The Jim Butcher Files: Dresden . Codex Alera . Cinder Spires & More

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by Hitch

I need another read of his tomes like a hole in my head. This is what comes of spreading oneself so thin as an author. I know that some of you like that Codex Alera/whatever series he's written, but I am decidedly NOT a fan, so I wish he'd get his ass in gear.

Hitch

What exactly do you mean by "spreading thin"? I agree he should start writing faster again. When he wrote Codex Alera books inbetween Dresden Files books, he ended up writing faster. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for his new flying ship series. Sure, he had unfortunate family events, but he needs to snap out of them eventually. I will not be convinced unless he at leasts puts out a novel a year again, preferably two like he did while writing Codex Alera.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

What exactly do you mean by "spreading thin"? I agree he should start writing faster again. When he wrote Codex Alera books inbetween Dresden Files books, he ended up writing faster. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for his new flying ship series. Sure, he had unfortunate family events, but he needs to snap out of them eventually. I will not be convinced unless he at leasts puts out a novel a year again, preferably two like he did while writing Codex Alera.

I'm with ya there, and I hope he bloody well makes it a Dresden. I mean, come ON. Yes, I get it, unhappy stuff there, but as they say in the biz of life--life goes on. I don't mean to sound an unsympathetic cow, but the distance between Dresdens feels as though it's been elongating like Silly Putty, y'know? Now, that could well just be a misperception, now, because I'm irritated, but the new book is grossly overdue.

Hitch

[FizzyWater]

My cynical side came out early on with this. I can't help thinking his ex-wife had to keep him in line. Now he's off playing with his Barbie doll...Mommie's no longer around to remind him to get back to work.

[pwalker8]

Jim Butcher's problem is that he hasn't come out with a new book since 2015. Four plus years is a long time to hold the interest of a fan base. It may be a bit difficult for him to rebuild his momentum as an author. It doesn't take a lot for an author to slide from "pre-order as soon as it's announced" to "yea, I'll get it when it drops in price" with portions of his fan base.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

My cynical side came out early on with this. I can't help thinking his ex-wife had to keep him in line. Now he's off playing with his Barbie doll...Mommie's no longer around to remind him to get back to work.

Y'know, it's funny--some of you may have been early discoverers of Laurell K. Hamilton (in the EARLY Anita Blakes, absolutely not the later) and I always felt, after book 5 (Bloody Bones), that it was her former husband that did the plotting and was the "mystery brain" behind those books.

When she divorced him, the quality of the books simply tanked and of course, slid heavily into not-even-disguised-as-soft-porn erotica mighty quickly. The murder-mystery aspect simply vaporized, once hubby was MIA.

I finally gave up on them somewhere around...I think Book 10, maybe? I'd been increasingly unhappy with them, starting with Killing Dance. I kept thinking she'd get it out of her system, or put it all in her Merry Gentry series, but eventually, it was obvious that she wouldn't. (I mean, you wanna throw in porn, to satisfy your readers or yourself, fine, but can I have a little plot with it, please? Instead of all "f**k me f**k me"?) But that series (AB) started out as a bad-ass female bounty hunter of supes, with MURDER MYSTERIES, none of which seemed to happen post-divorce. She too found a boy toy (and, really, she couldn't find one that was worth it????), dressed him up (OMG, really? Bleeeack...nothing worse than a Pillsbury Doughboy adult male with a tire-tummy and sparse lanky hair wearing 17th-Century men's shirts) and her books simply tanked. If you like that hand-under-the-blankie porn, great, but it's not why I was reading the early ABs. I honestly grieved for that series, because maybe others love it, but to me, it simply died when her husband say "adios, crazy lady."

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Jim Butcher's problem is that he hasn't come out with a new book since 2015. Four plus years is a long time to hold the interest of a fan base. It may be a bit difficult for him to rebuild his momentum as an author. It doesn't take a lot for an author to slide from "pre-order as soon as it's announced" to "yea, I'll get it when it drops in price" with portions of his fan base.

AMEN. There is a mean-girl part of me that thinks, "screw it, when that damn book finally comes out, if it ever does, I'll wait to get it second-hand. Why should I reward him for this crap?"

I realize that's petty and mean-spirited, not to mention childish and ineffective, but...dayaaam. (I did that with Hamilton, too. After Killing Dance, I stopped buying them new. Why reward her? With second-hand books, she got nothing from me. I figured, hey, go back to the mystery roots and I'll start buying books where you get royalties again, but she never did, as far as I know.) There are now hundreds of thousands of new authors out there, many writing supernatural mysteries. Sure, most aren't writing Harries or early ABs, but still. At least they don't take me and my pennies and their success for damn granted.

