FREE/BARGAIN - Science Fiction, Fantasy - 2015

[GreenMonkey]

Originally Posted by itisbomb

Prince of Fools
by Mark Lawrence

is $1.99 at

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00G3L...rince+of+fools

Kobo https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/prince-of-fools

Thanks, looks interesting.

[Difflugia]

I just read the free indie Dying for a Living by Kory M. Shrum and enjoyed it enough to buy the next two books in the series.

Smashwords (DRM-free)
Amazon

On the morning before her 67th death, it is business as usual for Jesse Sullivan: meet with the mortician, counsel soon-to-be-dead clients, and have coffee while reading the latest regeneration theory. Jesse dies for a living, literally. As a Necronite, she is one of the population’s rare 2% who can serve as a death replacement agent, dying so others don’t have to. Although each death is different, the result is the same: a life is saved, and Jesse resurrects days later with sore muscles, new scars, and another hole in her memory.

But when Jesse is murdered and becomes the sole suspect in a federal investigation, more than her freedom and sanity are at stake. She must catch the killer herself—or die trying.

It's contemporary/urban fantasy with romance and some sex (not graphic). The protagonist is a bisexual woman and the storyline integrates some unflattering social commentary about modern Christianity, so if you find either of those off-putting, you may want to pass this one up.

I enjoy contemporary fantasy, but have rather had my fill of vampires and werewolves. I instead found this story to be novel and refreshing.

Aside from being fun to read, the book has obviously crossed the desk of a professional editor. I've been turned off by a number of otherwise good indie stories when spelling and grammar mistakes become too distracting, but I didn't notice any of either in Dying for a Living.

Here's the author's page (which includes links to the other books in the series) at Smashwords. They're couponable at Kobo.

[Rev. Bob]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

I just read the free indie Dying for a Living by Kory M. Shrum and enjoyed it enough to buy the next two books in the series.

That certainly looks interesting enough to pick up as a freebie, and I've got the 3-in-1 set bookmarked.

[davidfor]

Yes, it does sound interesting. And Kobo have it free at https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/eb...g-for-a-living.

[pdops]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Yes, it does sound interesting. And Kobo have it free at https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/eb...g-for-a-living.

Thanks for that link and to Difflugia Wizard for his post.

[pdurrant]

Amazon UK: Firefall by Peter Watts is £0.99 today. An omnibus of Blindsight (2006) and Echopraxia (2014).

[Manabi]

Amazon's Gold Box deal of the day has some Scifi and Fantasy novels on sale:

• Outcast (Star Force Series Book 10) by B. V. Larson $0.99
  
  Spoiler:

  Fresh out of the Academy, Ensign Cody Riggs follows his legendary father Kyle into space with fiancee Ensign Olivia Turnbull by his side. But instead of enjoying a quick trip around Earth's federated star systems they are thrown into a battle for their lives as their ship is hurled hundreds of light-years from home with no way back. Fighting hostile aliens and enemies within his own crew, Riggs finds himself facing challenges he never envisioned as he takes command of the battlecruiser Valiant in a desperate bid to survive and return home.
  
  Joined by a new supporting cast as well as favorites from the first nine Star Force books such as Marvin, Kwon and Hoon, this first volume of a new Star Force series delivers all the action and adventure readers have come to expect from BV Larson and David VanDyke. Read it first, or go back to Star Force Book One, SWARM, and experience the saga from the beginning.
  
  The new Saga in the Star Force universe begins with OUTCAST, the longest book in the series. OUTCAST is a full length novel of military science fiction by bestselling authors B. V. Larson and David VanDyke.
  
  
• Off Armageddon Reef (Safehold Book 1) by David Weber $2.99
  
  Spoiler:

  Humanity pushed its way to the stars - and encountered the Gbaba, a ruthless alien race that nearly wiped us out.
  
  Earth and her colonies are now smoldering ruins, and the few survivors have fled to distant, Earth-like Safehold, to try to rebuild. But the Gbaba can detect the emissions of an industrial civilization, so the human rulers of Safehold have taken extraordinary measures: with mind control and hidden high technology, they've built a religion in which every Safeholdian believes, a religion designed to keep Safehold society medieval forever.
  
  800 years pass. In a hidden chamber on Safehold, an android from the far human past awakens. This "rebirth" was set in motion centuries before, by a faction that opposed shackling humanity with a concocted religion. Via automated recordings, "Nimue" - or, rather, the android with the memories of Lieutenant Commander Nimue Alban - is told her fate: she will emerge into Safeholdian society, suitably disguised, and begin the process of provoking the technological progress which the Church of God Awaiting has worked for centuries to prevent.
  
  Nothing about this will be easy. To better deal with a medieval society, "Nimue" takes a new gender and a new name, "Merlin." His formidable powers and access to caches of hidden high technology will need to be carefully concealed. And he'll need to find a base of operations, a Safeholdian country that's just a little more freewheeling, a little less orthodox, a little more open to the new.
  
