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Messages - guessingo

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61
Books / Re: 2 ebooks cost more than hardcover books on amazon
« on: January 04, 2011, 04:44:15 PM »
Follett has been a top bestseller author for over 20 years. So there is more price flexibility in his books. I think the Pillars of the Earth came out in the 1980s and it has been back on the bestseller lists again 20 years later. That doesn't happen too often. I know Pillars was a TV mini-series and I think a few of his books have been made into movies. So he is pretty well known.

It also helps that Pillars was an Oprah book club member... If Way of Kings makes it to Oprah's book club Brandon can charge the same thing for his books.

BTW, Pillars is a great book. I think it is my favorite book. It is hard to tell. It is a  historical fiction book that fantasy readers would like.

62
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: October 15, 2010, 06:06:25 PM »
Quote from: Liralyn on October 15, 2010, 03:11:13 AM
David Weber's Off Armageddon Reef.  Having a hard time getting through it, even though I've liked lots of his books.

if you look at the amazon reviews, alot of his fans don't like this series. The idea is better than the execution. Later books seem to have alot filler so he can punch out a book/year. I think the idea of his series is good enough to make me keep read them  just to see where he is going. His writing is lacking. Plus long stretches in future books where literally nothing happens. Just people sitting around talking.

63
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Heaven Forbid...but just in case?
« on: October 12, 2010, 06:24:37 PM »
Brandon will put his preferred successor in his will. The problem with doing that is that Brandon is  making alot of money. So there is a monetary incentive to take him out, so you can take over his work.

There is a good medical reason not to do this also. There is a long waiting list for organs. However, since Brandon has a growing fan base, he could probably get volunteers to give him a kidney if he "heaven forbids" needs it. He migth even want to start a personal organ donar list on his website. Free signed books for anyone who signs up.

64
Books / Re: WWII Fantasy
« on: October 11, 2010, 09:53:30 PM »
I have not read Blackout yet, but Connie Willis wrote a book where a historian goes back in time to the middle ages during the black death. It was outstanding. She seems to do alot of "send historian back in time to x period and tell the story through futuristic historian".

This is the kind of book I never would pick up with out reviews. The Doomsday Book is great. Willis seems to spend many years working on a novel and does a ton of research for her books.

65
Books / Re: 2 ebooks cost more than hardcover books on amazon
« on: October 08, 2010, 02:01:24 PM »
does amazon buy books from publishers at a standard $14/book price or does the wholesale price vary from book to book? So publishers can sell bestsellers to amazon for more than other books?

Follett has been a best seller for 25 years. The Pillars of the Earth is 20+ years old and it went back on the New York Times bestseller list when TV series came out, so either his publisher has alot of leverage on pricing or Amazon is using that to charge more money.

I think this is pretty interesting.


66
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Brandon's Secret Project
« on: October 07, 2010, 12:06:40 PM »
Quote from: Peter Ahlstrom on October 07, 2010, 03:15:47 AM
I edited the post, but it didn't keep.

The way the market is now, there is no way that Brandon will not be able to find a publisher for anything he writes (as long as Brandon himself is happy with it). So while it's not under contract currently, that's not a problem.

There are a number of authors out there who only write under contract once they have established careers. For some authors, that is detrimental to their creativity. Lois McMaster Bujold mentioned that before she wrote her Sharing Knife first two books (it was one big book to start with, and IMHO should have stayed that way). Writing the books with no contract was much less stressful.

Brandon is doing something similar now. He has no external demands or expectations on his time for the rest of the year (except for touring). So he can write something that's fun and relaxing.

john scalzi wrote that he did the same thing with his Little Fuzzy reboot. I would think that midlist authors may not be able to afford to write without a contract. If you spend alot of time on a story, then no one buys it or it gets you less money than you thought. That could be a problem for authors just getting by.

67
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Brandon's Secret Project
« on: October 07, 2010, 11:44:47 AM »
maybe he is preparing his platform to challenge John Scalzi for the Science Fiction Writers Association presidency?


68
Books / 2 ebooks cost more than hardcover books on amazon
« on: October 06, 2010, 07:47:01 PM »
I thought this was interesting. I don't have an ereader. Not sure if anyone else will find it interesting, but I figured I would post it just in case.

If the demand for ebooks increases, it does make economic sense to charge more for them than hardcover books.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/business/media/05follett.html?src=me&ref=business


69
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: October 06, 2010, 12:16:02 PM »
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie. GREAT BOOK. I immediately went out and got the next two in the series. I really like how he did not hold back on the violence. I also like how he makes characters who are generally antagonists in other series likeable characters. He made me like the self absorbed and shallow nobleman. I also liked the torturer. The last fight scene (chapter The Bloody Nine) was fantastic. I tend to get bored and skim over fight scenses.

Listening to Naomi Novik's 5th book. I like them. They are fun. I think it is good that they are short.
I just got Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson on audio. I read his first 2 mars books in the 1990s, but never finished the series. I remember really liking them.

I also got the book Canticle by Ken Scholes. It seems to have gotten very good reviews. That book is on hold until I finish Abercrombies books.

