[Abyss]

 Azath Vitr (D, on 01 February 2024 - 08:56 PM, said:

So Bakker doesn't want to put in the time and effort it would take to finish the series and promote it.
...

No.
He doesn't want to put in the additional time and effort (and risk and money) it would take to publish it.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

 Abyss, on 02 February 2024 - 03:43 PM, said:

 Azath Vitr (D, on 01 February 2024 - 08:56 PM, said:

So Bakker doesn't want to put in the time and effort it would take to finish the series and promote it.
...

No.
He doesn't want to put in the additional time and effort (and risk and money) it would take to publish it.

The additional time and effort (and risk and money) it would take to publish... an ebook?

He could probably get a fan (or fans) to do a decent enough audiobook (or audiobooks) in exchange for a free advance copy. But an audiobook would not (alas!) be necessary anyway.

Or is he stuck on wanting to print physical copies? There's relatively cheap print on demand for that I think.


But it would seem pretty ridiculous if he doesn't want to do an ebook. (Are ebooks also the

Spoiler

the No-God?

Is

Spoiler

the No-God

in the room with you right now? Inside your skull? Coiled around & through the folds of your brain? Oh well you are so deep and oceanic, feeling...)

[Abyss]

 Azath Vitr (D, on 02 February 2024 - 04:05 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 02 February 2024 - 03:43 PM, said:

 Azath Vitr (D, on 01 February 2024 - 08:56 PM, said:

So Bakker doesn't want to put in the time and effort it would take to finish the series and promote it.
...

No.
He doesn't want to put in the additional time and effort (and risk and money) it would take to publish it.

The additional time and effort (and risk and money) it would take to publish... an ebook?

Tell me you have no idea how this works without telling me you have no idea how this works.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

 Abyss, on 02 February 2024 - 05:04 PM, said:

 Azath Vitr (D, on 02 February 2024 - 04:05 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 02 February 2024 - 03:43 PM, said:

 Azath Vitr (D, on 01 February 2024 - 08:56 PM, said:

So Bakker doesn't want to put in the time and effort it would take to finish the series and promote it.
...

No.
He doesn't want to put in the additional time and effort (and risk and money) it would take to publish it.

The additional time and effort (and risk and money) it would take to publish... an ebook?

Tell me you have no idea how this works without telling me you have no idea how this works.

I think you mean 'the time and effort (and risk and money) it would take to publish an ebook' with an established 'publisher' as opposed to 'self-publishing', no? Because of course if you self-publish you're a loser, and fated to sell next to nothing...

Spoiler

No-God

might as well eat you (gnaw your head off of a pike like a corndog on a stick?... for the

Spoiler

No-God

is so obese that It is pregnant with all our brains!).

Quote

The million dollar question is really one of what happens once that shared neurophysiology begins to fragment, and sharing imperatives becomes a matter of coincidence. It has to be madness, one that will creep upon us by technological degrees.

Why does it have to be madness? Because we define madness according what our brains normally do. Once we begin personalizing our brains, 'normally do' will become less and less meaningful. 'Insanity' will simply be what one tribe calls another, and from our antiquated perspective, it will all look like insanity.

It's hard to imagine, I admit, but you have to look at all the biologically fixed aspects of your conscious experience like distinct paints on a palette. Once the human brain falls into our manipulative purview, anything becomes possible. Certain colours, like suffering and fear, will likely be wiped away. Other colours, like carnal pleasure or epiphany, will be smeared across everything. And this is just the easy stuff: willing might be mixed with hearing, so that everytime a dog barks, you have the senstation of willing all creation into existence.

What is the Semantic Apocalypse? | R Scott Bakker - Three Pound Brain (wordpress.com)

And we've already started personalizing our brains! Just by reading books... among everything otherwise.


Speaking of wells: I've continued my daily months-long progress through the The Realm of the Elderlings audiobooks (no other novels in between). Ended last night's session on the scene in Blood of Dragons where

Spoiler

the dragons are stretching their necks down the well to lap up the silver, and Heeby gets angry because her neck isn't long enough to keep drinking as their drinking drains the well, while Sintara's is

---loved that description. Overall The Rainwild Chronicles isn't as good iirc in literary terms as The Liveship Traders, but I'm finding it enjoyable, and the lore is more interesting (though less surprising---so far any way...).

