Quote of the Day

Given time and money, there were very few problems in the universe that could not be solved.

- ALASTAIR REYNOLDS, House of Suns. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

Terrific read so far! =)

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now download Clive Barker's Weaveworld for only 3.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link. This OneLink will take you to the nearest Amazon site serving your country and you'll see if you can take advantage of this sale.

Here's the blurb:

Here is storytelling on a grand scale — the stuff of which a classic is made. Weaveworld begins with a rug — a wondrous, magnificent rug — into which a world has been woven. It is the world of the Seerkind, a people more ancient than man, who possesses raptures — the power to make magic. In the last century they were hunted down by an unspeakable horror known as the Scourge, and, threatened with annihilation, they worked their strongest raptures to weave themselves and their culture into a rug for safekeeping. Since then, the rug has been guarded by human caretakers.

The last of the caretakers has just died.

Vying for possession of the rug is a spectrum of unforgettable characters: Suzanna, granddaughter of the last caretaker, who feels the pull of the Weaveworld long before she knows the extent of her own powers; Calhoun Mooney, a pigeon-raising clerk who finds the world he's always dreamed of in a fleeting glimpse of the rug; Immacolata, an exiled Seerkind witch intent on destroying her race even if it means calling back the Scourge; and her sidekick, Shadwell, the Salesman, who will sell the Weaveworld to the highest bidder.

In the course of the novel the rug is unwoven, and we travel deep into the glorious raptures of the Weaveworld before we witness the final, cataclysmic struggle for its possession.

Barker takes us to places where we have seldom been in fiction--places terrifying and miraculous, humorous, and profound. With keen psychological insight and prodigious invention, his trademark graphic vision balanced by a spirit of transcendent promise, Barker explores the darkness and the light, the magical and the monstrous, and celebrates the triumph of the imagination.

You can also get your hands on the digital edition of Barker's The Damnation Game for only 4.99$ here.

Here's the blurb:

Marty Strauss, a gambling addict recently released from prison, is hired to be the personal bodyguard of Joseph Whitehead, one of the wealthiest men in the world. The job proves more complicated and dangerous than he thought, however, as Marty soon gets caught up in a series of supernatural events involving Whitehead, his daughter (who is a heroin addict), and a devilish man named Mamoulian, with whom Whitehead made a Faustian bargain many years earlier, during World War II.

As time passes, Mamoulian haunts Whitehead using his supernatural powers (such as the ability to raise the dead), urging him to complete his pact with him. Eventually Whitehead decides to escape his fate after a few encounters with Mamoulian and having his wife, former bodyguard, and now his daughter Carys taken away from him. With hope still left to save Carys, Marty Strauss, although reluctant to get involved in the old man Whiteheads deserved punishment, decides to get involved and attempt to save the innocent gifted addict from being another victim to the damnation game.

Finally, you can also download Barker's Cabal for only 3.99$ here.

Here's the blurb:

Cabal is the story of Boone, a tortured soul haunted by the conviction that he has committed atrocious crimes. In a necropolis in the wilds of Canada, he seeks refuge and finds the last great creatures of the world - the shape-shifters known as the Nightbreed. They are possessed of unearthly powers-and so is Boone. In the hunt for Boone, they too will be hunted. Now only the courage of this strange human can save them from extinction. And only the undying passion of a woman can save Boone from his own corrupting hell...

This novella is the basis for the Major Motion Picture - Nightbreed.

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (October 9th)

In hardcover:

 
Stephen King's Fairy Tale is down one position, ending the week at number 2. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

In paperback:

George R. R. Martin's Fire and Blood returns at number 12.

Sarah J. Mass' A Court of Silver Flames is down five spots, finishing the week at number 15.

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now download R. Scott Bakker's The Darkness That Comes Before for only 2.51$ by following this Amazon Associate link. This OneLink will take you to the nearest Amazon site serving your country and you'll see if you can take advantage of this sale.

