[Free eBook] The Black Company by Glen Cook [Dark Epic Fantasy]

The Black Company by Glen Cook is the 1st novel in the Chronicles of the Black Company series of epic dark adventure fantasy, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Macmillan’s Tor Books.

This is a special supplementary featured free eBook of the Month Club offer for August (we received Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Acheron earlier) and is being offered to help promote the upcoming release of the 11th novel, Port of Shadows, due in September.

The series stars a band of mercenaries in a gritty epic fantasy world, following their adventures over the course of decades, and is considered one of the early pioneers of “grimdark” fantasy. This story features the band’s quest for the prophesied White Rose, supposedly the embodiment of good, in a land where a cruel, ambitious wizard has reawakened the Lady, an ambiguous power that may stand between humankind and evil, or be evil itself.

Offered through August 30th until just before midnight Eastern Time, available DRM-free to Canada & US only directly from the publisher.

[Free eBook] Off to College: A Guide for Parents by Roger H. Martin [Education Self-Help]

Off to College: A Guide for Parents by Roger H. Martin, a former history professor and college president who has also served as a Harvard dean, is part of the Chicago Guides to Academic Life series of introductory educational guides to academia and academic life, free for a limited time courtesy of the University of Chicago Press.

This is their featured Free Book of the Month for August.

The guide gives a comprehensive overview of modern college life for new students, to better help parents understand the expectations and pressures they face, from academic to social to financial, through a model first year based upon an insider’s visits to a selection of private and public colleges and universities across the US.

Offered worldwide through August, available directly from the university’s website.

[Free eBook] Mother Grimm by Catherine Wells [Award-Nominated Science Fiction]

Mother Grimm by Catherine Wells is a dystopian science fiction novel, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Phoenix Pick Press.

This was originally published in 1997 by Roc and was a finalist for the 1998 Philip K. Dick Award.

The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic future Earth, where one woman escapes the sterile biodome where she was raised to uncover the truth about the outside world after discovering disturbing secrets about the mysterious virus which supposedly infests it.

Offered DRM-free worldwide through August, available directly from the publisher.

[Free eBooks UPDATE] 9 free comics from Dynamite [Superhero, Horror, Fantasy, Sci-Fi]

As part of the promotion for The Dynamite Women Comics Bundle from Groupees, a tier of free comics is being offered, courtesy of publisher Dynamite.

UPDATE: the bundle has been extended a few more days for the September 4th long weekend, the $20 tier has been boosted with 35 extra comics (automatically added for previous purchasers)

At the $0 minimum price for the free tier, 9 issues are offered:

• Barbarella #1, a revival of the French science fiction comic book series which inspired the cult classic 1960s film
• Red Sonja #0, starring the heroine from pulp fantasy author Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Conan adventures
• Sheena, Queen of the Jungle #0, a Tarzan-inspired pulp adventure series starring a protector of the wilderness
• Vampirella Magazine #1-3, reprinting stories from the Warren era of the cult classic horror drama series
• Vampi #1-3, a revival of the Vampirella series, recasting her as a superhero in the 21st century

In addition to the free tiers, more levels of comics are available from $1.99 to $19.99, with titles including the Charmed and The Bionic Woman TV series tie-ins, urban fantasy author Patricia Briggs’ Alpha and Omega series adaptation, modern adventures of classic characters Betty Boop and Miss Fury, pinup queen Bettie Page and horror hostess Elvira, popular comics creator Garth Ennis’ Ninjette, and more.

Offered DRM-free worldwide until 4:30 AM Eastern Time on August 31st, available at Groupees (requires account signup with billing address, but no payment info).

[Free eBook] Burn Cards by Christopher Irvin [Noir Crime Thriller]

Burn Cards by Christopher Irvin, an Anthony Award finalist author, is a standalone contemporary noir crime thriller novella, free for a limited time courtesy of LGBT specialty publisher Lethe Press.

This was originally published in 2015 by 280 Steps, and if you happen to be interested, there’s an old guest post over on author Chuck Wendig’s blog about the ideas behind and writing of this novella and what he learned from its creative process.

