Free/Bargain Science Fiction & Fantasy in January 2014

[mewmartigan]

Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver is $3.99 at Amazon US right now. Not an amazing deal but still a good price for a very large novel. It's the first of his Baroque Cycle which I really enjoyed.

http://www.amazon.com/Quicksilver-Ne...eal+stephenson

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by mewmartigan

This is on my list of books to read but I am afraid to spend the money on all 10 at once without knowing if I will like it. This, above all other series, seems to be one that people love or just stop after book 1-2....

I guess $5.80 per book isn't bad but that original price of $83 seems a little nuts.

ARRGH!!!! I own the first book and I've tried to read it a couple of times. The writing is tremendous, but you get dumped into the middle of a story with the first book. *Everybody* says to start with the second book and yet I'd really like to start at the beginning. It's a lot to spend, but I'm really tempted..

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

ARRGH!!!! I own the first book and I've tried to read it a couple of times. The writing is tremendous, but you get dumped into the middle of a story with the first book. *Everybody* says to start with the second book and yet I'd really like to start at the beginning. It's a lot to spend, but I'm really tempted..

"Starting in the middle of the story" ("in medias res" - "in the middle of things" - as the classical authors described it) is the traditional thing to do with epics. Erikson is emulating all the great historical epics in doing so.

[DrNefario]

I didn't get on with the first Malazan book at all; there's no way I'd advocate risking $83 on the whole set.

I'm told the second one is where it finds its stride, but I'm really not short of things to read, so I'm not sure I'll ever give it another chance. Also, I've noticed that the second one is available to eborrow at my local library, so if I ever change my mind I could try it without it costing me anything at all.

[pdurrant]

I'm not buying anything at the moment (after a recent splurge). But that ($83) hardly seems a good deal.

If I was waiting for a special offer on a series of ten books in an omnibus, I'd be looking for $20 or less.

For example, I recently picked up the Amelia Peabody books (all 19 of them) for just £15.96 (about $25) thanks to a special offer from the publisher.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I'm not buying anything at the moment (after a recent splurge). But that ($83) hardly seems a good deal.

If I was waiting for a special offer on a series of ten books in an omnibus, I'd be looking for $20 or less.

It's gone down from $83.22 to $58.25, so it's 30% off.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's gone down from $83.22 to $58.25, so it's 30% off.

That's still more than $5 per book. That's pretty much individual book price, and a lot more than I'd expect to pay per-book for an ebook omnibus.

Consider Baen. Individual ebook price $6.99. Monthly Bundle ebook price a maximum of $4.50, if you already have everything except the four new ebooks.

[HarryT]

True, but these are extremely LARGE books. I don't personally think that $5.82 (£3.54) is an excessive price to pay for them. Each to their own, though, obviously. I paid £5.98 per book when I bought them.

[jgoguen]

I would definitely recommend the Malazan saga. It's one of the rare set of books, from even fewer authors, that I think is actually worth what I paid when I got the books at full cost.

[hwlester]

Bookbale starts their new bundle tomorrow, but they already have the books listed:

Books in the Basic bundle are:

1. Lights in the Deep by Brad Torgersen
2. Veiled Alliances by Kevin J. Anderson
3. Ocean by Brian Herbert & Jan Herbert
4. Iterations by Robert J. Sawyer
5. The Majesties' Bucketeers by L. Neil Smith
6. Alien Influences by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

The Bonus bundle includes all of the above plus:

1. Ivory by Mike Resnick
2. The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by hwlester

Bookbale starts their new bundle tomorrow, but they already have the books listed:

I'm tapped out until April. But nice to see that they are carrying on with bundles. I hope they do well.

[xg4bx]

That's a pretty tempting bundle, Ivory is a great book

Originally Posted by hwlester

Bookbale starts their new bundle tomorrow, but they already have the books listed:

Books in the Basic bundle are:

1. Lights in the Deep by Brad Torgersen
2. Veiled Alliances by Kevin J. Anderson
3. Ocean by Brian Herbert & Jan Herbert
4. Iterations by Robert J. Sawyer
5. The Majesties' Bucketeers by L. Neil Smith
6. Alien Influences by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

The Bonus bundle includes all of the above plus:

1. Ivory by Mike Resnick
2. The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett

[PurpleStar]

The bundle is tempting and I have a bit of money in my paypal account, but not enough for the bonus books. Still, I think I will not be getting it. I haven't gotten to reading any books in the other bundles I bought. On the other hand, it is a good deal even without the bonus books. Hmmmm....decisions, decisions...

[Abtacha]

Originally Posted by greenapple

The angry robot store offers precious little or no information about the ebooks, except summaries and blurbs. The least it could do is to offer sample excerpts, and book lengths.

I can't like a ebook company like this. You have to judge a book completely by its cover. It's just as bad as the kobo store.

They do offer excerpts on the Angry Robot website, there's usually a link in the description (labeled More Information).
But I agree that ebook stores should offer a simple and fast way to view a sample from the shop page (like Amazon does).

[Fluribus]

Originally Posted by HarryT

True, but these are extremely LARGE books.

I knew they were large books, but 20 MB file size!!!! I'm not sure I'd still be able to lift my Kindle.