TNG/DS9 eBooks

[Paper Moon]

Hello everyone,

So I am catching up on old(er) Trek Lit. Hitting up eBay and used books on Amazon, but I'm also giving Kindle for Mac (read on my laptop) a try, partly because I know some books are only available as eBooks.

I am particularly curious about people's feelings about the "Slings and Arrows" series and the novel, "Enterprises of Great Pitch and Moment." I don't have the funds right now to buy all 6 S&A books, so are there some particular ones that people prefer? (Like how the last two novels in the A Time To... series are most highly recommended, you know?) They all look interesting to me, so...

Are there other TNG/DS9 stories that are (easily) available only as eBooks? (With my local Borders gone, it's a bit hard to get new reading material without having to wait for shipping... bleh.)

Also, my apologies if this material has been covered in an earlier thread; I tried using search, but I was less than successful...

EDIT: Should also say that I just read The Struggle Within, and really liked it, and that's why I'm looking for more eBooks now. (Thanks for pointing this out, JD!) I guess I have a slight preference towards material that takes place pre-2380, but I'll take whatever people suggest! :-)

 

[JD]

There is a Typhon Pact ebook, entitled The Struggle Within, that was just released a few months ago. I haven't read it, but it seems to have gotten mostly positive reactions.

 

[bullethead]

I hear there's a big zip file full of Trek eBooks floating around out there, but some of them are messed up in terms of formatting and others have problems with the content getting corrupted (the novelization of The Search apparently has chunks that turn into undecipherable gibberish).

 

[bfollowell]

I hear there's a big zip file full of Trek eBooks floating around out there, but some of them are messed up in terms of formatting and others have problems with the content getting corrupted (the novelization of The Search apparently has chunks that turn into undecipherable gibberish).

True, probably all kinds of them. But, since this isn't a pirating forum, and since many of the authors visit and post here and don't appreciate people stealing their work and taking food from their mouths, we usually don't discuss such things here.

- Byron

 

[Paper Moon]

There is a Typhon Pact ebook, entitled The Struggle Within, that was just released a few months ago. I haven't read it, but it seems to have gotten mostly positive reactions.

Yeah, I actually just read TSW, really liked it. Having enjoyed it was actually my impetus for pursuing more eBooks. Probably should have noted that in my OP... mea culpa.

Do people know of/recommend any other particular eBooks?

I hear there's a big zip file full of Trek eBooks floating around out there, but some of them are messed up in terms of formatting and others have problems with the content getting corrupted (the novelization of The Search apparently has chunks that turn into undecipherable gibberish).

True, probably all kinds of them. But, since this isn't a pirating forum, and since many of the authors visit and post here and don't appreciate people stealing their work and taking food from their mouths, we usually don't discuss such things here.

- Byron

bullethead: Dude, no. See, I actually enjoy these works and I want to show respect for the talented men and women who created them. That means I want to pay them.

I second what bfollowell said.

 

[JD]

Have you read any of the SCE books? The 8 books in the relaunched Corps of Engineers series have never been collected on paper.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I hear there's a big zip file full of Trek eBooks floating around out there

I've had well-meaning friends try to give this to me on a disk and the thought disgusts me. The author's royalty on an individual ST eBook isn't much, but it's something, and if I support torrented, bootlegged eBooks, I'm denying ST novelists the right to make a living from their art.

I already own everything in hardcopy and, if I decide I want more eBook versions to add to the handful of eBooks I do own, I'll happily pay $$$$ to download real ones.

Do people know of/recommend any other particular eBooks?

A frequently overlooked eBook exclusive is the factual ST book, "The Magic of Tribbles: The Making of the ST: DS9 Episode, Trials and Tribble-ations" by Terry J Erdmann.

 

[JD]

Same here. I did get some free ebooks off of a CD from my sister, but I'm almost certain they were released in that form by the publisher.

 

[Paper Moon]

Do people know of/recommend any other particular eBooks?

A frequently overlooked eBook exclusive is the factual ST book, "The Magic of Tribbles: The Making of the ST: DS9 Episode, Trials and Tribble-ations" by Terry J Erdmann.

Ooh, that one looks good! Will have to check it out. Stupid question though: it's not available on Amazon (for Kindle), but I found it elsewhere as an ePub file. I should be able to open that like a pdf doc, right?

Have you read any of the SCE books? The 8 books in the relaunched Corps of Engineers series have never been collected on paper.

I've read some of the SCE books that were released in anthology (dead tree) format. What's Past and Out of the Cocoon, I believe. I didn't read all of the stories therein though. I liked them, but I definitely felt like I was missing something by not having read the earlier volumes. I will come back to them sometime, though. I know SCE is very highly regarded as a series, so I'm not worried about that.

Beyond Slings and Arrows, are there any other TNG eBooks? Memory Beta seems to only discuss those plus SCE and Mere Anarchy (by the way, how did people fell about Mere Anarchy?) but I gotta think there are other hidden gems out there...

 

[Therin of Andor]

Same here. I did get some free ebooks off of a CD from my sister, but I'm almost certain they were released in that form by the publisher.

