The Book Sale and the Bindery

The sign is up and the Bindery is rapidly approaching full operational capability. We’re still waiting to resolve one issue, and to confirm the apparently successful resolution of two others, before we can seriously contemplate getting started on The Iliad and The Odyssey for the backers. But we are getting very close to full E-F-F-E-C-T otherwise known as EFFECT.

In the meantime, in case the announcement somehow escaped you, there are four Library and four Libraria books on sale for $69.99 and $199.99 respectively, including what may be the best value ever offered by Castalia Library, which is both THE LAWDOG FILES and THE LAWDOG FILES: AFRICAN ADVENTURES bound together in a single hilarious edition. Based on our experience in listening to the audiobook on a long trip in a car full of children, THE LAWDOG FILES would make for an excellent Christmas gift for any teenage or precocious reader with a sense of humor.

An excerpt from SQUEAKER’S TALE“S, THE LAWDOG FILES

Many, MANY moons ago—and don’t even ask, ’cause I won’t tell you—when I was still a pup, the family lived in Nigeria. We had a bungalow at the Odibo Estates, out near the Biafran border. Every evening peddlers, called traders, used to walk up and down the main road, offering various knick-knacks and merchandise for sale or trade.

Ali Cheap-Cheap was one of the busier traders, and he spent a lot of time on our front porch haggling with Mom. Now, Ali Cheap-Cheap was very proud of his ability to acquire just about anything you might want or need.

One evening, Mom was visiting on the front porch with the visiting wife of one of the English engineers. Said wife had never been outside of London before, and as a consequence, she loathed Africa. She and Mom were chattering and griping when along came Ali Cheap-Cheap. Old Ali Cheap-Cheap didn’t have anything that Mom or the English lady wanted, so, before he wandered off, he asked if, “Madams want for anything?”

The English lady got a funny look in her eye, tapped her snake-hide purse and said, “I want one of these.” “Yes, madam,” replied Ali, and off he trotted.

About three weeks later, Mom and her new English friend were on the front porch again, when along came Ali Cheap-Cheap. With a friend. Ali and friend had a cane pole slung over their shoulders, and there was a burlap bag hanging from said pole.

Now, at this point I should mention that also on the front porch, in addition to the two ladies, was a Mongoose-a-minium, in which lived our pet kusimanse, or as it is known to science, Helogale parvula, the pygmy mongoose. This Mongoose-a-minium had a Plexiglas ceiling which Dad had assured us was unbreakable.

Riiiight.

Up to the porch came Ali Cheap-Cheap and his buddy.

Mom was eyeing the burlap bag with some trepidation, having had some nasty experiences with what the locals tended to store in burlap bags, when Ali and buddy proudly lifted the burlap bag and announced to the English lady, “Oh, madam! We have your beef!”

I should interject here that “Beef” is bush slang for any animal.

Wait for it.

Mom had risen to her full height, and was about to order Ali to get his beef away from her house, when Squeaker, our pygmy mongoose, wandered out of his apartment, and screamed in sheer outrage. It was always amazing how much sheer volume that little hairball could put out. Ali and his buddy were startled by the shriek and dropped the burlap sack onto the Plexiglass roof of Squeaker’s residence.

The unbreakable glass promptly shattered and caused the burlap sack and its contents to fall into the Mongoose-a-minium. It turned out that inside said sack was one observably scared 15-foot python.

Squeaker, who was about the size and girth of a tennis ball, offered up a brief prayer to the Mongoose God for the meal he was about to partake of, and latched onto the snake’s tail with tooth and claw.

The snake discovered that he has been dumped into a place which reeks of mongoose, panicked and attempted to slide up the side of the Mongoose-a-minium and down onto the porch, but was hindered in doing so by Squeaker, who was not only still firmly attached to the python’s tail, but was bracing all four legs against the wall to prevent his meal from getting away.

Did I mention that the snake was approximately fifteen feet long?

Squeaker didn’t even slow him down.

DISCUSS ON SG


Castalia House Thanksgiving Sales

From November 24 through November 30, Castalia Library is selling four Library books at a discount price of $69.99 for everyone in the USA and the UK. This includes both subscribers and non-subscribers alike; no discount codes are necessary or applicable to the books on sale. Free shipping is included.

  • The Lawdog Files
  • The Jungle Books
  • The Black Swan
  • Fooled by Randomness

Castalia Library is also selling four Libraria books at a discount price of $199.99. The same rules apply.

  • Ethics
  • Politics
  • Summa Elvetica
  • The Promethean

Don’t forget that the BASED BOOKS SALE is also running, as in addition to the hundreds of ebooks on offer from other authors and publishers, 9 Castalia House ebooks are available at $0.99 each until November 30. A Throne of Bones and The Junior Classics are also on sale. The ebook sales are available worldwide.

