg. For me this is a great bundle, and al least available in Netherlands

Unfortunately for me, I'm only missing 3 of the titles.

Happily, for someone else, it will be a great bargain.

Robert Silverberg was a wonderful writer and has written many classics of mature science fiction (in the mid-to-late years of his long career).

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by calming_sea

Humble Bundle has The Best of Robert Silverberg. For me this is a great bundle, and al least available in Netherlands

Mysteriously though it lists 31, there are 33 after purchase!

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Mysteriously though it lists 31, there are 33 after purchase!

The link on the thread devoted to this special Robert Silverberg Bundle shows 32 items:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=373549

Ownedbycats mentions there are 31 titles too, so it probably varies based upon country. (I'm currently in Peru.)

[Ashartus]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Mysteriously though it lists 31, there are 33 after purchase!

There's a duplicate - the New Spring came as both the individual books and 2-book omnibus.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Ashartus

There's a duplicate - the New Spring came as both the individual books and 2-book omnibus.

Ahaaaa! Mystery solved!

[calming_sea]

The two book New Spring omnibus brings it from 31 to 32. If I counted correct, Nightwings is number 33.

[Cactus Chef]

Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance is on sale on Kobo and Amazon for $2.99:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/tal...icywcu1rhbFZQs
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BKKVK20