FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[RoGuE_StreaK]

Pirates of Perilous, book 9 of John DeChancie's humorous fantasy series Castle Perilous, is currently "free" under Kindle Unlimited (is that Aus only?), otherwise US$3.22; the previous 8 books are all still around US$9ish.
Unfortunately I use a Kobo Touch purely with epubs, and having never used the Kindle ecosystem I don't want to sign up only to find I can't convert it after purchase; I'd happily purchase for someone else if they can make a non-drm epub for me? I haven't been able to find it in any other digital format / platform, and I'm just finishing re-reading the preceeding 8 books.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Pirates-Pe.../dp/B017IJPR8U

The long-awaited 9th book in the beloved CASTLE PERILOUS fantasy series. Castle Perilous is a dangerous place to live. But some of its Guests are danger addicts. It's been years since Gene Ferraro, champion swordsman, has had a real adventure. He finds a swashbuckling world of pirates and manages to have a rousing time battling zombies, vampires, and an evil empire or two. Linda Barclay, resident Castle mage, reluctantly accompanies him but finds more romance than she ever expected. Meanwhile, back at the Castle, its magic goes awry (what again?—that trick never works!) and Lord Incarnadine decides to fix it once and for all. To do so, he has to violate the laws of…not just the Universe, but the Multiverse. Cleve Dalton, mild-mannered retiree, finds himself a pawn in a game of dragons. There's more, much more, in the latest adventure set in the castle with 144,000 doorways to other worlds—CASTLE PERILOUS.

[lkmiller]

If you buy it for yourself (rather than borrowing with Kindle Unlimited), you should be able to decrypt it and convert. See Apprentice Alf.

For the KU books, Amazon pays the author based on how much you read. They can't tell that if you're not reading with a connected Kindle app or device.

[sufue]

You can also read it with the Kindle App on Android smart phones and tablets. Me, I read pretty much exclusively on my phone, except at home, since I don't want to carry two devices. I don't have problems with it, but I know some folks really prefer the e-Ink experience. Still, although it might not be your preferred reading experience, it will work.

[sufue]

Cross-post to the Romance thread for Magic Rises, #6 in the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, on sale in the US for $1.99: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh....php?p=4086580

[RoGuE_StreaK]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

If you buy it for yourself (rather than borrowing with Kindle Unlimited), you should be able to decrypt it and convert. See Apprentice Alf.

For the KU books, Amazon pays the author based on how much you read. They can't tell that if you're not reading with a connected Kindle app or device.

Interesting, so KU doesn't actually download the whole file? Guess that's not usable for anyone wanting epub versions then.
After reviewing Apprentice Alf's info and the related issues of KFX, I think I've now got enough of a grasp to risk purchasing the book and having a crack at converting it myself.

For anyone who liked DeChancie's Starrigger sci-fi series (I highly recommend), he's also released a short story continuation as part of the anthology "18 Wheels of Science Fiction: A Long Haul into the Fantastic", if I can get conversion sorted out I'll likely buy this as well, US$4.30
https://www.amazon.com/18-Wheels-Sci.../dp/099068668X

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by RoGuE_StreaK

Interesting, so KU doesn't actually download the whole file? Guess that's not usable for anyone wanting epub versions then.
After reviewing Apprentice Alf's info and the related issues of KFX, I think I've now got enough of a grasp to risk purchasing the book and having a crack at converting it myself.

For what it is worth, KU does download the entire file. Your app or device reports back how many pages you have read. At one point, AFAIR, DeDRM would not remove the DRM from a KU file but I haven't done any testing in quite a while to see if that is still the case. I would recommend going for a AZW3 download instead of a KFX as AZW3 and epub have very similar structures and the conversion results are better than the decompilation needed to convert a KFX. Either use an older version of K4PC or K4Mac or disable KFX downloads in a newer version.

[salty-horse]

Originally Posted by DNSB

DeDRM would not remove the DRM from a KU file

The file format is the same. This is a choice made by the developers (and I do not condone doing so either).

[piperclassique]

I've done it to read on an epub device, then when finished gone to cloud reader on the laptop, gone to the end of the book, then returned it next day via "manage content and devices" before deleting from calibre and the epub device.
So yes, it will strip and doing that meant the author got paid.Bit tedious, though.

[kyrilson]

Originally Posted by piperclassique

I've done it to read on an epub device, then when finished gone to cloud reader on the laptop, gone to the end of the book, then returned it next day via "manage content and devices" before deleting from calibre and the epub device.
So yes, it will strip and doing that meant the author got paid.Bit tedious, though.

But it makes sure that the author is paid, and the person gets to read it in the preferred format on the device they prefer and it probably takes about a total of 3 minutes of time to do, considering downloading, conversion, going to the end of the book on the kindle and then returning it. This is of course, excluding your actual reading time. I don't think this is that tedious as it makes sure the author gets paid for their hard earned work.

[PurpleStar]

Originally Posted by sufue

Cross-post to the Romance thread for Magic Rises, #6 in the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, on sale in the US for $1.99: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh....php?p=4086580

Thanks! I'll get this whole series on sale the way this is going! Seems to be one on sale every week.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by kyrilson

But it makes sure that the author is paid, and the person gets to read it in the preferred format on the device they prefer and it probably takes about a total of 3 minutes of time to do, considering downloading, conversion, going to the end of the book on the kindle and then returning it. This is of course, excluding your actual reading time. I don't think this is that tedious as it makes sure the author gets paid for their hard earned work.

I rather doubt that it does. Amazon has to watch out for fraud, and books being opened, and then jumping to the last page it likely to be dismissed as fraudulent.

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I rather doubt that it does. Amazon has to watch out for fraud, and books being opened, and then jumping to the last page it likely to be dismissed as fraudulent.

I'm skeptical too. I stick with reading them on a Kindle device or app. If I want to move to another reader, I'll buy it.

[RoGuE_StreaK]

Well I ended up just buying it last night after tracking down K4PC 1.17, the whole process was quick and painless (the pain will come later as Amazon now owns my soul due to clause 6234.12 subsection 18...)

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I rather doubt that it does. Amazon has to watch out for fraud, and books being opened, and then jumping to the last page it likely to be dismissed as fraudulent.

If I read and return while keeping wifi off (to save battery), how does the author get paid? I download to PC transfer then return.

Does the Kindle remember past info? I do wish for authors/publishers to get credit for the borrow.

[salty-horse]

This is going way off-topic and should maybe move to a separate thread.
I'll refer you to to this Kindle Unlimited Royalties page.

1. Books only eligible for royalties based on number of pages read (for the first time). Obviously this tracking can only be done if you're reading through Kindle apps. And I assume scrolling too fast or jumping around won't cut it.
2. Like other subscription services like Spotify, Netflix, I would assume that the publishers/authors are getting the shorter end of the stick, and it's more profitable for them if you actually buy the book.