Kindle Books -The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser: Swords and Deviltry, Swords Against Death, and Swords in the Mist - 3.99 for the Set

A tip of the hat to Joe K over at The Tavern's Facebook Community for bringing this to my attention.

The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser: Swords and Deviltry, Swords Against Death, and Swords in the Mist is $3.99 for the set.

I really hope Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser need no introduction, but if they do:

Many decades before George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones, Grand Master Fritz Leiber ruled the sword-and-sorcery universe. These three short story collections chronicle the unconventional adventures of Leiber’s endearing antiheroes: barbarian Fafhrd and former wizard’s apprentice, the Gray Mouser.

Swords and Deviltry: Fafhrd, a handsome barbarian of the Steppes, is seduced by a beautiful prostitute and her equally intoxicating city, while the Gray Mouser, a slum rat wizard-in-training, is tempted by the dark arts. The two men meet on a night of multiple thieveries and an enduring partnership is born.

Swords Against Death: Rogue swordsmen and devoted companions Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser pursue ill-gotten fortunes within the confines of Lankhmar. They cross paths with two wizards, Sheelba of the Eyeless Face and Ningauble of the Seven Eyes, and a most violent clash ensues. Eventually, following further adventures, the two antiheroes end up as indentured swordsman servants to their former foes.

Swords in the Mist: A cloud of concentrated hatred and lean times in Lankhmar compels Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser to temporarily depart the most corrupt metropolis in all of Nehwon as they seek adventure in the realm of the Sea-King—and on a different world entirely.

This must-read collection of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser short stories features multiple Hugo and Nebula Award–nominated tales, and includes the acclaimed novella Ill Met in Lankhmar.

https://amzn.to/2D7rK2y

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Beneath The Inverted Church, a Door Seducing Adventure - Available for Free with Kindle Unlimited

I posted about Beneath the Inverted Church (an adventure that included the "seducing" of doors) back in September when it was actively funding on Kickstarter. It successfully funded and the Kindle ebook format of the adventure is now available at Amazon, for free if you have Kindle Unlimited.

I'll be taking a peek at this at some point, but my desk if full of titles to review and work that needs writing. If someone does read this and wants to review it, reach out to me and I'll see what we can arrange.

That is all.

Now I Want My RPGs in "Mobi" Format - Say Hello To My Little Friend - Kindle Paperwhite

I'm a geek. A geek that's been working steady overtime since July. I just had to check out the new Kindle Paperwhite.

As a bit of history, I had the first Kindle upon release, the Kindle 2, the DX (in the hope of reading RPG PDFs) and now the Kindle Paperwhite.

Already my mother wants one for Christmas.

Hey! Maybe I'll finally finish reading Playing at the World!

In all seriousness - the adjustable backlight, the touch screen, the sharp lettering - I think I'm falling in love all over again.

I just need more RPG releases in Mobi format - not sure what there is right now besides Fate and Dungeon World...

Kindle Fire and My Gaming PDFs - A Working Combination

It took a while for me to figure out the best (and simplest) manner to integrate my gaming PDF collection with my new Amazon Kindle Fire.  With the iPad, it was easy enough to use the relatively inexpensive GoodReader to access my DropBox account and read my PDFs.  As far as I can tell, there is no GoodReader app for the Android OS.

Luckily for me, Amazon was offering QuickOffice Pro for free last Monday.  Normally 15 bucks, this app connects directly to my DropBox account and allows me to read by PDFs.  The fact that it also allows me to work with MS Word and Excel documents is a plus.

I've also used Box.Net to bring my PDFs over and read them using Adobe Reader.  This is kinda the no frills, free method (assuming you have a Box.Net account).

I'm sure there are folks with more experience then I have with Android, just keep in mind, not all Android Apps work on the Fire.

As for how they look?  The Fire screen is pretty damn sharp.  I have no complaints.  The iPad's 10" screen makes for a better reading experience in general, but the Fire's screen and size makes for a better "in bed" reading experience.

Alright, got my Kindle Fire (not my actual picture - I borrowed it from another site - the wife is currently playing with mine).

Here's my quick first impressions:

It's much lighter then my 1st Gen iPad.  Part of that is going from a 10" to a 7" screen.  Part of that is the metal case of the iPad.  Part of that is that the Kindle Fire is significantly slimmer.

The screen is bright and vibrant.  Works well for my Kindle book collection, playing movies via Amazon Prime (and the movies seem to load quicker then Netflix does on my iPad) and playing Angry Birds. ;)

I've uploaded Netflix and Hulu to it but I've yet to give them a try.  Didn't have a lot of time to spend with i tonight as the contractor is starting work tomorrow and we had to get things ready.  I need to upload some PDFs onto it still.  I didn't see a Dropbox app for it, but there is a Boxee app, so that should work.  I also need to upload some standard ebooks and some comics.

