I got an audiobook version of the complete Holmes read by Simon Vance for $6.99 there a week or so ago–which, for almost 60 hours of audio, was an unbelievable deal. It’s back to the regular price now, but perhaps they’ll re-sale-ify it again.
Seriously?
The Holmes stories are public domain. Just go to to project gutenberg or the like.
I have a few different free versions on my Kindle, but none had any of the conveniences like chapter links and such. I don’t mind paying a buck for an edition that’s done right.
I’m pretty sure I have this version (I had a couple of dollars of credit on Amazon US that I wouldn’t have used otherwise) and it doesn’t have chapters for the short stories.
But Project Gutenberg doesn’t have an affiliate program…
Curiously, in the US, some of the short stories in The Case-Book ARE under copyright. Could this explain why it isn’t free?
The feedbooks ones seem fine chapterwise. X-Ray is not a thing I know about, so perhaps that’s worth paying a buck for.
One of the first freebies I picked up on the Nook - gotta admit B&N have been much friendlier to me than Amazon in terms of what I can get.
Also annoyed that one of my favorite indie authors wanted his stuff on Amazon and due to the ToS I now can’t get the books as epub.
Just saying.
It may be public domain, but it’s still DRM’d to keep me from reading it, and it’s a Federal crime for me to try.
Look carefully at the future of our literary heritage is it disappears behind iron walls.
How does this collection compare to this other $.99 collection?
http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Arthur-Conan-Doyle-ebook/dp/B00DCD53C2
Surprised no one has mentioned this yet.
Not all the Sherlock Holmes works are public domain—at least not in the USA, where a recent Supreme Court decision declares that people can write stories featuring Sherlock Holmes and Watson without paying licensing fees to the Conan Doyle estate as long as they don’t use elements from the stories found in the very last Holmes collection, which is still under copyright.
That being the case, I fear this collection might be illegitimate, after the same fashion as those Orwell books that were very publicly removed from owners’ Kindles a few years back.
That being said, some of the reviews on the Amazon page are hilarious.
4-star: “did not realize Sherlock Holmes stories were so short. The movies and TV series are much better.”
4-star: “I am sorry I saw the latest incarnation of Sherlock on t v before reading this. Without that comparison, this collection might have been a five.”
Classic.
none of these can be said to apply to Arthur Conan Doyle, but the last time I was tempted by Project Gutenberg, it was because I was curious about “Against Nature.” (Joris–Karl Huysmans). a french novel.
I am given to understand, however, that any public domain translations (including the PG version) omit the most interesting parts. Additionally, Project Gutenberg texts, because they are derived from books of a certain era often contain copious footnotes, but bevause Project Gutenberg is of a certain era, it does not know how to render footnotes in a sensible manner.
It looks like Amazon reconsidered; the collection is no longer for sale.
Really, it shouldn’t have been for sale in the first place. I highly doubt the Conan Doyle estate authorized it to be sold for 99 cents.
I imagine it was probably placed for sale somewhere all Sherlock is public domain (like Great Britain itself, ironically) and then redistributed worldwide without double checking the rights situation.
All but the last collection of short stories which are still under copyright.
The translation on huysmans.org has the bits missing from the Gutenberg one, for what it’s worth.
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