Rothfuss XVI: Books? What books?

[lysmonger]

45 minutes ago, Ran said:

The idea that GGK or Tad Williams are going to take up Pat Rothfuss's cast-offs is ludicrous. Not in a million years, man. 

The idea that Rothfuss would ask anyone else to finish it for him seems almost as absurd to me. 

Agree if anything he will have some college writer who he's having an emotional affair with  to do the bulk of the finishing of the novel. 

Rothfuss's now actions and motives remind me of Seth Rogen. Seth, who's movies ten years back were much much better. But now, because of decades of smoking pot and being lazy, he's essentially burnt out. 

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

9 minutes ago, lysmonger said:

Agree if anything he will have some college writer who he's having an emotional affair with  to do the bulk of the finishing of the novel. 

Rothfuss's now actions and motives remind me of Seth Rogen. Seth, who's movies ten years back were much much better. But now, because of decades of smoking pot and being lazy, he's essentially burnt out. 

Does anyone think this tack by the Publisher will be successful?  Really?  Rothfuss refuses to talk about progress and implies that people who ask are just stupid.  He's alienating his fan base because of his frustration... presumably... with himself.  If he reacts that way to the people who make his lifestyle possible is he going to react any differently to the publisher?

[Poobah]

15 hours ago, Gaston de Foix said:

Always fun to see what makes the normally equable Wert lose his shit.   All this is true but PR's kind of driven the car in the ditch and doesn't know how to get out.  I think PR thinks that on some level (1) he doesn't owe anyone shit; (2) his critics will never be satisfied until the book is delivered. 

Not sure that's true and he can't rebuild trust, but I do think he should try to get Book 3 done even in increments and out to the publisher even in chunks.  Hell maybe hire a writing partner.  I know for myself I'm a better editor than writer. 

For me at least the trust bridge is burned. More than anything else his whole attitude just annoys the shit outta me - sure there was a point where I was critical of him not finishing the book already (which Werthead pointed out, he claimed was basically done when he was publicising The Name of The Wind) but at this point it's morphed into general dislike of the persona he puts out.

2 hours ago, Ser Drewy said:

Whenever Rothfuss stuff comes up, it just increasingly sounds like the guy has retired and doesn't want to tell anyone. 

And I totally agree with what Ser Drewy is saying here: if he just said "Ok <30-60 minutes of self-indulgent ramblings later> so yeah I've given up on finishing Doors of Stone, my new career plan is just to trade on my fame until I run out credit with everyone" I'm gonna walk away but at least I could respect the honesty. All the... leading on with the insinuations/not quite promises to keep people treating him like he's actually a professional writer who's relevant today mixed in with defensiveness and outright aggression when even the most well-meaning people inquire about said theoretically promised book, that shit can just fuck right off though.

54 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

But his prose is just so *meh*

I'd be a bit more positive and say that it's low-key and gets the job done without taking any attention away from the story, unlike Rothfuss' prose which tends to spend its time jumping around waving it's arms and screaming "LOOK AT MEEEEEE." Honestly I think when Rothfuss exercises discipline and chooses to do low-key prose well instead of overly verbose wankery he does it better than Sanderson, I think he's a just a out right better wordsmith, but that's not anywhere close to saying he's a better professional writer.

47 minutes ago, Gaston de Foix said:

I certainly think Rothfuss' struggle with depression require us to approach this topic with sensitivity (something I have not always done).  I also think that it is a very real reason for the delay.  But as someone has suffered from similar issues in the past, I think all the other activity he engages in, the compensatory behavior of videogaming and tweeting, will not make things better.  The fundamental problem is he started this story and is stopped halfway. 

Even saying that he will never write the third book (although it might unleash a tidal wave of disappointed and angry emails) is progress because it adjusts expectations.  Douglas Hulick, an author I admire and read, stopped after two novels in his Amongst the Kin series because of mental health issues. I was disappointed but I accepted it.

To make no progress and provide no information is the worst of all possible worlds for Rothfuss.  It's also the worst of all possible worlds for his fans.  And yet we are all stuck here. 

Yes I tend to agree with the generalities of this if not all the specifics.

Rothfuss is slaving away under a great burden of expectations and he isn't doing himself or his fans any favours by perpetuating those expectations.