Here's the blurb:

A score of centuries has passed since the First Apocalypse. The No-God has been vanquished and the thoughts of men have turned, inevitably, to more worldly concerns...Drusas Achamian, tormented by 2,000 year old nightmares, is a sorcerer and a spy, constantly seeking news of an ancient enemy that few believe still exists. Ikurei Conphas, nephew to the Nansur Emperor, is the Exalt-General of the Imperial Army and a military genius. He plots to conquer the known world for his Emperor and dreams of the throne for himself. Maithanet, mysterious and charismatic, is spiritual leader of the Thousand Temples. He seeks a Holy War to cleanse the land of the infidel. Cnaiur, Chieftain of the Utemot, is a Scylvendi barbarian. Rejected by his people, he seeks vengeance against the former slave who slew his father, and disgraced him in the eyes of his tribe. Into this world steps Anasurimbor Kellhus, the product of two thousand years of breeding and a lifetime of training in the ways of thought, limb, and face. Steering souls through the subtleties of word and expression, he slowly binds all - man and woman, emperor and slave - to his own mysterious ends. But the fate of men - even great men - means little when the world itself may soon be torn asunder. Behind the politics, beneath the imperialist expansion, amongst the religious fervour, a dark and ancient evil is reawakening. After two thousand years, the No-God is returning. The Second Apocalypse is nigh. And one cannot raise walls against what has been forgotten...

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now download the omnibus edition of J. V. Jones' The Book of Words trilogy for only 1.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link. This OneLink will take you to the nearest Amazon site serving your country and you'll see if you can take advantage of this sale.

Here's the blurb:

This ebook compilation brings together the three thrilling novels in J.V. Jones's epic fantasy adventure series.

THE BAKER'S BOY

At vast Castle Harvell, Where King Lesketh lies dying, two fates collide. In her regal suite, young Melliandra, the daughter of an influential lord, rebels against her forced betrothal to the sinister Prince Kylock. In the kitchens, an apprentice named Jack is terrified by his sudden, uncontrolled power to work miracles. Together they flee the castle, stalked by a sorcer who has connived for decades to control the crown, committing supernatural murder to advance his schemes.

Meanwhile, a young knight begins a quest leaving behind his home and family to seek out the treacherous Isle of Larn, where lies a clue to his desperate search for the truth.

And a wondrous epic of darkness and beauty begins...

A MAN BETRAYED

At Castle Harvell demented Prince Kylock grabs the reins of power and hate by murdering his father. Harvell's two young refugees are torn apart by the storms of war:

Headstrong young Melliandra is captured by brutal slavers and Jack, whose wild power works miracles, falls prey to a smuggler's lying charms and a woman's seductive schemes. Meanwhile, in the distant stronghold of Bren, Kylock's betrothed, beautiful, mad Catherine, dabbles with darkest sorceries.

A knight's shattered destiny is about to lead from death-sport pits to the blood-strewn creation of an empire--and a wondrous epic of grandeur and magic continues...

MASTER AND FOOL

The Known Lands are teetering on the brink of war. Desperate to avert worldwide catastrophe, Jack, the baker's boy, must learn to harness the full strength of his magic to face his ultimate destiny--a final confrontation with the murderously evil Kylock.

You can also get your hands on the digital edition of Steven Brust's The Book of Jhereg, an omnibus comprised of the first three Vlad Taltos books, for only 3.99$ here.

Here's the blurb:

The first three fantastical adventures of assassin Vlad Taltos—now in one volume.

A welcome addition to any fantasy fan's library, The Book of Jhereg follows the antics of the wise-cracking Vlad Taltos and his dragon-like companion through their first three adventures—Jhereg, Yendi, and Teckla.

There are many ways for a young man with quick wits and a quick sword to advance in the world. Vlad Taltos chose the route of assassin. From his rookie days to his selfless feats of heroism, the dauntless Vlad will hold readers spellbound—and The Book of Jhereg will take its place among the classic compilations in fantasy.

