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. Displaced by Stephen Drake
This is the first of three books in the Displaced post-apocalyptic science fiction series. The other books are $2.99 each and are not in Kindle Unlimited. The author has been on our Free Friday list before. In fact, this very book has been on the top of this list twice already.
From Alex Korolov:
Displaced is a sci-fi story about a small group of humans who wake up from suspended animation in a transport pod and now have to survive on a strange new planet.
If you like stories of survival or sci-fi where humans explore alien worlds, this book is for you. I liked it, and I would keep reading to learn about the new planet. Also, the characters are interesting enough, so I’d want to know what ends up happening to them.
The first few chapters are about the people getting to know each other, and how two people, in particular, don’t get along.
Kevin Murdock is an outdoorsy survivalist type who knows how to hunt and fish, and he quickly learns that the animals on the new planet are like earth’s creatures, but bigger.
James Whittier was a politician on earth, and he quickly takes charge of the small group of colonists and at the same time, becomes Murdock’s enemy — the two just don’t get along.
Get the ebook free from Amazon here.
4. The Bohannon Witches by Emily Bex
This is a box set of both books in The Bohannon Witches Duology, a paranormal romance series. The other books are $3.99 each, and are not in Kindle Unlimited. The author has been on our Free Friday list before.
From Maria Korolov:
From the book cover and description, it looks like this book might be an urban fantasy, one of my favorite genres. And it does start out that way.
Eilish is sitting on the porch of her house in Charleston, drinking her iced tea. It’s a hot day, and she’s wearing a skimpy sundress. Then a man walking by snaps her picture. She stands up to go back inside, but, before she does, she glances back, sends out a wave of energy, and the man’s phone falls to the sidewalk and breaks.
She hates tourists.
Inside, the air conditioning is on, but Eilish’s two sisters are home, bickering. The three of them run a new age shop and a new shipment has arrived. The sisters have to go in on what is normally their day off in order to stock the shelves. Eilish isn’t happy about her older sister ordering her around.
And the older sister is very bossy. And that means something coming from me — I’m the big, bossy sister with five younger siblings.
Then the older sister’s boyfriend shows up, who also has magical powers, and after a bit more bickering the two of them leave. The two younger sisters are stuck at the shop by themselves to stock the shelves. Sounds like they both need to find something else to do with their lives.
In the next chapter, we learn that the oldest sister, Seraphina, is the most powerful witch in Charleston, and a high priestess. That makes her boyfriend the high priest. They like being in charge and plan to keep it that way, even if means keeping the youngest sister, Eilish, from discovering her full magical potential.
And then we get a magical sex scene between the two of them, and also learn that the boyfriend is a massive jerk. Looks like Seraphina should strike off on her own, as well. Instead, she backs him up. He wants to see Eilish paired off with someone she doesn’t like because it will make her easier to control, and Seraphina thinks this would be a good idea.
That’s a little bit too much family drama for my taste. I’m frustrated that Eilish is letting all this happen while she’s wasting her time living in the house where she grew up, working in a shop with her sisters. And I don’t like romance-centered plots in any case. I prefer main plots that involve action, mystery, or murder. Or, hopefully, all three.
The book does remind me a bit of the television show Charmed, however.
Still, I don’t think I’ll be sticking with this book. But if you’re a fan of romance and family drama and magical goings-on, check it out.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
3. Secrets of the Catalogue by Amelia Spencer
This is the first of four books in The Librarians urban fantasy series. The other books are $2.99 to $4.99 each, but are all in Kindle Unlimited. The fourth book isn’t out yet, but is scheduled to be released at the end of this year and is available for pre-order. This is the author’s first time on our Free Friday list.
From Hannah M:
I love books about magical libraries, so I was excited to read this one.
We immediately jump straight into heartbreak. Our protagonist, Emerson, has just received a break-up text from her boyfriend. He had contracted a mystery illness and became a recluse, distancing himself from Emerson until he finally ended things. The rest of her night is a miserable cycle of drinking and crying.
The next day, she wakes up hung over and late for her shift at the restaurant where she works. Her friend encourages her to go to a nightclub and forget about the breakup. On the train home from work, Emerson encounters a tattooed man and is unable to shake him from her mind all night. From his description, I predict he will be a potential new love interest for Emerson.
At the club, Emerson feels disconcerted and is keen to leave, getting the feeling that someone is watching her. Out on the street, the roads are quiet, with only a single bookshop being open, and she goes home. However, in the morning, she feels an urge to return to the same area. Emerson hops on a train and trusts her intuition to guide her. After hours of walking, she turns into a side street, Bowery Place. Weirdly nobody else seems to be able to see this street.
Upon entering a book shop, Emerson wanders from shelf to shelf and takes out a book titled “The Central Library.” Suddenly, an old man appears behind her and lets her take the book for free. Their meeting is awkward, leaving Emerson feeling unsettled.
