https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZJiv_GT-JcI don't know if it's the most recent video.
It was from June 9, 2018. I think it was transcribed, and Raidem posted the transcribed version.
11:18 Goodman Grey spin off sounds confirmed to me. He is also excited because Goodman is so old that he can bounce around time like on the Highlander TV series/movies. Also can recycle characters in some of the stories. Will be called Monster LLC. "When you're in trouble you need a hero. When you're in real trouble you need a monster. He's a monster for higher".
I honestly think that Jim butcher is burned out for the moment on the Dresden files. I am sure he plans to finish the series but writing needs inspiration and he started this series when he was in college. I figure that the more pressure the fan base puts on him the longer it will be till he gets back too writing it. The man puts out Quality work and if he is going to write that is what I want and suggest everyone give the guy space. I know it been over 4 years since the last book and I am just as frustrated but I respect the artist and part of that is realizing that for his best work we need t just wait.
I think Jim has spoken to his beta readers why their has been a long delay. From what I've gathered, something was wrong.
I asked a question if it was somehow Jim's head that was impacted (emotions, motivation, etc). In an answer I got from another Forum who is a beta reader, they said it wasn't his head, or something to that effect.
I agree. He has marketed the product as a 23 book series. There is some expectation on his part that by marketing the series in this way and talking up his series that he will get people hooked for it entirely. Likewise, there is an expectation that I have that I'll be able to read the 23 book series. This requires somewhat timely releases. He chose to do another series. That and life events I'm sure has impacted the production. And, I do hope that a release will be shortly.
Edit 2: That is alt+s. The holiday cheer is affecting me.Egg Nog will make you fat, Whiskey will make you drunk. I have personal knowledge. ;)
Egg Nog will make you fat, Whiskey will make you drunk. I have personal knowledge. ;)
Jim just got married in October. Yes, it's his second marriage, but it's still a big change. Plus, add in what has been speculated about the TV show. Even before this I guessed (and posted) that PT won't be completed until sometime between the end of this year and early Spring 2019. That's my prediction and I'm sticking to it.
Mirror Mirror has garnered a lot more interest than Peace Talks in public appearances.
Jim is obviously working on a double release. Peace Talks has been in the can for some time now.
:P
The latest I'd heard was an article that I'd posted a link to in another thread, here it is again.
https://strandmag.com/theres-something-about-harry-dresden/
"...Peace Talks is slated for an early 2019 release"
this interview took place in July.
It's even possible, that depending on the terms of the divorce, he may have wanted to delay the publication to avoid having to give up too much of it....
I just found a little gem on the Upcoming Works page of Jim's website. http://www.jim-butcher.com/faq/upcoming-works (http://www.jim-butcher.com/faq/upcoming-works) As of December 6, 2018 Peace Talks is up to chapter 36 in draft form!
The last 3 books had 51-53 chapters. So if Peace Talks is around the same length, the draft is now 68-70% done!
As far as the amount of time its taken, yes its frustrating. Every YouTube video of events Jim has been at, he's been very clear of what the causes have been and how frustrated he himself has been at the delay. I've been through similar events in my own life, and personal circumstances do have a way of snowballing as they have for Jim. I've also lived through a house renovation and totally understand how that can disrupt something like writing a book.
I'm also not happy with how long its taken, but its been a good thing in a way for me. I've been extremely ill and was barely able to read Skin Game and Cold Days when they came out. While I'm doing worse physically, mentally I'm much better than I was. So having Peace Talks at some point in early 2019 is one of the very few things I have to look forward to right now. If I'm remembering correctly, the last time he was at an event he said something about having it out in early 2019. While its surely been a very long time in coming, it seems he's at least true to his word.
I'd say that if it's true that he has only completed up to chapter 36, then it isn't just a delay because of divorce related monetary reasons. He easily could have completed Peace Talks and not have published until say a time deadline was satisfied.
I just found a little gem on the Upcoming Works page of Jim's website. http://www.jim-butcher.com/faq/upcoming-works (http://www.jim-butcher.com/faq/upcoming-works) As of December 6, 2018 Peace Talks is up to chapter 36 in draft form!