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now get your hands on the digital edition of Michelle West's The Hidden City for only 2.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link. This OneLink will take you to the nearest Amazon site serving your country and you'll see if you can take advantage of this sale.

Here's the blurb:

In this epic fantasy series for fans of George R. R. Martin and Robin Hobb, Jewel Markess must contend with deadly court politics, and visions of looming magical threats.

Orphaned and left to fend for herself in the slums of Averalaan, Jewel Markess—Jay to her friends—meets an unlikely savior in Rath, a man who prowls the ruins of the undercity. Nursing Jay back to health is an unusual act for a man who renounced his own family long ago, and the situation becomes stranger still when Jay begins to form a den of other rescued children in Rath's home. But worse perils lurk beneath the slums: the demons that once nearly destroyed the Essalieyan Empire are stirring again, and soon Rath and Jay will find themselves targets of these unstoppable beings.

You can also download Michelle West's The Broken Crown for only 2.99$ here.

Here's the blurb:

The first novel of the acclaimed Sun Sword series introduces readers to a war-torn world of noble houses divided and demon lords unleashed...

Tor Leonne—the heart of the Dominion of Annagar, where the games of state are about to become a matter of life and death—and where those who seek to seize the crown will be forced to league with a treacherously cunning ally....

Tor Leonne, ancestral seat of power, where Serra Diora Maria di’Marano—the most sought-after beauty in the land, a woman betrayed by all she holds dear—may strike the first blow to change the future of the Dominion and Empire alike....

Averalaan Aramarelas—that most ancient of civilized cities, the home of the Essalieyan Imperial court, has long been a center of magics both dark and bright. And though the Empire won its last war with the Dominion, and survived a devastating, magic-fueled battle with a far deadlier foe, both those victories were not without their cost....

But now the realm is on the brink of a far greater confrontation, faced with an unholy alliance that could spell the end of freedom for all mortalkind.

If you haven't tried this author yet, this is the perfect opportunity to give the first installments of two of her most popular series a shot!

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now download David J. Williams' The Mirrored Heavens for only 2.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link. This OneLink will take you to the nearest Amazon site serving your country and you'll see if you can take advantage of this sale.

Even better, you can your hands on the entire Autumn Rain trilogy for only 7.02$! Intelligent and exhilarating in equal measures, this series features enough politicking, backstabbing, action and explosions and battles to satisfy anyone looking for a good science fiction yarn that goes all out.

Here are links to my reviews of all three installments:

The Mirrored Heavens
The Burning Skies
The Machinery of Light

Here's the blurb:

In the 22nd century, the first wonder of a brave new world is the Phoenix Space Elevator, designed to give mankind greater access to the frontier beyond Earth. Cooperatively built by the United States and the Eurasian Coalition, the Elevator is also a grand symbol of superpower alliance following a second cold war. And it’s just been destroyed.

With suspicions rampant, armies and espionage teams are mobilized across the globe and beyond. Enter Claire Haskell and Jason Marlowe, U.S. counterintelligence agents and former lovers—though their memories may only be constructs implanted by their spymaster. Now their agenda is to trust no one. For as the crisis mounts, the lives of all involved will converge in one explosive finale—and a startling aftermath that will rewrite everything they’ve ever known—about their mission, their world, and themselves.

Quote of the Day

If my years as a shatterling had taught me anything it was that not all questions had an answer. Societies had reduced themselves to radioactive dust because they could not accept that single unpalatable truth.

- ALASTAIR REYNOLDS, House of Suns. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

Don't know for how long, but you can now download all four installments of R. Scott Bakker's The Aspect-Emperor series for 2.99$ each by following this Amazon Associate link. This OneLink will take you to the nearest Amazon site serving your country and you'll see if you can take advantage of this sale.

If you ever wanted to give this superior series a shot, now's the perfect time!

