Did you know that Amazon has a list of the top-selling and free sci-fi and fantasy books? The list changes constantly — authors and publishers set their books to free temporarily to promote their work, and, of course, books move up and down in the rankings. Read on to find your fun free read for this weekend! And grab the books quickly because they don’t always stay free for long.
This week’s list is completely different from those of the previous weeks. So if you’re a fan of free books, there are going to be new things to read all the time. If you want to get this list in your inbox every Friday afternoon, subscribe to the MetaStellar weekly newsletter.
There are a lot of books to go through, so this week I’m being helped out by a couple of other members of our MetaStellar community. If you’d like to join me in doing these reviews — and taping our regular Free Friday videos — email me at maria@metastellar.com.
5. King of Flames by Kathryn Ann Kingsley
This is the first of six books in The Masks of Under romantic fantasy series. The other books are $3.99 each, but are all in Kindle Unlimited. This is the author’s first time on our Free Friday list.
From Lilivette Domínguez-Torres:
Lydia is a forensic technician who’s had a simple, normal life until the day she woke up with a strange tattoo on her arm.
With no memory of how she got it or what the language the letter on her skin is, she tries to rub it off with all types of cleaners. After failing to get rid of it, she decides to move on with her day and go to work at the forensic institute.
With a new, last-minute case on her table, Lydia gets to work quickly and everything seems normal until two things happen. First, she realizes that there’s no blood inside the corpse she’s working with and, second, she realizes that there’s a similar tattoo—but with a different letter—on the corpse’s arm.
Something isn’t right here, but it’s not until the corpse grabs her wrist and starts chasing her around the room that she realizes how bad things really are. Yet it’s only a matter of time before a mysterious man with a mask appears and saves her from the monster. But does he really save her though?
From my point of view, this book had a great start. The pace is quick and the way the story turns dark so quickly really captures your attention in just a matter of seconds.
I honestly felt like I was reading a horror story and completely forgot about the mysteries and possible future romances and you know what? I really enjoyed that.
I definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a quick story full of horror, forbidden romance and a new dark world full of mysteries. I do think I’ll continue reading this one day!
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
4. Adventures of Dirty Dottie: Finding Joy by Carolyn Schield and Tom Vorbeck
This is a standalone book related to the three-book Keys of Life fantasy adventure series. The other books are $7.99 each, but are all in Kindle Unlimited — and the third book is free today as well. This is the author’s first time on our Free Friday list.
From Maria Korolov:
The book opens in a very old-fashioned style. First, we get a long paragraph about who Dirty Dottie is and what she’s like. Then, the action starts with Dottie coming home from a day of grueling rehearsals, getting out of her sweaty theater clothes, and then changing into her husband’s favorite black teddy and having a drink of vintage wine.
Is it some kind of special occasion? I mean, who changes into a sexy outfit right after getting home from work?
Then Dottie checks the mail. The mail is the old-fashioned paper kind. So I guess the time period is before the Internet, but after mail service was invented.
One of the letters thanks Dottie for saving some peoples’ lives and inviting her to a birthday party. She’s so happy she starts crying, which is how her husband finds her when he gets home from work.
Then she immediately packs — we never do find out if there was a reason she’d put on her husband’s favorite teddy — and jumps on a plane to Nova Scotia, for the party. She goes alone. If she tells her husband goodbye, it’s not mentioned.
Then she grabs a nap in a hotel room, and catches a taxi to her destination. The taxi driver mentions a GPS. So we are in the modern day, after all?
In the next chapter, we get some backstory on Dottie’s friends. One of them has magical powers, including healing and the ability to see the future. The healer’s husband is an archeologist who’d discovered some kind of ancient curse. I’m guessing all this is told about in the related books in the series. The two of them have a son, also an archeologist, and a pair of baby twins who are turning one — it’s their birthday party that Dottie is invited to.
There are also a few other friends and relatives at the party, both in person and electronically. So definitely the modern day, even though the writing style is pretty old-fashioned.
