Kindle Unlimited is a service that can theoretically provide you wuith limitless numbers of books for the price of one normal release every month. For those of us who are fast readers, this is a tremendous blessing. I pretty much have read every single Red Sonja comic ever written thanks to Dynamite Entertainment putting almost all their comics on the service.
However, what we here at Before We Go want most is good Kindle Unlimited books. As such, here is a recommendation of a bunch of entertaining ones that I’ve enjoyed and can say rise above the dross.
1
Paternus: Rise of Gods
by Dyrk Ashton
Paternus is a fantastic trilogy that is about a secret war being waged between two races of godlike beings behind the scenes. These are the inspirations for humanity’s religions and demons with both sides having multiple beings based on them. It is a fascinating and well-researched set of books. Dyrk Ashton has a gift for making memorable and fascinating characters too. It is a fantastic mythology he’s set up and worth reading for that alone.
About
Described as American Gods meets The Avengers and Supernatural meets The Lord of the Rings, Paternus combines myths from around the world in a modern story of action and intrigue that is “urban fantasy on the surface, but so much more at its core!”
Even myths have legends. And not all legends are myth.
When a local hospital is attacked by strange and frightening men, Fiona Patterson and Zeke Prisco save a catatonic old man named Peter—and find themselves running for their lives with creatures beyond imagination hounding their every step.
With nowhere else to turn, they seek out Fi’s enigmatic Uncle Edgar. But the more their questions are answered, the more they discover that nothing is what it seems–not Peter, not Edgar, perhaps not even themselves.
The gods and monsters, heroes and villains of lore—they’re real. And now they’ve come out of hiding to hunt their own. In order to survive, Fi and Zeke must join up with powerful allies against an ancient evil that’s been known by many names and feared by all. The final battle of the world’s oldest war has begun.
Paternus: Rise of Gods, is Dyrk Ashton’s critically acclaimed debut novel and the first book in The Paternus Trilogy. It has been compared to works by Neil Gaiman, Scott Hawkins, Roger Zelazny, China Miéville, Joss Whedon, and Kevin Hearne.
2
Hard Luck Hank: Screw the Galaxy
by Steven Campbell
Hard Luck Hank is a delightful comedy space opera about a thug who just wants to beat up people, collect his earnings, and eat constantly. It’s set in a Mos Eisley-esque space station full of oddball characters and ne’er do wells that want nothing to do with the rest of the galaxy. Well, that’s not true. They’re happy to take the rest of the galaxy’s money.
About
Hank is a thug. He knows he’s a thug. He has no problem with that realization. In his view the galaxy has given him a gift: a mutation that allows him to withstand great deals of physical trauma. He puts his abilities to the best use possible and that isn’t by being a scientist.
Besides, the space station Belvaille doesn’t need scientists. It is not, generally, a thinking person’s locale. It is the remotest habitation in the entire Colmarian Confederation. There is literally no reason to be there.
Unless you are a criminal.
Because of its location, Belvaille is populated with nothing but crooks. Every day is a series of power struggles between the crime bosses.
Hank is an intrinsic part of this community as a premier gang negotiator. Not because he is eloquent or brilliant or an expert combatant, but because if you shoot him in the face he keeps on talking.
Hank believes he has it pretty good until a beautiful and mysterious blue woman enters his life with a compelling job offer.
Hank and Belvaille, so long out of public scrutiny, suddenly find themselves at the epicenter of the galaxy with a lot of very unwelcome attention.
3
The Skald’s Black Verse
by Jordan Loyal Sort
I am a huge fan of dark fantasy as anyone who reads my work for Grimdark Magazine. However, while the word grimdark comes from Warhammer 40K, there is precious little grimdark in space aside from it. The Skald’s Black Verse takes place on a dark and isolated world where humanity has devolved to barbarism but been reconquered by a expansionist but decaying empire. It has many fascinating characters and truly great writing. Perfect for fans of fantasy or scifi.
About
Brohr has been lied to, abused.
All he wants is to live in peace, away from the ignorance of his village, to outrun the raging ghost which haunts him.
But a hidden evil seeks to harness Brohr’s fury.
Accused of murder, hunted by ruthless soldiers, Brohr delves the way of the Skald, unlocking forbidden blood magic as he unearths terrible family secrets.
When the red moon is broken, and all is lost, it’s up to Brohr to lead a rebellion, or face the end of the world
4
Child of the Night Guild
by Andy Peloquin
Andy Peloquin is one of the most underrated indie authors out there. His Darkblade Assassin series is fantastic, and I love his Cerberus sci-fi assassin series. However, I have a special place in my heart for Child of the Night Guild. It is a fantastic series following a young woman sold as a slave to the Thieves Guild of a city and put through a punishing series of tests before unleashed onto the rest of the city. All she wants to do is escape her life of crime but is that really any better in a city as corrupt as her’s?
About
They killed her family. They ripped apart her home. But to repay her debts, she’ll have to sacrifice her innocence.
Robbed of everything she loves, Viola mourns the sudden loss of her mother. Now burdened with an impossible debt to the Night Guild, she’s forced to train as a cunning thief. Subjected to cruelty at every turn, the scrawny criminal apprentice vows to survive long enough to become the kingdom’s best.
Thrown together with unlikely allies, her burgeoning skills draw the attention of sadistic bullies and jealous rivals with dark intentions. But fueled by grief-filled rage, Viola won’t let anything distract her from preparing for The Guild’s most treacherous test.
In a cutthroat den of thieves, can Viola rise to power and outrun a brutal death?
Child of the Night Guild is the first book in the gripping Queen of Thieves epic fantasy series that’s not for the faint of heart. If you like grimdark battles, improbable heroines, and graphic scenes, then you’ll love Andy Peloquin’s unflinching coming-of-age tale.
5
A Wizard’s Forge
by A.M. Justice
A Wizard’s Forge is a fantastically subversive fantasy that starts with the plucky bookish heroine on an island that knows the truth of a planet’s lost origins being kidnapped then sold into slavery where absolutely none of those qualities matter. She struggles with brainwashing from a charismatic ruler and even escape provides little recourse from her PTSD. It is a book that deals with difficult subjects but has a lot of charm regardless.
Interview With A.M. Justice, Author of A Wizard’s Forge
About
Wizards are forged, not born.
Victoria of Ourtown lived through a nightmare to become the ruthless soldier known as Vic the Blade. Once she wished to explore the world settled by her spacefaring ancestors; now she thinks only of revenge.
Prince Ashel’s carefree days are filled with music, revels, and dreams of a life with Vic. Those hopes die when the thrust of an assassin’s knife drives him to war.
The target of Vic’s and Ashel’s wrath is Lornk Korng, a tyrant whose schemes stretch across a continent and a lifetime.
A mysterious alien race holds the key to a legendary—and lethal—power. Whoever possesses this power will hold the world in their hands. Will they save it, or doom it?
A gripping tale of empowerment and revenge plays out against a breathtaking backdrop of dark fantasy and science fiction.