  And thus Merlin comes to Charis, a mid-sized kingdom with a talent for naval warfare. He plans to make the acquaintance of King Haarahld and Crown Prince Cayleb, and maybe, just maybe, kick off a new era of invention. Which is bound to draw the attention of the Church…and, inevitably, lead to war.
  
  It's going to be a long, long process. And it's going to be the can't-miss SF epic of the decade.
  
  
• Like a Mighty Army (safehold Book 7) by David Weber $2.99
  
  Spoiler:

  For centuries, the world of Safehold, last redoubt of the human race, lay under the unchallenged rule of the Church of God Awaiting. The Church permitted nothing new--no new inventions, no new understandings of the world.
  
  What no one knew was that the Church was an elaborate fraud--a high-tech system established by a rebel faction of Safehold's founders, meant to keep humanity hidden from the powerful alien race that had destroyed old Earth.
  
  Then awoke Merlyn Athrawes, cybernetic avatar of a warrior a thousand years dead, felled in the war in which Earth was lost. Monk, warrior, counselor to princes and kings, Merlyn has one purpose: to restart the history of the too-long-hidden human race.
  
  And now the fight is thoroughly underway. The island empire of Charis has declared its independence from the Church, and with Merlyn's help has vaulted forward into a new age of steam-powered efficiency. Fending off the wounded Church, Charis has drawn more and more of the countries of Safehold to the cause of independence and self-determination. But at a heavy cost in bloodshed and loss--a cost felt by nobody more keenly that Merlyn Athrawes.
  
  The wounded Church is regrouping. Its armies and resources are vast. The fight for humanity's future isn't over, and won't be over soon…
  David Weber's Like a Mighty Army is the hotly anticipated seventh volume in the New York Times bestselling Safehold series.
  
  
• The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter $1.99
  
  Spoiler:

  An unmissable milestone for fans of Sir Terry Pratchett: the first SF novel in over three decades in which the visionary inventor of Discworld has created a new universe of tantalizing possibilities—a series of parallel “Earths” with doorways leading to adventure, intrigue, excitement, and an escape into the furthest reaches of the imagination.
  
  The Long Earth, written with award-winning novelist Stephen Baxter, author of Stone Spring, Ark, and Floodwill, captivate science fiction fans of all stripes, readers of Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and Carl Hiaasen, and anyone who enjoyed the Terry Pratchett/Neil Gaiman collaboration Good Omens.
  
  The Long Earth is an adventure of the highest order—and an unforgettable read.
  
  
• The Lost Gate (Mither Mages Book 1) by Orson Scott Card $2.99
  
  Spoiler:

  Danny North knew from early childhood that his family was different, and that he was different from them. While his cousins were learning how to create the things that commoners called fairies, ghosts, golems, trolls, werewolves, and other such miracles that were the heritage of the North family, Danny worried that he would never show a talent, never form an outself.
  
  He grew up in the rambling old house, filled with dozens of cousins, and aunts and uncles, all ruled by his father. Their home was isolated in the mountains of western Virginia, far from town, far from schools, far from other people.
  
  There are many secrets in the House, and many rules that Danny must follow. There is a secret library with only a few dozen books, and none of them in English -- but Danny and his cousins are expected to become fluent in the language of the books. While Danny's cousins are free to create magic whenever they like, they must never do it where outsiders might see.
  
  Unfortunately, there are some secrets kept from Danny as well. And that will lead to disaster for the North family.
  
  
• The Gate Thief (Mither Mages Book 2) by Orson Scott Card $2.99
  
  Spoiler:

  In this sequel to The Lost Gate, bestselling author Orson Scott Card continues his fantastic tale of the Mages of Westil who live in exile on Earth in The Gate Thief, a novel of the Mither Mages.
  
  Here on Earth, Danny North is still in high school, yet he holds in his heart and mind all the stolen outselves of thirteen centuries of gatemages. The Families still want to kill him if they can't control him…and they can't control him. He is far too powerful.
  
  And on Westil, Wad is now nearly powerless--he lost everything to Danny in their struggle. Even if he can survive the revenge of his enemies, he still must somehow make peace with the Gatemage Daniel North.
  
  For when Danny took that power from Loki, he also took the responsibility for the Great Gates. And when he comes face-to-face with the mages who call themselves Bel and Ishtoreth, he will come to understand just why Loki closed the gates all those centuries ago.
  
