Bartimaeus Posted June 1, 2017 Posted June 1, 2017 (edited) "New" J.R.R. Tolkien book: https://www.amazon.com/Beren-Lúthien-J-R-R-Tolkien-ebook/dp/B01MG2HOWD/ Article on it: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-40109396 Edited June 1, 2017 by Bartimaeus Quote How I have existed fills me with horror. For I have failed in everything - spelling, arithmetic, riding, tennis, golf; dancing, singing, acting; wife, mistress, whore, friend. Even cooking. And I do not excuse myself with the usual escape of 'not trying'. I tried with all my heart. In my dreams, I am not crippled. In my dreams, I dance.
Guard Dog Posted June 1, 2017 Posted June 1, 2017 "New" J.R.R. Tolkien book: https://www.amazon.com/Beren-Lúthien-J-R-R-Tolkien-ebook/dp/B01MG2HOWD/ Article on it: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-40109396 Did they just cut the story from the the Silmarillion or is there unreleased material there? "While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before" Thomas Sowell
the_dog_days Posted June 1, 2017 Posted June 1, 2017 "New" J.R.R. Tolkien book: https://www.amazon.com/Beren-Lúthien-J-R-R-Tolkien-ebook/dp/B01MG2HOWD/ Article on it: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-40109396 Did they just cut the story from the the Silmarillion or is there unreleased material there? Yes, it was originally from the Silmarillion. Good eye.
Bartimaeus Posted June 1, 2017 Posted June 1, 2017 Yes, from my own guess, and based on what I'm reading in the foreword of the book, this is basically a reframing of the story as to separate it from the Simillarion, and to make it easier to follow. On a side-note, I just remembered that I don't like Christopher Tolkien's writing: 1 Quote How I have existed fills me with horror. For I have failed in everything - spelling, arithmetic, riding, tennis, golf; dancing, singing, acting; wife, mistress, whore, friend. Even cooking. And I do not excuse myself with the usual escape of 'not trying'. I tried with all my heart. In my dreams, I am not crippled. In my dreams, I dance.
Guard Dog Posted June 2, 2017 Posted June 2, 2017 What is is about sons following up on their fathers work? It never goes well. Brian Herbert took the mess his father made of Dune following God Emperor and made a bigger mess with sequels and prequels. Christopher Tolkien has made a living off his father's pen. Even Jeff Sharra, who isn't a bad writer himself, still isn't a patch on his old man Micheal Sharra as he finished his father's civil war series. Anyway I'm reading this: One of my favorite novels and movies is True Grit. I actually like the 2012 remake better than John Wayne's 1969 version (sorry Duke) because it is more true to the book. I was reading about the author Charles Portis and I found out the charterer Rooster Cogburn was based on a real man named Franklin Cogburn. Although he wasn't a lawman of any sort he did in fact do some of the things Portis attributed to his character. Not the least of which was the 4 on 1 shootout at climax of the book and both movies. "While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before" Thomas Sowell
Tale Posted June 2, 2017 Posted June 2, 2017 I just found out Deep Ellum is having a lit hop tomorrow. I assume I'm the only Dallas area Obsidianite? It's a literary bar crawl. I'm struggling to guess at what that means beyond the fact that a bunch of local poets will be attending. But it sounds worth checking out. https://www.facebook.com/events/129649400912879/ "Show me a man who "plays fair" and I'll show you a very talented cheater."
Bartimaeus Posted June 2, 2017 Posted June 2, 2017 (edited) What is is about sons following up on their fathers work? It never goes well. Brian Herbert took the mess his father made of Dune following God Emperor and made a bigger mess with sequels and prequels. Christopher Tolkien has made a living off his father's pen. Even Jeff Sharra, who isn't a bad writer himself, still isn't a patch on his old man Micheal Sharra as he finished his father's civil war series. Will anyone take over after Christopher, I wonder? The bloke is in his 90s now, after all... Edited June 2, 2017 by Bartimaeus Quote How I have existed fills me with horror. For I have failed in everything - spelling, arithmetic, riding, tennis, golf; dancing, singing, acting; wife, mistress, whore, friend. Even cooking. And I do not excuse myself with the usual escape of 'not trying'. I tried with all my heart. In my dreams, I am not crippled. In my dreams, I dance.
