E-Books: boon or bane for authors?

The Kindle was the number 1 bestselling item for Amazon last Christmas. It’s an e-Reader, one of a range that has recently sprung up and allows people to read books electronically.

The Kindle’s screen has improved resolutions, to stop people’s eyes going all fuzzy, sizeable memory and free internet access almost anywhere (if you buy the pricier version) enabling quick access to download new books.

Older works, due to copyright expiration, are free, which is pretty fantastic. I’m going to get one, probably in April, and look forward to seeing how good it is.

The Kindle and other e-Readers enable people to buy and receive books very rapidly, save on storage space and receive a huge number of older books entirely free of charge. If you’re a lover of classics, an e-Reader will probably pay for itself pretty quickly.

They do more than just speed up the process of buying, however. E-Readers enable writers to give away first chapters, or appendices, for free to help entice full scale purchases. They also make a chip in the dam of the agent/publisher barrier. Getting an agent, let alone a publisher, is difficult (perhaps especially so in sci-fi/fantasy). The advent of e-Readers and e-Books means aspiring authors can sell directly to potential buyers, through collective sites or their own blogs, or even through Amazon itself.

There are two problems with this, and they’re pretty big. The first is essentially identical to the digital music problem. Once information, whether musical or written, is encoded digitally and can be transmitted in that way it can be easily stolen and distributed free of charge (albeit illegally). The music industry struggled for years with this, but whereas musicians can perform live gigs to hundreds or thousands of people authors don’t have an equivalent outlet.

I’d like to think, being an avid reader, that people who love books and follow certain authors would not stoop (in large numbers) to theft. The best books are immersive and thrilling and often emotional, and if you take it for free then authors will take a financial hit and may stop selling e-Books altogether (although pirate e-Books may arise).

The second problem is an electronic version of the difficulty all aspiring authors face anyway. I’d bet a week’s wages to a dead mouse that Joe Abercrombie or George RR Martin could shift more copies of a new e-Book in a week than a new, unknown author could in a year. Getting the media attention necessary to sell books, in physical or electronic form, is very hard for new writers. I’ve been wondering about how to encourage more regular readers (beyond the obvious planting of shirtless photographs displaying my rippling torso) myself.

There’s also the question of whether the current model of writing fiction ought to continue indefinitely, be entirely replaced, or whether a new model can exist alongside. For example, an author (aspiring or published) releasing a new book tends to charge X amount for it. The money is paid, the download of physical copy handed over, and the reader gets to keep it.

But what if books became serialised? It’s often said that a book should have a certain number and regularity of exciting moments to keep people interested. The serialisation format (with either a smaller amount paid per episode or a certain total in donations needing to be raised before the next episode is released) could work well online, but it could mean that an author would only make a finite amount for their book (in the latter example it would become free after a certain total had been donated by readers).

Despite the success of the e-Reader and the potential of new technology I am certain physical books will still be bought. Even after I get my Kindle, I’ll be buying a smaller number of physical books.

Thaddeus

Ancient authors: Theodore Ayrault Dodge

Classical history is something I love to read, and there are two writers who really got me into it. The first is Machiavelli, who makes numerous concise references to classical history in The Prince. The second is a more recent fellow, an American who fought in the Civil War, named Theodore Ayrault Dodge.

Dodge wrote books which could be described either as biographies or military histories. His attention was focused upon a select number of men who had shown the spark of genius and made a lasting impression upon history.

The old soldier visited a number of the locations in which the wars he wrote of transpired, and combined this real world knowledge with a thorough understanding of ancient authors and what they had to offer.

Three generals of antiquity were written about by Dodge: Alexander the Great, Hannibal Barca and Julius Caesar.

Each book is pretty hefty, and bursting with detail. Little sketches of soldiers, weapons, fortifications, siege engines and tactical/strategic maps abound throughout these books (in Caesar’s I think it’s suggested his wife did the drawing, and it’s nice to think of the two touring Europe together). The maps are particularly helpful as they put marches and actions into context and help illustrate the importance of thinking on a strategic scale.

Dodge also excels at explaining the battles that took place, detailing the strengths and weaknesses of different units and the wisdom (or lack thereof) of battlefield tactics. Where there is dispute over a tactical manoeuvre (such as Cannae) he resolves the problem by simply including all the main possibilities.

The enthusiasm he felt for the brilliant men about which he wrote shines through, and does at times border on hero worship (I think at one point he calls Hannibal a Mars amongst men). However, it is worth remembering that the three ancient generals did achieve phenomenal feats, and if the price of detailed, exciting history is a small amount of indulgence on the author’s part I consider it a bargain.

It is important to recall that the books, although riveting and pretty easy to read, are quite old (over a century) and are thus denied the benefit of more recent discoveries about the subject matter.

