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quajack
Seeker
86 Posts |
 Posted - 12 Aug 2006 : 03:36:17
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Once Around the Realms, The Glass Prison, The Shadow Stone...
What do these novels have in common, you may ask? None of them are part of a trilogy, series, quintet, or any other type of grouping. Does WotC think that if they publish any more books w/o including them in some type of assemblege that readers will think that said books are unimportant and therefore, won't purchase them? Every FR stand alone novel published within the last 6 years has been included in some "series" or another. Wassup wit dat, yo?
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GothicDan
Master of Realmslore
USA
1103 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2006 : 03:58:31
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I think trilogies/series in general sell better than stand-alones.
Personally, as a massive novel reader, I've been getting a bit tired of series/trilogies BECAUSE of this fact: if I buy one, read it, I HAVE to buy another one.
Lately, I've been focusing on buying stand-alone novels specifically to avoid doing this, but I guess a lot of consumers don't have this kind of willpower (if they have the money, I mean). :) |
Planescape Fanatic
"Fiends and Undead are the peanut butter and jelly of evil." - Me
"That attitude should be stomped on, whenever and wherever it's encountered, because it makes people holding such views bad citizens, not just bad roleplayers (considering D&D was structured as a 'forced cooperation' game, and although successive editions are pointing it more and more towards a me-first, min-max game, the drift away from 'we all need each other to succeed' will at some point make it 'no longer' D&D)." - ED GREENWOOD |
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Paec_djinn
Learned Scribe
173 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2006 : 04:45:04
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| I would guess that the "class" series, Cities series and the upcoming Dungeon and Citadel series would be the new replacement for standalones. I wouldn't mind if WotC start printing novels for standalone series like you mentioned, but for the moment, if you're looking for standalones, those serieses I've mentioned are the nearest I guess. |
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Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5695 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2006 : 10:06:49
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Well met
Indeed, as Paec_djinn stated, stand-alone novels tend to be grouped into an unrelated series.
I believe that The Shadow Stone was once listed as being a novel in the "Adventures" series, although it was never printed on the novel and likely the unofficial title was dropped soon after.
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Alaundo
Candlekeep Forums Head Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
An Introduction to Candlekeep - by Ed Greenwood
The Candlekeep Compendium - Tomes of Realmslore penned by Scribes of Candlekeep
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Lameth
Learned Scribe
Germany
196 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2006 : 10:51:51
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quote:
Originally posted by quajack
Once Around the Realms, The Glass Prison, The Shadow Stone...
Ahhh The Shadow Stone.....great book! |
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SirUrza
Master of Realmslore
USA
1283 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2006 : 12:46:23
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The rogue, wizard, fighter, etc. series remind me of the Harper series... and I was under the impression that the reason the Harper series wasn't continued by Wizards was because Wizards felt that the jumbling of stories and characters together confused readers.
So presumably that means that none of the characters in any of the "class" series will ever be used again. |
"Evil prevails when good men fail to act."
The original and unapologetic Arilyn, Aribeth, Seoni Fanboy. |
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Ignorance Personified
Seeker
USA
78 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2006 : 16:17:53
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quote:
Originally posted by SirUrza
So presumably that means that none of the characters in any of the "class" series will ever be used again.
Unless some of the characters become popular with readers. For example, some of the characters in the Sembia series have returned outside of it (i.e. Cale and Tazi). As with any corporation, if WoTC sees an opportunity to turn a profit then they will exploit it. |
Carthago delenda est. |
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2006 : 18:41:18
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quote:
Originally posted by SirUrza
The rogue, wizard, fighter, etc. series remind me of the Harper series... and I was under the impression that the reason the Harper series wasn't continued by Wizards was because Wizards felt that the jumbling of stories and characters together confused readers.
It had gone on too long. When series get too long, readers get disoriented and new ones intimidated by thinking they have to start at the beginning. |
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Winterfox
Senior Scribe
895 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2006 : 19:27:32
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quote:
Originally posted by quajack
Once Around the Realms, The Glass Prison, The Shadow Stone...
What do these novels have in common, you may ask?
Being obscure, out of print, and not particularly popular? |
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wwwwwww
Learned Scribe
116 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2006 : 19:46:43
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| Both The Shadow Stone and The Glass Prison are two of my favorite FR novels. Evermeet is another stand-alone that's well written. |
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Archwizard
Learned Scribe
USA
266 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2006 : 20:02:43
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quote:
Originally posted by Winterfox
quote:
Originally posted by quajack
Once Around the Realms, The Glass Prison, The Shadow Stone...
What do these novels have in common, you may ask?
Being obscure, out of print, and not particularly popular?
That got a laugh out of me. 
Sometimes being part of a series also provides a bit more description with which to present the book to potential readers. The Harpers series is about Harpers, the Wizards series is about wizards, etc. It breaks down otherwise disparate standalone books into easy to grasp categories. Somewhat like character classes, Halaster is a wizard, Durnan is a fighter, Mirt is a ... moneylender. |
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GothicDan
Master of Realmslore
USA
1103 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2006 : 01:17:06
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When I first read the Shadow Stone, I really was confused. I thought I had accidentally picked up a non-FR book that somehow got an FR label slapped onto it.
Turns out, I pretty much did. |
Planescape Fanatic
"Fiends and Undead are the peanut butter and jelly of evil." - Me
"That attitude should be stomped on, whenever and wherever it's encountered, because it makes people holding such views bad citizens, not just bad roleplayers (considering D&D was structured as a 'forced cooperation' game, and although successive editions are pointing it more and more towards a me-first, min-max game, the drift away from 'we all need each other to succeed' will at some point make it 'no longer' D&D)." - ED GREENWOOD |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2006 : 01:48:41
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quote:
Originally posted by Winterfox
quote:
Originally posted by quajack
Once Around the Realms, The Glass Prison, The Shadow Stone...
What do these novels have in common, you may ask?
Being obscure, out of print, and not particularly popular?
Seconded. |
"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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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 15 Aug 2006 : 16:41:24
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quote:
Originally posted by GothicDan
I think trilogies/series in general sell better than stand-alones.
And all the observable sales statistics would seem to agree with you. 
Readers, it would seem, like having a theme they can follow. Even if the stand-alone series novels cover different characters, they may read similarly, so readers know what they're getting.
quote:
So presumably that means that none of the characters in any of the "class" series will ever be used again.
One never knows. As Ignorance holds, it all depends on who becomes popular.
Cheers |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
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