A decade ago, the eBook industry was barely starting to surface in a world where paper has been the dominant material to publish books for the past centuries since Guttenberg invented the mechanical printing press (1468). The marketing of eBooks was so ill-received back then that the first Diablo story by Robert B. Marks titled Diablo: Demonsbane sold a bit over 600 eBooks constrasting with the thousands or millions of copies sold when it was printed a few years ago in the Diablo Archive.
Nowadays, eBooks are in great demand with the rise of iPhones, Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, and many other mobile and eReader devices. BooksOnBoard congratulated Richard A. Knaak for ranking # 8 in the Bestseller List for the fourth week of February making World of WarCraft: Stormrage among the most popular and hot download sales!
Personally, I have most of the Starcraft, WarCraft and Diablo novels in eBook / PDF format. It’s easier to find something running a search, and those with mobile devices can carry the device around with more freedom when on the go.
Awesome, I hope this makes Blizzard realize we need more novels! 2-3 a year aren’t enough, we need like 6! get new authors and make them write while Golden and Knaak are busy! 😀
I’d really love to see smaller stories, like Warcraft: Legends. Imagine, for example: WoW: Northrend Legends. 3 volumes of background history for WotLK characters:
-Rhonin: his dark past before DotD, where his comrades died in a mission.
-Vereesa: how the Silver Covenant was formed.
-Aethas: how he and the Sunreavers got to join the Kirin Tor.
-Telestra: how she betrayed the Kirin Tor and joined the Blue Dragonflight.
-Lana’thel: her and San’layn’s activities around Northrend and Icecrown Citadel.
-Kalecgos: his relationship with Malygos once the Nexus War starts.
And a lot more. Worgen in Grizzly Hills. Luc Valonforth. Loken’s downfall. Azjol-Nerub. Krasus and the Obsidian Sanctum. Gundrak. Nymphs. Magnataurs. Vrykul’s ascension to Ymirjar. The titanic watchers. Sholazar Basin, with the Gorloc and Wolvar. The Storm Giants. The Naga, Kvaldir and Tuskarr.
As you see, there’s enough already established content that could be developed for good, without menacing the future development.