More inexpensive ebook goodies!

Don't know for how long, but you can get your hands on the digital edition of Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart, which could well be the very best fantasy debut ever, for only 4.99$ here!

Here's the blurb:

The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good...and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.

Phèdre nó Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, her bond is purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with very a special mission...and the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one.

Phèdre is trained equally in the courtly arts and the talents of the bedchamber, but, above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Almost as talented a spy as she is courtesan, Phèdre stumbles upon a plot that threatens the very foundations of her homeland. Treachery sets her on her path; love and honor goad her further. And in the doing, it will take her to the edge of despair...and beyond. Hateful friend, loving enemy, beloved assassin; they can all wear the same glittering mask in this world, and Phèdre will get but one chance to save all that she holds dear.

Set in a world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess, this is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel's Dart-a massive tale about the violent death of an old age, and the birth of a new.

You can also get Kushiel's Chosen, the excellent second volume, for the same price here. The same thing goes for the last installement in the series, Kushiel's Avatar, here.

You can now download Matthew Woodring Stover's Heroes Die for only 1.99$ here.

Here's the blurb:

HEROES DIE

But Caine's no hero. He's an assassin.

Renowned throughout the land of Ankhana as the Blade of Tyshalle, Caine has killed his share of monarchs and commoners, villains and heroes. He is relentless, unstoppable, simply the best there is at what he does. He is free.

At home on Earth, Caine is Hari Michaelson, a superstar whose adventures command an audience of billions. Yet he is shackled by a rigid caste society, bound to ignore the grim fact that men die on a far-off world for the entertainment of his own planet--bound to keep his rage in check.

But now Michaelson has crossed the line. His estranged wife, Pallas Rill, has mysteriously disappeared in the slums of Ankhana. To save her, he must confront the greatest challenge of his life: a lethal game of cat and mouse with the most treacherous rulers of two worlds.

Matthew Woodring Stover has created a spectacular, page-turning epic where a Jackal-type assassin maneuvers through a vivid Tolkienesque world. With a plot as driven as its main character and drawn against a setting as vivid as the very best in fantasy, Heroes Die is a brilliant feat of the imagination.

Quote of the Day

This is as good as it gets. Can't expect everyone to be on the same page. We're still humans after all. Some percentage of us are always going to be assholes.

- JAMES S. A. COREY, Nemesis Games (Canada, USA, Europe)

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can get your hands on the digital edition of Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith's The Greyfriar for only 1.99$ here.

Here's the blurb:

Rousing pulp action and steampunk come together in a heartbreaking story of high adventure and alternate history. In the year 1870, a horrible plague of vampires swept over the northern regions of the world. It is now 2020 and a bloody reckoning is coming. Princess Adele is heir to the Empire of Equatoria, a remnant of the old tropical British Empire. When she becomes the target of a merciless vampire clan, her only protector is the Greyfriar, a mysterious hero who fights the vampires from deep within their territory. Their dangerous relationship plays out against an approaching war to the death between humankind and the vampire clans. The first book in a trilogy of high adventure and alternate history. Combining rousing pulp action with steampunk style, the Vampire Empire series brings epic political themes to life within a story of heartbreaking romance, sacrifice, and heroism.

For a limited time, you can download Fritz Leiber: Selected Stories for only 1.99$ here.

Here's the blurb:

Fritz Leiber's work bridges the gap between the pulp era of H. P. Lovecraft and the paperback era of P. K. Dick, and arguably is as influential as both these authors. From a historical context, Leiber, in fact, knew both of the authors, and his work can be seen as a bridge connecting the many different flavors of genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Edited by award-winning editors Jonathan Strahan and Charles Brown, this new collection of the grand master's fiction covers all facets of his work, and features an Introduction by Neil Gaiman and an Afterword by Michael Chabon.

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

In hardcover:

George R. R. Martin's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is up one position, ending the week at number 9. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

David Mitchell’s Slade House debuts at number 11.

Gregory Maguire’s After Alice debuts at number 18.

In paperback:

Andy Weir's The Martian maintains its position at number 1 (trade paperback).

