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GS
Acolyte
14 Posts |
 Posted - 26 Feb 2008 : 23:42:14
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Hello Richard,
I will assume anyone reading this has read Unclean, the first book, and I will try not to spoil the second one.
I have just completed your second novel in The Haunted Lands series, Undead. Great book.
I just wanted to ask: When you started this series did you know that a 100 year jump would occur within the FR-verse? If you did not, how has the jump (and death of Mystra) affected your original outline for the series?
Your main characters - Bareris, Aoth, Mirror and Tammith - how did the spring to "life"? Did they change a lot throughout the writing process or did you have a clear"ish" outline for them from the get-go? Why did you do what you did to Tammith and Bareris? What is the drive behind them as characters?
Fastrin the Delver, is he your creation or is he found somewhere in FR lore? Why is he called the delver?
Can you give tell me/us how the thought process of writing this trilogy was processed, so to speak?
And lastly: Why did Szass Tam kill Druxus Rhym? Why do I have to wait three years just to find that out? Damn you!
Otherwise, keep up the good work. Oh, and you better not destroy Zulkir Tam. You don't get to destroy two the most recognizable and important liches in FR and live to tell the tail. Well maybe you do, but you better not try! |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2008 : 02:28:00
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quote:
Originally posted by GS
I just wanted to ask: When you started this series did you know that a 100 year jump would occur within the FR-verse?
I'm not Rich, but I clearly recall him writing (maybe in this thread) that he knew about the changes before he started writing the trilogy and therefore wasn't "blindsided" by them. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2008 : 04:26:38
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Undead is out? I didn't know that. I haven't received my author copies yet.
Anyway, Rin, your memory hasn't failed you. I did say I knew about the plans for the Realms (including the time shift) going in.
GS: Really glad to hear you liked the book.
As far as the lead characters go, I had a pretty clear idea of who they would be from the start (which is to say, they were born in the outlining process, where I tried to create characters who would work well in relation to the central idea) but characters always evolve during the actual writing. They don't necessarily become radically different than you thought they'd be, but you find out things about them that you didn't know before.
Why did I do what I did to Bareris and Tammith? I don't know how to answer that exactly, except to say that I thought it would make the story work better than any other alternative that occurred to me.
I made up Fastrin the Delver. He was "the Delver" because he did a lot of poking around in ancient ruins looking for lost secrets. He would have fit right in in your average D&D game.
The question about my overall approach to writing the trilogy is kind of a big question. Big enough that I'm not sure how to answer it. I can tell you that in the beginning, I had the notion of writing a trilogy that would showcase the undead of the Realms in kinda sorta the same way that Year of Rogue Dragons showcased dragons. Then Phil Athans told me that WotC wanted to take Thay in a certain direction and do it in a trilogy and suggested that I piggyback my undead idea on that concept. So that's what I tried to do. In my opinion, the trilogy ultimately became a story about Thay much more than it's a story about undead (although God knows, there are plenty of undead in it), but as long as it's entertaining, that's fine.
Hope that answers that question. If not, can you ask it in a different and more specific way?
Why did Szass whack poor old Druxus? Well, as you probably guessed, you'll have to read Book 3 for my answer. But there are clues in Books 1 and 2. If you really want to know without further delay, maybe you can figure it out for yourself. |
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GS
Acolyte
14 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2008 : 15:00:27
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quote:
Originally posted by Richard Lee Byers
Undead is out? I didn't know that. I haven't received my author copies yet.
It's out here in London, so I'm guessing it's out everywhere here.
Anyway, thank you for the speedy reply and answers.
Another question though. The next book is scheduled to be released sometime next year, correct? Won't the upcoming release of the FR campaign guide this August ruin any revelations made in your upcoming book? Is it not likely that we will read in the FRCG that: "In Thay, the demigod Szass Tam rules a land of undead as its emperor, harassing nearby countries..." or somesuch?
Also, when, in time, will the third book take place? Shortly after the second one or will you jump yet another decade or more into the future?
