My copy of Shada arrived today

[23skidoo]

Just received my copy of Gareth Roberts' Shada from the UK this morning. Damn impressive-looking book. At 415 pages it's the longest DW novelization ever published.

Length notwithsatnding, will be book be any good? I hope so, and I look forward to eventually reading it (damn my workload and family business that'll keep me from finding the time till about Easter). But with all due respect to the New Series Adventures books we've had over the last 7 years, it just feels good to hold a new novel featuring one of the classic-series Doctors again (and Romana! ) . And it's got me psyched for the return of the Second Doctor this fall in Stephen Baxter's book and next year's Third Doctor novel by Alistair Reynolds.

But back to Shada: boy, 415 pages - had Target been able to novelize it back in the day it would have been 144 pages if it was lucky!

Alex

[The Wormhole]

If you can excuse me from usurping this thread for a moment, I was wondering if anyone knew what the deal is with the 416 page hardcover Shada which Amazon says is available now and the 336 page hardcover Shada Amazon says won't be available until July 1? Is there a reason two seperate hardcovers are being released?

Interestingly enough, there is no shipping info to accompany the 416 page version, but no product details for the 336 page version.

Looking around on other sites, Chapters only has the audio book and E-Book available, no print versions at all. While the only print edition Barnes & Noble has available is the 336 page hardcover, which they say is going to be released on June 26.

Anyone wish to clarify anthing here? Assuming I don't want to order from the UK, what are my options? Order the 416 page, wait for the 336 page, or just wait until I see one in the stores and buy that?

[Allyn Gibson]

The Wormhole wrote:

---

If you can excuse me from usurping this thread for a moment, I was wondering if anyone knew what the deal is with the 416 page hardcover Shada which Amazon says is available now and the 336 page hardcover Shada Amazon says won't be available until July 1? Is there a reason two seperate hardcovers are being released?

Yes.

The BBC Books edition (416 pages) won't be available in North America. Ace Books is publishing an edition for North America (336 pages).

[23skidoo]

Interesting - I had no idea there were two different editions. The edition I bought was the UK edition which I ordered via Book Depository, a UK company that sends out its books worldwide with free shipping. It's my go-to for any Doctor Who books. Shada isn't scheduled for retail release in North America until the summer. I've never had any issues with customs, etc. but I'm in Canada so whether that would apply to someone ordering from the US I can't say.

Presumably the North American version will simply have smaller type. I can't imagine it would be edited at all. But as someone who has had to shrink and manuscript by 100 pages, and having looked at the size of the type in the copy I just got, if they're going to reformat it to trim that many pages, I hope the book comes equipped with a magnifying glass.

Of course the 336 number could simply be a typo too. For months Amazon and other sources listed a Doctor Who novel titled Apollo 13 being published when in fact it ended up being titled Apollo 23. And Amazon still lists an Enya DVD release for sale that was cancelled 12 years ago. So just because Amazon says its 336 pages doesn't mean it's actually going to be 336 pages.

Ace Books? Since when? BBC Books has always published North American editions of its books, whether it's the Target reprint, the NSAs or things like Coming of the Terraphiles and Silent Stars Go By. Is this new? Amazon shows a company called Berkeley so has BBC Books lost the rights? Cover art is the same.

Alex

[Sindatur]

The page difference, probably is Font size. Harry Potter Books, even once they stopped translating the Britishisms to Americanisms and had the exact same contents word for word, the American Book was always a different page count (Though I believe the American version always had more pages not fewer?).

[Allyn Gibson]

23skidoo wrote:

---

Ace Books? Since when? BBC Books has always published North American editions of its books, whether it's the Target reprint, the NSAs or things like Coming of the Terraphiles and Silent Stars Go By. Is this new? Amazon shows a company called Berkeley so has BBC Books lost the rights? Cover art is the same.

Ace Books is part of Berkeley, which is part of Putnam.

For whatever reason, whether the decision was made by BBC Books or by the Douglas Adams estate, the book rights for Shada in North America were a separate thing. I do know that in the past BBC Books has looked into acquiring a US publisher, but they've never had any interest. In this case, Shada can be promoted as a Douglas Adams book, and that would be more enticing to a North American publisher than a Dan Abnett book.

What I can say with certainty is that the North American distributor for BBC Books' Doctor Who product cannot distribute the BBC Books edition of Shada.

I'm getting both editions, the UK and the US editions, because if the past is any guide where Douglas Adams books are concerned, they'll differ textually.

[The Wormhole]

Well, thaks for clarifying that one. Now the question is which site is right about the North American release date, Amazon (July 1) or Barnes & Noble (June 26).

I'm going to assume June 26, since that's a Tuesday and July 1 is a Sunday. I've noticed more books are released on Tuesday than Sunday. Of course if it is the 26th, that's going to be one expensive day. That's also when the next batch of Target re-prints are released plus there's a new Trek novel out on that day. It's also my mother's birthday. I'm sure I can get by without any money the rest of the week.

[23skidoo]

[QUOTE=Allyn Gibson;6035581]
Ace Books is part of Berkeley, which is part of Putnam.

Ah, fair enough. Having just spent part of a recent evening pricing some old Ace pulp SF paperbacks, I wonder if this is a continuation of that venerable company? I only recently found out Pan Books (best remembered for the James Bond novels) is still in operation...

What I can say with certainty is that the North American distributor for BBC Books' Doctor Who product cannot distribute the BBC Books edition of Shada.

