[Free eBook] Twin of the Amazon by John Russell Fearn [Vintage 1950s Science Fiction Space Opera]

Twin of the Amazon by the late British author John Russell Fearn is the 6th novel in the Golden Amazon Saga series of science fiction adventures, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press’ Venture imprint.

This was originally published in 1954 by World’s Work Ltd and this new edition includes two new essays by British editor and author Philip Harbottle, one describing the creation and publication and attempted reprint history of the series, which was very popular during the 1950s and 60s and ran to 21 original novels which were serialized in The Toronto Star Weekly and several posthumous ones as well, and another which is a specific introduction to this novel’s story.

The series stars a scientifically created superwoman with greatly enhanced intellect and physical abilities, designed to save the world in ruins after a war, who develops an ambiguous position as she struggles with being set far apart from humanity and wavers between villain and heroine. This installment involves a feud between two planets, as structures are being mysteriously destroyed on Earth shortly after an attempted colony scouting mission on a seemingly lifeless Mars.

Offered worldwide, available at Amazon.

[Free Video Game] Endless Space Collection [Science Fiction Space Opera Strategy]

As a special treat to promote their current “End of Summer Sale Encore”, the Humble Bundle Store and developer Amplitude Studios are offering a giveaway of their space strategy game.

Endless Space Collection contains the original Endless Space and the DLC Endless Space: Disharmony which is a turn-based space opera strategy game where you can choose among ten distinct galactic civilizations of the far future, taking advantage of the powerful ancient relics of a long-fallen species, or create your own and expand your empire, while playing solo by yourself or multiplayer against your friends.

Compatible with Mac and Windows via Steam key (must redeem key in the Steam app before September 21st) @ the Humble Store (requires valid email signup for their newsletter to receive your key)

Offered through September 14th at 10 AM Pacific Time, available worldwide.

[Free eBook] The Pluto Enigma by John Glasby [Space Opera Science Fiction]

The Pluto Enigma by the late British author John Glasby, a prolific multi-genre pulp author who wrote under many pseudonyms, is the sequel novel in a sequence of science fiction space exploration drama, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press’ Venture imprint.

This is a posthumously-published tale from his literary estate, and a sequel to The Lair of the Giants (also posthumously published by Endeavour), starring a Martian colonist tasked to build robots for the exploration of inhospitable Saturn.

The story continues a generation later, as the first manned mission from Earth reaches Pluto and discovers a mysterious formation which appears to be the product of a possibly unfathomable alien intelligence, prompting exploration not only of the planetary surface, but also the limits of human understanding.

Offered worldwide, available at Amazon.

[Free Video Game] Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion [Space Opera Strategy]

As part of a promotion for the Humble Store’s Fall Sale, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion is being offered free for a limited time, courtesy of Humble Bundle and developers Ironclad Games and Stardock Entertainment.

The game is a standalone installment in the award-winning Sins of the Solar Empire franchise, a space opera strategy set in a war-torn galactic empire. In this one, the empire is divided further between isolationist Loyalists and militant Rebels, in which you can play either side with a fleet of ships.

Offered through 10 AM Pacific Time on November 18th @ the Humble Store, available worldwide for Windows via Steam key (requires HB account linked to your Steam account, must redeem in Steam app before November 22nd)

[Free eBook] 6 titles from Candy Jar Books [Science Fiction, Doctor Who Tie-In & YA]

As a special treat for their fans, publisher Candy Jar Books are doing a giveaway of 2 novels + 2 short stories in their Lethbridge-Stewart line, an officially-licensed spinoff tie-in to the popular British science fiction series Doctor Who, 1 novel in their Lucy Wilson YA line which is a spinoff of the spinoff, plus 1 space opera adventure in an apparently unrelated series, good through June 11th according to their newsletter.

The Lethbridge-Stewart novels (set on Earth circa the 1960s/70s, with the Lucy Wilson YA series starring a granddaughter in modern times), starring side characters from the original show are:

• Lethbridge-Stewart: Top Secret Files by Andy Frankham-Allen, an introductory guide to the series, with a bonus short story and an interview with Doctor Who director Graeme Harper
• Times Squared by Rick Cross, with a foreword by actor Terry Molloy, a novel-length vacation adventure featuring an invasion of Yeti in New York City subways
• Dogs of War by Andy Frankham-Allen, a short story follow-up to the Yeti adventure, this time in the London Underground
• Night of the Intelligence by Andy Frankham-Allen with a foreword by actor Mark Jones, a novel-length conspiracy thriller adventure starring three men looking to clear up issues in their pasts and finding that old friendships and relationships are not what they seemed
• Avatars of the Intelligence by Sue Hampton, a young adult adventure in the Lucy Wilson Mysteries series, following up on an old enemy from the above Lethbridge-Stewart adventure, who has returned to haunt a new generation

The unrelated space opera series novel is:

• House of Ushers: Dead Man Dancing by Peter Grehan, set in a galactic future starring a galaxy-saving group headed by an undercover agent and a grumpy droid sidekick.