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 02 February 2024 - 05:37 PM

[amphibian]

I got the sense that Bakker has family and personal health reasons as to why he isn't writing prolifically or teaching.

His brother did a sort of Q&A session a few years ago on Reddit and it was kinda like "the family blew up in a few different ways, be patient, we'll see what happens".

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

 amphibian, on 03 February 2024 - 12:23 AM, said:

I got the sense that Bakker has family and personal health reasons as to why he isn't writing prolifically or teaching.

His brother did a sort of Q&A session a few years ago on Reddit and it was kinda like "the family blew up in a few different ways, be patient, we'll see what happens".

Quote

Updated Jan 20, 2023

[...] my brother is considered to be one of the greatest fantasy authors of all time. Truth is, having the kind of creativity and insight it takes to write grimdark fantasy, is not always easy on the health or the soul.

In this blog I want to give you an insight into some of the origins behind the series and some news about what may be ahead.

[...] some have commented on the fact that Scott has been quiet online in recent years. Suffice it to say he has gone through a lot. His singular focus right now is raising his daughter and building his family's future.

[...] it would surprise me if, after his real life trials are complete, he doesn't return to it, before the end.

Like a favourite old coat - warm and comfortable - and smelling of sulfur (:

Insights On "The Second Apocalypse" Book Series (newsload.ca)

Hmm, I'd suppose I was being too hard on him for being a philosopher but thinking that self-publishing is 'bad' (if not an objective evil in this world of intersubjective hells...).

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

From Reddit, fwiw:

Quote

I have it on good authority (AKA from one of the mods) that Bakker is writing TNG, has been for years. No more than wild guesses on when it might be finished, though.

His original plans aren't too relevant - the whole thing was, after all, a half baked plot for a D&D campaign decades ago.

The way he wrote TAE is relevant. And he wrote it as if another set of books was forthcoming.

[FULL THREAD IN LINK CONTAINS SPOILERS]

Spoiler

Some questions : bakker (reddit.com)

From the same thread:

Quote

I just found the video series of him speaking on YouTube where he says he wishes he would be killed before finishing the No God but feels he has to. It was posted 8 months ago so I have no idea if this is old, but the way he talks about the No God and characters he created he knows that saying he is happy with it ending the way it has is just copium.

Starts discussing finishing TNG around 5:05 in:

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 03 February 2024 - 03:41 AM

[Mentalist]

Well, I finally did it.
I finished "Rhythm of War".

Now at least I'm free. Albeit Sanderson is actually starting to get me curious about the big Cosmere picture.

[Cause]

 Mentalist, on 04 February 2024 - 02:38 AM, said:

Well, I finally did it.
I finished "Rhythm of War".

Now at least I'm free. Albeit Sanderson is actually starting to get me curious about the big Cosmere picture.

I like Sanderson for the most part but I have come to question if he really knows how the big picture cosmere will all come together. For a man who never breathes between writing I am not sure it will slot together seamlessly in the end.

[Abyss]

 Cause, on 05 February 2024 - 03:24 PM, said:

 Mentalist, on 04 February 2024 - 02:38 AM, said:

Well, I finally did it.
I finished "Rhythm of War".

Now at least I'm free. Albeit Sanderson is actually starting to get me curious about the big Cosmere picture.

I like Sanderson for the most part but I have come to question if he really knows how the big picture cosmere will all come together. For a man who never breathes between writing I am not sure it will slot together seamlessly in the end.

He pulled WoT together.
The handful of Cosmere 'crossovers' he's done so far have worked. I'd put money on him pulling it off.

[Abyss]

 Abyss, on 28 January 2024 - 05:36 AM, said:

Next up, time to finish The Tide series w the final book, titled, brilliantly, FINAL SURGE.