Andy Weir's The Martian is down one position, ending the week at number 2.

Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One is down two positions, ending the week at number 14 (trade paperback).

Win a copy of L. E. Modesitt, jr.'s SOLAR EXPRESS

I have a copy of L. E. Modesitt, jr.'s Solar Express for you to win, compliments of the folks at Tor Books! For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Here's the blurb:

You can't militarize space. This one rule has led to decades of peaceful development of space programs worldwide. However, increasing resource scarcity and a changing climate on Earth's surface is causing some interested parties to militarize, namely India, the North American Union, and the Sinese Federation.

The discovery of a strange artifact by Dr. Alayna Wong precipitates a crisis. What appears to be a hitherto undiscovered comet is soon revealed to be an alien structure on a cometary trajectory toward the sun. Now there is a race between countries to see who can study and control the artifact dubbed the "Solar Express" before it perhaps destroys itself.

Leading the way for the North American Union is Alayna's friend, Captain Christopher Tavoian, one of the first shuttle pilots to be trained for combat in space. But, as the alien craft gets closer to its destination, it begins to alter the surface of the sun in strange new ways, ways that could lead Alayna to revolutionary discoveries-provided Chris can prevent war from breaking out as he navigates among the escalating tensions between nations.

Solar Express is a thrilling, new, hard science fiction novel from New York Times bestselling author L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

The rules are the same as usual. You need to send an email at reviews@(no-spam)gryphonwood.net with the header "SOLAR." Remember to remove the "no spam" thingy.

Second, your email must contain your full mailing address (that's snail mail!), otherwise your message will be deleted.

Lastly, multiple entries will disqualify whoever sends them. And please include your screen name and the message boards that you frequent using it, if you do hang out on a particular MB.

Good luck to all the participants!

The Expanse trailer

The Expanse is the best ongoing science fiction series out there, so I'm really looking forward to watching this show!!

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

For a limited time, you can get your hands on the digital edition of Tim Powers' Dinner at Deviant's Palace for only 1.99$ here.

Here's the blurb:

Winner of the Philip K. Dick Award: In a nuclear-ravaged California, a humble musician sets out on a dangerous quest to rescue his lost love from the clutches of a soul-devouring religious cult.

In the twenty-second century, the City of Angels is a tragic shell of its former self, having long ago been ruined and reshaped by nuclear disaster. Before he was in a band in Ellay, Gregorio Rivas was a redeemer, rescuing lost souls trapped in the Jaybirds cult of the powerful maniac Norton Jaybush. Rivas had hoped those days were behind him, but a desperate entreaty from a powerful official is pulling him back into the game. The rewards will be plentiful if he can wrest Urania, the official’s daughter and Gregorio’s first love, from Jaybush’s sinister clutches. To do so, the redeemer reborn must face blood-sucking hemogoblins and other monstrosities on his way to discovering the ultimate secrets of this neo-Californian civilization.

One of the most ingeniously imaginative writers of our time, Tim Powers dazzles in an early work that displays his unique creative genius. Alive with wit, intelligence, and wild invention, Dinner at Deviant’s Palace is a mad adventure across a dystopian future as only Tim Powers could have imagined it.

This ebook features an original introduction by the author.

Ilana C. Meyer contest winner!

This lucky winner will get her hands on my copy of Ilana C. Meyer's Last Song Before Night! For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

The winner is:

- Sharon Berry, from Austin, Texas, USA

Many thanks to all the participants!

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can get your hands on the digital edition of Wild Cards I, a mosaic novel edited by George R. R. Martin, for only 4.99$ here.

Here's the blurb:

Back in print after a decade, expanded with new original material, this is the first volume of George R. R. Martin’s Wild cards shared-world series.

There is a secret history of the world—a history in which an alien virus struck the Earth in the aftermath of World War II, endowing a handful of survivors with extraordinary powers. Some were called Aces—those with superhuman mental and physical abilities. Others were termed Jokers—cursed with bizarre mental or physical disabilities. Some turned their talents to the service of humanity. Others used their powers for evil. Wild Cards is their story.

