I thought Agents of Artifice was OK, so I got The Purifying Fire yesterday, hoping that it would pass time well.
Today, I read it straight through from cover to cover in 2.5 hours, but I'm quite dissatisfied. The book is riddled with annoying typos, and I thought the story lacked depth, with many things being glossed over by the author. I didn't really see the point of Chandra and Gideon's detour in Velrav's plane, and not a great deal came together until the last few chapters of the book.
I'm beginning to suspect that perhaps the cycle time for writing new books to accompany product releases is getting too short these days, and have great misgivings about whether its worth my while reading future titles.
Before the novel was published, there was an in-house rewrite of Laura's version of the Velrav incident--she has said so herself on multiple occasions.
Though this does not address all your concerns of the book, it is one of the more irking matters of WOTC's editing; not least of all the lack of a decent spellcheck.
I do agree w/ the lack of plot depth, but I find that most TPF enthusiasts enjoy either one or both Gideon and Chandra and their interactions with one another.
Actually, having had the fortune to grill Laura on the Wizards forum, many curious minds found out that the deadline and scheduling for the novel was really tight for her (only compounded by the fact that she was new to the IP), so the time argument still holds some water.
All things being equal, though, I'm sure TPF and AU had similar publishing schedules and deadlines--as both were printed post-Mending--and the quality of each is worlds apart.
I think the real obstacle Wizards has to tackle is building a sizable stable of talented authors who really understand the IP... and keep them as authors. Doug is good at what he does on Creative. I really like a lot of his articles, but as a novelist, he tried something too experimental with AU and floundered quite a bit.
EDIT: AoA's Ari was new blood, but so is TPF's Laura. Personally, I liked both, but most would agree that AoA was superior to TPF.
Considering we can't even tell what Doug does on creative vs. what everyone else does, I don't think that's a fair statement Skater.
You can gripe about his articles and nis novel all you want, but until you can bring proof that what he does for his ACTUAL job is somehow subpar compared to what everyone else on creative brings to the table, you should perhaps watch what you say.
Doug is very enthusiastic at his job, and enthusism often translates into doing a good job.
The fact is, he's a worldbuilding and the worlds have been pretty great as of late.
* I have a feeling that he's forced to write Savor the Flavor and that's why it's not as good at Matt's. And as for ALara Unbroken... well we can't all be great writers.
I was a little disappointed in The Purifying Fire when reading after Agents of Artifice, but both had their upsides and downsides. I find it interesting (and it makes sense) that we got a female author to write the novel for a female character, it makes me think that a female audience reading the novel could relate to it better as opposed to a novel like The Brother's War or Agents of Artifice, the fact that she's a romance writer also provides a new insight to the characters and their relationships, Laura did a fairly decent job on her first novel with these characters. I'm also a guy that tends to read more action-packed fantasy/science fiction books (Lord of the Rings and such), so while I appreciate developing character relationships, I also get a little bored when characters start being in that "denying that they like each other" stage (which is probably why I hate Twilight so much... In addition to ruining vampires for everyone). Agents of Artifice was one of my favorite reads lately, it was really refreshing to read it after reading (or rather, putting up with) Alara Unbroken, it had a nice plot and great character development, my only real complaint was the fact that Ari killed off my favorite character (why Kallist!?).
As for Doug, well, he should stick to just developing the setting and not the actual writing. He's creative, but his writing skills are lacking (also in addition to changing my perception of Elspeth greatly, she got KO'd by a rhino, what the hell is that?).
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Wizard's has a long way to go to establish a planeswalker novel line that can actually compete against other fantasy genres. let's not even talk about the recent block novels.
they could actually put a little more attention to the typos. these are supposedly the books that tell the story of the premiere characters of this multiverse. a book containing such important characters shouldn't be plagued by typos every other page.
on TPF, it was different. i found it lacking in story depth but there were good points to the novel as well. i do think that Laura shaped Chandra like no other (male) fantasy writer can.
with the recent news that curse of the chain veil just got sacked, what the f*** is happening there at wizard's?
Considering we can't even tell what Doug does on creative vs. what everyone else does, I don't think that's a fair statement Skater.
You can gripe about his articles and nis novel all you want, but until you can bring proof that what he does for his ACTUAL job is somehow subpar compared to what everyone else on creative brings to the table, you should perhaps watch what you say.
Doug is very enthusiastic at his job, and enthusism often translates into doing a good job.
The fact is, he's a worldbuilding and the worlds have been pretty great as of late.
* I have a feeling that he's forced to write Savor the Flavor and that's why it's not as good at Matt's. And as for ALara Unbroken... well we can't all be great writers.
I stand by my opinions on Doug. Caranthir gives me infractions for it all the time, but I don't care. What I do know, is that Magic's flavor and Magic's books have gone downhill since he took over.