Just Finished. Melchiorri did a solid job wrapping this up. Somehow managed to raise the urgency and threat level even further than the previous books, give everyone sufficient time, and wrap all the main plotlines. Fun popcorn series, i would read more from this author again.

Next, Sebastien du Castell's THE MALEVOLENT SEVEN. A few hours in already and i am loving it.

[JPK]

 Abyss, on 07 February 2024 - 06:24 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 28 January 2024 - 05:36 AM, said:

Next up, time to finish The Tide series w the final book, titled, brilliantly, FINAL SURGE.

Just Finished. Melchiorri did a solid job wrapping this up. Somehow managed to raise the urgency and threat level even further than the previous books, give everyone sufficient time, and wrap all the main plotlines. Fun popcorn series, i would read more from this author again.

Next, Sebastien du Castell's THE MALEVOLENT SEVEN. A few hours in already and i am loving it.

Have you read any other de Castell yet?

[Abyss]

 JPK, on 07 February 2024 - 06:39 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 07 February 2024 - 06:24 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 28 January 2024 - 05:36 AM, said:

Next up, time to finish The Tide series w the final book, titled, brilliantly, FINAL SURGE.

Just Finished. Melchiorri did a solid job wrapping this up. Somehow managed to raise the urgency and threat level even further than the previous books, give everyone sufficient time, and wrap all the main plotlines. Fun popcorn series, i would read more from this author again.

Next, Sebastien du Castell's THE MALEVOLENT SEVEN. A few hours in already and i am loving it.

Have you read any other de Castell yet?

Nope. I have GREATCOATS in the trp but this popped up in a couple of /r threads and i was feeling the vibe.

[Tiste Simeon]

 Abyss, on 07 February 2024 - 07:55 PM, said:

 JPK, on 07 February 2024 - 06:39 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 07 February 2024 - 06:24 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 28 January 2024 - 05:36 AM, said:

Next up, time to finish The Tide series w the final book, titled, brilliantly, FINAL SURGE.

Just Finished. Melchiorri did a solid job wrapping this up. Somehow managed to raise the urgency and threat level even further than the previous books, give everyone sufficient time, and wrap all the main plotlines. Fun popcorn series, i would read more from this author again.

Next, Sebastien du Castell's THE MALEVOLENT SEVEN. A few hours in already and i am loving it.

Have you read any other de Castell yet?

Nope. I have GREATCOATS in the trp but this popped up in a couple of /r threads and i was feeling the vibe.

The narrator for the Malevolent Seven is brilliant! Really nails the sort of cynical and darkly funny vibe of the protagonist.

[JPK]

 Tiste Simeon, on 07 February 2024 - 10:25 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 07 February 2024 - 07:55 PM, said:

 JPK, on 07 February 2024 - 06:39 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 07 February 2024 - 06:24 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 28 January 2024 - 05:36 AM, said:

Next up, time to finish The Tide series w the final book, titled, brilliantly, FINAL SURGE.

Just Finished. Melchiorri did a solid job wrapping this up. Somehow managed to raise the urgency and threat level even further than the previous books, give everyone sufficient time, and wrap all the main plotlines. Fun popcorn series, i would read more from this author again.

Next, Sebastien du Castell's THE MALEVOLENT SEVEN. A few hours in already and i am loving it.

Have you read any other de Castell yet?

Nope. I have GREATCOATS in the trp but this popped up in a couple of /r threads and i was feeling the vibe.

The narrator for the Malevolent Seven is brilliant! Really nails the sort of cynical and darkly funny vibe of the protagonist.

So I haven't actually read The Malevolent Seven yet, but it looks like the narrator is Joe Jameson. Joe has narrated pretty much all of de Castell's novels and they're always great.

Macros, if you see this, have you read the Argosi books yet? If so, how do they compare to Spellslinger?

[pat5150]

What ultimately killed Bakker was that he was published by the Overlook Press, an imprint that knows nothing about SFF and didn't really know anything about how to promote the series.

It appears that the books did well enough in the UK, but they were handled by Orbit.