Originally published in 1987, Wild Cards I includes powerful tales by Roger Zelazny, Walter Jon Williams, Howard Waldrop, Lewis Shiner, and George R. R. Martin himself. And this new, expanded edition contains further original tales set at the beginning of the Wild Cards universe, by eminent new writers like Hugo–winner David Levine, noted screenwriter and novelist Michael Cassutt, and New York Times bestseller Carrie Vaughn.

You can now download Yangsze Choo's The Ghost Bride for only 1.99$ here.

Here's the blurb:

Part 19th century novel, part magical journey to the Chinese world of the dead, Yangsze Choo's debut novel The Ghost Bride is a startlingly original historical fantasy infused with Chinese folklore, romantic intrigue, and unexpected supernatural twists. Reminiscent of Lisa See's Peony in Love and Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, The Ghost Bride is a wondrous coming-of-age story from a remarkable new voice in fiction.

C. S. Friedman contest winner!

This lucky winner will receive an autographed set of C. S. Friedman's Dreamwalker (Canada, USA, Europe) and Dreamseeker (Canada, USA, Europe), compliments of the author!

The winner is:

- Richard Slobod, from Tuxedo, New York, USA

Many thanks to all the participants!

Win a copy of Orson Scott Card's GATEFATHER

I'm giving away my review copy of Orson Scott Card's Gatefather to one lucky winner! For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Here's the blurb:

In Gatefather, the third installment in the Mithermages series, New York Times bestselling author Orson Scott Card continues his fantastic tale of the Mages of Westil who live in exile on Earth.

Danny North is the first Gate Mage to be born on Earth in nearly 2000 years, or at least the first to survive to claim his power. Families of Westil in exile on Earth have had a treaty that required the death of any suspected Gate Mage. The wars between the Families had been terrible, until at last they realized it was their own survival in question. But a Gate Mage, one who could build a Great Gate back to Westil, would give his own Family a terrible advantage over all the others, and reignite the wars. So they all had to die. And if the Families didn't kill them, the Gate Thief would-that mysterious Mage who destroyed every Great Gate, and the Gate Mage, before it could be opened between Earth and Westil.

But Danny survived. And Danny battled the Gate Thief, and won.

What he didn't know at the time was that the Gate Thief had a very good reason for closing the Great Gates-and Danny has now fallen into the power of that great enemy of both Earth and Westil.

The rules are the same as usual. You need to send an email at reviews@(no-spam)gryphonwood.net with the header "GATEFATHER." Remember to remove the "no spam" thingy.

Second, your email must contain your full mailing address (that's snail mail!), otherwise your message will be deleted.

Lastly, multiple entries will disqualify whoever sends them. And please include your screen name and the message boards that you frequent using it, if you do hang out on a particular MB.

Good luck to all the participants!

Half a War

As you know, I was more than a little worried when it was announced that Joe Abercrombie would be writing a YA series. Having established himself as one of grimdark's most popular voices, I was concerned that switching gears to appeal to a different market could well take away most of what made the author's books so enjoyable. Thankfully, though it may not have been Abercrombie doing what he does best, both Half a King and Half the World remained brutal, engaging, entertaining, and satisfying fantasy novels featuring an interesting and endearing band of misfits.

I was curious to see how Abercrombie would close the show. And, more importantly, if he could do so with style and aplomb. Well, I'm glad to report that he managed to do just that! In the end, Half a War is the least YA installment of the series.

Here's the blurb:

Words are weapons

Princess Skara has seen all she loved made blood and ashes. She is left with only words. But the right words can be as deadly as any blade. She must conquer her fears and sharpen her wits to a lethal edge if she is to reclaim her birthright.

Only half a war is fought with swords

The deep-cunning Father Yarvi has walked a long road from crippled slave to king’s minister. He has made allies of old foes and stitched together an uneasy peace. But now the ruthless Grandmother Wexen has raised the greatest army since the elves made war on God, and put Bright Yilling at its head – a man who worships no god but Death.