The story is a gritty noir character study set in Reno, Nevada, starring a woman trying to escape her dead-end life, who finds herself in over her head as she inherits her estranged father’s gambling debts in a tough town where the merciless come to collect.

Offered DRM-free worldwide, available at Amazon.

[Free Audiobook] 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne [Classic Sci-Fi Adventure]

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by the late French author Jules Verne, a pioneering figure in 19th century proto-science fiction, as well as being one of France’s literary greats, is a 19th century classic science fiction adventure novel, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Tantor Audio.

This is their Free Book of the Month selection for August, and is narrated by Michael Prichard. It was originally published in 1870 as Vingt mille lieues sous les mers: Tour du monde sous-marin, remaining a highly-popular and influential, much-adapted tale worldwide for well over a century.

The story stars the international cast of an expedition to hunt a rumoured giant sea monster, which turns out to be the amazingly advanced submarine of the mysterious Captain Nemo, who takes them upon a thrilling underwater tour of the hidden ocean depths.

Offered worldwide through August, available as DRM-free MP3s from the retailer’s website.

[Free eBook] The Jade Alliance by Elizabeth Darrell [Historical Drama with Multicultural Romance]

The Jade Alliance by Elizabeth Darrell, a pseudonym for Hong Kong-born British author Emma Drummond, is a standalone historical family saga novel with strong f/m romantic elements, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press.

This was originally published in 1979 by Hodder & Stoughton.

The story follows White Russian siblings fleeing the Russian Revolution for the relative safety of Hong Kong, trying to establish lives which are threatened by troubles reappearing from their pasts and difficulties pursuing local Chinese and foreign British loves.

Offered worldwide, available at Amazon.

[Free eBook] The Cheats by Marjorie Bowen [Vintage Jacobean Historical Romance]

The Cheats by the late English author Marjorie Bowen, a prolific multi-genre novelist who wrote under many other pseudonyms during the early mid-20th century and had several works adapted to film, is a standalone f/m Jacobean historical romance novel, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press.

This was originally published in 1920 by William Collins under the title The Cheats, A Romantic Fantasy.

The story is set in England during the reign of James I and is centred around the seemingly impossible love between a courtier’s daughter from the gentry and a mere farmer’s son, as they get caught up in the intrigues of the troubled times.

Offered worldwide, available at Amazon.

[Free eBooks] Black Run & Adam’s Rib by Antonio Manzini [Italian Ski Resort Mystery]

Black Run & Adam’s Rib by Italian author Antonio Manzini are the 1st & 2nd novels in the Rocco Schiavone series of contemporary police procedural mystery/crime thrillers, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher HarperCollins’ Harper imprint.

These were originally published in Italian by Sellerio as Pista nera and La costola di Adamo in 2013 and 2014 and are translated by Anthony Shugaar. The 2nd novel is Barnes & Noble’s featured Free Fridays selection for the weekend and is probably a glitch, as only the 1st novel is free in other stores as well (as is usual for the B&N Free Fridays book). This is apparently being made free to help promote the upcoming release of the 3rd novel’s translation, Out of Season, expected in October.

The series is set in the Italian ski resort town of Aosta in the Alps, starring a deputy police prefect who is exiled there after running afoul of the wrong people in Rome. These installments see him making the adjustment, as he gets to know the town, its history, and people in the course of solving the case of a mangled body found in the mountains, and then a burglary.

Offered in the US only, available at multiple retailers.

[Free eBook] Wink Murder by Ali Knight [Psychological Crime Thriller]

Wink Murder by British author Ali Knight is a psychological suspense/crime thriller novel novel, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Hodder & Stoughton.

This is the featured Free Book of the Week in the iTunes UK store.

The story stars a woman whose seemingly perfect life falls apart when she begins to suspect her husband of harbouring a terrible secret after a coworker of his is found murdered.

Offered in the UK, Europe, and selected other regions worldwide (excluding North America), available at multiple retailers.