SciFi Friday, Part 2: Star Trek

Just like with Star Wars, if you want to keep up with Star Trek, you have a lot of reading to do, some old and some quite new. Rather than try to list the book description of each, for this post I'll just show the covers, grouped together by price.

First up, a series of graphic novels that tie into the new Star Trek movie, Star Trek: Countdown (1-4). Each of these is $1.59 and in black and white (yes, even on the iphone). Viewing it on the iphone is pretty cool, though, as you can now resize the page with a single gesture, blowing it up as large as needed to be able to read the text attached to each comic page. Since it is meant to be used on all the Kindles, though, the pages don't autmoatically start out in landscape mode (they should) and taking up the full screen (again, they should). Fair warning for those who don't have much room available: each of these is quite large, around 2.5M to 3.5MB in size

Next, there are a number of StarTrek novels, novellas and short stories on Kindle now. Several of these are bargain priced (under $5). I'll include more another week, as this should keep you busy for now.

$2.79/$2.80

$3.16

SciFi Friday, Part 1: Star Wars

As you know from reading this blog, there is a new, nine book, Star Wars series starting up, with Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Outcast ($9.99) the first of the new titles and Star Wars Fate of the Jedi: Dramatis Personae is a short story prequel offered for free from Suvudu. But if you want to get caught up on the Star Wars series, you have a lot of reading to do. The good news is that some of the earlier stories are available at bargain prices, including another free short story (Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith #1: Precipice) that I found this morning as I started to write this post. Many of the titles in the Star Wars series are novellas, rather than saga-length novels and that is true of most of the bargains I uncovered for today's post.

Star Wars: Darth Maul: Saboteur ($1.59) by James Luceno is a short story, apparently only ever in print in the UK (now only available as an ebook) and definitely a better deal than the over $20 print price would have been.

On the distant planet Dorvalla, precious ore is mined by two competing companies: InterGalactic Ore and Lommite Limited. Neither rival suspects that they are central to a sinister plot masterminded by Darth Sidious, Lord of the Sith, himself.

Dispatched by Sidious on his very first solo mission, Darth Maul infiltrates Lommite Limited. There, his unique gifts of deception and subterfuge will set off an explosive chain of events that could destroy both companies, leaving them ripe for takeover by the Trade Federation. But a vengeful Lommite Limited Manager with his own thirst for retaliation against InterGal could blow Maul's cover--and all of Sidious's fiendishly layed plans . . .

Star Wars: A Forest Apart ($2.80) by Troy Denning is a novella (as are all the rest in this post), also only available in ebook form.

Growing up in the shadow of his heroic father, Lumpawarrump, son of Chewbacca, feels tremendous pressure to match his father’s daring exploits. Chewie’s life-debt to Han Solo keeps him from returning home, and without the steadying influence of his father, Lumpy is unfocused and out of control. So Chewie’s wife decides that a visit to Coruscant is in order. It’s the perfect opportunity for the family to bond–and for Chewbacca to teach his son some much-needed life-lessons.

But when Lumpy’s eagerness to impress his father leads to direct disobedience, Chewie is forced into an extreme pursuit that will lead him into Coruscant’s dangerous underlevels–and to a secret as shocking as it is deadly. . . .

Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Recovery ($2.39) is a second novella from Troy Denning.

As the forces of darkness threaten to engulf the galaxy, one last defiant spark remains.... Though the Yuuzhan Vong were victorious in their savage conquest of the planet Duro, they failed to extract sensitive information from Leia Organa Solo, who now barely clings to life after enduring the enemies' torture. Unless she receives medical attention soon, the badly wounded Princess and former head of the New Republic will surely die. Pursued by bounty hunters, Han Solo begins a race against time, only to find his urgent pleas for help rejected by planet after planet, as the Jedi are blamed for the continuing fight against the seemingly invincible aliens. Desperate, the Solos decide on a suicide mission. They must reach Coruscant, the New Republic's strife-ridden capital where traitors, appeasers, and assassins now share the same goal as the fierce Yuuzhan Vong: kill all Jedi...

Star Wars: Boba Fett: A Practical Man ($2.80) by Karen Traviss takes place during the very beginning of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion.

On the surface, it seems like just another routine contract for Boba Fett and his Mandalorian commandos, but the mystery client who hires them to start a small war is more dangerous than any of them can possibly imagine. When the Yuuzhan Vong invasion force sweeps into the galaxy, the Mandalorians find they’re on the wrong side–fighting for an alien culture that will bring about the end of their own.

Now Fett has to choose between his honor and the survival of his people. Since he’s a practical man, he’s determined help the resistance beat the Yuuzhan Vong–even if it means working with a Jedi agent. Trouble is, no one trusts a man with Fett’s reputation. So convincing the New Republic that they’re fighting on the same side is a tall order. Denounced as traitors, Fett’s Mandalorians need to stay one step ahead of their Yuuzhan Vong paymasters–and the Republic who sees them as collaborators with the most destructive enemy the galaxy has ever faced. . . .