Here's the blurb for the first volume:

The Darkness That Comes Before, The Warrior Prophet, and The Thousandfold Thought --collectively the Prince of Nothing Saga-were R. Scott Bakker's magnificent debut into the upper echelon of epic fantasy. In those three books, Bakker created a world that was at once a triumph of the fantastic and an historical epic as real as any that came before.

Widely praised by reviewers and a growing body of fans, Bakker has already established the reputation as one of the smartest writers in the fantasy genre-a writer in the line stretching from Homer to Peake to Tolkein. Now he returns to The Prince of Nothing with the long awaited The Judging Eye, the first book in an all-new series. Set twenty years after the end of The Thousandfold Thought, Bakker reintroduces us to a world that is at once familiar but also very different than the one readers thought they knew. Delving even further into his richly imagined universe of myth, violence, and sorcery, and fully remolding the fantasy genre to broaden the scope of intricacy and meaning, R. Scott Bakker has once again written a fantasy novel that defies all expectations and rewards the reader with an experience unlike any to be had in the canon of today's literature.

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (October 2nd)

In hardcover:

 
Stephen King's Fairy Tale maintains its position at number 1. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

Tamsyn Muir's Nona the Ninth debuts at number 4. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

In paperback:

Sarah J. Mass' A Court of Silver Flames is down six spots, finishing the week at number 10.

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now download Michael R. Fletcher's Black Stone Heart for only 4.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link. This OneLink will take you to the nearest Amazon site serving your country and you'll see if you can take advantage of this sale.

Here's the blurb:

THE FIRST STEP ON THE OBSIDIAN PATH

A broken man, Khraen awakens alone and lost. His stone heart has been shattered, littered across the world. With each piece, he regains some small shard of the man he once was. He follows the trail, fragment by fragment, remembering his terrible past.

There was a woman.

There was a sword.

There was an end to sorrow.

Khraen walks the obsidian path.

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

I don't know for how long, but all the Mongoliad installments are now on sale! You can download the first volume for only 0.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link. This OneLink will take you to the nearest Amazon site serving your country and you'll see if you can take advantage of this sale.

Here's the blurb for the first volume:

With bonus material! This Kindle edition features extra content only found in the Collector’s Edition of The Mongoliad: Book One, including an illustrated character glossary, a Foreworld map, and Sinner, a prequel to the Mongoliad series.

The first novel to be released in The Foreworld Saga, The Mongoliad: Book One, is an epic-within-an-epic, taking place in 13th century. In it, a small band of warriors and mystics raise their swords to save Europe from a bloodthirsty Mongol invasion. Inspired by their leader (an elder of an order of warrior monks), they embark on a perilous journey and uncover the history of hidden knowledge and conflict among powerful secret societies that had been shaping world events for millennia.

But the saga reaches the modern world via a circuitous route. In the late 19th century, Sir Richard F. Burton, an expert on exotic languages and historical swordsmanship, is approached by a mysterious group of English martial arts aficionados about translating a collection of long-lost manuscripts. Burton dies before his work is finished, and his efforts were thought lost until recently rediscovered by a team of amateur archaeologists in the ruins of a mansion in Trieste, Italy. From this collection of arcana, the incredible tale of The Mongoliad was recreated.

Full of high adventure, unforgettable characters, and unflinching battle scenes, The Mongoliad ignites a dangerous quest where willpower and blades are tested and the scope of world-building is redefined.

A note on this edition: The Mongoliad began as a social media experiment, combining serial story-telling with a unique level of interaction between authors and audience during the creative process. Since its original iteration, The Mongoliad has been restructured, edited, and rewritten under the supervision of its authors to create a more cohesive reading experience and will be published as a trilogy of novels. This edition is the definitive edition and is the authors' preferred text.

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now download Robert Jackson Bennett's Foundryside for only 2.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link. This OneLink will take you to the nearest Amazon site serving your country and you'll see if you can take advantage of this sale.

Here's the blurb:

In a city that runs on industrialized magic, a secret war will be fought to overwrite reality itself–the first in a dazzling new fantasy series from City of Stairs author Robert Jackson Bennett.

