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passing this along for Justin, the guy who taped it:
"Some of you may have heard about the author D&D game that took place at Epic ConFusion last month. Basically, Myke Cole and Peter Brett got in their heads to organize a game with a who's who of big name authors that were attending the con. It ended up with Joe Abercrombie, Elizabeth Bear, Peter Brett, Jim Hines, Jay Lake, Scott Lynch, Patrick Rothfuss, and Brent Weeks playing with the debut authors Myke Cole and Saladin Ahmed DMing.
I was lucky enough to be invited in to film it. Most of the film (3 hours worth) is still being edited, but I had enough left over to put together a fun little trailer of the event. Some good laughs - enjoy.
Also, Brent Weeks did a full write up of the game over at Aidan Moher's blog A Dribble of Ink:
Link
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I think they're mostly relatively new authors. SF/Fantasy for the ones I've heard of and I would assume the rest from the nature of the Con.
Scott Lynch wrote a really fun fantasy caper novel, The Lies of Locke Lamora and has a sequel out that I haven't read yet. Bear's written a bunch of stuff over the last 5-6 years, from near future cyberpunk (the Jenny Casey series) to a post-Ragnarok sage (The Edda of Burdens). Her latest is Range of Ghosts, epic fantasy in a Mongolian setting. Good stuff all.
I recognize some of the other names, but don't think I've read anything.
They're not big-name in the NYT-bestsellers sense, but in the small pond of the SF/fantasy world, they're pretty big frogs.
TY for the info. I'll keep an eye out for them, maybe do a hunt or two on the borg's, oops, I mean Amazon's, website once my current term of classes is over.
I absolutely loved Joe Abercrombie's The First Law Trilogy It is honestly on my top five of all time list. I've only read The Name of the Wind by Rothfuss, but I plan on picking up the second one just as soon as I finish Dance with Dragons. Weeks and Brett I've heard of, and all great things, but not the others. I honestly cannot recommend Abercrombie's First Law series enough. If you are a routine fantasy reader, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
I can't wait for you to finish the video. I would have LOVED to be at that table, even just as one of the dice being rolled. You had some of my writing idols there. Jealous!
Coolieoolio. I can't wait. (Well, I guess I have to.)
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I absolutely loved Joe Abercrombie's The First Law Trilogy It is honestly on my top five of all time list. I've only read The Name of the Wind by Rothfuss, but I plan on picking up the second one just as soon as I finish Dance with Dragons. Weeks and Brett I've heard of, and all great things, but not the others. I honestly cannot recommend Abercrombie's First Law series enough. If you are a routine fantasy reader, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
I can't wait for you to finish the video. I would have LOVED to be at that table, even just as one of the dice being rolled. You had some of my writing idols there. Jealous!
Hmmm... I haven't heard of most of these authors, either, but it's difficult for an European to keep track of American genre literature, even if you were a fan of a specific genre. I have read Name of the Wind, but I was unimpressed; this meandering and boring tale is supposed to be a modern replacement for Lord of the Rings? (which is what many Rothfuss fans, who disliked LotR and thought it was "boring and unimaginative", have told me; without wanting to hurt anyone's feelings, I could barely finish NotW and thought it was one of the most tedious novels I've read in a long time)
I also recognise Bear, Abercrombie and Lynch... in fact, Lamora Locke and The Blade Itself are in the top twenty of my reading list. :)
Hmmm... I haven't heard of most of these authors, either, but it's difficult for an European to keep track of American genre literature, even if you were a fan of a specific genre. I have read Name of the Wind, but I was unimpressed; this meandering and boring tale is supposed to be a modern replacement for Lord of the Rings? (which is what many Rothfuss fans, who disliked LotR and thought it was "boring and unimaginative", have told me; without wanting to hurt anyone's feelings, I could barely finish NotW and thought it was one of the most tedious novels I've read in a long time)
I also recognise Bear, Abercrombie and Lynch... in fact, Lamora Locke and The Blade Itself are in the top twenty of my reading list. :)
Wow. I had a very different reaction to NotW. I certainly wouldn't put it on my top ten list, but I though Rothfuss created some very robust, dynamic characters. Even some of the characters that would be "faceless NPCs" in any tabletop game were given realistic and individual descriptions and interactions. I also really liked his twist on Name/Word magic.
I'll have to check out Lies of Locke Lamora. It's been on my list for awhile, but I've just had other books take precedence.
