"So You Want to be a Wizard" (now drm-free outside the US)

sourcejedi · 02-25-2011, 09:17 AM

I have very fond memories of this book from the school library. It was one of things I tried searching for when I got my e-reader, with no success. I was ecstatic to find that it's now available globally, and I was able to buy it without DRM! (For North American readers, you can follow the same link and then jump to Amazon or B&N).

I'd recommend it to anyone not too proud to read "Young Adult" / children's adventures, and who enjoys written fantasy or sci-fi. Great fun, and more than a little depth. I didn't find it suffered from re-reading as an adult. On the flip side, it's probably not for you if you use "Geek" as an insult, if any mention of science would be a turn-off for you, or if you've only read Harry Potter and are expecting something along the same lines.

I want to call it a cult classic. I don't honestly know whether that applies, but it has the right profile. The original, years ago, is said to have sunk without trace, but it's recently been re-printed.

Are there any other Young Wizards fans here on MobileRead?

crich70 · 02-25-2011, 09:20 AM

I've got this one plus High Wizardry, A Wizard Abroad and Deep Wizardry in pbook format. They are entertaining reads I agree, and I'm well beyond young adult age. lol.

DHNightshadow · 02-25-2011, 12:00 PM

Thanks for telling. I did look a few days ago for this series but didn't see them anywhere for buying outside us and uk as ebook. It is nice to know, and I get them, looking for reading someday. So many books, and so little time to read.

adv_dp_fan · 02-25-2011, 12:44 PM

And here I gave up and just made my own the other day.

pholy · 02-25-2011, 01:03 PM

Alas, these books are not available in epub format to Canadians, as B&N is still requiring a US billing address. Fortunately, my library has them in hardback.

nyrath · 02-25-2011, 02:20 PM

Deep Wizardry was a riveting compelling read. Didn't expect such intensity in a young adult book. Recommended.

ATDrake · 02-25-2011, 02:25 PM

I really liked the original SYWTBAW and Deep Wizardry; I also liked High Wizardry, but after that the books seemed to start getting slightly repetitive to me. I still own them all.

My personal favourites, however, are the Feline Wizardry spin-offs (e-books horribly overpriced by Grand Central Publishing, which cost more than my original trade paperback editions). I wish Duane would finish writing up the 3rd, to which serial I contributed some $25 or so back when it was still being actively worked upon.

sourcejedi · 02-25-2011, 02:46 PM

ATDrake: It's finally been finished!

If you paid for a subscription, you're supposed have access to the complete Big Meow now. Did you change your email address during the long wait? Have you tried getting in touch?

The entire thing was supposed to have gone "free range" two days ago. That hasn't happened yet, but at least we can be pretty confident the book has been written now

.

ATDrake · 02-25-2011, 03:08 PM

My email address hasn't changed. I've still got access to both the accounts that I used for the general mailing-list and the actual subscriptions. Maybe it got eaten by an overzealous spam trap or it just got overlooked during the mass-notification process (I remember Duane used to send out all the updates more-or-less manually in batches herself, back in the day).

Thanks for the heads up!

ETA: No, nothing yet, but I've waited what, two years? I can wait a bit longer. They're probably swamped at the moment.

pdurrant · 02-26-2011, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATDrake

ETA: No, nothing yet, but I've waited what, two years? I can wait a bit longer. They're probably swamped at the moment.

Fill in the contact form at

http://www.dianeduane.com/contact

and you should get a response fairly quickly. The completed draft is now available in Mobipocket and ePub. I believe it's going to go through a little editing before the print version is produced.

jehane · 02-28-2011, 01:54 AM

Great find! Plus, if you scroll down a bit "A Wind from the South" is currently available free, though only in pdf/lit/pdb format.

sourcejedi · 02-28-2011, 04:22 AM

If you go to the shop, you may still be able to obtain A Wind from the South in .epub and .mobi (Kindle) for free. It's been a "limited time offer" for a while (hey, sometimes delays work in our favour

.

Update: High Wizardry has been added to the list of "international" editions (for non-US/Canada-ians) available at the shop.

jehane · 02-28-2011, 07:24 AM

Even better! But...how long does it take to confirm payment of a free book?

sourcejedi · 02-28-2011, 08:20 AM

Sorry, it's not supposed to do that. Try the links on this page instead --

http://www.dianeduane.com/shop/index...age=page&id=22

I had the same problem with free orders earlier - they had to sort my order manually, but I assumed they'd fixed it now. (The link above goes through Boxee instead of their own site, so I suspect they're at least vaguely aware that this is still a problem).

I hope it doesn't put anyone off making paid orders. Those seem to be working now, and if they fail, you can just do the same as I did the first time round. Contact them using the form (see e.g. pdurants link); they will verify the payment manually & email you the desired file.

outlander78 · 02-28-2011, 11:57 AM

"So You Want to be a Wizard" - great title. Anyone read that and think of Dana White's UFC rant "do you want to be a f****** fighter?"

Out of curiosity, why DRM free outside of the US?

