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The Hottest eBook Deals of August 2023

Looking for some hot ebook deals to coast you through the rest of the summer? We’ve got you covered! Check them out here.


The Calculating Starsthe calculating stars by mary robinette kowal by Mary Robinette Kowal — $3.99

On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process. Elma York’s experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn’t take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can’t go into space, too. Elma’s drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her.

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Soldier of the Mistsoldier of the mist by gene wolfe by Gene Wolfe — $3.99

The first volume of Gene Wolfe’s powerful story of Latro, a Roman mercenary who received a head injury that deprived him of his short-term memory. In return it gave him the ability to converse with supernatural creatures, gods and goddesses who invisibly inhabit the ancient landscape.

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Daughter of the Forestdaughter of the forest by juliet marillier by Juliet Marillier — $3.99

Lord Colum of Sevenwaters is blessed with six sons: Liam, a natural leader; Diarmid, with his passion for adventure; twins Cormack and Conor, each with a different calling; rebellious Finbar, grown old before his time by his gift of the Sight; and the young, compassionate Padriac. But it is Sorcha, the seventh child and only daughter, who alone is destined to defend her family and protect her land from the Britons and the clan known as Northwoods. For her father has been bewitched, and her brothers bound by a spell that only Sorcha can lift.

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A Shadow in Summera summer in shadow by daniel abraham by Daniel Abraham — $3.99

The powerful city-state of Saraykeht is a bastion of peace and culture, a major center of commerce and trade. Its economy depends on the power of the captive spirit, Seedless, an andat bound to the poet-sorcerer Heshai for life. Enter the Galts, a juggernaut of an empire committed to laying waste to all lands with their ferocious army. Saraykeht, though, has always been too strong for the Galts to attack, but now they see an opportunity. If they can dispose of Heshai, Seedless’s bonded poet-sorcerer, Seedless will perish and the entire city will fall. With secret forces inside the city, the Galts prepare to enact their terrible plan. In the middle is Otah, a simple laborer with a complex past. Recruited to act as a bodyguard for his girlfriend’s boss at a secret meeting, he inadvertently learns of the Galtish plot. Otah finds himself as the sole hope of Saraykeht, either he stops the Galts, or the whole city and everyone in it perishes forever.

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The Wayfarer Redemptionthe wayfarer redemption by sara douglass by Sara Douglass — $3.99

A millennia-old prophecy was given when the Forbidden Ones were driven from Achar. And now, the Acharites witness its manifestation: Achar is under attack by an evil lord from the North, Gorgreal–his ice demons strike from the sky and kill hundreds of brave warriors in the blink of an eye. One young woman, Faraday, betrothed of Duke Borneheld, learns that all she has been told about her people’s history is untrue. While fleeing to safety from the dangerous land, Faraday, rides with Axis, legendary leader of the Axe-Wielders–and hated half-brother of Borneheld–and a man Faraday secretly loves although it would be death to admit it. She embarks on a journey, which will change her life forever, in search of the true nature of her people.

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Death’s Mistress: Sister of Darknessdeath's mistress by terry goodkind by Terry Goodkind — $3.99

One-time lieutenant of the evil Emperor Jagang, known as “Death’s Mistress” and the “Slave Queen”, the deadly Nicci captured Richard Rahl in order to convince him that the Imperial Order stood for the greater good. But it was Richard who converted Nicci instead, and for years thereafter she served Richard and Kahlan as one of their closest friends—and one of their most lethal defenders. Now, with the reign of Richard and Kahlan finally stabilized, Nicci has set out on her own for new adventures. One of her jobs will be to keep her travelling companion, the unworldly prophet Nathan, out of trouble. But her real task will be to scout the far reaches of Richard Rahl’s realm. This will take her and Nathan to visit the mysterious witch-woman Red, to tangle with the street life of the port city of Tanimura, to fight lethal battles on the high seas, and ultimately to a vast magical confrontation far from home…with the future of life itself, in the Old World and the New, at stake.

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The Waking Enginethe waking engine by david edison by David Edison — $2.99

Contrary to popular wisdom, death is not the end, nor is it a passage to some transcendent afterlife. Those who die merely awake as themselves on one of a million worlds, where they are fated to live until they die again, and wake up somewhere new. All are born only once, but die many times . . . until they come at last to the City Unspoken, where the gateway to True Death can be found. Wayfarers and pilgrims are drawn to the City, which is home to murderous aristocrats, disguised gods and goddesses, a sadistic faerie princess, immortal prostitutes and queens, a captive angel, gangs of feral Death Boys and Charnel Girls . . . and one very confused New Yorker. Late of Manhattan, Cooper finds himself in a City that is not what it once was. The gateway to True Death is failing, so that the City is becoming overrun by the Dying, who clot its byzantine streets and alleys . . . and a spreading madness threatens to engulf the entire metaverse.

