With the recent success of the ‘Game of Thrones’ series we’ve seen some damned cool products developed that serve as additions to the book and television series. We’ve had an art book, t-shirts, mugs, lego figures, a dragon egg paperweight, keychain, hoodies,map posters, bookmarks, pendants, tankards, board games, sword shaped letter openers and caps. But, what we are going to bring to your attention takes all these wonderful items and blows them away… pretty much into oblivion… and we could even speculate gives us a glimpse into the future of books:
London, 30 January 2012:
HarperVoyager is delighted today to announce the publication of the enhanced edition of George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones ebook.
Now, do not confused this as a book with a short story thrown in or the odd deleted scene added – it is neither of those. This is a book that has been designed for the ‘ipad’. Harper Voyager explain to us that this is:
A stunning enhanced edition of the hugely popular and highly acclaimed epic fantasy, featuring an interactive map tracking main characters’ journeys, audio extracts of key scenes and a hyperlinked character glossary.
To really comprehend just how impressive this innovation from Voyager is, you need to see it in action. So readers, get ready to have your breath taken away:
Now, I’m sure, any G.R.R. Martin fans reading this are getting chills. If there is one complaint about the ASOI&F series by readers, it is that, at times, it is tough to keep up with who is where and what they are up to. What this book seems to do is allow you to keep a visual track on who is where, whilst you read. Also, if at any point you are confused about the characters, you can click their names and get summaries on them and re-educate yourself.
The Product Page to Download the full version is here:
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/a-game-thrones-enhanced-ebook/id435840365?mt=11
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Below is the complete Press Release by Harper Voyager and also, I should add a thank you to them and Apple for providing us with all the pictures and videos you see above!
HarperVoyager announces industry first with publication of the enhanced edition of George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones ebook
London, 30 January 2012:
Crafted to help readers navigate Martin’s epic and multifarious plot with ease, this new edition features an interactive map tracking the locations of a range of perspective characters throughout the novel. The dynamic map is also an industry first, because by accessing the map at key points within the text, the reader is able to follow the movement of the POV characters in the story.
The interactive edition is powered by GestureKit, a proprietary coding framework developed by HarperCollins in conjunction with Mark Griffifths of The Bespoke Pixel. The same technology has already facilitated an interactive edition of Sanctus, Simon Toyne’s bestselling thriller.
In addition to the dynamic map, the ebook also features two exclusive new maps featuring detailed renderings of King’s Landing and The Wall, and presents readers with a fully hyperlinked glossary, allowing them to look-up character details and family lineage at any point in the plot. Thirteen audio clips, featuring award-winning actor Roy Dotrice’s rendering of Martin’s epic, are also integrated throughout the novel.
HarperCollins Digital Project Manager Sam Hancock said, ‘We’re delighted to be able to offer readers this augmented edition of A Game of Thrones, which perfectly complements Martin’s multifarious and engaging plot. GestureKit opens up all sorts of possibilities for exciting editions, and it seemed only right that George should be the first benefactor of this new technology’.
The enhanced ebook marks the latest in a long line of exciting interactive products from HarperCollins – illustrating the company’s long term commitment to being at the vanguard of digital innovation.
The interactive edition will be available from Apple’s iBookstore, with parallel editions including the new mapping, hyperlinking and audio extracts available across other ebook retail outlets.
Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, the first instalment of which – A Game of Thrones – premiered this year on HBO and Sky Atlantic, has sold over 340,000 copies in ebook format in 2011, with over 1.2 million books sold in total in the UK.
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For more information, a web version of the interactive map can be accessed here:
http://appunit.co.uk/client/harpercollins/got/?page=36
The Product Page to Download the full version is here:
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/a-game-thrones-enhanced-ebook/id435840365?mt=11
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Publishing details for the Game of Thrones enhanced edition:
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978-0-00-744572-1
Publication date: 30th January 2012
Richard Marpole
Jennie Ivins
Holy…that is incredible! This is the sort of thing e-book tech should be getting used for, how much fun does that look? Mind you, I’d never be off the map, that was crazy detailed.
This is the future of ebooks and reading in general and I, for one, am glad it is getting attached to The Game of Thrones so more eyes will see it and more innovation will occur. There are many in the industry who are thinking about doing something like this, with collapsing annotations as you slide your fingers over them, small maps and character breakdowns linked to other passages and even memorable quotes you can add to (depending on the book).
Looks really good, makes me want to see what other books they can apply this to. Thanks for sharing this with us, made my sick day a little brighter.
Is truly exciting! I remember when ebooks were first announced and I thought then that they may one day change the reading experience. I.e. you may have the odd picture come into the text and such – but I never thought things would advance this quickly and this soon… really is staggering to see what the guys at Voyager have achieved already :O
Look’s like they’re finally getting the good stuff into ebooks/ibooks and at a price that I’d actually be happy to pay! Now just have to scrape together the money for the iPad ¬_¬
That’s amazing. Great way of keeping track where the armies are positioned. Maybe I should just hold off reading the rest of the series until the Enhanced Editions are out.
This is really awesome, especially for this series where there is so much going on to remember. I can’t wait to see more books like this!
Would be REALLY cool if they do the rest of the series like this. I would also love a ‘previously’ type addition on the new books – that would be extra great! 😀
This is so cool! I can think a dozen fantasy series that need to get this treatment!
This is great! I knew ebooks were going to evolve, but it has happened so much faster than I imagined. However, I think it is unfair that this is only available for the iPad, the developers should open it up for the Android market too, and make it accessible to a much bigger audience – and they’d make tons more money too!!! 🙂
THIS is what ereaders were meant for – taking that reading experience to the next level. I think I’ll be getting the GRRM collection in digital 🙂
Will there be a release on the U.S. iBooks store for this? It seems to be England-only right now…