Free Book - Heritage

Heritage, by Judy Nunn, is being given away (in DRM'd EPUB format only, which works on the Sony and B&N readers) by Random House Australia as part of a promotion of her new book Maralinga. Neither book appears to be in print in the US, at least, not currently, so this is probably an author most of us have not read before. I just found this one, but there are only two days left to get the book.

Book Description
It was a time when refugees seized with both hands the chance for freedom; a time when people of more than seventy nations gathered beneath the Southern Cross to forge a new national identity. From war-torn Europe, they came to the mountains of Australia to realise one man's dream, and in so doing realised their own. The mighty Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, regarded by many as the greatest engineering feat of the 20th Century, was built with pride from the sweat and blood of displaced people. They were called New Australians.

One was 'Lucky', a German Jew seeking refuge in Australia after losing his family in the horror that was known as Endlosung, 'The Final Solution' of Hitler's Third Reich. Another was Pietro, a young Italian immigrant in search of a new life in a strange country far from the mountains of his childhood which harboured a deadly secret. And then there was the woman from Israel, the woman with a past so steeped in horror that no matter how far she ran, she would never escape the nightmare of Auschwitz or the massacre of Deir Yassin.

People of all races and creeds tunnelled through a mountain range and turned the course of a mighty river as they sought to put to rest the ghosts from the inferno of their past.
From the blood of Berlin to the birth of Israel, from the Italian Alps to the Snowy Mountains, HERITAGE tells the story of the birth of new Australia in the high plains of the Monaro and the rugged peaks of The Snowy Mountains. Judy Nunn is at the height of her powers in this passionate and fast-paced tale of rebirth, struggle, sacrifice and redemption.

To get the free book, click HERE. You'll then need to sign up for their newsletter (use a throw-away email address, but one you can check, if you don't want the newsletter), then click on a link in a confirmation email that they will send you. If you don't already have Adobe Digital Editions installed, you'll need to do that first.

Three Additional $9 Pre-Orders on Kindle

Two Three additional titles have joined the $9 pre-order price war in the Kindle store, adding to the earlier list. I've also added the delivery dates, so you know how long you have to think about pre-ordering (although the price war could, of course, end at any time, if one of the big three blinks).

Pirate Latitudes, by Michael Crichton (November 24, 2009), is one I'd be tempted to order in print, just for the cover, but won't. I may pre-order the Kindle version, though, as I usually enjoy Crichton's novels.

Book Description
An irresistible adventure of swashbuckling pirates in the New World, a classic story of treasure and betrayal. The Caribbean, 1665. A remote colony of the English Crown, the island of Jamaica holds out against the vast supremacy of the Spanish empire. Port Royal, its capital, is a cutthroat town of taverns, grog shops, and bawdy houses. In this steamy climate there's a living to be made, a living that can end swiftly by disease - or by dagger. For Captain Charles Hunter, gold in Spanish hands is gold for the taking, and the law of the land rests with those ruthless enough to make it. Word in port is that the galleon El Trinidad, fresh from New Spain, is awaiting repairs in a nearby harbor. Heavily fortified, the impregnable harbor is guarded by the bloodthirsty Cazalla, a favorite commander of the Spanish king himself. With backing from a powerful ally, Hunter assembles a crew of ruffians to infiltrate the enemy outpost and commandeer El Trinidad, along with its fortune in Spanish gold. The raid is as perilous as the bloodiest tales of island legend, and Hunter will lose more than one man before he even sets foot on foreign shores, where dense jungle and the firepower of Spanish infantry stand between him and the treasure.

The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver (November 3, 2009)

Book Description
An epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover. The Lacuna is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern identities. Born in the United States, reared in a series of provisional households in Mexico - from a coastal island jungle to 1930s Mexico City - Harrison Shepherd finds precarious shelter but no sense of home on his thrilling odyssey. Life is whatever he learns from housekeepers who put him to work in the kitchen, errands he runs in the streets, and one fateful day, by mixing plaster for famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. He discovers a passion for Aztec history and meets the exotic, imperious artist Frida Kahlo, who will become his lifelong friend. When he goes to work for Lev Trotsky, an exiled political leader fighting for his life, Shepherd inadvertently casts his lot with art and revolution, newspaper headlines and howling gossip, and a risk of terrible violence. Meanwhile, to the north, the United States will soon be caught up in the internationalist goodwill of World War II. There in the land of his birth, Shepherd believes he might remake himself in America's hopeful image and claim a voice of his own. He finds support from an unlikely kindred soul, his stenographer, Mrs. Brown, who will be far more valuable to her employer than he could ever know. Through darkening years, political winds continue to toss him between north and south in a plot that turns many times on the unspeakable breach - the lacuna - between truth and public presumption. With deeply compelling characters, a vivid sense of place, and a clear grasp of how history and public opinion can shape a life.