One potential downside is that the huge amount of detail can mean that certain chapters can become a little too long. The discussion about Hannibal’s precise route over the Alps was something I skimmed over, unlike his conflicts with the barbarians who lived there.

At the back of each book are a number of appendices, with details regarding army numbers, historical marches and the like.

I did begin his first book on Napoleon. The political machinations of the French revolution were interesting, but the battles and strategy did not interest me nearly so much as the ancient history of war elephants and Numidian cavalry.

After reading the book on Hannibal, I checked to see who Dodge’s main sources were, and duly bought the relevant bits of Livy and Polybius. From there, I’ve just bought more classical history (some ancient, some modern) and branched out from the Second Punic War.

Thaddeus

Spotlight on: Davros

People into Dr Who but who don’t know much about Davros and would prefer to find out by buying Old Who episodes should stop reading now, as this post will be crammed with potential spoilers.

Davros is an evil genius, and one of the Doctor’s most sinister and long-running enemies. He played a significant role in the very prolonged Kaled-Thal war on Skaro, acting as chief weapons scientist for the Kaleds. Very little oversight was paid to the wheelchair-bound nutcase and his ultra-loyal lackey Nyder (who bore an uncanny resemblance to one of my teachers). This proved to be a bit of a faux pas by the Kaled leadership, as Davros gave away military secrets which enabled the Thals to destroy the Kaled city, and then used his newest weapon to annihilate most of the Thals as well.

Davros’ newest weapon was the dalek, of which there was quite a limited number. As you might expect, they rebelled rather quickly and shot their creator at point blank range, after murdering Nyder.

This happened during the excellent Genesis of the Daleks serial, starring Tom Baker as the Doctor. Davros was played by Michael Wisher (still my favourite actor to play him) and was shown to be an intelligent, thoughtful lunatic.

After this, Davros was at the heart of the dalek narrative and made numerous further appearances (of which one has been during New Who).

The daleks sought to retrieve their erstwhile master when they took on the Movellans (another robotic race, although not cyborgs as the daleks could be described), who found a logical impasse had reduced the two war-like sides to everlasting peace. Once again, the Doctor thwarted Davros’ designs and saw the Kaled reduced to a cryo-prison, locked in ice.

The organic element to the daleks (each one is basically a rubbish little organism inside a metal war machine) proved their undoing. The Movellans created a biological weapon which wreaked havoc upon the cyclopean pepper pots of doom, reducing the daleks to dire straits (in stark contrast to their superpower status in New Who).

The daleks resolved to rescue Davros, aided by some human mercenaries, from his prison (in Resurrection of the Daleks). The serial was a bit complicated but quite enjoyable. Davros set about reprogramming the daleks (and the odd East End bartender) to do his bidding. When the daleks decide to exterminate him (again) he releases the virus upon them, only to apparently suffer the same fate as his wayward creations. (This story saw Terry Molloy take up the role, which he then held until the end of Old Who, including some radio stories).

After this, Davros created a new breed of dalek, the imperial (white with gold spots). This began a dalek civil war (they’re big on eugenics and the new daleks were more extensively modified than the simpler ‘renegade’ daleks).

The Seventh Doctor used the Hand of Omega to destroy the imperial dalek mothership, but Davros (unsurprisingly) managed to escape to wreak more vengeance upon the universe and deliver some more enjoyable foam-flecked megalomaniacal ranting.

Although New Who has featured many dalek episodes, Davros has only appeared in a single two-parter at the end of season 4, when he was played by Julian Bleach. I did not like this portrayal, as it showed Davros content to accept a status of servitude, in exchange for his life. In the past, he always worked to escape the dominion of the daleks and reassert his own supremacy. In addition, the dalek leader was an ‘enhanced’ version, but was more emotional than the others (Davros had stripped the daleks of almost all emotions as he believed they were a weakness).

I’m sure he will return, but I hope it’s in a more conniving, megalomaniacal guise.

Thaddeus

Dragon Age 2 preview

After a pretty short space of time, the next instalment in Dragon Age (cunningly entitled Dragon Age 2) is set for release. The game comes out on 8 March for the US and 11 March for the UK. It’s available on PC, Mac, PS3 and Xbox 360.

I really enjoyed Dragon Age: Origins (DA:O), the first game in the Dragon Age world. This preview, in common with reviews I’ve done, will be as light on spoilers as possible whilst still offering quite a bit of information.

The areas covered are: character creator, companions, mechanics (battle/speech system etc), locations, DLC.