Does this man look qualified to work in Magic creative? But regardless, let me stop before I hurt someone's feelings.
Haha, I apologise for interrupting this thread with an opinion of Doug. I thought he was part of the world-building process and I've really enjoyed the most recent planes. But some people like him, some don't. That should be the end of the matter.
As for TPF, though I have thoroughly enjoyed the novel, it was far from perfect. And though I hate to think of it in such a way, I hope the mistakes found there can provide a stepping stone for future writers who intend to work on the franchise.
I stand by my opinions on Doug. Caranthir gives me infractions for it all the time, but I don't care. What I do know, is that Magic's flavor and Magic's books have gone downhill since he took over.
I don't think Doug's in charge of the stories, Brady is. And again, magic settings have been getting better and better. Kamigawa was great, Ravnica was excellent, Alara was impressive, and Zendikar's great. So i don't see how creative's suffered. (And i think the block books have suffered because they are putting thier resources into the planeswalker novels, making those suceed.)
* Also alot of people (not me) enjoyed the planeswalker guide to Alara. And Doug worked on that.
Does this man look qualified to work in Magic creative? But regardless, let me stop before I hurt someone's feelings.
Mark Rosewater dressed up in a chicken costume and he's still the best designer.
Mark also has a game where he imitates a meerkat. That's not a criticism, I think it's hilarious.
Anyways, Doug didn't work on Ravnica, but he did start working for creative design on Kamigawa. Dunno if he worked on Time Spiral or not, but I'm mostly just digressing. I agree that the settings have been great.
From his "resume" Doug is a web designer, who wrote some fair flavor texts. He did a good job at designing the MTG website.
He's NOT a professional writer. I do like some of his Savor the Flavor articles, but I think Matt did a better job. Matt's just more of an artist.
Alara showed that he needs a lot more practice, or maybe just more time, before he's ready for novels.
I didn't think Skater was talking about his appearance when he posted that, I thought he was talking about the fact that Doug's education is in programing and philosophy, not art or literature
Goats! Jacob van Lunen was right. If I had to choose between killing people with goats and eating ice cream, I'd definately pick killing people with goats.
I was a little disappointed in The Purifying Fire when reading after Agents of Artifice, but both had their upsides and downsides. I find it interesting (and it makes sense) that we got a female author to write the novel for a female character, it makes me think that a female audience reading the novel could relate to it better as opposed to a novel like The Brother's War or Agents of Artifice, the fact that she's a romance writer also provides a new insight to the characters and their relationships, Laura did a fairly decent job on her first novel with these characters. I'm also a guy that tends to read more action-packed fantasy/science fiction books (Lord of the Rings and such), so while I appreciate developing character relationships, I also get a little bored when characters start being in that "denying that they like each other" stage (which is probably why I hate Twilight so much... In addition to ruining vampires for everyone). Agents of Artifice was one of my favorite reads lately, it was really refreshing to read it after reading (or rather, putting up with) Alara Unbroken, it had a nice plot and great character development, my only real complaint was the fact that Ari killed off my favorite character (why Kallist!?).
As for Doug, well, he should stick to just developing the setting and not the actual writing. He's creative, but his writing skills are lacking (also in addition to changing my perception of Elspeth greatly, she got KO'd by a rhino, what the hell is that?).
Lord of the Rings and action...two things that shouldn't be in the same sentence. To address that KO, hey, she isn't perfect and the rhox got the jump on her. It happens. Finally, I'd rather read a writer with big ideas and bad writing than a writier with flat ideas and good writing (ala GRRM).
Anyway, I felt TPF was a great example of quality>quantity. Something terribly lacking in today's fantasy market. Even if I do agree with you on some points, this was still a long LOOOOOONG time to revive a thread.
Warning for Necro. In the future be sure to double check the subforum guidelines.
Holy Necro Batman... To remind everyone, if a thread is more than 3 months old and you want to discuss a topic, just make a new one. If a thread is more than three YEARS old, don't respond no matter what might be in it...
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Today, I read it straight through from cover to cover in 2.5 hours, but I'm quite dissatisfied. The book is riddled with annoying typos, and I thought the story lacked depth, with many things being glossed over by the author. I didn't really see the point of Chandra and Gideon's detour in Velrav's plane, and not a great deal came together until the last few chapters of the book.
I'm beginning to suspect that perhaps the cycle time for writing new books to accompany product releases is getting too short these days, and have great misgivings about whether its worth my while reading future titles.
U Merfolk
UGW Bant
BGW Rock
WUB Stoneblade
RGW Zoo
Though this does not address all your concerns of the book, it is one of the more irking matters of WOTC's editing; not least of all the lack of a decent spellcheck.
