Timewaster's Guide Archive
Local Authors => Brandon Sanderson => Topic started by: Comatose on June 26, 2010, 12:03:20 AM
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So, instead of listening to some fellow forum people, I read New Spring first.
I do not regret it.
First of all: Now that so many of the books are out, I probably would not have wanted to break away from the current plot. Who knows? By the time I am done the series (for there are still other books I am itching to read in between, and I think I will need a break after The Eye of the World) they might all be out, and then I might not have read New Spring until after the conclusion of the final book.
Secondly: Keep in mind I am only half done The Eye of the World, but I liked New Spring better. Now (minor spoilers ahead) I already know Rand is the Dragon Reborn from Suvudu, but it was pretty obvious I think anyways: main character, mysterious circumstances involving his birth, etc. I'm not knocking the book, I'm just saying, Rand's the Dragon. But I find his viewpoint incredibly boring for something. I don't mind Perrin's, mostly because I like Egwene, but Mat and Rand just get on my nerves.
The viewpoints I look forward to the most thought? Well at this point in the book, they're Nynaeve's, because that's when I see Lan and Moraine. I loved both of them in New Spring, and so far the parts of The Eye of the World that I have enjoyed best are all the parts with them in it. I think it's so cool how temestuous Moraine has become a true Aes Sedai, and how her relationship with Lan has developed. I don't think I would have enjoyed them so much if I had not read New Spring first. Of course, I might have enjoyed Rand more if a hadn't, but I don't think I would enjoy him anyways.
just thought I'd share my experience, and ask for your thoughts. Please keep in mind I am only half done Eye of the World. Right now all groups are headed to Caemlyn.
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Yay, new WoT reader!
As far as reading order, I think that most people probably recommend starting the main series first because that's the way they did it. I'm glad you enjoyed New Spring.
Having said that, I think that not having read New Spring first helps you to empathize a bit more with Rand and Mat, because you're just as lost as they are. At least that's how I remember feeling the first time I read the first book 12 years ago or so.
I'm sure the characters will grow on you as they are forced to change themselves. Rand starts to grow into his role of Dragon Reborn. And Mat, well lets just say that in books 1 and 2 you only get glimpses of what becomes the greatest character that fiction has ever produced(imho). I really enjoy reading from the PoVs of all the main characters.
Keep in mind that the series is not known for the speed of plot development. But if there exists a book/series/tvshow/movie with a more complex and full plot I haven't heard of it. If you reach any of the boring parts just plow through it and I promise you won't regret it.
Check out dragonmount.com(currently down for maintenance for a couple days) when you have time. Most of it is spoilerish but in the structured forums i believe they have subforums for the earlier books.
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Mat takes a couple books to get cool. Then he becomes extremely awesome.
I'm not much of a WoT fan, but I would totally read a book with just Mat Cauthon as the main character. ;D
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I'll keep that in mind. Right now he's just all pouty about his dagger from Shadar Logoth, which is obviously bad news bears, so it's just kind of frustrating me. I'm sure I'll start liking him whenever he get's over the little phase he's having, and get rid of the stupid thing eventually. I can just tell it's going to get him into trouble first. I'm just thinking, "Really Mat? Really?" Ah well. Plough on I shall.
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I'll keep that in mind. Right now he's just all pouty about his dagger from Shadar Logoth, which is obviously bad news bears, so it's just kind of frustrating me. I'm sure I'll start liking him whenever he get's over the little phase he's having, and get rid of the stupid thing eventually. I can just tell it's going to get him into trouble first. I'm just thinking, "Really Mat? Really?" Ah well. Plough on I shall.
Yeah, Mat doesn't really grow into the awesomesauce character he is now until he gets rid of the dagger. Unfortunately, that won't happen until... I shouldn't say.
As for Egwene... I liked her a bit at first, but found her to get increasingly annoying after she learned she could channel. Rand has always been my favourite character, though, so that might have something to do with it.
