FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[Cactus Chef]

Ilium by Dan Simmons is $2 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)

The Trojan War rages at the foot of Olympos Mons on Mars -- observed and influenced from on high by Zeus and his immortal family -- and twenty-first-century professor Thomas Hockenberry is there to play a role in the insidious private wars of vengeful gods and goddesses. On Earth, a small band of the few remaining humans pursues a lost past and devastating truth -- as four sentient machines depart from Jovian space to investigate, perhaps terminate, the potentially catastrophic emissions emanating from a mountaintop miles above the terraformed surface of the Red Planet.

Olympos by Dan Simmons is $2 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)

Beneath the gaze of the gods, the mighty armies of Greece and Troy met in fierce and glorious combat, scrupulously following the text set forth in Homer's timeless narrative. But that was before twenty-first-century scholar Thomas Hockenberry stirred the bloody brew, causing an enraged Achilles to join forces with his archenemy Hector and turn his murderous wrath on Zeus and the entire pantheon of divine manipulators; before the swift and terrible mechanical creatures that catered for centuries to the pitiful idle remnants of Earth's human race began massing in the millions, to exterminate rather than serve.

And now all bets are off.

Still need to read both of these.

[salty-horse]

Escape Velocity by Victor Manibo is $3 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
Was on my wishlist.

A twisty new near-future genre-bending thriller: Knives Out in space with a Parasite twist.

A decades-old murder looms over the glamorous clientele of a high-end space hotel . . . while an unforeseen threat percolates in the service corridors. The guests are about to experience the hospitality they deserve.

Space Habitat Altaire is the premier luxury resort in low Earth orbit, playground of the privileged and the perfect location to host reunions for the Rochford Institute. Rochford boasts only the best: the wealthiest, most promising students with the most impressive pedigrees. Complete with space walks, these lavish reunions are a prime opportunity for alumni to jockey for power with old friends and rivals—and crucially, to advance their applications to live in an exclusive Mars settlement. Earth is dying, and only the best deserve to save themselves.

Aboard the Altaire for their 25th reunion, finance magnate Ava pursues the truth about her brother’s murder during their senior year, which cast a dark shadow over their time at Rochford. Laz, ambassador and political scion, hopes to finally win Ava’s heart. Sloane, collecting secrets to conceal his family’s decline, angles for a key client. And Henry, heir to a healthcare empire, creates an unorthodox opportunity to get to Mars in a last-ditch effort to outrun a childhood secret.

While these erstwhile friends settle scores and rack up points, they fail to notice that other agendas are afoot at the Space Habitat Altaire, and their own futures aren’t the only ones at stake—“the best” will soon regret underestimating those they would leave behind on Earth.

[salty-horse]

The latest Humble Bundle is for the Wheel of Time:
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/r...eel-time-books

I think it's for North America only, but you can change your region in the settings.

[Hollow Man]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

The latest Humble Bundle is for the Wheel of Time:
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/r...eel-time-books

I think it's for North America only, but you can change your region in the settings.

I'm currently on book 2, so this was a nice surprise!

Note for all those who got The Eye of the World free from tor.com years ago: that copy did not include the extra prelude chapter "Earlier: Ravens," but this bundled version does.

[cc_in_oh]

I don't see New Spring in the bundle?

Edit> Oops - I must be going blind!

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

The latest Humble Bundle is for the Wheel of Time:

Man, those covers are awful.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Man, those covers are awful.

At least changing the covers is easy enough with Calibre. I really dislike tie-in covers.

[salty-horse]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Man, those covers are awful.

It's weird, because for the previous ebook editions (before 2019), Tor made a big deal of commissioning a bunch of top notch artists. I guess it was either only licensed for a set number of years, or they realized simpler covers work better as thumbnails on digital storefronts, or they just don't need to bother with expensive art for such a big series.

2009 announcement of illustrated ebook covers:
https://reactormag.com/eye-of-the-world-ebook-cover/

All covers:
https://dragonmount.com/gallery/imag...-ebook-covers/

Here's the thread about the of the 2019 covers on the WoT forums:
https://dragonmount.com/news/book-ne...wotcovers2019/

And the similar UK 2014 covers:
https://www.orbitbooks.net/2014/05/2...ok-wheel-time/

[salty-horse]

The Winter Knight by Jes Battis is $4 in the US and Canada (Kobo US)

Arthurian legends are reborn in this upbeat queer urban fantasy with a mystery at its heart

The knights of the round table are alive in Vancouver, but when one winds up dead, it’s clear the familiar stories have taken a left turn. Hildie, a Valkyrie and the investigator assigned to the case, wants to find the killer — and maybe figure her life out while she’s at it. On her short list of suspects is Wayne, an autistic college student and the reincarnation of Sir Gawain, who these days is just trying to survive in a world that wasn’t made for him. After finding himself at the scene of the crime, Wayne is pulled deeper into his medieval family history while trying to navigate a new relationship with the dean’s charming assistant, Bert — who also happens to be a prime murder suspect. To figure out the truth, Wayne and Hildie have to connect with dangerous forces: fallen knights, tricky runesmiths, the Wyrd Sisters of Gastown. And a hungry beast that stalks Wayne’s dreams.

