SHYLOCK OF VENICE - Because Shakespeare got the ending wrong the first time.

tbrookside · 11-26-2010, 01:15 PM

I just wanted to let everyone know about my new release at Amazon and Barnes and Noble:

The Most Extreme Crueltie and Revenge of Shylock of Venice

Quote:

Stripped of his fortune, his daughter, his religion, and even his name, Shylock of Venice (now baptized “Christoforo”, under duress) broods over his injuries alone. A mysterious traveler, dressed in black, offers him the chance to avenge himself upon those who have wronged him, and to seize back all that they have taken. When Shylock agrees, they embark on a journey that takes them across Renaissance Italy and through the history of post-Humanist philosophy – and what they find is not what either of them expects.

Warning: this is a play in five acts, written in early modern English. In other words, I totally committed to the conceit that I was creating a sequel to Shakespeare's play. If you hate EME or the play form, this might not be up your alley.

In a piece for the New York Times, Kevin Kelly of Wired fame wrote of the future of ebooks:

Quote:

...In the universal library, no book will be an island. Turning inked letters into electronic dots that can be read on a screen is simply the first essential step in creating this new library. The real magic will come in the second act, as each word in each book is cross-linked, clustered, cited, extracted, indexed, analyzed, annotated, remixed, reassembled and woven deeper into the culture than ever before. In the new world of books, every bit informs another; every page reads all the other pages.

I was pretty heavily influenced by this somewhat heady vision. It reminded me a great deal of the fictional "glass bead game" in Hesse's Magister Ludi. It's also reflective of the way I think in general. Those of you who read De Bello Lemures can probably see how this vision would appeal to me.

Shylock of Venice was written with this concept of the future ebook in mind. I don't get there, by any stretch of the imagination, but I take a few baby steps. The text is largely composed of repurposed text from other sources [along with original text that is itself heavy with allusion], and the selection process is itself supposed to contain information that informs the primary story. If that sounds really annoying and pretentious, I apologize. I found it fun, and I hope readers will find it fun too.

It's $2.99 in the Amazon Kindle Store and at the Barnes and Noble Nookbook Store.

Sorry, no Smashwords listing - Smashwords won't support the annotations, so that boxes me out of some of the other vendors and readers right now.

tbrookside · 12-03-2010, 09:05 AM

Thank you to everyone who purchased this title in its first week of release!

I'd love to hear from anyone who has any feedback!

tbrookside@gmail.com

DixieGal · 12-03-2010, 09:39 AM

This was the first I heard of your new book. I was so impressed by The Last Days of Jericho that I had to run to Amazon and get the new one. I am looking forward to it!

tbrookside · 12-04-2010, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DixieGal

This was the first I heard of your new book. I was so impressed by The Last Days of Jericho that I had to run to Amazon and get the new one. I am looking forward to it!

Thanks DixieGal!

I hope you enjoy it.

I'm glad to hear you found Jericho worthwhile!

DixieGal · 12-08-2010, 05:46 AM

It was good, but odd to read a play written in the style of Shakespeare about one of his most famous characters. I did not want to put it down and read it in about 3 hours. I am always looking for unique books, and this one is in a category all its own.

I am rapidly becoming a Thomas Brookside fan!

Spoiler:

tbrookside · 12-09-2010, 07:22 AM

Dixiegal - Thanks. Thanks a lot.

I hadn't received any Amazon or Barnes and Noble reviews yet, so I naturally had been sitting here thinking that it must be terrible, everyone must hate it, I'm going to start getting emails from friends trying to gently tell me it's a "misfire", etc.

I go through this little emotional psychodrama every time I have a new release.

tbrookside · 12-17-2010, 09:12 AM

A Barnes and Noble customer was kind enough to give this title a 4 star rating.

Thank you, Unknown Barnes and Noble Customer!

tbrookside · 12-26-2010, 09:13 AM

This title is now also available for UK Kindle users at the Amazon UK site.

tbrookside · 01-30-2011, 08:01 PM

For a limited time this title is on sale for 99 cents in both the Kindle Store and the Nookbook Store!

tbrookside · 02-19-2011, 08:57 AM

Still 99 cents for the rest of February!

Thanks!

tbrookside · 03-01-2011, 07:09 PM

The 99 cent promotion for this title has now ended.

The price is rising to [gasp!] $4.99.

Is that too much? Maybe. But I'm trying out a new price point for my stuff and the experiment can only work if all my titles are the same price.

12-08-2010, 05:46 AM	#5
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	It was good, but odd to read a play written in the style of Shakespeare about one of his most famous characters. I did not want to put it down and read it in about 3 hours. I am always looking for unique books, and this one is in a category all its own. I am rapidly becoming a Thomas Brookside fan! Spoiler: This play takes up where Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice" ended. You might call it the sequel. Shylock takes up with some sort of demonic character who helps him destroy Venice and get his revenge.

12-26-2010, 09:13 AM	#8
tbrookside Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 96 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bennington, VT Device: Kindle	This title is now also available for UK Kindle users at the Amazon UK site. Last edited by tbrookside; 01-07-2011 at 01:47 PM.

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12-03-2010, 09:05 AM	#2
tbrookside Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 96 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bennington, VT Device: Kindle	Thank you to everyone who purchased this title in its first week of release! I'd love to hear from anyone who has any feedback! tbrookside@gmail.com

12-03-2010, 09:39 AM	#3
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	This was the first I heard of your new book. I was so impressed by The Last Days of Jericho that I had to run to Amazon and get the new one. I am looking forward to it!

12-09-2010, 07:22 AM	#6
tbrookside Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 96 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bennington, VT Device: Kindle	Dixiegal - Thanks. Thanks a lot. I hadn't received any Amazon or Barnes and Noble reviews yet, so I naturally had been sitting here thinking that it must be terrible, everyone must hate it, I'm going to start getting emails from friends trying to gently tell me it's a "misfire", etc. I go through this little emotional psychodrama every time I have a new release.

12-17-2010, 09:12 AM	#7
tbrookside Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 96 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bennington, VT Device: Kindle	A Barnes and Noble customer was kind enough to give this title a 4 star rating. Thank you, Unknown Barnes and Noble Customer!

01-30-2011, 08:01 PM	#9
tbrookside Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 96 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bennington, VT Device: Kindle	For a limited time this title is on sale for 99 cents in both the Kindle Store and the Nookbook Store!

02-19-2011, 08:57 AM	#10
tbrookside Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 96 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bennington, VT Device: Kindle	Still 99 cents for the rest of February! Thanks!

03-01-2011, 07:09 PM	#11
tbrookside Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 96 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bennington, VT Device: Kindle	The 99 cent promotion for this title has now ended. The price is rising to [gasp!] $4.99. Is that too much? Maybe. But I'm trying out a new price point for my stuff and the experiment can only work if all my titles are the same price.