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Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
 Posted - 30 Jan 2013 : 23:02:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Richard Lee Byers
My new post to The Night Bazaar is about racism in SF, fantasy, and horror:
http://night-bazaar.com/you-cant-win-or-can-you.html
Thanks for posting this.
I enjoyed reading your blog post, particularly, "It’s good storytelling, and the suggestion that the movie should have spent time showing nice Iranians ignores the fact that no one tale can include everything. Writers must choose the elements that will create cohesive, compelling stories." Emphasis mine.
For the writer, I think it's important to remember you can't please everyone, all of the time.
Likewise for the reader, it's important to understand what viewpoint a story is coming from before judging something. |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jan 2013 : 00:30:37
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| Glad you found it interesting, Jeremy. |
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Entromancer
Senior Scribe
USA
388 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jan 2013 : 04:07:22
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| Richard, do you believe there's any room for a "New Wave" in the fantasy genre, similar to what Mr. Moorcock did with the Cornelius novels? |
"...the will is everything. The will to act."--Ra's Al Ghul
"Suffering builds character."--Talia Al Ghul |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jan 2013 : 05:39:54
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| I hope there's always room for new ideas. Which doesn't mean that I have any idea what "New Wave" fantasy would look like. Someone more clever than I am will have to invent it. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2104 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2013 : 06:20:11
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quote:
James Jacobs wrote (over at paizo.com):
Also, we're slowly but surely trying to give all races their own identity. It's weird to me that a skum would call itself a skum, or a troglodyte would call itself a troglodyte.
Hence, the skum racial name is "ulat-kini."
For troglodytes, it's "Xulgath." Unlike the skum, though, we didn't decide on using that name (trivia time—Xulgath is the racial name for all lizard humanoids in my homebrew game) until recently, so we weren't able to get the word into the Bestiary.
It's a late addition, in other words, but that doesn't make it wrong.
You can expect us to probably do similar things for other races that have names that you wouldn't expect would be the names those races use for themselves. Catfolk and ratfolk and lizardfolk all come to mind...
Just out of curiosity, had they made that decision when you began working on Called to Darkness? |
There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
Terry Pratchett |
Edited by - Kajehase on 06 Feb 2013 06:20:50 |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2013 : 14:36:03
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| Yes, they had. |
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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2104 Posts |
Posted - 07 Feb 2013 : 06:47:18
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| Thanks for answering. :) |
There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
Terry Pratchett |
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Thrasymachus
Learned Scribe
195 Posts |
Posted - 07 Feb 2013 : 21:22:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Richard Lee Byers
Audible.com is releasing four of my Forgotten Realms novels as audiobooks on 1/8/13. I'm hoping these will the first of many. The novels are the three books that make up the Year of Rogue Dragons plus Whisper of Venom. More info here:
http://www.audible.com/search/ref=sr_topbox_1
Is this an Audible only release, or is this suppose to be released on Itunes and others also? |
Former Forgotten Realms brand manager Jim Butler: "Everything that bears the Forgotten Realms logo is considered canon". |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 08 Feb 2013 : 00:54:42
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| Honestly, Thrasymachus, I don't know. Sorry. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 08 Feb 2013 : 01:52:41
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Good stuff. Always cool to see what drives authors.  |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 09 Feb 2013 : 15:32:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Richard Lee Byers
My new post to The Night Bazaar is about reviews and reviewers. Check it out:
http://night-bazaar.com/reviews-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-but-mostly-the-bad-and-the-ugly.html
This:
quote:
In today’s overcrowded entertainment marketplace, it may well be that any mention is better than none.
For the record, I loved most of your FR novels. The Haunted Lands is one of my favorite series of all time.
I was caught unprepared by the inclusion of dragonborn in the second and third book of The Brotherhood of the Griffon series. I generally avoid all scaly folk. I tried to make yours an exception, but unfortunately it didn't work out fine.
I was hesitant to grab The Year of Rogue Dragons trilogy, for obvious reason: dragons. I think of them as Realms fixture, so there's no way of completely avoiding them. But when one book has them in profusion, I'd normally shun it. What made me read TYoRD? Sammaster and Iyraclea. Did it turn out well? Yes--a bit better than I hoped.
One can never please everybody. Even your own die-hard fans may get disappointed once in a while. [I used to be a fan of Robert Jordan. His books are some of those few that I bothered pre-ordering. I gave up on Wheel of Time after the eight book, having realized that Jordan was rehashing the same formula over and over again.]
And this:
quote:
If the reviewer didn’t like the book, nothing the author can say will persuade him he actually did.
True. When a reviewer writes something, most often than not, he already has made up his mind about it, and nothing--and I mean NOTHING--will ever change it. A relatively recent example I recall is Trudi Canavan's The Magician's Apprentice. I loved and extolled to the heavens The Black Magician Trilogy. But the former, I almost tore apart. Literally. I sympathized with her, for having to endure a series of misfortunes (personal, family matters) while writing TMA. But it didn't change my opinion on how trite she made TMA appear. |
Every beginning has an end. |
Edited by - Dennis on 10 Feb 2013 00:04:06 |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 09 Feb 2013 : 18:45:43
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| Dennis, your comments underscore what I was trying to say: Writers need to know from the get-go that they can't please every reader every time out of the gate. It may be the best we can hope for is that it's at least clear to readers that we weren't just phoning it in. We were giving the work out best shot, and thus, even those who didn't like it may decide there's some reason to hope they might like what we do next. |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 10 Feb 2013 : 00:05:21
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Nice article, by the way. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 10 Feb 2013 : 06:38:03
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| Thank you. |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 10 Feb 2013 : 07:13:14
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Richard, I finally got Prophet of the Dead. I'm practically postponing all my appointments today so I could devour it without any distraction.