Sancia Grado is a thief, and a damn good one. And her latest target, a heavily guarded warehouse on Tevanne’s docks, is nothing her unique abilities can’t handle.

But unbeknownst to her, Sancia’s been sent to steal an artifact of unimaginable power, an object that could revolutionize the magical technology known as scriving. The Merchant Houses who control this magic–the art of using coded commands to imbue everyday objects with sentience–have already used it to transform Tevanne into a vast, remorseless capitalist machine. But if they can unlock the artifact’s secrets, they will rewrite the world itself to suit their aims.

Now someone in those Houses wants Sancia dead, and the artifact for themselves. And in the city of Tevanne, there’s nobody with the power to stop them.

To have a chance at surviving—and at stopping the deadly transformation that’s under way—Sancia will have to marshal unlikely allies, learn to harness the artifact’s power for herself, and undergo her own transformation, one that will turn her into something she could never have imagined.

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (September 25th)

In hardcover:

 
Stephen King's Fairy Tale debuts at number 1. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

In paperback:

Sarah J. Mass' A Court of Silver Flames debuts at number 4.

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now get your hands on the digital edition of Alex North's The Shadows for only 2.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link. This OneLink will take you to the nearest Amazon site serving your country and you'll see if you can take advantage of this sale.

Here's the blurb:

The haunting new thriller from Alex North, author of the New York Times bestseller The Whisper Man.

You knew a teenager like Charlie Crabtree. A dark imagination, a sinister smile--always on the outside of the group. Some part of you suspected he might be capable of doing something awful. Twenty-five years ago, Crabtree did just that, committing a murder so shocking that it’s attracted that strange kind of infamy that only exists on the darkest corners of the internet--and inspired more than one copycat.

Paul Adams remembers the case all too well: Crabtree--and his victim--were Paul’s friends. Paul has slowly put his life back together. But now his mother, old and suffering from dementia, has taken a turn for the worse. Though every inch of him resists, it is time to come home.

It's not long before things start to go wrong. Paul learns that Detective Amanda Beck is investigating another copycat that has struck in the nearby town of Featherbank. His mother is distressed, insistent that there's something in the house. And someone is following him. Which reminds him of the most unsettling thing about that awful day twenty-five years ago.

It wasn't just the murder.

It was the fact that afterward, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again...

You can also download Joe Hill's Heart-Shaped Box for only 1.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link.

Here's the blurb:

Judas Coyne is a collector of the macabre: a cookbook for cannibals . . . a used hangman's noose . . . a snuff film. An aging death-metal rock god, his taste for the unnatural is as widely known to his legions of fans as the notorious excesses of his youth. But nothing he possesses is as unlikely or as dreadful as his latest discovery, an item for sale on the Internet, a thing so terribly strange, Jude can't help but reach for his wallet.

I will "sell" my stepfather's ghost to the highest bidder. . .

For a thousand dollars, Jude will become the proud owner of a dead man's suit, said to be haunted by a restless spirit. He isn't afraid. He has spent a lifetime coping with ghosts—of an abusive father, of the lovers he callously abandoned, of the bandmates he betrayed. What's one more?

But what UPS delivers to his door in a black heart-shaped box is no imaginary or metaphorical ghost, no benign conversation piece. It's the real thing.

And suddenly the suit's previous owner is everywhere: behind the bedroom door . . . seated in Jude's restored vintage Mustang . . . standing outside his window . . . staring out from his widescreen TV. Waiting—with a gleaming razor blade on a chain dangling from one bony hand. . .

A multiple-award winner for his short fiction, author Joe Hill immediately vaults into the top echelon of dark fantasists with a blood-chilling roller-coaster ride of a novel, a masterwork brimming with relentless thrills and acid terror.

Fairy Tale

To tell the truth, I was in no hurry to read Stephen King's newest. I knew I would eventually get to it, yet a new portal fantasy novel wasn't high on my priority list. But then rave reviews from people I trust started coming in and Daniel Abraham's Age of Ash just dragged and dragged and became a real chore to read.

