Verdant Skies by Steve Jordan - Page 4

Moe The Cat · 09-02-2009, 09:19 PM

I bought the .lit file (

did I just admit to that in public?) and the apostrophe in the Chapter 2 title is fine ...

AlexBell · 09-03-2009, 03:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreams

Steve, I bought the ePub from your site.

In the TOC the chapter title is displayed correctly, but when you open chapter 2 it does contain the "?" instead of the apostrophe.

Can I ask if I may what ePub reader you are using? Or at least, is it other than the ECO reader? I'm reasonably sure that it's not the ECO reader causing the problem, but I'd like to be certain.

Regards, Alex

AlexBell · 09-03-2009, 03:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Thanks for the feedback, Alex. In order:

I have seen that before: It is a reaction to MS Word apostrophes, which are not recognized as standard apostrophes by many non-word apps (same thing with MS quotes). I thought I'd caught those, so I have to look into what reverted them.

No, I'm pretty sure it's just that one. I'm almost certain there are other apostrophes which display properly. I just didn't record them, nor where Julian's conversation is in italics.

Regards, Alex

dreams · 09-03-2009, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexBell

Can I ask if I may what ePub reader you are using? Or at least, is it other than the ECO reader? I'm reasonably sure that it's not the ECO reader causing the problem, but I'd like to be certain.

Regards, Alex

I am using the Sony 505.

pshrynk · 09-03-2009, 03:04 PM

Chapter 2 started out okay on the Kindle...

AlexBell · 09-04-2009, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pshrynk

Chapter 2 started out okay on the Kindle...

Thanks, Dreams. It's nice to know that that the problem is not due to the ECO reader.

And thanks, Pshrynk. I presume you are reading a mobipocket version. I've no idea why this particular problem would occur in an ePub and not in a mobipocket version - presuming of course they had the same source document. Perhaps the mobipocket rendition of HTML is more tolerant as well as being limited and idiosyncratic.

Regards, Alex

Steven Lyle Jordan · 09-04-2009, 07:07 AM

It is odd that ePub can handle Word smartquotes in chapter bodies but not elsewhere. As I said I thought I'd caught them, but clearly I didn't. It will be fixed.

pshrynk · 09-04-2009, 09:00 AM

BTW, I'm up to chapter four and it looks like it might be getting more tense soon. So many characters takes a lot of build up to get to the action. Especially when they are fleshed out as well as you're doing here.

Idoine · 09-04-2009, 11:26 AM

Finally bought mine on Smashwords !
Mobi format, without the cover I put nonetheless with Mobi2mobi !
Strange, the "President's" title chapter is well wrote, but the link to it in the table of contents doesn't work (maybe because of the apostrophe...)
Now it's on my To-Read list !

Steven Lyle Jordan · 09-04-2009, 12:21 PM

WWWOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRDDDDDD!!!!

pholy · 09-04-2009, 08:24 PM

Hi Steve - It's all up to the encodings the reader and font allows. On my BeBook, all the apostrophes and curly quotes showed up as &xxxxx; thingies - boy did that make the dialog ugly! Those are valid html 4 or 5 strings, which should have been OK, but not necessary in iso-8559-1. So I ran it through Sigil, and it turned it into UTF-8, but the BeBook didn't have a Unicode font, so it just used its 8-bit encoded font. So the 16-bit byte pairs got really ugly with spaces included (another little BeBook Bug). I'm still planning some more research into BeBook limitations... I'll let you know what I find.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 09-05-2009, 08:22 AM

Good God!

That settles it, I have to replace all of those smart quotes in ePub conversions for sure! And was it ePub that you used on your BeBook, or some other format?

I've been pretty busy with my (ahem) day job recently, but I can see it's already time for e Revision 1 of Verdant Skies. I have to get cracking on that, as soon as I get back from my much-needed 3-day vaca.

pholy · 09-05-2009, 01:48 PM

Yes, I downloaded the epub file. As I said, I ran it through Sigil, because it "cleans up" a file - presumably by re-encoding it in UTF-8 - but that didn't work. I also loaded it into my Calibre library, and then exported it, but no change until I exported it as a mobi file. That removed all the &xxx; stuff - looks perfect now. Now I will get back to reading it! I hated to put it down, but those &xxx; things just spoiled the flow. --- Oh, it wasn't just the smart quotes, apostrophes showed up - ’ — … “ ” -- those are from the first chapter. These are valid HTML 4 names, but apparently you do have to call out the correct DTD in your HTML header - see the Wikipoedia : List_of_XML_and_HTML_character_entity_references. Of course, I'm not sure that the BeBook would recognise them even then.
Hope this helps, I want to go back to reading now.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 09-05-2009, 11:26 PM

I don't know if the problem was the BeBook's rendering engine, Sibil, Calibre, or my ePub's quality (or all of the above), but it clearly underscores the need for better tools for compliance and conversion. I wrote an essay on my site about the need in this industry for more devices that read all the popular formats, leaving the consumer to choose their device based on price and features, not on which formats it did or did not read. But conversion engines need to work first, and files need to be compliant in the first place.

I'll have to look closer at my ePub conversions, to make sure they are fully compliant with IDPF standards before I send them out.

Kokomo Lee · 09-07-2009, 01:15 AM

Steve,

You have a true talent for creating a future that can be envisioned, and Verdant Skies is yet another gem. The characters were interesting, and the science sneaks up on you without hitting you over the head.