So many questions, so little time. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2008 : 15:23:12
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GS: You're right, the FR sourcebook is likely to give away certain aspects of Book 3. I'm not thrilled about it, but it's the kind of thing that happens when you work in a shared setting, so there's no point in getting mad about it, either. I think I can guarantee you that there's plenty that happens in Book 3 that won't get mentioned in the sourcebook, and if you're into the story, it's stuff you'll want to know.
I'm going to beg off on answering your question about the time frame of Book 3. Sorry about that, but I'm reluctant to give aspects of Book 3 away before most people have even had a chance to read Book 2. |
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GS
Acolyte
14 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2008 : 16:02:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Richard Lee Byers
I'm going to beg off on answering your question about the time frame of Book 3. Sorry about that, but I'm reluctant to give aspects of Book 3 away before most people have even had a chance to read Book 2.
You're right, I'm sorry. Of course other people should read book 2 first and I do recommend that they do.
It's not that the sourcebook will deter me from buying book 3, just that I enjoy being "shocked" by the books that I am reading. But like you said, it's what happens when sharing a world. |
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Zsych
Acolyte
28 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2008 : 03:34:05
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Hi Richard,
Just read Undead yesterday and loved it. I hadn't really liked Bareris' character in Unclean because I thought he was taking away the focus from the great forces at war with his much more limited concerns, and messing up the first evil vs. evil novel I'd ever read, but overall I was more pleased with his character in this book.
I hope we see more direct action and leading by the other zulkirs in the next book, considering that they are all also great wizards and experienced in intrigue. Luckily having the means to overcome the opponent as with Aoth isn't as satisfying in what should be a very high level game.
I hope Thay or what it represents will survive after all these events(through relocation if Thay itself isn't going to survive). A few new alliances maybe with Halruuans fleeing their lands with their magical culture might be nice(they could help bring some additional magic to the zulkirs' side too). Thay has to be the closest place around to Halruuans home, with respect to the fact that its a large magical country, and the relative evil should make things interesting.
In general, the zulkirs having contacts with other magical peoples' might help make some things more interesting(Halruuans, Shades, Imaskari..). Networking is an important part of gaining power :P
Anyway, I look forward to the next book. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2008 : 03:54:11
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Glad you enjoyed it, Zsych.
I generally try to resist the urge to plug my own stuff, but what the heck. If you like seeing evil vs. evil, you might want to check out my novel Dissolution and other books in the War of the Spider Queen sequence. |
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Zsych
Acolyte
28 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2008 : 10:21:47
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Indeed :)
Perhaps by first evil vs. evil. I meant first epic evil vs. evil. I actually have read the spider queen novels... although I was never sure whether some of those characters were really evil. I suppose the ending there was at least somewhat unexpected in that Lloth ended up growing stronger than before as opposed to suffering from Elistraee's machinations... but largely the characters themselves were small scale. Still, those novels were quite enjoyable.
However, part of the point of _epic_ evil is that beyond their own power, they also have many tools that they can employ and unlike goodies, they don't shy away from employing them. Plus, in evil vs. evil, kinda like with the spiderqueen series, you can't just be sure that as with good vs. evil, one faction is bound to win no matter what(except that with Bareris as a kind of protagonist, I have bad suspicions)
I liked the scene with Bane. Really showed Szass Tam's power, although he and the other zulkirs are having to micro-manage a little more than they should.
Overall, I like Szass Tam's character, and look forward to his secrets being revealed.
I also vaguely wonder how Lauzoril's very talented, and now older necromancer of a daughter is doing. If I were him, I might have exploited my connection with the Simbul to get her some high level training outside of Thay.
btw, the time jump was nice, if partly because I know what's coming. I thought *ten years*... oh crap, thats near...