Interesting. It will be interesting to see if that actually makes a positive impact. I was really expecting more of an interest over here in the Moorcock novel, but it was very much underpromoted and didn't exactly make the front-of-store New Releases racks, either. Maybe Ace/Berkeley might be able to make a bit more of a splash with this. Of course, this isn't written by Adams, per se. But then again when Eoin Coifer or whatever his name was did a new Hitchhiker's book the media was all over that.

I'm getting both editions, the UK and the US editions, because if the past is any guide where Douglas Adams books are concerned, they'll differ textually.

Let us now if you spot major differences. And this has happened before? I'd never heard of any changes in Adams' work. I have heard tell the North American version of Phil Pullman's His Dark Materials had some sensuality removed, so it's not unheard of. And when Pinnacle Books did some American editions of a dozen or so Target novelisations they Americanized some of the language. But I can't imagine today's readers standing for such a thing. Especially since it's so dead easy now to get the "unexpurgated version" via online order or e-books for that matter.

The Wormhole wrote:

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Well, thaks for clarifying that one. Now the question is which site is right about the North American release date, Amazon (July 1) or Barnes & Noble (June 26).

I'm going to assume July 26, since that's a Tuesday and July 1 is a Sunday. I've noticed more books are released on Tuesday than Sunday. Of course if it is the 26th, that's going to be one expensive day. That's also when the next batch of Target re-prints are released plus there's a new Trek novel out on that day. It's also my mother's birthday. I'm sure I can get by without any money the rest of the week.

Yeah, the 26th is the only release date I've seen, personally. And you're right - books don't get published on Sunday.

Alex

[Allyn Gibson]

23skidoo wrote:

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Interesting. It will be interesting to see if that actually makes a positive impact. I was really expecting more of an interest over here in the Moorcock novel, but it was very much underpromoted and didn't exactly make the front-of-store New Releases racks, either. Maybe Ace/Berkeley might be able to make a bit more of a splash with this. Of course, this isn't written by Adams, per se. But then again when Eoin Coifer or whatever his name was did a new Hitchhiker's book the media was all over that.

I really think it's the Adams factor at play here. A New York publisher sees the words "Douglas Adams" and they think, "Hey, we can make money on this!" I hope it's an experiment that works and the BBC gets what they've wanted since the late '90s, an American publisher.

As for Moorcock and Terraphiles, I totally agree with you. The ball was dropped. The ball was dropped on other books. And that's all I'm able to say on the subject.

23skidoo wrote:

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Let us now if you spot major differences. And this has happened before? I'd never heard of any changes in Adams' work.

There are minor differences in all the Hitchhiker's books (usually jokes), some significant differences in Life, the Universe, and Everything, and major differences in The Salmon of Doubt. The Wikipedia articles on the H2G2 books list the major differences in each book.

23skidoo wrote:

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But I can't imagine today's readers standing for such a thing. Especially since it's so dead easy now to get the "unexpurgated version" via online order or e-books for that matter.

The truth is, the average book buyer isn't going to notice -- or even know. You didn't know that the Hitchhiker's books were different between the US and UK editions, for instance.

It's truly a nerdy thing, knowing about different editions of books.

The Wormhole wrote:

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Well, thaks for clarifying that one. Now the question is which site is right about the North American release date, Amazon (July 1) or Barnes & Noble (June 26).

I'm going to say June 26th. I think that's when the young readers books, that weren't previously available in the US, are going to be available as well.

[23skidoo]

Allyn Gibson wrote:

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I really think it's the Adams factor at play here. A New York publisher sees the words "Douglas Adams" and they think, "Hey, we can make money on this!" I hope it's an experiment that works and the BBC gets what they've wanted since the late '90s, an American publisher.

And there's a definite reason why Adams gets top billing on the book. The guy has a huge fanbase so hopefully that'll translate into sales.

As for Moorcock and Terraphiles, I totally agree with you. The ball was dropped. The ball was dropped on other books. And that's all I'm able to say on the subject.

Certain retailers and distributors still don't understand how internationally popular Who is. I'm not expecting to see a DW title ever top the New York Times bestsellers chart, obviously, but they seem to still think it's this little cult. As you'll see in the Miracle Day DVD thread even the DVDs are starting to become scarce now.

The truth is, the average book buyer isn't going to notice -- or even know. You didn't know that the Hitchhiker's books were different between the US and UK editions, for instance.

'Tis true. And the end result is I'm going to be very picky which versions of Adams I buy in the future. Here in Canada we normally get imports of the UK editions anyway, so it's never been a huge issue. We get the UK versions of Potter too, for example, and though we were talking "North American distributor" above, it's still not unreasonable to suggest Canadian stores may still end up with the BBC Books version of Shada in June. It's just sad that publishers have to be so insulting to their readership by thinking they need to bowdlerize something like Adams or Doctor Who because they assume readers in the US are too dumb to go onto Google if the term "jelly baby" needs translation!

Alex

[Pindar]

As Douglas Adams adapted this into Dirk Gently is there much point in getting this version of the story?

Last HHG book showed that letting a different author loose on DA's work was a bad idea.

[CaptainMatt]

But is it worth getting when it becomes available in the States? That's my question.

[Steve Mollmann]

Pindar wrote:

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As Douglas Adams adapted this into Dirk Gently is there much point in getting this version of the story?

Only a couple characters from Shada make it into Dirk Gently. I'd say that City of Death is much closer to Dirk Gently than this is.

[Pindar]

Steve Mollmann wrote:

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Only a couple characters from Shada make it into Dirk Gently. I'd say that City of Death is much closer to Dirk Gently than this is.

Is this version likely to differ much from the Big Finish version does anyone know?

[CaptainMatt]

I don't know, this is all new to me, the book release I mean. But I would imagine it is faithful to the 4th Doctor and not the Eighth.