Tale Posted June 2, 2017 Posted June 2, 2017 Is it wrong to hope not? "Show me a man who "plays fair" and I'll show you a very talented cheater."
Bartimaeus Posted June 2, 2017 Posted June 2, 2017 Not at all. Someone will retain the rights, however, and no doubt someone will want to bring it back somewhere down the line, whether in writing or in film. Quote How I have existed fills me with horror. For I have failed in everything - spelling, arithmetic, riding, tennis, golf; dancing, singing, acting; wife, mistress, whore, friend. Even cooking. And I do not excuse myself with the usual escape of 'not trying'. I tried with all my heart. In my dreams, I am not crippled. In my dreams, I dance.
the_dog_days Posted June 2, 2017 Posted June 2, 2017 @Guard Dog: I understand perfectly why the estate would want to add to the original creator's IP. It's only been in the last few decades that hitting the creative jackpot and can make a fortune in a single lifetime has become possible. Traditionally, an IP was a super long term investment so adding new titles after the author dies in like feeding the trust fund. This sounds derogatory but it makes perfect sense if you look at it from the perspective of a family who inherited little more from the author than the IP.
Guard Dog Posted June 2, 2017 Posted June 2, 2017 (edited) @Guard Dog: I understand perfectly why the estate would want to add to the original creator's IP. It's only been in the last few decades that hitting the creative jackpot and can make a fortune in a single lifetime has become possible. Traditionally, an IP was a super long term investment so adding new titles after the author dies in like feeding the trust fund. This sounds derogatory but it makes perfect sense if you look at it from the perspective of a family who inherited little more from the author than the IP. Oh I know why it was done. my complaint is it wasn't done well. In the three examples I mentioned the sons are far below the ability of their fathers. Edit: OK, that's not really fair. Jeff Shaara is a pretty good writer in his own right. Brian Hebert though? No. Not even Edited June 2, 2017 by Guard Dog "While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before" Thomas Sowell
the_dog_days Posted June 2, 2017 Posted June 2, 2017 I don't believe either Brian Herbert or Christopher Tolkien have ever written a book on their own. Both act as 'creative leads', to borrow a gaming development phrase, rather than writers. I imagine it's hard to find a decent author who won't try to take over the project and make it their own. 1
Guard Dog Posted June 2, 2017 Posted June 2, 2017 I don't believe either Brian Herbert or Christopher Tolkien have ever written a book on their own. Both act as 'creative leads', to borrow a gaming development phrase, rather than writers. I imagine it's hard to find a decent author who won't try to take over the project and make it their own. I didn't know that. Well, I knew Tolkien's son has really been editing and cleaning up things his JRR was tinkering with but had never finished. He may have filled in some gaps but 90% of the work was JRR Tolkien's I believe. I didn't know Brian Hebert wasn't the sole writer of all the Dune prequels and expanded backstory stuff. "While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before" Thomas Sowell
Malcador Posted June 2, 2017 Posted June 2, 2017 Brian finally got his revenge on his dad for liking the books more than him. Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
Bartimaeus Posted June 2, 2017 Posted June 2, 2017 (edited) The worst example of a child "taking over" for one of their parents, though, I'd think would have to be Todd McCaffrey and the Pern series. His mother, Anne McCaffrey, wrote this fun little coming-of-age sci-fi book series, and he writes this weird...like metrosexual fan-fiction-esque subseries about a young teenage girl, taking place somewhere else in the timeline. It was really strange and, I have to say, kind of gross. I've read some of Christopher Tolkien's work, and I've read some of Brian Herbert's work, and I don't think either can be said to be as bad as Todd McCaffrey's. Edited June 2, 2017 by Bartimaeus Quote How I have existed fills me with horror. For I have failed in everything - spelling, arithmetic, riding, tennis, golf; dancing, singing, acting; wife, mistress, whore, friend. Even cooking. And I do not excuse myself with the usual escape of 'not trying'. I tried with all my heart. In my dreams, I am not crippled. In my dreams, I dance.
Raithe Posted June 3, 2017 Author Posted June 3, 2017 Hilary Mantel - Women writers must stop falsely empowering female characters in history "Cuius testiculos habeas, habeas cardia et cerebellum."