70
Books / Re: dark fantasy
« on: October 06, 2010, 12:03:39 PM »
I read Gardens of the Moon. I did not think of it as dark.  I take it the books gets darker?

71
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Towers of Midnight *spoilers*
« on: October 05, 2010, 11:58:41 AM »
Quote from: Terez on October 05, 2010, 01:30:00 AM
Did you have any particular reason for thinking that? So far as we know, the Towers of Midnight are fortresses, 13 of them, that were the center of operations during the Consolidation. They are left unoccupied by tradition.

absolutely none. My only guess is the word Tower and that the book won't take place in Seanchen. I am basically  making stuff up. I am terrible at predicting what will happen next in a book. In theory, Jordan's books should be easy to predict since he forshadows so well and doesn't just make stuff up as he goes along. However, they are not. He is too good of a writer.

72
Books / Re: Fantasy short stories
« on: October 05, 2010, 11:55:38 AM »
I am surprised that Dianna Gabaldon is doing a Zombie Story. She does more Sci-Fi/Romance/Historical Fiction. I do not like romance books, but the research she did for Outlander really got me to enjoy the book.

73
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Towers of Midnight *spoilers*
« on: October 05, 2010, 12:16:33 AM »
then the tower of midnight in seanchen may be related to the tower of ghenjei in rand land.

74
Books / Re: Fantasy short stories
« on: October 04, 2010, 10:25:24 PM »
There are 2 Legends books from the late 1990s that are still around. Robert Jordam has one story in them and I think George RR Martin has 2. I remember really like Robert Silverbergs short story based in one of his worlds. I intended to read some of his books, but never got around to it.

http://www.amazon.com/Legends-Stories-Masters-Modern-Fantasy/dp/0765300354/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1286227414&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.com/Legends-II-Masters-Fantasy-ebook/dp/B000FC0Y0Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1286227414&sr=8-1

George RR Martin recently announced on his blog that he is editing another short story book.

It looks like there is no particular subject for it. He got stories from authors and put his name on it ( I don't know how much time editors of short story books spend editing)

However, I'm pleased to report that Gardner Dozois and I have completed work on our original anthology DOWN THESE STRANGE STREETS and delivered it to our editors at Penguin Putnam. The final lineup:

THE BASTARD STEPCHILD (introduction), by George R.R. Martin
DEATH BY DAHLIA, by Charlaine Harris (a True Blood story)
THE BLEEDING SHADOW, by Joe R. Lansdale
HUNGRY HEART, by Simon R. Green
STYX AND STONES, by Steven Saylor (a Gordianus story)
PAIN AND SUFFERING, by S.M. Stirling
IT’S STILL THE SAME OLD STORY, by Carrie Vaughn
THE LADY IS A SCREAMER, by Conn Iggulden
HELLBENDER, by Laurie R. King
SHADOW THIEVES, by Glen Cook (a Garrett story)
NO MYSTERY, NO MIRACLE, by Melinda Snodgrass (an Edge story)
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PUZZLE AND A MYSTERY, by M.L.N. Hanover
THE CURIOUS AFFAIR OF THE DEODAND, by Lisa Tuttle
LORD JOHN AND THE PLAGUE OF ZOMBIES, by Diana Gabaldon (a Lord John novella)
BEWARE THE SNAKE, by John Maddox Roberts (a SPQR story)
IN RED, WITH PEARLS, by Patricia Briggs
THE ADAKIAN EAGLE, by Bradley Denton (novella)

DOWN THESE STRANGE STREETS is another of our crossgenre projects, this one a mix of fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy, hardboiled mystery, historicals, and private eye stories. We've got some great stories in the book, and I think you'll all enjoy the read. No word yet as to when the book will be released, but I'll be sure and let you know once it's scheduled.
Mood:  pleased

75
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Authors, Monetary Success and Brandon
« on: October 04, 2010, 10:22:00 PM »
Quote from: Bookstore Guy on October 04, 2010, 06:50:35 PM
Quote from: Galavantes on October 02, 2010, 01:24:53 AM
He and Martin (Maybe I'll throw in Rothfuss after I read Day 2)  are almost all you need as a fantasy fan. Everything else is just filler.

Yeah...I think you over did it there by a bit.  Even if you say you only meant "in progress" series, you are short-changing a ton of authors.  There have just been too many great authors in fantasy for your statement to be considered valid.  I mean, it's great that you love those three authors--most of us agree that those three are fantastic.  Just don't get carried away by fandomonium. 

As a fantasy fan, I need far more than those three authors--and I don't mean that as a slight.  Abercrombie, Lynch, Erikson, Bakker, Lloyd, Barclay, Gaiman, Pratchett, Tchaikovsky, Jones, Esslemont, Enge, Scholes, Wooding, Cook, Simmons, Mieville, etc, etc, etc.  You see what I mean?  And these are just the people with current series.  And just SOME of the authors who make up a portion of the backbone of fantasy (Martin and Sanderson obviously fit the bill as well as Rothfuss).  It's all a giant puzzle, and I feel that the continued monetary and critical success that all these authors enjoy is all interlinked.

Ken Scholes books seem to have gotten alot of good reviews including on your site.

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