The touch screen responds well - better then the HP WebOS Tablet that was all the rage for $99 bucks 2 months ago.  I'll say it's about as responsive as my iPad.

My mother's reaction (she's knocking on 70 soon) upon seeing it and getting to play with it - she wants one for Christmas.

My wife's reaction - she has yet to put it down since she picked it up 20 minutes ago - and she wants her own for Christmas.

I'll play with it later when my wife relinquishes it ;)

Awaiting The Fire

Yep, I'm waiting on the delivery of my Kindle Fire today. Well, technically I'm at work and my son is waiting for the delivery, as he is off today, but lets not split hairs.

I'm hoping this is a viable and affordable alternative to the iPad. I love my iPad, but carrying a $800 piece of electronics on the NYC Transit System is probably the choice of fools. Carrying a $200 piece of electronics on the NYC Transit System is probably also foolish, but $600 less foolish ;)

I want to see how well the Kindle Fire handles my PDF collection. More tonight.

I'm a Kindle Blogger! Sorta...

So, this blog is now available on the Kindle. Originally priced at $1.99 a month, it is now 99 cents a month. Don't ask me how Amazon decides how to price the blogs they sell through their site... they set the price and the authors just follow along. I'm happy to see it priced at 99 cents... I'f priceit for free on Amazon but that isn't an option.

Oh, and I hope turkey day went well for everyone. Today is Black Friday... I'll be shopping from the comfort of my desk ;)

Amazon Updates Kindle Firmware... PDFs are Native to Kindle 2 Now

Yep, Amazon finally did a no brainer and updated the firmware on the Kindle 2 to read PDFs in their native format. What does this mean to gamers like us? It a real convenient way to read gaming material on your downtime... you know, in the waiting room, on the bus or train or even plane, all without having to reveal to the unclean masses that you are a gamer.

Well, that and it can hold oodles of gaming material.

So, after updating the firmware on my Kindle 2 (for some reason it didn't update automatically via Whispersync), I rebooted the puppy, connected my Kindle 2 with it's USB cable to my computer and dumped the first edition of the Labrynth Lord rules onto it.

The results? Can't really read it in its regular orientation (print is way too small), but it is very readable in the horizontal position. I still will prefer using my DX for reading PDFs I think, but the option to use the Kindle 2 is very much appreciated.

Oh, and the update promises a greatly increased battery time between charges.

The DX also got an update. The main thing there is that PDFs, when viewed in the horizontal position, will automatically have the white space borders cropped, thereby increasing the viewable size of the PDF on screen. Haven't seen it in action yet but I will give it a try soon.

Kindle DX - Countdown

The Kindle DX ships in a week. Yes, I pre-ordered. I'm enjoying having disposable income at the moment... something tells me it won't last forever, but toys purchased previously get grandfathered in ;)

9.7" Diagonal Screen should allow me to get the most use out of my extremely large RPG PDF library. I can hope, can't I? The Jetbook and the Sony 505 both read PDFs natively, but the small size of the screen makes it a chore to read any RPG book that has more then one column of text on the screen (zooming to enlarge the text requires one to go back and forth on the now split page in order to read it). And as I've said before, don't even think of reading an RPG PDF on the Kindle or Kindle 2. Read every other book, blog, newspaper or magazine... but not PDFs.

Then there's the bigger problem... do I get the girlfriend a Kindle 2 or a DX for her birthday? ;)

Another plus for the Kindle

The ability to get constant AP News updates throughout the day. Who needs a newspaper?


-- Post From My iPhone

Amazon Kindle 2

Why is the first gadget I post one that has little to do with RPGs? Because it is quite possibly the best e-book reader out there. Yes, there are many choices, and Sony has a nice contender, but no other reader offers instant gratification. Download the latest novel in the never ending fantasy series you've been following - you can buy it wirelessly from your Kindle. Go to the Baen website and download free (and legal) SciFi and Fantasy novels in Kindle (and other formats). Its truly an amazing device.

What doesn't it do? It doesn't do cheap. $359 (no cover - add 40 bucks or so for one of those)

It doesn't do PDFs - at least not in a manner that serves the purpose of gamers. To use a PDF on the Kindle or Kindle 2 you need to have Amazon convert it. Tables don't survive the conversion process, making nearly every RPG PDF horribly crippled.

Still, the Kindle is an amazing device despite its short comings.

(The Kindle DX promises to do PDFs natively and has a 9.7" screen, compared to the 6" on the earlier Kindles - approximately 2 1/2 times the viewing surface - not cheap at $489 plus the cover)