| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| sparhawk42 |
Posted - 30 Aug 2006 : 17:53:27
I have finally gotten around to reading The Avatar Series but I am a bit confused. The listed author on Wizards site is Scott Ciencin but I have found many different places list Richard Awlinson as the author. Now since Wizards site includes a picture of the book with Scott's name on the book I assume he is the author but I was wondering why I keeping finding conflicting info as to the author. Thanks in advance for any help. |
| 13 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| The Sage |
Posted - 05 Sep 2006 : 13:17:57
Actually, it was Jim Ward's idea.
See the bit I quoted above on 31 Aug 2006 : 01:01:14.
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| Thauramarth |
Posted - 05 Sep 2006 : 08:32:01
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Richard Awlinson was a pen name for the various authors. :)
I think I remember Troy Denning mention in an interview that "Awlinson" was a twist on "All in One"  |
| sparhawk42 |
Posted - 31 Aug 2006 : 03:42:58
Indeed I was going to order the whole series through Amazon but I ordered a source book and another novel at the beginning of July and after they sent me a message telling me it was delayed I am still waiting. So until I get those books I guess I'll hold off ordering from them again and pick up the book somewhere else.
And thanks to everyone for the background information about the authors names. I think I understand now. Oh, and thanks for the link to the interview!
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| The Sage |
Posted - 31 Aug 2006 : 01:02:24
James also talks about the development of the "Avatar" trilogy in his interview stored here at Candlekeep (which is actually where I think the above bit I quoted comes from). See here:- http://www.candlekeep.com/bookshelf/interviews/lowder.htm |
| The Sage |
Posted - 31 Aug 2006 : 01:01:14
quote:
Originally posted by sparhawk42
I have finally gotten around to reading The Avatar Series but I am a bit confused. The listed author on Wizards site is Scott Ciencin but I have found many different places list Richard Awlinson as the author. Now since Wizards site includes a picture of the book with Scott's name on the book I assume he is the author but I was wondering why I keeping finding conflicting info as to the author. Thanks in advance for any help.
James Lowder talked about this a long while back... I've got his reply here -
"It was purely a marketing decision. At the time, there weren't many Realms books in stores, and the ones that had been released were often shelved in the bookstores by author name—Salvatore, Niles, Greenwood. They hadn't yet been given their own section by the chains. TSR was concerned that the individual Avatar books would be shelved in different places if they didn't have the same author name on them—and the release schedule was far too tight to have one author write all three, so three authors were necessary. Enter “Richard Awlinson.” I think the name was Jim Ward's idea: Awlinson was a derived from “all in one.” The surname had to start with an A so that it would be shelved at the start of the SF section.
I was never a fan of the house name, and pushed to let the authors include their actual names and bios in the back, which is why they show up there, even with the house name on the old covers. Now that the Realms books are shelved together as a series in most stores, there's no need for the house name, which would explain, in part, why Wizards removed it for the new releases."
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| Mace Hammerhand |
Posted - 30 Aug 2006 : 21:20:58
Order them through amazon, that is a safe bet. |
| Kuje |
Posted - 30 Aug 2006 : 18:24:33
Richard Awlinson was a pen name for the various authors. :) |
| sparhawk42 |
Posted - 30 Aug 2006 : 18:16:44
Yeah I've spent the last couple minutes talking to different bookstores on the phone and none of them have it in stock and they all have back orders of a dozen or so copies. |
| Richard Lee Byers |
Posted - 30 Aug 2006 : 18:04:40
If the bookstores in your area are like the chain bookstores around here, you'll find all the Forgotten Realms books shelved together in the franchise (Forgotten Realms, Warhammer, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dragonlance, etc.) subsection of the science fiction and fantasy section. So that's where you want to look. |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 30 Aug 2006 : 18:03:45
If they have the most current edition, they should be listed under Ciencin and Denning, but if the bookstore, as most do, have a separate section for "shared world" books, then the books should all be together under the Forgotten Realms section in "sci-fi/fantasy." |
| Dremvek |
Posted - 30 Aug 2006 : 18:03:35
Shadowdale would be under Ciencin or Awlinson.
Wizards did this most recently with the D&D branded mini-books under the name of T H Lain, which was another fictional author. |
| sparhawk42 |
Posted - 30 Aug 2006 : 17:59:33
So when I go to the bookstore would it be under Ciencin, Denning, or Awlinson? |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 30 Aug 2006 : 17:55:49
Originally all of the books were credited to "Richard Awlinson" rather than the actual author that wrote them. Eventually when the books were reprinted, Scott Ciencin and Troy Denning got the actual credit for them.
I think this may have come about since it was early in the FR lifespan, and many bookstores didn't have a "shared world" shelf for FR, so it kept the whole series together. |
