Backlist - Page 15

pwalker8 · 02-09-2019, 09:06 PM

I just noticed that Eve Forward's wonderful book, Villains by Necessity, is now available both as an ebook and an audiobook. Well recommended.

gmw · 02-10-2019, 02:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwalker8

I just noticed that Eve Forward's wonderful book, Villains by Necessity, is now available both as an ebook and an audiobook. Well recommended.

That sounds like fun ... but exclusive to Amazon at the moment, or so it seems.

pwalker8 · 02-10-2019, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmw

That sounds like fun ... but exclusive to Amazon at the moment, or so it seems.

Yes, it's a KU book.

HarryT · 02-10-2019, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwalker8

I just noticed that Eve Forward's wonderful book, Villains by Necessity, is now available both as an ebook and an audiobook. Well recommended.

Not a book or an author I'm familiar with. What makes it wonderful?

pwalker8 · 02-10-2019, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Not a book or an author I'm familiar with. What makes it wonderful?

It's a quirky take on the classic fantasy of the quest to conquer Evil. In this case, Good has conquered, wiping out Evil and the world has become, as the novel begins "Boring". When it's discovered that without evil, the world will be destroyed, a group of former villains get together to restore the balance.

It's been a while since I read it, but I remember it being one of those books that I picked up and looked up a number of hours later after I had finished it. Eve Forward is Robert Forward's daughter. She really only had two books that I know of, this book and a book called the Animalist, which I didn't really care for.

I guess that the book is one of those books that never really found an audience, which was too bad. Googling it, the reviews aren't all that great, but I really enjoyed it. Looking on Goodreads, it's rated 4.17 out of 5 with over a 1000 ratings so I'm apparently not the only person who loved it. Apparently it's one of those books you either love or hate. I suspect that you need to have read a lot of the traditional D&D based fantasy books to get some of the humor though.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/...s_by_Necessity

HarryT · 02-10-2019, 10:09 AM

Thank you. It sounds interesting.

pwalker8 · 02-15-2019, 10:52 AM

Finished up my re-read of Villains by Necessity. It's aged well. It does help if you are familiar with the D&D style fantasies. One can tell that this is a first novel and there are some sections that could have been a bit smoother, but all in all, a fun read. In my personal opinion, it's better than a lot of books being put out by some much more prolific authors.

pwalker8 · 02-19-2019, 12:01 PM

I was puttering around on Amazon and found that book 4 of the Chronique D'Avebury by Adrienne Martine-Barnes (The Sea Sword) is in the kindle store. I have all four in paper. Kind of odd that only the last one is there, but it was published in 1989, so it may be that it was the only one in an electronic format. According to the page, it's been in the store since 2011. The publisher is Harold Matson Co, the literary agency, so I think it's legit.

Dazrin · 02-19-2019, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwalker8

According to the page, it's been in the store since 2011. The publisher is Harold Matson Co, the literary agency, so I think it's legit.

I'm not sure I have seen a literary agency acting a publisher before. It makes me wonder if they are taking both the publisher's share and theirs and give the author the same as if it was published by someone else or if they give the lions share to the author. Especially with older books like this I doubt there was a specific clause for ebooks in that contract. Could be interesting to dig in a little more to see if this is common and how it is split.

pwalker8 · 02-19-2019, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dazrin

I'm not sure I have seen a literary agency acting a publisher before. It makes me wonder if they are taking both the publisher's share and theirs and give the author the same as if it was published by someone else or if they give the lions share to the author. Especially with older books like this I doubt there was a specific clause for ebooks in that contract. Could be interesting to dig in a little more to see if this is common and how it is split.

I've seen it a number of times before, especially with regards to backlist books. I think that some agencies offer it as a service to those authors who don't want to handle the particulars themselves. While I know the idea is anathema for some here, but reputable literary agencies do things other than just skim money off the top from authors. They provide a number of services.

The author died several years ago, but if the publication date is correct, it was published before she died.

AnemicOak · 02-19-2019, 03:01 PM

Yeah, quite a few agencies are doing it for at least backlist A few are also doing new stuff for authors they already work with. Don't know if any are offering services outside that.

pwalker8 · 03-10-2019, 04:42 PM

A lot of the old Andre Norton books have been showing up in the kindle store recently, or perhaps, I've just started noticing them more. I've picked up a bunch of old favorites that I remember reading as a kid, plus a number I read as a teenager. It's kind of odd, she has some books that are in PG, and thus in public domain, yet her first book Huon of the Horn, doesn't seem to be available as an ebook. I remember reading it. I'll have to look to see if I have the paper book or just read it at the library way back when.