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Fantastic Cartography: David Edison on Maps

sandymancer by david edison

You don’t need a map to find this one! Today we’ve got the awesome interior map of David Edison’s Sandymancer here to share. We’ve also got David himself to talk about the meaning and impact of maps, both as fantasy art, and in the personal sense—their impact on him.

Check it out, and preorder Sandymancer!


By David Edison

Like most map-loving readers, I have an origin story. Sometime in April of 1987, I cracked open the spine of Guardians of the West, the first book in David Eddings’ sequel series to The Belgariad, which was called The Malloreon. The new series’ expanded map didn’t just blow my mind, it blew it wide open. The Belgariad had lovely, intricate maps of the lands explored therein, and I had committed them to memory so I could adventure there in my daydreams. The Malloreon’s map, however, pulled back the camera to show a vast, two-continent spread of imposing nations and territories, all as detailed as the original, with the storied lands of The Belgariad cramped into one tiny corner. I ripped through those volumes as they were published, desperate to learn every story that could be plotted across The Malloreon’s mysterious mountain ranges and scar-like borders.

After all, maps tell stories, and stories draw maps. Both are powered by mystery.

In Jim Grimsley’s excellent, queer, one-volume saga, Kirith Kirin, a map spans two pages, its lines sparsely drawn in a style that’s almost childish, crocheted with regions and locations but also missing important cities, temples, etc. At first glance this seems odd, maybe even misleading, but as the tale builds, the map becomes a cipher—an old toy decoder ring, offering the reader insights and playgrounds while tempting them with delicious, succulent mystery.

Tell me a story. Draw me a map. Readers of speculative fiction are astral travelers – we have packed our kit, set out clean water for the pets and then, nested in our reading nook, we slip out of this world with our spellbook in hand. To paraphrase Sarah Chorn: the real world is plywood and drywall, but SF/F worlds are obsidian and sandstone. Many of us find that unearthly plenitude to be irresistible; what’s the case for drywall?

The same forces pull us into the maps of other worlds: Kansas is a goner, these are Quadling lands now. St. Leibowitz is long-dead and Brother Francis Gerard wanders a Utah the borders of which are less than a memory. Númenor has fallen, but we know to look to the west. (Or turn to Christopher Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, and find the gem that is the Númenórë map.)

Like the text itself, a map tells a story by what it shows and by what it doesn’t. Think of Númenor, or of Eddings’ original, unexpanded map in The Belgariad. That’s mystery fuel.

The world of Sandymancer, once the Land of the Vine, now 800 years removed from an environmental cataclysm, is a decrepit and desiccated version of its former glory. There are too few people and too much territory to bother with borders, names and places have shifted over the centuries, and the land itself has buckled and eroded as it slowly dies. An ever-expanding wasteland has swallowed most of the world, while folk cling to life on the rind of the continent, watching their sky darken and the sandstorms inch forward, year by year.

At a certain point in the book, Caralee’s nemesis and tutor shows her his left palm, and asks her to imagine that it is a map of the world. He shows her where they have been, and where they are headed. He is ancient; perhaps in his day the land did look like a human hand. Does it still? And if so, are we looking at a sculpted continent, or an uncanny coincidence?

I’ve been holding my breath, waiting to see for myself how the visual art would support the story. This beauty was certainly worth the patience.

Map artist Rhys Davies hugely uplifted Sandymancer with his stunning interpretation of my scribbles and descriptions. The architectural style of the frozen Northen Authorities blows me away – are those windows? – as do the craggy mesas just to the south. Out west, Rhys took Oldmuck, the last of the seasides, and its petrified Stone Navies, and spun a little visual story that’s inspired future storylines. In the southeast, towns like Comez and Grenshtepple’s look just as I described – astonishingly so.

Sidestepping any major spoilers, the Metal Duchy rises, imposing, with its conical steel palace, while the Sevenfold Redoubt towers over the surrounding land, built by magick atop the slope of a red-dirt mountain. The Wildest Wood looks overgrown and impassable, and the settlement at its heart does indeed seem as if it’s been hidden away from the rest of the world.

Rhys didn’t just nail the map by land and by sea, he did a brilliant job of suggesting the larger setting without spelling it out. I won’t ruin that, but the deliberate oval shape of the world, the stark border, and the blackness beyond tell just the story I’d hoped they would. I don’t trust myself to say anything more.

I can’t wait for you to meet Caralee and her friends, mortal enemies, friendly beasts, and the occasional steel harpy. I wish that the cover, the map, and the text spin you a yarn you’ll appreciate. I hope you’ll follow me into the thickets of mystery, an unmappable place where anything can happen—and often does.