As Abyss mentioned, Bakker still gets more attention than I ever thought he would down the line on Reddit and elsewhere. We can only hope that a true SFF publisher would show interest in publishing the final series, so that we can know how it all ends.

But for this to happen, Bakker would need to have at least a working manuscript, even unfinished, so that a book deal could be signed. I read somewhere that Bakker's brother claimed that Scott is actually working on it.

Keeping my fingers crossed we'll get to read the third arc at some point. Not holding my breath, though.

[JPK]

I've decided my best big audiobook project is going to be a second visit to Alistair Reynolds' Revelation Space Universe. He's released a couple new books since the last time I read any of these and I decided it's time to start again at the beginning.

I'm really curious how I'm going to react to these a second time though since it's been around 12 years now since I read the first book and it was pretty much the first scifi novel to really grip me and I'd heavily leaned towards fantasy before it. I wouldn't say I'm a scifi expert at this point but I'm definitely better read in the genre now and I'm curious if it'll hold up as well in truth as in memory.

This post has been edited by JPK: 08 February 2024 - 03:51 PM

[Macros]

 JPK, on 08 February 2024 - 01:11 AM, said:

 Tiste Simeon, on 07 February 2024 - 10:25 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 07 February 2024 - 07:55 PM, said:

 JPK, on 07 February 2024 - 06:39 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 07 February 2024 - 06:24 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 28 January 2024 - 05:36 AM, said:

Next up, time to finish The Tide series w the final book, titled, brilliantly, FINAL SURGE.

Just Finished. Melchiorri did a solid job wrapping this up. Somehow managed to raise the urgency and threat level even further than the previous books, give everyone sufficient time, and wrap all the main plotlines. Fun popcorn series, i would read more from this author again.

Next, Sebastien du Castell's THE MALEVOLENT SEVEN. A few hours in already and i am loving it.

Have you read any other de Castell yet?

Nope. I have GREATCOATS in the trp but this popped up in a couple of /r threads and i was feeling the vibe.

The narrator for the Malevolent Seven is brilliant! Really nails the sort of cynical and darkly funny vibe of the protagonist.

So I haven't actually read The Malevolent Seven yet, but it looks like the narrator is Joe Jameson. Joe has narrated pretty much all of de Castell's novels and they're always great.

Macros, if you see this, have you read the Argosi books yet? If so, how do they compare to Spellslinger?

Have read the latest one still to read but if you liked spellslinger you should like the argosi

[Abyss]

 JPK, on 08 February 2024 - 01:11 AM, said:

 Tiste Simeon, on 07 February 2024 - 10:25 PM, said:

...
The narrator for the Malevolent Seven is brilliant! Really nails the sort of cynical and darkly funny vibe of the protagonist.

So I haven't actually read The Malevolent Seven yet, but it looks like the narrator is Joe Jameson. Joe has narrated pretty much all of de Castell's novels and they're always great.

Macros, if you see this, have you read the Argosi books yet? If so, how do they compare to Spellslinger?

I have to agree, the narrator is exceptional. His range of voices and accents is insane, i had to check that there were not multiple narrators. If he's done Castell's other work, i'm moving it up the trp.

[Abyss]

 pat5150, on 08 February 2024 - 02:17 PM, said:

What ultimately killed Bakker was that he was published by the Overlook Press, an imprint that knows nothing about SFF and didn't really know anything about how to promote the series.

It appears that the books did well enough in the UK, but they were handled by Orbit.

As Abyss mentioned, Bakker still gets more attention than I ever thought he would down the line on Reddit and elsewhere. We can only hope that a true SFF publisher would show interest in publishing the final series, so that we can know how it all ends.

But for this to happen, Bakker would need to have at least a working manuscript, even unfinished, so that a book deal could be signed. I read somewhere that Bakker's brother claimed that Scott is actually working on it.

Keeping my fingers crossed we'll get to read the third arc at some point. Not holding my breath, though.

All good points right down to the scepticism, sadly.

A good publisher could likely do some smart marketing to get the first seven books back out there... just market it as YA and lean in on the resulting outrage and public expressions of horror and disgust . The booktok rage alone would be glorious.