The Swan Thieves pre-order price drop

The Swan Thieves, by Elizabeth Kostova, is $8.79 as a pre-order and will go back up to $9.99 on the April 12th when it is officially released. Too bad that this is another where the ebook version is being delayed by three months after the hardback. I think publishers will find this strategy backfires and will require more cuts in the ebook price (closer to paperback prices, not the $10 "bestseller and new release" prices they have been getting), as their book loses momentum and visibility after three months.

Book Description
Psychiatrist Andrew Marlowe, devoted to his profession and the painting hobby he loves, has a solitary but ordered life. When renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes his patient, Marlow finds that order destroyed. Desperate to understand the secret that torments the genius, he embarks on a journey that leads him into the lives of the women closest to Oliver and a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism.

Kostova's masterful new novel travels from American cities to the coast of Normandy, from the late 19th century to the late 20th, from young love to last love. THE SWAN THIEVES is a story of obsession, history's losses, and the power of art to preserve human hope.

Dragon Keeper pre-order $7.99

Robin Hobb's latest novel, Dragon Keeper, is currently available to pre-order on Kindle for $7.99. This is the first book her The Rain Wild Chronicle series and was first published in the UK last year. The Kindle and Hardcover edition ($17.81) are being released simultaneously in the US. Many of you probably picked up her earlier book, Assassin's Apprentice, when it was free early last year.

Book Description
Enter the spellbinding world of dragons . . . and those who tend them One of the most gifted fantasy authors writing today, New York Times bestselling author Robin Hobb has dazzled readers with brilliantly imaginative, emotionally resonant, and compulsively readable tales set in far-flung realms not unlike our own. In this enthralling new novel, she returns to the territory of her beloved Liveship Traders and Tawny Man trilogies with a story of dragons and humans, return and rebirth, and the search for meaning, belonging, and home. For years, the Trader cities valiantly battled their enemies, the Chalcedeans. But they could not have staved off invasion without the powerful dragon Tintaglia. In return, the Traders promised to help her serpents migrate up the Rain Wild River after a long exile at sea-to find a safe haven and, Tintaglia hopes, to restore her species. But too much time has passed, and the newly hatched dragons are damaged and weak, and many die. The few who survive cannot use their wings; earthbound, they are powerless to hunt and vulnerable to human predators willing to kill them for the fabled healing powers of dragon flesh. But Tintaglia has vanished and the Traders are weary of the labor and expense of tending useless dragons. The Trader leadership fears that if it stops providing for the young dragons, the hungry and neglected creatures will rampage-or die along the river's acidic muddy banks. To avert catastrophe, the dragons decree a move even farther up the treacherous river to Kelsingra, their ancient, mythical homeland whose mysterious location is locked deep within the dragons' uncertain ancestral memories. To ensure their safe passage, the Traders recruit a disparate group of young people to care for the damaged creatures and escort them to their new home. Among them is Thymara, an unschooled forest girl of sixteen, and Alise, a wealthy Trader's wife trapped in a loveless marriage, who attaches herself to the expedition as a dragon expert. The two women share a deep kinship with the dragons: Thymara can instinctively communicate with them, and Alise, captivated by their beauty and majesty, has devoted her life to studying them. Embarking on an arduous journey that holds no promise of return, the band of humans and dragons must make their way along the toxic and inhospitable Rain Wild River-an extraordinary odyssey that will teach them lessons about themselves and one another, as they experience hardships, betrayals, and joys beyond their wildest dreams.

Free Screenplay (PDF) - Avatar

I'll assume by now that you've seen James Cameron's Avatar (and for many of you, more than once). If not, call in sick tomorrow and go see it (in 3D; Imax optional, but not 3D). After you have, then pop over to the Fox Screenings web page and grab the free PDF copy of the screenplay.

There are a number of other Avatar related items at Amazon - video games, the Soundtrack, a children's adaptation, The Na'vi Quest for $4.99 and a coffee table book ($17.51), all on the Avatar products page. There isn't anything out on Kindle, and no pre-order for the DVD/BluRay yet (when there is, I'll probably have my order in the first day), so the screenplay will have to hold me over until then.

Game of the Day - Ricochet Infinity

Amazon's Video Game of the Day is a 99 cent download of Ricochet Infinity, which has all five star reviews. This makes the fourth in the Ricochet series that has been on special this year and the third one I've picked up (spending under $3). This one says it is multi-player as well, so I may even try that out.

Game Description

• Over 210 Action-Packed Levels, With 1000's More Online.
• Unlock New Ships, Balls And Ranks.
• Innovative Recall Feature Makes YOU The Master.
• Travel To The Stars...And Beyond.

Ricochet around the Galaxy in this dynamically brilliant breakout action game! Trek across 216 awesome levels, with thousands more online, earning new ranks in the Galactic Tournament, by yourself or with a friend. Play the re-energized Ring Game, winning new balls and ships with unique specialties to give you the edge! Control your ball with the wildly innovative Recall feature...once you've tried it, you can't go back! Travel to the stars and beyond in your glorious quest to become the Ringmaster Grand Champion!

Free Game Download - Tradewinds Legends

You can get a free copy of Tradewinds Legends ($6.99 Amazon Game Downloads) directly from Sandlot Games this week.

Game Description

• Trade And Battle With Legendary Heroes.
• Choose A Character Or Create Your Own
• Hundreds Of Special Items
• 10 Amazing Ports To Visit

Get carried away in this latest installment in the acclaimed Tradewinds Series. Sail, trade and battle with legendary heroes such as Sinbad in the mythical Far East. Enter a world of danger and intrigue as you complete over 100 unique tasks. Build a flotilla of ships armed with weaponry, both man-made and magic. Sail into the sky to discover new ports and engage in aerial combat with other magical sky ships. Encounter a world of legend, play Tradewinds Legends today!

To get the free game, follow these steps:

1) If you don't have an account at Sandlot Games, create one first (click on Create Account in the banner of the next step or click HERE now). You could do this during the check out process, but if you do, you'll have to start the checkout all over again. The email address you enter will be used both for sending your activation code (which you'll need later) and to send you a newsletter (you can opt out) with future offers.

2) Click HERE for the offer and then on Get It Free! to add it to your cart. Click on Begin Checkout.

3) You'll see a screen asking about a CD backup of your game - be sure to check off "No Back-up CD" , so that the default $7.99 charge is removed from your cart - at this point you should see a zero balance in the cart. Once you do (and not before), click on Continue Checkout and then on Complete Order.

4) Your invoice will be displayed, confirming the zero billing. Scroll midway down and click on Download to get your game installation file (be sure to save it somewhere that you can find it later, and back it up in case you need it again later on - I don't know that you can redownload directly from Sandlot, as you can with Amazon).

5) Install and run the game. You'll be asked for an activation code - that should have arrived via email. If you are using GMAIL (as I do), be sure to check your Spam folder online - that's where my confirmation landed and I had to tell it that it wasn't spam (they apparently use a secondary server for sending out these codes, which triggered some of the spam settings at gmail). You'll be able to play the game for 60 minutes before you need to enter the activation code, but it's easy enough to go ahead and do so the first time you play the game - just click on "Already Purchased" (below the Buy Now button) and enter the code in the box provided and click on Unlock Game.