DS9 novels!!! WTH????

[Freman]

What is up with the DS9 books from Mission Gamma: Book One all the way through to Unity being so hard to find new at a reasonable price???? They aren't that old!!!!

Just finished Avatar: Book One and now I'm wondering why I bothered, considering I only buy books new and will never get the complete story at the prices these are going for.

When are the omnibuses for these coming out? Or at least for the second two book of Mission Gamma? Let me guess, they aren't?

lol sorry I'm just a little cranky about this. I just can't believe that some online dealers are trying to sell these for up to 180 dollars.

 

[flemm]

I believe much of the DS9 relaunch has come out in omnibus form. Twist of Faith and These Haunted Seas are the titles. I think that covers up to the middle of the Mission Gamma books, or thereabouts.

That's pretty recent, the latter being 2008, but I expect the rest of the relaunch will show up in omnibus form eventually, if some of it hasn't already.

EDIT: Oh perhaps I misunderstood and you have the first two collections and are wondering about the rest? If so, I'm afraid I don't know.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

What is up with the DS9 books from Mission Gamma: Book One all the way through to Unity being so hard to find new at a reasonable price???? They aren't that old!!!!

They went out of print, there's still a pent-up demand for them, which makes the prices on the aftermarket climb. That happens. *shrug*

When are the omnibuses for these coming out? Or at least for the second two book of Mission Gamma? Let me guess, they aren't?

My guess is that the omnibus collection experiment has come to an end. The editor who was responsible for the first two is no longer attached to Pocket, and his successor kicked the bleeding edge of Deep Space Nine fiction ahead in the timeline several years. Taken together, these may make the omnibi less attractive; there's no champion inside Pocket for them, and there's no compelling need to keep audiences up-to-speed.

 

[Freman]

So there's no way to get these unless I pay ridiculously high prices for them? That's just sad.

Time for some reprints then, Pocket. Get on it. They're still in high demand apparently, so let's see some second printings.

 

[Thrawn]

^ I guess there's always piracy. Either way, Pocket wouldn't be making any money.

Shrug.

 

[Dayton Ward]

I believe most of the titles are also available as e-Books.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Perhaps if we flood Pocket offices with requests, we might get somewhere.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Try used book stores. That's probably your best solution to avoid the rip-off prices you see online, in my experience...

 

[Therin of Andor]

So there's no way to get these unless I pay ridiculously high prices for them? That's just sad.

A few weeks ago, I wandered into a book sale and found MMPBs of the first three MG books, plus many other titles, remaindered but in excellent condition, for $4 each. That's about one quarter of our usual Down Under cost. I knew the first two used to command huge prices on the aftermarket, but assumed prices had fallen once the omnibus trade came out. Still, I picked up a few should I ever want to speculate via eBay.

Time for some reprints then, Pocket. Get on it. They're still in high demand apparently, so let's see some second printings.

Well, the way to make this happen is to get your bookshop to make the request through to Simon & Schuster, where it reaches Pocket's marketing people. But until Pocket gets an indication that people are clamouring for more, they won't reprint. In any case, Marco said the first two omnibuses sold way too slowly, so those volumes are probably still officially "in print", and can be ordered in by your bookshop.

Meanwhile, you could download and read the eBook versions while waiting to find a hardcopy version. Pocket did make heaps of these titles in MMPB, and many of these make it into the second hand market as people sell their collections.

 

[Marie1]

lol sorry I'm just a little cranky about this. I just can't believe that some online dealers are trying to sell these for up to 180 dollars.

180 dollars? Where in the world are you looking? My Amazon ads claim Twist of Faith and These Haunted Seas are less than 15, and the individual novels after are under 10$ each, some are about 5$... Even with shipping how could it be 180??

 

[Steve Roby]

considering I only buy books new

Time to reconsider, maybe? I prefer new books, but if it's not possible, I don't want to have to do without the book. Looking at google maps, it looks like you're a couple of hours from Winnipeg. Do you go there often? There's bound to be a few decent used bookstores there.

(Books don't have to be very old to be collectible. A few Doctor Who books from the 1990s became very collectible very quickly because the publisher lost the licence and wasn't allowed to keep selling any back stock it might have had in warehouses. It became impossible very quickly to buy unused copies of the last few titles.)

