FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by ekbell

As far as I know your best bet for finding new Free Library books is to go to the Free Library and sort by latest updates descending ( http://www.baen.com/catalog/category...=latest_update )

Unfortunately it seems an ebook can be added to the Baen Free Library without being updated.

[ATDrake]

Bargain @ 99 cents from Del Rey in Canada & presumably the US (non-couponable, should be the same price at all the usual retailers):

• Child of Fire by Harry Connolly (ISFDB), 1st in his Twenty Palaces series of urban fantasy.
• Battleship by Peter David (ISFDB, Wikipedia), official tie-in novelization of the eponymous 2012 film (Wikipedia), which apparently has 6 Razzie nominations and “won” Best Actress.
  
  Now I'm morbidly curious about whether or not David, who's a fairly skilled writer, managed to make something actually semi-decent out of what seems like a spectacular trainwreck, and at least it's cheap to find out. (Mind you, I'm reminded of Jamie Zawinski's oft-repeated quote about how “Linux is only free if your time is worth nothing”.)

[specficwriter]

Good series beginner by Stephen R. Donaldson. $1.99 US.

https://www.amazon.com/Real-Story-in.../dp/B002SXIEJQ

[orangekiwi]

The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel is currently $1.99 in the US

https://www.amazon.com/Clan-Cave-Bea...dp/B00466HQ2Y/
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the...-bonus-content

[orangekiwi]

The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross (#1 of the Laundry Files series) is currently $1.99 in the US

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the...ity-archives-1
https://www.amazon.com/Atrocity-Arch.../dp/B000OIZUIA

Bob Howard is a computer-hacker desk jockey, who has more than enough trouble keeping up with the endless paperwork he has to do on a daily basis. He should never be called on to do anything remotely heroic. But for some reason, he is.

[ATDrake]

Bargain @ 99 cents from small press imprint Canelo in Canada and also at least the UK when I checked (couponable/VIP-eligible at Kobo, seemed to be the same price at the other retailers when I spot-checked Amazon & Google Play CA):

Duncton Wood by British author William Horwood (ISFDB, Wikipedia), the 1st novel in his Duncton Chronicles series of anthropomorphized nature fantasy centred around an intelligent community of moles who live near the megaliths of Great Britain and apparently have an elaborate society and religion regarding, according to its Wikipedia entry. This was originally published in 1980 by Country Life Books, then picked up and reprinted numerous times by Ballantine and Arrow, and made the 18th spot on the Locus Awards list for Best Fantasy Novel, and is probably technically children's/YA of some sort (ISTR old copies being in that library section a long time ago).

Apparently this is being discounted to promote the new e-prints (this one came out in January, and #3 which completes the first trilogy in the series was released just last month), which look to be relatively reasonably priced, given that they're couponable. ETA: this one was apparently written standalone, and then two sequels with related characters followed, and the second trilogy has a different cast and is set in the far future.

The epic million-copy bestseller, available as an ebook for the first time

The moles of Duncton Wood live in the shadow of Mandrake, a cruel tyrant corrupted by absolute power. A solitary young mole, Bracken, is thrown into leading the fight to free Duncton Wood. Only by putting his trust in the ancient Stone, forgotten symbol of a great spiritual past, can he find the strength to challenge Mandrake’s darkness.

When Bracken falls in love with Rebecca, Mandrake’s daughter, the moles must make life and death choices as their extraordinary search for freedom and truth begins… Together Bracken and Rebecca will embark on moving journey that will challenge them in ways they could never have imagined. But can they save Duncton before it’s too late?

Duncton Wood is the first instalment in The Duncton Chronicles, an unforgettable six-book series now widely regarded as a fantasy classic. For readers of J.R.R. Tolkien, Brian Jacques and Richard Adams’ Watership Down, this is a quest into the heart of nature, the redemptive power of love and the triumph of spirit.

[Dr. Drib]

"Duncton Wood" is also available at Amazon for 99 cents.

https://www.amazon.com/Duncton-Wood-...on+wood+kindle

[Dngrsone]

Originally Posted by specficwriter

Good series beginner by Stephen R. Donaldson. $1.99 US.

https://www.amazon.com/Real-Story-in.../dp/B002SXIEJQ

Frankly, this is the worst book in the series, but kind of necessary to set up the other four. There are some serious formatting/editorial issues in the series, particularly books three and four, IIRC, some I can't make head nor tails of until I find the paper versions I have sequestered in storage.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

• Battleship by Peter David (ISFDB, Wikipedia), official tie-in novelization of the eponymous 2012 film (Wikipedia), which apparently has 6 Razzie nominations and “won” Best Actress.

I actually read that novelization a couple of months ago.

Now I'm morbidly curious about whether or not David, who's a fairly skilled writer, managed to make something actually semi-decent out of what seems like a spectacular trainwreck, and at least it's cheap to find out. (Mind you, I'm reminded of Jamie Zawinski's oft-repeated quote about how “Linux is only free if your time is worth nothing”.)[/LIST]

In a word: No.

