Kevin's Watch

Thanks - I'll be here all week. Two drink minimum and don't forget to tip your waitress.

Must...shield...eyes...from...Runes...spoilers.

Yes, I know. I suck. I'm still on page 160 of Runes. Hehe.

Anyway...yeah. It's a shame to see that IF had to bother SRD in the GI about this stupid thing, especially since we resolved this thing months ago. And I'm sure that the question was just backlogged, so please, let's not let this become some new thing that we have to resolve. It's already been resolved. And I think we all did a fine job in resolving it. (Note to self, stop saying the word "resolved". Heh.) Unless I'm forgetting something.

So yeah...I donno. Can we just put this behind us? And like I said, we already went through this whole thing. Is there anything that I'm missing that I have to talk about? If anyone is still having problems or anything, feel free to send me a PM or something.-jay

Anyway, it's a shame, I tell you. Back on the old ezboard I never dreamed that one day we will have the very author of our beloved sagas discussing his views with us. We should count ourselves lucky and not bother him with insanity (pun intended).

How many of us Tolkien devotees would give anything to have JRRT on a GI like that!

amanibhavam wrote:How many of us Tolkien devotees would give anything to have JRRT on a GI like that!

What a treasure-trove of information that would have been.

After I first learned about the GI, it took me about 4 seconds to realize the unbelievable gift that Donaldson is giving us responding to questions the way he does!

The fact that he may step back or withhold interesting and innocent information from us now because of that idiot makes my blood boil!!!
And you know that's what SRD's going to do.
His response was good natured but "more careful" can only mean "less".
And I don't blame him.
SRD doesn't know IF.
All he knows is that a fan got too much info and was upset.

SRD mentioned something else in the GI, I think.
He said that he never saves anything.
He'll rework something and then trash the old.
Does that mean, and I'm getting sick just thinking about this, that there's no possibility in the future we're going to get anything like "The History of the Land" (like the History of Middle Earth)?

I was really hoping that with this forum here he would release different versions of his works.
Maybe after he finishes The Chronicles.
I'd love it if he gave us all *HERE* his notes and versions to the First Chronicles to lessen the pain of suffering inbetween releases of the 3rd.

I'd love to see his original characters.
Didn't he say that Mhoram and Foamfollower started out very different from thier final forms.

I'm rereading what I just wrote and hope I can be understood.

High Lord Tolkien wrote: The fact that he may step back or withhold interesting and innocent information from us now because of that idiot makes my blood boil!!!
And you know that's what SRD's going to do.
His response was good natured but "more careful" can only mean "less".
And I don't blame him.
SRD doesn't know IF.
All he knows is that a fan got too much info and was upset.

IMHO: I don't think SRD is going to let one complaint make him "step back" or "withhold interesting and innocent information". I think we should give him more credit than that. Answers provided in the Gradual Interview clearly show that he's not going to give away anything of significance relating to the Last Chronicles.

I think we need to look at SRD's reply to IF in which he said "I sincerely regret that I ever made the statement that led to this particular spoiler". He probably knows that IF is not/will not be the only one that says "hey, I wish I didn't know that". I don't think SRD is thinking "oh Kevin's Watch...what a bunch of #&*(@! for doing this" I think he's thinking "*@(#@!! why did *I* ever say that". SRD is ultimately responsible for the spoiler and his answer in the GI shows he's willing to take ownership for it. After all, it is a whopping "spoiler".

Does this mean that he's going to now say "hey, I should be more careful with what I say". I don't think so! He's always been careful (we can see that demonstrated in the answers he gives in the GI). He just slipped up and it was said such a long time ago he probably thought no one would remember.

As has been discussed previously in this thread, IF probably sent his "question" to SRD before the whole thing was sorted out. And I think we've all been guilty of doing things in the heat of the moment. Maybe IF regrets it but what is he going to do about it now? And what can any of us do about it? Nothing.

SRD is a big boy. I believe he wouldn't have answered the question if he didn't think it warrented an answer.

So-o-o-o

I don't think it a "whopping spoiler" at all. Like I said before, it's pure logic. And I had it figured out long before I read that interview. All it did was confirm what I assumed was the natural course of the story. Just because we have that doesn't mean the story is spoiled at all. It's all in the "how?" and in the "what does it all mean?"

There is alot of story left to unravel, and so much is going to happen. The ultimate ending is going to be spectacular!!

SRD should NOT feel bad about this at all. It really upsets me that one person can do something like this. It's so petty.

Personally, I didn't see that particular "spoiler" coming, but nor do I find it has spoiled anything. The reason are as follows:

1) It's far too vague to have given anything away. That statement can be interpreted in countless ways.

2) I have more faith in SRD as an author than to believe he'd reveal something of any great significance. My (admittedly limited) experiences of him via the GI, the Elohimfest footage and the Q&A he did in Manchester suggest he is cautious and reserved at all times. Trust in SRD's authorial integrity.

CovenantJr wrote:... the Elohimfest footage ...

someone hook me up with a pointer, please ...

www.stephenrdonaldson.com

Go to "from the author" then click on structured interviews, then June 2004. There are several clips in there that are a must-have!