  • The Nine Laws by Ivan Throne
  • Wardogs Inc. #1: Battlesuit Bastards by G.D. Stark
  • Wardogs Inc. #2: Hunter Killer by G.D. Stark
  • Wardogs Inc. #3: Metal Monsters by G.D. Stark
  • Mutiny in Space by Rod Walker
  • Corrosion by Johan Kalsi
  • There Will Be War Vol. I by Jerry Pournelle (editor)
  • Summa Elvetica and Other Stories by Vox Day
  • A Throne of Bones by Vox Day ($1.99)
  • The Junior Classics Vols 1-8 by William Patten, Matthew King, and Vox Day ($19.99/set)

An email to this effect was sent out to the Castalia House mailing list. If you are not on it, or if you were somehow removed from it by the vagaries of the current state of email, you can sign up for it here.

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BASED BOOK SALE 2023

Castalia House is supporting the popular Based Book Sale this year, with 8 ebooks at $0.99, one very long ebook at $1.99, and an even longer set of 8 ebooks for $19.99. There are a lot of very good authors participating, including the great John C. Wright, so be sure to peruse the lists!

Bypass the cultural gatekeeping, support non-woke authors, and get yourself some great books from both established and emerging talent for only $0.99 – many titles free!

The sale runs through Tuesday November 28.

  • Fan Favorites: These are some of the most popular titles from previous sales: 185 titles from 92 authors. This is a great place to start, if you’ve never been to a sale before, or if you want to be sure you haven’t overlooked a great deal.
  • New Arrivals: These are new releases and other books that we have not previously featured in a sale or that have not appeared in a while: 70 titles from 51 authors. If you’ve been to the sale before, this is a great place to start for some fresh reads.
  • Non-Fiction: We also have a handful of non-fiction works as well ranging from politics to theology to writing to homesteading.

You can see most of the ebooks that are on sale in the image below. So, if there is something that piques your interest or curiosity, why not give it a go? At only ninety-nine cents, it’s almost certainly going to be an excellent entertainment value.

We are also making the 924-page epic fantasy A THRONE OF BONES available for $1.99 for those who are gearing up to read its forthcoming, and equally massive, sequel, and the eight volumes of THE JUNIOR CLASSICS, 2020 Edition available for $19.99. All on-sale editions are ebooks in DRM-free EPUB format.

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I Read, Therefore I Know

We’re finalizing the art for Books 2 and 3 of the Castalia History subscription, and there has been a lot of discussion for what, if any, subscriptions will be created once the Bindery comes online and the two volumes of Homer have been completed. What we’ve learned so far is that we will be able to offer subscriptions with much smaller print runs than before, which means that we can do more esoteric sets that we wouldn’t have previously contemplated.

But the History subscription is already on very sound footing, and the interiors for Book 4 are already being printed. So, we’re pleased to introduce the Castalia History logo in the form that will appear on the spines of all of the History subscription books in order to set them apart from the Library books as well as the future subscriptions. A more elaborate form will appear inside the books beginning with Book 4.

We would also welcome a discussion among subscribers concerning their opinions on what the next subscription or two should be. We’re presently in discussions with a major publisher that, if successful, will be offered as a separate subscription, and we’ve also kicked around a few ideas among the Castalia team.

  • The There Will Be War series (10 volumes)
  • Thomas Aquinas series (4-6 volumes)
  • Chinese Classics series (5 volumes)
  • Chick Lit Classics series (Austen, Bronte, etc.)
  • The Hardy Boys (3+ as copyright allows)
  • Arkhaven omnibus comic series

Please don’t opine without taking into account the availability of the works. Obviously, we will do a Tolkien series whenever we have the opportunity to do so. Anyhow, if you haven’t subscribed to Castalia History yet, you might want to wait until January to start your subscription with Book 4 so that you don’t start with the second book in a two-volume set. Unless, of course, you don’t mind paying five catchups to ensure you get both volumes of the Cambridge Medieval History.

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Junior Classics ebook editions

In order to maximize the availability of the Castalia Junior Classics to every homeschooling family, we’ve now made the Junior Classics volumes 1-8 available as ebook editions in DRM-free EPUB format for less than $35 for the 3,500-page set. Ebook backers of the project should check their emails tonight, as we’ll be sending out a code that will provide for a free download of all eight volumes, which are as follows:

  1. Fairy Tales & Fables
  2. Myths & Legends
  3. Tales of Greece & Rome
  4. Heroes of Chivalry
  5. Tales That Never Grow Old
  6. Stories of Boys & Girls
  7. The Animal Book
  8. Heroes of History

Readers have already seen what the covers and spines look like, but the interiors bear consideration too, as the layouts are done to the exacting Castalia Library specifications and feature literally hundreds of classic illustrations. Volume VII: The Animal Book contains the most illustrations of any book we’ve published to date; THE SEA OTTER is a particularly beautiful tale about one of my favorite animals.

