The Humble Bundle

Thu 11 Oct 2012 - Filed under: Not a Journal., | Posted by: Gavin

I am guessing that by now you’ve heard about the new ebook Humble Bundle which contains the full DRM-free ebooks of Kelly’s first two books, yes? I’m going to put up a sticky post with the HB counter on so on that will be nice and obvious for the next two weeks.

If you don’t know what I am on about, below the cut I have cut-n-pasted the intro from their blog. Basically you can pay what you want for a rather awesome ebook bundle. The monies get split between the authors, the charities, and the Humble Bundle people. If you pay more than the average (currently $12.43 and which, interestingly, has risen over the last two days) you get two extra books. The HB people usually do ebooks, although they did a cool music one earlier this year which I bought for the OK GO extras—addicted to those videos. Cory Doctorow put the ebook edition together and I think tapped a bunch of people who have released their books under Creative Commons licenses and/or as DRM-free books. (There being really no point in buying DRM’d books if you ever expect to read them again.) It really is the simplest, neat, and lovely idea and it is awesome to have Kelly’s books involved.

Introducing the Humble eBook Bundle!

Get ready to feast your eyes on this new bundle! Please welcome the debut of a new kind of offering: the Humble eBook Bundle!

Be sure to watch it in HD!

Here’s a brief primer on this sensational deal: for two weeks, you can pay whatever you want to get these six digital, DRM-free books: Pirate Cinema, Pump Six and Other Stories, Zoo City, Invasion: The Secret World Chronicle, Stranger Things Happen, and Magic for Beginners. If you choose to pay more than the average, you will also receive Old Man’s War and graphic novel Signal to Noise!

This fantastic collection of amazing stories has a little something for everyone and comes from an amazing assembly of award-winning authors. Take a look!

Pirate Cinema

by Cory Doctorow

 

In this dystopian near-future in Britain, downloading movies is more illegal than ever. The resulting fallout causes sixteen-year-old Trent McCauley, a youth with a passion for creating new movies from downloaded ones, to run away from home. In his journey, Trent meets many who are intent on fighting a bill that would further criminalize internet creativity. In Pirate Cinema, learn what a sixteen-year-old and a powerful film can accomplish against a corrupt Parliament.

 

Signal to Noise

by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean

 

Signal to Noise examines the relationship of one man’s internal apocalypse to that of a film he will no longer have time to make. Written by four-time Hugo Award-winning author Neil Gaiman and beautifully illustrated by World Fantasy Award-winner Dave McKean, this profound graphic novel has never before been available in digital format. Additional extras include three short stories by McKean, one of which also written by Gaiman.

 

Old Man’s War

by John Scalzi

 

Humanity has expanded to the stars and discovered that other habitable planets are not only scarce, but contested by alien races. The Colonial Defense Force only accepts people of retirement age, who are given a new body and a guarantee of an easy life after two years of service. John Perry, reaching 75, decides to enlist, not cognizant of the struggles ahead, and unaware of what he’ll become. Old Man’s War is a Hugo award-nominated sci-fi epic, and the first book in the Old Man’s War universe.

 

Pump Six and Other Stories

by Paolo Bacigalupi

 

Pump Six and Other Stories features eleven stories following Nebula Award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi’s work, including Hugo-nominated “Yellow Card Man” and Sturgeon Award-winning story “The Calorie Man.”

 

Zoo City

by Lauren Beukes

 

Taking place in an alternative version of South African town Johannesburg, Zinzi December, a former journalist, has a sloth on her back and a knack for finding things. Using her abilities and also dealing with a dirty online 419 scam habit, Zinzi discovers one of her clients has turned up dead, and must use her skills to seek out and find the hardest thing of all: the truth.

 

Zoo City is the winner of the 2011 Arthur C. Clarke Award and 2010 Kitschies Red Tentacle for best novel.

Invasion: The Secret World Chronicle

by Mercedes Lackey, Steve Libby, Dennis Lee, and Cody Martin

 

Presented in its unabridged form, this modern military superhero saga chronicles the battle between Earth’s superheroes and a transdimensional Third Reich. Invasion is book one of the Secret World Chronicle, and comes packed with bonus content, including several short stories also taking place in the Secret World universe.

 

Stranger Things Happen

by Kelly Link

 

Stranger Things Happen is a collection of eleven magical stories by fantastic Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Kelly Link.

 

Magic for Beginners

by Kelly Link

 

Magic for Beginners is a follow-up collection to Kelly Link’s Stranger Things Happen and features nine works of fantasy and light horror. Title story “Magic for Beginners” has won both the 2006 Nebula Award and 2006 Locus Award for best novella. Another story, “The Faery Handbag” has won several awards, including the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.

 

These works are available in ePub, PDF, and MOBI formats and will work great on your computer, eBook reader, tablet, and many other mobile devices. Purchasers can also choose to benefit three awesome non-profits: the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Child’s Play Charity, and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America! To date, the generous contributions from our bundle buyers has added up to over $7.25 million for charity!

A couple of the books are seeing their digital debut right here with us! Signal to Noise has never before been available as an eBook, and Invasion: The Secret World Chronicle has never been digitally available unabridged.

If you were to gather up all this literary goodness individually, it would cost around $77. But we’re letting you set the price!

This new chapter in our Humble offerings is only available for two weeks, so head over to the site and pick up your Humble eBook Bundle right now!