So I bought Fairy Tale and decided to give the first hundred pages or so a shot. And I never looked back! Finished it in just a few sittings, which shows how totally drawn into the story I turned out to be.

Here's the blurb:

Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes deep into the well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for their world or ours.

Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is impossible to believe, and a responsibility far too massive for a boy to shoulder.

Because within the shed is a portal to another world—one whose denizens are in peril and whose monstrous leaders may destroy their own world, and ours. In this parallel universe, where two moons race across the sky, and the grand towers of a sprawling palace pierce the clouds, there are exiled princesses and princes who suffer horrific punishments; there are dungeons; there are games in which men and women must fight each other to the death for the amusement of the “Fair One.” And there is a magic sundial that can turn back time.

A story as old as myth, and as startling and iconic as the rest of King’s work, Fairy Tale is about an ordinary guy forced into the hero’s role by circumstance, and it is both spectacularly suspenseful and satisfying.

Of course, the premise is nothing new. Actually, some might feel that it's been done ad nauseam over the years and thus off-putting to say the least. What's different about this one is that it reads like a love letter to speculative fiction giants that have made a strong impression on Stephen King. Authors such as H. P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, Robert E. Howard, J. R. R. Tolkien and, to a lesser extent, even Suzanne Collins and George R. R. Martin. King also pays homage to various fairy tales that populated his childhood and that of countless other kids around the world. Even better, this novel is a love story about a boy and his dog. That, more than any other aspect, is what makes Fairy Tale such a memorable read. If you ever had a pet that was special to you, this book will resonate in ways that might surprise you.

The first portion of the story, the one dealing with Charlie and how he gets to meet and later befriend Mr. Bowditch, showcases a Stephen King writing at the top of his game. I couldn't stop reading and went through that part in record time. It's just that damned good and I felt that Fairy Tale would end up with a perfect score. Because what ultimately forces Charlie to go through that portal and enter this parallel universe is not his sense of adventure. No, it's his love for an old dog who's dying and his only chance to save her lies on the other side of that portal. The rest of the story, at least up until that point, felt kind of extraneous. For me and for many readers, I believe, this is more about Charlie and Radar than anything else. Their relationship is the heart of the novel, no question. Which is great in its own way, but it's also detrimental to the rest of the tale. Indeed, as interesting as what occurs in the world known as Empis turns out to be, nothing can really come close to just how great the first part of the book was.

The characterization is probably the facet in which King shines the most in Fairy Tale. The death of his mother deeply affected Charlie and of course his dad, who fell into alcoholism afterwards. I felt that King did a great job depicting this family backdrop and in the way he allowed both Charlie and his father to grow and evolve as time elapsed. As mentioned, it's not until the fateful encounter with an injured Mr. Bowditch and his old German Shepherd Radar that Charlie's life will change forever. With the old man in the hospital receiving treatments, it's up to Charlie to feed and take care of Radar, and the rest, as they say, is history. The supporting cast in Empis is made up of a few engaging characters such as Dora, Claudia, Eye, and of course the beautiful Leah. Though good, that part of the novel reads like your typical good vs evil fantasy tale and is thus a little less compelling.

Although there are no pacing issues per se, the rhythm does drag a little in the middle. It takes a while for things to start to make sense as far as the Empis storyline is concerned. But the it's never dull, mind you. It just takes time for the author to set up Charlie and the other pieces on the board so that we can then move on to the exciting endgame and the finale. My concern, as always with Stephen King, was whether or not he could cap it all off in a fashion that does justice to the rest of the novel. And yes, I'm pleased to report that Fairy Tale features a satisfying ending that should make everyone happy!

In the end, Fairy Tale is a touching fantasy story that pays homage to many of the great ones that came before. A portal fantasy tale with a few twists and a love story between the main protagonist and his dog, it makes for a captivating reading experience.