Star Wars: Fool's Bargain ($2.80) by Timothy Zahn rounds out the bargains in the series for today.

The history of the planet Kariek has been one of seemingly endless violence— thanks to the constantly erupting revolutions among the many divided tribes of the native Eickarie race battling for dominance. Yet none of these tribes has held sway since a mysterious Warlord and his legion of alien mercenaries seized power and began a fifty-year reign of terror.

Now, at last, the tide may be turning: the leaders of the warring Eickarie factions have forged an alliance—strong enough to capture a city and corner the Warlord and his minions in their fortress. And the post-Palpatine Empire of the Hand is lending support to this revolt against tyranny by deploying no less a fighting force than the Imperial 501st Legion of stormtroopers.

Once infamously known as “Vader’s Fist,” the legendary 501st are the best men for the dangerous objective at hand—capturing the Warlord alive. It’s a risky mission that might be jeopardized when Imperial unit commander Twister and his comrades, Shadow, Cloud, and Watchman, are waylaid by a band of zealous freedom fighters, armed with their own agenda . . . and plenty of firepower. The Eickarie renegades—determined to free hundreds of their people from the Warlord’s dungeons—have an offer to make, and a strategy that could give the Imperials the edge in the bloody showdown to come. But can Twister and his men trust their new allies? Or will they get more than they bargain for?

Bargain Reads on Kindle

I don't know about you, but I can use a break now and then from the paranormal/fantasy books that tend to dominate the both the Kindle bargain bookshelves at Amazon and the real bookshelves at local bookstores. CLAWS ($1.59) by Stacey Cochran relies on a real life setting (or at least a plausible version, thereof) and I love the cover, which was enough to get me to download a sample.

Book Description
Something stalks the citizens of Arizona... Dr. Angie Rippard is an Arizona wildlife biologist who is drawn into a police investigation when two teenagers are found dead on a golf course that borders protected National Forest Land. Rippard suspects the teens were attacked by a large mountain lion. Backed into a corner, it knows no fear... Rippard believes that the resort was developed too close to wilderness lands, but her plan to relocate cougars in the area provokes the wrath of the resort's owner-Charlie Rutledge-who believes the animals should be exterminated. Eight million years have shaped its predatory skill... Deep inside the Tonto National Forest, Rippard and her grad students realize that Charlie Rutledge is hunting them. In a thrilling climax, Rippard must make a choice to kill the cougar that is certain to kill Charlie Rutledge, or kill Rutledge who is certain to kill her. Now we are the endangered species.

Stacey also has The Colorado Sequence on Kindle, for $0.99. It's back to a fantasy theme, but it is a suspense story foremost.

Book Description
Physicist Dr. Amy Levine has discovered a mathematical sequence--the Colorado Sequence--that describes an underlying pattern and a guiding force within the very fabric of reality. Now she's on the verge of an astonishing breakthrough, and the U.S. government wants to know how she has done it. How has Dr. Levine learned to accurately predict the future? And they're willing to kill her to find out. Levine and a group of friends escape to Colorado to unravel the mystery of the sequence, but there they become snowbound. They must locate a secret treasure room, find a hidden key, and answer an ancient riddle before a devastating eruption destroys them all ...and the power of the Colorado Sequence is lost forever.

The Acronym - White Nights of St. Petersburg ($1.59) by Rebecca Lerwill is the sequel to the 2007 award-winning romantic suspense Relocating Mia ($0.99).

Book Description
Where does a federal witness turn when even one of the most powerful clandestine agencies can't protect you from harm?

That is precisely the horrific dilemma facing Mia Trentino. Scheduled as a witness for the prosecution, Mia returns to Russia to testify against a man whose affiliation with the Russian Mafia led to her terrifying abduction less than a year before.

During her testimony, Mia's safety is entrusted with the members of the Acronym, a covert agency consisting of former FBI, CIA, and international law enforcement agents. Their primary tasks are the war against international crime and espionage and assisting federal agencies with securing their high-profile witnesses in a special protection program.

When Mia arrives in St. Petersburg to take the stand, her fiance and Acronym agent, Douglas Farland, disappears without a trace and is accused of treason.

With only limited protection, Mia suddenly finds herself trying to negotiate a deadly double-task; can she elude the merciless pursuit of the Russian Mafia in time to find out the truth about Douglas, or will they succeed in silencing her by any ruthless means they can find?

R.W. Ridley had a contest a while back (two, in fact) and gave away a Kindle to those who read the PDF copy of his book The Takers: Book One of the Oz Chronicles, which is now available on the Kindle ($1.59). I suspect he's a local author (who else would include posts about Tennessee Volunteer sports in their author's blog?), so I might see him out and about this upcoming Kindle & Koffee Day. In the meantime, check out the trailer for the book.

