Iban M. G. and Ben Martin have launched a writing project that breaks the boundaries of typical book in paper/digital format. Over the years I have seen many attempts to push the publishing world further. All commendable and appreciated. But so far I have not seen any project as ambitious as HTO.

Note: Literary review aside. I have not read the novel yet and, as a matter of fact, that`s irrelevant for the purposes of this post.

HTO. Hostile Takeover is a literary saga action and science fiction in Spanish. The first novel in the series,“El legado de Henry Bobson” is already available for about $4.85 (€ 3.95) in eBook format licensed under Creative Commons with a reading mode they call hyper-reading. You can also read for free the first seven chapters of the novel from a new online reader they have developed. They have also created an online enciclopedia to clarify concepts, characters, plots and the future of the project.

As if this were not enough, once you buy the book you can download the novel in several formats, DRM-free, 4 times, and they even ask “please, share it with your friends using our PRO piracy system and your social networks.”

But what`s more unique is that you can access a private area with:

  • Access to private downloads
  • Exclusive content
  • Gammification-badge-accomplishment system
  • Hyper-reading using smartphones, codes and online content
  • An account in the Bank of Ishtar with an initial virtual currencydeposit to invest in development of HTO packs

I wish them the best of lucks, and I applaud their initiative. These are the people who will “kill” publishers (and we should all cheer) if they don`t “get with the program”. If they were smart, and wanted to grow and stay in business competitively, major publishers should offer them a place in their boardrooms now. But we all know that it is easier to manipulate prices with monopolistic measures, go crying to government officials and the media, impose DRM even harming their own clients and the dissemination of culture, and require legislative measures which enable repression forces to chase anyone seeking culture.

Congratulations Iban and Ben! The future is yours. You have earned it.

Disclaimer: I have known Iban M. G. 7 years. But I write this post not because he is a friend, but because the project seems great.