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All this talk about The Legend of Huma made me go to Amazon and order it (1 cent!). Afterwards, I started reading the reviews and some idiotic bastard gave away the ending. Now, even though I will enjoy the read, the book won't have the same impact on me as it would have had. I'm ticked off.
Don't worry, most readers that knew Dragonlance well knew the end too. It was often spoken of in the other Dragonlance books as a "matter-of-fact" thing that passed.
Richard Knaack in writing that book had that hurdle to overcome as well (everyone knowing the end). How do you create a book with an interesting finale when all your readers know how it ends? It was just a dern' good read (even with the mythology of Huma set aside).
Enjoy it anyway.
I also enjoyed the Black Wing Dragonlance Novel. That one rocked too!
Cheers,
Zuxius
All this talk about The Legend of Huma made me go to Amazon and order it (1 cent!). Afterwards, I started reading the reviews and some idiotic bastard gave away the ending. Now, even though I will enjoy the read, the book won't have the same impact on me as it would have had. I'm ticked off.Don't worry, most readers that knew Dragonlance well knew the end too. It was often spoken of in the other Dragonlance books as a "matter-of-fact" thing that passed.
Richard Knaack in writing that book had that hurdle to overcome as well (everyone knowing the end). How do you create a book with an interesting finale when all your readers know how it ends? It was just a dern' good read (even with the mythology of Huma set aside).
Enjoy it anyway.
I also enjoyed the Black Wing Dragonlance Novel. That one rocked too!
Cheers,
Zuxius
sort the problem Lucas had with Revenge of the Sith
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sort the problem Lucas had with Revenge of the Sith
Yea, sort of like that. That movie could have done so much with the story, but instead ran "paint by numbers". I was hoping the Jedi somehow (accidentally) killed Padme (or Sidious contrived it to look that way). The fight scenes were lame, unlike Darth Maul's fighting in Phantom Menace. I really wish they hadn't killed Darth Maul, period.
Oh well, Clone Wars haven't been half bad.
Cheers,
Zuxius
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Back on task - I wonder whether Paizo could get Paul Kemp to sink his teeth into any Golarion heros or heroines? Love his writing style.
As a tangent, how is Paizo going about developing this line of products? Are you vetting writers who are already in the industry? Are writers coming to you? I'd like to have a little edumacation on this matter.
Ah! I get it. Reading The Legend of Huma is like reading an historical novel. I know how the story of Alexander the Great ends and if someone told me how a novel about him ended, I wouldn't get upset because, well, I already knew it. Thanks for clearing that up! :)
The Legend of Huma was actually the very first D&D novel I read, and the ending blew me away (had no idea of course). Still probably the best one I've read.
We're a little behind due to Snowpocalypse 2008, but a quick response:
We're focusing on established authors to begin with, but are definitely interested in uncovering some lesser-known folks in the long run. In kicking off the line, its important to get folks who have been tested and proved their mettle, both to publishers and to readers, but rest assured that there's far more to it than merely who has the most name recognition. At the moment I've got a huge stack of short stories and novels by various authors we're considering, and who ends up writing Golarion fiction will depend primarily on who shows the most chops.
Someday we may have open calls or submission guidelines - in fact, I'd bet on it - but in order to get a fledgling book line up and running, you really need to hit the distributors hard with some proven sellers. If a lot of people buy in and start spreading the word, well... then the sky's the limit.
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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China Mieville is well aware of Paizo. I was just trading emails with him today, in fact. He's written a fine introduction to a forthcoming Planet Stories book.
Speaking frankly, China Mieville is not going to write a Pathfinder book. He is fantastically successful writing material he owns based on his own ideas, and I imagine he is completely happy to continue doing so.
Stephen King is probably unavailable, too, sadly.
As are the guys who wrote the Gospels. :)
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Stephen King is probably unavailable, too, sadly.
You never know. The dude's published online, in serials, gave a small novelty publisher first crack at the Dark Tower books ... he does some weird sh*t. Writing an homage to classic pulp adventure for a small outfit like Paizo might be something he'd try.
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China Mieville is well aware of Paizo. I was just trading emails with him today, in fact. He's written a fine introduction to a forthcoming Planet Stories book.
Speaking frankly, China Mieville is not going to write a Pathfinder book. He is fantastically successful writing material he owns based on his own ideas, and I imagine he is completely happy to continue doing so.
Stephen King is probably unavailable, too, sadly.
As are the guys who wrote the Gospels. :)
Ah well, never hopes to dream.
Is Saberhagen still alive?