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Wow. I had a very different reaction to NotW. I certainly wouldn't put it on my top ten list, but I though Rothfuss created some very robust, dynamic characters. Even some of the characters that would be "faceless NPCs" in any tabletop game were given realistic and individual descriptions and interactions. I also really liked his twist on Name/Word magic.
I'll have to check out Lies of Locke Lamora. It's been on my list for awhile, but I've just had other books take precedence.
Let me clarify; first of all, most people who have recommended it to me talked about how elaborate, detailed and elegant Rothfuss’ writing is, so I expected every phrase to be pure bliss to read. Secondly, certain younger readers said they think NotW is far more dynamic, epic and exciting than LotR (a co-worked even called it “phenomenal”). If you ask me, it’s not; it’s awfully boring. But maybe I’ll try to be more specific:
I like details and descriptive language, but enough is enough; I started skipping pages when Kvothe was in Tarbean, but every now and then something – an event, person or place -- sparked my interest for a while, but not for long. The mystery of blue fire was a giant lizard that was addicted to drugs, and the whole “barrow with mysterious item” thing was told to Kvothe by a teenager girl. Not very dynamic, or even interesting. Elodin is described as a really mysterious person and he was the only person in the university, in addition to the orphan girl living underground, who I found to be interesting; do we get to know their stories? No. It’s the same as with everything in this book; lots of dialogue and more-or-less meaningless details, but very little is revealed or brought to conclusion. Elodin was a chancellor, but why did he stop being one? Does everyone know of the underground ruins? What is the four-paneled door, and where does it lead? And so on. It’s as if Rothfuss is saving his mysteries for sequels, while as a reader I expect my curiosity to be satisfied, at least to some degree (especially if I’m “teased” with a secret). I know that some of these things might be concluded in the next book, but I want to get SOMETHING, dammit! Especially if I have just read 20 pages of Kvothe performing in a tavern and talking with Deanna.
There are a lot of name-dropping, details, dialogue and mysteries in LotR as well. Why do I think it’s “better”, or any different from NotW? Firstly, most characters and places in LotR have a story, and the reader is usually told at least something relevant about them. They feel important, mysterious and interesting. Secondly, Tolkien knows how to use pathetic appeal, epic descriptions and tragic figures to hook the reader and draw on his/her emotions (most characters in NotW are irrelevant to the story, and not even very exciting). In LoTR I admired Glorfindel’s majesty, felt sad at Theoden’s fate, and wondered about the history of Weathertop. Yet I just couldn’t care less about Kvothe’s parents, Deanna’s background or what will happen with Ambrose. The Chandrian are obviously equivalent to Nazgûl, but they don't feel really interesting; the whole thing with Lanre/Haliax felt odd to me.
And what about the map? I feel Middle-Earth is a living, vivid place, and the map helps a lot with this; I could easily follow the Fellowship’s journey through the lands, and find most places Tolkien refers to in the book. However, I was occasionally confused about places and events in NotW. It may be that the author has a clear sense of the geography and history of the world, but I don’t. Kvothe talks of many places that I couldn’t find, and I wasn’t even told in which kingdom that place is. That irritated me a lot. Also, names are important for me; this is kind of difficult to explain, but I want them to be and sound “fantastic”, and to evoke a sense of mystery in me (e.g. Gondolin, Minas Tirith, Glorfindel, Thurgon, Rohan, Elrond, Legolas, Aragorn); I simply disliked many of the names in this book (Yll, Kvothe, Modeg, Bast, Shep, Cob, Ambrose, Tehlu, Ceald, etcetera).
Finally, and I may be repeating myself a bit here, but there’s no rhytm or dynamic feel to the story; it’s a painstakingly detailed chronological description of Kvothe’s path from childhood to teenager university student. Every once in a while we get a glimpse at what’s happening in the present, but for the most part it’s just as tedious as the rest of the novel. No cliffhangers, not even in the end; we learn, though, that Kvothe’s career in the University is about to end, and that the next novel will (probably) showcase how he acquired his superior fighting skills. Splendid.
Alright, that was a brutal review, but I have to say I was sorely disappointed at this book, because so many people have told me it’s “the new LotR, and much better!”.
The whole naming thing has been done many times before, and I don’t know what you mean by Rothfuss using a “twist” on it? Countless novels and real world myths use true names for affecting elements and beings; they have also been a part of D&D magic as well. The same with inscribing runes as part of spellcasting or “permanent” effects.