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I'm on my first read-through of WoT too and I started with Eye of the World and, let's just say, after taking my time through EotW, it took me about a week before I picked up The Great Hunt and then, about half way through GH, I blasted through the rest and am now firmly set on reading them all. For me, it just took time to get used to Robert Jordan. Like all authors, you just have to familiarize yourself with the writing, the person. It's just like making a new friend. Some you're chummy-chummy with from the start, others it's more of a wariness. It was wariness with me and Jordan to begin with, but now we're best of buds and I'm trucking through his little behemoths. So, good luck to you too on your first read-through :) I'm stopping when WoK comes out and going to devour that little beasty before I return to Randland :P
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Welcome to WoT!
I have not read New Spring yet, myself. And I am not sure if I should when I start my upcoming reread of the series. When it had first came out, I was going to wait for all three prequel books to be released (there were supposed to be two more after New Spring that lead up to right before EotW) and then start my reread. But now with Mr. Jordan passing away and Brandon leaning towards not writing more past finishing up the series, I might just start New Spring, anyways.
But I would still love to see the other two prequel books.
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Welcome to WoT!
I have not read New Spring yet, myself. And I am not sure if I should when I start my upcoming reread of the series. When it had first came out, I was going to wait for all three prequel books to be released (there were supposed to be two more after New Spring that lead up to right before EotW) and then start my reread. But now with Mr. Jordan passing away and Brandon leaning towards not writing more past finishing up the series, I might just start New Spring, anyways.
But I would still love to see the other two prequel books.
New Spring is best read after books five or six (I reccomend reading it right after five ;) ). If not, it's good to read it between Winter's Heart and Crossroads of Twilight, as a sort of pick-me-up, to excite you again.
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New Spring is best read after books five or six (I reccomend reading it right after five ;) ).
Any specific reasoning why it's best to read at that time?
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The short story version of New Spring in the Legends anthology is better than the book. The book just rambles on.
Its not going to kill you reading it out of order. However, it does remove alot of tension from the first Wheel of Time book. The Eye of the World may be about the best fantasy novel ever written. If you read new spring first you take away the surprises in the book. Those surprises are what hooked me into the series.
Also New Spring is not even close to as good of a book as The Eye of the World. I don't understand how someone can like New Spring better than the Eye of the World. Finish the book. It has maybe the best ending I have ever read.
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Well, if you are answering me (instead of the OP), I have already actually read Eye of the World and agree with your assessment of it being one of the best fantasy novels ever written. (I've basically read up to book 8 ).
I read the short version of New Spring in the Legends anthology book but it was a long time ago and don’t remember much about it.
I was just curious from Samuel why he felt it was best to read New Spring after book 5 or 6.
I wonder how many notes Mr. Jordan left in regards to his prequel books (the two after New Spring). I am guessing not much or probably none at all as he was more concentrated on finishing the main series, which of course I agree with 100%.
Still, I would like to see Brandon finish up the three prequel books before Eye of the World to see exactly how everything led up to beginning of the series. But from my impressions of when Brandon talked about it during the book signing I went to, it didn’t seem promising.
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Well, if you are answering me (instead of the OP), I have already actually read Eye of the World and agree with your assessment of it being one of the best fantasy novels ever written. (I've basically read up to book 8).
I read the short version of New Spring in the Legends anthology book but it was a long time ago and don’t remember much about it.
I was just curious from Samuel why he felt it was best to read New Spring after book 5 or 6.
I would say don't read New Spring until atleast finishing book 4. New Spring gives away alot so you lose the tesion and excitement of learning it as the series goes on. Plus, Jordan is a very subtle writer. You will miss alot of references. To be honest, I miss alot of them and I have read the series multiple times. I have to rely on the Whell of Time Encyclopedia to see them.
One other point. If you know that Rand is the dragon in the first book then that ruins the whole book for you. You think he is the guy, but you don't know until the end. Its what makes the first book so great.
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I would say don't read New Spring until atleast finishing book 4. New Spring gives away alot so you lose the tesion and excitement of learning it as the series goes on. Plus, Jordan is a very subtle writer. You will miss alot of references. To be honest, I miss alot of them and I have read the series multiple times. I have to rely on the Whell of Time Encyclopedia to see them.
One other point. If you know that Rand is the dragon in the first book then that ruins the whole book for you. You think he is the guy, but you don't know until the end. Its what makes the first book so great.
Yes, I see your point. But like I said, I have read the beginning books already and know the ‘big’ story aspects…wait, Rand is the Dragon!? ;) It’s the smaller, subtle aspects I have forgotten. As you said, there is just so much information.
