Electronic “Sixth” Edition Will Continue!

November 23, 2005 – On the heels of Kreutzfeldt Electronic Publishing’s decision not to continue the so-called “sixth edition” following the pilot phase, this electronic edition will now be released by  www.readersplanet.de on a subscription basis starting December 5, 2005.

Ever since the first weekly Perry Rhodan issue was published on September 8, 1961,  “Unternehmen Stardust” [Enterprise Stardust], as it was titled, has been reprinted countless times. More and more new generations of readers, both in German-speaking areas but also in Japan, Brazil, France, The Netherlands, and other countries, have wanted to read about how  Perry Rhodan takes off for the first moon landing, encounters the extraterrestrials who are stranded there, and unites humankind with the help of their technology.

Forty-four years following the fictional moon-landing, the electronic age will be embraced once and for all: anyone can now read the Perry Rhodan series all over again, unchanged and from the very beginning. And this new edition won’t just be released in Germany alone. Using their PCs, readers all around the world can download the electronic edition of  “Unternehmen Stardust” and subsequent issues over the Internet and enjoy them sitting at their PCs or on the go on their PDAs (Pocket PC, Palm) or a SmartPhone.

Upon its release and in the decades that followed,  “Unternehmen Stardust” made literary history. Jointly conceived by German writers Walter Ernsting, alias  Clark Darlton, and  Karl-Herbert Scheer, the idea of creating a future history of humankind turned into an international success “made in Germany.” To date, the original German series has seen 2300 weekly issues, over 400 paperbacks featuring additional content, and roughly 100 hardcovers, while licensed editions have appeared in several other countries and languages. The main series has been supplemented with such products as computer and role-playing games, audiobooks, and comic books.

The five print editions of the main Perry Rhodan series that have been published in Germany in the weekly booklet format will now be joined by an  electronic edition. Each new issue of this so-called “sixth edition” of Perry Rhodan will be available for download on Mondays and Wednesdays.

You can now subscribe the first 49 issues for a total of 62.90 Euros. Starting December 5 you will find two new issues each week in your digital bookshelf. The issues will be delivered in a password protected PDF format—printing and copying for personal use is permitted. New subscriptions can of course be started at any time.

 Readersplanet has prepared the PDFs in such a manner that you can also easily read them on pocket PCs and Palm OS Organizers and listen to them by voice output that comes with the free Acrobat Reader software.

MobiPocket customers who have already bought the first few installments will receive a free audiobook as a small compensation.

And here’s the  link to our eBook-Shop.

An Editor’s Log Entry

By Klaus N. Frick

November 25, 2005 – This time, a quick report from the trenches: what exactly does an editor at a book and magazine publishing company do all day?

For example, this morning (November 8, 2005) was devoted to a meeting. That in of itself wouldn’t be unusual at all, except that this one was focused on our  Atlan booklet series. In attendance: Atlan editor  Sabine Kropp and myself, joined by our division head Susanne Heuser and company head Cornelia Schulze (just to throw around some names of relevant people).

While our management colleagues provided some business data and calculations,  Sabine Kropp and I contributed ideas on content and a rough marketing concept to the discussion. Basic ideas for marketing initiatives had already been developed late afternoon yesterday by our marketing colleagues  Miriam Hofheinz and  Klaus Bollhöfener in a discussion with me. Each of them had come up with several suggestions, and the issues now on the table included selection, implementation, and, most of all, funding.

All in all, everyone is quite happy with the ways things have gone so far with the current “ Intrawelt” [Intraworld] story arc: the editors, because the content fits, and management, because the numbers are solid. For this reason,  Atlan will be seamlessly continued in 2006, with a new mini story arc that will be launched in the spring.

Not even I know the subject matter of that new story arc yet. Just today,  Sabine Kropp discussed that with storyline developer  Michael Marcus Thurner, who has sent her a detailed discussion paper for consideration. Thus, editor and head writer are engaged in an on-going dialogue, the result of which we are all looking forward to. Discussions have already been held on assigning writers and illustrators for the first few issues, and the editor is currently making decisions about that.

Also on the agenda of this morning’s meeting was to consider what we could offer that would interest the fans: perhaps a sampling from the first issue, perhaps an audiobook, perhaps a special e-book edition, perhaps a poster, perhaps an appearance by an author at a bookstore to kick off the new story cycle.