Mod edit: Let's watch the language, please. |
Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 09 Mar 2008 14:15:31 |
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doc bumblebee
Acolyte
Germany
0 Posts |
Posted - 22 Apr 2008 : 14:20:38
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thx a lot mr byers :)
i finished reading the yotrd triology 3 month ago (they`re a little hard to come by in germany) and it gave me a very nice gift (more than one actually). it gave me many ideas for about 4 story lines to which i will take my players (im already running the first one :)).
very nice novels. charakters which are fun to read about and watch evolve, interesting mystyrious places, fearsome foes and all nicely packed in an epic story whith worldshaking impact if the heroes are not succesfull.
thx a lot !!! it was much fun reading those books.
greetings from germany
a new fan :D |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 22 Apr 2008 : 18:57:30
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| Hi, doc. Glad you enjoyed it, and glad, too, that it proved useful in your campaign. |
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jun 2008 : 21:13:57
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I read "Office Space" last night. It was goooooooooooood! The ending was totally unexpected. Huzzah!
(See, I am reading the works of "Realms writers" which don't concern the Forgotten Realms. Even though Hasbro has made the Realms unworthy of my money, I will continue to read works written for other markets. Such as "Looking Glass." Did I mention that I liked it?)
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I have a mouth, but I am in a library and must not scream.
Feed the poor and stroke your ego, too: http://www.freerice.com/index.php.
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2008 : 00:15:52
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Jamallo: Glad you liked it, Did you read it off the Sony site? If so, you're the first person I know of who's downloaded one of my stories from there.
Uh...did I write one called "Looking Glass?" It's not ringing a bell. |
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createvmind
Senior Scribe
490 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2008 : 09:37:37
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Hello,
Great series so far, was the summoning of Bane something you made up or was it lore inspired, it seems the sacrifice required was rather paltry. Does this have to do with 4th edition conversion of the gods, spellplague, both? |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2008 : 14:57:54
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createvmind: Glad you're enjoying it.
The summoning of Bane was something I made up. Szass Tam's attempt to do it reflects his belief that ultimately, a god is just a big, powerful outsider, not fundamentally different from a demon, devil, or what have you, and also his vast confidence in his own abilities. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2008 : 15:04:02
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createvmind: Whoops! I realized an instant after hitting the Submit Reply button that I didn't answer everything you asked.
The summoning of Bane was not something I put in because it related to a change in the basic nature of the gods or magic as a result of the Spellplague or the move to 4th Edition. I put it in simply because it suited the purposes of the plot. |
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2008 : 22:43:25
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quote:
Originally posted by Richard Lee Byers
Jamallo: Glad you liked it, Did you read it off the Sony site? If so, you're the first person I know of who's downloaded one of my stories from there.
Uh...did I write one called "Looking Glass?" It's not ringing a bell.
No, I read it in of those whatchamacallits -- the thing with paper and glue -- you know, one of those things.
Next up by you will be "The Judas Tree," followed sometime thereafter by Caravan of Shadows, although I may postpone that until after I become more familiar with the WoD. I don't know why I wrote "Looking Glass." It may have been next to yours in an anthology, and I mistook it for yours.
People! Encourage your favorite Realms writers to write for other settings. Let them be a force for Good in the world, instead of a force for Hasbro.
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I have a mouth, but I am in a library and must not scream.
Feed the poor and stroke your ego, too: http://www.freerice.com/index.php.
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jul 2008 : 17:21:12
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Jamallo: Books. Right. I've heard of those.
For anyone who found my previous comment cryptic, a couple of my non-FR stories are available for download at the Sonystyle site. Several others will be made available in the near future. So if you're curious to see what kinds of stuff I write when I'm not writing about Faerūn, that's one place to look.
I'll also have at least four new non-FR stories in anthologies that are coming out over the course of the next year or so. And, I'm writing a non-FR novel. But I'll pimp those books when they're actually published.. |
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Icelander
Master of Realmslore
1864 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jul 2008 : 20:25:07
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Quick question, Richard.
I just read your short story in Realms of War, 'Second Chance' (nice work, by the way, sort of a 'Red Badge of Courage' in a fantasy setting  ). Does the bard Bareris Anskuld feature in any other novels?
What can you tell me of him that isn't covered by a big, bad NDA? I mean lore, of course, not stats. |
Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela!
Forgotten Realms fans, please sign a petition to re-release the FR Interactive Atlas
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jul 2008 : 21:11:13
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Hello, Icelander. Glad you enjoyed "Second Chance."