The beginning is the worst. The characters are all so stupid, you think it wouldn't be so bad if the aliens won.

The main character is supposed to be seen as reckless and charming. But instead he comes off as a self-cenetered man-child.

To be fair, Peter didn't have a lot to work with. And I did finish the book, so there's that.

[GtrsRGr8]

This is not an item that I am accustomed to posting, but I got an email about it over 12 hours ago . . . I don't see it posted anywhere; it if has been, please accept my apologies and know that the duplication was not intentional.

The Tor.Com eBook "club" free selection (May 9 to 15) is A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge. Amazon ratings are fine--4.1 (524), but they really shine at GoodReads--4.35 (474).

You have to register in order to get into the "club," and to receive this freebie, and the ones to come, but it's just email address and country that they ask for.

It looks like you can get the ebook in either mobi and ePub, and perhaps both.

Try using the webpage with this URL. If that doesn't work, I'm sure that http://www.tor.com will.

Please do not take this post to mean that I have had a conversion experience, in which I now embrace science fiction, or even just fiction in general. I am still a hard core unbeliever.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I actually read that novelization a couple of months ago.

In a word: No.

Thanks for letting me know! The morbid curiosity is satisfied, for now. (Although now I'm even more morbidly curious about how much of a trainwreck the original film, which was apparently loosely based on the actual board game but failed to transcend its source material like Clue: The Movie did, was. Must… resist… urge to rubberneck…)

Anyway, another, hopefully better deep-discount bargain @ $0.99/£0.99 from Hodder & Stoughton (non-couponable, available in at least Canada & US & UK; price should be the same at all the usual retailers):

Land of Hope and Glory (different listings for CA/US & UK) by South African author Geoffrey Wilson (ISFDB), 1st in a steampunk & sorcery alternate history fantasy series set in a reverse-Raj 19th century where India has the dominant magic-based empire of which Britain is one of the backward conquered colonies.

The rest of the series is also discounted to £1.99/$2.99 CAD and £2.99/$3.99 CAD for the remaining installments, if you happen to like this one.

It is 1852. The Indian empire of Rajthana has ruled Europe for more than a hundred years. With their vast armies, steam-and-sorcery technology and mastery of the mysterious power of sattva, the Rajthanans appear invincible. But a bloody rebellion has broken out in a remote corner of the empire, in a poor and backward region known as England. At first Jack Casey, retired soldier, wants nothing to do with the uprising, but then he learns his daughter, Elizabeth, is due to be hanged for helping the rebels. The Rajthanans offer to spare her, but only if Jack hunts down and captures his best friend and former army comrade, who is now a rebel leader. Jack is torn between saving his daughter and protecting his friend. And he struggles just to stay alive as the rebellion pushes England into all-out war.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

This is not an item that I am accustomed to posting, but I got an email about it over 12 hours ago . . . I don't see it posted anywhere; it if has been, please accept my apologies and know that the duplication was not intentional.

The Tor.Com eBook "club" free selection (May 9 to 15) is A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge. Amazon ratings are fine--4.1 (524), but they really shine at GoodReads--4.35 (474).

Actually, it's posted here and here. I'm not the only one who hides things

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Thanks for letting me know! The morbid curiosity is satisfied, for now. (Although now I'm even more morbidly curious about how much of a trainwreck the original film, which was apparently loosely based on the actual board game but failed to transcend its source material like Clue: The Movie did, was. Must… resist… urge to rubberneck…)

Clue was blessed with a talented pool of people, a low budget and not a lot of studio oversight.

The idea for Battleship is hokey enough that it could have been fun. But it was turned into a slick, multi-million dollar Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay type of extravaganza film. It felt like it was written by committee to cater to certain market demographics. The book sticks too close to the movie to overcome those limitations.

One fun thing from the book that I don't remember from the movie: The aliens shoot white canisters that stick to a ship, then turn red before they explode.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

The idea for Battleship is hokey enough that it could have been fun. But it was turned into a slick, multi-million dollar Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay type of extravaganza film. It felt like it was written by committee to cater to certain market demographics. The book sticks too close to the movie to overcome those limitations.

That's a shame. Sounds like a waste of a decent mindless braincandy film (and also a lot of money and hours of people's lives they'll never get back).

[ATDrake]

X-link to the DRM-free thread for the new Humble Bundle, which is fantastic:

Humble Book Bundle Super Nebula Showcase presented by SFWA contains an assortment of mostly prose fiction (but some GN adaptations, and also the SFWA cookbook) works by their member authors, which are either outright Nebula Award winners, or nominated individual works or by nominated authors (usually with collections of shorts), most of whom are quite well known.

There are 40 45 titles (turns out the Paul Preuss-written Venus Prime based on Arthur C. Clarke includes 6 novels in the franchise) spread out over four tiers, chock-full of authors as old as Isaac Asimov to as new as Yoon Ha Lee, including two best-of anthologies, and also harder-to-find works such as a new collection of previously unpublished shorts by the late Frank Herbert of Dune fame. Plus there's a freebie app offer that's loaded with assorted short stories from the 2016 Nebula nominee authors.