| Author | Message | ||
     Rutree |
I like the story so far, please don't stop now! I am however wondering why many of your other stories that have been introduced have yet to be filled out further. Please ask those authors to finish them out. They have all been great starts. But they all have left me hanging! :) | ||
| Suzanne Campbell, Fiction Editor |
I'm glad you've been enjoying the selection of fiction; we do our best to bring in quality material as well as authors. As to why some of the stories have left you hanging ... some of the serials have not been written yet! In the case of "Quenta Roqueni" and "Talae's Journal",to name two, they are ongoing role-playing campaigns that are being written up as they happen. "Familiar Territory", by yours truly, is a planned 3-parter, with part two expected to show up in the April issue. | ||
| James Blair |
My first impressions of "Quenta Roqueni" were not too good. It seemed that the story had the sort of problems I've associated with Robert Jordan: too many characters, and a too-slow plot. However, I admit it is growing on me a little (while Robert Jordan is doing the opposite). In the last installment, the plot finally moved along at what I considered a good pace. Its character roster is still growing, though, perhaps too quickly. Even Tolkien held it down to 5 people or so at the start, and he didn't even hold it at 9 at a time for long! I have trouble GM-ing more than 6 people at a time (optimal is about 4), but maybe this GM is better at large groups than I am. I eagerly await the next installment (so I can bash at it again!). | ||
| Suzanne Campbell, Fiction Editor |
The last installment of Quenta Roqueni Book One will be up in either May or June. After that, you'll have to send Lowell some "encouragements" to get Book Two written! I'm looking forward to reading the next book too. :) Speaking of books with lengthly casts of characters ... The monster I'm reading at the moment is the futuristic "Otherlands" series by Tad Williams. The first volume "City of Golden Shadow" featured over a dozen important characters. The second volume, "River of Blue Fire" promises to live up to its predecessor; huge cast and a very enjoyable read so far! Thanks for the commentary... | ||
| James Blair |
I'm reading the Otherlands series too, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. He keeps the story moving, so I don't mind that he's leaving 15 billion loose ends flapping in the breeze! I don't know if you've read that far yet, but Mr. Jongleur aka Osiris did make a reference to a certain "Hobbit world" that mutated into a total war scenario with modern technology... I can just imagine a certain Ring being dropped into the Crack of Doom by Frodo and Sam from a plane called "the Enola Gay"... | ||
| Lowell Matthews |
FYI, Quenta Roqueni Book Two is about half written, and James at least should be relieved to know that the cast of protagonists does not grow in number. I hope, however, that they grow in depth. You'll probably think the early chapters are a bit slow, but that's the way we all seem to like them. But things pick up speed later, and we even throw in some fight scenes (gasp!).... :-D | ||
| James Blair |
Well, I figure you wouldn't have two Dunadain and a proto-Beorning in the party just to intimidate the fine Dunnish peasants, would you? | ||
| Lowell Matthews |
Actually, it's three Dúnedain (two full, one lesser), and Beijabar really is (well, is as far as ICQ is concerned) the contemporary name of the Beornings. No, not to intimidate the fine Dunnish peasants. We have stiffer opposition in mind -- eventually. I've thought some more about it, and realized that my favorite series are also fairly slow-moving, including the Belgariad and Malloreon (Eddings), the Wheel of Time (Jordan), Songs of Ice and Fire (Martin), and the Jack Ryan stories (Clancy). QR is nowhere *near* that length league. |
