Stealing Fire by Jo Graham is ignored by UK publisher
If I was Jo Graham, I would be pretty insulted. Let me explain.
Orbit books, which in the UK is an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group, has published two of Jo Graham’s trilogy: Black Ships, and Hand of Isis, but not the third novel; Stealing Fire.
I’ve read Black Ships and Hand of Isis, and I loved them, so naturally I want to read Stealing Fire. As I’m a UK resident, I would like to buy the book that is released in UK. Now, I know that there can be a delay sometimes, between publishing in the UK compared to the US, so I’ve been patient and waited for news of the third book. And waited. And waitied.
This morning, I took the initiative, and e-mailed Little, Brown, and enquired when they would be be publishing Stealing Fire in the UK. The answer I got was short: “We are not publishing this I’m afraid.”
What?
No reason, no excuses, just that they are not going to.
To further add insult to injury, if you search for Jo Graham on Little, Brown’s website, she is inexplicably listed as Janice Graham.
For such a major publishing group to ignore the third book in a trilogy is insult enough, but to then get the author’s name wrong, is unforgivable.
US Cover for Black Ships
US Cover for Hand of Isis
US Cover for Stealing Fire
UK Cover for Black Ships
UK Cover for Hand of Isis
Digital Content vs Physical
Digital content vs Physical
You can call me old fashioned if you want, but I like to have something I can hold in my hands for the money I’ve spent. For me, having a parcel arrive in the post with a book or a game in it, is infinitely more satisfying than clicking a button and suddenly having another file to save.
Another large factor for me is the price tag that accompanies digital purchases. Frequently, the price is the same as the physical product, or even higher. Which truly, makes to sense.
Lets pick a couple of examples to illustrate this.
A newly released novel, for arument’s sake let’s have a look at the prices of Rivers of London, by Ben Aaronovitch.
Amazon.co.uk
Hardback: £8.44
eBook: £6.99
Paperback: £5.99 (pre-order)
Waterstones
Hardback: £8.49
eBook: £6.99
Paperback: £5.99 (pre-order)
Now, I realise that the publisher will want to protect the sales of the hardback books, by not making the ebook too cheap, but can they really justify a £6.99 price tag? I know that they have costs to make up, a small proportion will go to the author, various people involved with the editing, marketing and production costs, but still… it’s a bit steep. After all, you can wait a year and get the paperback for £1 less.
When we come to look at the games side of the digital market, that’s when the prices seem to a bit screwy to say the least.
I can’t comment on the Xbox Live equivalent of the following, as I don’t have access, so I’ll just keep this to the Playstation Network Pricing.
Lets see, how about Assassin’s Creed?
The game was first released in 2007, and is now available as a Platinum Game of the Year edition. The RRP for this is £19.99, but can easily be found approximately £13.
On Playstation Network? £23.99 (although is was discounted to £15.99 during their January sale.) Hardly comparable is it?
The prices aren’t set by Sony, but by the publishers, they need to sort out their pricing so that it is competitive if they wish to make a significant amount of digital sales.
Me, My Technology and I
I’ll happily admit to being a contradiction; I love my books, the old fashioned paper constructs pile high on my shelves, but I also love my technology and gadgets.
Whilst I wouldn’t say I’m at the forefront of what technology is available, I hoard what I have.
Let’s put together a list:
Mobile phones: My current phone is the HTC Desire, but I also still own my Sony Ericsson C902, K750i and an old Nokia.
Games consoles: Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP, Nintendo DSi XL, Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo Wii, Sony PS2, an original 60GB PS3 (non working) a slimline PS3, a 2nd gen Sony PSP, and an original Xbox.
Computers: 6 year old Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop, and a year old Asus netbook. There is also my partner’s laptop and desktop PC, but I don’t need to use them!
Entertainment: The bluray on the PS3 warrants a decent TV, so there’s the 42″ Panasonic Viera plasma TV, with surround sound, plus a Panasonic HDD DVD, and Virgin Media Cable.
Music: I asked for a decent set of headphone for my last birthday, the stereo in my car has USB interface and plays MP3 files, and I have a 2nd gen Ipod Nano and an Ipod Shuffle.
We also have a Karcher pressure washer with a snow foam lance for the cars. Just because.
