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The First Law- But a Second Reread (or Third, or Fourth or Fi.....) spoilers for First Law books


A True Kaniggit

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31 minutes ago, red snow said:

I've yet to hit any of the impossible budget scenes. If it is the case the series is crippling itself in terms of adaptation (not thst this should be the goal when writing). Because I can't see how book one would be exciting enough to launch a film series. On the other hand if it's too expensive to mske a TV show that isn't an option either. One could suggest animation but we have to be realistic and accept that R-rated cartoons don't wash with western audiences. I guess Netflix is trying to pathe the way but i think we are a long way off seeing a "first law" cartoon. Which is a shame as i imagine characters like glokta would benefit from animation.

I think there are probably ways to re-work the first book to make it ‘exciting’ enough for the audience. Recall that Thrones had a very constrained budget too and had a good first season. Been a while since I rewatched but pretty sure all the major battles are off camera and we only get small scale action scenes. Plenty of that in TBI - Logen v Shanka in the first episode (cold open with the Shanka attacking the camp I guess), Logan and Bayaz v the Northmen, Ferro v the Eaters, the tournament, the Inquisition v Ferro and Logen, Threetrees and the others on two occasions. If you really need to you can always add in bit some of Bethod invading Angland. And that’s just action-y scenes.

all of that said, I don’t think it needs to be action-y to hold the audience’s interest. I actually had a better impression from the book this time around, I thought it moved at a decent enough pace. Still suffers slightly from first book syndrome in that Joe improves over time, but still very enjoyable

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Loved the interaction between Bayaz and Glokta, 'blah blah blah' to the first of the Magi takes some stones!

I often wondered why Bayaz had the Gurkish ambassador killed?  He must have known that his chances of success were flimsy at best (he didn't have the seed at the time).  Why not call it a draw, and go away and regroup. 

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1 hour ago, HelenaExMachina said:

I think there are probably ways to re-work the first book to make it ‘exciting’ enough for the audience. Recall that Thrones had a very constrained budget too and had a good first season. Been a while since I rewatched but pretty sure all the major battles are off camera and we only get small scale action scenes. Plenty of that in TBI - Logen v Shanka in the first episode (cold open with the Shanka attacking the camp I guess), Logan and Bayaz v the Northmen, Ferro v the Eaters, the tournament, the Inquisition v Ferro and Logen, Threetrees and the others on two occasions. If you really need to you can always add in bit some of Bethod invading Angland. And that’s just action-y scenes.

all of that said, I don’t think it needs to be action-y to hold the audience’s interest. I actually had a better impression from the book this time around, I thought it moved at a decent enough pace. Still suffers slightly from first book syndrome in that Joe improves over time, but still very enjoyable

The above might work for a film. It seems the problem is that some are mentioning in the reread there are scenes in book 2 that would be hard to do on s tv budget. 

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9 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

My impression is she was 14. I'm sure she states she was taken from her mother, implying she was still a child. 

 

Dang. Considering she needed time to train, and then infiltrate the citadel, Khalul must start feeding the kids starting around 10. 

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2 hours ago, red snow said:

The above might work for a film. It seems the problem is that some are mentioning in the reread there are scenes in book 2 that would be hard to do on s tv budget. 

Why do you need a film for book 1? Nothing high budget there, all of the action sequences are or can be made pretty small scale (but still intense) and relatively inexpensively. And if S1 is a success you get an upper budget for S2 and S3. 

Reserve the right to change my opinion when I've reread more of book 2 though

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1 hour ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Why do you need a film for book 1? Nothing high budget there, all of the action sequences are or can be made pretty small scale (but still intense) and relatively inexpensively. And if S1 is a success you get an upper budget for S2 and S3. 

Reserve the right to change my opinion when I've reread more of book 2 though

I'm with you but a couple of others were suggesting upthread (and ahead of our reasing schedule) that scenes become much bigger. We should stick to our guns until we feel we 've encountered a too costly for tv scene. I've yet to encounter one.

I've just met cosca fir the first time again! Even better there's a mention of a murcatto ruining his career! Another great example of joe either having a meticulous plan or just giving the first trilogy enough depth to conjure up spin offs

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The siege of Dagoska could be fairly expensive to shoot from book 2. Anyone know if that wall they used in Troy and Kingdom of Heaven is still around?

Dig a ditch in front of it and you're good to go.

Edit: I suppose you dig ditches, not build them.

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7 hours ago, A True Kaniggit said:

Dang. Considering she needed time to train, and then infiltrate the citadel, Khalul must start feeding the kids starting around 10. 

Unless eating slows the aging process. 

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I was thinking about the Northmen and their named men. How they usually just had on a description to their birth names. Caul Shivers, Logen Ninefingers, Black Dow, Harding Grim, Red Beck.

Did we get the Dogman's birth name? I don't remember ever reading it.

Edit: And Bethod. How the hell does he not have a name?

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4 hours ago, A True Kaniggit said:

 

Edit: And Bethod. How the hell does he not have a name?

My impression is your name was given after heroic or violent acts, or misfortune (blacktoe, Logen implying that Jezal had received a 'naming wound'). Has Bethod ever held a sword? 

Scale should probably have a 'name' though. 

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On 3/9/2019 at 2:16 AM, SeanF said:

It does

Does that explain why Bayaz is so old? What about Cawneil, Yulwei and the other Magi? Are they all eaters or is it something else in their case?

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On 3/8/2019 at 12:09 AM, A True Kaniggit said:

The siege of Dagoska could be fairly expensive to shoot from book 2. Anyone know if that wall they used in Troy and Kingdom of Heaven is still around?

Yes. I think somewhat the worse for wear, but probably still usable by a production with some touch-up.

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2 hours ago, Yohn said:

Does that explain why Bayaz is so old? What about Cawneil, Yulwei and the other Magi? Are they all eaters or is it something else in their case?

There is some debate as to whether or not Bayaz is an Eater.  

However, I think the Magi are simply able to extend their lifespans by use of magic, rather than eating human flesh.

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5 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

My impression is your name was given after heroic or violent acts, or misfortune (blacktoe, Logen implying that Jezal had received a 'naming wound'). Has Bethod ever held a sword? 

Scale should probably have a 'name' though. 

Maybe Bethod's reputation is so fearsome that he doesn't need such a nickname.  There is only one Bethod.

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