(free) Kindle-- 2 by John R. Maxim - Thriller/ mystery/Adventure

KentE · 02-26-2012, 12:13 PM

at Amazon, 2 free books today by traditionally published John R. Maxim.
These would probably be classed as Thrillers, Action/Adventure, or mystery (mystery probably at the library, but the other 2 genres are probably more accurate.)
Whistler's Angel (The Bannerman Series)
http://www.amazon.com/Whistlers-Ange...275194&sr=1-14

The protagonist is a 'sanctioned' assassin for shadowy US government agencies, who wants out of the game. This book is listed as part of Maxim's Bannerman series, but it seems more a parallel series to me.

Also offered, The Shadow Box
http://www.amazon.com/The-Shadow-Box...275599&sr=1-10
This one is not part of a series. Normal guy forced by circumstances to do extraordinary things.

If you enjoy Lee Child's 'Reacher' series, the Donald Westlake/Richard Starker series, or Thomas Perry's 'Butcher boy' books, I think you'll like Maxim very much.
I've read all the John R. Maxim I can get my hands on at the library, and would buy a paper version of any I ran across at the used book store, so I'm excited to find these.
If this is in your vein, I'd also suggest that you go over to the Reading Recommendations forum (on MR), and read thru a recent thread started by Hard-boiled Pat titled "who's your Hard Man" for a lot of good suggestions on authors/series that also fit this genre. (Thanks, hard-boiled Pat!)

KentE

Dr. Drib · 02-26-2012, 01:39 PM

Thanks for the info on these. I've downloaded them.

Now to my question:

Has anyone noticed that these are HORRIBLY formatted, with different font sizes, boldfaced type, and screwed up indents?

My copies were filtered through calibre, by the way.

(I'll be deleting these from my Amazon account and from my Kindle/epub Reader as "Unreadable.")

Don

CWatkinsNash · 02-26-2012, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Now to my question:

Has anyone noticed that these are HORRIBLY formatted, with different font sizes, boldfaced type, and screwed up indents?

Oh my, yes, they are awful!

And I don't fix books. I'm pretty tolerant with most formatting issues, so something that's bad enough for me to say "No!" just isn't worth the time.

If I think of it later, I'll look for a way to notify him of the issues.

KentE · 02-26-2012, 02:22 PM

I haven't transferred them to Calibre yet, but did check the first in Kindle4PC (just a quick look).
Unfortunately, I can confirm that it's not a Calibre conversion issue. (Well, actually, that's fortunate, since we use Calibre for nearly everything!)
I see the formatting problems you mention-- I don't know how you screw it up this badly! Since I'm a Maxim fan, I'll read through the problems. If I didn't already know I'd like the books.....
I'll also try to pass word about the issues up the chain, somehow. It really hurts when a good author doesn't get read because of these problems!

Kent E

CWatkinsNash · 02-26-2012, 02:27 PM

I used the "bad formatting" reporting facility that Amazon provides waaaaay down the page. Looks like a case of "blockquotes gone bad" to me.

carpetmojo · 02-26-2012, 05:52 PM

2 books on UK site with "Shadow Box " as title.. Tha other one's £2-40....

Indio777 · 02-26-2012, 05:55 PM

I "bought" these earlier, bit had not dl'ed them yet. Sounds as if it would not not be worth the bother.

Besides DRM and lousy pricing in some cases, poor formatting is one of my major "issues" with ebooks. What are we ebook readers? Chopped liver?

Yes, I know these are currently free, but in theory they are priced at $9.95 each.

Synamon · 02-26-2012, 06:01 PM

Another Maxim book (Haven) was free last week and the formatting was fine.

I sent feedback for the bad formatting on these two and deleted them.

koland · 02-27-2012, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Synamon

Another Maxim book (Haven) was free last week and the formatting was fine.

I sent feedback for the bad formatting on these two and deleted them.

Hopefully you only deleted your copies, not the books from your account. If the author issues corrections, he can have Amazon notify all purchasers, so you can get an update.

CWatkinsNash · 02-27-2012, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koland

Hopefully you only deleted your copies, not the books from your account. If the author issues corrections, he can have Amazon notify all purchasers, so you can get an update.

I only deleted my calibre copy, for just that reason. What I skimmed checking the file looked like it might be interesting if the formatting was readable, so I'm hoping it gets fixed.

KentE · 02-27-2012, 02:19 PM

After the comments about the poor formatting in these 2 books, I sent an email to John R. Maxim through his website page over the weekend.
I received a personal reply from him this morning. Mr. Maxim indicates he's working on getting corrected versions up, on both Amazon and Nook websites, and mentioned that he appreciated reader feedback for problems like this.
A quick response from an author who obviously is concerned about the quality of the ebook product! In my personal opinion, he also delivers great writing quality. If the corrected versions become available, I'd recommend that you try downloading it again, and give him a chance to convince you of the same.

KentE

CWatkinsNash · 02-27-2012, 02:41 PM

Thanks for the update, KentE!

Dr. Drib · 02-27-2012, 03:46 PM

Thanks, KentE.

Fortunately, I haven't deleted them from Amazon.

Until then, they'll remain unread.

In all my 2+years buying ebooks from Amazon these are, without a doubt, the worst-formatted ebooks I've ever encountered.