Gromnir Posted June 3, 2017 Posted June 3, 2017 can't find our copy of as i lay dying. is a handful o' books we read 'bout once per year, and such works is typical annotated by Gromnir to a significant degree. once we wear out a volume, it is relegated to a box where we may retrieve if needs be. for instance, in the attic we got eight volumes of dubliners which form an unbroken line going back to our university days. got similar for shakespeare's richard iii, hemingway's complete short stories and the aforementioned, as i lay dying. have now spent many hours over the last few days attempting to find our current iteration o' faulkner's novel. might be reaching the terminus o' hope. other folks got works they reread frequent? HA! Good Fun! "If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927) "Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)
Guard Dog Posted June 4, 2017 Posted June 4, 2017 My copy of The Complete Jack London never spends more than a few months without me picking it up. Even though I've read every story and novel in it multiple times. Walden is also one I come back to. Probably my favorite book is one I read as a kid, Beautiful Joe by Marshall Saunders. It was out of print for a long time but I found a sixty year old copy at a used book store a long time ago. I've re-read that one several times. It's available in e-book platforms now. I guess the day will come soon that nothing will ever be out of print again. That's not a bad thing. "While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before" Thomas Sowell
the_dog_days Posted June 6, 2017 Posted June 6, 2017 Reading the Other Lands second book in the Acacia trilogy. Starting to feel reading them back to back wasn't a great idea because some of the author's writing quirks are beginning to irk me. Think I'll take a break and come back to it when I'm in a better mindset for it.
Guard Dog Posted June 9, 2017 Posted June 9, 2017 I started reading this last night: It's all about Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson and the team that created D&D back in the '70s and the cultural phenom it became. Both good and bad. 4 "While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before" Thomas Sowell
Gromnir Posted June 9, 2017 Posted June 9, 2017 I started reading this last night: image It's all about Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson and the team that created D&D back in the '70s and the cultural phenom it became. Both good and bad. many o' the original d&d icons fell on hard times in the 90s and beyond. david trampier being a widely publicized case. feels wrong to shrug of as the human condition. c'est la vie? no. just no. "If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927) "Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)
Guard Dog Posted June 10, 2017 Posted June 10, 2017 I started reading this last night: image It's all about Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson and the team that created D&D back in the '70s and the cultural phenom it became. Both good and bad. many o' the original d&d icons fell on hard times in the 90s and beyond. david trampier being a widely publicized case. feels wrong to shrug of as the human condition. c'est la vie? no. just no. I didn't know that. I did know they lost control over their creation. "While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before" Thomas Sowell
Azdeus Posted June 11, 2017 Posted June 11, 2017 Granted, it isn't literature, but since you're on the subject, I really liked the interview Matt Chat had with David Wesely on D&D Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. - H.L. Mencken
Guard Dog Posted June 20, 2017 Posted June 20, 2017 Now reading this: So far it's ok. It's got a little Planescape thing going. I'm not a fan of fantasy writing because it's usually so awful. This one isn't making me a bigger fan but it's far from the worst I've ever read. The setting is holding my interest. We'll see how it goes from here. Also reading this: I just started it during my lunch break today. "While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before" Thomas Sowell
Raithe Posted June 20, 2017 Author Posted June 20, 2017 Life in Shadows. A set of short stories by Elliot Kay. It comes with the label: Warning: Life in Shadows contains explicit violence, extended explicit sex scenes, explicit karaoke, profanity, rampant nudity, assault, murder, breaking and entering, belligerent urban wildlife, premeditated sexual promiscuity, vehicular assault, reckless endangerment, attempted kidnapping, attempted robbery, attempted ritual demonic possession, blatant violation of state regulations of adult entertainment, punching, kicking, cutting, stabbing, shooting, hair-pulling, name-calling, ****-shaming, cheap Halloween costumes, strippers, hipsters, poseurs, police, personal calls while on duty, arson, destruction of private property, lingerie, war criminals, break-up text messaging, lesbian demon seduction, accusations of Mary Suedom, poor workplace morale, premarital sex, nude calisthenics, immolation, false identification, ruthless exploitation of personal beauty, unsafe crowd control standards, vertigo, destruction of evidence, elitism, racism (don’t worry, he dies), open relationships, workplace scapegoating, adult use of plumbing implements, fantasy depictions of witchcraft and paganism, at least one reincarnated ancient European warlord, and a girl-on-girl grenade fight. All characters are over the age of 18, except the aforementioned reincarnation of an ancient European warlord. That gets sketchy. 2 "Cuius testiculos habeas, habeas cardia et cerebellum."
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