May #WhispersyncDeal roundup: Ink Mage, The Oddfits, Neal Pollack, Wayward Pines, Evermen, Ania Ahlborn, and more

May #WhispersyncDeal roundup: Ink Mage, The Oddfits, Neal Pollack, Wayward Pines, Evermen, Ania Ahlborn, and more

Posted on 2016-05-31 at 01:22 by Sam

Of the about 300 titles in the Monthly Deals listings, 142 are listed as “eBooks with Audible Narration” which, I gather, is how the Kindle store has been listing what used to be called “Whispersync for Voice” titles these days. I’m going to continue calling these “Whipsersync Deals” and this month we get Clive Barker, Neal Pollack, Blake Crouch, James Maxwell, Ania Ahlborn, Susan Ee, Robert Dugoni, Stuart Neville, Michael Wallace, and tons more, and though again as last month there’s not a whole lot of “absolute must buys” at the very top, Victor Gischler’s Ink Mage series and Tiffany Tsao’s The Oddfits come awfully close; and, again as last month, this is coming out riiiiiight at the very end of the month again, so don’t wait too long as these deals end at midnight or thereabouts on May 31/June 1:

Ink Mage, The Tattooed Duchess, and A Painted Goddess by Victor Gischler, read by Fiona Hardingham for $1.99+$1.99 each are the complete A Fire Beneath the Skin trilogy: “In the first installment of the A Fire Beneath the Skin trilogy, the city of Klaar has never fallen. No enemy has ever made it across the Long Bridge or penetrated the city’s mighty walls. Even when a powerful invading army shows up at the gates, the duke and his daughter, Rina Veraiin, are certain that it poses little threat. But they are cruelly betrayed from within and, in a horrific spasm of violence, the city is brought to its knees. With the help of her bodyguard, Kork, the battle-trained young Rina narrowly escapes the slaughter and makes her way to the lair of an ancient sorcerer—the Ink Mage—who gifts her with a strange, beautiful set of magical tattoos. Now a duchess in exile, Rina sets out on a quest to reclaim what is rightfully hers, aided by a motley assortment of followers who will help her in her cause—some for noble reasons and others for their own dark purposes. With the enemy’s agents nipping at her heels, Rina must learn to harness her new and startling magical powers if she is to assert her rightful place as ruler of Klaar.”

The Oddfits by Tiffany Tsao, read by Nico Evers-Swindell for $1.99+$1.99 was just published by AmazonCrossing and Brilliance Audio in February this year; shelved as “literary speculative fiction” it’s right in my wheelhouse and, perhaps, oddly enough in yours: “Eight-year-old Murgatroyd Floyd doesn’t fit in—not as a blue-eyed blonde living in Singapore, not in school, and certainly not with his aloof expatriate parents, who seem determined to make his life even harder. Unbeknownst to him, there’s a reason why he’s always the odd boy out: he is an Oddfit, a rare type of human with access to the More Known World, a land invisible to most people. Yet unfortunate circumstances keep Murgatroyd stranded in the Known World, bumbling through life with the feeling that an extraordinary something is waiting for him just beyond reach. Seventeen years later, that something finally arrives when a secret organization dedicated to exploring the More Known World invites Murgatroyd on a mission. But as the consummate loser begins to grow into the Oddfit he was meant to be, the Known World becomes bent on exterminating him. For once in his underachieving life, will Murgatroyd Floyd exceed expectations and outsmart those trying to thwart his stupendous destiny?”

Repeat by Neal Pollack, read by Jeff Cummings for $1.99+$1.99 — “Through strange metaphysical circumstances, failed screenwriter Brad Cohen finds himself caught in an infinite time loop, forced to relive the first forty years of his life again and again. Each “repeat,” Brad wakes up in the womb on what was supposed to be his fortieth birthday, with full knowledge of what’s come before. In various timelines, he becomes a successful political pundit, a game-show champion, a playboy, and a master manipulator of the stock market, but none of them seem to lead him out of his predicament. As he realizes he wants to break out of the loop and find the love of his life—the one he hadn’t appreciated the first time around—Brad tries, fails, and tries again to escape the eternal cycle of birth and rebirth. Repeat answers the question: If you could live half your life over, would you do things differently? Be careful what you wish for! Repeating is enough to drive a dude crazy.”

