George has updated!!

[that old guy]

Originally Posted by Aegon the Unworthy

Terry Brooks Shannara series is not defensible. Even the later books in the series are merely formulaic copies of his first book....which in turn was a formulaic copy. I liken it to the movie "Multiplicity" with Michael Keaton and Andie McDowell....a man clones himself and its slightly flawed....then his clone gets cloned and becomes a raving loon. That is the Shanarra series in a nutshell. After you copy a copy of a copy ad infinitum it does not eventually become original. It just wants pizza.

Recently I've been trying to gear myself up to re-read at least a few books in the Shannara series, since Armageddon's Children is going to link the Word and Void series to the Shannara books. And yet I cannot seem to bring myself to do it, despite being quite taken by all four of the Word and Void books (I'm counting Armageddon's Children in that series.)

And y'all ain't helping the cause.

I'm also sorry to say that I loved The Sword of Shannara when I read it at age 13 in 1977 or so. I think I read it even before I got to LotR; I vaguely remember the Hillenbrand artwork catching my eye and picking it up in my Jr. high library on that basis. Haven't read it since...now I'm getting worried about what I'll find.

[MacNeal]

Originally Posted by Aegon the Unworthy

Umm....Im gonna step away from this discussion. Everything I said was tongue-in-cheek. I understand you guys who dislike Jordan (Funky, Boaz, Arya, McNeal etc....even add TK just because) have no comprehension of his superior mastery of the english language (see? thats a joke as well). But Im stepping from this fingerpointing....thats not my style unless we're discussing politics.

My apologies if it seemed I was attacking Jordan. I just thought the repetitive chapters on Brienne looking for Sansa, and the Arya chapters where every single mundane task of her daily life was chronicled was a tad bit too similar to the "spinning wheel of time" that Jordan devolved into after book 5.

[Commonmind]

Originally Posted by that old guy

Recently I've been trying to gear myself up to re-read at least a few books in the Shannara series, since Armageddon's Children is going to link the Word and Void series to the Shannara books. And yet I cannot seem to bring myself to do it, despite being quite taken by all four of the Word and Void books (I'm counting Armageddon's Children in that series.)

And y'all ain't helping the cause.

I'm also sorry to say that I loved The Sword of Shannara when I read it at age 13 in 1977 or so. I think I read it even before I got to LotR; I vaguely remember the Hillenbrand artwork catching my eye and picking it up in my Jr. high library on that basis. Haven't read it since...now I'm getting worried about what I'll find.

I have that original printing, with Hildebrant cover and all.

[Werthead]

He has updated this time. He's done a lot of work on ADWD and seems to feel he's hit a productive streak, which is good news.

[TK-421]

Holly crap. There's a sort of new Ice & Fire Sample on his site. It's actually the Dany preview chapter that was at the end of AFFC but with artwork of Dany and her dragons...Wonder if it's part of this illustrated World of ASOIF book coming some time in the future?

[Lith]

I thought he said before AFFC came out that ADWD was half-written? And it's been... just how many years has it been now?

The plot must be getting incredibly tangled.

[Raven]

Originally Posted by Lith

I thought he said before AFFC came out that ADWD was half-written? And it's been... just how many years has it been now?

Since AFFC was published? Less than two years.

I do have the impression, though, that the writing of ADWD (or the remaining parts thereof - as you say he had quite a lot of material to begin with) has not gone smoothly. A lot of the existing chapters seem to have been rewritten, new chapters seem to have progressed slowly, etc.

But on the bright side there hasn't been anything like the problems involved in AFFC. He hasn't had to go back and start again and he hasn't complained about the story snowballing. I'm cautiously optimistic about progress, though I never try to guess publication dates - that's a mug's game.

[Lith]

Still less than two years? I guess it felt like longer. Still, it isn't particularly surprising he's had to re-write stuff. I'm waiting for at least the next book before I pick the series up again (haven't read AFFC yet).

[TK-421]

Originally Posted by Lith

(haven't read AFFC yet).

Well, I'll make the same suggestion that we make to those who have not yet. Abandon everything for the next 2 weeks and just READ. Then we'll talk.

[Lith]

Granted, I am behind the times. But Martin's not that high on my need-to-read list, and I may even wait until the end of the entire series to pick it up again, however many decades that may be. I'm really only interested in a couple characters at this point, anyway.

[TK-421]

Originally Posted by Lith

But Martin's not that high on my need-to-read list

(..............) Is this what a heart attack feels like????

[Aegon the Unworthy]

Originally Posted by Lith

Granted, I am behind the times. But Martin's not that high on my need-to-read list, and I may even wait until the end of the entire series to pick it up again, however many decades that may be. I'm really only interested in a couple characters at this point, anyway.

Ill start gathering the stones....TK you start gathering the other forumites....oh and have them limber up their throwing arms.

[pyan]

Not me - I think he has a point.
I find that whenever I get interested in a sympathetic character, GRRM either kills them off, or makes something terrible happen to them. I'm just a little teed off that all the people that I liked reading about are either in dire straits, or dead and, to be quite frank, with that and the delay in publishing the next installment, I've quite lost interest in the whole saga.

*indrawn breaths, hisses and murmers of "Heretic"*

[Trey Greyjoy]

***sigh***

see y'all after ADWD comes out.....

[Commonmind]

Not me - I think he has a point.
I find that whenever I get interested in a sympathetic character, GRRM either kills them off, or makes something terrible happen to them. I'm just a little teed off that all the people that I liked reading about are either in dire straits, or dead and, to be quite frank, with that and the delay in publishing the next installment, I've quite lost interest in the whole saga.

I haven't lost interest in the series, but there were times I found G.R.R.M.'s willingness to kill or maim certain characters a bit too zealous. When things like this happen I begin questioning the writer's motives more and focusing on the story less, which takes me out of the world and the experience. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy contemplating the mechanics of a story, but not in that way. I want to contemplate the character's motivations, not the author's, and for me, personally, when I lose that connection with a story it is no longer a story, but a book, made of paper and ink.

(Spoiler) Neds death in Thrones, while unexpected and shocking, pulled me into the story even further; here was a world where bloodshed wasn't superficial, and here was a writer who had the stones to do what other writers wouldn't dare, kill a main character for the sake of good story. As the story progressed, however, certain deaths started to stand out and seemed...out of place somehow, and the maiming of Jaime in Swords just felt a tad too much, even though the outcome provided a platform for characterization. Either way Pyan, I see where you're coming from.