Don

02-26-2012, 12:13 PM	#1
KentE ...still a Zealot Posts: 268 Karma: 319949 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Kansas City, Kansas, USA Device: Palm Pixi & PC	(free) Kindle-- 2 by John R. Maxim - Thriller/ mystery/Adventure at Amazon, 2 free books today by traditionally published John R. Maxim. These would probably be classed as Thrillers, Action/Adventure, or mystery (mystery probably at the library, but the other 2 genres are probably more accurate.) Whistler's Angel (The Bannerman Series) http://www.amazon.com/Whistlers-Ange...275194&sr=1-14 The protagonist is a 'sanctioned' assassin for shadowy US government agencies, who wants out of the game. This book is listed as part of Maxim's Bannerman series, but it seems more a parallel series to me. Also offered, The Shadow Box http://www.amazon.com/The-Shadow-Box...275599&sr=1-10 This one is not part of a series. Normal guy forced by circumstances to do extraordinary things. If you enjoy Lee Child's 'Reacher' series, the Donald Westlake/Richard Starker series, or Thomas Perry's 'Butcher boy' books, I think you'll like Maxim very much. I've read all the John R. Maxim I can get my hands on at the library, and would buy a paper version of any I ran across at the used book store, so I'm excited to find these. If this is in your vein, I'd also suggest that you go over to the Reading Recommendations forum (on MR), and read thru a recent thread started by Hard-boiled Pat titled "who's your Hard Man" for a lot of good suggestions on authors/series that also fit this genre. (Thanks, hard-boiled Pat!) KentE

02-26-2012, 01:39 PM	#2
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,351 Karma: 59447733 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: KINDLE: Oasis 3, Scribe (1st), Matcha; KOBO: Libra 2, Libra Colour	Thanks for the info on these. I've downloaded them. Now to my question: Has anyone noticed that these are HORRIBLY formatted, with different font sizes, boldfaced type, and screwed up indents? My copies were filtered through calibre, by the way. (I'll be deleting these from my Amazon account and from my Kindle/epub Reader as "Unreadable.") Don Last edited by Dr. Drib; 02-26-2012 at 01:44 PM.

02-26-2012, 02:22 PM	#4
KentE ...still a Zealot Posts: 268 Karma: 319949 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Kansas City, Kansas, USA Device: Palm Pixi & PC	re: formatting I haven't transferred them to Calibre yet, but did check the first in Kindle4PC (just a quick look). Unfortunately, I can confirm that it's not a Calibre conversion issue. (Well, actually, that's fortunate, since we use Calibre for nearly everything!) I see the formatting problems you mention-- I don't know how you screw it up this badly! Since I'm a Maxim fan, I'll read through the problems. If I didn't already know I'd like the books..... I'll also try to pass word about the issues up the chain, somehow. It really hurts when a good author doesn't get read because of these problems! Kent E

02-27-2012, 02:19 PM	#11
KentE ...still a Zealot Posts: 268 Karma: 319949 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Kansas City, Kansas, USA Device: Palm Pixi & PC	John R. Maxim-- corrected versions should be coming soon! After the comments about the poor formatting in these 2 books, I sent an email to John R. Maxim through his website page over the weekend. I received a personal reply from him this morning. Mr. Maxim indicates he's working on getting corrected versions up, on both Amazon and Nook websites, and mentioned that he appreciated reader feedback for problems like this. A quick response from an author who obviously is concerned about the quality of the ebook product! In my personal opinion, he also delivers great writing quality. If the corrected versions become available, I'd recommend that you try downloading it again, and give him a chance to convince you of the same. KentE

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02-26-2012, 02:27 PM	#5
CWatkinsNash IOC Chief Archivist Posts: 3,950 Karma: 53868218 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Fruitland Park, FL, USA Device: Meebook M7, Paperwhite 2021, Fire HD 8+, Fire HD 10+, Lenovo Tab P12	I used the "bad formatting" reporting facility that Amazon provides waaaaay down the page. Looks like a case of "blockquotes gone bad" to me.

02-26-2012, 05:52 PM	#6
carpetmojo Wizard Posts: 3,117 Karma: 9269999 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: UK Device: Sony- T3, PRS650, 350, T1/2/3, Paperwhite, Fire 8.9,Samsung Tab S 10.5	2 books on UK site with "Shadow Box " as title.. Tha other one's £2-40....

02-26-2012, 05:55 PM	#7
Indio777 Addict Posts: 210 Karma: 1503568 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Washington, DC Device: Mobile Phone, Kindle (rarely), but mostly still read paper	I "bought" these earlier, bit had not dl'ed them yet. Sounds as if it would not not be worth the bother. Besides DRM and lousy pricing in some cases, poor formatting is one of my major "issues" with ebooks. What are we ebook readers? Chopped liver? Yes, I know these are currently free, but in theory they are priced at $9.95 each.

02-26-2012, 06:01 PM	#8
Synamon Lunatic Posts: 1,691 Karma: 4386372 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Land of the Loonie Device: Kindle Paperwhite and Keyboard, Kobo Aura, iPad mini, iPod Touch	Another Maxim book (Haven) was free last week and the formatting was fine. I sent feedback for the bad formatting on these two and deleted them.

02-27-2012, 02:41 PM	#12
CWatkinsNash IOC Chief Archivist Posts: 3,950 Karma: 53868218 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Fruitland Park, FL, USA Device: Meebook M7, Paperwhite 2021, Fire HD 8+, Fire HD 10+, Lenovo Tab P12	Thanks for the update, KentE!

02-27-2012, 03:46 PM	#13
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,351 Karma: 59447733 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: KINDLE: Oasis 3, Scribe (1st), Matcha; KOBO: Libra 2, Libra Colour	Thanks, KentE. Fortunately, I haven't deleted them from Amazon. Until then, they'll remain unread. In all my 2+years buying ebooks from Amazon these are, without a doubt, the worst-formatted ebooks I've ever encountered. Don

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