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Messages - Bookstore Guy

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76
Writing Group / Re: Length of Fantasy Novels
« on: October 08, 2010, 04:10:01 PM »
Quote from: Stormblessed on October 08, 2010, 02:04:07 AM
I good book has to be between 50,000 and 100,000 if you want it to be considered by a publisher. For amateurs, start off small. Don't plan your 10 book epic for your first published work. I have seen many authors where the first book is a flop, and you hear nothing else from them ever again. Publishers don't want to lock you in to big contracts until they know that you have a nice fan-base and popular books. I actually work in a bookstore, and I hate when there are these big books which are so hard to fit on the shelf and damage so easily. Small books are not necessarily bad. Only authors who are renown best-sellers will be given shelf space to write big fat books, like Brandon's WoK.

Except this isn't completely true.  There are a ton of authors being picked up whose novels are "considered by a publisher" that clock in at well over 100K.  I think it is generally safer to start with "smaller" novels, but if a person wants to write a 150-250K word novel for their first, they have just as good a shot as anyone.  If your story is quality, it has a shot.  Essentially, tell the story you need to tell.

77
Books / Re: dark fantasy
« on: October 05, 2010, 06:51:22 PM »
Sometimes.

78
Books / Re: dark fantasy
« on: October 05, 2010, 03:59:36 PM »
Erikson, Esslemont, Tom Lloyd (very awesome), James Barclay, R Scott Bakker (Prince of Nothing Series), Richard Morgan (both SF and Fantasy, but he is very shock-value oriented), JV Jones (her current series), Glen Cook.

79
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Authors, Monetary Success and Brandon
« 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.

80
Books / Re: WWII Fantasy
« on: October 04, 2010, 06:27:17 PM »
Apparently Connie Willis' BLACKOUT fits this bill.  But yeah, some non-fiction is prolly your best bet.

81
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: September 28, 2010, 09:43:55 PM »
Finished THE WOLF AGE.  It was completely great.  Almost finished with ROT & RUIN - completely fantastic so far.

Then I delve into DEXTER IS DELICIOUS, which I am prepared to hate.  It's kind of exciting.

Who knows what I'll read after that.  Maybe the new David Weber novel.  Or some James Barclay.

82
Books / Re: Fantasy short stories
« on: September 28, 2010, 03:56:19 PM »
Dan beat me to the punch by recommending my own review...and yeah, it is an amazing collection for the most part.

Another anthology you may consider is WARRIORS.
http://www.amazon.com/Warriors-George-R-R-Martin/dp/0765320487/ref=sr_1_10?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285685648&sr=8-10

It was also reviewed at Elitist Book Reviews:
http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/03/warriors.html

It isn't all Fantasy, but it is pretty solid.

83
Books / Re: Looking for political epic Fantasy
« on: September 21, 2010, 04:08:10 PM »
Try the Shadows of the Apt series.  Starts with EMPIRE IN BLACK AND GOLD.  Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series.  You could import James Barclay's CRY OF THE NEWBORN and SHOUT FOR THE DEAD.  James Enge's WOLF AGE counts if you consider werewolf politics.  ACACIA by David Anthony Durham.  The list goes on and on.

84
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: September 16, 2010, 11:05:42 PM »
Well, with A STAR SHALL FALL done (awesome), I also finished MONSTER HUNTER VENDETTA (awesome).  Next I'm heading into YA zombies with ROT & RUIN (Jonathan Maberry), and WOLF AGE (James Enge).

85
Books / Re: Oddly Specific Reading Request
« on: September 15, 2010, 06:39:50 PM »
I believe Liz Williams also has an Urban Fantasy set in Singapore.  I haven't read them, but the covers are cool looking.

86
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: September 10, 2010, 04:55:34 PM »
Quote from: guessingo on September 10, 2010, 12:37:12 PM
Quote from: Silk on September 10, 2010, 07:45:39 AM
Finished www: wake by Robert J. Sawyer. Fun book, interesting ideas, but I have some problems with it. (Don't I always.) ::)

what are your problems? I think elistist gave it a bad review. I really liked his book Flash Forward.

I didn't give it a bad review.  I gave it a mediocre review.  It had some very cool concepts and ideas, but even I can only suspend my disbelief so much.  The kid in that novel is just TOO smart.  She can solve every problem, and have a genius level conversation on every subject.  Maybe she should go solve that whole "world peace" thing when she has a moment.

Shawn (one of our awesome reviewers) liked WAKE more than I did (he's an SF junkie, poor fellow), and he just read and reviewed WATCH.  It had all the problems of WAKE magnified by a bajillion. At least.

As for what I'm reading?
A Star Shall Fall - surprisingly good.
Monster Hunter Vendetta - weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

87
Books / Re: Did he use my review as a reference?
« on: September 10, 2010, 04:49:07 PM »
Sure it is similar, but the other reviewer may just have a very similar opinion as you.  I wouldn't read too much into it.  If we ever saw something blatantly plagiarized, I'd go all pirate-ninja-zombie-assassin on the reviewer...but in this case, nah.  Seems innocent.  Especially with the way the reviewer responded to your comment.  Genius among equals and all that.

On a side note, I'm finding we are linked on more and more blogs.  It's good stuff.

88
Dan Wells / Re: What did you think of the bad guy in Mr. Monster (SPOILER WARNING)
« on: August 27, 2010, 04:37:37 PM »
Quote from: Shivertongue on August 27, 2010, 12:27:24 AM
Quote from: Bookstore Guy on August 26, 2010, 08:23:07 PM
  If it had just been a normal person, that would have been seriously underwhelming. 

That is the perfect way to put it, I think. If we'd been given a human killer in book two, after the powerful demon in book one, it woudn't have been nearly as enjoyable. One of the bug rules for sequels is to go bigger; a human killer wouldn't have been able to do that, unless they were truly, truly monstrous. Like, Ted Bundy, Albert Fish and HH Holmes combined and sprinkled with choice bits of Stalin. Anything less, really, would have been simply underwhelming.

I have nothing against Dexter. I've only read the first two books, but I loved them, and the TV show is my current favourite program. I don't want John to become like Dexter, because we already have an awesome Dexter. John is his own character and just as awesome and terrifying in his own right.

Books 3 & 4 in the Dexter series are absolutely terrible.  The TV show is fantastic, and far superior to the novels, but with regards to John Cleaver vs. Dexter, I refer only to novels, not the TV series.

89
Writing Group / Re: Let's play: Where does my book go?
« on: August 27, 2010, 04:30:43 PM »
Quote from: clockworkfish on August 27, 2010, 01:56:37 AM
Thanks for the advice!

I was afraid about the color illustrations.

I looked at UN LUN DUN and it looks pretty cool!  I definitely like some of the illustrations I saw.  Maybe I should be thinking more about b&w.

I work pretty much only in color, so I think I might want to try it anyway, even if I would have a hard time getting it published.  But this gives me something to think about.

If you want to see full B&W illustrations as opposed to "doodles" you could also look at Scott Westerfeld's LEVIATHAN.

90
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Things to do in Provo while waiting to stand in line.
« on: August 27, 2010, 04:27:05 PM »
Quote from: guessingo on August 27, 2010, 12:11:04 PM
wow. Just read the post from Peter on Brandons webpage. You expect people to line up at 8 AM? You better bring a buddy to hold your spot so you can leave the line for a few minutes here and there.

Sounds like they are expecting hundreds of people to show up. It sounds like the signing will go all night.

Brandon's release signings here in Utah have always drawn a ton of people, even from the release of his first Mistborn novel.  Most of the attendees are veterans to the cause.

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