The last 3 books had 51-53 chapters. So if Peace Talks is around the same length, the draft is now 68-70% done!
... We are addicts hooked on Dresden, he knows that most of us will scramble to read the short story crumbs he tosses our way and will line up when Peace Talks finally does come out.... We will wait..
For now. I'm really enjoying the Alex Verus series and even though the latest book came out in July, I won't be surprised if the next book is out before Peace Talks. Benedict Jacka has already finished writing it and it is going through the first round of major edits. (His editing process takes much longer that Jim's, so it probably won't be out until next Fall or Winter.) I just started the latest Rivers of London book today. Time moves on and so do I. I think back to when I was a teenager, and when a band I really liked took extra time off before putting out another album or just broke up, I didn't stop listening to music, I found someone else whose music I liked.
The Dresden Files is Jim's creation and his property, so he can do whatever he wants with it. However, I determine where my time and money is spent. At some point, my patience is going to run out and I will move on. That's not some kind of threat, that's the way of world. I'll be a bit sad if I reach that point, but I'll get over it.
Thinking about where the series has gone since Changes, I've had high hopes that Peace Talks would be a major step forward, laying the tracks that would point us towards the BAT. Now I'm less sure and also a little less interested in it, to boot. I'm sure my interest will pick up if I hear Jim has finished or I hear he's writing the final, denouement chapter. I'm not sure that will be true in another six months.
I suspect that there are a two types of fans, some that are prepared to wait forever and others that will lose interest and move on. More power to them both. Personally I'm interested in one thing only, the novels. Nothing else. I'll buy them as long as he writes them or until I croak, whichever comes first. But nothing else.
Toodles
Don't be afraid, Mira. If we die before he finishes it, we will read it from the other side :D
Depends on which side of the other side you, and Jim are on :D
Does Hell have a special place for writers??? ::)
Jim's got a corner booth reserved. GRRM will be seated near the kitchen.
Does Hell have a special place for writers??? ::)I have inside info that it does.
That is about where I am, at the moment I am rereading the Sharpe's Rifle series by BernardI read the Sharpe series ages ago. I think I read about a dozen before I lost interest. But at the time they were my favorite series. That was before Dresden by a couple years, I believe. Or at least, before I came on board.
Cornwell. Or rather the earlier books about Richard Sharpe's life that Cornwell wrote later after the
main series and the television series made from it were finished. He is a very good author and
carefully researches his novels, even sometimes where possible visiting the places where the
action originally took place. I also had just finished rereading from Hobbit to Return of the King all
the while marveling at the greatness of Tolkien...
Even though I'm in the processes of not having any hope that the series will continue (as we all know it's the hope that gets you) All it would take is an honest acknowledgement by Jim and I would be back to checking for updates everyday
Well I don't know if this is a good thing or bad, but it looks like updates are coming more than quarterly...
From the Upcoming works page:
As of December 17th, 2018 the current draft of the novel is up to chapter 38. Progress!
I think our man has found his writing room conducive.
~M
I read the Sharpe series ages ago. I think I read about a dozen before I lost interest. But at the time they were my favorite series. That was before Dresden by a couple years, I believe. Or at least, before I came on board.
so two chapters every 10-11 days, roughly 52 chapters in a book. 14 chapters to go. 14x10= 140 or 14x11= 154. say 147 days till the end of the book. assuming writing progress continues at the same rate, book might be finished by mid May next year. Give another 3-6months for editing July at the earliest, September-November more likely.Methinks you forgot an operation. It was chapter 36 on 12/7 and 38 on 12/17. That's two chapters in ten days, averaging a chapter every five days. If there's 14 to go, that's 70 days, rather than 140. Maybe mid--to-late-March, assuming he takes some holiday time off from writing?
Methinks you forgot an operation. It was chapter 36 on 12/7 and 38 on 12/17. That's two chapters in ten days, averaging a chapter every five days. If there's 14 to go, that's 70 days, rather than 140. Maybe mid--to-late-March, assuming he takes some holiday time off from writing?
