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D-brane
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
140 Posts |
 Posted - 09 Nov 2009 : 03:39:41
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I just picked up my copy of Fall of Highwatch today, and I noticed that the FR logo on the book is a lot smaller than that of novels that had been released earlier in the year. For comparison, I even checked over the FR logos on "The Wilds" series of novels. It's the same on them as well.
So, my question, is there a reason for why the FR logo seems to be getting smaller and smaller on new FR novels? Is WOTC planning on phasing out the FR logo altogether? Perhaps in an attempt to follow the publishing method of the three FR sourcebooks for the 4E Realms . . . books that didn't have the traditional FR logo.
Maybe the "A Dungeons and Dragons Novel" logo will eventually take the place of the FR logo?
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"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." |
Edited by - D-brane on 09 Nov 2009 03:42:59
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Jakk
Great Reader
Canada
2165 Posts |
Posted - 09 Nov 2009 : 04:26:43
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It wouldn't surprise me... after that, the next thing to go will be all identifiable place names, so that the story can be set in whatever world the reader desires. 
Seriously, I was actually surprised to see the FR logo still on the post-Spellplague novels, after the new look of the sourcebooks. Not a big deal for me, tho; once I finish the two Erevis Cale trilogies (which I haven't started yet thanks to other reading stumbling into my path at my local public library; I'm currently 3/4 of the way through Matter by Iain M. Banks, and I have the final book of the Saga of Seven Suns (The Ashes of Worlds) lined up for immediately after), I don't know that I'll ever read another Realms novel not written by Ed. Nothing to do with the quality of the writing; the writers have done an excellent job with what they've been given to work with; it just doesn't feel like the Realms for me any more, outside of Cormyr and Waterdeep.
But that scroll's been written several times here at CK, and hopefully done with now. On a lighter note, I really hope your prediction is wrong; that would associate the novels, branding-wise, dangerously closely with the movie franchise, and I really don't think that Hasbro wants to do that unless they're trying to kill the brand. Of course, I didn't see the second movie, so maybe things improved over the first...  |
Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.
If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic. |
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Sandro
Learned Scribe
New Zealand
266 Posts |
Posted - 09 Nov 2009 : 05:23:01
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The Forgotten Realms logo has never gotten anything but smaller as the line progressed from 1e to 2e, 3e and now 4e. I think this may have something to do with A) placing more emphasis on the book as an individual piece by an individual author rather than just some piece of "fanfiction" and B) now that bookstores tend to stock FR books by the fact they're FR and not by the author, the need for them to be so easily identified is less (in the old days, TSR would even use pseudonyms [Richard Awlinson, for one] to make sure series written by multiple authors were stocked together).
Just my two cents on the matter. |
"Gods, little fishes, and spells to turn the one to the other," Mordenkainen sighed. "It's started already..." |
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Jakk
Great Reader
Canada
2165 Posts |
Posted - 09 Nov 2009 : 07:00:39
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Sandro, I think you probably have the right answer there. Although, Richard Awlinson is the only pseudonym that I know of; have there been others? 
I love that signature... I ran Return to the Tomb of Horrors as a lead-in to The Apocalypse Stone to end my final 2nd Edition campaign, and the players loved it; the characters were less enthusiastic, particularly after one of them lost an arm to the sphere of annihilation. (spoiler; highlight to show text)  |
Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.
If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic. |
Edited by - Jakk on 09 Nov 2009 07:03:25 |
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Sandro
Learned Scribe
New Zealand
266 Posts |
Posted - 09 Nov 2009 : 07:37:23
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Actually, I do believe Awlinson was the only one -- I slightly mis-worded that part, it appears. 
Yeah, the Tomb of Horrors is great. I've never had the opportunity to play through it myself, but between reading through it (many times) and talking to a friend who has played it, it's definitely something I'd love to do, though probably more as a DM than as a player . And, of course, Gygax's writing is dazzling throughout, both the traps and the story. |
"Gods, little fishes, and spells to turn the one to the other," Mordenkainen sighed. "It's started already..." |
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Snowblood
Senior Scribe
Australia
388 Posts |
Posted - 09 Nov 2009 : 13:10:06
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| by the time they get to 10th E the logo will be a nano-dot with the entire novel...and probably the entire series imprinted on it....but you'll have to subscribe to unlock it!!!!! :-) |
Aryvandaar, Ilythiir, Arnothoi, Orva, Sarphil, Anauria/Asram/Hlondath, Uvaeren, Braceldaur, Ilodhar, Lisenaar, Imaskar, Miyeritar, Orishaar, Shantel Othrieir, Keltormir, Eaerlann, Ammarindar, Siluvanede, Sharrven, Illefarn, Ardeep, Rystal Wood, Evereska are all available here for download:http://phasai.deviantart.com/gallery/
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2009 : 09:38:02
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quote:
Originally posted by Sandro
Actually, I do believe Awlinson was the only one -- I slightly mis-worded that part, it appears.
And the use of pseudonyms for authors, both writing alone and together isn't that unique. I don't think that one case had anything with TSR's publishing plan. |
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Sandro
Learned Scribe
New Zealand
266 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2009 : 21:38:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens
quote:
Originally posted by Sandro
Actually, I do believe Awlinson was the only one -- I slightly mis-worded that part, it appears.
And the use of pseudonyms for authors, both writing alone and together isn't that unique. I don't think that one case had anything with TSR's publishing plan.
I'm quite certain James Lowder said at some point that it was done so that the books were stocked together on the shelves, as bookstores didn't always stock FR books together at that point.
I'll see if I can find that quote.
EDIT: Found it:
quote:
4. Could you tell us about the decision to not credit the authors on the original release of the Avatar series?
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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"Gods, little fishes, and spells to turn the one to the other," Mordenkainen sighed. "It's started already..." |
Edited by - Sandro on 10 Nov 2009 21:45:48 |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 11 Nov 2009 : 07:07:41
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| Sorry Sandro, I didn't read through your post clearly and was thinking and writing with two different parts of my brain. The point I was trying to make is the same one you mention here. It was done for practical reasons that were not unique in publishing, not because of a lesser focus on the author by TSR. |
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Question about FR logo on recent novels