HarryT · 03-10-2019, 05:04 PM

A huge number of Norton’s books are available from Baen, of course. Dozens of them.

pwalker8 · 03-11-2019, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

A huge number of Norton’s books are available from Baen, of course. Dozens of them.

That's where I picked a lot up. Baen Publishing has been re-issuing a lot of the works by some of the old masters - Gordon R Dickson, Andre Norton, Poul Anderson, Leigh Brackett, A. Bertram Chandler, L. Sprague deCamp, Robert Heinlein and many others.

Strether · 04-06-2019, 06:14 PM

The mystery writer Dick Francis switched US publishers mid-career. Those e-books published by Penguin have been available in the US for years, but not those published by Harper and Row, his first publishers. I note that six of the first publisher's books are now available in the US for pre-order as e-books, being released on May 2nd:

High Stakes
Knockdown
Smokescreen
Rat Race
Dead Cert
Enquiry

All of these are offered at the price of $2.99 each, a bargain.

Hopefully the remaining books will be made available as e-books soon.

Jim

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02-09-2019, 09:06 PM	#211
pwalker8 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,195 Karma: 70314280 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Pro, iPad mini, Kobo Aura, Amazon paperwhite, Sony PRS-T2	I just noticed that Eve Forward's wonderful book, Villains by Necessity, is now available both as an ebook and an audiobook. Well recommended.

02-10-2019, 10:09 AM	#216
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Thank you. It sounds interesting.

02-15-2019, 10:52 AM	#217
pwalker8 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,195 Karma: 70314280 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Pro, iPad mini, Kobo Aura, Amazon paperwhite, Sony PRS-T2	Finished up my re-read of Villains by Necessity. It's aged well. It does help if you are familiar with the D&D style fantasies. One can tell that this is a first novel and there are some sections that could have been a bit smoother, but all in all, a fun read. In my personal opinion, it's better than a lot of books being put out by some much more prolific authors.

02-19-2019, 12:01 PM	#218
pwalker8 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,195 Karma: 70314280 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Pro, iPad mini, Kobo Aura, Amazon paperwhite, Sony PRS-T2	I was puttering around on Amazon and found that book 4 of the Chronique D'Avebury by Adrienne Martine-Barnes (The Sea Sword) is in the kindle store. I have all four in paper. Kind of odd that only the last one is there, but it was published in 1989, so it may be that it was the only one in an electronic format. According to the page, it's been in the store since 2011. The publisher is Harold Matson Co, the literary agency, so I think it's legit.

02-19-2019, 03:01 PM	#221
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	Yeah, quite a few agencies are doing it for at least backlist A few are also doing new stuff for authors they already work with. Don't know if any are offering services outside that.

03-10-2019, 04:42 PM	#222
pwalker8 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,195 Karma: 70314280 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Pro, iPad mini, Kobo Aura, Amazon paperwhite, Sony PRS-T2	A lot of the old Andre Norton books have been showing up in the kindle store recently, or perhaps, I've just started noticing them more. I've picked up a bunch of old favorites that I remember reading as a kid, plus a number I read as a teenager. It's kind of odd, she has some books that are in PG, and thus in public domain, yet her first book Huon of the Horn, doesn't seem to be available as an ebook. I remember reading it. I'll have to look to see if I have the paper book or just read it at the library way back when.

03-10-2019, 05:04 PM	#223
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	A huge number of Norton’s books are available from Baen, of course. Dozens of them.

04-06-2019, 06:14 PM	#225
Strether Guru Posts: 746 Karma: 2825929 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fresno Device: Kindle 1; iPad Air; iPhone 7; Kobo Libra; Kindle Oasis 3	The mystery writer Dick Francis switched US publishers mid-career. Those e-books published by Penguin have been available in the US for years, but not those published by Harper and Row, his first publishers. I note that six of the first publisher's books are now available in the US for pre-order as e-books, being released on May 2nd: High Stakes Knockdown Smokescreen Rat Race Dead Cert Enquiry All of these are offered at the price of $2.99 each, a bargain. Hopefully the remaining books will be made available as e-books soon. Jim