I am certain that  Sabine Kropp and her team, who at present are still hard at work on the “ Intrawelt” cycle, will come up with an attractive package of initiatives, which we will then see for ourselves between January and March 2006. In any event, we all expect the next  Atlan story cycle to be another success!

Perry Rhodan as Background for Electronic Sounds

November 24, 2005 – Singh Boncard is the name of a fictional musician invented by Perry Rhodan writer  Hans Kneifel in the late 1960s and who has appeared in various Perry Rhodan stories written by Kneifel. Consequently Singh Boncard has been one of the most significant composers of the Perryverse to this day.

This makes it even more gratifying that Georg Abts has chosen this name for his own electronic compositions. Titled “ Music From The 3^rd Millennium,” Singh Boncard’s first CD will be released in late 2005.

For the most part, this “music for synthronic instruments” consists of quiet melodies that have been generated by synthesizer. Running almost an hour, the CD contains five compositions with titles like “Hypercycle,” “Transit,” “Titan” and “Exp.”

Included is also a booklet, whose well-rounded artwork is based on the Perry Rhodan universe. Friends of contemplative electronic music who like such musicians as Klaus Schulze or Klaus Doldinger are sure to enjoy this CD as well.

Profits from the CD’s first edition will be donated to World Vision for earthquake recovery assistance efforts.

The  “Singh Boncard” web site includes further information in English.

September 2005:

·          Perry Rhodan “Silver Volumes” hardcover series:  Volume 91, “Die Terra-Patrouille” [The Terra Patrol]

·          PERRY RHODAN-Gold Edition: Weekly issues 700, “Aphilie” [Aphilia], by Kurt Mahr, and 800, “Die Kaiserin von Therm” [The Empress of Therm], by William Voltz

·          “Der Schwarm” paperback edition: Volumes 4 “Die Gelben Eroberer” [The Yellow Conquerors], and 5 “Herrscher des Schwarms” [Rulers of the Swarm]

September 15, 2005:

·          Perry Rhodan weekly booklet series:

•  E-books of the First Edition available in PDF from  Readersplanet
• Perry Rhodan volume  2300 available free of charge as audiobook and e-book at  www.pr2300.de

September 23, 2005:

·          Atlan booklet series:

• Launch of the  e-book edition of the “ Dunkelstern” cycle by  Readersplanet
• Launch of “ Intrawelt” cycle

October 2005:

·          Atlan hardcover series: Volume 27, “Kristalle des Todes” [Crystals of Death]

November 2005:

·          Perry Rhodan “Silver Volumes” hardcover series: Volume 92, “Das Modul” [The Module]

December 5, 2005:

·          Perry Rhodan weekly booklet series: Launch of the “Sixth Edition” in  e-book by  Readersplanet, starting with  volume 1, “Unternehmen Stardust” [Enterprise Stardust]

Spring 2006:

·          Atlan booklet series: Launch of new mini story cycle following “ Intrawelt”

March 2006:

·          Perry Rhodan “Silver Volumes” hardcover series: Volume 93, “Abschied von Terra” [Farewell to Terra]

April 2006:

·          Atlan hardcover series: Volume 28, “Die Eisige Sphäre” [The Icy Realm]

Summer 2006:

·         Expected launch of “Sternenozean” audioplay serial

Provided only as a convenience for informational purposes. Please check the official web sites to confirm dates/times and places.

December 2 – 4, 2005:  GermanCityCon (Stargate) (Fürth, Germany)

March 16 – 19, 2006:  Leipzig Book Fair (Leipzig, Germany)

April 13 – 16, 2006:  28^th EuroCon (Kiev, Ukraine)

April 22 – 23, 2006:  Marburg Con 2006 for literature of the fantastic (Community Center in Richtsberg at Marburg, Germany)

May 20 – 21, 2006:  Perry Rhodan Con Franconia (Schwanstetten, near Nuremberg, Germany)

June 3 – 4, 2006:  ColoniaCon 17 (Cologne, Germany)

August 23 – 27, 2006:  64^th Science Fiction WorldCon (Anaheim, California, USA)