Werthead Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 1 hour ago, williamjm said: I would have thought that Memory, Sorrow and Thorn was his biggest seller, it seems to be the series people talk about most when they discuss Williams. I could believe that he might not have sold as much of his more recent series. Memory, Sorrow and Thorn is his biggest-selling series in the United States, but Otherland was like a national phenomenon in Germany and sold as astounding number of copies there, and did quite well in the rest of Europe and okay in the USA. It was quite random, and why he's sometimes called the David Hasselhoff of SFF lit. Global sales for those two series are probably not far off one another. I thing Tailchaser's Song also sold exceptionally well, War of the Flowers did okay and then there was a sharp drop-off with Shadowmarch from which he's never really recovered. The Bobby Dollar books didn't do great business and from all accounts the current Osten Ard sequel series is not setting things on fire either, although it's certainly not bombing or anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistlepong Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 13 hours ago, The Twink in the North said: I get the impression from various things he's said on panels and such that he hates her and the fact that his series is always being compared with Harry Potter. He does not appear to enjoy comparisons of their works. That much is true. But he took a week off alone in a cabin to prepare for the last HP book and did a multipart speculative conversation about it with Orson Scott Card for Beliefnet. Has kept some pretty transphobic company throughout his career. And while his own commentary is sparse, what stands out is a tendency to support and share low key terfs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninefingers Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 A thistle sighting! Hope all is well with you. I have fond memories of the Tor reread theory crafting days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proudfeet Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 27 minutes ago, thistlepong said: He does not appear to enjoy comparisons of their works. That much is true. But he took a week off alone in a cabin to prepare for the last HP book and did a multipart speculative conversation about it with Orson Scott Card for Beliefnet. Has kept some pretty transphobic company throughout his career. And while his own commentary is sparse, what stands out is a tendency to support and share low key terfs. You're back! I think that at some point he had gone through his blog and scrubbed his negative takes of other authors. Maybe not the relatively recent Roald Dahl blog, but I vaguely recall him dismissing the author of the Eragon books before doing a 180 when he had those books on his charity. Couldn't find it in the Wayback Machine though so I could have imagined it but there are also conspicuous gaps in the update history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaston de Foix Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 52 minutes ago, thistlepong said: He does not appear to enjoy comparisons of their works. That much is true. Welcome back, Thistle! There is no-one whose take on the current fracas I am more eager to hear... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lysmonger Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 8 hours ago, thistlepong said: He does not appear to enjoy comparisons of their works. That much is true. But he took a week off alone in a cabin to prepare for the last HP book and did a multipart speculative conversation about it with Orson Scott Card for Beliefnet. Has kept some pretty transphobic company throughout his career. And while his own commentary is sparse, what stands out is a tendency to support and share low key terfs. Definitely remember him saying he read the Harry Potter novels during down time/ relaxation during his 2 year Masters program. Seems as though he felt obligated forced to read them though, since he was writing in fantasy.. A lot of the plot story parametrics are in complete opposite with JK rowling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 Story parametrics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lysmonger Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 On 7/30/2020 at 9:12 PM, Ser Scot A Ellison said: Story parametrics? Kvothe is an extremely proactive character compared to Harry Potter. Most plot revolves around Kvothe doing something and then having to try to fix it. Harry Potter is purposely boring character-not extremely extrovert. Tool for author so kids could daydream vicariously being Harry Potter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry of the Lawn Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 1 hour ago, lysmonger said: Kvothe is an extremely proactive character compared to Harry Potter. Most plot revolves around Kvothe doing something and then having to try to fix it. Harry Potter is purposely boring character-not extremely extrovert. Tool for author so kids could daydream vicariously being Harry Potter. Counterpoint: Kvothe's a huge dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaughn Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 ' 22 minutes ago, larrytheimp said: Counterpoint: Kvothe's a huge dick Or as Rothfuss would have it Kvothe HAS a... oh never mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Not Appearing Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 I wouldn't say Kvothe is a dick. I'd say he's vain and belligerently blind to any concerns but his own. But, when forced to see other concerns, he's willing to sacrifice for others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lysmonger Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 My point stands about Kvothe and Harry Potter. Harry Potter has flawed characters, but eveerything is neatly advertisable. Rothfuss created something that is far different than JK Rowlings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proudfeet Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 2 hours ago, Ser Not Appearing said: I wouldn't say Kvothe is a dick. I'd say he's vain and belligerently blind to any concerns but his own. But, when forced to see other concerns, he's willing to sacrifice for others. I don't even see how the but works. Because he has a couple of nice thoughts he isn't a dick? I mean if Willem was a 1 and Ambrose a 10, he'd be right there at 8 or 9 on the dick scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Not Appearing Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 19 hours ago, Proudfeet said: I don't even see how the but works. I guess I would say that part of the distinction lies in opportunity. Given the opportunity, Kvothe takes actions that benefit others and he goes out of his way to sacrifice on their behalf. His vanity and his self-absorption serve to remove opportunity. He's often blind to the opportunity for selfless, caring action. The vanity and self-absorption are faults but they're different fault than someone who, given opportunity and awareness, is malicious, a jerk, a dick or anything of that nature. ... in my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 2 minutes ago, Ser Not Appearing said: I guess I would say that part of the distinction lies in opportunity. Given the opportunity, Kvothe takes actions that benefit others and he goes out of his way to sacrifice on their behalf. His vanity and his self-absorption serve to remove opportunity. He's often blind to the opportunity for selfless, caring action. The vanity and self-absorption are faults but they're different fault than someone who, given opportunity and awareness, is malicious, a jerk, a dick or anything of that nature. ... in my mind. I can buy that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Not Appearing Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 7 minutes ago, Rhom said: I can buy that. I haven't named my price yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 18 minutes ago, Ser Not Appearing said: I haven't named my price yet! I thought it'd be like in RoboCop with the dude who's punchline was "I'd buy that for a dollar!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proudfeet Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 6 hours ago, Ser Not Appearing said: I guess I would say that part of the distinction lies in opportunity. Given the opportunity, Kvothe takes actions that benefit others and he goes out of his way to sacrifice on their behalf. His vanity and his self-absorption serve to remove opportunity. He's often blind to the opportunity for selfless, caring action. The vanity and self-absorption are faults but they're different fault than someone who, given opportunity and awareness, is malicious, a jerk, a dick or anything of that nature. ... in my mind. I still don't get it. You're saying that because he did the good actions he's a nice guy because he's blind from his vanity and self-absorption when he does bad actions. No way. The furthest I'll go is that he's not malicious, but he's absolutely a jerk and a dick and an asshole and any other anatomy insults that I can't quite think of right now. Edit - After digesting it for awhile, I still can't accept it. You can absolve anyone that way. For example, Given the opportunity, Ambrose also takes actions that benefit others and he goes out of his way to sacrifice on their behalf. His vanity and his self-absorption serve to remove opportunity. He's often blind to the opportunity for selfless, caring action. The vanity and self-absorption are faults but his caring actions are obscured by this being a story by Kvothe for Kvothe. A hypothetical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jace, Extat Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 Harry Potter is better paced, characters more thoroughly developed/impactful to the story, and the plot(s) a lot less predictable. I enjoyed both series though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaston de Foix Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 What I particularly enjoyed about Harry Potter was that it had a beginning, a middle and an ending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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