    While Volume VIII: Heroes of History doesn’t contain as many illustrations as its predecessor, it does contain 35 stories about unforgettable historical figures from the most famous to the now-obscure spanning more than 2,000 years. Which means the young reader of this volume will come away with a grasp of human history that likely exceeds that of the average college history major.

    Volumes 9 and 10 are expected to be released next summer. We do not anticipate releasing these ebook editions as single volumes, but if we do, it will probably be via Amazon and not via the Arkhaven store.

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    Junior Classics 7 and 8

    As those who have subscribed to the Castalia monthly newsletter already know, Volumes VII and VIII of the Castalia Junior Classics are now a) being printed for shipment to backers this month and b) available for order from Arkhaven at a discount with free shipping and a free ebook edition included for those in the USA and the UK. The books will be available worldwide via Amazon and other booksellers next week.

    Volume VII: The Animal Book, contains illustrated stories by Beatrix Potter, Anne Sewell, Rudyard Kipling, and John C. Wright, as well as dozens of classic short stories about animals ranging from black bears and catamounts to woodchucks and sea otters. It will be a particular favorite of younger readers, due to its incredible collection of classic illustrations. Hardcover+ edition. 438 pages.

    Volume VIII: Heroes of History, includes stories about great historical figures such as Leonidas, Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, Horatio Nelson, Daniel Boone, and Andrew Jackson, as well as stories about lesser-known individuals whose courage and achievements will fascinate children. Hardcover+ edition. 434 pages.

    For those who did not back the Castalia Junior Classics or have not yet begun collecting what will eventually be a 10-volume set, we have made a partial set of volumes 1 through 8 available to order exclusively from the Arkhaven store. All eight volumes are hardcover+ editions, which means the ebook editions are also included with the purchase. All of the covers and spines feature the original artwork of Arkhaven’s Lacey Fairchild.

    The Junior Classics are, hands-down, one of the greatest educational tools you can provide your children, whether you homeschool them or not. A significant portion of my own childhood education was provided by the 1958 edition, and I can testify, without any shadow of a doubt, that the Castalia Junior Classics is the best, most attractive, and most comprehensive edition of the Junior Classics produced since the original set was published in 1919.

    If you are a Junior Classics backer whose mailing address has changed since the campaign four years ago, please email castaliashipping_AT_gmail_DOT_com with your backer ID and your new address.

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    A Review of PLUTARCH’S LIVES

    Charles Synard reviews the Castalia Library publication of the two-volume behemoth after devoting two years to reading the whole thing.

    After more than two years chipping away at the colossal classic, finished reading Plutarch’s Lives. This was the Castalia Library leatherbound edition, limited to 750, and uses the Bernadotte Perrin translation. Two years may seem like a while for a recommended pair of books, but these tomes total something like 1600 pages, so even turning a page every day, this is how long it will take, so a considerable commitment for all but the fastest readers.

    Many of these biographies are of exciting, admirable statesmen, and so it is no wonder that in centuries past, Plutarch was enjoyed by boys for the battlefield action, good examples to follow, and witticisms. After a few lives of semi-legendary Greek and Roman founders, this is almost all drum-and-trumpet history, and more often than not, the subject meets a violent death! Even the rhetoricians who make it in end up little more than propagandists for some power-hungry faction. Clearly, the Lives as a whole are much too long for practical use in instruction; it would be challenging to fit them into a single academic year, and even then there would be gaps. Besides, after a while, the Lives start to blend together, and it can feel like you‘re reading about a compsoite or averaged Greco-Roman marching his troops around, swapping wives, and saying amusing things, so the most distinctive Lives should be set apart, as the student will have a better chance of retaining the information. For an advanced placement high school course, or a 100 or 200 level college course, I think these ten select Lives would give students a rich taste of classical history, while more than holding interest and providing fruitful inspiration to greatness in our times:

    —Lycurgus and Numa, wise founding lawgivers
    —Alexander and Julius Caesar, unparalleled conquerors
    —Agis & Cleomenes and the Gracchi, attempted restorers in a decadent age
    —Timoleon and Brutus, supernatural intervention in human affairs?

