| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| jornan |
Posted - 19 May 2010 : 23:00:33
The cover art for Gauntlgrym is up on O-Love's site:
http://www.o-love.net/realms/head_oth.html#Gauntlgrym
Is this a recycled picture though? It looks familiar, but I can't place where it is from. Anyone know?
On another note it says that it is 384 pages. So maybe a bit longer of a tale this time (40+ pages from the typical Drizzt book). I have however noticed that the newest couple releases with the cover changes have a larger font/line spacing than past realms books and a higher page count than the typical realms book. |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 20 Aug 2015 : 16:00:50
I too hate misleading covers. |
| Scimitars of Drizzt |
Posted - 20 Aug 2015 : 05:07:14
Awesome, thanks BEAST!
Well explained, I think that makes the most sense. |
| BEAST |
Posted - 19 Aug 2015 : 18:56:20
quote:
Originally posted by Scimitars of Drizzt
I found it odd that the newest cover of Gauntlgrym depicts a fight scene between Drizzt and Dahlia.
This, of course, does not happen in the novel. A little annoying to be mislead, but it's not a big deal.
I agree. And it's especially annoying that there wasn't really much conflict between Drizzt and Dahlia anymore once they were inside Gauntlgrym. The tension that they felt was before and long after.
quote:
After just finishing Gauntlgrym yesterday, I had a couple minor concerns. The way it was written, I had figured the primordial escaped when Athrogate was tricked into pulling the lever. Obviously not, as 10 years later the primordial is still in the great chasm in Gauntlgrym, and it's stirring again. I had thought that with the water elementals no longer in effect, the primordial was free. It also appeared that in the destruction of Neverwinter, the primordial escaped to the sea. I'm guessing it didn't just return, so what, the activation of the lever was merely an eruption of the primordial instead of an escape? The way it was written had me a little confused.
Yeah, it is confusing.
My best guess is that Arthrogate was tricked into turning off the enchantment that kept the primordial fully asleep (like in a RW medically induced coma).
Its initial mini-eruption, which blasted a channel through the middle of Neverwinter, was only like a spasm or flinch when that spell was first turned off. Maybe it just rolled over in its sleep and passed some gas?
But the thing had been asleep for a millenium, so it was still groggy and lethargic. I guess that's why it basically went right back to sleep.
Bruenor's restoration of the lever at the end probably served to magically knock the thing out again.
But the damaged magical conduit means that there is one water elemental missing from the trap, so even if the primordial remains asleep, it could still theoretically bust loose if it ever spasms or rolls over again. |
| Scimitars of Drizzt |
Posted - 18 Aug 2015 : 20:51:12
I found it odd that the newest cover of Gauntlgrym depicts a fight scene between Drizzt and Dahlia.
This, of course, does not happen in the novel. A little annoying to be mislead, but it's not a big deal.
After just finishing Gauntlgrym yesterday, I had a couple minor concerns. The way it was written, I had figured the primordial escaped when Athrogate was tricked into pulling the lever. Obviously not, as 10 years later the primordial is still in the great chasm in Gauntlgrym, and it's stirring again. I had thought that with the water elementals no longer in effect, the primordial was free. It also appeared that in the destruction of Neverwinter, the primordial escaped to the sea. I'm guessing it didn't just return, so what, the activation of the lever was merely an eruption of the primordial instead of an escape? The way it was written had me a little confused. |
| Sandro |
Posted - 03 Jun 2010 : 09:21:29
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
From a writer's perspective, a good cover is one that catches the reader's eye, established the genre, depicts the characters with reasonable accuracy, and, if you're very lucky, gives some sense of the tone of the story. I think this cover nails all those issues.
I'm not a writer, but I fully agree with you on what constitutes a good cover. 
It is also my opinion, without getting into specifics, that there has been more than one WotC novel over the past few years that did not meet all these criteria -- some, I think, haven't even met one of the criteria.
|Aye, that last point is all too true. It seems to me they've tried to go for "modern" covers, moving away from more "traditional" fantasy covers. The Drizzt covers, as done by Mr. Lockwood, have been breaths of fresh air, for me at least.
Of course, I don't think that anything can top the old Caldwell covers, but hey. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 31 May 2010 : 05:05:19
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
From a writer's perspective, a good cover is one that catches the reader's eye, established the genre, depicts the characters with reasonable accuracy, and, if you're very lucky, gives some sense of the tone of the story. I think this cover nails all those issues.
I'm not a writer, but I fully agree with you on what constitutes a good cover.
I'm inclined to agree. When I contributed some tidbits to one of Fantasy Flight's former RPG lines, I was amazed at how deliberate the choice made by the artist for the book, to include some influence from my meager contribution, came about. Some artists love to go that extra length and try to convey, through their efforts on the cover, as much as is possible about the tome's content.
