Japanese flavoured or inspired

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I read the Illuminatus trilogy when it first came out. Crazy stuff!

But... but... that's 30 years ago! Unbelievable. I couldn't even read properly back then. And some people call ME too old to be doing certain things? Harumpff.

I must put them onto my TBR list. I like weird/crazy stuff like that. (Who can't love trilogies where all books and parts are messed up with regard to structure, or all books and parts are called "Book One" and "Part One"? )

Damn. You did it again.... I'm not buying those now! I have no more Kobo codes, and without those, these books are $5 more expensive there than they are at Amazon.

If I manage to get another 50% code, I could get those books for $7.50, which is $2.50 below the Amazon price.

Check out, in preview mode, the first Shike book. What do you think about this one, regarding those different font sizes?

Definitely weird. However, the book itself may be fine. I've seen some books that looked positively gruesome in the preview, but were fine after downloading them. Isn't there the possibility to return the book to Amazon and get a refund if you don't like the layout? Worth a try maybe. I like the story synopsis.

And yes, the books will be cheaper for you in the US because they're probably displayed without tax.

EDIT

In the name of science and curiosity, I've had a sample sent to my Kindle (requiring to turn on Wi-Fi and thus messing up my home screen). I've flipped through the first half of the sample (about 1,5 chapters) and it's just fine. If the real book is the same, there's nothing wrong with it.

[Apache]

I have both volumes of Shike in paper that I bought around 1981. I need to reread them. Are the ebooks badly formatted then?
Apache

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Apache

I have both volumes of Shike in paper that I bought around 1981. I need to reread them. Are the ebooks badly formatted then?
Apache

The sample of Shike Volume 1 I was sent was formatted just fine, despite the fact that it looked very bad in the preview on the Amazon website.

[Dr. Drib]

Thanks, Katsunami, for checking further on the Shike book.

I may have to get both of those.....[dam* you! ]

[DiapDealer]

The samples of Shike from Amazon look fairly good to me (just a quick glance, mind you). They're mobi-only (no KF8), though.

I realize Shike was released by Bob's son under Creative Commons for a while, but there is no mention about that any more on bobshea.net. Links to any html versions of it (Shike) have also been removed (and they used to be there). I'm not certain whether or not one can UN-Creative Commons something or not (once it's out there), but I prefer to honor the wishes of the rights-holder when in doubt. *shrug*

Also... Shea's solo work is nothing like the stuff he wrote with Robert Anton Wilson (Illuminatus!). I've read and enjoyed both, but I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Thanks, Katsunami, for checking further on the Shike book.

I may have to get both of those.....[dam* you! ]

Hey, serves you right.

Still, you can get them $2 cheaper per book compared to me. (Still, €6.19 after conversion is not too horrible for a book to pay. A paperback in the Netherlands costs more.)

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Also... Shea's solo work is nothing like the stuff he wrote with Robert Anton Wilson (Illuminatus!). I've read and enjoyed both, but I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.

I can imagine. I've been looking into Illuminatus! and Shrödinger's Cat.

That seems to be some trippy stuff. (As I said: possibly comparable to the trippy movie stuff such as Trainspotting and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Maybe even Pulp Fiction, which is weird and POV-shifty as well...)

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

That seems to be some trippy stuff. (As I said: possibly comparable to the trippy movie stuff such as Trainspotting and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Maybe even Pulp Fiction, which is weird and POV-shifty as well...)

You've got it backwards. All those movies' trippiness is comparable to Illuminatus!

Fans of Historical Fantasy should also check out RAWilson's "Historical Illuminatus Chronicles." Quite fun.

OK. I'm done hijiacking the thread with my heavy-handed Robert Anton Wilson propaganda. I promise!.

Spoiler:

fnord

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

The samples of Shike from Amazon look fairly good to me (just a quick glance, mind you). They're mobi-only (no KF8), though.

I realize Shike was released by Bob's son under Creative Commons for a while, but there is no mention about that any more on bobshea.net. Links to any html versions of it (Shike) have also been removed (and they used to be there). I'm not certain whether or not one can UN-Creative Commons something or not (once it's out there), but I prefer to honor the wishes of the rights-holder when in doubt. *shrug*

Also... Shea's solo work is nothing like the stuff he wrote with Robert Anton Wilson (Illuminatus!). I've read and enjoyed both, but I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.

The first part of the Shike novels is located at manybooks, here:

http://manybooks.net/titles/shearother08shike.html

I wonder if one can (as you mention) un-do a Creative Commons License?

(We should probably start a thread on that issue, if discussion veers away too deeply and too long from the OPs right to this thread.)