 

map of the world of sandymancer. map is a circular desert set against dark space, with the frozen authorities to the north and oldmuck, eyn gaddi, and the wasteland to the west, and the deadsteppes, yeshiva, metal duchy, sevenfold redoubt, fallow palace, and the morning glory sea to the east, and nameless run, grenshtepple's, wildest wood, hazel hill, barrier mountains, lastgrown, and juditholme to the south

 


David Edison is the author of The Waking Engine and Sandymancer. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he has spent most of his life living in New York City and California. His passions include rescuing pit bulls, leveling up, and all things queer.

Pre-order Sandymancer Here:

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Debut Author Collection Sweepstakes

Debut author prize pack

We’re offering a chance to win a prize pack of five books by Tor debut authors, including: Three Princes by Ramona Wheeler, The Ultra Thin Man by Patrick Swenson, A Darkling Sea by James L. Cambias, The Waking Engine by David Edison, and Unwrapped Sky by Rjurik Davidson!

Comment below to enter for a chance to win.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of 50 United States, D.C., and Canada (excluding Quebec), who are 18 as of the date of entry. To enter, leave a comment here beginning at 10:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) October 13, 2014. Sweepstakes ends at 12:00 PM ET October 17, 2014. Void outside the United States and Canada and where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules here. Sponsor: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010. Sponsor: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010.

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Quotes from the End of the World

The Waking Engine by David Edison

Written by David Edison

“Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.” -Cicero, circa 43 BCE

An epigraph is a helluva thing: it can establish tone, mood, mise-en-scene, perspective; can replace exposition, and can turn a told story into a discovered story—all from a snippet of an external voice and the power of suggestion, and all before the story, book, or chapter even begins. When it comes to world-building, the epigraph downright teraforms.

For sheer epigraphical power, Frank Herbert’s Dune stands as the classic example—at least, it was Herbert who first captured my imagination with the mystery and authority of his chapter quotes. Within the novel proper, Princess Irulan figures as a minor character at best—but through the snippets of fragmentary text that Herbert invented to use as epigraphs, Irulan conjures all the mystique and otherwise-untold stories of Herbert’s Known Universe. Beginning each chapter with a taste of commentary, observation, elaboration, tangential rumination—it roused my attention in a way no other story had done before. My twelve year-old self fell into the seas of Caladan, staggered across the deserts of Arrakis, and tried to comprehend the complexities of a fictional universe in a wholly revolutionary way. Economy! Ecology! Philosophy! Glimpses of the future, the past, the suggestion of a reality that exists beyond the limited scope of page and protagonist.

I felt that Herbert, with his epigraphs, conveyed the scope of Tolkein’s endlessly self-researched worlds, but with the brevity of Wilde and the authority of Plutarch. The ancient texts of the Bene Gesserit shed light on their machinations in-novel, while the ecological philosophies of Pardot Kynes elevate the novel beyond what the foolish might call “mere” space opera. Although Irulan’s histories tip the hat to certain inevitabilities within the story, they conjure so much more mystery than they reveal and in the doing they become a wicked hook to catch a reader.

When I sat down to write The Waking Engine, I found myself writing about a metaverse in which everyone who’s ever died on Earth has continued to have lives, many of them, on other worlds in other universes. With not a little mischief, I wondered—what might they write, in future lives? And how might their stories help me tell mine?

This is how I ended up with Sylvia Plath, sitting on a park bench somewhere in space, arguing about the unfairness of death as a meritocracy.

With Cicero and Frank Herbert peering over my shoulder, I opened my first chapter with an invented quote from an invented poem that Plath might have written had she awoken from her suicide in the city I was building. In the doing, I reignited my romance with the epigraph and with the endless variety of questions it could answer for me:

What if Kerouac is still on the road? What if Truman Capote is still a gossipy backstabber, and what if he’s graduated from chumming with socialites to, say, Lao Tzu? How would a physicist like Michael Faraday react to the revelation that the universal laws he dedicated his life to understanding are, in fact, merely local phenomena in the universe of his birth? What about Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, author of On Death and Dying,—what would she think to learn that her six stages of grief were reiterated across countless reincarnations?

Writing epigraphs for The Waking Engine was sheer, unadulterated fun. There are lots of bits of writing a novel, I discovered, that are terrifying, agonizing, anxiety-producing and other not-fun things. Whenever I lost my nerve, I’d revisit my epigraphs and play: dressing up as Bede the Once-Venerable for a paragraph is an absolute tonic, no matter how poor Cicero continues to protest.

…………………………

From the Tor/Forge February 3rd newsletter. Sign up to receive our newsletter via email.

