At the beginning of each month, the Tor.com eBook Club gives away a free sci-fi/fantasy ebook to club subscribers.
We’re happy to announce that the pick for February 2017 is: The Bloodline Feud by Charles Stross, an omnibus edition collecting the first two novels in Stross’ parallel-universe techno-thriller series The Merchant Princes.
The Merchant Princes is a science fictional examination of parallel universes whose societies exist at different points of development, as one woman from “normal” Earth discovers her true bloodline and the ability to walk between these worlds:
The six families of the Clan rule the kingdom of Gruinmarkt from behind the scenes. They are a mixture of nobility and criminal conspirators whose power to walk between their world and ours makes them rich in both.
Miriam, a hip tech journalist from Boston, discovers her alternate-world relatives with explosive results that shake three worlds. Now, as the prodigal Countess Helge Thorold-Hjorth, she finds herself ensnared in schemes and plots centuries in the making. She is surrounded by unlikely allies, lethal contraband, and—most dangerous of all—her family.
To avoid a slippery slope down to an unmarked grave, Miriam must build a power base of her own—with unexpected consequences for three different time lines, including the quasi-Victorian one exploited by the hidden family.
THE BLOODLINE FEUD is available for download from February 1st through February 7th
Note: If you’re having issues with the sign-up or download process, please email ebookclub@tor.com.
Happy reading! To keep track of Tor.com eBook Club offerings and discussion, just bookmark the Tor.com eBook Club tag page.
I love getting these free books. Thanks Tor!
So this is the revised edition?
And I don’t know if I really want to reread this series. A lot of it might be rather on point these days, with sharper edges than the administration it previously appeared to reference. I think Stross indicated that was an unhappy accident.
noblehunter: yes, this is the revised edition. (And the story is set in 2002-2003, so you don’t need to worry about the grim meathook future in this one.)
We can’t be a member of the club in the U.K., can we?
:(
@3 I remember it getting pretty grim. Maybe not in the first two books but certainly before it ends. It just lacks the upbeat optimism of The Laundry Files, you know?
This is a great Stross sampler! Thank you Tor and Charles!
Thanks for this, Merchant Princes has always been a favourite of mine!
Of course I just bought this last week, but, Yea! anyway!
My free download isn’t working. I’ve checked my kindle settings and all is in order. I’m also attempting this from my iPad. Is there something I don’t know in order to make this happen?
Based on the description, this does not sound like a book I want to read. What happened to Science Fiction? I want science stories, not stories military space stories, or envolving Kings and Kingdoms, etc.
Just give me a good space yarn like Clarke, Heinlein, or even Alaster Reynolds.
Most disappointed…as a loyal UK fan, I’m not eligible to receive these free e books.
First post on Tor (long time lurker). :) I wanted to get back into reading, been off it for a long time. This book and book club feels like a great way to start again. i am looking forward to finishing this book especially as an introduction to Charles Stross. Cheers!!!
@11 There are plenty of heinleinesque science fiction out there. If you can’t find it, blame your own search skills.
About the actual book(s): I read the first one, about 5 years ago. Is the revised edition different enough that warrants a news read or I could just jump to the second book? (I’m not really a re-reader).
Hi, I just want to say thank you for sharing this wonderful book. It’s fantasy, science fiction and thriller. I enjoyed it and hope others give it a chance even if it doesn’t fit neatly into a specific category. I truly loved the heroine of this book, she is someone who is ordinary but not only adapts to the extraordinary circumstances she finds herself in but manages to use those circumstances to improve upon her own circumstances and those she comes to care about.
@15
yes, the revised editions are pretty much new stories, with across the board edits and numerous changes removing the publisher stipulated constraints. The general plot is the same, but the journey is quite different, in order to set up the sequel series better. Each revised edition also combines two of the original, so six short books become three more substantial ones.
Thanks so much, Tor and Mr. Stross!
Ack, so sad I missed this, I love weird timeline stories. This sounds a bit like Chronicles of Amber, which I liked. I wish they would say which time zone they’re using, it’s still February 7th on the West Coast… :(
@19 LC you nailed it. I just finished and The Bloodline Feud reads a lot like The Chronicles of Amber crossed with H. Beam Piper’s paratime.