Free/Bargain Science Fiction/Fantasy in September 2013

[hwlester]

Originally Posted by Jdschi

Now mind you I realize that the top reason for getting those bundles isn't because you're getting "cheap" ebooks or something but because to get to know Indie authors, helping charity, and so forth. But getting a good "deal" is part of the allure. I feel slightly... disappointed? I wouldn't even have noticed it if it were the only book this was happening to, but the same happened with the Mini Fantasy Bundle - just a couple of days later the first Draykon book was free on Amazon. Is this common? In that case, I might refrain from getting these bundles or paying the asked bonus, unless they contained books I really wanted to read anyway...

I suspect the reason this is happening is because they are indie authors and are setting their own price on the books. I've seen price discrepancies at Kobo like this as well. There was an omnibus that collected the first book of four of five YA series by indie authors and it was something like $1.99... Sounds like a good deal... Until I went looking for the individual books to see reviews on them. All but one of the original books was free and the other was only $0.99... Not looking like such a good deal now... I suspect the authors are doing whatever they can to get exposure for their books including StoryBundle and lowering their prices on Amazon.

[Jdschi]

Originally Posted by hwlester

I suspect the reason this is happening is because they are indie authors and are setting their own price on the books.
...
I suspect the authors are doing whatever they can to get exposure for their books including StoryBundle and lowering their prices on Amazon.

Yeah I agree - I have started to at least cursorily check the prices of the books included in bundles as well.
I also agree that the reason for authors adding in their book into the bundle is gaining exposure. But StoryBundle (and other bundles) make a big deal out of the fact that their bundles are "hand curated" - so I expect them to only accept or display "good" books and not to be the means for advertising.

[hwlester]

Originally Posted by Jdschi

Yeah I agree - I have started to at least cursorily check the prices of the books included in bundles as well.
I also agree that the reason for authors adding in their book into the bundle is gaining exposure. But StoryBundle (and other bundles) make a big deal out of the fact that their bundles are "hand curated" - so I expect them to only accept or display "good" books and not to be the means for advertising.

I agree. I'm in no way implying that the books in the bundles are crap, which can certainly be a risk with self-published books. I'm relying on the curation process to avoid crap although I've not yet read any of the books I've picked up in bundles... Adding them to my TBR pile, for the moment.

[HarryT]

Today's Kindle Daily Deal from Amazon UK is "Damocles" by S.G. Redling:

Amazon description:

When Earth is rocked by evidence that extraterrestrials may have seeded human DNA throughout the universe, a one-way expedition into deep space is mounted to uncover the truth. What linguist Meg Dupris and her crewmates aboard the Earth ship Damocles discover on Didet—a planet bathed in the near-eternal daylight of seven suns—is a humanoid race with a different language, a different look, and a surprisingly similar society.

But here, it’s the “Earthers” who are the extraterrestrial invaders, and it’s up to Meg—a woman haunted by tragedy and obsessed with the power of communication—to find the key to establishing trust between the natives and the newcomers. In Loul Pell, a young Dideto male thrust into the forefront of the historic event, Meg finds an unexpected kindred spirit, and undertakes an extraordinary journey of discovery, friendship, and life-altering knowledge.

Told from both sides of a monumental encounter, Damocles is a compelling novel about man’s first contact with an extraterrestrial race.

Not an author I've heard of, but at 99p it's worth a punt.

[AnemicOak]

Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind is the Kindle Science Fiction & Fantasy Daily Deal for $1.99 (add Whispersync for voice audio for $1.99)

Wizard's First Rule, the first novel by Terry Goodkind, was a phenomenon from the moment it was published by Tor Books in 1994, selling more than 100,000 copies in North America alone. It still sells more than 100,000 copies a year and has gone on to bestsellerdom in the United Kingdom and in more than twenty foreign translations as well as audiobook form.

It is now being developed as one of the most ambitious television miniseries of all time. Executive Producer Sam Raimi (director of the three Spider-Man movies), in collaboration with Disney/ABC, is creating a 22-episode adaptation of the book to be filmed in New Zealand.

Richard and Kahlan's story unfolds over ten more novels, collectively known as the Sword of Truth series, concluding with Confessor in 2007. Placing Goodkind in the elite club of #1 New York Times bestselling authors, the series has sold more than twenty million copies to date worldwide.