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See I knew Rand was the Dragon already just through osmosis. I don't think reading New Spring first gave that a way. It just tells me that Moraine is looking for the Dragon Reborn, and thus, had I not known it was Rand, I would have just assumed it to be Matt, Perrin, or Rand.
I just finished Eye of the World by the way, and the ending was admittedly very good. Good enough to make me consider holding off on reading The Name of the Wind for a bit and read The Great Hunt instead.
The reason I liked New Spring better (and I still do) I think had to do with channelling. I really like the magic system, and Eye of the World just doesn't show it off very well. It all comes across as very cliche: woman with staff shooting fireballs at people. In New Spring, you go into the how and why of channeling. I found the weaves of saidar to be very interesting. In Eye of the World, Moraine is just some mystic woman who can do all kinds of wierd things with wards and magic coins and of course, fireballs. In New Spring, you see what goes into each of those weaves.
Another little criticism I have of channeling in Eye of the World are the choices Moraine makes in battle. She herslef tells Egwene that women are more powerful at channeling air and water, and that both can be used to just as great an effect as earth and fire, yet in battle, Moraine consistently uses earth and fire. She uses fire a lot during her test in New Spring, but those were more specialized situations. When she battles Meeren (sp?) at the end, they fight eachother mostly with air if I recall correctly. Why didn't she use air or water to trap Aginor in the Eye of the World when she must have known he could manipulate earth and fire better than her even if they were close to the same power level?
just a few things that bothered me, but I really enjoyed the book, and can't wait to read the next one. I'm sure I will enjoy them all, but so far New Spring is my favorite.
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I'm just about done with Lord of Chaos myself, and of all the endings, I liked The Great Hunt's best. It is Epic. Prepare for a treat.
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I liked The Great Hunt's best.
You only say that because you haven't finished Lord of Chaos yet ;D
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I liked The Great Hunt's best.
You only say that because you haven't finished Lord of Chaos yet ;D
Oh, agreed. The Great Hunt has a very good ending. But Lord of Chaos is just epic.
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Well, Great Hunt will have to wait. I could not resist the Name of the Wind. I'm going to get through it as quick as I can though (and Indigo had a buy three get the fourth free deal, so I also bought the Dragon Rebron), and continue with the wheel of time. I hope to finish as many as possible before Way of Kings comes out.
I look forward to these great endings you speak of ;)
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I liked The Great Hunt's best.
You only say that because you haven't finished Lord of Chaos yet ;D
Oh, agreed. The Great Hunt has a very good ending. But Lord of Chaos is just epic.
I read the ending to Lord of Chaos so many times I think I could probably quote it word for word now...
Winter's Heart, in my opinion, also had a truly epic ending. :D
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Wow. Interrupting WoT to read Name of the Wind is like interrupting a filet mignon at a blue ribbon restaurant to eat beef wellington at a table across the room.
By the time you get back it may be too cold to be palatable and you'll likely be too full to eat.
That said, every time I've tried to sit down and read New Spring it's been so mind numbingly boring I've not been able to push on through.
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Honestly, I wasn’t even sure what Comatose was referring to in Name of the Wind. I had to look it up on Amazon. It seemed kind of interesting, but something I am not looking at jumping into at all.
I actually want to start WoT again and keep looking at my books at home. :D But I am going to wait until I read through some of Brandon’s original works, first.
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The endings of the first 3 books are by far better than the other endings. The ending of Lord of Chaos is pretty good. The ending in book 9 is good, but seems rushed. The endings of 7,8,10, and 11 are not that good.
book 12s ending is good, but it is a Brandon Sanderson ending and not a Robert Jordan ending. Their writing styles are polar opposites. You should be able to see the difference between the two with the first part of the prologue in book 12.
I will always like The Eye of the World best since it was the first one. There is something about a book that starts with
"Lord of the Morning I have come for you" and ends with "The prophecies will be fullfilled. The Dragon is reborn". Alot of people really like the first line of the Gunslinger by Stephen King (the man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed). That is a great opening line. However, the prologue to the Eye of the World is the best prologue I have ever read by far. Nothing else is even close. Once I read that I could not put the book down.
