The publisher Baen, which publishes science fiction, makes certain titles available as free e-books. This was begun to combat the problem of piracy, which I suppose happens when someone buys an e-book and shares it with others by giving them a copy. (There’s an unfortunate limitation for e-books, since sharing your printed copies of the same books is not piracy.)
Anyway, one of their freebies is Lars Walker’s Wolf Time. If you haven’t read any of his writing yet, this would be a good way to try it out. I found Wolf Time to be provocative and entertaining, but you have to like a dark plot. I enjoyed Walker’s The Year of the Warrior more than Wolf Time, and have been trying to buy a copy to send as a gift to my dad, but so far it hasn’t worked. Amazon can’t seem to find a copy. Next, I’ll try Powell’s.