Starting today and running through May 20, Amazon is holding a giant book sale with tons of great book deals.
You can get new bestsellers and hardcover classics for 40% to 60% off. And, my second favorite type of book to buy and own — classic fantasy. (Classic sci-fi is my top favorite, and I did that article first. You can see my recommendations here.)
I scoured through all the lists and waded through hundreds of pages of Amazon search results to bring you my top picks. These box sets and special editions would make great gifts for graduation, Father’s Day or — if you’re the kind who shops way, way in advance — for Christmas. And if you’re a collector, you can just buy them for yourself.
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
This illustrated hardcover edition is just $16.59 right now, down 45% from the original list price of $30.
If you don’t love this story, well, I don’t even know who you are anymore.
From the publisher:
As Florin and Guilder teeter on the verge of war, the reluctant Princess Buttercup is devastated by the loss of her true love, kidnapped by a mercenary and his henchman, rescued by a pirate, forced to marry Prince Humperdinck, and rescued once again by the very crew who absconded with her in the first place. In the course of this dazzling adventure, she’ll meet Vizzini—the criminal philosopher who’ll do anything for a bag of gold; Fezzik—the gentle giant; Inigo—the Spaniard whose steel thirsts for revenge; and Count Rugen—the evil mastermind behind it all. Foiling all their plans and jumping into their stories is Westley, Princess Buttercup’s one true love and a very good friend of a very dangerous pirate.
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
This hardcover edition of the book was actually illustrated by J.R.R. Tolkien himself. It’s $42.95, down from the original $75 price tag. According to the publisher, this is “a special enhanced edition of the enchanting prelude to The Lord of the Rings, illustrated throughout with over 50 sketches, drawings, paintings and maps by J.R.R. Tolkien himself and with the complete text printed in two colors.”
But wait, that’s not all! If you’re J.R.R. Tolkien fan, The Lord of the Rings is also on sale this week, in a very similar hardcover edition illustrated by the author. It’s just $39.19 now, down 56% from the original list price of $90.
There’s also an illustrated edition of The Silmarillion for $29.96, down 60% from the original list price of $75.
But if you want to go all-out, check out this deluxe edition of The Lord of the Rings, again illustrated by the author, but in a super fancy binding with all kinds of tasty extras, like removable fold-out maps drawn by Christopher Tolkien. Yes, it will set you back $106.11, but that’s 58% off the original price of $250.
There’s also a deluxe pocket-sized leatherette-bound box set of four books — The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King — for $34.98, a discount of 42%. And a paperback box set for $20.77, or 42% off.
If four books are not enough, you can get a seven-book flexibound illustrated box set for $45.99, 54% off of the usual $100 price.
Harry Potter Set by J. K. Rowling
I don’t know if you can separate the author’s personal life from their work, but you do have to give J.K. Rowling credit for turning a whole generation of kids into voracious readers. And many of them have even gone on to become writers.
Video games, television, shrinking attention spans — Harry Potter triumphed over it all. I remember taking my daughter to midnight release parties at the local bookstore — and staying up all night myself to finish the books as they came out.
That’s even though I hate, hate, hate books about teenagers that are set in magic schools. It’s got to be my least favorite genre. But what can I say? Harry Potter is magical.
Anyway, the entire box set is now $64.27, down 74% from the list price of $245. It’s a collectible edition, with jackets by acclaimed woodcut artist Andrew Davidson.
I hunted around, and found a couple of other Harry Potter box sets on sale now.
For $139.99 — down 38% from a list price of $226.93 — you can get a set of hardcover books in a collectible trunk-like box with sturdy handles, lockable lid, and bonus decorative sticker set.
If that’s a little pricy, you can get a complete set of these colorful paperbacks for $65.00, down 75% from the list price of $259.95. Or this complete set of green-colored paperbacks for $45.44, down 55% from a list price of $100.
Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
The box sets of the entire series are on sale now.
This is paperback box set of the first three books in the series for $15.81, down 52% from the original list price of $32.97.
And all the other box sets of the series are on sale today as well.
Books four through six are $19.98 — 39% off.
Books seven through nine are $17.99 — 45% off.
Books ten through 12 are $22.23 — 32% off.
And books 13, 14, plus a prequel are on sale today for $17.59 — 45% off.
The Witcher Boxed Set by Andrzej Sapkowski
You’ve played the game. You’ve watched the television series. Do you own all the books?
They’re on sale now for $38.59, down 57% from the original list price of $89.99.
With this paperback box set, you get the five novels that make up The Witcher Saga — Blood of Elves, The Time of Contempt, Baptism of Fire, The Tower of Swallows, and The Lady of the Lake.
From the publisher:
For over a century, humans, dwarves, gnomes, and elves have lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over, and now the races are fighting once again.
Geralt of Rivia, the hunter known as the Witcher, has been waiting for the birth of a prophesied child. This child has the power to change the world—for good, or for evil.
As the threat of war hangs over the land the child, Ciri, is hunted for her extraordinary powers. Geralt and his allies, including the powerful sorceress Yennefer, must find a way to protect her, and to protect the world. And the Witcher never accepts defeat.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
I don’t read romantic time travel fantasies. I only picked up the first book in this series because I thought it was a hard sci-fi time travel book. And I got sucked in. I couldn’t stop reading.
I wouldn’t say that these books changed my life, but maybe my cold, cold heart grew a couple of sizes that day.
The paperback box set of the first four books in the series is now $21.69, down 46%.
The box set of books five through eight in the series is also on sale today, for $21.99, a discount of 45%.
There’s also a book nine, which you’ll have to buy separately — but it is also discounted, by 42%, from $22 to $12.67.
MetaStellar editor and publisher Maria Korolov is a science fiction novelist, writing stories set in a future virtual world. And, during the day, she is an award-winning freelance technology journalist who covers artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and enterprise virtual reality. See her Amazon author page here and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, and check out her latest videos on the Maria Korolov YouTube channel. Email her at maria@metastellar.com. She is also the editor and publisher of Hypergrid Business, one of the top global sites covering virtual reality.