"Wizard hero Richard Rahl smites wrongdoers with his Sword of Truth. His creator, the bestselling fantasy author Terry Goodkind, turned to Facebook to name and shame a fan who pirated a digital version of his latest novel, The First Confessor.
Goodkind, whose epic Sword of Truth fantasy series has sold 25m copies around the world, according to its publisher Tor, took the unusual move of deciding to self-publish The First Confessor: The Legend of Magda Searus as an ebook exclusive. The book was released earlier this month and quickly shot up Amazon's bestseller list, but despite it being made available in a multitude of formats, for $9.99, pirated editions soon started to appear.
Goodkind was outraged, and decided to name one of the pirates on his Facebook page, posting the perpetrator's details – including a photo – and prompting an onslaught of online fury against him. "So Josh, how about it — no respect for a hard-working author and fellow racing enthusiast? Not even for someone that is emphatically trying to reach out to people that might consider pirating our hard work? Can't be bothered to read and consider our note on piracy in the front of the book?" wrote Goodkind. "How ironic you claim to be a fan of books that uphold truth and honour above all else. We hope the price of fame is worth the cost of your infamy."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012...terry-goodkind
I'm torn. On one hand I think Goodkind went a tad too far. On the other, I think shame is still a powerful deterrent.
At least he followed his own political principles and solved his own problem rather than merely wringing his hands and whinging about how we need more draconian government intervention to combat piracy.
