Cheap/Free Kindle Recommendations

**Iangould** · 03-07-2012, 03:33 AM

So I've had the Kindle app on my tablet for a few months and I'm looking to branch out and try some new writers.

The SF section of Kindle is full of cheap or free books by authors I've never heard of.

Most of them look dreadful, some of them look quite interesting.

Anyone want to recommend some?

I bought the Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey and I'm about 50 pages into it.

I chose it because it is, apparently, the most downloaded sf book in the Kindle store.

It's okay - not great. A competent writing style, a fairly interesting variation on a post-apocalyptic civilization.

**Expletive Deleted** · 03-07-2012, 06:44 AM

There's a free and fairly nice collection of short stories from Tor here.

If you don't mind downloading the .mobi files and transferring them to the Kindle folder on your tablet manually, Baen's CDs are a treasure trove of free SF. Granted, a lot of it is David Weber/Eric Flint-style military SF, but there's good stuff mixed in. Their Free Library is also worth a look.

**Iangould** · 03-07-2012, 04:16 PM

Originally Posted by Expletive Deleted

There's a free and fairly nice collection of short stories from Tor here.

If you don't mind downloading the .mobi files and transferring them to the Kindle folder on your tablet manually, Baen's CDs are a treasure trove of free SF. Granted, a lot of it is David Weber/Eric Flint-style military SF, but there's good stuff mixed in. Their Free Library is also worth a look.

Oh yes I'm well aware of the Baen Free Library. I download the Mobi file to my PC then copy the file to the Kindle directory on my tablet's SD card. (Do you realize that sentence would have been incomprehensible to someone from even ten years ago?)

I will check out the Tor anthology.

**Matt-M-McElroy** · 03-08-2012, 04:43 PM

What genres are you interested in? Fantasy? Sci-Fi? Horror?

Lots of Mobi products at DriveThruFiction.com, I sorted by price (just scroll down). A number of them are listed as Multiple File Formats, meaning you can get both the ePub and the Mobi (and sometimes PDF) for one low price.

-Matt

**Chiasm** · 03-08-2012, 05:12 PM

Most libraries now allow you to check out books onto your kindle. Can't beat free.

**Expletive Deleted** · 03-08-2012, 06:45 PM

Originally Posted by Chiasm

Most libraries now allow you to check out books onto your kindle. Can't beat free.

I could be mistaken, but I don't believe Overdrive (or at least their Kindle service) is available in Australia, yet.

**Zup** · 03-08-2012, 09:13 PM

Dracula is free. And surprisingly, it holds up well (aside from the mild sexism natural in the time in which it was written) and I'm figuring out why it's such a classic in the first place.

**Chiasm** · 03-09-2012, 07:50 AM

Originally Posted by Zup

Dracula is free. And surprisingly, it holds up well (aside from the mild sexism natural in the time in which it was written) and I'm figuring out why it's such a classic in the first place.

I just read that for the first time last month. It started out strong but kind of dragged in the middle.

**Julusnc** · 03-10-2012, 02:35 AM

I am stupid about all the reading pads out there.I was wondering if I purchase a book am I always able to get to that copy say I lost my kindle? Does a kindle owner have like a storage page on a website?

**Expletive Deleted** · 03-10-2012, 05:37 AM

Originally Posted by Julusnc

I am stupid about all the reading pads out there.I was wondering if I purchase a book am I always able to get to that copy say I lost my kindle? Does a kindle owner have like a storage page on a website?

Yes, all your purchases are stored on Amazon's servers and can be re-downloaded if you get a new Kindle or a new device with a Kindle app.

**Blueferret** · 03-10-2012, 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by Zup

Dracula is free. And surprisingly, it holds up well (aside from the mild sexism natural in the time in which it was written) and I'm figuring out why it's such a classic in the first place.

Agreed. I have a Nook and this was one of the free books I got. It really is a classic.

**Iangould** · 03-11-2012, 06:23 AM

Originally Posted by Matt-M-McElroy

What genres are you interested in? Fantasy? Sci-Fi? Horror?

-Matt

All of the above.

**Expletive Deleted** · 03-11-2012, 07:59 AM

I had a post that got more deeply into each of these, but it got blown out. So here's the abbreviated version.

Agatha H. and the Airship City by Phil and Kaja Foglio (a prose adaptation of their Girl Genius webcomic) is currently free.

Moxyland and Zoo City by Lauren Beukes (South African near-future science fiction and fantasy, respectively) are currently $2.99 each. Her publisher, Angry Robot, prices e-books pretty reasonably.

Child of Fire by Harry Connolly (dark urban fantasy about an ex-con who's an expendable decoy for a demon hunter) is currently $0.99.

Wild Cards 1, edited by George R.R. Martin, (you've probably already read it, but if you haven't it's some of the best superhero prose ever) is currently $2.99.

Shadow Unit 1, edited by Emma Bull, (another mosaic series, but more along the lines of Criminal Minds meets X-Files) is $2.99, as are the rest of the series. Of course, the individual stories are free on the web, but the e-book packages are very nice and support the continuation of the series.

Some cheap, but (on balance) good, anthologies:
Tails of Wonder and Imagination ($1.99, fantasy, cat-themed)
Wings of Fire ($1.99, fantasy, dragon-themed)
The Living Dead ($2.99, horror, zombie-themed)
Eclipse 1 ($2.99, science fiction, no theme)
Best SF&F of the Year 1 ($2.99, both)