    In English translation, Plutarch is the canonical writer I have read who most closely follows one of the standards of writing that was most drilled into us in my school days: the thesis statement. Because the Lives are mostly paired, Plutarch usually includes prefatory remarks to explain why the two belong together, and then follows the biographies with a comparison.

    Read the rest of it there. This is the sort of book review that I really like to see, because it reviews the book rather than just discussing the reader’s reaction to the book. One thing that many reviewers fail to grasp is that the subject of the review should be the thing reviewed, not the reviewer himself.

    Obviously, many editions that purport to be Plutarch’s Lives are actually an abridgement of them, which is normally abhorrent to us; we’d rather divide a massive tome into two or even three volumes rather than cut it down to a size that will not destroy itself on the bookshelf with the assistance of gravity over time. But, in the event that we ever decide to do a Homeschooling subscription, an abridged version of Plutarch might make sense.

    While the Library edition is now out of stock, there are about 20 copies of the more exclusive, superdeluxe Libraria edition available.

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    Junior Classics Vols. VII and VIII

    THE CASTALIA JUNIOR CLASSICS VOLS I – VIII

    Castalia House is very pleased to announce that, at long last, Vols. VII and VIII of the Junior Classics are now complete. With dozens of stories and hundreds of pictures, as well as beautiful cover and spine art from Lacey Fairchild, both The Animal Book and Heroes of History are certain to be lifelong favorites of young readers. And yes, there is a story about sea otters.

    The first books are now printing and we’re waiting to review them, after which we will a) order the backer editions for shipment to all the backers and b) make the individual hardcovers available for sale to everyone on the Arkhaven store as well as via Amazon, B&N, and other booksellers. The retail price will be $34.99, but we will continue to sell them at Arkhaven for $29.99. We expect to make them available for sale the first week of November, and to begin shipping to backers the third week of November.

    We will also make an eight-volume set available for $219.99, which will be replaced by a ten-volume set at a higher price when all ten volumes are finished.

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    The Ultimate RPG System

    The long-awaited ADVENTURER CONQUEROR KING SYSTEM II kickstarter has been launched by Autarch and it has already exceeded doubled its initial launch goal.

    Enter a world where empires stand on the brink of war, and terrible monsters tear at the fragile borderlands of men; where decaying cities teem with chaos and corruption, weeping innocents are sacrificed to chthonic cults and nobles live in decadent pleasure while the realm burns; where heroes, wizards, and rogues risk everything in pursuit of glory, fortune, and power. This is a world where adventurers can become conquerors – and conquerors can become kings. Will you survive the perils of war and dark magic to claim a throne? Or will you meet your fate in a forgotten ruin beyond the ken of men?

    The Adventurer Conqueror King System™ Imperial Imprint (ACKS II) is the new edition of the acclaimed bestselling fantasy role-playing game. Within the pages of ACKS II you’ll find everything you need to enjoy epic fantasy campaigns with a sweeping scope. Whether you want to crawl through dungeons, experiment with alchemy, crossbreed monsters, run a merchant emporium, raise an undead legion, or conquer an empire, ACKS II supports your playstyle.

    If you spend enough time in online RPG communities, you’ll have seen someone post something like “They need to make a game that… has mass combat mechanics that work at every scale / keeps fighters competitive with mages / has figured out how to make thieves fun / has an economy that makes sense / could actually simulate my game world.” And someone will inevitably respond: “ACKS already does that. ” And it’s true.

    Now, with ACKS II, we’re doing it even better.

    Castalia House is supporting this RPG system because we expect future sourcebooks to be produced from a number of our properties using ACKS II. Autarch is already planning to produce one based on CHUCK DIXON’S CONAN and we have already discussed the possibility of producing similar sourcebooks for MIDNIGHT’S WAR, ARTS OF DARK AND LIGHT, and perhaps even QUANTUM MORTIS someday with them. How cool would that be?

    But first, it’s necessary to see that the core RPG system is successfully established.

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    Mailvox: Book Update

    In response to some questions regarding the direct bookstore.

    • Yes, you can buy THE ALTAR OF HATE ebook edition separately from the hardcover+ edition. Yes, it is the current epub that contains “Shinjuku Satan” and the other new additions to the anthology.
    • Yes, you can buy A THRONE OF BONES hardcover+ edition directly from Arkhaven now. No, not the paperback, but the audiobook+ and the ebook editions are also available there.
    • No, you cannot buy most of our ebooks from Amazon right now. We’ll get them back up there eventually, but it is not a top priority at the moment. Please recall that most of the independent publishers that relied on Amazon are struggling or have already gone under; our direct business will always be our priority.
    • Yes, we are working on expanding our direct business beyond the USA and the UK. One step at a time. Please recall that it’s only been seven months since Aerio shut down and we began replacing it.
    • Yes, there will be A SEA OF SKULLS audiobook+ edition. No, it will not be available on Audible. It will only be available directly from Arkhaven or UATV.
    • Yes, the JUNIOR CLASSICS VOLS. VII and VIII will ship to backers and will be available for sale before Christmas.