One of my favorite examples occurs when a lead character takes the tram across the station. Steve comments about the view from the trams:

Quote:

Only a few floors down, and the view from the trams became spectacular: You could see up through the open cylinder floors, all the way to Floor 20, on the opposite side of the satellite’s outer cylinder; and there was no more impressive sight in a satellite.

A small detail that contributes to the overall "flavor" of living on a satellite.

I did not foresee the surprises at the end (no other comments - I don't want to give anything away). I wish Verdant Skies had been longer, and I look forward to a sequel.

Keep writing them - I'll keep reading them!

09-05-2009, 08:22 AM	#57
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	Good God! That settles it, I have to replace all of those smart quotes in ePub conversions for sure! And was it ePub that you used on your BeBook, or some other format? I've been pretty busy with my (ahem) day job recently, but I can see it's already time for e Revision 1 of Verdant Skies. I have to get cracking on that, as soon as I get back from my much-needed 3-day vaca. Last edited by Steven Lyle Jordan; 09-05-2009 at 08:24 AM.

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09-02-2009, 09:19 PM	#46
Moe The Cat Bear Melt Posts: 919 Karma: 5433051 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Toronto Device: Google Pixel 6, Moto G9 Power (both with Fbreader) & Kindle PW2	I bought the .lit file ( did I just admit to that in public?) and the apostrophe in the Chapter 2 title is fine ...

09-03-2009, 03:04 PM	#50
pshrynk Beepbeep n beebeep, yeah! Posts: 11,726 Karma: 8255450 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: La Crosse, Wisconsin, aka America's IceBox Device: iThingie, KmkII, I miss Zelda!	Chapter 2 started out okay on the Kindle...

09-04-2009, 07:07 AM	#52
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	It is odd that ePub can handle Word smartquotes in chapter bodies but not elsewhere. As I said I thought I'd caught them, but clearly I didn't. It will be fixed.

09-04-2009, 09:00 AM	#53
pshrynk Beepbeep n beebeep, yeah! Posts: 11,726 Karma: 8255450 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: La Crosse, Wisconsin, aka America's IceBox Device: iThingie, KmkII, I miss Zelda!	BTW, I'm up to chapter four and it looks like it might be getting more tense soon. So many characters takes a lot of build up to get to the action. Especially when they are fleshed out as well as you're doing here.

09-04-2009, 11:26 AM	#54
Idoine Which book will be next ? Posts: 661 Karma: 2172 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: France Device: Cybook Gen3 1.5, Sony PRS 600 RC, Samsung Omnia...	Finally bought mine on Smashwords ! Mobi format, without the cover I put nonetheless with Mobi2mobi ! Strange, the "President's" title chapter is well wrote, but the link to it in the table of contents doesn't work (maybe because of the apostrophe...) Now it's on my To-Read list !

09-04-2009, 12:21 PM	#55
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	*WWWOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRDDDDDD!!!!*

09-04-2009, 08:24 PM	#56
pholy Booklegger Posts: 1,801 Karma: 7999816 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Device: BeBook(1 & 2010), PEZ, PRS-505, Kobo BT, PRS-T1, Playbook, Kobo Touch	Hi Steve - It's all up to the encodings the reader and font allows. On my BeBook, all the apostrophes and curly quotes showed up as &xxxxx; thingies - boy did that make the dialog ugly! Those are valid html 4 or 5 strings, which should have been OK, but not necessary in iso-8559-1. So I ran it through Sigil, and it turned it into UTF-8, but the BeBook didn't have a Unicode font, so it just used its 8-bit encoded font. So the 16-bit byte pairs got really ugly with spaces included (another little BeBook Bug). I'm still planning some more research into BeBook limitations... I'll let you know what I find.

09-05-2009, 01:48 PM	#58
pholy Booklegger Posts: 1,801 Karma: 7999816 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Device: BeBook(1 & 2010), PEZ, PRS-505, Kobo BT, PRS-T1, Playbook, Kobo Touch	Yes, I downloaded the epub file. As I said, I ran it through Sigil, because it "cleans up" a file - presumably by re-encoding it in UTF-8 - but that didn't work. I also loaded it into my Calibre library, and then exported it, but no change until I exported it as a mobi file. That removed all the &xxx; stuff - looks perfect now. Now I will get back to reading it! I hated to put it down, but those &xxx; things just spoiled the flow. --- Oh, it wasn't just the smart quotes, apostrophes showed up - ’ — … “ ” -- those are from the first chapter. These are valid HTML 4 names, but apparently you do have to call out the correct DTD in your HTML header - see the Wikipoedia : List_of_XML_and_HTML_character_entity_references. Of course, I'm not sure that the BeBook would recognise them even then. Hope this helps, I want to go back to reading now.

09-05-2009, 11:26 PM	#59
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	I don't know if the problem was the BeBook's rendering engine, Sibil, Calibre, or my ePub's quality (or all of the above), but it clearly underscores the need for better tools for compliance and conversion. I wrote an essay on my site about the need in this industry for more devices that read all the popular formats, leaving the consumer to choose their device based on price and features, not on which formats it did or did not read. But conversion engines need to work first, and files need to be compliant in the first place. I'll have to look closer at my ePub conversions, to make sure they are fully compliant with IDPF standards before I send them out.