DRM-free, free-as-in-beer Dutch Little Brother ebook

Uitgeverij De Vliegende Hollander is the Dutch publisher for Little Brother, and they've really put a big push behind it. Unfortunately, they're also locked into distributing their catalog as DRM-crippled ebooks through an online retailer that is the only major ebook vendor in the Netherlands.

But they're good folks at my publisher, and they're not fond of DRM either. When I asked them if there was some way we could sell the ebook without DRM, they told me that it was impossible (only one major ebook vendor, remember?), but would I mind if they just gave away the ebook in DRM-free ePub form?

Would I mind? That's a dandy solution! Here's a link to the free, DRM-free Dutch ePub version of Little Brother. Tell your (Dutch) friends, and be sure to stay clear of that infected DRM copy that's being sold.

Little Brother ePub (DRM-free) (Thanks, Rienk!)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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Anonymous

Doesn’t the translator deserve some credit too? Especially if s/he agreed to make *their* intellectual work available for free download, the least one could do is mention their name.

Literary translators are paid shit, and prestige is often the only reason for translators not to give up on literature and switch to the translation of computer manuals or legal correspondence.

D.
(literary translator in a previous life)
Anonymous

You know what? This really sucks. I would love to actually _pay_ _you_ for a DRM-free version in my native language. I just don’t get why publishers don’t also sell their e-books directly on their own websites. It’s not like it’s rocket science or something…
hapipiko

on my linux machine i just cant convert this epub to pdf or .prc, so I guess it coult be, what we call here in the Netherlands a broodje Aap

However this is an interesting move from an author who does not want DRM on his eBook. Good Job!
hmblank

If you’re Dutch, and able enough in English to read this blog and comment, why don’t you read Cory’s books in THEIR native language? Translations suck.
- Witteveen
  
  Ha! Well I can’t remember reading anything Dutch in years (well except original Dutch authors like Couperus and Reve who I can’t see being translated into anything but a travesty – no pun intended)
  
  Remember though, I AM DUTCH. Which means I will NEVER let pass anything free!
Anonymous

@hmblank: I would prefer a Dutch translation of BoingBoing as well.
jman077

The free as in beer/free as in speech remains to be one of the funnier jokes us copyfighters came up with.
Anonymous

Y’all should see Dilbert today
Anonymous

Hmm, doesn’t work on my irex DR800…
nixiebunny

You gotta love an author who tells his readers NOT to buy his book, but to download it for free instead.

Expect a lawsuit any minute.
Daemon

Now all you need to do is figure out how to make beer actually be free.
Hubert Figuiere

Having the book licensed under a CC-SA license (ShareAlike), doesn’t that make the use of DRM actually an infringement since it prevent to Share-Alike?

Just wondering.
Witteveen

@blutec: Thanks, ABC Amber pushed it through and after replacing some systematic weird conversions i can finally read my first Cory-Story! Stoked!
Witteveen

Thanks from a Dutchy. Too bad i can neither read it with Calibre nor unpack it with winzip.
- blutec
  
  @Witteveen: you can try an ePub converter to convert to pdf, html, txt etc. perhaps?
Anonymous

Hmmm another thankful Dutchy here, but I also seem to be having trouble with opening the file.
GlenBlank

Having the book licensed under a CC-SA license (ShareAlike), doesn’t that make the use of DRM actually an infringement since it prevent to Share-Alike?

Only if the CC-SA license is the license under which the DRM-using publisher is publishing.

The author (or rights holder) can still authorize publication under a separate license (perhaps one that involves paying him some money?), which may have terms that differ from CC-SA.

Release under CC-SA doesn’t preclude release by the rights holder under other license terms.