A&A The Official Matthew Woodring Stover Discussion Thread

They're not. Althoooough, in the Barra books, Stover portrays angels as "outside powers", much like the being Ma'elKoth summons early on in HD. And the Barra books take place in Earth's past, while the Caine books take place in Earth's future. But other than that, no relation.

 

When I asked over on Matt's blog whether or not Hari and Barra's Earth was one-and-the-same I was told the answer was "beyond [my] pay grade".

He was probably just throwing me a bone, but I'm going to cherish that bone, dammit!

 

Mr. Stover,

this one is totally unrelated to SW. I create a little music now and then and have bridge that goes like this

...
It was fun while it lasted, I'm happy now it's over
She was too intense, like a book by Matthew Stover
...

Is that ok with you? You can listen here:

http://soundcloud.com/alienarea/body-function

Best regards

Holger Bohlien

 

That's pretty funny.

I don't imagine I can object, given that the reference is to my public persona, as the writer of several books that are (arguably) too intense.

And I also think it's pretty funny.

 

The cover is up on Amazon and it is awesome!!

 

I know that it would be preferable for the creative mind behind all these books we love so much if anyone who hasn't read Blade of Tyshalle yet bought the eBook instead of a used copy, but... well, seeing how some people just don't read eBooks and should still get a chance, I think the used book option is best right now. Maybe if we combine it with a voluntary royalties payment c/o Matt.

What did I want to say again? Oh, I've been looking for a used copy myself, and the amazon.com marketplace seems to have hit a hidden pocket of those. Quite cheap, as well, compared to prices I've seen over the last year. Just wanted to give people around here a headstart while Matt has a serious talk about royalties with me... While you're at it, preorder Caine's Law.

BTW, I'm about to start Jericho Moon. Finally. Funny how you never get around to doing things anymore.

 

Well, this is not only nice, but might also make me wait for the paperback of Luceno's novel. But maybe not, as buying the magazine isn't such a hard thing to do. Let's not overcomplicate things.

I guess I'll have to give feedback about Jericho Moon someday, don't I?

 

No obligation, real or implied.

 

I do feel one, though, as I was happy to be along for the ride. And for the book to create a ride of my own, making me happily think back to the time I read it (just as with the first volume that I read the unbelievable amount of three years earlier).

While I could live without realistic ultra-violence (that's what will always bug me a bit about your books, isn't it ), your prose really has a lot going for it. What's more, going into the book I wondered how it would feel to have "just another" adventure of Barra and gang with the knowledge that there wouldn't be any continuation, but as soon as I realized that this was indeed an "epic game" to the first book's "business as usual", I was really intrigued. Interesting way of dealing with the religious themes and details.

As this is no place for a review or plot spoilers, let me just add that I'm really looking forward to finally getting to know this Caine guy. Even though I feel odd talking to artists and telling them that I like their art, because it's always got that Abba "Thank you for the music" subtext. I wish I'd rather become a fully fledged artist myself and then tell everyone that I was influenced by people like, for example, Matt Stover.

 

That's the highest praise there is.

 

Cool, when I start reenacting some of Caine's kills, I'll be sure to tell everyone I was inspired by Matthew Stover.

Anyway, finally picked up a copy of Heroes Die. I'm really enjoying it so far. I'm still not far enough to where I understand how this strange world works, but it is certainly a telling statement about pop culture. I'll post more when I've finished.

One thing I'd like to compliment is your way of bringing the reader into the world, if that makes sense. Most of us have read fantasy books where the writer spends paragraphs upon paragraphs explaining how their world works, severely hurting the pace of the novel. Heroes Die really just drops you in it, and lets you sort it out for yourself based on how the characters act. When writing, is this something that comes naturally, or do you really have to plot out what is going to be explained, when, by what character, etc?

 

It's a reasonably simple rule of thumb: never tell the readers anything they don't need to know right now.

One of the key tricks to effective storytelling is to make exposition read like scene. Nobody gets it right all the time (least of all me), but when you do, it's hard to beat.

 

This was quite a while ago, but I finished Blade of Tyshalle.

And That. Was. Awesome.

I really don't know whether I like it better than Heroes Die. I might. Man...Kollberg going nuts was awesome...Just loved the Blind God, everything.

But it'll be a while till I read Caine Black Knife.

 

Oh geez, ever read any Dickens? I think I've just figured out why I'm not too big on him . He's got great characters, but in my humble opinion devotes too much time to exposition. Makes for somewhat sleepy reading.

Another question; do you have any favorite fantasy books or series that you think any fan of the genre just has to read? I'm pretty new to the genre, and I've read some more popular stuff, such as George R.R. Martin (really enjoyed), Robert Jordan (okay, I guess), and Terry Brooks (bleh) I'd like to find some series that I probably wouldn't find on my own, since a lot of the stuff I like I find on dumb luck.

 

You hit the nail on the head on why I hated Great Expectations. Waaaaaay too much description of setting. Though somehow, A Christmas Carol was a much easier read.

 

There's a reason for the writing diahrrhea. Back in that time, Dickens released these stories as short installments in a newspaper or journal or something and he was essentially being paid by the word.

Mo' Words=Mo' Money

 

That, plus they were serialized, so readers would have wanted as much as possible each month. For the same reason people today might be pissed that their monthly comic is short, Dickens readers might have been mad if he delivered something easy to fly through.

You'll get no argument from me that he's a phenomenal writer, and his books are actually much improved by reading only one chapter at a time, IMO. That's how they were intended, anyway.

 

Actually there was often more than 1 chapter in each number of All the Year Round. For scans of Great Expectations, if you're interested to see how it looked as originally published, check out this site: http://dickens.stanford.edu/archive/great/expectations.html

 

Read The Lies of Locke Lamora. Now. And then read the sequel, Red Seas Under Red Skies. They come with the Stover seal of approval. You can read his endorsement, among others', here.

 

I'll definitely check that out. I want to say that I've heard the name of the series, but I'm not completely sure.

 

Ahoy.

Any Caine fans out there have 30 minutes to put him over the top vs. Zaphod Beebelbrox in the Suvudu Cage Match.

VOTE RIGHT NOW!

 

I'm so disappointed that I didn't get to vote in that Caine vs Zaphod battle. Would have loved to have read more of your awesome write ups.

If you get around to reading this: just wanted to say that I finished Blade of Tyshalle recently. Absolutely fantastic book. I'll admit I was somewhat confused over the nature of the Blind God (originally, I assumed that the Blind God was simply a metaphor for an awakened Ma'elKoth, though it seemed that it was actually enacting a strong influence over him (Him?). And ultimately, I think part of the appeal was that he was difficult to fully conceptualize, yet still came off as a huge threat. Will be a fun reread.

Don't suppose you know if there are any plans to reprint it? Seems strange to me that the whole series is readily available in paperback, but a new copy of Blade would cost me about $160. It's a great book, but that's a little steep.

Got around to reading The Lies of Locke Lamora. It's an absolutely fantastic novel.

Fun fact: go to Blade of Tyshalle's amazon page, and you'll see a glowing review from Scott Lynch.

 

Have to agree with Hav, Lies of Locke Lamora is brilliant stuff, Red Seas isn't quite as stellar but still very good. With luck the long-awaited 3rd book, Republic of Thieves, comes out next month!