And oh, you might want to ask WotC to have Amazon post on their site the blurb as it appears on the physical book--which is way better than what's on their site currently. |
Every beginning has an end. |
Edited by - Dennis on 10 Feb 2013 07:54:41 |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2013 : 14:58:07
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| I hope you enjoy it, Dennis. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2013 : 15:02:25
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Hi, everyone. I don't usually load up the forums with messages that have nothing to do with the Realms or at least fantasy fiction in general, but I beg your indulgence this one time.
The following paragraphs were written by my friend Ann Morris. I hope you'll consider making a small donation. If you know Stacy Lung, you know she's a terrific person. If you ever attended Necronomicon (the Florida one) or one of the other conventions on which she worked, she contributed to your good time whether you happened to meet her or not. Here is Ann's message:
I've been letting people know about the Stacy Fund, a charity account set up to benefit Necronomicon Convention's art show director, Stacy Lung.
As some of you know, Stacy has suffered a catastrophic illness. She was found not breathing at the Run for Your Life event November 17, 2012 and has been either in the hospital or in a nursing home since that time. She can speak and her mental faculties seem to be all right but she has lost the use of her limbs. She is expected to have quite a lengthy stay in the nursing home for rehabilitation. Meanwhile, her medical costs keep rising (even though she currently has insurance from her job) and her mortgage payments and other bills keep coming. Her employment may run out and with it, her health insurance, so the situation could become even more dire than it currently is.
Stone Hill has set up a charity account to help her and we are asking fans to help a fellow fan. Stone Hill will match the first $500 to be donated to the Stacy Fund. You can send payments via PayPal. Use the address stacyfund at stonehill dot org
We will also be holding a special art auction at this year's Necronomicon. So, if you or someone you know is an artist and would like to donate a piece of your work to benefit Stacy, please get in touch with me via Facebook or at annmorris1 at yahoo dot com.
This information will be on our website shortly.
Please spread the word. Thank you. |
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gregthanatos
Acolyte
3 Posts |
Posted - 13 Feb 2013 : 08:11:07
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I recently read Blind Gods Bluff and the book was great.
One of the things I like most about forgotten realms is that it’s a shared fantasy universe with established rules. The magic, healing, races, locations, characters, and gods are somewhat familiar so I can enjoy a story without having to work that hard puzzling out the world the characters exist in. I can give authors I am unfamiliar with a chance, because I don’t need them to have the capacity to compose all of that, while simultaneously crafting an engaging story, to like the book.
When it is done well, it can be a lot of fun to read a fantasy or science fiction book that is completely original. Blind Gods Bluff was done well. Byers has the skill to flesh out a new universe, with new rules, while developing new characters, and still tell a great tale. It was a pleasure to read.
A recurring thought I had while reading Blind Gods Bluff was that it would make an awesome movie. It has a wonderful plot and would probably be much cheaper to film, with fewer set pieces, than most fantasy stories.
I hope there will be more Billy Fox novels soon. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 13 Feb 2013 : 13:34:40
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| Thank you, gregthanatos. Very glad you liked it. |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 15 Feb 2013 : 16:11:58
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quote:
Originally posted by Richard Lee Byers
I hope you enjoy it, Dennis.
I did!
If you're interested, you can read my Spoiler-FREE Review here. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 15 Feb 2013 : 21:16:06
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| I read it and was naturally very pleased. |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2013 : 13:34:42
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I'm really tempted to ask some things about the book, specially about Lod and Jhesri . . . but they're all major spoiler type of questions so I'll just wait a couple of months maybe, or at least until I learn that more scribes have already read it.
And again, Richard, thanks for doing your great share of keeping the Realms alive. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2013 : 14:09:15
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Hopefully this isn't much of a spoiler . . .
We were discussing about vampires of note and age in a different thread, and I remembered Nyevarra . . . How old exactly is she? I vaguely recall it was mentioned once that she's (just) a hundred-something old, counting her mortal existence up to her recent undead days? |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2013 : 14:16:47
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quote:
Originally posted by Richard Lee Byers
My new post to The Night Bazaar deals with SEX!And also some classic pulp writers and characters.
http://night-bazaar.com/the-princess-the-pirate-and-the-gorgon.html
Favorite female character? Just one? Wow. It's difficult to choose—that's as difficult as choosing my favorite wizard.
Nice, article, Richard. Though I must admit, I'm not so familiar with most of your examples. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2013 : 14:38:58
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Glad you found the article interesting, Dennis.
I no longer remember how old Nyevarra was exactly, but you can assume she was in her thirties or her youthful forties at the time of the Witch War. |
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Questions for Richard Lee Byers
