Free (Kindle DRM-free) Dragon and the Unicorn by A.A. Attanasio [Arthurian Fantasy]

[ATDrake]

So, now that the KDP Select exclusive-or-else-but-you-get-5-days-free-out-of-90-as-long-as-you-only-sell-for-the-other-85-through-us-alone-and-can't-even-give-your-book-away-on-your-website-for-promo-purposes-we-really-mean-the-or-else slushpile has settled, once again it yields something rather worthwhile after I've already gone and put the early updates in yesterday's thread.

Why, why can't it spit forth the good stuff sooner?

Anyway, we have a real treat today: the "missing" 1st in series for A.A. Attanasio's Arthurian-based epic high fantasy quartet, for which we'd received the three following volumes previously.

This is a known DRM-free book, or at least it should be since all the other ones and the rest of Attanasio's KDP-freebied works were.

We've also a nice Scottish litfic-prize-shortlisted litfic and some more romance and horror in the slushpile. The former is self-explanatory, but is the latter some kind of reaction to Singles' Appreciation Valentine's Day?

The Dragon and the Unicorn, 1st in the Perilous Order of Camelot quartet by A.A. Attanasio, was originally published by HarperCollins in 1996.

With words like "dragon", "unicorn", and "Camelot", I should not have to tell you what genre this fits into.

Free without DRM for probably just the day (previous offerings have been 1-day-only) @ Amazon main UK DE ES FR IT

Description
This epic retells Arthurian legend with a cosmic spin. Old as the Big Bang, the demon Lailoken assumes human form in Roman Britain as Celts battle Saxons for mastery. The witch-queen he serves calls him Merlinus and sends him to find her true love. Led by a unicorn and hunted by a dragon vast as the planet, Merlinus matches wits with gods and elves as he weaves the destiny of the most famous king.

In this first volume of Attanasio's Arthurian saga, all the core elements appear, chronicling Vortigern's defeat of the Saxons, the ascendancy of Theodosius Ambrosius (Uther Pendragon), the birth of Arthur and eventually Merlin's placing of the sword in the stone. But in Attanasio's vibrantly imagined world, the legends of northern Europe acquire their magical perspective from modern physics: Yggdrasil the Storm Tree fills the heavens as the magnetic field of the planet - the gods exist as electrostatic beings - and Merlin uses his humanity to disguise his true identity as a 'demon,' a hyperspatial mind created spontaneously out of chaos and known among thermodynamic theorists as a Boltzmann Brain. An encounter with a unicorn, an interplanetary being of light, brings Merlinus to Ygrane, queen of the Celts, and she sets him a task to find her king, a man seen in vision and fated to be her true love. Merlinus-Lailoken seeks and finds him: Theodosius, a stable worker. But Ygrane has commanded the demon-wizard to bring her a king, so Merlinus sets to work making one.

Previously-included Catherine Czerkawska who writes for UK TV and BBC radio offers a literary fiction novel which she says was shortlisted for the 2005 Dundee Book Prize: The Curiosity Cabinet

Previously-included Anthony Neil Smith offers a 2005 small-pressed mystery/crime novel involving a defunct rock band and fake deaths, with a favourable review from Publisher's Weekly: The Drummer

Minor ISFDB-ed horror/dark fantasy writer Kenneth W. Cain offers another collection of: These Old Tales Volume One (A Collection of Short Stories, Poetry, and Flash Fiction)

Bram Stoker/World Fantasy Award-winner David B. Silva returns with another short: The Night in Fog

Post Mortem Press, whom I seem to recall having brought us some of the minor ISFDB-ed horror writers offers a festively-themed anthology: Mon Coeur Mort

Dybbuk Press returns with the self-explanatory: Badass Horror

Angela Hunt returns with a medieval historical romance paperbacked in 1993 from Christian publisher Tyndale House: Afton of Margate Castle (The Theyn Chronicles)

Bell Bridge Books-published Vicki Hinze offers another author advice guide, revised from an earlier version: Writing in the Fast Lane

Phaze Books-published Jenna Byrnes returns with another BWLPP-published set of supernatural romance shorts: Shivers of Delight

ISFDB-ed Michael McBride returns with another one in his horror series: Zero: A Novella (Novella Series)

Ellora's Cave-published Valerie Douglas writing as V.J. Devereaux offers a paranormal erotic romance novella: Demon's Embrace (Demon Allure)

Karen L. Syed who is published by newbie-looking small genre imprint Echelon Press offers a short romance: Seducing Cupid

Tor-published action adventure writer Warren Murphy (his backlist should also be really cheap on Fictionwise with the 60% off coupon) offers two books: Miss Bidwell's Spirit a 2006-small-pressed political general fiction novel co-written with Ron Semple and: Jericho Day a 2001-Random House political journalism thriller.

PS Publishing who've given us some nice sf/fantasy freebies returns with some quirky litfic looking thing by Carol Guess (may be speculative or satire): Homeschooling

I think recognize at least one of the author names contributing to this anthology as having previously been included for minor ISFDB credits, so if you like weird wild westerns with a supernatural/paranormal flavour: Six Guns Straight From Hell

Previously-included police officer Chuck Klein who had a minor Christian publisher non-fiction credit offers another set of his own experiences with praise from hot rodding magazines this time: The Way It Was--Nostalgic Tales of Hotrods and Romance

And for those of you who game, this self-pub title may be of help: Star Wars : The Old Republic (Unofficial SWTOR Gameplay / Leveling Guide)

Enjoy, especially if you've been holding off on reading the quartet because you were missing the start.

ETA: Equal-opportunity holiday-themed fic: Johnny Murdoc has had stories published in known specialty romance/erotica outlets and included in a Best Gay Erotica 2011 anthology from Cleis Press. Here's his short collection including said Best 2011 work: Hard Lessons: Gay Erotic Fiction

Also, another historical-based military fiction (this one looks like a fantasy take on Alexander the Great's campaigns) by Wargamer Monthly editor and award-winning game designer David Ross Erickson: The Blood Gate

ETA 2: Donald Newlove, some sort of theatre person/critic, whose autobiography was reviewed by Time Magazine, offers a 60s-set litfic: DOWNPOUR--A Love Story

[scrapking]

As always, thank you so much.

[CWatkinsNash]

[Dr. Drib]

Got a few!

Thank you!




Don

[Blue Tyson]

Thanks!

403

[caleb72]

I hope this means another round of Attanasio freebies!
As always - thanks for this.

[ozron]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Minor ISFDB-ed horror/dark fantasy writer Kenneth W. Cain offers another collection of: These Old Tales Volume One (A Collection of Short Stories, Poetry, and Flash Fiction)

These Old Tales Volume Two is also free.

[Britomart]

Spellbound by Sharon Ihle, a historical romance set on a steamship in the post-Civil-War South, is free right now.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by ozron

These Old Tales Volume Two is also free.

As of this moment, it's not free.


Don

[NightBird]

The Dragon and the Unicorn is free again.

[llangill]

Hello,

Does anyone have these books? I can't find them anywhere.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by llangill

Hello,

Does anyone have these books? I can't find them anywhere.

Asking someone to give you copyrighted ebooks can get you banned from our site.

You may freely purchase them from Amazon, or wait until they are again free.


Don
(Moderator)

[Mims]

Since I have never seen anyone at Mobile Read offer to lend or ask to borrow legally lendable books, I have assumed the practice was either out right banned or culturally unacceptable. But the new member may have assumed that since the books are legally lendable through Amazon accounts, it was okay to ask here.