The Winter Knight is a propulsive urban fairy tale and detective story with queer and trans heroes that asks what it means to be a myth, who gets to star in these tales, and ultimately, how we make our stories our own.

[salty-horse]

Grave Expectations by Alice Bell, and its sequel Displeasure Island are both £1 in the UK.

Seems like Kobo only, but I'm leaving the Amazon links in case it changes.

Grave Expectations (Kobo, Amazon)
Displeasure Island (Kobo, Amazon)

Description of the first book:

Claire and Sophie aren't your typical murder investigators . . .

When 30-something freelance medium Claire Hendricks is invited to an old university friend's country pile to provide entertainment for a family party, her best friend Sophie tags along. In fact, Sophie rarely leaves Claire's side, because she's been haunting her ever since she was murdered at the age of seventeen.

On arrival at The Cloisters it quickly becomes clear that this family is hiding more than just the good china, as Claire learns someone has recently met an untimely end at the house.

Teaming up with the least unbearable members of the Wellington-Forge family - depressive ex-cop Basher and teenage radical Alex - Claire and Sophie determine to figure out not just whodunnit, but who they killed, why and when.

Together they must race against incompetence to find the murderer - before the murderer finds them... in this funny, modern, media-literate mystery for the My Favourite Murder generation.

[salty-horse]

Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis is £5 in the UK (Kobo, Amazon)

Currently Amazon only, but might be price-match eligible in Kobo.

ARE YOU READY TO CHECK IN?

A locked room mystery that's out of this world. Full of charm and warmth, Floating Hotel is a hopeful story of misfits, rebels and found family.

Welcome to the Grand Abeona Hotel: home to the very best views the galaxy has to offer. Year round it moves from planet to planet, pampering guests across the furthest reaches of the milky way. The last word in luxury - and a magnet for intrigue. Intrigues such as:

Why are there love poems in the lobby intray?
How many spies are currently on board?
What is the true purpose of the Problem Solver's conference?
And perhaps most pertinently - who is driving the ship?

At the centre of these mysteries stands Carl, one time stowaway, longtime caretaker to the hotel. It's the love of his life and the only place he's ever called home. But as forces beyond Carl's comprehension converge, he has to face one final question: when is it time to let go?

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Man, those covers are awful.

Making decent covers for books seems to be something that died off in the early 2000s at the latest. Even major publishers often use clipart dreck for reissues of major books. (And sometimes for new books.) I end up finding and using covers from the 90s or earlier for most of the scifi books I add to Calibre. But it's not limited to scifi, I was adding Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and its two sequels to Calibre yesterday and finding decent covers was a huge pain in the ass, especially for the two sequels. (I mean, look at the cover Amazon has for the second book. The mouse/rat on the bottom left probably gives kids nightmares.)

Frequently I have to find a photo of a physical book from an eBay listing, then use Photoshop to warp it into a proper rectangle, clean up major damage to the cover and redo levels to make whites & blacks normal again.

I guess it's just part of cost-cutting and beancounters think readers don't care about the book cover...

[Cactus Chef]

Originally Posted by Manabi

Making decent covers for books seems to be something that died off in the early 2000s at the latest.

Oh sure, we're all in agreement about it now, but when I make a thread about it, everyone acts like I'm crazy...

[DNSB]

Sorry but for me, I really don't care about the cover. I seldom look at them, I don't display them in calibre's details. Does the cover make any difference to the text inside the book? Does changing the book cover from the book title, author name and possibly a simple graphic used in the 19th century make any difference in my enjoyment of Ivanhoe or Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus.

I enjoy a decent book cover but I can't remember when last purchased a book based on the cover over the contents.

[zje]

For me the cover acts as a mnemonic for the story inside. It is easier than trying to remember the title. Although sometimes the title reminds me of the cover. Distinctive covers trigger the memory of the story, blah covers all run together and I won't know if I've already read the book until I start reading it.