More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now get your hands on the digital edition of the Baroque Cycle omnibus by Neal Stephenson, comprised of Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World, for only 2.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link. There is a price match in Canada. That's 3505 pages for less than 3$!!!

Here's the blurb:

Get all three novels in Neal Stephenson's New York Times bestselling "Baroque Cycle" in one e-book, including: Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World. This three-volume historical epic delivers intrigue, adventure, and excitement set against the political upheaval of the early 18th century.

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (April 19th)

In hardcover:

V.E. Schwab's The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is down two positions, ending the week at number 8.

Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun is down five spots, finishing the week at number 10.

In paperback:

Stephen King's Later is down one position, ending the week at number 3 (trade paperback).

Mini reviews

Hey guys,

As my mom's health continues to deteriorate, I visit her every chance I get. Which means that, even though I wanted to resume reviewing all the books I read in 2021, I simply don't have the time or the energy to do so these days. Hence, once again I have to resort to posting these mini reviews.

I feel bad because some of these novels truly deserved more in-depth reviews. And yet, I just can't find it in me to write them. The treatments gave my mother two to three months to live, so I figure that it will remain the case until she sadly passes away.

All I can say is that I'm sorry and that I hope you understand. . .

- The Girl and the Mountain by Mark Lawrence (Canada, USA, Europe): 8.5/10

This sequel begins right where its predecessor ended and Lawrence wastes no time in getting back on track. The pace gets a little bogged down in the middle portion of the novel, as the tale becomes a somewhat long travelogue. But then the author kicks you in the balls with revelations that all of his series are related. In the past, without such confirmation, though there were lots of clues and no small amount of coincidences, they could have all been easter eggs. But in this one, Lawrence spills the beans and makes it official. Makes me want to reread everything just so I can see all that I've missed over the years. My only gripe with The Girl and the Mountain is that it ends with another major cliffhanger. Still, definitely one of the SFF books to read this year!

- A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik (Canada, USA, Europe): 7/10

To be honest, I had absolutely no desire to read this one. But then the whole race fiasco happened and I was glad to have saved my ARC. Given everything that was said about Novik's latest, I wanted to read the "dirty" version. And not surprisingly, I didn't find it that bad and still wonder why it raised such an online fuss. The fact that the author had to apologize publicly on her website and promised that a "sensitivity read" would henceforth be done before galleys are sent out shows that the terrorists have won, so to speak. If this was for a work published by Baen, I would understand. But Naomi Novik has never been considered an insensitive right-wing fucktard, so I'm at a loss to explain why some people were that hard on her. The story itself is all right, but the main protagonist is terribly annoying and impossible to root for. Not sure I'll give the sequel a shot.

- When Jackals Storm the Walls by Bradley P. Beaulieu (Canada, USA, Europe): 8/10

After a disappointing first volume, this series seems to get better and better with each new installment. The books that came before paved the way for the characters and their storylines and many of these threads come together in this one. To a certain extent, this fifth volume often read like the series' finale and I was wondering how Beaulieu would close the show and leave enough doors open for the last installment. He did so with panache, even if a number of plotlines were resolved a little too quickly for my taste. Having said that, it's the best one yet.

I'm currently reading the final Harry Potter book, as well as Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth. About halfway through and it's definitely a fun romp of a novel. I just don't see (yet) how or why it garnered so much love. . .

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (April 12th)

In hardcover:

Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun is up four spots, finishing the week at number 5.

V.E. Schwab's The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is up one position, ending the week at number 6.

Sarah J. Mass' A Court of Silver Flames returns at number 15.

In paperback:

Stephen King's Later is down one position, ending the week at number 2 (trade paperback).

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (April 5th)

In hardcover:

V.E. Schwab's The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is down one position, ending the week at number 7.

Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun is down four spots, finishing the week at number 9.

In paperback:

Stephen King's Later maintains its position at number 1 (trade paperback).

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now get your hands on the digital edition of Nicholas Eames' Bloody Rose for only 2.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link. There is a price match in Canada.

Here's the blurb:

A band of fabled mercenaries, led by the infamous Bloody Rose, tour a wild fantasy landscape, battling monsters in arenas in front of thousands of adoring fans, but a secret and dangerous gig ushers them to the frozen north, and the band is never one to waste a shot at glory . . . even if it means almost certain death.

Live fast, die young.

Tam Hashford is tired of working at her local pub, slinging drinks for world-famous mercenaries and listening to the bards sing of adventure and glory in the world beyond her sleepy hometown.

When the biggest mercenary band of all, led by the infamous Bloody Rose, rolls into town, Tam jumps at the chance to sign on as their bard. It’s adventure she wants – and adventure she gets as the crew embark on a quest that will end in one of two ways: glory or death.

It’s time to take a walk on the wyld side.

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now download the Joe Hill e-book bundle, comprised of Heart-Shaped Box, 20th Century Ghosts, Horns, and NOS4A2, for only 3.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link. There is a price match in Canada.

Here's the blurb:

Get four bone-chilling novels of psychological and supernatural suspense from New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill in one e-book, including: Heart-Shaped Box, 20th Century Ghosts, Horns, and NOS4A2. Each publication of Hill is beautiful textured, deliciously scary, and greeted with the sort of overwhelming critical acclaim that is rare for works of skin-crawling supernatural terror. Read on if you dare to see what all the well-deserved hoopla is about.

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now get your hands on the digital edition of Octavia E. Butler's Earthseed: The Complete Series for only 3.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link. There is a price match in Canada.

Here's the blurb:

A multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winner’s powerful saga of survival and destiny in a near-future dystopian America.

One of the world’s most respected authors of science fiction imagines an apocalyptic near-future Earth where a remarkable young woman discovers that her destiny calls her to try and change the world around her. Octavia E. Butler’s brilliant two-volume Earthseed saga offers a startling vision of an all-too-possible tomorrow, in which walls offer no protection from a civilization gone mad.

Parable of the Sower: In the aftermath of worldwide ecological and economic apocalypse, minister’s daughter Lauren Oya Olamina escapes the slaughter that claims the lives of her family and nearly every other member of their gated California community. Heading north with two young companions through an American wasteland, the courageous young woman faces dangers at every turn while spreading the word of a remarkable new religion that embraces survival and change.

Parable of the Talents: Called to the new, hard truth of Earthseed, the small community of the dispossessed that now surrounds Lauren Olamina looks to her—their leader—for guidance. But when the evil that has grown out of the ashes of human society destroys all she has built, the prophet is forced to choose between preserving her faith or her family.

The Earthseed novels cement Butler’s reputation as “one of the finest voices in fiction—period” (TheWashington Post Book World). Stunningly prescient and breathtakingly relevant to our times, this dark vision of a future America is a masterwork of powerful speculation that ushers us into a broken, dangerously divided world of bigotry, social inequality, mob violence, and ultimately hope.

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (March 29th)

In hardcover:

Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun is down one spot, finishing the week at number 5.

V.E. Schwab's The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is up four positions, ending the week at number 6.

Patricia Briggs' Wild Sign debuts at number 9.

Sarah J. Mass' A Court of Silver Flames is up one spot, finishing the week at number 12.

In paperback:

Stephen King's Later maintains its position at number 1 (trade paperback).