Sometimes one must fight evil with evil

Some – like Thorn Bathu and the sword-bearer Raith – are born to fight, perhaps to die. Others – like Brand the smith and Koll the wood-carver – would rather stand in the light. But when Mother War spreads her iron wings, she may cast the whole Shattered Sea into darkness.

Half a King was a very slim volume, the shortest written by Abercrombie thus far. Unfortunately, the smaller wordcount precluded much in the way of worldbuilding. The longer length of the second volume allowed Abercrombie to imbue the series with more depth, and the same can be said of Half a War. Still, it nonetheless features the same tighter focus on the narrative which keeps the pace crisp and this final installment is as much of a page-turner as its predecessors. Most of the action occurs in Throvenland and focuses on Bail's Point. In my review of Half the World, I explained that a few tantalizing glimpses of elf relics and technology hint that this tale might be taking place in a far-future dystopian Earth. I was wondering if Abercrombie would shine some light on the elves and how they disappeared from the world. I can't say that the author offers much in terms of concrete answers, but we do get to visit Strokom. And again, everything hints that those ruins used to be a modern city set in our own world and era. Moreover, it appears that a nuclear strike may have destroyed it and that radiations could still be a hazard. I have no idea if Abercrombie plans on writing additional works set in this universe, but I for one would love to discover more about its past and how the elves disappeared. . .

A number of familiar faces such as Father Yarvi, Koll, Brand, Thorn, and Skifr return in this last volume. As was the case with Half a World, it was nice to see how they have evolved as characters and where fate has taken them. But it's Princess Skara who takes center stage in this book. Her family was betrayed and murdered by agents of the High King and she escaped to Thorlby disguised as a slave. Her only hope now is to rally the High King's enemies to her cause and in so doing change the Shattered Sea forever. Other than Yarvi, I believe that Skara turned out to be one of the most interesting characters of this series. Could have done without the little love affair, though. I particularly loved how crafty Father Yarvi turned out to be. He's no Sand dan Glokta, but he is a devious son of a bitch in his own right, that's for sure. Abercrombie did a good job tying up loose ends and bringing various plot threads from all three volumes together at the end.

As was the case with its two predecessors, though there are no major changes in terms of style and tone compared to the author's "adult" works, Half a War remains different to some extent. Once more, the wit, cynicism, and dark humor that characterize Abercrombie's backlist are all present, if a little subdued. The YA label demands that the violence be not as graphic as usual, with less blood and gore. Half a War is definitely an Abercrombie novel, but again it shows a more self-restrained Joe Abercrombie, one that pulls some of his punches and doesn't go all out the way he did in novels such as Best Served Cold or A Red Country. Overall, although Half a War is the best of the trilogy, it doesn't satisfy the way the grimdark Abercrombie titles usually do.

As I mentioned earlier, this final chapter is the least YA of the bunch. Especially at the end, Joe Abercrombie shows how brilliant he can be and why he's one of the best fantasy writers around today. Just when you thought that the endgame would take place in a certain way, the author pulls the rug from under your feet and turns things around. Half a War provides a truly great ending.

All in all, Half a War is a solid effort and a satisfying conclusion to this series. It offers plenty of unexpected surprises and resolution, yet leaves the door open for future adventures and misadventures for the surviving members of the cast.

The final verdict: 8/10

For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can now download Dave Hutchinson's Europe in Autumn for only 0.99$ here.

Here's the blurb:

NOMINATED FOR THE 2015 ARTHUR C. CLARKE, BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION ASSOCIATION AND JOHN W. CAMPBELL MEMORIAL AWARDS

Rudi is a cook in a Kraków restaurant, but when his boss asks Rudi to help a cousin escape from the country he’s trapped in, a new career – part spy, part people-smuggler – begins. Following multiple economic crises and a devastating flu pandemic, Europe has fractured into countless tiny nations, duchies, polities and republics. Recruited by the shadowy organisation Les Coureurs des Bois, Rudi is schooled in espionage, but when a training mission to The Line, a sovereign nation consisting of a trans-Europe railway line, goes wrong, he is arrested and beaten, and Coureur Central must attempt a rescue.