Character Creator

The DA:O creator was pretty good, but it did have the odd flaw. Beards on humans, for example, would instantly render the face gaunter than Grand Moff Tarkin. The new creator boasts an increased number of hairstyles, eye colours (which will be more discernible) and allow you to play as default Hawke (the protagonist, who can be male or female) with or without the trademark blood smear. However, gone are the options of playing as an elf or a dwarf. You must be human.

There’s also an indirect improvement with the creator, which is the effect upon Hawke’s family. In DA:O, there was the potential for, er, questionable parentage. (See http://www.peasanthovel.com/2010/10/life-is-awkward-for-ebony-cousland/).

In DA2, the change is twofold. Firstly, your family’s faces alter based on the preset face you opt for. It also takes account of the skin colour you choose, so there should be a pretty wide range of familial faces and Hawke should avoid any embarrassing doubts about his or her parentage.

Companions

The four-man party (including Hawke) returns. In DA2, a number of old faces make returns, alongside new characters. Happily, the excellent banter of DA:O is back, and when not in the party characters have lives of their own, living apart from Hawke.

Bethany and Carver: Bethany is a mage, and Hawke’s little sister. She and Carver (a warrior) are twins, and Hawke’s first companions.

Aveline: A lady warrior who fights with a sword and shield. Very much a goody two shoes.

Anders: Yes, the mage from Awakenings returns (though it’s unclear whether Ser Pounce-a-lot will be with him). I won’t spoil it, but he’s substantially different (in what sounds like a good way).

Fenris: The mandatory bisexual and rather violent elf, formerly a slave to a Tevinter.

Isabela: The same Isabela, but with a different appearance and voice actress, to the one seen in The Pearl during DA:O. As you might expect, she’s a bit nice, but also a bit naughty.

Merrill: Another DA:O returnee, she was a brief companion during the Dalish Elf Origin story (the Keeper’s assistant). This time elves have substantially different appearances and Merrill also has another voice actress, who may be familiar to those into British sci-fi.

Varric: A dwarf without a beard is blasphemy indeed. Oh well. He does have a nifty crossbow, and is the narrator of the story.

Sebastian: DLC character. An archer and a nobleman displeased by his declining fortunes.

Mechanics

There has been much grumbling about the altered battle system. I haven’t played the demo, but my understanding is this: it’s a bit faster. That’s the primary change, and a good one.

Cool down on healing potions/spells has been increased quite a bit, which will make killing foes quickly even more important. Mages are as strong as they were before and the other two classes have been improved.

Skills are now learnt along a web rather than in a linear fashion. So, you might buy a single spell and upgrade it twice, or you could buy three separate spells. There’s greater freedom and it seems like a good idea.

Some character items can be altered, and Hawke’s helmet-visibility can be toggled on and off, but the companion clothing/armour cannot be altered outside of the plot.

A big change is that Hawke is now a voiced rather than silent protagonist. This has led to a dialogue wheel, whereby a summary of what he will say is provided rather than the full text.

Another change for the better is that the companion relationship system has been improved. For a start, the days of giving tons of present to become more popular are gone. Gifts are still around but they’re fewer and companion-specific. In addition, you can become a friend or a rival to a companion, and the latter is not necessarily a bad thing. This should help get rid of the incentive to make decisions based on what will prove popular with your companions.

Locations

Aside from an early bit of the game, it takes place in the Free Marches (medieval England meets Greek city states), more specifically the city of Kirkwall. There are various parts to the city and occasional excursions beyond it. However, the way the story progresses is based on time, not geography. This is a radical departure from DA:O and most other RPGs, and could work brilliantly if well-executed.

It reminds me a bit of FFXII (the last FF I bought) when the excellent political storyline involving the judges and Archadia was not fully developed. Hopefully that won’t be the case in DA2.

An important shift is that the story progresses as a framed narrative (think Princess Bride). So, it’s told in distinct segments of time. I’ve read that it’ll be made very clear when a time shift is about to occur to stop people accidentally ending a chapter when they’ve still got stuff they want to do.

DLC

I must be honest and say I really dislike DLC. It’s not just that I don’t have a wireless connection, but the idea that parts of the game are held back and then charged for. If I buy a game, I want everything included in the box.

Admittedly, firms must try and prevent or reduce piracy, and this sort of thing may work. It also prolongs game longevity and player engagement.

Anyway, as I wrote above, there’s another DLC character (I especially dislike this kind of DLC), Sebastian the rogue. There are also a number of items available, and I imagine there will be some post-release DLC such as Awakenings.

One of the coolest DLC items is an in-game character editor, though I’m unsure whether this will affect the appearance of Bethany/Carver.

I’m rather looking forward to this game. Later in the year Hunted: The Demon’s Forge looks potentially very good, and Skyrim may just be trouser-explodingly fantastic in November.

Thaddeus