I believe it's been said before that once he gets rolling at the end, things go pretty fast. It might be finished even faster. Or as others have said, this could be a final draft that he's making some minor edits on. If most chapters are fine, he could finish sooner. If it's a first draft, then surely there'll be at least one more round of edits.
Whatever version or pace, it sounds like he's on track, which I take as great news.
I'll take some news over no news most days.
This whole, "he didn't have a writing space because he was living in an apartment" line just reeks of BS. Surely his publisher could have rented him an office and decorated it in any way he wanted. Considering the amount of money on the line, I can't imagine they wouldn't do this.
I love Jim's writing. But I hate being bullshitted. Why do people do it? Sure, there are some stupid people that will buy this kind of BS, but it just pisses other people off. Why not just be honest? Maybe he's sick. Maybe he's burned out and needed a break. Maybe he was messed up by the divorce and is now on Cloud 9 due to the marriage, and he just doesn't want to write. It could be any number of things, but I just cannot believe that it is due to him not having writing space... that's just about the most pathetic excuse I've ever heard.
Maybe he is working on the television series and it's very hush hush and he can't talk about it and as a clue to us, he came up with the dumbest excuse ever, so that we'd know it was fake?
Or maybe it's "all of the above" and he picks the most obvious? He had no 'own space' to work in, and his life was a bit messy so noone thought it would really help to fix that problem because he had too many other things going and besides was sort of burned out anyway.
It reminds me of Tolstoy - a breakdown in a writing flow can be caused by dozens of different causes, a happy productive writer is always the same because it needs all those factors lining up well.
I think after twenty years of writing about the same character he may be a bit tired of it. That is only natural, yet I can see him unwilling to wrap it up because Harry is to a great extent his bread and butter.
Perhaps there's also a bit of a barrier that PT is the one to slog through, before getting to MM which is going to be the fun one.
It seems like most of the fans are more hyped for the concept of MM anyway. Hard to blame the author if he's feeling a bit of the same way.
before getting to MM which is going to be the fun one.I have to tell you that I saw the Trek version when it was first broadcast, and in my opinion the best part was Spock with a beard. I was happy when they dropped a rock on Kirk in a later movie. :) Otherwise meh. Although YMMV. And lest you sneer I watched trek on Sundays religiously for ten years waiting for the movie. 11 o'clock AM Sundays. 520 episodes. :o
I love all the Mirror episodes of the Trek series, but curiously I am not interested in the DF: MM book at all (other than because it would move the story towards the BAT). I just don't care for an alternate Harry. I just want to see more Harry (Harry prime :D)
Methinks you forgot an operation. It was chapter 36 on 12/7 and 38 on 12/17. That's two chapters in ten days, averaging a chapter every five days. If there's 14 to go, that's 70 days, rather than 140. Maybe mid--to-late-March, assuming he takes some holiday time off from writing?
I love all the Mirror episodes of the Trek series, but curiously I am not interested in the DF: MM book at all (other than because it would move the story towards the BAT). I just don't care for an alternate Harry. I just want to see more Harry (Harry prime :D)
This is probably four years from when Mirror Mirror comes out (God, that is depressing.), but I hope it is a great stand alone story, because I would mostly be reading it just to find out what Harry prime is going to learn. One TV show that Jim and many fans are familiar with is Babylon 5. They used to have episodes; particularly in the first two seasons, that were clearly meant to stand alone from the overall story arc. Some of those episodes were very good, some were really weak, particularly in the first season of the show. However, even in some of the weaker episodes there would usually be some tidbit of information casually dropped into that episode that would become significant in the larger arc of the show. Whenever it comes out, I hope Mirror Mirror is a real page turner, because I don't want MM to be like one of those second rate B5 episodes that are only important because of the odd scraps of information that gave us clues to what was coming next.
No, you are mistaken about B5.. The first season was never meant to stand alone.
I didn't know all that, Mira. I've never watched B5 so I don't know much about its stars, but I usually read news about actors and things like that. I completely missed that story.
Because Mr O'Hare wanted it that way, and JMS kept his promise, he only revealed it a couple of years after Mr O'Hare's death. At the time the fans were in quite an uproar over him leaving the show, the story told to the public was that he wasn't a big enough star so was replaced. We know now that Mr O'Hare was suffering from hallucinations at an increasing rate and severity, it is a miracle that he was able to finish the season at all. Tragically like many suffering from his form of mental illness he went off his meds which of course made things worse.