 

[Freman]

considering I only buy books new

Time to reconsider, maybe? I prefer new books, but if it's not possible, I don't want to have to do without the book. Looking at google maps, it looks like you're a couple of hours from Winnipeg. Do you go there often? There's bound to be a few decent used bookstores there.

Well, I have been known to make an exception now and then, provided the book is still in mostly new condition (minimal spine creases). And I looked in around 10 different book stores, new and used last time I was in the 'peg, and only could find the Avatar books.

Yeah, I couldn't even find used copies. lol

And I'd love to read the ebooks, unfortunately, I'd never finish them. Maybe if I had a Kindle or something, but sitting at the computer reading a novel just doesn't work for me.

 

[Steve Roby]

Well, that sucks. Ebooks may be the way to go until you can find print copies. The DS9 books are too good not to read.

 

[TheAlmanac]

considering I only buy books new

Time to reconsider, maybe? I prefer new books, but if it's not possible, I don't want to have to do without the book. Looking at google maps, it looks like you're a couple of hours from Winnipeg. Do you go there often? There's bound to be a few decent used bookstores there.

Well, I have been known to make an exception now and then, provided the book is still in mostly new condition (minimal spine creases). And I looked in around 10 different book stores, new and used last time I was in the 'peg, and only could find the Avatar books.

Yeah, I couldn't even find used copies. lol

This tracks with my own recent experiences at used bookstores in Winnipeg, while looking for matching editions of the two Phoenix novels (since they were coming up here so much). There weren't many DS9 novels in general, and the only DS9R books I saw were Avatar.

The Phoenix search wasn't successful, either.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I have been known to make an exception now and then, provided the book is still in mostly new condition (minimal spine creases).

I started collecting in 1980, but getting a definitive list of Bantam ST novels was almost impossible at that time. I pounced whenever I saw any title I didn't have (several in their Corgi UK editions), and eventually replaced a few battered books with better examples as I found cleaner, unmarked copies. Eventually I had a set that looked fairly consistent.

But, from the first Pocket titles, I have first editions all the way through, plus a few unique new editions (those with new introductions, revisions, etc.). I couldn't imagine trying to create a complete collection from scratch in 2009.

 

[Therin of Andor]

while looking for matching editions of the two Phoenix novels

That was very hard to do Australia! Our bookshops got Corgi UK versions of "Price" but US versions of "Fate". (A similar problem with the two Joe Haldeman novels, actually.)

Until a certain point in the mid 70s, Australian bookshops were not supposed to import a US book if it was slated for release by a UK publisher! They were actually breaking the law by importing some US titles.

I eventually found a quite pristine US edition of "Price", but for a long time I had an annoying mismatch.

 

[BrotherBenny]

I couldn't imagine trying to create a complete collection from scratch in 2009.

That's my problem too. Though I do have about half the Trek books now. Most of the ones I'm missing are TOS and TNG, half the NF books and a smattering of the DS9, VOY and ENT books. The Bantam and Ballantine ones are almost impossible to find in the Uk in most places, so I pick em up wherever I find em.

 

[William Leisner]

My guess is that the omnibus collection experiment has come to an end. The editor who was responsible for the first two is no longer attached to Pocket, and his successor kicked the bleeding edge of Deep Space Nine fiction ahead in the timeline several years. Taken together, these may make the omnibi less attractive; there's no champion inside Pocket for them, and there's no compelling need to keep audiences up-to-speed.

Actually, IIRC, the first omnibus, Twist of Fate, did not sell well enough to justify doing any more collections, and the only reason there was a second was because it was too late to stop it by the time the first set of numbers came in. Even if Marco and Margaret were still in place, there wouldn't have been a third omnibus.

As for the last two books, try looking on AbeBooks.com.

 

[Therin of Andor]

The Bantam and Ballantine ones are almost impossible to find in the Uk in most places, so I pick em up wherever I find em.

Yep. Corgi UK had the watertight republishing rights, and UK shops would not have been supposed to be importing the US editions.

 

[Jim Johnson]

Hmm, I saw the most recent two DS9 books in the bookstore the other day. I don't know how soon I'll get around to reading them, but I think I'll pick them up now before they go out of print and I won't be able to get them. I'm not ready to jump on the ebook wagon just yet.

The technology needs to come down in price and color screen wouldn't hurt.