By old-fashioned, I mean that there’s a lot of summarizing, very little interiority, and way too many exclamation points. It’s not necessarily bad, but it makes it harder for me to get into the story.
We get some more backstory about ancient artifacts with supernatural powers, and we learn that there’s a particular set of artifacts that the family has that need to stay hidden to prevent them from falling into evil hands.
Then after the babies are in bed, everyone stays up drinking and telling stories, and we get more of Dottie’s history, and that of the other people there.
There’s a lot of back story. In fact, 15 chapters in — okay, the chapters are pretty short, but still — we haven’t yet gotten to the plot.
Then, finally, we switch to a new location. We’re with the bad guys, and it’s World War II. The bad guys are looking for some historical artifact — a sword — and a painting. Again, there’s a lot of summary and I’m wondering whether this is new information or something that’s come up in other books. Then, finally, the bad guys catch up to Dottie because she’s connected to these artifacts. And by following Dottie, they discover the house where Dottie’s friends are having the birthday party.
So Dottie led the bad guys straight to her friends.
And now the plot begins in earnest, with the bad guys staking out the house, ready to kill for these artifacts.
In theory, this is my kind of book. I love archeological-style capers, like the Indiana Jones stories, and this book seems to fall squarely into that genre. But the detached writing style and the huge amount of exposition up front makes it very hard for me to get into it.
That’s not necessarily an obstacle. I’ve read other book series with a similar detached style — Stuart Woods’ best-selling Stone Barrington books come to mind, for example. The detached style also makes it a less stressful read. We’re not deeply in the characters’ heads when horrible things happen. So, now that I think about it, this might be a good book to read while digesting Thanksgiving leftovers this weekend. Okay, I might stick with it after all!
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
3. Max and the Multiverse by Zachry Wheeler
This is the first of seven books in the award-winning Max and the Multiverse science fiction adventure series. The other books are $3.99 each, and the series is not in Kindle Unlimited — but books four through seven are also free today. The author has been on this list before.
From Tim McHugh:
This is a satirical science fiction story where a teenager tumbles through the multiverse.
I don’t normally read humor books but I do love them when I come across one, so I might be in the target demographic for this one.
We start with high-schooler Max, who has just started spring break and has the house to himself. So, naturally. he plans to spend seven days playing video games.
After his first marathon of the week leaves him passed out on his keyboard, he wakes up to find that his cat can talk. The first chapter mainly shows Max coming to terms with the fact that the cat can talk and they have some banter.
Max then goes on to ignore the cat and goes back to his video games. He passes out again but this time he wakes up in another universe, one ruled by flying pterodactyls. This is when he realizes that every time he falls asleep, he will wake up in a new universe.
Overall this is a good book, but my biggest problem is that I didn’t find it funny. The jokes aren’t bad or cringy, so it isn’t a deal breaker, but I expected to at least chuckle.
Without the humor, this is still a well-written young adult book that might have a pretty fun adventure. I’m not going to continue this one because the genre didn’t turn out to be to my tastes, but if you like a light read that leans towards YA, you will probably enjoy this one.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
2. Oathborne: Year One by Morgan Rice
This is the first of eight books in the Oathborne young adult epic fantasy series. The other books are $3.99 to $5.99 each, and are not in Kindle Unlimited. This is the author’s first time on our Free Friday list.
From Maria Korolov:
Okay, first, I need to get my usual disclaimer of the of way: I don’t like young adults, and I don’t like young adult fiction. Sure, there are some exceptions but, in general, I have no patience for all that teenage drama.
The book starts right in the middle of the action. Kaela is a thief, darting through the back alleys of Shadowhaven, chased by pursuers. She evades them easily, giving money to a poor beggar child along the way. But her apparent easy escape is an illusion — more guards block the street ahead of her. She’s trapped.
