Though a little confusing to a book-loving luddite like me, some people are really into this E-book thing. Kindle-clutching Fantasy lovers are in luck, with Tor Books finally releasing electronic version of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. Shockingly, the first release just happened to coincide with the release of The Gathering Storm. Imagine that! Tor has now shored up the release schedule for the remaining novels.
These electronic editions are being created from original page layout files, and are being updated with the latest copyedits and corrections from Robert Jordan and later, from Team Jordan. They also boast all-new covers designed by Jamie Stafford-Hill and featuring art from a variety of illustrators, including David Grove, Donato Giancola, Sam Weber, and Ketai Kotaki, all commissioned by Tor Books (and Tor.com) Art Director Irene Gallo.
Since these books are being put together basically from scratch, in many cases from new or updated files, Tor Books is putting them out at the rate of one per month. Below is a schedule of publication, for your handy reference:
October 27, 2009: The Eye of the World
November 17, 2009: The Great Hunt
December 15, 2009: The Dragon Reborn
January 19, 2010: The Shadow Rising
February 16, 2010: The Fires of Heaven
March 16, 2010: Lord of Chaos
April 20, 2010: A Crown of Swords
May 18, 2010: The Path of Daggers
June 22, 2010: Winter’s Heart
July 20, 2010: Crossroads of Twilight
August 24, 2010: Knife of Dreams
September 28, 2010: New Spring
November 2, 2010: The Gathering Storm
Also coming down the road (though lord knows why anyone would purchase them…) are the split volume version of The Eye of the World and The Great Hunt, respectively:
November 16, 2010: From Two Rivers
November 16, 2010: To The Blight
November 16, 2010: The Hunt Begins
November 16, 2010: New Threads in the Pattern
It’s hard to wrap my head aroun the fact that we’re going to have to wait an entire year for the series to be released in full (well, what’s been published previously, at least) and it seems strange that Tor is holding back on releasing The Gathering Storm until next year as well. I suppose the profit margin on Hardcovers must be higher than E-books, which is how Tor wants you to consume their biggest release of the year. In any case, for those of you on the bleeding edge of technology, there you go.
I’m one of those crazy, e-book people. I have a kindle and love it. Working on the computer all day long, reading the kindle is much easier on my eyes than a computer screen. I also love the ability to carry 100 books on me at any time. However, I own and continue to buy paper books (both hardcover and paperback) as well. Sometimes, if I like the book a lot, I’ll be a paper version of an e-book I already own.
So we e-book lovers aren’t all bad! (at least I don’t think so)
Well, if Amazon would just release the damn Kindle here in Canada I might have a chance to rethink my stance! For now, reading on my iPod Touch just doesn’t cut it.
;)
Ugh — reading on an iTouch. Definately not.
Well, it may work out for the best in the end. Can you get B&N’s Nook up there? If so, I’d recommend that over the Kindle. Suffice to say that the Kindle could never be mistaken for anything made by Steve Jobs.
I never looked in to why it isn’t offered in Canada now that it’s going international. My only thought was that they couldn’t get a license agreement with a wireless carrier up there, but that’s pure speculation on my part.
I’ll probably wait a few more years, but eventually switch over to the Nook. I really like the option to loan a book. I also like the open format. And while I don’t see me using the color screen, I think a lot of techies would love it.
Hopefully you won’t have long to wait for either.
Thanks for the release schedule..I somehow missed it. I’m pretty quickly turning into one of those ebook people, too. I just hope the nook doesn’t get delayed due to the injunction against B&N. Oh, but I have read almost exclusively on the iPhone. I buy Kindle books and read them in Stanza..Stanza is much nicer. I especially like how you can adjust the brightness of the screen by dragging your finger up/down on the screen. Makes it easy to find a brightness level that is easy on the eyes. And i found a color scheme that works really well, too.