If you’re interested, the publisher also has a dedicated blogsite for the series where they offer free bonuses like character guides and deleted scenes from the stories, and also offer downloadable wallpapers with the cover art on their main website as well.

Offered through June 11th (midnight Pacific Time), available DRM-free at Amazon.

[Free eBook] The Best of Sydney J. Bounds: Volumes 1 & 2 [Vintage Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, & Mystery]

The Best of Sydney J. Bounds: Volume 1: The Strange Portrait and Other Stories & Volume 2: The Wayward Ship and Other Stories by the late English author Sydney J. Bounds, edited by British editor Philip Harbottle, are reprint collections of his short stories across various genres (mostly SFnal), free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press’ Venture imprint.

These volumes were originally published in 2003 by Wildside Press’s Cosmos Books imprint and have been expanded with even more material in Venture’s new editions. The late Bounds was a prolific multi-genre author, who wrote pulp westerns and crime thrillers pseudonymously from the 1940s onwards, as well as fantasy, science fiction, and horror under his own name. The British Fantasy Awards’ “Sydney J. Bounds Best Newcomer Award” for promising debut novels is named in his honour.

These collections are primarily focused on showcasing his classic science fiction and fantasy work, but also include selected mystery and horror tales from throughout his decades-long career, which editor Harbottle gives an overview of in his introductory essays.

Offered worldwide, available at Amazon.

[Free eBook] The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi [Science Fiction Heist Thriller]

The Quantum Thief by Finnish author Hannu Rajaniemi is the 1st novel in the Jean le Flambeur trilogy of futuristic science fiction heist thrillers, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Tor Books.

This is their featured eBook of the Month Club offer for May, placed 3rd for both the Locus and John W. Campbell Memorial awards, and is being made free to promote an upcoming standalone novel, Summerland, due in June. The series is set on a future Earth with space opera and cyberpunk elements, and stars an enhanced master criminal who works on both sides of the law (modeled upon the classic character of Maurice LeBlanc’s Arsène Lupin).

This story sees him sprung from a deadly virtual reality prison which pits himself against himself—but for a price, as his liberators intend to have him steal something for their employer, while he himself must retrieve his memories, hidden away for safekeeping.

Offered through May 18th at 11:59 PM Eastern Time, available DRM-free to in Canada & the US only directly from the publisher.

[Free eBook] Timberjak by Don DeBrandt [Folklore-Based Science Fiction]

Timberjak by Canadian author Don DeBrandt is a self-contained novel in the Cyberfolk grouping of folkloric cyberpunk science fiction, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press’ Venture imprint.

This was originally published in 1999 by Ace Books. The novels in the series, which is apparently a thematically linked sequence rather than interconnected tales, mingle folk mythology with cyberpunk ideas.

The story explores themes of corporate exploitation and ecoterrorism in a galactic setting, recasting the frontier woodcutter Paul Bunyan as the head of an interstellar logging team consisting of cyborgs, artificial intelligences, and an ox-like blue alien, harvesting a distant forest whose wood has extraordinary properties even as a mad scientist determined to stop them may wind up annihilating the planet in his efforts to save the trees.

Offered worldwide, available at Amazon.

[Free eBook] Soothsayer by Mike Resnick [Science Fiction]

Soothsayer by Mike Resnick, prolific Hugo & Nebula Award-winning author, is the 1st novel in the Oracle trilogy in the greater Birthright Universe setting of science fiction space opera, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Phoenix Pick Press.

This is their featured Free Book of the Month for March and was originally published in 1991 by Ace Books. The series takes place in a far future where humanity has spread to the stars, and explores the frontiers of space settlement across the galaxy and various colourful characters shaping their surroundings.

This installment of the trilogy begins the adventures of a young girl who may be the most dangerous human or alien ever to grow up on the Frontier, as various factions attempt to kill or use her for their own purposes even while she fulfills a surprising destiny.

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

[Free eBook] Night of the Robots by Brian Ball [Science Fiction]

Night of the Robots by British author Brian Ball is a vintage standalone science fiction adventure novel, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press’ Venture Press imprint.

This was originally published in 1972 by Sidgwick & Jackson, credited as by Brian N. Ball, and was later reprinted by DAW Books under the title The Regiments of Night as #19 in their DAW Collectors line.

The story is set in the far future, where a tourist spaceship journeying to view the archaelogical wonders of Earth’s vanished civilization, destroyed by an ancient War Machine, is about to encounter two mutually hostile groups also making their way there, once more pitting humanity in a struggle for survival against the sapient robots which have come to dominate the galaxy.

Offered worldwide, available at Amazon.