Not to mention, ever since Melanie Rawn screwed her readers on the Exiles Series (20 YEARS, and the third one is allegedly dreck?), I'm leery of authors that start pulling this s**t.

Sorry, very cranky today. /rant.

Hitch

[haertig]

Another example of an author dragging things out so long that fans become disinterested (or die of old age) is Jean Auel with her Earth's Children series.

Clan of the Cave Bear - 1980 ... then two years until ...
Valley of Horses - 1982 ... then three years until ...
The Mammoth Hunters - 1985 ... the five years (where I dropped off) until ...
The Plains of Passage - 1990 - then twelve years until ,,,
The Shelters of Stone - 2002 - the nine years until ...
The Land of Painted Caves - 2011

I struggled to get into Clan of the Cave Bear a couple of times, but finally got into gear and finished it. Flew through the Valley of Horses and The Mammoth Hunters. Then got bored waiting for The Plains of Passage to come out and never finished it after it finally did. Authors should realize that people lose interest after super long delays and eventually more on. It's pretty hard to stick with a series for THIRTY ONE YEARS! It's painful to watch your life move from pediatrics to geriatrics while still reading the same series.

Now, I much prefer to start a new series (new to me) only after it has been finished, or nearly so. For example, I have just NOW started The Dresden Files and have only read the first book. I liked it a lot, and will continue with the series, and I hope it is finished before I run out of books. There's quite a few, so I'm not too worried at this point. I'm more likely to die with unfinished books than to die waiting for the next one to be released.

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by haertig

Another example of an author dragging things out so long that fans become disinterested (or die of old age) is Jean Auel with her Earth's Children series.

Clan of the Cave Bear - 1980 ... then two years until ...
Valley of Horses - 1982 ... then three years until ...
The Mammoth Hunters - 1985 ... the five years (where I dropped off) until ...
The Plains of Passage - 1990 - then twelve years until ,,,
The Shelters of Stone - 2002 - the nine years until ...
The Land of Painted Caves - 2011

I struggled to get into Clan of the Cave Bear a couple of times, but finally got into gear and finished it. Flew through the Valley of Horses and The Mammoth Hunters. Then got bored waiting for The Plains of Passage to come out and never finished it after it finally did. Authors should realize that people lose interest after super long delays and eventually more on. It's pretty hard to stick with a series for THIRTY ONE YEARS! It's painful to watch your life move from pediatrics to geriatrics while still reading the same series.

Now, I much prefer to start a new series (new to me) only after it has been finished, or nearly so. For example, I have just NOW started The Dresden Files and have only read the first book. I liked it a lot, and will continue with the series, and I hope it is finished before I run out of books. There's quite a few, so I'm not too worried at this point. I'm more likely to die with unfinished books than to die waiting for the next one to be released.

You're in for a treat if you just started the Dresden Files. I'm happy that you have so much ground to cover. Good luck!

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Y'know, it's funny--some of you may have been early discoverers of Laurell K. Hamilton (in the EARLY Anita Blakes, absolutely not the later) and I always felt, after book 5 (Bloody Bones), that it was her former husband that did the plotting and was the "mystery brain" behind those books.
...
Hitch

I totally agree with you with regards to the Anita Blakes series. I stopped buying them around that time as well, though I might have given her a couple more books for before giving up.

I don't think that Butcher has lost his mojo. The Dresden File kind of did a reboot after Ghost Stories. I've really enjoyed the entire set of books, though Ghost Stories was certainly the weakest of the books.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by haertig

I have just NOW started The Dresden Files and have only read the first book. I liked it a lot, and will continue with the series, and I hope it is finished before I run out of books. There's quite a few, so I'm not too worried at this point. I'm more likely to die with unfinished books than to die waiting for the next one to be released.

Originally Posted by Luffy

You're in for a treat if you just started the Dresden Files. I'm happy that you have so much ground to cover. Good luck!

I agree with Luffy. Also, while there is a main story arc, each book itself (even each short story) is basically finished. The main books still should be read in order. The series is also setup so a reread can be enjoyable. There is a ton of details that will change their importance the second time around when you have knowledge about future events that refer back.