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The endings of the first 3 books are by far better than the other endings. The ending of Lord of Chaos is pretty good. The ending in book 9 is good, but seems rushed. The endings of 7,8,10, and 11 are not that good.
book 12s ending is good, but it is a Brandon Sanderson ending and not a Robert Jordan ending. Their writing styles are polar opposites. You should be able to see the difference between the two with the first part of the prologue in book 12.
I will always like The Eye of the World best since it was the first one. There is something about a book that starts with
"Lord of the Morning I have come for you" and ends with "The prophecies will be fullfilled. The Dragon is reborn". Alot of people really like the first line of the Gunslinger by Stephen King (the man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed). That is a great opening line. However, the prologue to the Eye of the World is the best prologue I have ever read by far. Nothing else is even close. Once I read that I could not put the book down.
Not to get too much into TGS (as I haven’t read it, yet), but however much I have heard Brandon did a great job with it, I will admit I am still concerned in how I hear he has handled Mat. I have heard Mat is ‘little off’ and seems ‘forced’ in his responses, that his character is very different than the previous books.
But, if that is the biggest issue people have had of the book, I can deal with that. Considering how much praise it’s received.
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Brandon actually had an interview wherein he talked about people's reactions to Mat. It's always good to see what the other says about things like that... I can't remember who did the interview... It was pretty recent though.
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Any way you could point me in the direction of the interview? Or could anyone else who knows about the interview? I would be very interested to hear Brandon’s answer on that. (Unless it is a spoiler).
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I have to say, so far my detour into the Name of the Wind has been a good one. It's hard to put it down, which is different from Eye of the World. There came times while reading it that I had to put it down.
I just hope I can pull away from it long enough to get some writing done today!
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Hobbun: Here. http://fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com/2010/05/new-brandon-sanderson-interview.html
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Thanks Peter.
I read the article, and even though there is a part of it he addresses fans reactions to the characters, it was done more in a general sense than specifically with Mat and the issues I have read that others have had with him.
Again, I am not speaking from experience as I have not read TGS yet, but it was something that came up over and over in user reviews on how Mat ‘changed’ or his humor came along more forced than early books. Just in general, many felt the way he acted was off in how his characterization was established earlier in the series, as if Brandon had difficulty writing him.
And as I said before, if this is the only major issue with the book, it is small indeed, especially considering how positive the reviews (user reviews included) were overall.
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Hobbun, I'm not sure you read the last part of the interview where he specifically addresses Mat. As specifically as he's going to, at least.
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Hobbun, I'm not sure you read the last part of the interview where he specifically addresses Mat. As specifically as he's going to, at least.
Yes, I obviously did not read the very end of the article (due to my complete blindness) as when I got to the Way of Kings portion, I stopped. Silly me, as the last portion dealt with directly what I was referring to.
*face palm*
Sorry!
As I said though, I was not too terribly concerned even if I noticed some difference in Mat (doesn't sound like he got a lot of people who did, or at least a lot that emailed him on it). And if I do notice it, and that is the biggest problem of the book, that is very small.
But it is at least nice to see Brandon comment on it, and even without the interviewer bringing it up. From the other interviews I have read with Brandon and the time I have seen him in person, he has always struck me as very open and honest.
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This is a little off topic, but I noticed that BS said he was making a wiki for the Stormlight Archive. Will this be made available to us at some point? (Probably when he finishes the series?)
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Doubtful, since it would reveal things not meant to be revealed.
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New Spring is best read after books five or six (I reccomend reading it right after five ;) ).
Any specific reasoning why it's best to read at that time?
Yes, but it's a spoiler. Suffice to say, a certain event happens that would give New Spring more impact, and reading New Spring right after the event (book 5) would, I daresay, give the strongest impact :)
In regards to readers finding Mat's portrayal in TGS as "off", you're not alone. A lot of others do too. However, many others (including myself) thought his portrayal spot on. I think it made a lot of sense for him to act that way-"forcing" humor reminiscent of the first few books-considering the recent changes he has gone through, in particular the change he never thought he would go through ;)
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ARGH!! You comments make me itch to continue reading, but I'm over two thirds done the Name of the Wind, and I'm enjoying it so much I just have to finish. There's also the small matter of the chapter I promised myself I'd have finished for tomorrow. It is now two chapters, and still two viewpoints to go.
