Timewaster's Guide Archive

I have to say that as an outside observer, I've found the events surrounding the release of Breaking Dawn the "Sparkledammerung", the leak and all subsequent reactions to it to be rather entertaining.
Not so much for the events themselves but the wondeful coverage of them by various sites (okay, mainly fandom_wank, and also ONTD), to be hilarious, though that's more because of the reactions of people peripheral to the whole events, like the occasional crazy fans, and RPatz. The fact that the main actor so obviously in all interviews, struggles to find words not to insult the book with... is just hilarious.
I mean, I'd like to say that I sympathise for the author... but I kind of fail to find redeeming qualities in her work. Also, it was originally only a three book, and then she re-negotiated to 5 books, and the 4th was largely hated and the 5th is basically recap, so really it's not a great loss at all if she quits the series, but personally I think she will finish it, and that this is just huge *flounce* on her part.

I guess the highlight of the whole Sparkledammerung for me though was her brother who runs her website (fansite?) replying to a letter from a number of fans about their criticisms and whatnot about Breaking Dawn, to which her brother replies [only very partial quote] "...You say that you are not looking to hurt her, but it would be ignorant to believe that criticism of any kind does not hurt the person to whom it is directed."
It's just... boggling to my mind how this author is such a special snowflake that she needs to be shielded from any and all criticism (and this was before the leak even happened) and totally fails to really be responsible for her writing and actually recognise that this is not just a fun hobby, people are actually *paying* her to read her work.

Oh, and the quote from SMeyer herseld; "When I write the story, it's not like I'm thinking about what I'm doing..."
*facepalm*.

I anyone's interested in reading the full text of what I've quoted, you can read the fandom_wank post here: http://www.journalfen.net/community/fandom_wank/1173559.html

People who ask for advice in communities on the internet for things they could just google make me want to throw large, weighty encyclopedias at their head.



Why do people do this?
Google won't actually mock you if you don't know something.
People in communities? Will.

Quote from: White on May 30, 2008, 05:15:06 PM

I read his blog, and I think he said he submitted a short story based off part of TNotW.

Actually pretty sure that the story he won the WotF contest with was stripped out of the second book in the trilogy "The Wise Man's Fear".  He had to alter it a bit to make it into a contained short story first.

And, TNotW is an amazing book.  I loved it.  Can't wait for the next one.  Was pretty sad to hear that it got pushed back to a March '09 release, but I guess I'll take it whenever I can get it.

Finished the mags(Analog and F&SF) and Wotf XVIII.  I'm currently a bit into the Martian Race, but have set it aside to read "a mind of its own:  how your brain distorts and deceives" by Cordelia Fine.  Was suggested by Scott Bakker in an recent interview that I just read the other day.  It's a non-fiction book (so not part of my normal fare) but quite good so far.  Funny and very intriguing.

Right, I stand clarified. Although since he originally wrote TNotW all out undivided, I view it more as one continued story than a trilogy. Which is good, because then it reads more as a series than a trilogy.

Critical difference there in my view is in a series, they're the type of things where you can pick up any book and start at any part and they're good even reading as stand alones (author examples - Terry Goodkind, Dianna Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett). As opposed to trilogies which tend to be very Beginning, Middle, End. Which is why trilogies don't work as well as movies because people will always be disappointed by Middle Book Syndrome.

Again, that's just IMO... and kind of tl;dr    -__-;;


Uhh, and since I'm guiltily getting off topic here, I mentioned her far back starting the Quantam Gravity series ("Keeping it Real", "Selling Out") by Justina Robson and both myself and the first friend I've lent them to would *highly* recomment them and class them as being dangerously addictive.

I love my title.  I'm disturbing! Woohoo!

Oh, but not for long. I mean, that's what happens. You find a level you like, and then get punished for finding some joy when you level up with a fresh new horror.

And how deceptive is being a Flea-Ridden Gutter-Crawler anyway?

*Edit*

And speaking of which - why can't girl students get different titles to boy students?

I mean, would it kill some one for me to *AT LEAST* be refered to as a "Flea-Ridden Gutter-Crawling WENCH"?

An excellent lecture on Achieving Childhood Dreams.

The speaker is simply amazing and it's a must-watch.

I liked the part especially about brick walls...



Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Fair enough then - Have you read Mistborn yet? If your preferences run that way, you'll probably find you like that one better than Warbreaker.

I actually prefer Mistborn (in part because it's a series and I've been able to read more) for much the same reasons you say you like WoT (which I've never read because I'm not good at wading - LotR is fine, long books = awesome but slow paces kill me so I've been advised not to) because it is... I'm going to say a bit more like a character study?

Ugh, that's so not evern vaguely the right term... but it's a bit more centred on one character than the other books - while still having other viewpoints as well, of course.

Though I don't know, the most central character in Mistborn is Vin and you might prefer reading about male central characters, so I guess it depends.



Another book you might want to give a try is "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rofthuss if you haven't already.

"Stories that spark effective sequels do so [...] because there's more than one good story to be told in the world they've created."  - Ansen Dibell, 'Plot'

... but after a writer comes up with a world where more than one good story waits to be told, he isn't obligated to tell any more.  By all means, write in and tell him how much you loved that world and story, and how disappointed you were to hear no more are planned, but when you start to get irate or accusatory, you're just making a gluteus maximus of yourself.

Any time you publish a really good standalone volume of speculative fiction, I think some readers will see obvious potential for another good story, so there will be many who feel disappointed when they find out you have no plans to write one.  I love huge worlds and epic multi-volume series that practically generate thousands of character possibilities by themselves, but I think someone does need to make a stand and get plenty of one-off works out there.  If there aren't any stories that stick to one book under 400 pages, it will get harder to attract the new casual reader to fantasy & sci-fi.  They'll all be intimidated away by the huge pile of reading they have to undertake to "get the whole thing."

So I expect to be somewhat disappointed at the cutoff when I finish Elantris (it's sitting in my to-read pile now), but at the same time I can also support the decision not to automatically do a sequel.

Of course, then we could have a big debate over series which do use an interesting setting as a springboard for other stories, and then wind up getting into a debate about the comparitive pros and cons over the Star Wars Extended universe series of literature... (or, at least, if this was less of a fantasy thread) but I really have to agree that sometimes a one-off story set in a universe can really be even more special, sometimes; than an extended series.

To list a more fantasy series I guess the Mercedes Lackey extended universe also springs to mind perhaps...

wait... isn't the Matrix one of the books in the New Testament?

That would be the Neo Testament, yes.




_{(sorry, yes, lame and obvious but I had to go there...)}