Bareris is one of the protagonists of my trilogy The Haunted Land. The three novels in the trilogy are Unclean, Undead, and Unholy (which is coming out early next year.) If you read the books, you'll find out pretty much all there is to know about him.
The events in "Second Chance" occur shortly after the events in Unclean, and well before the beginning of Undead.
There's supposed to be another Bareris short story offered for free on the Wizards of the Coast website, but I don't know when it's going up. The story's written, so you'll see it whenever WotC sees fit to make it available. At this point, I'd like that to coincide with the release of Unholy, but I don't know if that's how things will actually work out. |
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Marek
Seeker
Italy
52 Posts |
Posted - 21 Aug 2008 : 14:58:30
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Hello,
just wanted Richard to know that I loved his novel "Unclean" and I'm waiting to put my hands on Undead, which I should receive in the following days(unfortunately I have to get them on Amazon since I guess they'll never be trnaslated in Italian).
I am a Thay-fan and I am playing a Red Wizard on an online videogame's persistant world set in Baldur's Gate. Since Thayan enclaves are stricly affected by what happens back in the homeland, I inserted lotsa details from the events occurring in your novels which made many other players very curious, considering we're playing 1 year before the novel's plot and it's basically just hints for now:)
Hopefully I'll bring more readers:D
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 21 Aug 2008 : 15:46:16
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Glad you liked it, Marek.
You never know, the books might be translated into Italian someday. I've had books translated into a number of other languages. But I'm glad you're not waiting on that to read them. |
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Marek
Seeker
Italy
52 Posts |
Posted - 21 Aug 2008 : 21:28:03
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I'd like to ask a question but I'm not sure you can answer. I'll give it a shot anyway since I don't know where to look...
When you describe zulkir Nevron, do you consider him to be entirely human or is there something fiendish about him? I saw a reference of him as fiend-touched and I was wondering to what extent they meant so. In case you don't have an answer, I'll be happy with your thought on the matter |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 22 Aug 2008 : 00:11:38
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| Marek: I don't recall ever seeing Nevron referred to as fiendtouched, and so I thought of him as entirely human. But it really doesn't matter in the context of my story (or your campaign, if you use him as an NPC.) He could have some demon or devil in his family tree. It might help to explain his affinity for evil outsiders, and why he's such a nasty guy. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
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Marek
Seeker
Italy
52 Posts |
Posted - 22 Aug 2008 : 14:04:06
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Thanks
I asked because in the campaign setting appendix on guilds he's referred to as "fiend-touched" but as The Sage says, on every other book his stats state he's human...I guess we'll never know for sure |
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Avae
Acolyte
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 04:13:27
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Hi. First of, thank you for hours upon hours of emotional turmoil and enjoyment. I'm an avid reader of any and everything and the first book I read of yours was actually "On a Darkling Plane", discovering a few years ago that you walked Faerun was a happy surprise.
I was wondering if you could bonk your publisher a few times and get more chain bookstores to carry more of your titles. I'm too impatient for Amazon and such most days. I like to stroll the bookstore and get immediate gratification. Unfortunately, I live in BFE Mississippi at the moment and good bookstores are hard to come by. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 05:18:52
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Avae: You're more than welcome. I'm glad you enjoy my stuff.
I'm afraid there's not much I can do about getting more chain bookstores to stock my books. That's up to the guy who orders titles for the store.
In my part of the world (Florida), all the chain bookstores do carry Forgotten Realms novels, including mine. So I guess it is a regional difference. |
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Avae
Acolyte
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 19:14:49
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| They carry them, just not the ones I haven't read. I guess I need to just suck it up and order what I want. I didn't really think you could do anything about it, but I figured it was worth a shot. Maybe I should just open my own bookstore, none ever fully stock all the authors I love. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 20:59:34
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quote:
Originally posted by Avae
They carry them, just not the ones I haven't read. I guess I need to just suck it up and order what I want. I didn't really think you could do anything about it, but I figured it was worth a shot. Maybe I should just open my own bookstore, none ever fully stock all the authors I love.
Order books online. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Questions for Richard Lee Byers