Not as much as some people, certainly, but that’s still a lot of cables and chargers that suck up electricity!
The Book is Dead, Long Live the Book!
E-readers have been around for a few years now, and there’s no denying that they look as though they’ve got their digital feet under the table.
There are a few different models on the market today, all lightweight, easy to carry when travelling, sporting many days worth of battery life, and an extensive catalogue of books and other publications availble to buy and read. Prices vary from around £60 to around £200 depending on the model, size and the brand.
Since their release, I’ve been stubbornly of the view that I don’t want, or need an e-reader. The reason is plain and simple; I love my books. Some might say I’m a trifle addicted. For me, there’s nothing quite like walking out of a bookshop with a bag laden down with them, or a parcel arriving with literary treasure packed inside, or rearranging my bookshelves to make them fit. Or the heady rush of adrenaline when I find that rare book I’ve been looking for, and have to have it there and then, and damn the expense! Subterranean Press, I’m looking firmly in your direction here!
However, I’ve recently been contemplating my book collection, and while the general progrosis is good, there are a few anomolies.
One of the problems is that I’m starting to run out of room to house new additions. I’ve sold a few volumes locally, but not enough to make much of a dent on the overflowing shelves.
There are also a few books that I’ve had since I was about twelve or thirteen, and whilst they’ve not been abused in any way, they are showing their age. My copies of David Eddings’ Elenium and Tamuli books are the first that spring to mind; the glue that holds the pages to the spine has dried, and the pages have started falling out in thick wedges. If I want to re-read them at any point, I will have to replace them.
These books, I have to admit, got me through some dark days in my teenage years, and so hold a particular sentimentality. If I look at replacing them, do I trawl Ebay and Abebooks for direct replacements, taking the risk that they may have the same aging issues? Do I purchase the newest versions, with new shiny covers, or do I streamline and go digital?
It’s something I will have to consider, for as much as I dislike buying a file, rather than something physical, I only have a finite amount of space.
Kat Richardson : Labyrinth
Labyrinth is the fifth novel in Kat Richardson’s Greywalker series.
After her exploits in London in Vanished, Harper Blaine returns to Seattle and must deal with the vampiric problems that have arisen in her short absence.
She finds Quinton holed up in her apartment, and Edward, the vampire who sent her to England, has disappeared. The culprit is Wygan; a vampire who was once an Egyptian god. Knowing who is to blame doesn’t help Harper at all, as Wygan has plans that Harper and her growing abilities play a key role in. Harper must learn to control the voices of the grey in her head, the powers she has, and make alliances which she hopes will stop Wygan. And free her father’s ghost at the same time. The entire future of this world and the Grey is at stake.
Over the previous book, Labyrinth picks up the pace a little, as the characters barely get time to breathe in between bouncing from crisis to clue and back again. However, whilst I can appreciate that Harper as a character is struggling to seperate herself from the encroachment of the Grey – constant voices would drive anyone nuts – but what passes for romance in the book is stilted and awkward. Quinton; supposedly so independent until he meets Harper hangs around like a lovesick puppy, waiting for some scraps. It felt as though he was there to sometimes just prove how tired Harper is, as he convinces her to let him drive.
Stubborn, troubled and with the odds stacked against her, I think I’d rather have Harry Dresden dealing with the problems! I’ll read the next (and perportedly the last) in the series, just to see what happens, but the series probably won’t be on my re-read list.
Kat Richardson : Vanished
Vanished is the fourth novel in Kat Richardson’s Greywalker series. Not the best book I’ve read this year, by a long way.
We follow Harper Blaine (not to be confused with Harper Connelly from Charlaine Harris’ series!) to London where she has been sent by Seattle’s chief vampire.
The insights into Harper’s past, and the appearance of another Greywalker provide some significant plot points, however, I was a little disappointed by the character’s lack of reaction to pretty much anything. She stumbles along from one crisis to the next, barely pausing for breath, but without any significant emotional response.
The ‘bad guy’ is pretty much absent throughout most of the novel, mainly as Harper has no idea what is actually going on. When she appears towards the last few dozen pages of the novel, she nothing more than a crazed, maniacally laughing cardboard cutout.
An enjoyable little tale, but with the lack of characterisation, probably not one that I’ll go back to.
