Moderators: kevinswatch, Orlion
If anyone posts any non-spoiler review blurbs, I would be grateful.Difficult but worthwhile, this complicated and emotional continuation of the Thomas Covenant saga is exactly what Donaldson's fans have been hoping for.
Perhaps what Av meant, and something I said myself before I deleted my post twice, was that the beginning of FR felt/sounded/read just like Runes. It was no better in terms of the writing itself. [Okay, I just deleted another big chunk. Damn, this is a hard line to walk.]Seareach wrote:I find it funny when people say that. I just don't get it. You need all that stuff (the first two chapters) and it couldn't go before the cliffhanger at the end of Runes, and if you slapped it onto the end of Runes you'd lose your cliffhanger. And, well.... <shrug> Besides... oh, never mind.Avatar wrote:Pretty much agree. Only read the first two chapters...feels like they should have been part of the end of Runes. But I have hopes...
My impression was that it's better than simply going out and buying it on release day, but I can't find the thread where we discussed that. I did find the GI post about it, but that post doesn't explicitly answer your question, as far as I can tell.Ok, possibly a dumb question but, a few of you have mentioned pre-ordering in order to boost numbers. Does that have a different impact than if I just go buy at BAM on release day?
So the only thing I can figure is that more pre-orders might indicate to book sellers that they should stock more books at their stores, which will help fulfill the self-fulling prophesy he was talking about above.The crucial point is this: pre-orders from Amazon “count” for bestseller lists. In fact, all pre-orders are included as “first-day sales”. As I’ve explained elsewhere in this interview, being a “bestseller” measures the immediate speed with which a book sells, not the ultimate quantity of sales. Therefore one might be inclined to consider ultimate quantity more important than immediate speed. However, “bestsellerdom” has an undeniable perceptual power. On an intangible level, a book which touches, say, #14 on the NY Times list is considered to be an entire order of magnitude more successful than a book which touches #16. And on a tangible level, bookstores will stock more copies of bestsellers, and will stock those copies longer, than any book which does not achieve bestsellerdom. The results are akin to a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more copies a bookstore stocks, and the longer those copies are stocked, the greater the likelihood (duh) that some significant percentage of those copies will actually sell. Which has a direct bearing on ultimate quantity. In practice, being a bestseller tends to be self-perpetuating. Sadly, *not* being a bestseller *also* tends to be self-perpetuating. Hence the (otherwise irrational) emphasis that publishers--and reviewers--and bookstores--place on bestsellers.
When my agent first began trying to find a publisher for “The Runes of the Earth,” I was horrified to learn that most US publishers considered me a “has-been” simply because nothing that I’ve written since “White Gold Wielder” has been on the NY Times bestseller list. Enough pre-orders for “Fatal Revenant” could give my professional career a real boost.
(04/04/2007)
) We can cross that bridge when it gets here, and the issue can be handled through PMs. There you go! That's an idea.The Donaldson Street Team - coming to a city near you.
People are always attaching pictures and banners to signature files. If someone was artistically inclined, they could make something up for an upcoming release. I don't have said talent, but I'd be more than happy to put it in my zillions of forum profiles/signatures. Mentioning it anywhere on blogs you contribute to helps hitcounts on Google and such, so that probably helps increase interest and awareness as well. Ohhh, I don't know, what else?