    If you have any other questions, leave them at the link below on SG. Unless they are shipping-related questions, in which case please contact the appropriate shipment house by email or on SG.

    There is also some exciting Castalia-related news coming with regards to an upcoming crowdfunding campaign by a third party.

    And since we’re at it, here is another selection from the short story “A Reliable Source”, an addition to THE ALTAR OF HATE that was originally published in the anthology RIDING THE RED HORSE.

    From “A Reliable Source”

    “There’s the man of the hour!” General William Norstad, commander of SATGO, was a tall man whose broad shoulders bore three stars apiece. “Colonel James, allow me to be the first to congratulate you. And someone get this man a beer!”

    “Thank you, General.” James smiled at the blank looks on the faces of the men from the other three forces. “We had some first-rate support from the intelligence community.”

    “Earlier this morning, a Grimm pilot under Colonel James’s command terminated with what can only be described as extreme prejudice both Aden al-Muhajir and Osama al-Ansari, numbers twelve and eighteen on our priority list.”

    “Just doing our job, General.” The officers with their hands free clapped, others raised their drinks in salute. Three more officers arrived, including another Air Force general, and they, too, came over to congratulate James and shake his hand as the reason for the celebratory mood was explained to them.

    Once all sixteen of the invited commanders were present, Norstad’s face grew more serious and he urged them all to take a seat and get comfortable.

    “I’m sure most of you are wondering what the purpose of this interservice conclave is. As I expect you will have worked out by now, all of you command drone bases located on U.S. soil. As it happens, you represent sixteen of the twenty-five most effective drone commands in terms of kill-to-mission ratio. I think it speaks well of the armed forces that each branch is represented here today!

    “However, the nature of war is such that no success long goes unremarked by the enemy. As with the laws of physics, for every action there is bound to be a reaction of some kind. In the last four years, our drones have successfully targeted over fifty-six hundred enemy combatants and proven to be our most effective weapon in the ongoing effort against terrorists and militant extremists around the globe. So, it is not surprising that the enemy appears to have embarked upon a new strategy, one that involves attacking our drone pilots and sensor operators here in the United States of America!”

    There was more than a little murmuring at this, but James exchanged a glance with the Marine general, who nodded at him, his face showing absolutely no surprise. Had the Marines lost any pilots, or was this simply the Corps’s storied stoicism in action?

    “In the last six months, fourteen drone pilots and three sensor operators have been found dead in circumstances ranging from deeply suspicious to seemingly innocuous. In addition, eight non-flying staff officers have either been murdered or committed suicide, inexplicably in the case of the latter. These deaths fall within the range of statistical probability, although they are on the high side, and none of them show any overt signs of being the result of terrorist activity. Moreover, the 25 deaths were spread out among twenty different bases, which is why no one recognized the pattern until there was a reason to go looking for it.”

    “What sort of reason was that, General?”

    Norstad smiled grimly and turned to face the Army general who’d asked the question. “Two weeks ago, the National Security Agency contacted SATGO with regards to intel it harvested from a social media site. We were informed that a YouTube channel was being used by a militant branch of Parisian jihadists to disseminate coded messages in retro music videos, hiding their communications in plain sight. Apparently single frames consisting of one letter were being inserted into the videos, which were invisible at a normal 24 frames-per-second rate, but allowed the viewer to read the message when the video was slowed down.”

    “Are you’re saying that a connection between some of these deaths and the YouTube videos has been established? Or is this just civilian conjecture?” The admiral from Pax River sounded skeptical.

    “All the videos associated with that channel have been analyzed. They contained direct references to eighteen of the twenty bases previously mentioned.”

    And with that, the room fell into stunned silence. Norstad nodded. “We are no longer the predators, gentlemen, we are now the prey. In consultation with the NSA and the FBI, SATGO is in the process of developing an enhanced security protocol for all drone bases, foreign and domestic, with a particular emphasis on the bases deemed to be at the greatest risk. I assume you grasp, gentlemen, that your own bases are most certainly among those most likely to be targeted.”

    “How many of those twenty bases that have already been hit are represented here, General?”

    Norstad gave the Marine general a tight smile. “Twelve of them, General. Twelve of them.”

    DISCUSS ON SG