Fantasy series "The Dance of Gods" goes Creative Commons [Archive]

Hadrien

09-07-2007, 08:06 AM

From Mayer Alan Brenner's website (http://www.mayerbrenner.com/):

From 1987 through 1992, DAW Books published my four-book fantasy series, The Dance of Gods. Sales were not spectacular and fell off with each successive volume, and the books went out of print. Along the way, though, they acquired a small group of fairly intense fans, not all of whom were either related to me or were close personal friends. Frankly, although DAW did their best, the books were a challenge to describe and market, since they didn't fit with the style of fantasy that was well-established at the time. Times and styles change, though, and may have now caught up to where The Dance of Gods has been resting. At least, that's my hope. This site presents an experiment that will let you, fortuitous reader, help decide whether these books really have an audience ... and if so, what happens next.

Available for you E Ink readers on Feedbooks: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/view_author/242

nekokami

09-07-2007, 10:25 AM

Nice pointer! I'll give this a try. :)

paulkbiba

09-07-2007, 10:47 AM

They converted just fine with PdfLrf so now I can read them on my Sony reader.

tsgreer

09-07-2007, 11:00 AM

Hadrien

09-07-2007, 12:03 PM

On the author's website, http://www.mayerbrenner.com/ the books are offered in word .doc format, so you can easily convert to any format needed. I've never heard of the author or the books, but I support the idea and have downloaded the books and will start reading soon.

Sounds like another author that has offered something "free," which will probably convert me into a buying customer. I have discovered so many new authors this way. Great concept and I love supporting it and the authors that promote it. :)

Yeah I discovered a few SF writers this way:

Corey Doctorow: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/view_author/93
Charles Stross: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/view_author/110
Peter Watts: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/view_author/193The .doc files on the author's website are useful if you need another format. Hopefully with epub it'll be even easier once people start working on tools to convert from epub to anything else. With real ToC support, you won't even need to create the ToC yourself in the output file.

JSWolf

09-07-2007, 12:15 PM

I'll convert these into native LRF and PRC and post them here.

NatCh

09-07-2007, 12:28 PM

Does the creative commons license variant permit that for these, then?

(just want to be sure)

wallcraft

09-07-2007, 12:45 PM

It isn't clear to me whether No Derivative Works. You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work implies no other e-book formats or not. However, permission of the author always trumps - so perhaps asking for permission is safest.

Hadrien

09-07-2007, 04:12 PM

It isn't clear to me whether implies no other e-book formats or not. However, permission of the author always trumps - so perhaps asking for permission is safest.

No Deritave Works means that you can't use the characters of the book for another story for example.

JSWolf

09-07-2007, 06:23 PM

JSWolf

09-07-2007, 10:07 PM

Book #1 is now in MobiPocket format at ...

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=95258

BenG

09-08-2007, 08:49 AM

From Doctorow's column in Locus magazine:
Many of us have assumed, a priori, that electronic books substitute for print books. While I don't have controlled, quantitative data to refute the proposition, I do have plenty of experience with this stuff, and all that experience leads me to believe that giving away my books is selling the hell out of them.

More importantly, the free e-book skeptics have no evidence to offer in support of their position — just hand-waving and dark muttering about a mythological future when book-lovers give up their printed books for electronic book-readers (as opposed to the much more plausible future where book lovers go on buying their fetish objects and carry books around on their electronic devices).

http://www.locusmag.com/Features/2007/09/cory-doctorow-freekonomic-e-books.html

nekokami

09-08-2007, 08:56 AM

Heh. "Fetish objects." That's a luxury I can't afford with my current space constraints.

I do miss the cover art, though....

JSWolf

09-09-2007, 12:03 PM

Well, I did include the covert art with my conversions of Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.

JSWolf

09-09-2007, 12:04 PM

Heh. "Fetish objects." That's a luxury I can't afford with my current space constraints.
Doesn't that depend on what sort of "fetish objects" you want? Some can be quite small and quite effective.

nekokami

09-09-2007, 07:36 PM

Hadrien

09-10-2007, 01:16 AM

I meant books -- that's what Doctorow is talking about in his statements.

