I fully expect that many regular readers of this blog will already have enjoyed the mind-expanding pleasure that is the act of reading The Blade Itself. But if any of you are still considering a purchase, or perhaps are interested in supplementing your well-thumbed dead-tree editions with one of these new techno e-thingies what everyone’s talking about these days, I note that for the next couple of weeks, up until the 26th March, that classic of modern fantasy The Blade Itself is available for a mere £1.99. It’s true for the kindle edition. It’s true on iBooks too. It may well be true everywhere! In the UK, anyway.
The big publishers have tended to impose relatively stiff rules on the pricing of their ebooks in order to protect their hardcover markets (at least I assume that’s what they think they’re doing) which has led to some profoundly odd pricing structures with enormously discounted hardcovers and stubbornly inflexible (and on occasion higher) ebook prices, but under the bitter onslaught of reality things are gradually loosening up, I’m pleased to say. Contribute to the revolution and strike a blow in the cause of righteousness by buying huge numbers of discounted copies of my books now! Or something.
15 comments so far
Nothing better than a real book. The feel, the smell, the look . . . plus, I can’t buy knock down interweb editions from charity shops
When I first bought my Kindle it took me less than an hour to get used to it. I haven’t bought a “real” book since.
Joe. A real one goes on the bookshelf and I read it from the e-version. Hope that double purchase helps keep you in whiskey. Cheers.
Bargain. I expect we’ll see a slew of first-in-a-series novels heavily discounted once publishers catch on.
Dammit I already have the ebook’s. It is the hardback copy that I’m waiting to see discounted down.
Psh. Sort it out, Joe.
Doug, it’s whiskY not whiskEY.
Still not available on the Nook. The stand alones are, but not the trilogy. In the US, anyway. Another reason to hate Barnes and Noble (and another reason for my wife to be angry I got her a nook instead of an ipad).
i’m with Leo, Kindle was the best auto-gift ever, although i still buy “real books” at times to collect the ones that i really like. Joe’s books qualify and one day i will be fast enough to snatch a lettered edition!
I’m currently enjoying the latest Sam Barone book, which is only available as a kindle. This is my first ever full length e book but I prefer the ‘real’ ones. However if the only way an author can get their work out there I as an e book then it’s a good thing.
Real books are ecologically irresponsible. The price of Red Country on Kindle was economically irresponsible but the release of The Blade Itself for £1.99 is dandy.
After a concerted campaign by Joe for me to buy his books, I bought the trilogy electro magically. Don’t know yet if it’s a bargain because I haven’t yet started The Blade Itself. But I have a mixture of hardcover, paperback and electrickery versions of many books: the fkn Kindle hurts when it drops on my conk when reading late in bed, some paperbacks smell, hardbacks are heavy and take up too much space when flying on cheap airlines. A mix is the answer. Oh and it does say conk not cock.
E-books are great. Especially for reading in the dark, or for when I’m so drunk, I just need glowing stuff to paw at. But let me just say, the covers for the print editions of the First Law Trilogy are amazing to see in person. Some of the coolest covers I have come across. Nice texture. They look great on the book shelf too. My friends always pull them off to check them out and I tell them to fuck off and buy their own.
Real books are ecologically irresponsible so i suppose kindles and that ilk work on fresh air or sea water. People who favour e-readers should be shot.
Publishers aren’t setting prices on ebooks to protect hardback sales, they’re doing it to protect retailers. It’s the retailer who pays the publisher for the books (and readers pay the retailer), hence the publisher’s actual customer is not the reader, but rather the bookseller. Ebooks threaten the traditional retail model and the traditional bookseller, and so publishers act to protect their customers.
The problem is that we’ve had the idea that readers are the customers of publishers, and they are NOT. Not until publishers become booksellers in their own right.
Kirky, that’s a bit harsh. My E-Reader is solar powered. Unfortunately I live in Ireland so I only get to read for 8 hours per year.
“In the UK anyway.” Sad day for Czech Republic and my Kindle.