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Any specific reasoning why it's best to read at that time?
Yes, but it's a spoiler. Suffice to say, a certain event happens that would give New Spring more impact, and reading New Spring right after the event (book 5) would, I daresay, give the strongest impact :)
In regards to readers finding Mat's portrayal in TGS as "off", you're not alone. A lot of others do too. However, many others (including myself) thought his portrayal spot on. I think it made a lot of sense for him to act that way-"forcing" humor reminiscent of the first few books-considering the recent changes he has gone through, in particular the change he never thought he would go through ;)
Ahh yes, I know what you are referring to now. And as yourself, will refrain from mentioning it as it is a pretty big spoiler.
And again, with Mat, it wasn't something I had observed myself, but what I have read in many reviews of others. By the time I get to the point of reading TGS, it's probably something I will forget about and won't even notice any difference, anyways.
ARGH!! You comments make me itch to continue reading, but I'm over two thirds done the Name of the Wind, and I'm enjoying it so much I just have to finish. There's also the small matter of the chapter I promised myself I'd have finished for tomorrow. It is now two chapters, and still two viewpoints to go.
Heh, I know how you feel. I am in the process of finishing up the Drizzt novels before I head off to GenCon (only 8 1/2 more books) and once I do that, then I will be going to some of Brandon's solitary works and finally then to my re-read of the WoT. But like yourself, it's something I want to go to 'now'.
Just think of it this way, you only have to finish up one book. :)
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Drizzt! How can you stand that many. I've read a fair number of his books, some parts are good, but he annoys me so much though! I actually can't stand him.
100 pages to go in The Name of the Wind! Someone broke into our house last night, and long story short, I ended up staying up until 3:00 reading. I was almost asleep at 1:30, but then... Funny how things happen.
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Drizzt! How can you stand that many. I've read a fair number of his books, some parts are good, but he annoys me so much though! I actually can't stand him.
100 pages to go in The Name of the Wind! Someone broke into our house last night, and long story short, I ended up staying up until 3:00 reading. I was almost asleep at 1:30, but then... Funny how things happen.
Oh, Drizzt is one of my favorite characters and Salvatore one of my favorite authors. A couple of the books are a bit slow, but it has nothing to do with Drizzt. I’m basically doing a reread of the entire series and as I said, have about 8 ½ books left. I have read...17 of them now within the last month and a half? Should have them done by the end of July.
These books are of course not as complex as the more epic series’ (like WoT), but they are fun reads.
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@Hobbun: I am not criticizing Brandon. All I am saying is that his style of writing is the polar opposite of Robert Jordan. You can see the difference in the first part of the prologue. The book was done well. He did a poor job with Matt. It wasn't awful, but poor. It is the kind of thing that I think alot of people would get wrong. Matt is tricky to write. How to make him matt without making him a dope.
Brandon is a darker writer than Robert and a more straight to the point writer. His writing style is closer to what you often see in a modern thriller. Robert Jordan keeps a slower pace and is more flowery. He is closer to a leisurely Tolkein style, but if Jordan wrote the Lord of the Rings with would be 8 books instead of 3 due to all the details.
Another example. Did you see the Suvudu Death Matches where different fantasy characters fought each other? Patrick Rothfuss's character Qvothe fought George RR Martins character Jaime. They each did a write up of their scene. When you read each of their stories you will think that they nailed their characters but the other guys characters don't have quite the correct voice . That being said, it is not fair to expect Brandon to copy another authors style. I don't think Robert Jordan could copy Brandon's style.
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No, I never saw those death matches. I have never read Rothfuss, to be honest and did not hear about him until Comatose brought up he was reading The Name of the Wind.
But I do understand what you are getting at and I agree with you, it is not fair to another author to get a character (who is difficult to write) exactly right. But that being said, you still don't want to see large discrepancies with characters in a continuing series from one book to another. It would be one thing if another writer tried to write that more difficult character in a short story (like in your example of the battles), but if you are continuing the 'main' series (like WoT), you want those characters to flow from book to book as much as possible. It really is a tough situation for Brandon, because as you said, Mat is more difficult to write.
What is good is from what I hear is Brandon has done a good job with the rest of the cast (do you agree?) and whatever discrepancies with Mat does not detract from the overall great job that Brandon did. As I said, by the time I get to TGS, I most likely will not remember the issues with Mat and maybe will not even notice it.
