The first novel has gone on sale in the Ubuntu Software Center.
‘ZHackers: Volume One’ tells the story of three geeks facing a Zombie apocalypse with nothing to defend themselves other than their wits.
Author David Jordan has chosen to publish the title without DRM and license it under a Creative Commons license.
‘Romp of a read’
So it any good? The answer to that will likely depend on your literary tastes and your appreciation of the ‘zombocalypse‘ genre.
It’s an enjoyable romp of a read, laced with nods to open-source software and culture throughout. It’s like ‘The Walking Dead’ via Ubuntu rather than Hershel’s bloody Farm.
The characters and situations through are well realised and, importantly for fiction in this genre, believable. Humour and action are all well balanced, and although the volume is relatively short at around 50 pages, it remains pacey.
Added Value
ZHackers joins an increasing number of reading material readily available to buy through Ubuntu.
Magazines, including Linux Format and Linux Admin, as well as books like ‘the Practical Guide to Ubuntu’, are beginning to dominate the ‘paid apps’ section of the Software Center,
These titles are typically provided as .pdf files and range in price from $6.99 for magazines to as much as $40 for books.
But David Jordan has taken a different approach with his novel.
Firstly, ZHackers is priced at a pocket-change $2.99 – a tempting price.
Secondly, ZHackers is packaged superbly.
Not only does $2.99 get you a .Pdf version but also provides an interactive browser-based version (complete with slick page turning animations), and a portable version for your eBook reader in the open ePub format.
ZHackers: Volume 1 is available to buy from the Ubuntu Software Center on Ubuntu 11.10 & Ubuntu 12.04.