  

[elaysee]

Monica Byrne's literary SF novel The Girl in the Road is $1.99 at Amazon US today. Its "frequently bought together" is David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, if that gives any sense of where it might fit on a continuum of reader expectations.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Girl-Road-.../dp/0804138869

from the blurb at Amazon

When Meena finds snakebites on her chest, her worst fears are realized: someone is after her and she must flee India. As she plots her exit, she learns of the Trail, an energy-harvesting bridge spanning the Arabian Sea that has become a refuge for itinerant vagabonds and loners on the run. This is her salvation. Slipping out in the cover of night, with a knapsack full of supplies including a pozit GPS, a scroll reader, and a sealable waterproof pod, she sets off for Ethiopia, the place of her birth.

Meanwhile, Mariama, a young girl in Africa, is forced to flee her home. She joins up with a caravan of misfits heading across the Sahara. She is taken in by Yemaya, a beautiful and enigmatic woman who becomes her protector and confidante. They are trying to reach Addis Abba, Ethiopia, a metropolis swirling with radical politics and rich culture. But Mariama will find a city far different than she ever expected—romantic, turbulent, and dangerous.

As one heads east and the other west, Meena and Mariama’s fates are linked in ways that are mysterious and shocking to the core.

[crich70]

Robert E. Howard's Collected Works

Robert E. Howard’s Collected Works is contained 129 works written by Robert E. Howard, who was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He is probably best known for his character, Conan the Barbarian, Solomon Kane, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre.

These are the 129 works of Robert E. Howard in this book.
1.Essays & articles (3 works)
2.Novels (2 works)
3.Conan the Barbarian (17 works)
4.Solomon Kane (3 works)
5.Breckinridge Elkins (19 works)
6.El Borak (6 works)
7.Kull of Atlantis (2 works)
8.Bran Mak Morn (1 work)
9.Black Vulmea (1 work)
10.James Allison (2 works)
11.Cormac Fitzgeoffrey (2 works)
12.Steve Harrison (4 works)
13.Sailor Steve Costigan (21 works)
14.Spicy stories (2 works)
15.Other Boxing stories ( 1 work)
16.Other Historical stories (7 works)
17.Other Horror stories (13 works)
18.Other Western stories (7 works)
19.Other Fantasy stories (5 works)
20.Hawkshaw the Detective (3 works)
21.Other humor (8 works )

And all for just $3.99 which is pretty good as it is some 3811 pages in all.
Amazon US

[Dr. Drib]

Thanks for the link to those.

As well, a very nice collection (with about 15 or so less stories) is the FREE collection here at Mobileread:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=184165


NOTE: This is a much improved version of one of my earlier assemblages. Much thanks to mmat1 (wherever you are).

[AnemicOak]

The Man with the Golden Torc (Secret Histories, Book 1) by Simon R. Green - $1.99
Amazon US | Kobo | Google | B&N

For ages, Eddie Drood and his family have kept humanity safe from the things that go bump in the night. But now one of his own has convinced the rest of the family that Eddie’s become a menace, and that humanity needs to be protected from him. So he’s on the run, using every trick in the book, magical and otherwise, hoping he lives long enough to prove his innocence...

[hildea]

Annie Bellet's "Justice calling" is free in May. http://anniebellet.com/justice-calling-free/

Gamer. Nerd. Sorceress.

Jade Crow lives a quiet life running her comic book and game store in Wylde, Idaho. After twenty-five years fleeing from a powerful sorcerer who wants to eat her heart and take her powers, quiet suits her just fine. Surrounded by friends who are even less human than she is, Jade figures she’s finally safe.

As long as she doesn’t use her magic.

When dark powers threaten her friends’ lives, a sexy shape-shifter enforcer shows up. He’s the shifter world’s judge, jury, and executioner rolled into one, and he thinks Jade is to blame. To clear her name, save her friends, and stop the villain, she’ll have to use her wits… and her sorceress powers.

Except Jade knows that as soon as she does, a far deadlier nemesis awaits.

Justice Calling is the first book in the Twenty-Sided Sorceress urban fantasy series.

Bellet got mixed up in the Puppygate mess. I liked what she wrote about it, and read some of her free short stories, and liked them as well. Haven't read this one yet, but am planning to.

[Rev. Bob]

Originally Posted by hildea

Annie Bellet's "Justice calling" is free in May. http://anniebellet.com/justice-calling-free/

Bellet got mixed up in the Puppygate mess. I liked what she wrote about it, and read some of her free short stories, and liked them as well. Haven't read this one yet, but am planning to.

I've had this series for a while now; it may be time to bump 'em up closer to the top of the list.

[Brendan Moody]

One of today's US Kindle Daily Deals is James S. A. Corey's Leviathan Wakes, the first in the Expanse series, for $1.99. What the product page no longer advertizes is that the file also includes The Dragon's Path, the first in a fantasy series by Daniel Abraham, who's half of the writing team that works under the Corey name. So you get two books for two bucks.

[Froide]

This month's Kindle for Samsung freebies selection includes a sci-fi/fantasy book. If interested, you may click the link to see details.