But she still has tricks up her sleeve. She goes up a wall, and then hides in the shadows. The guards walk right past her and don’t see her. She’s free. But not really free. She knows that the guards will always be there. Then a stranger appears, telling her that he’s been watching her, and offering her an opportunity to change her life.
That was the prologue.
Then the story really begins with chapter one. It’s now two days later. We learn that Kaela is nineteen years old — and that she’s decided to take the stranger up on his offer. She still doesn’t know his name, but takes on the first challenge. She must fight her way through a storm to a place called Stonegarden. She follows the stranger’s instructions and finds a secret passage to her destination — the Stonegarden Academy, a place of magic and secrecy.
Oh, no, it’s a book about a magic school!
There’s a crowd of would-be students from all four parts of the kingdom, and an old wise man welcoming them all, and warning of dangers ahead, and then the students must choose one of three portals to walk through. Kaela picks the one that seems the most dangerous and finds herself on the other side, along with all the other students. Then mysterious invisible hands drag some of them screaming into the shadows, where those would-be students disappear for ever. The old man tells them that he had warned them to choose wisely. The ones who were dragged away didn’t follow their instincts and failed the first test.
So not quite the Sorting Hat.
And then the classes start.
I’m going to stop reading here because I wasn’t that of school back when I was a student myself, and have no interest in reliving those years — and I’ve read way too many magic academy books.
I do like Kaela. She seems like a brave, sympathetic character, except for the fact that she was ready to abandon everything and everyone she knew based on some vague promises from a guy she’d never met before.
That’s not enough to keep me reading — but if you’re a fan of young protagonists, or of magic school, you might enjoy this series.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
1. Legacy of Truth by Christy Nicholas
This is the second of eleven books in the Druid’s Brooch Series, a historic fantasy series, which can be read in any order. The other books are $0.99 to $5.99 each, but most are in Kindle Unlimited. This is the author’s first time on our Free Friday list.
From Maria Korolov:
This story also begins with a prologue. Eamonn is sitting on a rocking chair in front of a fire, about to tell a story to his granddaughters. He decides to tell the take of an Irish hero who was raised by a warrior woman, and who learned wisdom from a Druid.
Then we get some backstory the next day as Eamonn is leaving. The farm where the little girls live is a small one, ten acres, that Eamonn himself bought for his son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. Eamonn made his money by trading, and also by gambling. Now he sets back out on the road, to make more money.
That was the prologue. In the first chapter, we’re with Esme, one of the granddaughters, as the family is out working the fields, planting crops.
Over the course of the next few chapters, we learn more about the family, the squabbles between the children, their worries about going hungry if the crops fail, their father’s lack of ability to stick with things, and the obstacles the family faces due the fact that they’re Catholic rather than Protestant.
The story moves slowly. There are some hints at magical things, but nothing concrete. Not so far, at least.
The girls grow up, fall in love, fight with each other. Esme’s twin sister wants to marry a rich man, a Protestant, and considers converting. Meanwhile, Esme is torn between two boys.
Then Esme’s sister announces she’s converting and grandfather Eamonn comes back — and gives Esme a magical artifact that was responsible for his skill at gambling. He decides to give it to Esme because she would use its power unselfishly, to help others.
The book reads like a slow-paced family saga. I can see that it would be easy to get caught up in it — but it’s not really my thing.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
See all the Free Friday posts here. Do you have other free books for us to check out? Comment below or email me at maria@metastellar.com.
Have you read any of these books? Are you planning to? Let us know in the comments!
Or watch Maria talk about all five books in the video below:
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.
Tim McHugh writes sci-fi and fantasy. Though he currently works full time in the software industry, he has a love for stories with grey characters and moral ambiguity that tell us something about the world. His book A Voice for the Scavengers is now available on Amazon.
Lilivette Domínguez-Torres is MetaStellar's marketing assistant and an aspiring book editor based in Puerto Rico. You can find her talking about fantasy books or K-dramas on Twitter at @lilivettedt.