Your Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Bargains for February 23, 2017

Deep in the forests of the Pacific Northwest is a small village called Dark Root, a town steeped in magic, mystery, and secrets.

But for Maggie Maddock, Dark Root is also a prison – a place where she is forced to work in her mother’s Magick Shoppe while the rest of the world moves forward without her. When a mysterious stranger offers to take Maggie away from it all, she leaves without looking back.

Seven years later, Maggie is called home by her beloved older sister. There she is confronted with a renewed sibling rivalry, a mother suffering under a mysterious illness, and a town that’s lost it’s literal magic. Now Maggie must decide if she will use her newfound abilities to aid those she loves or run from her responsibilities once again.

They came as saviors to a deteriorating Earth.

Julip Torne questions whether there is more to life beyond the barren dirt, acidic seas, and toxstorms her people work and die in. Living in poverty on the withering Greenland Human Reservation, she wonders if the alien Mezna goddesses are truly as holy as the temple preaches.

Meanwhile, Jakkattu prisoner Sabaal suffers constant torture and heinous medical experiments as Mezna-priest captors seek to unlock the key to her genetic makeup. She escapes captivity but ends up alone on the hostile alien planet of Earth. If she is to survive, she must work with the same Mezna-human hybrids she’s loathed her entire life.

When humans and Mezna collide, will Sabaal turn out to be the genetic vector the Mezna have been searching for all along, or will she spark the flame that sets a revolution ablaze?

Category: Science Fiction – Cyberpunk

Cinderscars never lie.

Josephine Martin has never questioned this simple truth. Since the great plague nearly wiped out humanity, cinderscars have been there to single out the wicked, and protect the chosen from genetic deviants who would plunge the world back into ruin.

So decrees the Miracle of Science.

But when Josephine’s father stands accused of murder, she knows it has to be a mistake. But the only person who believes her is a mysterious boy with arms covered in cinderscars. Pursued by inquisitors, Josephine must uncovered the truth and rescue her father. Though that truth may destroy their very society.

Category: Hard Science Fiction

She’s lucky he’s a charmer. He’s lucky she doesn’t bite. Much…

Lindi Parker works hard at being human, not an easy task for a snake shifter. She has no desire to search for others like her—until a new case changes everything. When Lindi learns that she she’s not the only shapeshifter in the world, she also realizes she might be next on a killer’s list.

In order to save herself and the abused children she works with, she will have to team up with Dr. Kade Nevala, a member of the shifter tribe responsible for eradicating weresnakes—and the most attractive man Lindi’s ever met. Even more terrifying, she’ll need to embrace her serpent side, a choice that has enormous consequences for Lindi, and for everyone around her.

A toyshop owner builds a set of magic clockwork dolls that delight a factory town. A three-inch tall samurai faces a giant iron ogre with only a sewing needle and a coin. A scientist seeks an antidote to his formula gone wrong, with the help of his partner’s beautiful daughter.

All of these stories and more are included in Steampunk Fairy Tales. Written by authors from three different continents, every enchanting tale combines the futuristic Victorian concept of steam and fashion with memorable stories, from the recognizable “Jack and the Beanstalk”, to other popular and unfamiliar works from Germany, France, Italy and Japan.