Reggie Oliver's Mrs Midnight and Other Stories, which was already out of print when I reviewed it a few days after publication, will be reprinted and made available in an e-book edition. It's not clear whether the reprint will be a second hardcover edition or a trade paperback, though most of Tartarus' reprints of its contemporary titles have been the latter. [Later update: Oliver himself has apparently confirmed that the reprint will be a paperback.] The e-book, if priced in the same range as Tartarus' other e-releases, will mark the first time a collection of Oliver's fiction has been available at a cost likely to appeal to the casual, non-limited-edition reader. The other piece Mrs Midnight news is that the book has received a prestigious starred review from Publishers Weekly.
Also praised by Publishers Weekly was Michael Reynier's Five Degrees of Latitude, which Tartarus recently made available as an e-book, both direct from the publisher and at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. One of the benefits of e-publication, aside from affordability and availability to a new audience, is the inclusion on Amazon of a sample of the title, allowing readers to get a taste of the author's style and decide whether they're interested enough to buy the e-book, or even the print edition. I don't often read e-books myself, but I've been known to make an exception when it's by far the cheapest way to read something, and I'm currently debating whether to buy the e-edition of Five Degrees of Latitude so I can use it to decide whether I want the hardcover. Although its stock-in-trade has always been and will continue to be its handsome print books, Tartarus is to be commended for taking steps into the realm of electronic publishing, which can be a rewarding one for both publishers and readers.
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