Free (DRM-free) Over the Wine-Dark Sea by Harry Turtledove [Ancient Greek Historical]

ATDrake · 12-01-2016, 03:51 AM

Over the Wine-Dark Sea by Harry Turtledove (ISFDB, Wikipedia, SFE) is the 1st novel in his Menedemos and Sostratos (which someone over at Wikipedia has seen fit to dub the Hellenic Traders, even though that doesn't seem to be an official name from either publisher) quartet of historical adventure novels starring two cousins, a sea captain and a scholar, who become traders, set in the ancient Greek-adjacent Mediterranean world just after the reign of Alexander the Great, this installment setting up their partnership and initial adventure, free courtesy of publisher Phoenix Pick Press, who are e-printing it from its 2001 edition originally out from Tor's Forge imprint using his H. N. Turtletaub pseudonym.

This is their featured Free Book of the Month selection for December. Although Turtledove is best known for his alternate history, this is one of his non-sfnal straightforward historical fiction series.

Currently free throughout December directly @ the publisher's promo page (DRM-free ePub & Mobi available worldwide in return for your valid email address; follow the instructions to reset the price to $0.00 in the cart before checkout)

There are two separate tie-in offers this month. One is a bundle for the rest of the books in the quartet, for just $7.99. This is an auto-buy for me, as I never quite managed to get all the titles in the series from the used bookshop. The other is for Turtledove's contribution to Phoenix Pick's Stellar Guild team-up series pairing established authors with newer ones, this one showcasing a story by Harry Turtledove with a follow-up novella by his daughter Rachel Turtledove, for just $2.99 (more than half-off the regular price, but you may have already bought this in a previous bundle of Stellar Guild bonus offerings).

Description
A SPECIAL TREAT FROM THE MASTER OF HISTORICAL FICTION AND ALTERNATIVE HISTORY

Menedemos, the young dashing sea captain, and his helper, the scholarly Sostratos, are sea-traders from the Greek island of Rhodes. Fearless sailors, they will travel any distance to make a profit or to search for rich treasures.

While they trade in fineries such as wine and silk (and even, to the chagrin of many, peacocks), they live in dangerous times with pirates, thieves and barbarians. As if avoiding death by the hands of these miscreants isn't enough (particularly the barbarians from an obscure town called Rome), they are also caught between the political intrigues of Alexander's former generals.

ATDrake · 01-01-2017, 01:14 AM

Just a reminder that today will probably be the last day to pick up the freebie and/or purchase either of the tie-in offers, if you're interested.

GlenBarrington · 01-01-2017, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Just a reminder that today will probably be the last day to pick up the freebie and/or purchase either of the tie-in offers, if you're interested.

Clearly an early work, but he still painted a wonderful culture that he managed to make feel 'real' within the book. The plot is a little weak though

I wouldn't "highly" recommend it, but it's a good book, and deserves a place on your "To Be Read" pile.

12-01-2016, 03:51 AM	#1
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Free (DRM-free) Over the Wine-Dark Sea by Harry Turtledove [Ancient Greek Adventure] Over the Wine-Dark Sea by Harry Turtledove (ISFDB, Wikipedia, SFE) is the 1st novel in his Menedemos and Sostratos (which someone over at Wikipedia has seen fit to dub the Hellenic Traders, even though that doesn't seem to be an official name from either publisher) quartet of historical adventure novels starring two cousins, a sea captain and a scholar, who become traders, set in the ancient Greek-adjacent Mediterranean world just after the reign of Alexander the Great, this installment setting up their partnership and initial adventure, free courtesy of publisher Phoenix Pick Press, who are e-printing it from its 2001 edition originally out from Tor's Forge imprint using his H. N. Turtletaub pseudonym. This is their featured Free Book of the Month selection for December. Although Turtledove is best known for his alternate history, this is one of his non-sfnal straightforward historical fiction series. Currently free throughout December directly @ the publisher's promo page (DRM-free ePub & Mobi available worldwide in return for your valid email address; follow the instructions to reset the price to $0.00 in the cart before checkout) There are two separate tie-in offers this month. One is a bundle for the rest of the books in the quartet, for just $7.99. This is an auto-buy for me, as I never quite managed to get all the titles in the series from the used bookshop. The other is for Turtledove's contribution to Phoenix Pick's Stellar Guild team-up series pairing established authors with newer ones, this one showcasing a story by Harry Turtledove with a follow-up novella by his daughter Rachel Turtledove, for just $2.99 (more than half-off the regular price, but you may have already bought this in a previous bundle of Stellar Guild bonus offerings). Description A SPECIAL TREAT FROM THE MASTER OF HISTORICAL FICTION AND ALTERNATIVE HISTORY Menedemos, the young dashing sea captain, and his helper, the scholarly Sostratos, are sea-traders from the Greek island of Rhodes. Fearless sailors, they will travel any distance to make a profit or to search for rich treasures. While they trade in fineries such as wine and silk (and even, to the chagrin of many, peacocks), they live in dangerous times with pirates, thieves and barbarians. As if avoiding death by the hands of these miscreants isn't enough (particularly the barbarians from an obscure town called Rome), they are also caught between the political intrigues of Alexander's former generals. Last edited by ATDrake; 12-01-2016 at 04:10 AM.

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01-01-2017, 01:14 AM	#2
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Just a reminder that today will probably be the last day to pick up the freebie and/or purchase either of the tie-in offers, if you're interested.