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We're a little behind due to Snowpocalypse 2008, but a quick response:
We're focusing on established authors to begin with, but are definitely interested in uncovering some lesser-known folks in the long run. In kicking off the line, its important to get folks who have been tested and proved their mettle, both to publishers and to readers, but rest assured that there's far more to it than merely who has the most name recognition. At the moment I've got a huge stack of short stories and novels by various authors we're considering, and who ends up writing Golarion fiction will depend primarily on who shows the most chops.
Someday we may have open calls or submission guidelines - in fact, I'd bet on it - but in order to get a fledgling book line up and running, you really need to hit the distributors hard with some proven sellers. If a lot of people buy in and start spreading the word, well... then the sky's the limit.
There it is. Now that's the "oompf" this post needed. I know it is speculative to read into James Sutter's response, but this looks like the most cohesive thing I have seen come out of Paizo thus far (concerning Pathfinder novels). I can see why this will take time to develop. There are a lot of things to consider when you are launching companion novels beside your high quality RPG products. The approach mentioned above is sound, and I respect the direction Paizo has chosen to take. May Pathfinder novels read like Shakespeare!
Cheers,
Zux
Well, I, for one, am excited by this possibility. It's a little disheartening to submit ideas or manuscripts to publishers who simply sren't accepting any writing outside of their established writers. This happened to me several years ago, just a few days after WotC announced that decision!
I understand it, of course. It's just frustrating. I had believable (for fantasy) characters and everything!
Perhaps a short-story contest, with the best stories published together, giving new voices a chance to shine? Even if it's a few years down the line, it would be fun to try.
Guess I'll order the gameworld book, now. It's a compelling setting, to say the least. Gotta get busy on those backstories! ;)
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You know, out of those three, China Mieville is the only one
I'd want writing Pathfinder fiction. ;)But you know, Mieville is into gamer stuff; there's a reference
or two about "adventurers" in some of his work (and they are
pretty clearly D&D style adventurers, seen through a more gritty
lens), and he did write those articles for Dragon. Maybe he'd
*want* to write some gaming fiction, perhaps a short story or two.
Mieville's an excellent writer. His writing would be great to tackle an environment - Kaer Maga for example. But Erik's pretty sure China's too busy.
Maybe China reads these pages and is perhaps gaining some inspiration. Perhaps not.
Still, there remain a great number of impressive fantasy fiction writers that Paizo can perhaps connect with: Jim Butcher, Paul Kemp, Lisa Smedman, R.A. Salvatore. (Assuming any are willing to dip into a new setting or perhaps divert attention from their own personally-established lines.)
I'll buy them but I hope to God that D&D fiction isn't used as the model, because it was nearly all horrible. Thieves World was great shared-world material, the FASA rpg stuff (Battletech and Shadowrun) had a moderate number of decent books and even one of the Rolemaster fiction books (the one by Roxanne Longstreet, perhaps now better-known as Rachel Caine) was decent. But please, don't use Gygax's Gord books or (sweet Jesus no!) R.A. Salvatore's FR stuff as a model...
Michael Stackpole would be my first author of choice. I agree with this post to stray from the Goed the Rogue model of fiction writing. And I'm a G.Gygax fan.
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or (sweet Jesus no!) R.A. Salvatore's FR stuff as a model...
Yeah, heaven forbid Pathfinder fiction were to make the New York Time's Bestsellers list. :P
Michael Stackpole would be my first author of choice.
Mike is a great author and no novice to listen works. Be it Battletech or Star Wars, his books are some of the best.
If you ever see his Once a Hero in the bookstores, get it. Totally worth it.
Honestly, as long as it's a good novel I don't care who writes it. I'm a fan of every author that's been named on this thread and others who haven't so it doesn't matter to me who writes the fiction so long as the author does a meaningful job at it.
Seriously, my favorite fantasy novel is In Legend Born by Laura Resnick who mostly writes romance novels that my wife reads. She picked up this book by accident and gave it to me. Wonderful, simply wonderful.
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Unfortunately, most of my favorite fantasy authors are dead (Tolkien, David Gemmell, Robert Jordan). I would enjoy a Stackpole fantasy story though; Talion: Revenant is a most read for any fantasy fiction fan. And if you could get Joel Rosenberg (Guardians of the Flame series, Keepers of the Hidden Ways series, and recently Paladins) to write something, for you, well that would be great too.
A Memory of Light should be out in autumn, and the guy finishing it seems to have the right level of fan-respect and writing objectivity to make it a good run. And no matter its writing, it will be Jordan's ending to the massive series.
Legend of Huma was the first book I remember reading that I truly loved and reading became my passion for the past 20 years. I find that if I like the setting, I will love the novels, regardless of who writes them (for the most part).