Distant Shores ebook

[tmclough]

I own two copies of Distant Shores--a pbook and an ebook. The ebook happens to be an ePub bought at Books on Board.

That said, I've noticed, without looking too hard, that at least two of the ebook stories are missing, namely "Da Capo al Fine, Part 1" and DCaF, Part 2. I noticed that in one of the reviews on Amazon, someone else noticed that 3 stories were missing from the Kindle edition, including DCaF Part 2, but not Part 1, "Eighteen Minutes", and "Or the Tiger". Now that I've looked more carefully, I can see that "Eighteen Minutes" and "Or the Tiger" are also missing in my ePub. (Maybe the reviewer just missed Part 1?) In both my case and the reviewer's case, the titles, the timeline locations (when applicable), and the authors' bios are there, but not the stories themselves.

My question is, in short, Why? Has anyone else noticed this problem, ePub, Kindle, or otherwise? Is there a reason for this, other than poor ebook editing (which I agree is rather common in ST ebooks, but let's not get into that argument again, Ok? )

I admit that I do have the pbook version, which so far I've read the DCaF, Part 1 from, but I would prefer ebook format as it is easier for me to read.

 

[JD]

Wow, have you tried to contact some at Simon & Schuster about this? That's a pretty serious issue, and it would be total crap if they didn't do something about.

 

[bfollowell]

Well, while I can't vouch for the epub or mobi versions, I can vouch for the old Microsoft Reader version. I know when S&S switched over to epub and mobi, they went back to the original OBEPS files so it seems like yours should be complete, but obviously not, unless there's something wrong with the coding keeping you from seeing the missing story(ies). If that's the case, you'd need to remove the drm and edit the epub to verify and repair.

I've had mine for several years but haven't read it yet. I did convert it to mobi a little while back though so I could eventually read it on my Kindle and it looks complete. All thirteen stories appear to be there.

I'm sorry yours isn't complete.

- Byron

 

[tmclough]

unless there's something wrong with the coding keeping you from seeing the missing story(ies). If that's the case, you'd need to remove the drm and edit the epub to verify and repair.

I've removed the DRM (always the first thing I do after downloading and copying to a different location on my HD) and unzip'ed the ePub into its own folder. When I look at the code, I can find the files with the stories that are Ok, and the files that should contain the stories that aren't Ok. The former include their respective story, as well as the other info that precedes it (author's info, etc.); the latter, contain only what appears on the screen, whether my LCD monitor or my eInk reader--i.e., no story, only the info that precedes it (when available). If it's in the code, it's in the ebook.

 

[bfollowell]

I've removed the DRM (always the first thing I do after downloading and copying to a different location on my HD) and unzip'ed the ePub into its own folder. When I look at the code, I can find the files with the stories that are Ok, and the files that should contain the stories that aren't Ok. The former include their respective story, as well as the other info that precedes it (author's info, etc.); the latter, contain only what appears on the screen, whether my LCD monitor or my eInk reader--i.e., no story, only the info that precedes it (when available). If it's in the code, it's in the ebook.

I'm sorry but it does sound like you have a defective ebook. I've purchased a book or two from Books on Board but I have no idea what their refund policy for defective products is. I'd try contacting them and see what can be done about it. If it's been a while since your purchase, it could be that they're already aware of it and have replaced the ebook with a fixed copy. Doubtful but it's possible. If that's the case, you could probably just log back into your account and re-download the book.

Anyway, even though it's most certainly a Simon & Schuster error, your retailer is where you need to start.

Good luck.

- Byron

 

[JWolf]

Did you take a look at the OPF file to see if it is setup to actually include the missing stories? Are they defined in the OPF? Are the missing stories actual valid XML?

 

[tmclough]

Did you take a look at the OPF file to see if it is setup to actually include the missing stories? Are they defined in the OPF? Are the missing stories actual valid XML?

I've looked at the OPF file, and it references the story files, in order. It's the content of those story files that are...inconsistent--two of them only have title and author, two of them have other preliminary info, and the rest have all of the preliminary info as well as the main story.

I also used the following Linux command

grep Queen * | less

which searches all the files in the current folder for the expression/word "Queen", and displays it in a somewhat user friendly manner. The reason I chose the word "Queen" was because it was used several times in "Da Capo al Fine, Part 1". The result of the command: only one reference to "Queen" was found, and that was in the file corresponding to the story "Isabo's Shirt". Which tells me that the story DCaF, Part 1 is totally missing from the original file.

 

[JWolf]

if you load the XML file into a text editor, you will see what it is inside it. So you can see if it is a problem with the story being missing or the code being messed up.

I have a DS9 (one of the Terok Nor eBooks) ePub I bought from S&S direct. It was a bit messed up. I was able to strip the DRM and fond out that the CSS was so badly formatted, that it didn't work properly. Once I managed to clean up the mess, then I had an eBook I could actually read.