Peter David's "New Frontier" backlist was offered on a CD, free with first printings of the "Stone and Anvil" hardcover. Unfortunately, Adobe ended up upgrading their free reader before the disc came out, so anyone who'd already upgraded Adobe had to reinstall their old version to get the disc to work properly. I seem to recall the Pocket editors had to scramble to get Adobe to re-offer the old reader on their site.

 

[bfollowell]

Stupid question though: it's not available on Amazon (for Kindle), but I found it elsewhere as an ePub file. I should be able to open that like a pdf doc, right?

Nope. Not right. mobi/azw files are used on the Amazon Kindle. epubs are used on almost every other reader. Unmodified, retail epubs can't be read on a stock Kindle.

Now, depending on your views, you could purchase the epub, strip the drm, convert it from epub to mobi and then sideload it onto your Kindle but that isn't something we get into here. Just know that you can research it online and do it if you choose.

However, I just checked and, assuming you're talking about the U.S. Amazon store, they do show that book available for the Kindle. I'll attach the link below.

- Byron

http://www.amazon.com/The-Magic-of-...0RHE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325804826&sr=8-1

 

[Paper Moon]

Stupid question though: it's not available on Amazon (for Kindle), but I found it elsewhere as an ePub file. I should be able to open that like a pdf doc, right?

Nope. Not right. mobi/azw files are used on the Amazon Kindle. epubs are used on almost every other reader. Unmodified, retail epubs can't be read on a stock Kindle.

Sorry, I should have been more clear. I'm using Kindle for Mac to read Kindle files on my laptop (so that would be mobi/azw files, yeah?), but I'm not actually gonna try to read retail ePubs on a stock Kindle. My question was whether or not I would be able to open an ePub with Adobe Acrobat Reader or Mac's Preview, both of which are, of course, best known for being able to open pdf files.

However, I just checked and, assuming you're talking about the U.S. Amazon store, they do show that book available for the Kindle. I'll attach the link below.

- Byron

http://www.amazon.com/The-Magic-of-...0RHE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325804826&sr=8-1

That's so weird. I googled the title and author as Therin provided, and I definitely got to an Amazon page for the work that definitely said it wasn't available for download in my country. I guess I was looking at the UK store or something. (And yes, I did mean the US store.) Thanks for finding that for me though! Much appreciated.

 

[bfollowell]

Sorry, I should have been more clear. I'm using Kindle for Mac to read Kindle files on my laptop (so that would be mobi/azw files, yeah?), but I'm not actually gonna try to read retail ePubs on a stock Kindle. My question was whether or not I would be able to open an ePub with Adobe Acrobat Reader or Mac's Preview, both of which are, of course, best known for being able to open pdf files.

That definitely clears things up. I've never heard of Acrobat Reader being able to open epubs. I have the full version of Acrobat X Pro on my PC and it won't open them so I doubt that any version of Reader does but I've been wrong before.

I'm certain there are plenty of epub readers available for the Mac though, so that would not be a problem for you if you ever chose to go that route.

Good luck.

- Byron

 

[Therin of Andor]

My question was whether or not I would be able to open an ePub with Adobe Acrobat Reader or Mac's Preview, both of which are, of course, best known for being able to open pdf files.

No idea what type it was, but "Magic of Tribbles" was my very first eBook purchase. My old, usually-trusty PowerMac refused to handle any S&S eBooks, but in 2003 when I bought my lampshade-based, flatscreen iMac (now shunted aside on the desk by two MacBook Pro laptops), the world of eBooks was suddenly open to me.

 

[ATimson]

My question was whether or not I would be able to open an ePub with Adobe Acrobat Reader or Mac's Preview, both of which are, of course, best known for being able to open pdf files.

The answer is "no" to both; if you want to read ePubs on your desktop, I'd recommend Adobe Digital Editions.

 

[Paper Moon]

Okay, good to know that I may have to futz around a bit, but that it should work out in the end. ATimson, thanks for the recommendation for Adobe Digital Editions. Much appreciated.

Did anyone here read any of the "Slings and Arrows" series? They look like they would be right up my alley. Do you have to read them sequentially or are some of them better than others and so are worth reading first?

 

[JD]

If you're using a computer, you can always just download the free Nook app, and get it from B&N. And just so you know, pretty much every Trek book released on paper is available as an ebook.
As for books released first as ebooks as far as I know so far the only ones are SCE, the Tribbles book, Mere Anarchy, Slings and Arrows, The Aliens are Coming, and The Struggle Within. Although The Aliens are Coming was actually a story from Strange New Worlds before it was published by itself as an ebook

 

[Paper Moon]

JD, of those titles that you listed, do you suggest any in particular? Or should I just go with the first "Slings and Arrows" story to start out with?

 

[JD]

The only ones I've read are the first three Mere Anarchy books and the first 16 originally SCE series novellas. I don't specifically remember disliking any of them, so I'd be willing to recommend both series. I actually read them in the paperback collections before I got my Nook, but to the best of my none of those stories have any major changes to them. The change I am aware of is an introduction that was included in the MA Trade Paperback. I do plan on getting the rest of the SCE collections, and Slings and Arrows for my Nook eventually though. I think it's actually cheaper in the long run to get the ebook versions of the SCE collections, than the original single novellas.