Under the Dome, by Stephen King (December 24, 2009)

Book Description
On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester's Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener's hand is severed as "the dome" comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when - or if - it will go away.

Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens - town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician's assistant at the hospital, a select-woman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing - even murder - to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry. But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn't just short. It's running out.

Halloween Reads from Samhellion

As you all know, Samhain Publishing has been giving away a number of books this year. They also give away a number of short stories on their web site, usually in conjunction with major holidays. This Halloween is no exception, but they are doing things a bit differently this time. Rather than have you check their web site each day and click to download a book, you have to sign up on their email list to get links to the downloads. They've been having some issues with the addresses they are using, it seems, so if you don't get a reply back fairly quickly, try the secondary address. All of these that I've checked have been fairly short and all are in PDF format (but easily converted for the Kindle or read on the DX).

The Fine Print

1. Our short stories range from sweet to super-sexy. By sending in your email to receive the download link, you are agreeing that you are aware of this.
2. All email addies will be entered into a drawing to win a Free Samhain title of your choice.
3. All email addresses will be added to our newsletter mailing list. Please note that we do not sell our i list or use it for any other purpose than to send our reader-related announcements and the newsletter.

Click HERE to see the descriptions of the stories so far, or just send a blank email to one of these two addresses (substituting "@" for the " (at) ", of course):

samhellionfreebies (at) gmail.com
freebies (at) samhellion.com

You'll get back a single email with all the free stories so far (since October 15). There should be another one or two this week, so you'll want to send a second messages on Friday or Saturday to get the last few links.

Makers by Cory Doctorow

Some of you may have been reading the serialized version of Makers ($16.49 Hardcover), by Cory Doctorow (author of Little Brother and Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, amongst others). I always forget to find the new chapters of books released this way, so I wait until they are released in full. If you are like me, you need wait no longer, as the full version of Makers has now been published on his web site. It's free and under a Creative Commons license -- you own the book you download and can do with it pretty much as you wish (which he covers on his download page).

Book Description
Perry and Lester invent things—seashell robots that make toast, Boogie Woogie Elmo dolls that drive cars. They also invent entirely new economic systems, like the “New Work,” a New Deal for the technological era. Barefoot bankers cross the nation, microinvesting in high-tech communal mini-startups like Perry and Lester’s. Together, they transform the country, and Andrea Fleeks, a journo-turned-blogger, is there to document it.

Then it slides into collapse. The New Work bust puts the dot.combomb to shame. Perry and Lester build a network of interactive rides in abandoned Wal-Marts across the land. As their rides, which commemorate the New Work’s glory days, gain in popularity, a rogue Disney executive grows jealous, and convinces the police that Perry and Lester’s 3D printers are being used to run off AK-47s.

Hordes of goths descend on the shantytown built by the New Workers, joining the cult. Lawsuits multiply as venture capitalists take on a new investment strategy: backing litigation against companies like Disney. Lester and Perry’s friendship falls to pieces when Lester gets the ‘fatkins’ treatment, turning him into a sybaritic gigolo.

Then things get really interesting.

Click HERE to visit his download page - you can get Makers in several formats, all DRM free. Let me know if you see any problems in the Mobi/Kindle version ... I converted it from the HTML and have only checked as far as the Table of contents and a few pages in. The only thing missing is a cover page (you can add it yourself in Calibre or just do without), as it belongs to the print publisher and he doesn't have rights to allow it to be used in the ebooks he makes available.

Bargains from The Friday Project

The Friday Project is a small, UK based imprint of Harper Collins and specializes in finding content on the web and bringing it to print. That content may be blog posts (or just the blogger), serialized works published via the web and book released under a Creative Commons license. Their books are now available in the Kindle store, despite their disparagement of the Kindle when it first released a couple of years ago, when Scott Pack said "It's not an iPod moment" and said he thought that most readers have no need to store their books as they might music tracks (guess he should take a look at my Kindle, sometime) and several are currently bargain priced. I'll highlight a few here (mostly young adult/children's titles), but you can see all their Kindle offerings by clicking HERE (a few are marked as not available in the US).

The Third Pig Detective Agency ($1.13), by Bob Burke, is one I was tempted to pick up when it was released in the UK, but I didn't want to have to set up a new account and deal with the exchange rate on my credit card for such a small purchase.