I loved this book and will continue reading it. I have no idea where the story will go, but I’m so intrigued.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
2. The Last Signal by Colton Lively
This is a standalone book of small town post-apocalypse EMP survival, but the author has many — more than thirty! — other books in this genre, so there’s plenty of reading here if you like his style. And nearly all of the books are in Kindle Unlimited. The author is also a regular on our Free Friday list.
From Alex Korolov:
This one’s an EMP book, which means an electromagnetic pulse knocks out all electronically powered devices, including cell phones, computers, and most modern planes and cars. Usually, chaos ensues.
Colton Lively writes a lot of these, and this isn’t the first EMP book of his that I’ve reviewed. Let’s see how this one goes.
We’re introduced to Sally in the first chapter. She’s an engineer who’s developed some sort of new renewable energy system that’s about to change the world. Her best friend and coworker Monica helped her develop the technology.
We learn that both of Sally’s parents are dead, but their life insurance policy paid Sally’s way through college and provided money for her to start designing her renewable energy tech.
Sally and Monica are about to reveal their design to the world at a summit taking place in West Virginia. However, Monica calls Sally that morning and says there are some anomalous electromagnetic readings showing some kind of interference. Monica is in the middle of explaining how weird the readings are when suddenly the phone goes dead. Sally thinks it might just be a bad signal and doesn’t worry about it. She gets on her laptop and preps for her presentation, which is happening the next day.
In the next chapter, Sally wakes up and checks her laptop. She looks over the readings her friend Monica was telling her about. The readings tell her that an EMP is about to happen — and then, it does. The first sign is that a bunch of cars crash outside Sally’s window. There are fiery explosions everywhere as people keep crashing. Sally notices that some airplanes are spinning out of control and crashing as well. People are screaming everywhere. Sally suspects someone was trying to shut down her project and caused the EMP to happen.
That’s as far as I got with this one. I definitely like it more than some other EMP books I’ve read. I like that there’s a brilliant scientist who’s developed some awesome technology, but there’s some nefarious group that’s trying to stop her.
Also, the description of how everything goes crazy and starts exploding at the start of chapter two might be a little over the top, but it’s definitely entertaining. I’m pretty sure cars can still stop and planes can still glide down to the ground, even if their electronic systems fail, but we can disregard that little detail and enjoy the chaotic explosions that the author offers us.
This one’s pretty entertaining, if not a little silly, but most EMP books are to a certain extent. I’d keep reading this one.
Get the Kindle ebook free from Amazon here.
1. Ironhold: Trial One by Morgan Rice
This is the first of five books in the Ironhold romantasy series by a USA Today bestselling author. The other books are $3.99 each, and are not in Kindle Unlimited. The author is a regular on our Free Friday lists.
From E.S. Foster:
This story begins with a prologue in a type of training facility similar to the colosseum of ancient Greece, but a fantasy version where gladiators fight using both magic and weapons. In this world, most people possess some kind of magic and the gladiators help keep the people in conquered lands under the empire’s control.
One of the older gladiators prepares to face another gladiator who has just begun his training. The older man insulted the younger one and the younger man won’t let that stand. The trainer watches from the side and lets them proceed. The younger man manages to defeat the older, and the trainer announces that the young man is the winner.
The perspective then shifts to Lyra, who lives in a poor fishing village. She lives in an area that was conquered by the empire when she was a child. Most of the villagers fish, but some are worried that people from the empire might arrive and force them to become gladiators.
Lyra lives with her mother, a healer. One day Lyra helps stitch up the wounds of a fisherman when suddenly another villager arrives and explains that there is a bear in the village. The bear has already killed a few people. Lyra decides to step in.
It turns out that she has the magical ability to communicate with animals. She goes outside, meets the bear, and learns that he’s just hungry. So she runs to go get some fish, brings it to the bear, and the bear walks back to the woods without hurting anyone else. The entire time, an official from the empire watches.
Lyra’s mother warns her that displaying magic like that can only mean trouble. It looks like that’s going to be the case for her the more I read.
I really liked where this story was headed. I liked the idea of a fantasy version of ancient Greece, and I also enjoyed reading about Lyra and her powers. I think I might stick around with this one.
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 and Emma discuss 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.
MetaStellar news editor Alex Korolov is also a freelance technology writer who covers AI, cybersecurity, and enterprise virtual reality. His stories have also been published at CIO magazine, Network World, Data Center Knowledge, and Hypergrid Business. Find him on Twitter at @KorolovAlex and on LinkedIn at Alex Korolov.
Hannah M is a student with a strong interest in publishing. She hopes to build a career that allows her to share diverse stories and voices.
E. S. Foster is a writer and graduate student at the University of Cambridge. Her work has been featured in a variety of literary journals and small presses. You can find out more about her and what she does on her blog, E. S. Foster and her personal website E. S. Foster - Author