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Quoth · 08-02-2023, 05:31 AM

I have what's labelled as an "uncorrected proof" as a paperback from Tor of the first book.
1) It's not the same sort of thing as Harry Potter. Which might be good as HP was a lucky success, not because it's brilliant.
2) I think a blurb like "seeing hints of The Night Circus, Sherlock Holmes, Ben Aaronovitch and also Jasper Fforde in the writing*" is pure crayon dept.
3) It was OK, but not so great that I went and looked for more. I looked just now and eight paperbacks in a box set are £33 approx. Eight as Kindle ebooks is £45.57. In Ireland there is no VAT on paper books but there is VAT on ebooks.

I know print costs are only a part of cost, but still I do expect the ebook version to be a bit cheaper and now they usually are.

Indeed many series, including the books that J. Rowlings mined for HP, are better than HP no matter what age you are. But I have all the HP books (read twice) and all the DVDs or maybe BD (but never watched Deathly Hollows).

David Walliams is a poor copy of Roald Dahl and has now made £100M.

Mega success in publishing (paper or movies or music) is more a combination of marketing and luck, not excellence. Also book awards are often dominated by literary snobbery, not what keen regular readers or mass market (not same thing) like.

[* I do like Jasper Fford's Thursday Next, and Nursery Tales. Maybe I like his Dragonslayer books better, though I thought the last one weak. Invisible Library has a tenuous connection. I do like most of Sherlock Homes and see no connection. I started reading Ben Aaronovitch's "Rivers of London" and hated it. DNF, IMO over hyped. Fortunately Invisible Library is nothing like "Rivers of London". The Invisible Library is good on its own merits and really is nothing like the books /authors in the blurb. I think Ben Aaronovitch and Jasper Fford are a bit Marmite and The Invisible Library likely has a wider appeal.]

08-02-2023, 05:31 AM	#4
Quoth Still reading Posts: 14,160 Karma: 105212035 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	I have what's labelled as an "uncorrected proof" as a paperback from Tor of the first book. 1) It's not the same sort of thing as Harry Potter. Which might be good as HP was a lucky success, not because it's brilliant. 2) I think a blurb like "seeing hints of The Night Circus, Sherlock Holmes, Ben Aaronovitch and also Jasper Fforde in the writing" is pure crayon dept. 3) It was OK, but not so great that I went and looked for more. I looked just now and eight paperbacks in a box set are £33 approx. Eight as Kindle ebooks is £45.57. In Ireland there is no VAT on paper books but there is VAT on ebooks. I know print costs are only a part of cost, but still I do expect the ebook version to be a bit cheaper and now they usually are. Indeed many series, including the books that J. Rowlings mined for HP, are better than HP no matter what age you are. But I have all the HP books (read twice) and all the DVDs or maybe BD (but never watched Deathly Hollows). David Walliams is a poor copy of Roald Dahl and has now made £100M. Mega success in publishing (paper or movies or music) is more a combination of marketing and luck, not excellence. Also book awards are often dominated by literary snobbery, not what keen regular readers or mass market (not same thing) like. [ I do like Jasper Fford's Thursday Next, and Nursery Tales. Maybe I like his Dragonslayer books better, though I thought the last one weak. Invisible Library has a tenuous connection. I do like most of Sherlock Homes and see no connection. I started reading Ben Aaronovitch's "Rivers of London" and hated it. DNF, IMO over hyped. Fortunately Invisible Library is nothing like "Rivers of London". The Invisible Library is good on its own merits and really is nothing like the books /authors in the blurb. I think Ben Aaronovitch and Jasper Fford are a bit Marmite and The Invisible Library likely has a wider appeal.] Last edited by Quoth; 08-02-2023 at 05:39 AM.