Official Traitor thread. (poss. spoilers)

[image=http://borg.cs.dal.ca/~creelman/Traitor.jpg]

I know it is almost a year away, but does any one know anything about it???

Don't mind me, just adding an image

 

Um... it's going to be a book?

 

beafet, you're kidding right?

 

i m serious

 

I don't think that it makes sense to speculate seriously on Traitor yet. Without knowing what happens in the next few books, it would be sort of silly. After all, what would it have been like speculating about the post SBS books if we hadn't known about the death of Jimmy?

 

Deadfly serious!

 

Matthew Stover tends to write fairly long books, and very painfully honest. Salvatore's said some good stuff about him. Here's some excerpts from an interview:

GC: Now you're working on a novel for the Star Wars: The New Jedi Order series. Can you tell us how that came about?

MWS: I was approached by Jenni Smith, who had formerly edited Barra & Company over at Roc, but was by that time working with Shelly Shapiro at Del Rey. They had a specific book in the SW:TNJO story arc that they thought I'd do very well. I confess that it took a little convincing, but when Jenni laid out the broad concept of the story they wanted me to tell, I became very interested indeed. Jenni and Shelly went to bat for me with the folks at Lucasfilm Licensing -- who of course had no idea who I am; most of the other TNJO authors are better-known. Jenni sent them copies of Jericho Moon and Heroes Die, and they must have liked what they read, because here I am.

GC: It's an odd dichotomy for a Next Wave author to be writing something so mainstream. But then, Kevin J. Anderson says he's seen the sales of his non-licensed-property novels rise quite a bit from his recognition. Was there ever, in the back of your mind, that hope of "luring" some of those Star Wars readers over to the darker fringes?

MWS: It's not exactly PC for a Star Wars author to be luring fans to the dark side, is it?

A Star Wars book is absolutely a boost to my career; it would be for anyone in the field, I think.

And the Next Wave is where you find it: I never set out to limit myself to the Next Wave model, that's just a name for where my books fall. Of the writers we've been talking about, I'm probably leaning more toward the mainstream already. Hell, I'm looking forward to the Next Wave model becoming the mainstream. I don't see any particular merit in being a fringe writer; I just want to write good books. And get paid for it.

GC: Working in the Star Wars mythos is quite a departure for someone who's known for hard-hitting, gritty writing. Do you feel at all limited by what you can write? How have you adapted to telling a Star Wars tale?

MWS: Anybody who thinks Star Wars can't be hard-hitting hasn't been reading The New Jedi Order. My novel, Traitor, is going to be just about as gritty as it gets. It's in no way as graphic as Heroes Die or Blade, of course, but you can do a lot with understatement and suggestion, and the central conflict is as intense as anything I've ever written.

Frankly, I'm expecting Traitor to blow some fans' minds.

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For the whole interview, go here

 

What do we know about this book?

1)The title- Traitor. My guess is that this is one of those titles like VotF and DFR that refers to several things. NJO is full of traitors.

2)The author- Matthew Woodring Stover. Lots of violence, lots of morally questionable behavior by "good" characters. This guy scares me. It'll be interesting to see how his style mixes with the more "family-friendly" atmosphere of Star Wars.

 

I asked him if he could give me any details or hints, but he said something about a contract not letting him say anything about it.

 

Thanks for posting that interview Mastadge. It was very insightful

 

Dark, Gritty, Mindblowing... I can live with that.

 

lots of morally questionable behavior by "good" characters

It's funny you should mention that, considering Stover's thoughts:

"There is no moral ambiguity in my work.

"Did everybody hear that? Let me say it again, louder: THERE IS NO MORAL AMBIGUITY IN MY WORK.

"It only looks ambiguous if you insist on framing a story's conflict in terms of Good vs. Evil. It's not that simple. Real life does not operate in those terms. Neither does my fiction."

 

Wat Book does it follow? Its probly Leia killing Sesh or...Possible Spoiler.















The shamed ones finally revolt against the vong. They are led by someone like Anor or something.

 

It follows Allston's Enemy Lines duology and precedes Williams' Destiny's Road hardcover.

 

it makes good do questionable things? So, Ganner and Kyp become Vong hitmen, like Jules and Vinnie in Pulp Fiction

 

Isn't it rumored that this novel is going to focus on Jacen some more?

 

yeah, maybe he gets offed in this one

 

Originally, I thought this was supposed to be an Anaikn book, but I guess that ain't gonna happen ...

wk

 

You never know.

 

I'm going to regret writing that, aren't I?

 

Nom Anor finally defects, and reveals Viqi's a traitor, but he has a hard time convincing the ex-NR. My .02.

 

yeah good idea.


Why dont you guys head to the eu comm. forum and vote for me against jag!

 

Ah, yes, here's that Salvatore quote (from 7/28/01):

"Troy Denning rocks. So does Elaine Cunningham, and so does Matt Stover. All three have different strengths that really stand out. Troy can tell a BIG story, keeping control of all the side details, as well as anyone. Elaine is simply beautiful in fleshing out emotions and conflict within characters, and Matt can make you shiver - even more so because the pain he hits you with is honest! And of course, no one needs to praise Mr. Allston (I've never met him, but I look forward to the experience) to you guys! "

 

Mastadge- Yes, I've seen that quote. It's why I placed the word "good" in quotation marks. I personally disagree with most of Stover's philosophy, though he's still a great writer.

 

I am really looking forward to this book as well. I haven't read any of Stover's other work, but plan on reading at least Hero's Die sometime in the near future. I really think he is going to bring a sense of in your face realism that does show he isn't afraid to push the moral questions. I really expect this book to be excellant.