With so many nations to work in, and identities to assume, Rudi is kept busy travelling across Europe. But when he is sent to smuggle someone out of Berlin and finds a severed head inside a locker instead, a conspiracy begins to wind itself around him. With kidnapping, double-crosses and a map that constantly re-draws itself, Europe in Autumn is a science fiction thriller like no other.

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

In hardcover:

George R. R. Martin's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is down six positions, ending the week at number 10. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

In paperback:

Andy Weir's The Martian maintains its position at number 1 (trade paperback).

Andy Weir's The Martian maintains its position at number 1.

Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One is up one position, ending the week at number 12 (trade paperback).

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can download Joe Haldeman's classic, The Forever War, for only 1.99$ here.

Here's the blurb:

A THOUSAND YEAR CONFLICT. ONE SOLDIER LIVES THROUGH IT ALL. CAN HE MAINTAIN HIS HUMANITY?

The Forever War is a science fiction classic that chronicles the life of William Mandella. Due to the time distortion associated with deep space travel, he is present during both the first and the last battle of a thousand year old conflict with the alien Taurans.

A masterpiece of not just science fiction, The Forever War illustrates the futility of all wars and their effect on the human soul.

The Forever War won all major science fiction awards including the Hugo, Nebula and Locus. Ridley Scott, director of Blade Runner and Alien, is currently adapting this classic for film.

This is the author's preferred version and includes a foreword by John Scalzi, author of Old Man's War.

Musical Interlude

Heard The Tragically Hip on the radio on my way home from work, so I had to share this!

Japanese Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer

The Japanese trailer is full of new footage! =)

Win a copy of Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith's THE GEOMANCER

I have two copies of Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith's The Geomancer for you to win, courtesy of the folks at Pyr. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Here's the blurb:

The first Gareth and Adele Novel, The Geomancer is the start of an ongoing, character-based, urban fantasy series set in the same Vampire Empire universe as the authors’ previous trilogy!

The uneasy stalemate between vampires and humans is over. Adele and Gareth are bringing order to a free Britain, but bloody murders in London raise the specter that Adele’s geomancy is failing and the vampires might return. A new power could tilt the balance back to the vampire clans. A deranged human called the Witchfinder has surfaced on the Continent, serving new vampire lords. This geomancer has found a way to make vampires immune to geomancy and intends to give his masters the ability to kill humans on a massive scale.

The apocalyptic event in Edinburgh weakened Adele’s geomantic abilities. If the Witchfinder can use geomancy against humanity, she may not have the power to stop him. If she can’t, there is nowhere beyond his reach and no one he cannot kill.

From a Britain struggling to rebuild to the vampire capital of Paris, from the heart of the Equatorian Empire to a vampire monastery in far-away Tibet, old friends and past enemies return. Unexpected allies and terrible new villains arise. Adele and Gareth fight side-by-side as always, but they can never be the same if they hope to survive.

The rules are the same as usual. You need to send an email at reviews@(no-spam)gryphonwood.net with the header "GEOMANCER." Remember to remove the "no spam" thingy.

Second, your email must contain your full mailing address (that's snail mail!), otherwise your message will be deleted.

Lastly, multiple entries will disqualify whoever sends them. And please include your screen name and the message boards that you frequent using it, if you do hang out on a particular MB.

Good luck to all the participants!

More inexpensive ebook goodies!

You can download Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor for only 4.99$ here.

Here's the blurb:

The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.

Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.

Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend . . . and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne–or his life.

Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor is an exciting fantasy novel, set against the pageantry and color of a fascinating, unique world, is a memorable debut for a great new talent.

Quote of the Day

I realised that the moon was not a safe place. It knew a thousand ways to kill you if you were stupid, if you were careless, if you were lazy, but the real danger was the people around you. The moon was not a world, it was a submarine. Outside was death. I would be sealed in with these people. There was no law, no justice: there was only management. The moon was the frontier, but it was the frontier to nothing. There was nowhere to run.

- IAN MCDONALD, Luna: New Moon (Canada, USA, Europe)