The final verdict: 8.5/10

For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

You can read an extract from Fairy Tale here.

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now download Joel Shepherd's excellent Crossover, opening volume in the Cassandra Kresnov sequence, for only 2.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link. This OneLink will take you to the nearest Amazon site serving your country and you'll see if you can take advantage of this sale. Follow this link to read my review from 2006.

The following volumes are all priced at 3.99$ each, which is a bargain for such a good series! These are definitely books that deserve more attention! Give them a shot and you won't be disappointed! =)

Here's the blurb:

Crossover is the first novel in a series which follows the adventures of Cassandra Kresnov, an artificial person, or android, created by the League, one side of an interstellar war against the more powerful, conservative Federation. Cassandra is an experimental design — more intelligent, more creative, and far more dangerous than any that have preceded her. But with her intellect come questions, and a moral awakening. She deserts the League and heads incognito into the space of her former enemy, the Federation, in search of a new life.

Her chosen world is Callay, and its enormous, decadent capital metropolis of Tanusha, where the concerns of the war are literally and figuratively so many light years away. But the war between the League and the Federation was ideological as much as political, with much of that ideological dispute regarding the very existence of artificial sentience and the rules that govern its creation. Cassandra discovers that even in Tanusha, the powerful entities of this bloody conflict have wound their tentacles. Many in the League and the Federation have cause to want her dead, and Cassandra’s history, inevitably, catches up with her.

Cassandra finds herself at the mercy of a society whose values preclude her own right even to exist. But her presence in Tanusha reveals other fault lines, and when Federal agents attempt to assassinate the Callayan president, she finds herself thrust into the service of her former enemies, using her lethal skills to attempt to protect her former enemies from forces beyond their ability to control. As she struggles for her place and survival in a new world, Cassandra must forge new friendships with old enemies, while attempting to confront the most disturbing and deadly realities of her own existence.

Here are reviews for the other installments:

- Breakaway
- Killswitch
- 23 Years on Fire
- Operation Shield
- Originator

You can also download Joel Shepherd's Sasha, the first volume in A Trial of Blood and Steel series, for only 2.99$ here.

Here's the blurb:

SASHA IS A FIGHTER, THE LIKES OF WHICH THE HIGHLAND COUNTRY OF LENAYIN HAS NEVER SEEN.

Spurning her royal heritage to be raised by the great warrior Kessligh, Sasha's exquisite swordplay astonishes all who see it. But she is young, untested in battle and often lead by her rash temper. In the complex world of Lenayin loyalties, her wilfulness is attracting the wrong kind of attention.

Lenin is a land divided by its beliefs: the Verenthane of the ruling class and the pagan Goeren-yai, amongst whom Sasha now lives. The Goeren-yai value swordplay and honour, and have come to see Sasha as the great spirit who will unite them. But Sasha is still searching for what she believes and must choose her side carefully.

Soon she will face her moment of testing. Is she ready to lead? Can she be the saviour the Goeren-yai want her to be?

The three sequels, Petrodor, Tracato, and Haven, are also on sale.

Finally, you can get your hands on the digital edition of Joel Shepherd's Renegade for only 2.99$ here.

Here's the burb:

One thousand years after Earth was destroyed in an unprovoked attack, humanity has emerged victorious from a series of terrible wars to assure its place in the galaxy. But during celebrations on humanity’s new Homeworld, the legendary Captain Pantillo of the battle carrier Phoenix is court-martialed then killed, and his deputy, Lieutenant Commander Erik Debogande, the heir to humanity’s most powerful industrial family, is framed with his murder. Assisted by Phoenix’s marine commander Trace Thakur, Erik and Phoenix are forced to go on the run, as they seek to unravel the conspiracy behind their Captain’s demise, pursued to the death by their own Fleet. What they discover, about the truth behind the wars and the nature of humanity’s ancient alien allies, will shake the sentient galaxy to its core.

The seven subsequent installments are also on sale.