Book Description
The first volume in The Oz Chronicles recalls both Stephen King’s The Stand and L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz. When 13-year-old Osmond “Oz” Griffith wakes from an illness on the floor of his closet, he discovers the world overrun by man-eating monsters, the Takers, and it’s largely his fault. In an effort to make things right, he gathers a band of survivors (a baby, an aged mechanic and a talking gorilla, among others), and sets off down his version of the yellow brick road, leading to the Atlanta Zoo. Along the way, he learns that his destiny was written by Steve, a boy from his past. Afflicted with Down Syndrome, Steve created new worlds, replete with battles between good and evil, in the comic books that served as his sole refuge from the teasing of Oz and his friends. Steve’s untimely suicide leaves only the comic books as clues to vanquishing the Takers.

Living Dead Man Window To Worlds is Jed Butt's first novel (soon to be out in paperback). To get some reviews and introduce readers to his work, he's dropped the price from $5.00 down to $0.99 for a short time (not long, I suspect). In his own words: The book features zombies, vampires, werewolves, hidden organizations and ancient demons. It would be impossible to detail the entire book in 300 words. The sample looks interesting (although he does need to learn to use punctuation a little more effectively), in an Indiana Jones meets Zombie Kidnappers sort of way.

25 Language Phrasebook: German, French, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, ... Chinese, Indonesian, Malay, and Thai. ($0.01) is another "free" MobileReference title (Amazon won't let them list these as free, thus the penny charge) that looks to be extremely useful for the beginning traveler (or those who encounter international travelers while at home). Basic phrases such as Hello, How are you, Please and Thank You are translated into 25 languages. That may not cover all the languages you might encounter, but should give you at least one common language nearly anywhere in the world. If not, you may be a little too far off the beaten track for someone who is relying on a beginning phrasebook and an electronic device that has to be recharged once a week.

This one definitely isn't in the genre I normally read, but I do give the author credit for including more on the Kindle version than a print edition. I've purchased other Kindle editions where the "included" CD/DVD was missing and the information wasn't available thru the authors web site or you could not sign up to get it emailed to you, something that would be trivial to include (just add a link at the end of the Kindle edition for a signup page, for example) at essentially zero cost. Braaaaaains ($0.80) by Keith Blenman. This short story/novella (98KB), is a darkly humorous disaster/horror story about the last man on Earth recalling his final years while waiting for the sun to explode. From his marriage, to the birth of his daughter, to the ever unexpected zombie uprising, Braaaaaains is the tale of man's final days, chock full of rich themes and social commentary.

But that's only the beginning. Included with the story is a Kindle experiment in supplemental materials. Like bonus features on a DVD, this story includes material you wouldn't find in a typical paperback. Trivia, essays from the author, and even questions to promote subsequent readings and book discussion have been included. Priced at a mere dollar, and on sale for even less, this is the perfect story to show your friends how the Kindle and ebooks can bring something entirely new to fiction.

Finally, a true short story (12KB) from Carol Hanrahan, Timberwolf - A Spooky Short Story. This is an adult fable featuring the sweetness of revenge.

View your Kindle Notes Online

Amazon has just released a new feature that allows you to view (but not edit) your notes and highlights online (click on the graphic above for a full size screenshot). There are still a few bugs: when I first logged in to my Amazon Reading List, I was only shown 13 total books from my bookshelf, but that updated when I selected to see more on a page (at which point I had pages and pages of books). Also, authors names are missing from a number of the books in the list. The list starts out claiming to be sorted by Title, but for some reason all books with no author listed sort first anyway (and not in alphabetic order, although those with authors are properly sorted) and when sorting by author, any authors whose name uses no capital letters get sorted first, before those with proper capitalization (and all after those with no author at all). You also can't sort on just those with content or do any searches, so be prepared to dig thru the list if there is something in particular you want to find. You can sort on your rating of the book (as well as the average customer rating), which means that if you rate the book as you finish it, you can at least sort the list and quickly see which ones are unread. As you can see in the above picture, any books where you have made annotations will have an entry under Content - the pencil shows you have made highlights, while the small block entry means you have notes. Click on the graphic or the book title and a page similar to this one appears:

After any notes or highlights you have made are shown (and highlights can be as brief as a blank line or as long as several paragraphs), you'll also see any customer reviews on the book (the same as those that display on the product page). If you want to view the product page for the book, click on the "See all Amazon.com Customer Reviews" link at the bottom on the screen, then on the title of the book at the top of the review page. From there, of course, you can view the original order details, if you want to see how much you paid for a particular title.

The feature is interesting, but needs quite a bit of work. First, I'd like to be able to edit the notes or remove them directly from this screen. Second, a large number of families are sharing their Kindles on a single account - there needs to be some method of letting each family member maintain their own set of notes and highlights (currently there is not) and then view/edit them individually. For those with iphones and Kindles and more than one adult, there is a need to indicate which iphone/kindle on the account should be linked for the purpose of notes, highlights and progress, while other Kindles are treated as stand-alone units. I know that every time my mother and I read the same book, the book seems to open to a "random" location each time I return -- it's where she left off, of course, not a random spot, but it is annoying, none-the-less.

To get to your Amazon Reading List, just enter http://kindle.amazon.com into your web browser address bar, then log into your account.