Others, unfortunately, are sometimes restricted by the dictates of the publisher's license or are directed to follow a guideline drafted by the publisher [I know of instances like this occurring in the old FASA line of Classic BattleTech books for example]. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 31 May 2010 : 04:22:45
quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
From a writer's perspective, a good cover is one that catches the reader's eye, established the genre, depicts the characters with reasonable accuracy, and, if you're very lucky, gives some sense of the tone of the story. I think this cover nails all those issues.
I'm not a writer, but I fully agree with you on what constitutes a good cover.
It is also my opinion, without getting into specifics, that there has been more than one WotC novel over the past few years that did not meet all these criteria -- some, I think, haven't even met one of the criteria. |
| ElaineCunningham |
Posted - 31 May 2010 : 02:31:07
quote:
Originally posted by hashimashadoo
Also, I don't know whether the fact that Mister Salvatore became a grandfather 7 days before finishing this novel will impact positively or negatively on the work. I'm hoping that since it was so late in the process when it happened that it won't have any impact at all.
Bob Salvatore is one of the most disciplined writers I know. He wrote one of his best books, Mortalis, during the protracted final illness of his best friend, his brother Gary. I sincerely doubt that a happy family event that occurred in the last week of a first draft will negatively impact the quality of a novel.
As for your view of WotC's motivation, I've always gotten the impression that Phil Athans, the managing editor, genuinely enjoys Bob's work. And even if WotC were content to throw any old thing out there--and I don't believe that to do be the case--Bob would still hold his work to the standard he sets for himself.
Nor is the cover an indication that WotC is not taking the book (or the fans) seriously. A lot of high-profile books are published that do NOT have a new painting done specifically for that book. For an eye-opening look at cover design, check out this fast-forward look at CHANGELESS, a very well-received fantasy series set in Victorian England:
http://www.faceoutbooks.com/303317/Soulless-Changeless-Blameless
This is a high profile cover from a major New York house. That gives a slightly different perspective on WotC's treatment of the new Drizzt book.
The fact that the new Drizzt cover is an enlarged clip from an existing image does not bother me in the slightest. It's a very recognizable image of Drizzt by one of the best artists in the business. A lot of writers would happily commit mayhem to have a cover of that quality on one of their books.
I understand that opinions differ, and that I'm coming at this issue from a different angle. From a writer's perspective, a good cover is one that catches the reader's eye, established the genre, depicts the characters with reasonable accuracy, and, if you're very lucky, gives some sense of the tone of the story. I think this cover nails all those issues. |
| hashimashadoo |
Posted - 30 May 2010 : 16:29:49
The fanboy in me is squealing like a little girl but the rest of me is preparing for disappointment. That art has gone up on the WotC website now so I don't see it changing, even with 5 months to spare.
Also the content preview is not at all promising.
"WotC: Bob's name can sell just about any novel we tell him to publish (also any sourcebook, but we don't want him bringing back any of the older FR content in case he diverts attention from our current marketing agenda) so what we'll do is merge the two biggest-selling FR franchises into one novel written by the biggest-selling FR writer. It'll make lots of money and that's all we care about any more."
Also, I don't know whether the fact that Mister Salvatore became a grandfather 7 days before finishing this novel will impact positively or negatively on the work. I'm hoping that since it was so late in the process when it happened that it won't have any impact at all. |
| Bakra |
Posted - 21 May 2010 : 13:00:32
quote:
Originally posted by Elfinblade
Looks like some nifty cut and paste action there. Where has all the imagination gone 
TSR was notorious for recycling artwork before they went bankrupt. For example, a 1986 Endless Quest book called Knight of Illusion. The cover for that title reappears again on the SSI goldbox game Pool of Radiance which came out in 1988. |
| BEAST |
Posted - 21 May 2010 : 05:19:41
That's gotta be a temporary placeholder. It'll almost certainly change by October. |
| Sandro |
Posted - 20 May 2010 : 06:19:21
Aye, it does seem a bit of a let down that they won't go for something new, though I suppose it's nice that it's Lockwood: he's created some truly amazing covers (The Ghost King being a personal favourite) for the Drizzt series. |
| Elfinblade |
Posted - 20 May 2010 : 00:43:32
Looks like some nifty cut and paste action there. Where has all the imagination gone |
| Lady Fellshot |
Posted - 19 May 2010 : 23:15:24
Looks like a detail from one of the Demonstone promotional pics...
...Like from here: http://www.toddlockwood.com/galleries/new_art/01/demonstone.shtml |
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