In Wizard's First Rule, Goodkind introduced the world to an ordinary forest guide, Richard Cypher, and the mysterious, powerful woman he comes to love, Kahlan Amnell. Learning his true identity, Richard accepts his destiny as the one man who can stop the bloodthirsty tyrant Darken Rahl. Hunted relentlessly, betrayed and alone, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword and invoke something more noble within himself as the final confrontation with Darken Rahl looms.

The importance of Wizard's First Rule is sourced in Goodkind taking on the toughest of all literary challenges: to tell an electrifying story of action, violence, and adventure that also makes people think, and that would influence the choices and actions of its readers.

[skinmaan]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind is the Kindle Science Fiction & Fantasy Daily Deal for $1.99 (add Whispersync for voice audio for $1.99)

At 34 hours, that's a pretty good audiobook value. Thanks.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by skinmaan

At 34 hours, that's a pretty good audiobook value. Thanks.

It's only of value if someone finds the story enjoyable (which is what I'm pretty sure you meant). Otherwise, people who like fat books [for example] would praise them for being thick, fat, and heavy - and nothing else.



Don

[itisbomb]

Three Parts Dead
by Max Gladstone

is $2.99 at B&N.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/thre...=max+gladstone

(I suspect that this book might also be discounted at Kobo (US Store). If that is the case, you might be able to apply 50%-off discount code, "Bookriot50", for even a better deal. I have not yet tried, though.)

Below is the blurb:
A god has died, and it’s up to Tara, first-year associate in the international necromantic firm of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao, to bring Him back to life before His city falls apart.

Her client is Kos, recently deceased fire god of the city of Alt Coulumb. Without Him, the metropolis’s steam generators will shut down, its trains will cease running, and its four million citizens will riot.

Tara’s job: resurrect Kos before chaos sets in. Her only help: Abelard, a chain-smoking priest of the dead god, who’s having an understandable crisis of faith.

When Tara and Abelard discover that Kos was murdered, they have to make a case in Alt Coulumb’s courts—and their quest for the truth endangers their partnership, their lives, and Alt Coulumb’s slim hope of survival.

Set in a phenomenally built world in which justice is a collective force bestowed on a few, craftsmen fly on lightning bolts, and gargoyles can rule cities, Three Parts Dead introduces readers to an ethical landscape in which the line between right and wrong blurs.

[itisbomb]

Three books by Terry Pratchett are being sold for $1.99 each at B&N

(I suspect that these books might also be discounted at Kobo (US Store). If that is the case, you might be able to apply 50%-off discount code, "Bookriot50", for even a better deal. I have not yet tried, though)

The Long Earth
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-...erry+pratchett

The Long War
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-...erry+pratchett

Snuff (Discworld Series)
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/snuf...erry+pratchett

[Brendan Moody]

Originally Posted by itisbomb

Three books by Terry Pratchett are being sold for $1.99 each at B&N

They've all been price-matched at Amazon as well. (Actually, they're among Amazon's monthly deals for October, so it may be B&N price-matching rather than the other way around.) Both of the "Long Earth" books are Whispersync-enabled, and while adding the audio for The Long War is a hefty $12.99, that for The Long Earth is only $3.99.

[GeoffR]

The Heroes by Joe Abercombie is £0.99 at UK retailers (or £0.50 at Kobo UK with the current 50% coupon.)

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by itisbomb

Three books by Terry Pratchett are being sold for $1.99 each at B&N

(I suspect that these books might also be discounted at Kobo (US Store). If that is the case, you might be able to apply 50%-off discount code, "Bookriot50", for even a better deal. I have not yet tried, though)

Thanks for this. A quick trip to the US and I have the collaborations for under $2.05, including the colorado sales tax. (I already had Snuff.)

[Marrella]

Originally Posted by itisbomb

Three books by Terry Pratchett are being sold for $1.99 each at B&N

The Long Earth

The Long War

Thanks. Those two are also discounted at Amazon.de (€ 1,52 each).

[odo]

Planesrunner, first book of the Everness Series by Ian McDonald, is 1.26€ at Kobo (at least from Spain):

http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Plane..._cR55AbVTA&r=1

I already had the print version of this one, but with the 50% coupon it's only 0.63€ and I couldn't resist buying it again (I'll most surely get rid of the physical book, now).

[pdurrant]

The October Thread is now available. Please use that for new bargains.

Thread closed.