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More from the February 3rd Tor/Forge newsletter:

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Starred Review: The Waking Engine

The Waking Engine by David Edison“This debut fantasy is a fever dream of vivid imagery and dark luscious prose, reminiscent of China Miéville in its byzantine, steampunk-influenced cityscape.”

David Edison’s The Waking Engine got a starred review and is debut of the month in Library Journal!

Here’s the full review, from the January 2014 issue:

Placeholder of  -52 If death is just the first stop on a journey, the end of the line is the City Unspoken. For many of the souls of the metaverse, who are truly born only once but die countless times, this place is the one gateway to True Death. Cooper, a misfit from New York, wakes in the City Unspoken at a time when the paths to Death have stopped working, and there are those who think he might be the key to the undying. But the City is a dangerous place, full of vampiric undead, ancient queens, fallen angels, and sadistic faeries. Cooper picks up allies and enemies but must find his own power or be the tortured pawn of others.

This debut fantasy is a fever dream of vivid imagery and dark luscious prose, reminiscent of China Miéville in its byzantine, steampunk-influenced cityscape.

The Waking Engine will be published on February 11th.

Not at New York Comic-Con Sweepstakes

Tor Books is heading to New York Comic-Con!

Image Placeholder of - 2We hope to see many of you there. Stop by Booth #2223 to say hi or to participate in one of our many events and signings.

But for those of you who couldn’t make it out to New York, we wanted to offer you the chance to grab some of the same amazing swag and books that we’re promoting at #NYCC. To enter for the chance to win one of these three prize bundles, leave a comment on this post telling us one fabulous thing that you’ll be doing this week while you are #NotAtComicCon.

Here’s a look at the prize:

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And here’s a list of what’s included in each prize bundle:

  • Wheel of Time iPhone cover
  • The Way of Kings quote magnets
  • After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn
  • Among Others by Jo Walton
  • Antigoddess by Kendare Blake
  • Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
  • Attack of the Vampire Weenies by David Lubar
  • The Clockwork Sky by Madeleine Rosca
  • Cold City by F. Paul Wilson
  • Dragon Age Asunder by David Gaider
  • Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
  • The Eye of the World: The Graphic Novel: Vol One
  • The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
  • Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
  • Girl Genius Omnibus Volume One by Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio
  • Halo: The Thursday War by Nancy Traviss
  • Ironskin by Tina Connolly
  • Johnny Hiro: The Skills to Pay the Bills by Fred Chao
  • Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
  • The Omen Machine by Terry Goodkind
  • Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
  • Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear
  • Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone
  • Vicious by V.E. Schwab
  • The Waking Engine by David Edison
  • The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
  • Wide Open by Deborah Coates
  • Wild Cards I edited by George R. R. Martin

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of 50 United States, D.C., and Canada (excluding Quebec), who are 18 as of the date of entry. To enter, leave a comment below beginning at 10:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) Wednesday, October 10, 2013. Sweepstakes ends at 12:00 PM ET Monday, October 14, 2013. Void outside the United States and Canada and where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules here. Sponsor: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010.

October Grab Bag Sweepstakes

Sign up for the Tor/Forge Newsletter for a chance to win this collection of advance reading copies: Image Place holder  of - 67 About our newsletter: Every issue of Tor’s email newsletter features original writing by, and interviews with, Tor authors and editors about upcoming new titles from all Tor and Forge imprints. In addition, we occasionally send out “special edition” newsletters to highlight particularly exciting new projects, programs, or events. Read a sample here >>

If you’re already a newsletter subscriber, you can enter too. We do not automatically enter subscribers into sweepstakes. We promise we won’t send you duplicate copies of the newsletter if you sign up for the newsletter more than once.

Sign up for your chance to win today!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of 50 United States, D.C., and Canada (excluding Quebec), who are 18 or older as of the date of entry. To enter, complete entry here beginning at 12:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) October 1, 2013. Sweepstakes ends at 11:59 PM ET October 31, 2013. Void outside the United States and Canada and where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules here. Sponsor: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010.

Thank You Sweepstakes

We have reached 200, 000 followers on Twitter! We wanted say thank you to all our followers. You all have been great!

We are celebrating by offering a chance to win one of the two collections pictured below. Enter by commenting and letting us know which collection you’d like to win most:

COLLECTION #1:

Collection #1

COLLECTION #2:

Collection #2

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of 50 United States, D.C., and Canada (excluding Quebec), who are 18 as of the date of entry. To enter, leave a comment below beginning at 10:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) Wednesday, September 4, 2013. Sweepstakes ends at 12:00 PM ET Tuesday, September 10, 2013. Void outside the United States and Canada and where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules here. Sponsor: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010.

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