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This probably explains Brandon's problems with Matt (from the interview)
"I do wish I'd had was more time to polish the book. There was no more time; that book had to come out last year. The drafting process was so quick—I did 17 drafts of that book across the space of just a short number of months. Anytime you do a draft, artifacts show up. You say the wrong thing, or you're thinking about one scene while writing another, and shift the tone the wrong direction. Or you just delete a word here or insert the wrong word."
From Brandon's perspective, the book had to come out soon because the people signing his checks said so. However, I don't know why Harriet could not slow it all down. Maybe she just wants it done? It is a big burden that Robert Jordan left on her. I doubt TOR could really tell her what to do. MArtin takes years to get books done and he does not have the sales that Jordan does.
If fans need to wait an extra year so Brandon could improve the book, too bad for us. We will live. I guess its just business. Brandon must have lived and breathed this book to get it done.
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@Hobbun: I am not criticizing Brandon. All I am saying is that his style of writing is the polar opposite of Robert Jordan. You can see the difference in the first part of the prologue. The book was done well. He did a poor job with Matt. It wasn't awful, but poor. It is the kind of thing that I think alot of people would get wrong. Matt is tricky to write. How to make him matt without making him a dope.
Brandon is a darker writer than Robert and a more straight to the point writer. His writing style is closer to what you often see in a modern thriller. Robert Jordan keeps a slower pace and is more flowery. He is closer to a leisurely Tolkein style, but if Jordan wrote the Lord of the Rings with would be 8 books instead of 3 due to all the details.
Another example. Did you see the Suvudu Death Matches where different fantasy characters fought each other? Patrick Rothfuss's character Qvothe fought George RR Martins character Jaime. They each did a write up of their scene. When you read each of their stories you will think that they nailed their characters but the other guys characters don't have quite the correct voice . That being said, it is not fair to expect Brandon to copy another authors style. I don't think Robert Jordan could copy Brandon's style.
I thought he did fine with Mat. Seemed perfectly in character to me. That was what surprised me most about the reactions to TGS, people feeling that Mat was out of character.
I suppose it goes back to that interview Peter posted the link to, in which Brandon said people come into the story with their own ideas on how the character is supposed to be, after reading them for 11 books. I felt Mat was one of the most spot-on in terms of characterization in TGS; the only one I really felt was off, and not by near enough to make me upset, was Siuan Sanche, and some bits of Gareth Bryne. I loved their scenes, but I felt the characters were off a bit.
Also, Brandon isn't trying to write like Jordan. He's said he feels that if he attempted to copy Jordan's style, it would come across as parody. What he is trying to do is write like the Wheel of Time.
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This probably explains Brandon's problems with Matt (from the interview)
That quote doesn't have any relation to the Mat issue. He's talking about minor cosmetic issues there.
Some people thought Mat was the best part of the book. An approximately equal number of people thought he was the worst part of the book. That doesn't mean Brandon did a poor job writing Mat, it just means he did something DIFFERENT with Mat that was not what he intended.
Also, saying Brandon's writing style is the polar opposite of Jordan's is an exaggerated quantification. Brandon owes a lot of his stylistic influence directly to Jordan.
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This probably explains Brandon's problems with Matt (from the interview)
"I do wish I'd had was more time to polish the book. There was no more time; that book had to come out last year. The drafting process was so quick—I did 17 drafts of that book across the space of just a short number of months. Anytime you do a draft, artifacts show up. You say the wrong thing, or you're thinking about one scene while writing another, and shift the tone the wrong direction. Or you just delete a word here or insert the wrong word."
From Brandon's perspective, the book had to come out soon because the people signing his checks said so. However, I don't know why Harriet could not slow it all down. Maybe she just wants it done? It is a big burden that Robert Jordan left on her. I doubt TOR could really tell her what to do. MArtin takes years to get books done and he does not have the sales that Jordan does.
If fans need to wait an extra year so Brandon could improve the book, too bad for us. We will live. I guess its just business. Brandon must have lived and breathed this book to get it done.
Yes, I agree. Like yourself, I would prefer they (as in Brandon and 'Team Jordan') took whatever time was required to put out the book. If it took until June of this year, instead of the October 2009 release date, I would have been fine with that. And the same would apply for ToM and AMoL.
