"What has gone before"

[Berenford]

First post:

When I picked up Runes of the Earth (don't worry, no spoilers) last weekend, I commented to my girlfriend that reading the "What has gone before" bits of each of the books is interesting because one gets a further insight into the aspects of the books that Donaldson takes to be most important.

But when I finished The Wounded Land today (I'm re-reading the first six books before starting Runes of the Earth), I moved on to "What has gone before" in The One Tree, and read this:

"He learns that Andelain is not a place of evil: rather, it has become a place of power where the dead gather around a Forestal, who was once his Bloodguard servant Hile Troy, and several of his former friends -- the Lords Mhoram and Elena, the Bloodguard Bannor, and the Giant Saltheart Foamfollower."

So, I gather that Donaldson didn't write that summary, at least!

Dr Berenford

[danlo]

I thought Lester Del Rey was responsible for WHGB...

[Berenford]

I seriously hope Lester didn't really think Hile Troy was a Bloodguard! Perhaps he just assigned writing it to some assistant?

[Variol Farseer]

Funny. I have the Del Rey hardcover of The One Tree (6th printing, 1982), and it says 'who was once a man named Hile Troy'. What edition did you find this . . . er . . . curious misprint in?

If your copy is from an older printing, I suppose the error was corrected after the book originally went to press. On the other hand, if your copy is newer than mine, someone must have introduced the error to a text that was correct as written.

Strange days indeed.

[variol son]

I'm sure that SRD says in the GI that he wrote the What Has Gone Before in Runes of the Earth himself, so it would just be an error on his part I guess. Someone should let him know.

Sum sui generis
Vs

[duchess of malfi]

I believe that Mr. Donaldson told us at Elohimfest that the WHGB in Runes is the only one he has personally written.

[kevinswatch]

I think the obvious conclusion is that Hile Troy really WAS a member of the Bloodguard. It's a conspiracy! Let's flood SRD with gradual interview questions! Heh, ok, don't mind me.-jay

[dlbpharmd]

Welcome to the Watch, Berenford - as mentioned above, SRD did write the WHGB for ROTE, and I think you will enjoy reading it. SRD definitely gives some different perspectives there.

[Berenford]

Funny. I have the Del Rey hardcover of The One Tree (6th printing, 1982), and it says 'who was once a man named Hile Troy'. What edition did you find this . . . er . . . curious misprint in?

If your copy is from an older printing, I suppose the error was corrected after the book originally went to press. On the other hand, if your copy is newer than mine, someone must have introduced the error to a text that was correct as written.

Strange days indeed.

I'm not sure how to determine the edition. Inside it says: "First published in the USA by Del Rey Books 1982; First published in Great Britain by Fontana Paperbacks 1982." No mention of printing. So, first UK edition?

[Berenford]

Welcome to the Watch, Berenford - as mentioned above, SRD did write the WHGB for ROTE, and I think you will enjoy reading it. SRD definitely gives some different perspectives there.

I've already read the What Has Gone Before of Runes of the Earth. (At least up until the events at the end of The Wounded Land, where I was when I bought Runes of the Earth.) Yes, interesting perspectives...

By the way, I waited so long to buy the book because I had previously seen that there was an audiobook of Runes of the Earth coming out, and I waited for that. Amazon listed it as being unabridged, and cheap, so I pre-ordered it. Good thing I noticed before opening it that it was abridged; I returned it. I see that there is an unabridged version, but it is too expensive for me.

Thanks for the welcome, btw!

[Variol Farseer]

I'm not sure how to determine the edition. Inside it says: "First published in the USA by Del Rey Books 1982; First published in Great Britain by Fontana Paperbacks 1982." No mention of printing. So, first UK edition?

Ah! So it's the Fontana paperback. Back in 1982, when you typeset a book, the typesetter had to type it into the imagesetting machine by hand, word for word. Because of the differences between U.S. and U.K. spelling (as well as quotation marks and other details), books had to be re-set for the British market; and small errors would creep in during the re-typing. My guess is that the typesetter goofed.

[Avatar]

I must have the same one. In fact, somewhere I mention being glad that he'd written the WHGB himself, because of that very error. However, VF's explanation makes sense.

(And I thought that the WHGB of Runes was much better than any other. There really was some insight into the story in that one.)

I'll check and see which edition I've got.

--Avatar

[dlbpharmd]

Welcome to the Watch, Berenford - as mentioned above, SRD did write the WHGB for ROTE, and I think you will enjoy reading it. SRD definitely gives some different perspectives there.

I've already read the What Has Gone Before of Runes of the Earth. (At least up until the events at the end of The Wounded Land, where I was when I bought Runes of the Earth.) Yes, interesting perspectives...

By the way, I waited so long to buy the book because I had previously seen that there was an audiobook of Runes of the Earth coming out, and I waited for that. Amazon listed it as being unabridged, and cheap, so I pre-ordered it. Good thing I noticed before opening it that it was abridged; I returned it. I see that there is an unabridged version, but it is too expensive for me.

Thanks for the welcome, btw!

I saw that on Amazon the other day, for around $32? And it's abridged?

[Berenford]

I saw that on Amazon the other day, for around $32? And it's abridged?

As far as I can tell, there are two versions. One read by Anton Lesser, and one by Scott Brick. Amazon.co.uk advertised the former as unabridged, so I ordered it, and was disappointed to find that it was abridged (6 CDs, I think) so I returned it. But since you mentioned a $32 one, I looked at that, and it again says unabridged, but explicitly says "22 CDs"! So I ordered it, and it should arrive soon. I bet it is the Lesser version (pun intended), but am hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

[dlbpharmd]

Please let us know when you receive your CD set. I have it on my waiting list pending your post.

[Berenford]

Please let us know when you receive your CD set. I have it on my waiting list pending your post.

Got it today, and it is indeed the unabridged version with 22 CDs! What a great price!

[Avatar]

MAn, what a weird concept. I just don't have the patience to have a book read to me. I read a lot faster than people talk, not to mention the fact that I prefer being able to look back a few pages to consider something in the light of new information.

Still, whatever floats your boat, but it's a unfathomable thing for me.

--Avatar

[Berenford]

MAn, what a weird concept. I just don't have the patience to have a book read to me. I read a lot faster than people talk, not to mention the fact that I prefer being able to look back a few pages to consider something in the light of new information.

Still, whatever floats your boat, but it's a unfathomable thing for me.

--Avatar

Can you read while driving, doing the laundry, walking, doing the dishes, etc.? I found that by using audiobooks, I read <i>ten times</i> as many books per year than before, because of using all this "lost" time. Audiobooks are in addition to normal reading, not a replacement for it.

I have the hardcopies as well, and use them for "looking back" like you say (see, e.g., my "discrepancy between editions?" forum topic).

[Avatar]

I was waiting for that question. But I wouldn't be able to concentrate on the story while driving for example.

And how much driving etc. do you have to do to listen to the whole thing? Took me two days to read Runes, (in between everything else I usually have to do) and I took my time with it. (The biggest drawback is that as soon as you start a new book, its over!)

Anyway, as I said, far be it for me to say don't do it that way. I guess the important thing is that you get the tale, regardless of how. Just that it doesn't work for me in that format.

Hope you enjoy it.

--Avatar

[drew]

how does an audiobook sound?
Does the Reader have much emotion? Does it sound like (for example) an actor reading it, or more like a public speaker?
What kind of accent does the reader have?