There's some activity online regarding the release of Lukyanenko's new book, "Final Draft".
It boils down to the fact that links to the book's e-copy are being promptly taken down, 'cause the people who bought up all of Runet's e-libraries in one go are keeping a close watch. Copyleft supporters and freeloaders keep spawning new links, while copyright and Lukyanenko supporters shame and reproach them.
Funny enough, a couple of days ago the exact same thing happened regarding Zemfira's new album.
My stance on the copyleft issue is moderate. That is, for the laughable money that www.litres.ru asks for books, even a college student could afford to buy them, and I'm no longer a student. Besides, they accept all sorts of payment systems. The only thing that stopped me from making a purchase is that I absolutely do not trust Russian internet companies, and I don't want to pay them using my credit card.
It's also funny how apazhe mocks both Lukyanenko and Zemfira, and gloats that their works can be downloaded for free. Why he's so happy is beyond me — he dislikes the aforementioned content producers, so it would be more logical to be happy that their work cannot be downloaded, rather than the fact that it can.
My stance on Zemfira and Lukyanenko is moderate. They are conscientious, high-level artisans (Lukyanenko being a bit higher up) and their output is perfectly suitable for entertainment. Unfortunately, I don't feel any awakening of greatness within myself; I have no desire to read all sorts of literary behemoths in the original, like some people (let's not point fingers), especially after work.
And right now I'm downright sick, and my brain is weakened, so I read something on the easier side — namely, the notorious "Final Draft" by Lukyanenko. The Lytdybrs and Courchevels sprinkled all over the place are quite amusing. Goblin's phrase "that's just the kind of plebs we are" fits perfectly here.
Lukyanenko
2007-10-03