There is no need to rush the last three books by any means. The closest I can think of is the contract was set up with Tor for a year apart for each book and Brandon and Harriet are trying to honor that. But yes, I agree in that it's not like Tom (Doherty) is going to play hardball if the book has to be delayed.
I would be curious to hear the necessity of getting the books out quickly. Maybe Peter could shed some light on the issue (if he is able to say).
Oh, and one last thing, like you, I am amazed on Brandon getting these books (TGS and ToM) out on time. Considering he has also had to honor other contractual obligations, as well. You would think someone would just get burned out. We are lucky that Brandon truly loves to write that much!
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Well, it's clear that Tom Doherty really wants one book per year, but how much he NEEDS one book per year I don't know. I mean, I doubt Tor will have huge financial problems if book 14 doesn't come out next year (which it almost certainly will not). But the publishing industry as a whole is going through tough times right now. And I believe TGS was Tor's only #1 NYT bestseller in 2009.
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Ok, thanks Peter.
Yes, TGS made complete sense in rushing to get out. I remember Brandon saying one of the main reasons on why A Memory of Light was split into three books was because both Brandon and Harriet felt it was very important to get out a book by 2009 due to it was 4 years since KoD. And I agree.
And just to clarify, none of us are trying to come across as critical (at least speaking for myself) in putting out the books too soon. We only are saying we would rather Brandon be able to take that time to polish the book like he wants to than to keep that year timeframe. In a way, I am glad to know AMoL will ‘not’ be out in 2011. I am sure it has a lot to do with his other obligations as well, but I am guessing (hoping) part of it is because it is the final book and Brandon wants to make sure it is as ‘perfect’ as possible.
One thing Brandon has made clear in all his blog posts/interviews over and over is that the books are done right before they go to press. And from what I have heard of TGS, he is definitely in the right direction.
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Well, it's clear that Tom Doherty really wants one book per year, but how much he NEEDS one book per year I don't know. I mean, I doubt Tor will have huge financial problems if book 14 doesn't come out next year (which it almost certainly will not). But the publishing industry as a whole is going through tough times right now. And I believe TGS was Tor's only #1 NYT bestseller in 2009.
John Scalzi wrote in his blog that the New York Times top 30 outsell the next 2 million books combined and the top 3 on the New York Times Bestseller list outsell the rest of the New York Times Bestseller list. That is telling. Publishers are reliant on a very small number of authors for the bulk of their revenues. That is a pretty dangerous type of business loaded with lots of risks. Does TOR get many New York Times top 10 bestsellers? It is genre fiction. I think they had Goodkind, so he would be one.
Way of Kings will probably open in the top 10 of the New York Times bestseller list. I would think Brandon won alot of WoT fans and we (I am included) see his new series as an epic similiar to Jordan's. So that is attractive to us.
Also, I was not criticizing Brandon for being a different writer stylistically from Jordan. He writes to his own voice. However, his writing style, pacing, and descriptiveness is very different than Jordan. Brandon's book have a much faster pace and are more direct. They do remind me more of the style I see in thriller novels. That is not a criticism. I have diverse tastes in books.
btw, I won't be complaining if WoT book 14 is not out in 2011. I prefer if Brandon has more time to work on it. I am also looking forward to the end and dreading it. I am the same age as Brandon and started reading the series when I was in high school. It will end a chapter in my life.
Matt was too over the top in TGS. It was not awful, but he dialed it up a 1-2 extra notches. I did like the book. There are also alot of things I don't like about WoT and I am a big fan. So this is not really a big criticism on my part.
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I still haven't gotten around to reading New Spring, but I very much enjoyed all of the WoT books. Eventually, when I'm caught up on all the other books I'm reading, I'll really "finish" the WoT books that are out now :)
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Halfway done the Great Hunt, and loving it so far! The best book yet, I say. I didn't really like Eye of the World, and this tops new spring!
Neither tops The Name of the Wind though!!!! I immediately lent it out to the first book-intelligent friend I saw so I would have someone to talk about it with!
Now I just can't get over how no one can tell that Selene is bad news. I mean come on! She is obviously bad news, right?
