FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by GlennD

I'm a total sucker for series. I'll do a complete reread after reading the latest release, just because I enjoy 'hanging' out with characters that have become like old friends.

But is every series really worth it? And what about a series that is fairly long? The Wheel of Time or that Wizard's First Rule series for instance?

[GlennD]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

But is every series really worth it? And what about a series that is fairly long? The Wheel of Time or that Wizard's First Rule series for instance?

I used to do a complete reread of the Wheel of Time prior to the next book release. For something more episodic, like the Mercy Thompson books, reading the latest release usually gets me in the mood to reread the prior books.

Yeah, i'm probably a little weird, but I'm a pretty fast reader so it's not an enormous time investment.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by HarryT

When I read a series I alternate between a series book and something else. That adds variety without losing track.

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

No, no, that's just BEFORE the newest release is due to come out!

I will also alternate, except when I have a really good series. Then I will binge read the series.
I also like to reread a really good series just before the release of the newest book.
Apache

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by DNSB

What??? You don't love cliff-hangers? Don't they make you want to purchase the next book until the series finally ends?

Sometimes they do, but I've found that for me to get interested in volume 607, I need it to have one or more characters with whom I identify closely. And/Or there is a strong idea that's too big to explore in a single volume.

Tom Kratman's "A Desert Called Peace" (military Science Fiction) quickly comes to mind. His vision of Terra Nova was complex and interesting.

[ZodWallop]

If The Quantum Magician was just too darn brainy for you, here is the opposite:

Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard is $0.99 at Amazon.

In the year A.D. 3000, Earth is a dystopian wasteland, plundered of its natural resources by alien conquerors known as Psychlos. Fewer than thirty-five thousand humans survive in a handful of communities scattered across the face of a post-apocalyptic Earth.

From the ashes of humanity rises a young hero, Jonnie Goodboy Tyler. Setting off on an initial quest to discover a hidden evil, Jonnie unlocks the mystery of humanity’s demise and unearths a crucial weakness in their oppressors. Spreading the seeds of revolt, Jonnie and a small band of survivors pit their quest for freedom in an all-out rebellion that erupts across the continents of Earth and the cosmic sprawl of the Psychlo empire.

For the fate of the Galaxy lies on the Battlefield of Earth.

Dutch angles for everyone!

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

Tom Kratman's "A Desert Called Peace" (military Science Fiction) quickly comes to mind. His vision of Terra Nova was complex and interesting.

I remember looking into A Desert Called Peace. That one used to be part of the Baen Free Library. I wonder if it's still available? (Looks like it is, but there's also a second edition with new content.)

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

But is every series really worth it? And what about a series that is fairly long? The Wheel of Time or that Wizard's First Rule series for instance?

Of course not. But sometimes a series starts out strong, like WOT, and then the author decides to 'milk' the thing, and the next 7 books go nowhere and do nothing. Sometimes, you don't know till you hit that execrable volume, then if you are like me, you feel hoodwinked. That is how life sometimes works.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

Of course not. But sometimes a series starts out strong, like WOT, and then the author decides to 'milk' the thing, and the next 7 books go nowhere and do nothing. Sometimes, you don't know till you hit that execrable volume, then if you are like me, you feel hoodwinked. That is how life sometimes works.

That's why I typically avoid series, or try to read them only after they've finished. Preferably, the series should be short (3-5 books).

If the books are episodic and just feature a recurring character (the Fletch books for instance), that's a different story.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I remember looking into A Desert Called Peace. That one used to be part of the Baen Free Library. I wonder if it's still available? (Looks like it is, but there's also a second edition with new content.)

The second editions, for the most part, just updated the non-book information (a new preface, afterword, author biography, etc.). When Baen moved to selling their ebooks through other sites, they ran into issues with the Free Library where other retailers were not happy about possible complaints such as I just bought this ebook and it's free from the publisher!--so they created the second editions for sale while leaving the original in the Free Library.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by DNSB

The second editions, for the most part, just updated the non-book information (a new preface, afterword, author biography, etc.). When Baen moved to selling their ebooks through other sites, they ran into issues with the Free Library where other retailers were not happy about possible complaints such as I just bought this ebook and it's free from the publisher!--so they created the second editions for sale while leaving the original in the Free Library.

Thanks for that. I don't buy many Baen books, but I like the way they do things.

Though scanning the Amazon page reminded me of why I bypassed A Desert Called Peace.

[ZodWallop]

Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay is $1.99 at Amazon.

From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates, a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the grand khalif at his request—and possibly to do more—and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman posing as a doctor’s wife but sent by Seressa as a spy.

The trading ship that carries them is commanded by the accomplished younger son of a merchant family, ambivalent about the life he’s been born to live. And farther east a boy trains to become a soldier in the elite infantry of the khalif—to win glory in the war everyone knows is coming.

As these lives entwine, their fates—and those of many others—will hang in the balance when the khalif sends out his massive army to take the great fortress that is the gateway to the western world....

[salty-horse]

Two offerings in the Kindle Daily Deal on Amazon.com:

Mary Poppins (first 4 stories) by P. L. Travers is $2.99 - Link

84K by Claire North is $1.99 - Link

A powerful dystopian vision of a world where money reigns supreme.

The penalty for Dani Cumali's murder: £84,000.

Theo works in the Criminal Audit Office. He assesses each crime that crosses his desk and makes sure the correct debt to society is paid in full.

These days, there's no need to go to prison - provided that you can afford to pay the penalty for the crime you've committed. If you're rich enough, you can get away with murder.

But Dani's murder is different. When Theo finds her lifeless body, and a hired killer standing over her and calmly calling the police to confess, he can't let her death become just an entry on a balance sheet.

Someone is responsible. And Theo is going to find them and make them pay.

[tch65721]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay is $1.99 at Amazon.

I like Kay and can't believe I nearly overlooked this one. Well spotted, thanks!

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

84K by Claire North is $1.99 - Link

The book sounds interesting, but man the reviews range from split to bad.

Is the company in the novel just called The Company? Stuff like that is some lazy writing.

[salty-horse]

Goodreads reviews trend toward the positive.

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Is the company in the novel just called The Company? Stuff like that is some lazy writing.

That's not an uncommon nickname for companies. Kage Baker's time travel series, the CIA...

From the NPR review:

The Company is unnamed. The Company is everywhere. Once, it was a few companies, the kind that owned so many things, no one really knew what they owned anymore. Until, finally, it became just one Company that owned so much it might just as well have owned everything.