Enchantress, The Hidden Relic, The Path of the Storm, and The Lore of the Evermen by James Maxwell, read by the great Simon Vance for $1.99+$1.99 each are “The Evermen Saga” — “After losing their parents in the last doomed uprising, two siblings will find themselves at the center of an epic struggle for power. When Ella witnesses an enchanter saving her brother’s life, she knows what she wants to be. But the elite Academy expects tuition fees and knowledge. Meanwhile her brother, Miro, dreams of becoming one of the world’s finest swordsmen, wielding his nation’s powerful enchanted weapons in defense of his homeland. After Miro departs for war, the void he leaves in Ella’s life is filled by a mysterious foreigner, Killian. But Killian has a secret, and Ella’s actions will determine the fate of her brother, her homeland, and the world.”

Pines, Wayward, and The Last Town by Blake Crouch, read by Paul Michael Garcia for $1.99+$1.99 each are “The Wayward Pines Trilogy”, openly inspired by David Lynch’s Twin Peaks — “Secret service agent Ethan Burke arrives in Wayward Pines, Idaho, with a clear mission: locate and recover two federal agents who went missing in the bucolic town one month earlier. But within minutes of his arrival, Ethan is involved in a violent accident. He comes to in a hospital, with no ID, no cell phone, and no briefcase. The medical staff seems friendly enough, but something feels…off. As the days pass, Ethan’s investigation into the disappearance of his colleagues turns up more questions than answers. Why can’t he get any phone calls through to his wife and son in the outside world? Why doesn’t anyone believe he is who he says he is? And what is the purpose of the electrified fences surrounding the town? Are they meant to keep the residents in? Or something else out? Each step closer to the truth takes Ethan further from the world he thought he knew, from the man he thought he was, until he must face a horrifying fact—he may never get out of Wayward Pines alive.”

The Faithful by S.M. Freedman, read by Tanya Eby for $1.99+$1.99 — “FBI agent Josh Metcalf believes he has uncovered a decades-long conspiracy involving missing children. His obsession has led him to compile hundreds of cases. All involve children rumored to have psychic abilities—and all have no witnesses, no leads, and no resolution. Meanwhile, Rowan Wilson, a meteorite hunter for NASA’s Spaceguard Program, is losing her grip on the past. Memories of the childhood she thought she’d had are vanishing, and dark recollections of kidnappings, mind control, and an isolated mountain ranch are taking their place. When Rowan’s shadowed past converges with Josh’s research, they uncover a deadly plot to reshape humanity. With the world’s survival dependent on stopping a vast network of conspirators, can they decipher—and expose—the truth in time?”

Cabal by Clive Barker, read by Chet Williamson for Crossroad Press for $1.99+$1.99 — “Cabal is the story of Boone, a tortured soul haunted by the conviction that he has committed atrocious crimes. In a necropolis in the wilds of Canada, he seeks refuge and finds the last great creatures of the world - the shape-shifters known as the Nightbreed. They are possessed of unearthly powers-and so is Boone. In the hunt for Boone, they too will be hunted. Now only the courage of this strange human can save them from extinction. And only the undying passion of a woman can save Boone from his own corrupting hell… “

The Shuddering by Ania Ahlborn, read by Luke Daniels for $1.99+$1.99 is the first of 6 titles by Ahlborn in this month’s roundup: “Ryan Adler and his twin sister, Jane, spent their happiest childhood days at their parents’ mountain Colorado cabin—until divorce tore their family apart. Now, with the house about to be sold, the Adler twins gather with their closest friends for one last snowboarding-filled holiday. While commitment-phobic Ryan gazes longingly at Lauren, wondering if his playboy days are over, Jane’s hopes of reconciling with her old boyfriend evaporate when he brings along his new fiancée. As drama builds among the friends, something lurks in the forest, watching the cabin, growing ever bolder as the snow falls…and hunger rises. After a blizzard leaves the group stranded, the true test of their love and loyalty begins as the hideous creatures outside close in, one bloody attack at a time. Now Ryan, Jane, and their friends must fight—tooth and nail, bullet and blade—for their lives. Or else surrender to unspeakable deaths in the darkened woods.”

All for $1.99+$1.99 each: The Bird Eater is read by Peter Berkrot; The Neighbors is read by Fleet Cooper; Seed is read by Eric G. Dove; Brother is read by Paul Boehmer; and Within These Walls is read by R.C. Bray.