I've struggled with severe depression and anxiety and a complimentary gift basket of other (fun!) mental health problems pretty much my whole life and I can relate a lot to Rothfuss that's why I think I judge him so harshly. A lot of what I hate or have hated about myself in the past I see reflected in him: the weight of expectations from early success, perfectionism, procrastination - all this shit I can understand and relate to and hate as external things burdening a person, but the deception and self-deception I kinda hate the person they're coming from. More than anything else, I think, if Rothfuss wants to get better he needs to be honest with himself and with other people. So long as he maintains the pretence of working on the book he opens himself up to all the things that are clearly not good for him, pressure, expectations, questions from fans which clearly bother him a lot and make him look like an asshole when he vents his frustration.

If he sat down and wrote out the words "I'm sorry, I still dream of finishing Doors of Stone one day, but the pressure is too great, the stakes too high, I'm officially no longer working on the book in any capacity, I'm retired. I may, one day, come out of retirement but that day is likely a long way away, I need to focus on my own health and happiness so if you're interested in following me beyond the book you might still see me playing games or visiting conventions or generally being a public personality because I enjoy that kinda thing, it enriches my life and makes me happier, but I'm no longer writing Kvothe's story, I won't be taking any further questions, and I ask that you respect that." I would, as you say Gaston, be disappointed but I'd understand, I'd empathise deeply, and I'd definitely respect his wishes. I wouldn't particularly be interested in following him any longer though, and I think  that'd be the case for most people, so it'd probably be a big hit to his fame/following, and I think that's probably why he isn't willing to do it, unfortunately.

[Inkdaub]

Rothfuss is like the Guns N' Roses of fantasy lit.  One good record followed by mediocrity but they sell out stadiums and people treat them like the Rolling Stones.  Rothfuss seems to have a similar career path.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

39 minutes ago, Poobah said:

I'd be a bit more positive and say that it's low-key and gets the job done without taking any attention away from the story, unlike Rothfuss' prose which tends to spend its time jumping around waving it's arms and screaming "LOOK AT MEEEEEE." Honestly I think when Rothfuss exercises discipline and chooses to do low-key prose well instead of overly verbose wankery he does it better than Sanderson, I think he's a just a out right better wordsmith, but that's not anywhere close to saying he's a better professional writer.

I'm not I do not care to read Brandon Sanderson.  I enjoy well thought out poetic prose.  My favorite book of the last ten years has been Tan Twan Eng's The Gift of Rain.  It is a wonderfully written novel about alienation and the struggle of a boy, the child of a Malaysian Chinese woman and a British Expat growing up in Malaysia prior to and during the Japanese Occupation of Malaysia.  

I also enjoyed Eng's Garden of the Evening Mists[/u].  I can't wait for him to write again.  But it is his prose that sucks me in.

Sanderson is clunky.  

[Caligula_K3]

Yeah, I deeply respect Sanderson's work ethic, but good god, that prose. Especially every time he tries to do a simile... or has his characters say something "funny."

 

 

[Werthead]

2 hours ago, Ran said:

The idea that GGK or Tad Williams are going to take up Pat Rothfuss's cast-offs is ludicrous. Not in a million years, man. 

The idea that Rothfuss would ask anyone else to finish it for him seems almost as absurd to me. 

I don't think it's likely, nor that Rothfuss (who's only 47) would feel it necessary. Knowing both Guy and Tad, it is improbable in the extreme that Guy would touch this with a 100-foot bargepole. Tad is marginally more likely if framed correctly, but it's not an eventuality I see happening.

I think it's much more likely that Rothfuss admits defeat and goes off to do something else, with an idea that when he's in a better frame of mind he'll come back to finish off the book and if that takes twenty years, so be it.

[Gaston de Foix]

3 hours ago, Werthead said:

I do wonder if part of DAW's concerns are down to underperformances elsewhere. In particular, although it's done okay, the Tad Williams Memory, Sorrow and Thorn sequel trilogy does seem to have done noticeably less business than they expected, and they probably paid him a hefty advance for that series.

 

Yeah that's probably my fault.  I'm planning to read it only once it's fully complete. 

Quote

 

I think it's much more likely that Rothfuss admits defeat and goes off to do something else, with an idea that when he's in a better frame of mind he'll come back to finish off the book and if that takes twenty years, so be it.

To take 20 years to write a book whose events cover 3 days would be record-setting in some way, I'm sure.  Even military historians writing about Waterloo haven't taken that long. 

[Ninefingers]

3 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

Does anyone think this tack by the Publisher will be successful?  Really?  Rothfuss refuses to talk about progress and implies that people who ask are just stupid.  He's alienating his fan base because of his frustration... presumably... with himself.  If he reacts that way to the people who make his lifestyle possible is he going to react any differently to the publisher?