The cover art for his books is not always CC licensed, according to his site. You might want to check the cover for Down and Out to see if you're violating the artist's copyright.

Most of the time they're not. That's why I only show them on the website for Feedbooks (because we also provide a link to Amazon for those who'd like a paperback version) instead of including any cover in the file itself.

Hadrien

10-26-2007, 08:09 PM

http://www.mayerbrenner.com/_Media/sof_sidebar.jpeg

Third book in the "Dance of Gods" series is now available on Feedbooks: Spell of Fate (http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/view_book/1865)

Direct links for:
epub: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/get_epub/1865
Sony/Cybook PDF: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/get_pdf/1865?format=sony
iLiad PDF: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/get_pdf/1865?format=iliadPaperback version available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Spell-Fate-Dance-Mayer-Brenner/dp/0886775086?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184010340&sr=1-4

JSWolf

10-26-2007, 11:35 PM

I'll have to do the LRF, PRC, and IMP conversion of this one and make sure the other two have the PRC and IMP conversions as well.

JSWolf

10-27-2007, 01:19 PM

OK, I have made sure all three books are up in LRF, PRC, and IMP. So go enjoy!

Hadrien

10-27-2007, 01:34 PM

OK, I have made sure all three books are up in LRF, PRC, and IMP. So go enjoy!

Could there be a way NOT to display 3 threads every time a book is added on Mobileread ? It easily fills the whole index when a few books have been added in a row, and it gets harder to follow what's currently happening on the forum. Displaying a single thread instead of a thread for every format would be much better.

JSWolf

10-27-2007, 10:49 PM

Not currently. All you can do is display new threads without the books included. Alex would have to try to sort something out if it's even possible.

Hadrien

11-30-2007, 03:28 PM

http://www.mayerbrenner.com/_Media/soa_sidebar.jpeg

Fourth book in the "Dance of Gods" series is now available on Feedbooks: Spell of Apocalypse (http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/view_book/1973)

Direct links for:
epub: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/get_epub/1973
Sony/Cybook PDF: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/get_pdf/1973?format=sony
iLiad PDF: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/get_pdf/1973?format=iliadFor the whole series: http://www.feedbooks.com/list/view/24

I'll create a list with Creative Commons fantasy books too...
Edit: Here's a list with CC fantasy works: http://www.feedbooks.com/list/view/25

JSWolf

11-30-2007, 07:36 PM

JSWolf

11-30-2007, 10:12 PM

And soon LRF, PRC, and IMP coming to a MobileRead forum near you.
Now converted and posted in all three formats.

AnemicOak

11-30-2007, 10:38 PM

Thanks Jon

JSWolf

11-30-2007, 10:43 PM

Thanks Jon
You are very welcome. I'm happy to finally have finished it. The waiting was the hard part,

HarryT

12-03-2007, 06:21 AM

Thanks Jon - much appreciated.

HappyMartin

12-10-2007, 09:43 AM

I am a little more than half way through the second book and am loving it. Never into fantasy either.

Hadrien

12-10-2007, 10:03 AM

Mobipocket versions:
- Spell of Catastrophe: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/mobi/1594
- Spell of Intrigue: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/mobi/1595
- Spell of Fate: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/mobi/1865
- Spell of Apocalypse: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/mobi/1973

HappyMartin

12-10-2007, 11:14 PM

Oh brilliant, thanks for the link to the mobipocket files. I have been reading them as pdf,s and miss the dictionary lookup. Particularly with this author. Love using my new dictionary.:D

JSWolf

12-19-2007, 05:34 PM

Sony Reader 500/505 versions:
- Spell of Catastrophe: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13589
- Spell of Intrigue: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13651
- Spell of Fate: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15535
- Spell of Apocalypse: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16767

Mobipocket versions:
- Spell of Catastrophe: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13595
- Spell of Intrigue: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13652
- Spell of Fate: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16769
- Spell of Apocalypse: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16769

EB1150 versions:
- Spell of Catastrophe: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15538
- Spell of Intrigue: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15539
- Spell of Fate: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16768
- Spell of Apocalypse: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16768