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The Novel Network site--any good?
November 29, 2010 7:51 AM   Subscribe

Has anyone ever used "The Novel Network"? There is a one time fee of $49 to download as many eBooks, news papers, etc. in any eReader format. I have the Kindle 3 and I download a lot of free eBooks. This site looks like it might be worth it to get access to many publications for a small-ish fee.
posted by sandra194 to Computers & Internet (8 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
From their "Legal" link:

TheNovelNetwork.com does not provide a direct database for downloading. TheNovelNetwork.com provides members with the necessary links, tutorials & unlimited technical support for their downloading needs. We make no guarantees as to the content available in the member's area.


I'd stay very, very far away.
posted by jbickers at 7:57 AM on November 29, 2010 [2 favorites]


It has two shill review sites, one of the testimonials in its main page says that they have Harry Potter (for which there's no legal ebook version) and in general looks very sketchy.

I would save those $49 and use IRC if I wanted pirated ebooks.
posted by Memo at 7:58 AM on November 29, 2010 [2 favorites]


Their fine print/legal information is pretty sketchy. Note the following passages:

TheNovelNetwork.com does not provide a direct database for downloading. TheNovelNetwork.com provides members with the necessary links, tutorials & unlimited technical support for their downloading needs. We make no guarantees as to the content available in the member's area.

The fees and charges assessed by The Novel Network represent one-time club membership fees which entitle You as a Purchaser to access to the location, evaluation, and or recommendation of those software products available from the web site and for the information provided to purchasers.

...my rule of thumb is usually that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is...
posted by litnerd at 7:59 AM on November 29, 2010


Looking it up, I see a bunch of shill reviews and one legit looking review that says it just has public domain books.
posted by jeather at 8:00 AM on November 29, 2010


Despite what appears to have been a an attempt to completely fill Google with identically-worded fake recommendations, there seem to be plenty of reports that it is indeed a scam.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 8:11 AM on November 29, 2010


Yep, too good to be true. Thanks you guys!
posted by sandra194 at 8:40 AM on November 29, 2010


Looks like a scam, I've had good luck downloading recent legal popular ebooks from my local library.
posted by bottlebrushtree at 9:10 AM on November 29, 2010


I, uh, fell for the exact same thing once. Except with MP3s instead of books. The legal disclaimed was identical.

They "sell" you a goddamn how-to on using The Pirate Bay and limewire and whatnot to pirate stuff. They also included a nice spyware-infected version of Kazaa. Best part? They didn't even bother to control access to the "members area". So, I could have gotten what I paid $20 for without paying anything. On the other hand, what I got was nothing.

It is a giant goddamn scam, and I'm still bitter about that shit.
posted by Netzapper at 10:57 AM on November 29, 2010


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