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I might have to look that one up. I am in a reading lull right now with nothing new to read. I have been going through my bookshelf and rereading them. I am just finishing off The Annotated Elminster trilogy.
I am glad that you are enjoying the WoT books. There are a few that are better then others. Over all I enjoyed them all though. I just finished my reread last year in time to finish the new book at the beginning of this year. Now it is just a waiting game. I will be picking up the Way of Kings book later this summer too.
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A reading lull is the exact opposite for myself, right now. With my long time off of not reading, I have fallen behind on quite a few books. After finishing my Drizzt books (only 7 more to go), I plan to finally start some of Brandon’s works (I think I’m going to start with Elantris). After completed with that, I will finally start my WoT reread.
So I have many months of reading yet to keep me busy.
Oh yes, then there is Way of Kings coming out, as well. But I think I may wait on that one for awhile. Last thing I want to do is start that series and then in book 3 or 4 the release time becomes longer and longer between books, like what happened with WoT. It really depends on how quickly Brandon puts them out, if they are released fairly quickly, it won’t be an issue.
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I read a few drizzt books. That is more of a serial that goes on and on, than a series that has a specific end point. You don't really need to read all of them to get the jist of what he is doing. I thought the idea was better than the execution. I found the dark elf world a bit hollow and hard to believe. I kept wondering how every can be right and if there is constant warfare, and very few births why do they have such a big population?
Salvatore was ok. What he was trying to accomplish in his writing is not really what I like to read.
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I just found Drizzt's constant moral dilemmas to be annoying. By the end of the first book I read (not the first in the series mind you) I got it, he's a good guy. A very good guy. But every action he makes that might possibly be seen as 'not right,' he goes over and over in his head, trying to rationalize it. What Drizzt really needs is some real flaws.
Of the forgotten realms, the books I really enjoyed were the War of the Spider Queen books. I think true dark elves are really interesting, and several of the authors brought up some interesting dilemma's for the characters. I particularily liked the friendship of Pharaun and Ryld.
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I read a few drizzt books. That is more of a serial that goes on and on, than a series that has a specific end point. You don't really need to read all of them to get the jist of what he is doing. I thought the idea was better than the execution. I found the dark elf world a bit hollow and hard to believe. I kept wondering how every can be right and if there is constant warfare, and very few births why do they have such a big population?
Salvatore was ok. What he was trying to accomplish in his writing is not really what I like to read.
Well, to each their own. I agree, and as I said above (at least I think it was this thread), the Drizzt books do not have the complexity of like the WoT (or similar epic series), but for me it is a very fun read.
You can sit and analyze most series or books in general, writers are not perfect. But the idea is not to look too much into it and take it for what it is. But if you don't enjoy reading those stories in the first place, I can understand not liking the books.
And you are right, right now they are more of a serialized story, with no specific end in sight. Although I guess we could have said the same with the WoT 4-5 years ago. :D However, of course eventually there is going to be end to the series, just like there is an end to everything.
And I am not reading them to get the gist of the series, but to experience the whole story. I know I am not going to get 'to the end' as there will be more, but I want to at least finish off what he has currently written up to as I will be seeing Salvatore at GenCon in less than a month and want to be caught up when going to his Q&A.
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I just found Drizzt's constant moral dilemmas to be annoying. By the end of the first book I read (not the first in the series mind you) I got it, he's a good guy. A very good guy. But every action he makes that might possibly be seen as 'not right,' he goes over and over in his head, trying to rationalize it. What Drizzt really needs is some real flaws.
Of the forgotten realms, the books I really enjoyed were the War of the Spider Queen books. I think true dark elves are really interesting, and several of the authors brought up some interesting dilemma's for the characters. I particularily liked the friendship of Pharaun and Ryld.
But that's part of who Drizzt is, he is that 'Lawful Good dark elf Paladin'. Which is why he constantly questions motives and actions. If he gave him flaws, and I am assuming you mean flaws as in sometimes doing things that are questionable, in the gray, then that would no longer be Drizzt.
He does have his inner demons he goes through, and he actually does have one big flaw that he keeps under wraps as he loses part of his 'Paladin' demeanor. He loses control.
But I realize these books are not for everyone, but I really love Salvatore as a writer and really enjoy his writing style and characterization. His DemonWars series is excellent, as well. :)