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now get your hands on the digital edition of Cixin Liu's Death's End for only 2.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link. This OneLink will take you to the nearest Amazon site serving your country and you'll see if you can take advantage of this sale.

Here's the blurb:

The New York Times bestselling conclusion to a tour de force near-future adventure trilogy from China's bestselling and beloved science fiction writer.

With The Three-Body Problem, English-speaking readers got their first chance to read China's most beloved science fiction author, Cixin Liu. The Three-Body Problem was released to great acclaim including coverage in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and reading list picks by Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg. It was also won the Hugo and Nebula Awards, making it the first translated novel to win a major SF award.

Now this epic trilogy concludes with Death's End. Half a century after the Doomsday Battle, the uneasy balance of Dark Forest Deterrence keeps the Trisolaran invaders at bay. Earth enjoys unprecedented prosperity due to the infusion of Trisolaran knowledge. With human science advancing daily and the Trisolarans adopting Earth culture, it seems that the two civilizations will soon be able to co-exist peacefully as equals without the terrible threat of mutually assured annihilation. But the peace has also made humanity complacent.

Cheng Xin, an aerospace engineer from the early twenty-first century, awakens from hibernation in this new age. She brings with her knowledge of a long-forgotten program dating from the beginning of the Trisolar Crisis, and her very presence may upset the delicate balance between two worlds. Will humanity reach for the stars or die in its cradle?

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (September 18th)

In hardcover:

R. F. Kuang's Babel is down eight positions, ending the week at number 9. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now download Jim Butcher's Turn Coat for only 1.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link. This OneLink will take you to the nearest Amazon site serving your country and you'll see if you can take advantage of this sale.

Here's the blurb:

Jim Butcher’s breakthrough #1 New York Times bestseller starring Chicago’s only professional wizard, Harry Dresden.

When it comes to the magical ruling body known as the White Council, Harry is thought of as either a black sheep or a sacrificial lamb. And none hold him in more disdain than Morgan, a veteran Warden with a grudge against anyone who bends the rules. But now, Morgan is in trouble. He’s been accused of cold-blooded murder—a crime with only one, final punishment.

He’s on the run, wanting his name cleared, and he needs someone with a knack for backing the underdog. So it’s up to Harry to uncover a traitor within the Council, keep Morgan under wraps, and avoid coming under scrutiny himself. And a single mistake may cost someone his head.

Someone like Harry...

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now download Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné: The Elric Saga Part 1 for only 1.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link. This OneLink will take you to the nearest Amazon site serving your country and you'll see if you can take advantage of this sale.

Here's the blurb:

From World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award winner Michael Moorcock comes the first book in his famous Elric of Melniboné series, brought to vivid new life with stunning illustrations.

In one of the most well-known and well-loved fantasy epics of the 20th century, Elric is the brooding, albino emperor of the dying Kingdom of Melnibone. With Melnibone’s years of grandeur and decadence long since passed, Elric’s amoral cousin Yrkoon sets his eyes on the throne. Elric, realizing he is his country’s best hope, must face his nefarious cousin in an epic battle for the right to rule.

Elric of Melnibone is the first in Michael Moorcock’s incredible series, which created fantasy archetypes that have echoed through the genre for generations. The beautiful, vivid illustrations bring new life to the story and are sure to captivate fans, new and old.

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now get your hands on the digital edition of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book for only 1.99$ by following this Amazon Associate link. This OneLink will take you to the nearest Amazon site serving your country and you'll see if you can take advantage of this sale.

Here's the blurb:

In this Newbery Medal-winning novel, Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place—he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their ghostly teachings—such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him.

Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are being such as ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other.

The Graveyard Book won the Newbery Medal and the Carnegie Medal and is a Hugo Award Winner for Best Novel.

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (September 11th)

In hardcover:

R. F. Kuang's Babel debuts at number 1. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

Patricia Briggs' Soul Taken debuts at number 4. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

In paperback:

George R. R. Martin's Fire and Blood returns at number 15. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.