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Monday, November 2, 2009

Practically Free - Body of Lies

You might have passed on this one when it was a bit over $2 earlier this month, but it's been steadily dropping in price in lockstep with the paperback and is now a ridiculous 50 cents: Body of Lies, by David Ignatius. I haven't finished it yet (too many books to read!), but I'd recommend you check it out, as the price is bound to rise when they stop the sale on the paperback.

Book Description
Roger Ferris is one of the CIA's soldiers in the war on terrorism. He has come out of Iraq with a shattered leg and an intense mission—to penetrate the network of a master terrorist known only as "Suleiman." Ferris's plan for getting inside Suleiman's tent is inspired by a masterpiece of British intelligence during World War II: He prepares a body of lies, literally the corpse of an imaginary CIA officer who appears to have accomplished the impossible by recruiting an agent within the enemy's ranks.

This scheme binds friend and foe in a web of extraordinary subtlety and complexity, and when it begins to unravel, Ferris finds himself flying blind into a hurricane. His only hope is the urbane head of Jordan's intelligence service—a man who might be an Arab version of John le CarrĂ©'s celebrated spy, George Smiley. But can Ferris trust him?

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Free books from Smashwords

Night of the Tustumena ($1.99), by Arne Bue. Use coupon code QH65J during checkout, valid thru November 15, 2009.

Book Description
In this illustrated tale of murder, the secretive creator of an Alaskan drug route encounters problems on his last voyage to Dutch Harbor aboard the Alaska State Ferry "Tustumena."

The Man from Shenandoah ($3.99), courtesy of the author, Marsha Ward, who posted the coupon code ZM42L on her blog, valid thru November 3.

Book Description
Carl Owen doesn’t intend to lose anything—not his land, not his cattle, and certainly not his girl—ever again! Returning from the Civil War, he finds the farm ruined and his father set to leave Virginia. Then Carl falls in love, and he battles a band of outlaws, a prairie fire, blizzards, a trackless waterless desert, and his own brother—all for the hand of feisty Ellen Bates.

Little Monsters (Set Your own price; use $0.00), by Zoe Whitten. You can also pick up Blood Relations and Zombie Punter at no charge and download Blind Rage from her web site.

Book Description
Jarred Collins is a recluse in search of his past. A chance meeting with a homeless girl turns his life upside-down and dredges up his memories as a sexual predator. Who is Cora and why is she so familiar? In this tragic fantasy nothing is what it seems, no one is a hero and the worst betrayals come from the closest kin. But in the wake of a tragedy, maybe these little monsters can form a family.

If you missed Street: Empathy, by Ryan A. Span, during the Halloween sale, you can read most of the stories (and some that will be in a new volume, later) at this web site. It's online or in a bunch of PDF's, not an ebook format, and not a final edit/format, but it'll give you a good flavor for the work (and possibly convince you to spend the $1.99 for the book).

Going Rogue pre-order price drop

The pre-order price for Going Rogue: An American Life, by Sarah Palin (December 26, 2009), has dropped from $9.00 to $7.20 in the Kindle store.

Book Description
One year ago, Sarah Palin burst onto the national political stage like a comet. Yet even now, few Americans know who this remarkable woman really is. On September 3, 2008 Alaska Governor and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention that electrified the nation and instantly made her one of the most recognizable women in the world. As chief executive of America's largest state, she had built a record as a reformer who cast aside politics-as-usual and pushed through changes other politicians only talked about: Energy independence. Ethics reform. And the biggest private sector infrastructure project in U.S. history. And while revitalizing public school funding and ensuring the state met its responsibilities to seniors and Alaska Native populations, Palin also beat the political "good ol' boys club" at their own game and brought Big Oil to heel. Like her GOP running mate, John McCain, Palin wasn't a packaged and over-produced candidate. She was a Main Street American woman: a working mom, wife of a blue collar union man, and mother of five children, the eldest of whom was serving his country in a yearlong deployment in Iraq and the youngest, an infant with special needs. Palin's hometown story touched a populist nerve, rallying hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans to the GOP ticket. But as the campaign unfolded, Palin became a lightning rod for both praise and criticism. Supporters called her "refreshing" and "honest," a kitchen-table public servant they felt would fight for their interests. Opponents derided her as a wide-eyed Pollyanna unprepared for national leadership. But none of them knew the real Sarah Palin. In this eagerly anticipated memoir, Palin paints an intimate portrait of growing up in the wilds of Alaska; meeting her lifelong love; her decision to enter politics; the importance of faith and family; and the unique joys and trials of life as a high-profile working mother. She also opens up for the first time about the 2008 presidential race, providing a rare, mom's-eye view of high-stakes national politics-from patriots dedicated to "Country First" to slick politicos bent on winning at any cost. Going Rogue traces one ordinary citizen's extraordinary journey and imparts Palin's vision of a way forward for America and her unfailing hope in the greatest nation on earth.

Pirate Latitudes pre-order price drop

The pre-order price for Pirate Latitudes, by Michael Crichton (November 24, 2009), has dropped from $9.00 to $7.20 in the Kindle store.

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.

November Orbit Dollar Book: Blood Ties

November's One Dollar Book from Orbit is Blood Ties, by Pamela Freeman, the first in her Castings Trilogy (Deep Water and Full Circle are $9.99 each currently in the Kindle store).

Book Description
A thousand years ago, the Eleven Domains were invaded and the original inhabitants forced on the road as Travelers, belonging nowhere, welcomed by no-one.

Now the Domains are governed with an iron fist by the Warlords, but there are wilder elements to the landscape which cannot be controlled and which may prove their undoing. Some are spirits of place, of water and air and fire and earth. Some are greater than these. And some are human.

Bramble: a village girl, whom no-one living can tame ... forced to flee from her home for a crime she did not commit.

Ash: apprentice to a safeguarder, forced to kill for an employer he cannot escape.

Saker: an enchanter, who will not rest until the land is returned to his people.

As their three stories unfold, along with the stories of those whose lives they touch, it becomes clear that they are bound together in ways that not even a stonecaster could foresee - bound by their past, their future, and their blood.


Not every ebookstore has been matching Orbit's suggested sales price on their dollar books, but I'll include links for the major ones here, so you can check for other formats besides the Kindle one above. Currently, none of the links have updated with the new price, so be sure to check closely before ordering.

Barnes & Noble
Sony
Fictionwise
Books on Board