02-25-2011, 09:17 AM	#1
sourcejedi Groupie Posts: 155 Karma: 200000 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Britania Device: Android	"So You Want to be a Wizard" (now drm-free outside the US) I have very fond memories of this book from the school library. It was one of things I tried searching for when I got my e-reader, with no success. I was ecstatic to find that it's now available globally, and I was able to buy it without DRM! (For North American readers, you can follow the same link and then jump to Amazon or B&N). I'd recommend it to anyone not too proud to read "Young Adult" / children's adventures, and who enjoys written fantasy or sci-fi. Great fun, and more than a little depth. I didn't find it suffered from re-reading as an adult. On the flip side, it's probably not for you if you use "Geek" as an insult, if any mention of science would be a turn-off for you, or if you've only read Harry Potter and are expecting something along the same lines. I want to call it a cult classic. I don't honestly know whether that applies, but it has the right profile. The original, years ago, is said to have sunk without trace, but it's recently been re-printed. Are there any other Young Wizards fans here on MobileRead? Last edited by sourcejedi; 02-25-2011 at 11:14 AM.

02-25-2011, 03:08 PM	#9
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	My email address hasn't changed. I've still got access to both the accounts that I used for the general mailing-list and the actual subscriptions. Maybe it got eaten by an overzealous spam trap or it just got overlooked during the mass-notification process (I remember Duane used to send out all the updates more-or-less manually in batches herself, back in the day). Thanks for the heads up! ETA: No, nothing yet, but I've waited what, two years? I can wait a bit longer. They're probably swamped at the moment. Last edited by ATDrake; 02-25-2011 at 03:20 PM.

02-28-2011, 08:20 AM	#14
sourcejedi Groupie Posts: 155 Karma: 200000 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Britania Device: Android	Sorry, it's not supposed to do that. Try the links on this page instead -- http://www.dianeduane.com/shop/index...age=page&id=22 I had the same problem with free orders earlier - they had to sort my order manually, but I assumed they'd fixed it now. (The link above goes through Boxee instead of their own site, so I suspect they're at least vaguely aware that this is still a problem). I hope it doesn't put anyone off making paid orders. Those seem to be working now, and if they fail, you can just do the same as I did the first time round. Contact them using the form (see e.g. pdurants link); they will verify the payment manually & email you the desired file. Last edited by sourcejedi; 02-28-2011 at 08:31 AM.

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02-25-2011, 09:20 AM	#2
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,305 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	I've got this one plus High Wizardry, A Wizard Abroad and Deep Wizardry in pbook format. They are entertaining reads I agree, and I'm well beyond young adult age. lol.

02-25-2011, 12:00 PM	#3
DHNightshadow Zealot Posts: 114 Karma: 5803802 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Germany Device: Voyager	Thanks for telling. I did look a few days ago for this series but didn't see them anywhere for buying outside us and uk as ebook. It is nice to know, and I get them, looking for reading someday. So many books, and so little time to read.

02-25-2011, 12:44 PM	#4
adv_dp_fan Zealot Posts: 103 Karma: 57138 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Sony 505, iPad 1 & 3, Galaxy Note 8.1	And here I gave up and just made my own the other day.

02-25-2011, 01:03 PM	#5
pholy Booklegger Posts: 1,801 Karma: 7999816 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Device: BeBook(1 & 2010), PEZ, PRS-505, Kobo BT, PRS-T1, Playbook, Kobo Touch	Alas, these books are not available in epub format to Canadians, as B&N is still requiring a US billing address. Fortunately, my library has them in hardback.

02-25-2011, 02:20 PM	#6
nyrath Addict Posts: 281 Karma: 52007 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: nook	Deep Wizardry was a riveting compelling read. Didn't expect such intensity in a young adult book. Recommended.

02-25-2011, 02:25 PM	#7
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	I really liked the original SYWTBAW and Deep Wizardry; I also liked High Wizardry, but after that the books seemed to start getting slightly repetitive to me. I still own them all. My personal favourites, however, are the Feline Wizardry spin-offs (e-books horribly overpriced by Grand Central Publishing, which cost more than my original trade paperback editions). I wish Duane would finish writing up the 3rd, to which serial I contributed some $25 or so back when it was still being actively worked upon.

02-25-2011, 02:46 PM	#8
sourcejedi Groupie Posts: 155 Karma: 200000 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Britania Device: Android	ATDrake: It's finally been finished! If you paid for a subscription, you're supposed have access to the complete Big Meow now. Did you change your email address during the long wait? Have you tried getting in touch? The entire thing was supposed to have gone "free range" two days ago. That hasn't happened yet, but at least we can be pretty confident the book has been written now .

02-28-2011, 01:54 AM	#11
jehane Book addict Posts: 441 Karma: 2650464 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Antarctica/Australia/Ohio Device: Sony PRS-300/T1/Asus TF101	Great find! Plus, if you scroll down a bit "A Wind from the South" is currently available free, though only in pdf/lit/pdb format.

02-28-2011, 04:22 AM	#12
sourcejedi Groupie Posts: 155 Karma: 200000 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Britania Device: Android	If you go to the shop, you may still be able to obtain A Wind from the South in .epub and .mobi (Kindle) for free. It's been a "limited time offer" for a while (hey, sometimes delays work in our favour . Update: High Wizardry has been added to the list of "international" editions (for non-US/Canada-ians) available at the shop.

02-28-2011, 07:24 AM	#13
jehane Book addict Posts: 441 Karma: 2650464 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Antarctica/Australia/Ohio Device: Sony PRS-300/T1/Asus TF101	Even better! But...how long does it take to confirm payment of a free book?

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02-28-2011, 11:57 AM	#15
outlander78 Zealot Posts: 104 Karma: 263218 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Sony PRS-T1, Kobo Touch, Kobo Arc 7	"So You Want to be a Wizard" - great title. Anyone read that and think of Dana White's UFC rant "do you want to be a f****** fighter?" Out of curiosity, why DRM free outside of the US?