Also, it’s worth mentioning the trouble I had in actually finding this book! Of the usual sites and shops I’ve looked in, only a couple even showed that the book existed. A quick e-mail to the publisher Piatkus revealed that they weren’t aware of any stocking difficulties, and would look into it.
Book-worm? More like book-magpie!
I have a confession: I am obsessed with books.
It all started when I was only eight years old. My Dad gave me The Hobbit to read, to stop me trying to read The Lord of the Rings over his shoulder. At that age, there were things I missed, my eight year old brain just not able to assimilate the story. Re-reads over the years revealed the details I had previously missed. From there I fell hopelessly in love with the fantastical.
Years later, I have amassed over 600 books. It may be less than some more voracious collectors and readers, but it is still more than many others. On average, that’s a book every one and a half weeks.
I have paperbacks and hardbacks, both new and second hand, and I have signed books, some are dedicated, some are not. All are cherished.
However, I’m aware that I have a problem. I can buy books by the pallet load, but I don’t always read them. There are poor neglected novels in my collection that I have owned for years, but I haven’t read a single page.
Before Christmas, I decided to make a little shelf space by actually selling some of my books. All of them were either unread, or simply disliked for various reasons. Including my read-once, and pristine copies of Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse. The most I can say of them at the moment is that they’re not for me. Maybe I’ll write a post about them later.
The books were advertised on our town forum, and eventually, someone asked about them. The requested tomes were packed up, picked up, a small amount of money changed hands, and I closed my front door without any drama or ill effects. I could in fact get rid of books without turning into a gibbering wreck, sobbing uncontrollably over losing my ‘babies’.
In the long term, I want to try to streamline my collection, and stop hoarding quite so much. And stop impulse buying books in charity shops. And try and whittle down the existing list.
Long term… not just yet. Baby steps!
Charlaine Harris : Grave Sight
Grave Secret is the fourth book in the Harper Connelly series.
Harper has a unique ability: after being hit by lightning she can ‘read’ corpses. She can walk over a grave, and can feel the last moments of that person’s life.
The previous books have clipped along at a fair old pace. Harper and her step-brother Tolliver have faced danger in the search of truth, and their adventures have been gripping.
Grave Secret, in comparison… well. The resolution of the mystery of Harper’s missing sister Cameron is a relief, but the journey there has been nothing more than a let down. Both a random policeman and Tolliver get shot, and but I can find that out from the blurb on the back of the book. Harper ‘reads’ a body, and finds a mystery, but rather than that being the forefront of the plot, it’s nothing more than background to Harper mooching around.
If the series continues, which I feel it will, as there was a bit hint to a new aspect of Harper’s ability, then this novel is essential for the advancement of the relationship between Harper and Tolliver and the rest of their dysfunctional family.
My only other complaint is that the UK publishers have seen fit to change the size of the book with this print; going from the standard mass market size, to the new larger size.
Ten Terrific Tales
Just a small recap to get me started. I shall post more details from here onwards (I hope).
Kelley Armstrong • Counterfeit Magic
Jim Butcher et al • Mean Streets
Peter Crowther • Windows to the Soul
William Nicholson • Slaves of the Mastery
William Nicholson • Firesong
Maria V Snyder • Storm Glass
Maria V Snyder • Sea Glass
Both Peter Crowther’s Windows to the Soul (the 2nd book to be published in his Forever Twilight series) and Kelley Armstrong’s Counterfeit Magic are gorgeous signed limited prints by the sublime Subterranean Press. If you like books of the fantasy, science fiction or horror genres, and like to own something just that little bit special; go and have a browse on their site, and see if anything takes your fancy.
Mean Streets, as well as a Harry Dresden novella by Jim Butcher, also features novellas by Kat Richardson, Simon R Green and Thomas E Sniegoski each featuring the characters from their ongoing stories.
| CROWTHER, Peter | Windows to the Soul |
| BUTCHER, Jim | Mean Streets |
| ARMSTRONG, Kelley | Counterfeit Magic |
| NICHOLSON, William | Slaves of the Mastery |
| NICHOLSON, William | Firesong |
| SNYDER, Maria V | Storm Glass |
| SNYDER, Maria V | Sea Glass |
A Clean Slate
This is probably the third time at least, that I’ve written a ‘first’ post on the blog.
Maybe this time I’ll keep going!