I do agree w/ the lack of plot depth, but I find that most TPF enthusiasts enjoy either one or both Gideon and Chandra and their interactions with one another.
All things being equal, though, I'm sure TPF and AU had similar publishing schedules and deadlines--as both were printed post-Mending--and the quality of each is worlds apart.
I think the real obstacle Wizards has to tackle is building a sizable stable of talented authors who really understand the IP... and keep them as authors. Doug is good at what he does on Creative. I really like a lot of his articles, but as a novelist, he tried something too experimental with AU and floundered quite a bit.
EDIT: AoA's Ari was new blood, but so is TPF's Laura. Personally, I liked both, but most would agree that AoA was superior to TPF.
I completely 1000% percent disagree.
Considering we can't even tell what Doug does on creative vs. what everyone else does, I don't think that's a fair statement Skater.
You can gripe about his articles and nis novel all you want, but until you can bring proof that what he does for his ACTUAL job is somehow subpar compared to what everyone else on creative brings to the table, you should perhaps watch what you say.
The fact is, he's a worldbuilding and the worlds have been pretty great as of late.
* I have a feeling that he's forced to write Savor the Flavor and that's why it's not as good at Matt's. And as for ALara Unbroken... well we can't all be great writers.
As for Doug, well, he should stick to just developing the setting and not the actual writing. He's creative, but his writing skills are lacking (also in addition to changing my perception of Elspeth greatly, she got KO'd by a rhino, what the hell is that?).
they could actually put a little more attention to the typos. these are supposedly the books that tell the story of the premiere characters of this multiverse. a book containing such important characters shouldn't be plagued by typos every other page.
on TPF, it was different. i found it lacking in story depth but there were good points to the novel as well. i do think that Laura shaped Chandra like no other (male) fantasy writer can.
with the recent news that curse of the chain veil just got sacked, what the f*** is happening there at wizard's?
Magic since revised
I stand by my opinions on Doug. Caranthir gives me infractions for it all the time, but I don't care. What I do know, is that Magic's flavor and Magic's books have gone downhill since he took over.
Does this man look qualified to work in Magic creative? But regardless, let me stop before I hurt someone's feelings.
As for TPF, though I have thoroughly enjoyed the novel, it was far from perfect. And though I hate to think of it in such a way, I hope the mistakes found there can provide a stepping stone for future writers who intend to work on the franchise.
Wait... what's this about Curse?
Oh no, again the "hurt child" approach? You are given infractions for your constant tendency to slip into undeserved personal insults.
And you have, of course, a lot of evidence for that statement...:rolleyes:
...besides similar statements.
And again, it comes to directly insulting somebody based on his looks. Very mature of you. Stop it immediately. Last warning.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
I don't think Doug's in charge of the stories, Brady is. And again, magic settings have been getting better and better. Kamigawa was great, Ravnica was excellent, Alara was impressive, and Zendikar's great. So i don't see how creative's suffered. (And i think the block books have suffered because they are putting thier resources into the planeswalker novels, making those suceed.)
* Also alot of people (not me) enjoyed the planeswalker guide to Alara. And Doug worked on that.
Mark Rosewater dressed up in a chicken costume and he's still the best designer.
Anyways, Doug didn't work on Ravnica, but he did start working for creative design on Kamigawa. Dunno if he worked on Time Spiral or not, but I'm mostly just digressing. I agree that the settings have been great.
He's NOT a professional writer. I do like some of his Savor the Flavor articles, but I think Matt did a better job. Matt's just more of an artist.
Alara showed that he needs a lot more practice, or maybe just more time, before he's ready for novels.
I didn't think Skater was talking about his appearance when he posted that, I thought he was talking about the fact that Doug's education is in programing and philosophy, not art or literature
Mono-Black Control:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showpost.php?p=6080734&postcount=4432
Where does everyone think we'll see Chandra next?
Well, I don't think it likely she'll be heading back to Regatha, which is pretty much the only place we know of her having been.
We can expect her to track down whoever told her about the dragon scroll probably. Of course, we have no clue who that is... soooo...
yeah, but all of that is just circumstantial. We've no solid evidence of any kind, not even a gender.
While it likely is, we can't even begin to solidly solve that mystery.
Lord of the Rings and action...two things that shouldn't be in the same sentence. To address that KO, hey, she isn't perfect and the rhox got the jump on her. It happens. Finally, I'd rather read a writer with big ideas and bad writing than a writier with flat ideas and good writing (ala GRRM).
Anyway, I felt TPF was a great example of quality>quantity. Something terribly lacking in today's fantasy market.
Even if I do agree with you on some points, this was still a long LOOOOOONG time to revive a thread.
Warning for Necro. In the future be sure to double check the subforum guidelines.