Book Description
Harry Pigg, the only surviving brother from the Big Bad Wolf attacks, has set up business as a private detective in Grimmtown, only things aren't going too well. Down on his luck, with bills to pay and no clients in sight the outlook is poor. But then in walks local businessman Aladdin who needs someone to help him track down an old lamp.What follows is a case of nursery rhyme-noir. Funny, thrilling and always entertaining, Harry Pigg is an old breed of hero for a new generation. It's as if Humphrey Bogart or James Cagney had walked into the middle of a bedtime story. A comedy caper for all ages.

Shadowmagic ($3.40), by John Lenahan, is one I see recommended by several who have already read it. Who can resist an author whose bio says he is "a magician who became the first person in 85 years to be expelled from the Magic Circle for explaining the Three-card Monte on television. He was the voice of the toaster in Red Dwarf."

Book Description
Conor thought he was an average teenager. OK, so his father only had one hand, spoke to him in ancient languages and was a bit on the eccentric side but, other than that, life was fairly normal. Until, that is, two Celtic warriors on horseback and wearing full armour appear at his front door and try to kill him. After that, things get pretty weird. Shadowmagic is a fantasy adventure for young adults (although grown ups will like it too). Written by one of the most popular magicians in the country it brings a fresh approach to the genre and will have a broad appeal beyond the fantasy sections.

An A-Z of Harry Potter ($3.40), by Aubrey Malone, billed as The Ultimate Guide to the Whole Series. Perhaps with this one, you won't miss having the actual Harry Potter books on your Kindle (or any other ereader).

Book Description
Harry Potter is, without doubt, the publishing sensation of the past decade. Here for the first time in dictionary form is an unofficial readers' guide to all seven books. From 'Animagus' (a wizard that can transform into an animal) to 'Zonkos' (the joke and gift shop in Hogsmeade), Aubrey Malone explores the characters, creatures, places and spells that JK Rowling has brought to life so successfully. This is a must-have for all true Harry Potter fans, and the perfect way to celebrate the series that has captured the imagination of millions.

Montegue Blister's Strange Games ($3.40), by Montegue Blister, should appeal to the little boy in some of you (but I'm not sure if it really is the perfect Christmas gift, as it claims).

Book Description
Taken from the brilliant website strange-games.blogspot.com, Montegue Blister's Strange Games is a pocket-sized compendium of the most hilarious, noisy, messy, and often vomit-inducing games ever written.Finally, the official rules for all the games you played at school as a kid, such as Finger Jousting, Peanuts, Slapsies and Thumb Wrestling. But that's not all! Montegue Blister's Strange Games includes dangerous variations on old classics such as Extreme Rock Paper Scissors, Bloody Knuckles, Shin Kicking and Toe Wrestling, plus a whole host of new, weird and wonderful games like Face Ball, Crazy Stair Climbing, Watermelon Skiing and Mosquito Squashing. Some games are violent, some are downright savage - and most involve a tiny bit of blood. But one thing's for sure - they're great fun! Montegue Blister's Strange Games is the perfect gift for Christmas and beyond. Chapters in Strange Games in include:Hand and feet games; Urban Games; Festivals; Party Games; Trick Games; Playground Games; Throwing & Propulsion; Sports; Stand off Games; Animal Games.

The Equivoque Principle ($3.40), by Darren Craske

Book Description
Prometheus the strongman winds up behind bars and it falls to ringmaster and master conjuror Cornelius Quaint, ably assisted by his Eskimo valet Butter, to investigate the killings and to clear his name. But Quaint, an irresistible mix of Sherlock Holmes and Harry Houdini, soon finds that these seemingly random killings are actually linked to dark secrets from his own past. Secrets that he may not be prepared to face. The Equivoque Principle is a fantastic adventure inspired by the penny dreadfuls and newspaper serials of the Victorian age.

The Atheist's Guide to Christmas ($5.09), by Ariane Sherine, is said to be the UK’s first atheist charity book (despite a subtitle that's more agnostic than athiest).

Book Description
... Ariane and dozens of other atheist writers, comedians and scientists are joining together to raise money for (charity).... The Atheist's Guide to Christmas is a funny, thoughtful handbook all about enjoying Christmas, from 42 of the world's most entertaining atheists. It features everything from an atheist Christmas miracle to a guide to the best Christmas pop hits, and contributors include Richard Dawkins, Charlie Brooker, Ben Goldacre, Jenny Colgan, David Baddiel, Simon Singh, AC Grayling, Brian Cox and Richard Herring. The full book advance and all royalties will go to the UK HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust.