| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 06 Oct 2008 : 14:48:29
*GLEE*
Amazon informed me that Pirate King shipped yesterday afternoon from St. Paul. So I *should* have the book in my hands this evening after work. 
And should have it finished by tomorrow.  |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 05 Dec 2008 : 16:03:43
quote:
Originally posted by Talos
This tangent on the history of the Drizzt series is interesting. Does RAS actually hold the copyright to Drizzt and the characters or does WotC?
-No, WotC owns it. A while ago, they (TSR) and R.A. Salvatore had some problems coming to terms with contractual issues (I believe that it was about R.A. Salvatore writing stories for other book publishing companies, but if you want to verify, there's more information in an interview with author Mark Anthony), and they (TSR) were all ready to continue the story of Drizzt with another author. In the end, it never got published, as all of those technical points were cleared up, but it shows they weren't kidding. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 05 Dec 2008 : 15:41:32
quote:
Originally posted by Talos
This tangent on the history of the Drizzt series is interesting. Does RAS actually hold the copyright to Drizzt and the characters or does WotC?
WotC owns Drizzt and every other character in FR completely--everything that happens to the character does so only with WotC's blessing. |
| dwarvenranger |
Posted - 05 Dec 2008 : 15:22:14
Overall, I enjoyed it. It was a nice change of pace to see the bad guys win. Although, I was disappointed with the fight between a certain wizard and a lich. And I too thought Regis was acting a little out of character. |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 02 Dec 2008 : 06:41:52
quote:
Originally posted by Skeptic
I'm surprised to find that nobody here ranted about RAS not taking into acount the Old Ones...
I haven't read the book yet. It's not polite to rant about things you haven't studied closely.
-- George Krashos
|
| Skeptic |
Posted - 02 Dec 2008 : 06:15:55
I'm surprised to find that nobody here ranted about RAS not taking into acount the Old Ones... |
| The Red Walker |
Posted - 14 Nov 2008 : 23:22:09
Easily the Drizzt story I enjoyed reading the least.(the spearweilder books were much better) I tire of D running around judging and looking down on everyone as is, but now he is judging the Harpels? I could almost deal with that but now Regis is written to be the same? Did not enjoy Regis (a fab of mine) in this novel at all, the interesting scamp is dead and we are stuck with the new boring Regis who feels like a poorer version of Bilbo now.
I liked seeing Wulfgar and look forward to him in the next nove, since it's gonna be a reunion tour of all RA's big characters I want to see him hanging out with the bouldershoulder bros! |
| Thielan |
Posted - 10 Nov 2008 : 00:05:01
Enjoyed the fact that he's actually taken in some darker themes, and not so many ressurections (Wulfgar). Tied off a few threads too.
The saddest part of the book had to be the scene where the two wizards killed the random, who had finaly brought home a real meal to his family... |
| Talos |
Posted - 04 Nov 2008 : 20:36:35
This tangent on the history of the Drizzt series is interesting. Does RAS actually hold the copyright to Drizzt and the characters or does WotC? If its the latter, as I suspect, then they could simply "William King" him and replace him as the author to keep the cash flow er "series" alive. William King btw was the creator of the most popular Warhammer novels "Gotrek and Felix" and when he decided to kill one of them since its part of the character to seek a death in battle...well, Games Workshop couldn't have that! So they took the series away from him and gave it another author and told him to keep on writing those two even though one of the characters has a death wish. |
| BEAST |
Posted - 04 Nov 2008 : 20:08:20
Briefly,
I loved it. Deliciously dark and humilifying. The good guys don't always win. Nor do they always die. Sometimes they try and try, yet still fail. Even in a fantasy world, that's a good thing to go through and experience. Character-building experience, I say.
TOK had more of the traditional RAS fight scenes. This one brought in more of the big-scope battles and political intrigue that he explored in "The DemonWar" series.
Can go into detail later... |
| Kamuraki |
Posted - 04 Nov 2008 : 15:09:18
That's a fairly good point. |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 04 Nov 2008 : 05:27:40
No doubt, it is a possibility. But I think I'd rather have Drizzt 'pass into the West' with the other characters I love than see another author's 'take' on him. Been a fan of comic books too long to see what happens when new writers take over from other writers to know that it's not always a 'good' hand-off. |
| Kamuraki |
Posted - 04 Nov 2008 : 05:23:44
I was simply stating a possibility. |
| Firestorm |
Posted - 02 Nov 2008 : 07:23:00
quote:
Originally posted by HawkinstheDM
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
That may be true, Beast, but how does that jive with the company line that there will be no 'historical' novels? Does RAS have that much presence with the powers-that-be?
He is their biggest bringer of $$. I am pretty sure the Drizzt series has sold more books than all of the other Realms books combined. And $$ seems to be the only language Hazards of the Coast understands anymore.
Than any other individual author, yes. Than all the others combined? not even close. |
| BEAST |
Posted - 30 Oct 2008 : 08:10:05
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
That may be true, Beast, but how does that jive with the company line that there will be no 'historical' novels?
Not sure.
But theoretically RAS could maybe write a new 4E tale with Jarlaxle, and just put the historical Jar&Zak stuff in there as flashbacks or something. That's basically how he revealed Entreri's and parts of Jarlaxle's pasts to us, already. This allowed him to cover history and resolve present issues simultaneously.
|
| mnb128 |
Posted - 29 Oct 2008 : 19:29:56
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
I don't disagree with that, but they already tried to publish a Drizzt (short) story with another author. What's to stop them from saying, you have to write in 4e or we'll have someone else write it.
Granted, the sales on it would probably be much lower, but we are talking about corporation mentality here.
My understanding is the reason TSR had Mark Anthony write a Drizzt book was because it didn't look like they were going to be able to close a deal with RAS. I think part of the new deal that they did reach was that no non-RAS Drizzt books would ever see the light of day without his blessing, past or future. However, they can probably try to stong-arm him into writing in 4e, but I think he'd win if it came to an battle of wills. If it's about $$ they're better off agreeing with RAS. |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 29 Oct 2008 : 16:57:23
I don't disagree with that, but they already tried to publish a Drizzt (short) story with another author. What's to stop them from saying, you have to write in 4e or we'll have someone else write it.
Granted, the sales on it would probably be much lower, but we are talking about corporation mentality here. |
| Hawkins |
Posted - 29 Oct 2008 : 15:14:24
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
That may be true, Beast, but how does that jive with the company line that there will be no 'historical' novels? Does RAS have that much presence with the powers-that-be?
He is their biggest bringer of $$. I am pretty sure the Drizzt series has sold more books than all of the other Realms books combined. And $$ seems to be the only language Hazards of the Coast understands anymore. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 29 Oct 2008 : 14:14:22
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
That may be true, Beast, but how does that jive with the company
line that there will be no 'historical' novels?
I don't know if they've said there will not be any historical novels, so much as they would be rare.
quote:
Does RAS have that much presence with the powers-that-be?
Probably. |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 29 Oct 2008 : 13:01:46
That may be true, Beast, but how does that jive with the company line that there will be no 'historical' novels? Does RAS have that much presence with the powers-that-be? |
| BEAST |
Posted - 29 Oct 2008 : 08:04:02
RAS has repeatedly hinted, on multiple sites, that he wants to/plans to do a book on the history between Zaknafein and Jarlaxle. That's my best bet as to the post-TGK book. |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 28 Oct 2008 : 13:25:28
quote:
Originally posted by Hordak
Well RAS mentioned he had another Drizzt book after the GhostKing in an interview (podcast from his website)
I really hope it isn't post spellplague.. And I hope he gives alot more time to one - or two, characters than a little to 14.
Given the state of affairs at Wasbro, I feel that we can guarantee (to at least 99% certainty) that the book will be post-spellplague. And, if it is post-SP, it's more than likely that it will be about the one or two characters that survived. |
| Hordak |
Posted - 28 Oct 2008 : 11:37:22
Well RAS mentioned he had another Drizzt book after the GhostKing in an interview (podcast from his website)
I really hope it isn't post spellplague.. And I hope he gives alot more time to one - or two, characters than a little to 14.
|
| mnb128 |
Posted - 27 Oct 2008 : 20:39:06
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
I'm not so sure, mnb. Many of the 'loose ends' can be tied up by Wasbro's answer for all the changes now: The Spellplague. Jumping forward a hundred years means many of the companions have died either from the Spellplague or old age. The only ones I see surviving are Drizzt, Jarlaxle (both already mentioned in 4E), Artemis (possibly from his Shade 'blood') and Catti-brie (she's studying magic from Alustriel, life-extending magic shouldn't be that hard).
True, but what I meant is if Ghost King is to be the last Drizzt book the loose ends will have to be tied up Spellplague or not. RAS won't jump to post-Spellplague without resolution of the fates of Wulfgar (which we may have already gotten), Bruenor, and Regis. It just doesn't seem to be his style. That is assuming that the series isn't passed off to someone else. We shall have to wait and see. |
| Hawkins |
Posted - 27 Oct 2008 : 15:37:31
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote:
Originally posted by Kamuraki
Maybe Rob will hand the Drizzt reins over to his son after The Ghost King.
Maybe. I wouldn't consider that ideal, though--I think the Drizzt story arc should (eventually) end, not be perpetually continued under different authors...
I have to agree with RF here. Also, I do not see RAS giving Drizzt to someone else after he is done writing Drizzt novels considering his reaction when TSR tried to do that years ago. They got someone (the same guy who wrote the Drizzt short story in Realms of the Underdark) to write a novel because RAS could not write for them at the time because of contractual issues and they wanted a new Drizzt novel (for obvious reasons). Even though the book got written, it will never see the light of day. I think this also happened during TSR's fall from financial grace (EDIT: this last comment is to date this event). |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 27 Oct 2008 : 13:41:07
I'm not so sure, mnb. Many of the 'loose ends' can be tied up by Wasbro's answer for all the changes now: The Spellplague. Jumping forward a hundred years means many of the companions have died either from the Spellplague or old age. The only ones I see surviving are Drizzt, Jarlaxle (both already mentioned in 4E), Artemis (possibly from his Shade 'blood') and Catti-brie (she's studying magic from Alustriel, life-extending magic shouldn't be that hard). |
| mnb128 |
Posted - 27 Oct 2008 : 12:41:11
Another example of a great series being picked up by someone else would be the Dune series. Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have now released 9 Dune books (3 more than Frank Herbert in the original series) and they just don't measure up. Of course, I'm a sucker, so I keep buying them anyway to see what happens.
That said, I agree that it wouldn't be a good idea to pass the reins to anyone else. If RAS is done with Drizzt I think Drizzt should be done for good. However, I don't think the Ghost King will be the last of Drizzt from RAS. If he tried to tie up all the loose ends in that final book it would be massive. Well, Wizards would keep it between 340 and 347 pages, but I don't feel like having to use a magnifying glass for the size 3 font. |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 26 Oct 2008 : 05:51:19
I can think of two examples where the 'reins' were handed off. Christopher Tolkien's taking over Middle Earth and Todd McCaffrey picking up the Pern series. Tolkien was publishing material based on his father's notes, and most of them came off as textbooks instead of literature. As for Todd, I really haven't read any of the new Pern books, mostly because I feel that once they defeated the Red Planet, the story was over.
As for RAS handing off to Geno, I'd rather the story just finish and no new Drizzt. However, I feel that no matter what, if Wasbro can make some money off it, Drizzt will be resurrected time and again. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 26 Oct 2008 : 02:36:47
quote:
Originally posted by Kamuraki
Maybe Rob will hand the Drizzt reins over to his son after The Ghost King.
Maybe. I wouldn't consider that ideal, though--I think the Drizzt story arc should (eventually) end, not be perpetually continued under different authors... |
| khorne |
Posted - 24 Oct 2008 : 21:15:03
Hmm. Not sure I'll buy this. The Luskan story seems to be just the kind of thing that makes me channel my inner depressed cynic. |
| Hordak |
Posted - 24 Oct 2008 : 21:12:34
I hope not.
Drizzt by another author is not something I'd like to see.
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