Free fantasy & Science Fiction downloads on kindle

[fugazied]

I just started Assassins Apprentice. Very good so far! Thanks for posting the links.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by fugazied

I just started Assassins Apprentice. Very good so far! Thanks for posting the links.

Their evil plot worked! Now you 'need' the other two books in the trilogy, plus the two related trilogies.

[FixB]

I really would like to try those on my iphone : anyone knows how to get the kindle for iphone app from outside the US ?

[ErwinOtten]

Originally Posted by cmbs

ErwinOtten-

I use mobipocket creator, and it worked fine. http://www.mobipocket.com/en/Downloa...ilsCreator.asp

Perhaps your pdf got corrupted somehow? Maybe downloading a new copy would help?


I just download the file, save to hard drive, open mobi creator, select the pdf I want to convert, select import, and it converts. The result doesn't have the best formatting, but it's readable. And you can modify it if you want to.

In fact, it would probably work if you just dragged and dropped the pdf into mobi desktop reader, library view, but the result isn't modifiable.

I hope that helps.

Thanks for the info. It works with Mobipocket creator.

Strange that Calibre says it's DRM-protected...

[whitearrow]

Good grief, I appreciate that it's free, but could the publishers spend, like, five minutes to make the ubiquitous maps in sci-fi/fantasy books Kindle-friendly? The one in Red Mars is equally useless.

(Anyone know where I might find this image online, so I could, you know, see it?)

[kevindorsey]

Originally Posted by whitearrow

Good grief, I appreciate that it's free, but could the publishers spend, like, five minutes to make the ubiquitous maps in sci-fi/fantasy books Kindle-friendly? The one in Red Mars is equally useless.

(Anyone know where I might find this image online, so I could, you know, see it?)

Can't ask for everything , now can we :_)

[whitearrow]

You know, in all seriousness, I think we should demand the same standards in ebooks that we expect in print books. These books may be free now, but next week or next month they'll be charging for them, and expecting us to buy the sequels.

I wouldn't find an illegible illustration (or bad formatting, or a lack of proofreading, or any of the other problems common to ebooks) acceptable in a print illustration. So no, I don't think they're acceptable in ebooks, either.

[AnemicOak]

The problem with a lot of ebooks, especially older ones, is that the files were originally created with PDA's in mind. I don't know if putting larger images in would screw things up for PDA/Smaller screen users or if the images would just scale to fit.

I do agree that the maps in most ebooks suck big time. It's to bad pretty much all publishers have a pretty non existent feedback system in place for their customers.

[whitearrow]

But if they know they are making a Kindle edition, then it should be with the Kindle in mind first and foremost. It doesn't need to be exactly the same as the fictionwise version for Palm or whatever.

If I can scan the image from the hard copy, put a few minutes of effort into figuring out the proper size and aspect ratio (kindleformatting.com) and end up with a version with a totally readable map, I don't see why the publisher can't do the same.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by whitearrow

But if they know they are making a Kindle edition, then it should be with the Kindle in mind first and foremost. It doesn't need to be exactly the same as the fictionwise version for Palm or whatever.

If I can scan the image from the hard copy, put a few minutes of effort into figuring out the proper size and aspect ratio (kindleformatting.com) and end up with a version with a totally readable map, I don't see why the publisher can't do the same.

Because they're lazy and not making a Kindle specific edition, most Kindle files are just re-purposed old Mobipocket files. Even the cover images are tiny in a lot of the files. I agree it's not that hard to do & they should do it. I've taken some of my ebooks apart and "fixed" them, but it get's old having to do it.


As far as Red Mars maps...
http://www.scificincinnati.com/redmars_page.htm
http://www.lns.cornell.edu/~seb/cele...lok/index.html

or Google Books. or maybe the freebie PDF version has a better map.

[whitearrow]

Thanks for the map info

[NormHart]

A quick update, Suvudu has multiple formats for these books now, all available through http://www.suvudu.com/freelibrary/. From what they are implying on the site this is just the beginning for Random House's Free Library.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by NormHart

A quick update, Suvudu has multiple formats for these books now, all available through http://www.suvudu.com/freelibrary/. From what they are implying on the site this is just the beginning for Random House's Free Library.

What they have is PDF (we know how bad that is), AZW (needs a Kindle), and LRX (need a Sony Reader). So if you do not have a Sony Reader or Kindle, you won't get a decent copy for your reader unless you have an iRex. They have it for the Kindle so why not put them up in Mobipocket? That would then satisfy everyone.

Also, the layout of the site is way too busy. It's like trying to watch all the flashing lights in Vegas at the same time.

[NormHart]

Yes, Randon House seems to be embracing DMR laden distribution fully while making every effort to maximize profits. I am afraid that we will be seeing more and more of this as publishers attempt to adapt to the new medium. Whether this distribution system will prove to be more profitable and sustainable than the WebScription system or the more "traditional" ebook store system remains to be seen. It will be interesting to see what happens with the Barns and Nobel entry into this field. If B&N adopts a DMR free multi-platform distribution system it could force Amazon and publishers to rethink their current position while giving publishers access to a turnkey distribution system that reaches more customers and devices.

Meanwhile a new free library is no bad thing even with the DMR. I probably won't be buying books from Random House but, since I am Kindlized, I will be taking advantage of every freebie I can get.

[JSWolf]

The problem is that these eBooks while free are not free enough. They give in 2 eBook formats and and one non-eBook format. They've totally ignored all the people using Mobipocket. They really need to learn how to do this right. eBooks are not something that can be screwed up without repercussions.