Once you've purchased an Amazon Kindle e-book reader, the wonderful world of public domain, Creative Commons and free e-book promotions opens up to you. This regular Kindle Reader feature points you to a few of the most interesting new free (or very cheap) e-books available for download from the web. Frugal e-book selections for this week include a first novel that combines elements of mystery and fantasy, science fiction by Murray Leinster and Robert Andrew Arthur, two works by George Orwell (best known as the author of 1984) , an illustrated edition of Martín Fierro, the epic poem of Argentine gaucho life (for Kindle readers proficient in Spanish); and - in the "classics you might have missed" department - Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities with the original illustrations by Phiz.
Murder at Avedon Hill, by P. G. Holyfield. MYSTERY/FANTASY. Download site: Amazon. Price: $2.39.
"Welcome to the land of Caern, where the gods - the Children of Az - can choose to be born into the world as mortals to directly affect events ... and often do. And where the conflict between religious faith and arcane magic has reached a breaking point. Gretta Platt, Housemistress of Avedon Manor, has been murdered. Only a handful of people live in Avedon Hill, and most are suspects. Arames Kragen, retired Aarronic Advisor and scholar of prophecy, must gain access to Avedon Hill's mountain pass. But Lord Avedon is not in a giving mood... To earn his passage, Arames Kragen must discover who killed Gretta Platt. He must also uncover the truth about a town that seems to have more secrets than inhabitants." - Amazon.
The Ambulance Made Two Trips, by Murray Leinster. SCIENCE FICTION. Download site: ManyBooks. Price: Free.
A science fiction short story first published in Astounding Science Fiction, April 1960.
If you should set a thief to catch a thief, what does it take to stop a racketeer...?
Ring Once for Death, by Robert Andrew Arthur. SCIENCE FICTION. Download site: ManyBooks. Price: Free.
Originally published in Amazing Stories, March 1954.
The power of the old gods was certainly nothing for Mark and Edith - a modern, twentieth-century couple - to worry about. After all - everybody dies!
Down and Out in Paris and London, by George Orwell. NOVEL. Download site: MobileRead. Price: Free.
"The recounting of a hard-up Englishman’s adventures while experiencing poverty; first as a plongeur in a restaurant in Paris, and then subsequently as a tramp in and around London. Wikipedia calls it a semiautobiographical novel, but it reads like a non-fictional memoir, with critical commentary added. Edited, with italics, accents, and footnotes provided." - Strether in the MobileRead Forum.
Collected Essays, by George Orwell. ESSAYS. Download site: MobileRead. Price: Free.
"These essays, covering a broad range of topics mostly in the areas of politics and literature, were written in the period 1931-1949. The essays on literature and language are all interesting and I’ve found that even though written in a earlier time, the political essays are full of insights and add perspective to our own political climate." - Strether in the MobileRead Forum.
Martín Fierro, by José Hernández. POETRY. Download site: MobileRead. Price: Free.
"Martín Fierro is an epic poem, published in two parts... It tells the story, mainly in first person, of Martín Fierro, a gaucho (South-American 'cowboy'), how he was drafted to defend the border and abused by the authorities, then he deserts and becomes an outlaw. It is written in the style of the Argentine rural ballads, and by its content it is clear that it is supposed to be sung. Martín Fierro is one of the touchstones of Argentine literature, and a motive of pride for the country." - Jellby in the MobileRead Forum.
A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. NOVEL. Download site: MobileRead. Price: Free.
Fully illustrated with the original black and white illustrations by Phiz.
"A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. With 200 million copies sold, it is the most printed original English book, and among the most famous works of fiction. It depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralized by the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution, and many unflattering social parallels with life in London during the same time period. It follows the lives of several protagonists through these events, most notably Charles Darnay, a French once-aristocrat who falls victim to the indiscriminate wrath of the revolution despite his virtuous nature, and Sydney Carton, a dissipated British barrister who endeavours to redeem his ill-spent life out of love for Darnay's wife, Lucie Manette." - Wikipedia.
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