Well, I think we can state with a high degree of certainty that this isn't the first thing the publisher has tried. 

He posted that blog years back praising Betsy, so at the time at least the relationship was one of love and support. 

This has clearly deteriorated, and I'd bet good money against long odds that it didn't happen overnight. If it's true that despite years of effort/support/understanding he hasn't written in 6 years, then what does she have to lose?

A little public humiliation (outing him for lying about writing) might light a fire under his ass. 

 

(I don't think it will BTW. He loves to play the victim, IMO.) 

[Darth Richard II]

This is just my interpretation here, but it sounds like Rothfuss has complete given up on the book for good and his publisher found out and is trying to let people know without getting into legal trouble. I wonder if he will address this at all if it gains enough traction on the net.

[Darth Richard II]

6 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

Does anyone think this tack by the Publisher will be successful?  Really?  Rothfuss refuses to talk about progress and implies that people who ask are just stupid.  He's alienating his fan base because of his frustration... presumably... with himself.  If he reacts that way to the people who make his lifestyle possible is he going to react any differently to the publisher?

Oh, I don’t think it’s a tactic to get him to write. I think she’s just had enough of his bullshit.

[Myrddin]

23 hours ago, Jace, Basilissa said:

Wait is book 3 not coming out in August?

August 2067

[Darth Richard II]

9 minutes ago, Myrddin said:

August 2067

Sadly a few of my friends on other sites who are less in the know about the publishing side of things actually thought it was coming out this August.

[Jace, Extat]

I only read them this summer. Pure happenstance, recommended by a friend. I was very excited to hear the 3rd one was coming out. To quote a famous president, maybe the most famous, "Sad!"

[Darth Richard II]

10 minutes ago, Jace, Basilissa said:

I only read them this summer. Pure happenstance, recommended by a friend. I was very excited to hear the 3rd one was coming out. To quote a famous president, maybe the most famous, "Sad!"

Honestly can't tell if you're joking or not, but if you are not, I got baaaaaaaaaaaad news about book 3 ever existing.

[lysmonger]

5 hours ago, Darth Richard II said:

Honestly can't tell if you're joking or not, but if you are not, I got baaaaaaaaaaaad news about book 3 ever existing.

Funny thing about the article, didn't reveal any new information on Rothfuss nor was it really compelling for his publisher to comment on.

Article was most generic "Author is not your bitch. He doesn't owe you anything. K thanx. bye."

 

Amazingly though Rothfuss perhaps had to include what goes down in book 3 to multiple networks when he was pitching his series. But it appears his editor did not get to see those pitches. 

[Ninefingers]

15 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

I'm not I do not care to read Brandon Sanderson.  I enjoy well thought out poetic prose.  My favorite book of the last ten years has been Tan Twan Eng's The Gift of Rain.  It is a wonderfully written novel about alienation and the struggle of a boy, the child of a Malaysian Chinese woman and a British Expat growing up in Malaysia prior to and during the Japanese Occupation of Malaysia.  

I also enjoyed Eng's Garden of the Evening Mists[/u].  I can't wait for him to write again.  But it is his prose that sucks me in.

Sanderson is clunky.  

I've taken a fair amount of grief from Sanderson fans in the past for saying this, but...

Brandon Sanderson is the Nick Cage of fantasy writers. 

Cranks out prolific amounts of solid plot driven work. Never hits the highs that others hit, but turns out a solid summer blockbuster on a pretty regular scale.

 

[Jace, Extat]

7 hours ago, Darth Richard II said:

Honestly can't tell if you're joking or not, but if you are not, I got baaaaaaaaaaaad news about book 3 ever existing.

Not a joke. 

[Darth Richard II]

Short version: the book isn’t written, If asked about it Rothfuss goes full asshole and streams on Twitter. Openly mocks people waiting for it. As of now looks like he hasn’t worked on it in 6 years. 

[lysmonger]

3 hours ago, Ninefingers said:

I've taken a fair amount of grief from Sanderson fans in the past for saying this, but...

Brandon Sanderson is the Nick Cage of fantasy writers. 

Cranks out prolific amounts of solid plot driven work. Never hits the highs that others hit, but turns out a solid summer blockbuster on a pretty regular scale.

 

 

My theory is NIck Cage is blackmailed by IRS creditors to make the most shitty movies possible.

 

that may be true. LOL fantasy writers personalities are so much much weirder than famous actors. Terry Goodkind is up there. 

Michael Moorcock definetly has the alcoholic nick cage bender factor