That you already enjoy the first book a lot is a good sign. There is some that didn't get into it until a few books in. You won't be disappointed.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

I don't think that Butcher has lost his mojo. The Dresden File kind of did a reboot after Ghost Stories. I've really enjoyed the entire set of books, though Ghost Stories was certainly the weakest of the books.

I don't agree that Ghost Story was a weak book that should have been done any different. It has a slightly different writing style that expertly portrays the situation at hand. Different but still the same.

Spoiler:

After Changes there had to be something a little bit different. After all, it did change things quite a bit. You cannot top it without making Changes less intense as it was meant to be a big boom. A boom that required a long recovery.

I wouldn't attribute Ghost Story to unfortunate life events. Unfortunate life events appear to put a complete stop to his writing, not a degrade in quality.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

I totally agree with you with regards to the Anita Blakes series. I stopped buying them around that time as well, though I might have given her a couple more books for before giving up.

I was really bummed about it. In fact, I may have discovered Harry around that time, searching for a replacement for that particular line of reading (supernatural mysteries). Say what you will, she kind of created that cross-genre in a larger way. I'm not saying that she was the absolute first, but she sure pushed it out there. Nonetheless, from my perspective, she lost her mind. OTOH, she only started getting hardcovers AFTER she went the porno route, so what do I know? I guess that dreck is more popular than I know. Sad, though.

(I'd also started reading Kim Harrison then; oddly enough--this was before self-publishing took off in a big way--I'd been working on a plotline exceedingly similar to hers, and of course, dropped it like a hot potato when I read Dead Witch Walking. I was even using a desanctified church as a base of ops, for a team of investigators, so...it kind of sucked the air out of my manuscript. I liked that for a while, but then, at some point, she too seemed to be headed in the same direction as Hamilton and I stopped reading them. Why invest more time and energy if that's going to be the result? And of course, I gave up writing around 2009, which saved a lot of people a lot of disappointment, ha!)

I don't think that Butcher has lost his mojo. The Dresden File kind of did a reboot after Ghost Stories. I've really enjoyed the entire set of books, though Ghost Stories was certainly the weakest of the books.

Not sure he's lost his mojo, but I do think that enough's enough. Don't want to write it? Fine, wrap it up and finish it off. Simon Green that sucker. But 4 years is too long unless it's gonna be 1,000 pages. (And even then.)

Hitch

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

I don't agree that Ghost Story was a weak book that should have been done any different. ...

I wouldn't attribute Ghost Story to unfortunate life events. Unfortunate life events appear to put a complete stop to his writing, not a degrade in quality.

Oh, I wasn't attributing Ghost Story to any unfortunate life events, I was just saying that I thought it was the weakest of the books. Different strokes for different folks.

Oddly enough, it was also the only of the audiobooks that used a different narrator, though they did go back and re-issue it with Marster's narrating after they got so many complaints.

When I go back and do a re-read of the Dresdan Files, I'm as likely to listen to the audiobooks as I am to read the ebooks. Marsters did a very good job. That's the other downside to a long wait. Will Marster still be available to do the audiobook?

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Hitch

...

(I'd also started reading Kim Harrison then; oddly enough--this was before self-publishing took off in a big way--I'd been working on a plotline exceedingly similar to hers, and of course, dropped it like a hot potato when I read Dead Witch Walking.

...

Not sure he's lost his mojo, but I do think that enough's enough. Don't want to write it? Fine, wrap it up and finish it off. Simon Green that sucker. But 4 years is too long unless it's gonna be 1,000 pages. (And even then.)

Hitch

I tried Dead Witch Walking and never really could get into it.

Simon Green? I know the writer, but don't recognize what you mean. Is he known for tossing books out not quite finished in order to stay on schedule?

At least Butcher can say "At least I'm not Rothfuss!" eight years and counting with no 3rd book in sight.

[Luffy]

I thought I was in a minority regarding Kim Harrison. I could not go past the 6th book or so.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Oh, I wasn't attributing Ghost Story to any unfortunate life events, I was just saying that I thought it was the weakest of the books. Different strokes for different folks.

I see. I misinterpreted how you said it. I read it as Jim not losing his mojo (due to life events, I thought), because he regained it after Ghost Story. Different strokes indeed. When I got to Ghost Story the first time around I already heard about others basically complaining. Once reading I forgot about it and stopped looking for flaws. To me Harry has always been what happens in his head more than anything. What he thinks to himself, right or wrong, is usually better than what actually happens. For me at least.