YOUNG ADULT

Blur (Blur Trilogy Book 1), Fury, and Curse by Steven James, read by Nick Podehl for $1.99+$1.99 each — “The isolated town of Beldon, Wisconsin, is shocked when a high school freshman’s body is found in Lake Algonquin. Just like everyone in the community, sixteen-year-old Daniel Byers believes that Emily Jackson’s death was accidental. But at her funeral, when he has a terrifying vision of her, his world begins to rip apart at the seams. Convinced that Emily’s appearance was more than just a mere hallucination, Daniel begins to look carefully into her death, even as he increasingly loses the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality. What’s real? What’s not? Where does reality end and madness begin? As Daniel struggles to find the truth, his world begins to crumble around him as he slips further and further into his own private blurred reality.Full of mind-bending twists and turns, Blur launches a new trilogy of young adult thrillers from Steven James, a master of suspense.”

Angelfall, World After, and End of Days by Susan Ee, read by Caitlin Davies for $1.99+$1.99 each are the “Penryn and the End of Days” trilogy: “It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. Anything, including making a deal with Raffe, an injured enemy angel. Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco, where Penryn will risk everything to rescue her sister and Raffe will put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.”

MYSTERY/THRILLER/HISTORICAL

The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville, read by Gerard Doyle for $1.99+$3.99 — ” Northern Ireland’s Troubles may be over, but peace has not erased the crimes of the past. Gerry Fegan, a former paramilitary contract killer, is haunted by the ghosts of the twelve people he slaughtered. Every night, at the point of losing his mind, he drowns their screams in drink. But it’s not enough. In order to appease the ghosts, Fegan is going to have to kill the men who gave him orders. From the greedy politicians to the corrupt security forces, the street thugs to the complacent bystanders who let it happen, all are called to account. But when Fegan’s vendetta threatens to derail a hard-won truce and destabilize the government, old comrades and enemies alike want him dead.”

My Sister’s Grave by Robert Dugoni, read by Emily Sutton-Smith for $1.99+$1.99 — “Tracy Crosswhite has spent 20 years questioning the facts surrounding her sister Sarah’s disappearance and the murder trial that followed. She doesn’t believe that Edmund House - a convicted rapist and the man condemned for Sarah’s murder - is the guilty party. Motivated by the opportunity to obtain real justice, Tracy became a homicide detective with the Seattle PD and dedicated her life to tracking down killers. When Sarah’s remains are finally discovered near their hometown in the northern Cascade mountains of Washington State, Tracy is determined to get the answers she’s been seeking. As she searches for the real killer, she unearths dark, long-kept secrets that will forever change her relationship to her past - and open the door to deadly danger.”

Black Lotus by K’wan, read by Cary Hite for Buck 50 Productions for $0.99+$2.99 — “Detective James Wolf earned the nickname Lone Wolf from his inability to work with a partner. He’s a hard cop who doesn’t mind bending the rules to the breaking point to make a case, which is why Internal Affairs is digging in his backyard, looking for buried bones. People are starting to wonder which side of the law the Lone Wolf really hunts for. With his career hanging by a thread, he needs a major show of good faith to stay employed and out of prison. That’s when he gets the call. From the moment he arrives at the crime scene, Detective Wolf knows he’s in over his head. He’s a narcotics detective called in to consult on a homicide, but this is no ordinary homicide - a priest was butchered in his own church, the body left behind with a promise of more to follow. The only lead is the killer’s calling card: a black lotus flower. Detective Wolf now has the opportunity to wipe his service record clean, in exchange for tracking and stopping the Black Lotus before the next victim is claimed. Accepting this assignment was Wolf’s attempt to get Internal Affairs off his back. But when his hunt for the Black Lotus leads him to a cold case from his past, it becomes personal.”

The Crescent Spy by Michael Wallace, read by Rosemary Benson for $1.99+$1.99 — “Writing under a man’s name, Josephine Breaux is the finest reporter at Washington’s Morning Clarion. Using her wit and charm, she never fails to get the scoop on the latest Union and Confederate activities. But when a rival paper reveals her true identity, accusations of treason fly. Despite her claims of loyalty to the Union, she is arrested as a spy and traitor. To Josephine’s surprise, she’s whisked away to the White House, where she learns that President Lincoln himself wishes to use her cunning and skill for a secret mission in New Orleans that could hasten the end of the war. For Josephine, though, this mission threatens to open old wounds and expose dangerous secrets. In the middle of the most violent conflict the country has ever seen, can one woman overcome the treacherous secrets of her past in order to secure her nation’s future?”

Posted in Whispersync Deals | Tagged ania ahlborn, blake crouch, neal pollack, simon vance, tiffany tsao, victor gischler