Olaf Posted November 6, 2005 Share Posted November 6, 2005 Attended two Tad Williams signings this week during his latest German book tour. Had the chance to learn a lot about some of his upcoming stuff. Good news is that SHADOWPLAY is almost done and that he expects that it will be published in the next six or seven months. He also has a comic mini-series called THE NEXT coming from DC Comics starting next summer (I think in June). Six issues. He will also be writing a revisionist version of the Nibelung myths. This will be a co-operation with an artist who will do a lot of full color illustrations for it. No date for this book yet. A CHRONICLE IN STONE is also still in the works, but somewhere down in the schedule. There will also be a sf novel a big future-war-between-belief-and-reason-with-scientifically-created-superheroes that Tad wants to write. He has also written two young adults novels with his wife. URCHIN'S LUCK and THE DRAGONS OF ORDINARY FARM (about raccons). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maltaran Posted November 6, 2005 Share Posted November 6, 2005 He has also written two young adults novels with his wife. URCHIN'S LUCK and THE DRAGONS OF ORDINARY FARM (about raccons). Would they be similar in style to Tailchaser's Song? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olaf Posted November 6, 2005 Author Share Posted November 6, 2005 Would they be similar in style to Tailchaser's Song? I think not. Only one of them is an animal story. Tad refered to them as books for all ages. However, he did not mention a publisher or a pub date, but earlier on his message board he said that he and his wife found it difficult to break into the young adult market. Being successful in one market (fantasy) does not guarantee a successful crossover into another market (young adult books). So, it might be a while before they are published. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isis Posted November 6, 2005 Share Posted November 6, 2005 I think I have read most of his major works barring Shadowmarch. That one had a BIG publicity drive in England, posters all over the underground and stuff. Not common for fantasy unless it's people like Pratchett or G****l. I'll wait until the library gets Shadowmarch. Did you like it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Multaniette Posted November 6, 2005 Share Posted November 6, 2005 'G****l....' Who? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isis Posted November 6, 2005 Share Posted November 6, 2005 'G****l....' Who? That person who writes fantasy novels who we agreed not to mention more than necessary on this site... Oh fine, you made me say it. David Gemmel. Okay, are you happy now? Are you? Huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olaf Posted November 7, 2005 Author Share Posted November 7, 2005 Yes, I quite liked SHADOWMARCH, although I hasten to say that it is not my favourite of all his books. It does suffer a bit from over familiarity, but I am sure that things will look different once book two is published. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OsRavan Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 I was always a fan of his tailchasers song. less well known but amazing. i liekd shadowmarch well enough too i suppose though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendan Moody Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 I enjoyed Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn and Tailchaser's Song, and flat-out loved Otherland and the MST and Otherland novellas in the Legends anthology, but I can't quite get into Shadowmarch. I've made it a couple hundred pages in more than once, but then I realize I'm not following the plot or just don't care. I meant to bring it to school with me to start yet again, but it seems I forgot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OsRavan Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 ohh ive nejoyed all of his books to differnt levels. but imo none are liek sheer genius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Zog Posted November 8, 2005 Share Posted November 8, 2005 Brendan Moody: "[...] but I can't quite get into Shadowmarch." I just read it over the weekend, and I agree. It was a little hard getting into it. By the end, things were moving along at a reasonable clip. Entertaining, but not a masterpiece (IMO). I'll certainly read the rest of the series as it comes out. (But I won't buy it. I love my local library.) I found the male lead (Barrick?) to be pretty annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser_Denys Posted November 8, 2005 Share Posted November 8, 2005 I enjoyed Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn and Tailchaser's Song, and flat-out loved Otherland and the MST and Otherland novellas in the Legends anthology, but I can't quite get into Shadowmarch. I've made it a couple hundred pages in more than once, but then I realize I'm not following the plot or just don't care. I meant to bring it to school with me to start yet again, but it seems I forgot. My exact same experience with TW. Will give Shadowmarch another chance soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhaco Posted November 8, 2005 Share Posted November 8, 2005 As I said in the thread on the old board, the Nibelungenlied project sounds awesome. Can't wait to see what Williams does with that. That person who writes fantasy novels who we agreed not to mention more than necessary on this site... Oh fine, you made me say it. David Gemmel. Okay, are you happy now? Are you? Huh? Why's that? His work might vary in quality, but the best are certainly respectable to say the least, IMO. I just read Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow, for instance, and loved it. Steven Pressfield even apparently liked it, judging by his rec on the cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olaf Posted November 9, 2005 Author Share Posted November 9, 2005 I am also very much looking forward to the Nibelungs project.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
direwolf Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 already almost halfway through FEAST and i will soon need new reading material. Luckily, I've only read the first of the BOURNE books, and i have the MARS TRILOGY burning a hole in my bookshelf (i forced myself not to read anything for about a month before FEAST, too anxious!) anyway, the covers of the Tad Williams books have always caught my eye, and they seem to be a staple in every bookstores fantasy section. Would anyone recommend him to me, and if so, which of his books? Also, if you think he sucks, maybe you could say; "dont read him, read...." However, i have gotten some suggestions from the other thread, but i haven't seen much Williams on there, which makes me suspect he's no good. This is why i started this thread Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarnhaan Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 I like most of his work, with only one drawback... I feel he rambles sometimes. Detail is nice, and I love detail but I don't feel like he always gives the right detail to keep me engrossed in the story. Having said that, the Otherland series, the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series, and War of the Flowers were all good books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjen Stark Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 Tad Williams's concepts are great, but his pace can be a bit tedious at points. I loved Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, but inadvertantly started with part of the second book. Had I not, I might have run into the problems many people run into with the first chapters of the Dragonbone Chair. Tailchaser's Song is a take off of Watership Down. M, S, & T is intended to be contrasted to the Lord of the Rings. I'm not sure what Otherland parallels, but the first book, City of Golden Shadow, is one of the most plausible pieces of sci-fi I've ever read. I haven't finished Otherland because I got bored halfway through the third book and keep forgetting to go back to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim the Enchanter Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 Tad Williams is one of the authors I generally pick up when a new book comes out (I have read them all except Tailchaser). I generally like them but feel they are a little cliched. I liked Otherland the best of all his books I have read, because I felt it was more original than his other books. My biggest complaint with him is that all his stories (books or series) seem to end with huge, world shattering pyrotechnic shows. That seems a bit overblown to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerold Hightower Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is what inspired GRRM to write Ice and Fire. So, it's worth reading for that reason already. It drags a bit, especially towards the end, but by and large it's a nice piece of Fantasy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 He's good with some exceptional ideas. I found Dragonbone Chair and Stone of Farewell to be reasonably-paced, actually, but To Green Angel Tower dragged in places. The Otherland series whilst I was reading it was captivating, but afterwards I had to say that about 25% of the episodic pieces could have been removed with no trouble at all, reducing the series to a trilogy. There are some brilliant ideas in there though. War of the Flowers I enjoyed, mainly as it was more light-hearted than his other books. Memory, Sorrow and Thorn was a reaction against the idea that there is racism in Lord of the Rings (which there isn't really, but that and sexism are the first things that critics leap on whilst tearing the books to shreds). It was also a reaction against the good vs. evil cliche, with the Storm King actually having good motivations for his actions. The ending is pretty lame though. Far too neat and happy. There are some references to MS&T in ASOIF: the Storm King, the two kings of Osten Ard during the novels are referred to as the bickering sons of a lord in ASOIF, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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