Yes, JMS did talk about some of the stories not being part of the arc, but again some of that was a cover story because some episodes had to be changed because of Mr O'Hare's health. That might be why they seem a bit weak compared to the rest of the season. Yeah, you should watch it again, I did recently and it is amazing how well it holds up.
Methinks you forgot an operation. It was chapter 36 on 12/7 and 38 on 12/17. That's two chapters in ten days, averaging a chapter every five days. If there's 14 to go, that's 70 days, rather than 140. Maybe mid--to-late-March, assuming he takes some holiday time off from writing?We have another update on Jim's page.
I believe it's been said before that once he gets rolling at the end, things go pretty fast. It might be finished even faster. Or as others have said, this could be a final draft that he's making some minor edits on. If most chapters are fine, he could finish sooner. If it's a first draft, then surely there'll be at least one more round of edits.
Whatever version or pace, it sounds like he's on track, which I take as great news.
priscellie
32 points ·
6 hours ago
I have been summoned!
This speculation is false. Jim posted chapter 40 to the beta list this morning, and there's a heavy helping of awesomeness left to be written. I can't see the book coming out any time in the first half of 2019.
LOL, I am not an optimist. I think what I am is called "informed pessimistic" or something like that. I am always ready for things to go bad but I always root for good things to happen. For instance, I've accepted long ago that I may not live to see the end of the series, but after so much time without news I receive every update as a good event in itself.Your point of view is called pragmatism. I'm going write my own ending before I end. That's called wishful thinking. :)
Wait, finished, like 41 chapters is the full extent of the book?Skin Game had 51 chapters.
Wait, finished, like 41 chapters is the full extent of the book?No, as in finished another chapter. Sorry.
WoJ, he is up to chapter 40 I think. So maybe august. I would guess that there will be 50 to 70 chapters in Peace Talks. Then again I have just settled into the thought it won't be out till 2020. ;P
priscellie
32 points ·
6 hours ago
I have been summoned!
This speculation is false. Jim posted chapter 40 to the beta list this morning, and there's a heavy helping of awesomeness left to be written. I can't see the book coming out any time in the first half of 2019.
If he continues to write at this rate, and the book is 52 chapters (I think someone said that's the average length), he will be done on April 14th, I think. I did the math, but did it days ago. Just get 12/7/18 to 1/17/19 to get the amount of time he has written, then do 41 minus 36 to get the chapters he has written, then divide the two, then do 52 minus 41 to get the estimated chapters remaining, then multiply the answer from the division by that number. Then add however long for it to get published.
Plus if he keeps his toes crossed and doesn't take any potty breaks..... ::)
In all honesty after the rumor dropped that the Dresden Files was being picked up by television I started to think that's the reason for the delay. Jim thought it would be wrapped up earlier, and it took longer than expected. He said if it ever got picked up by tv again he'd be much more involved, and have more control. Just my current theory.
I am hoping for Halloween.
As of January 23rd, 2019, the current draft of the novel is up to chapter 42. Progress!
Fox, IIRC.
But JB tweeted that we shouldn't believe all what we read on internet, so...
I'd think Fox was more likely to mess it up than SciFi did.
There was only a couple of things I liked about the Sci-Fi series. The use of hockey stick as staff and drumstick as rod plus giving Bob a sometimes human form due to the actor playing Bob. The rest of it....not a fan.
I had not read the books when I watched the show, and I liked it. I didn't love it, but I liked it and I still think that Harry was perfect. I also liked Morgan and I definitely loved human Bob. Murphy was not particularly good or bad (she is the mother of the new Charmed ones, by the way).
And yes, 42!
Or if they managed to produce something good, cancel it right away.I consider that to be a sub set of "messing it up."
I also liked Morgan and I definitely loved human Bob.
I think most people liked the human portrayal of of Bob. I think Terrence Mann did an outstanding job as Bob.
As of January 31st, 2019, the current draft of the novel is up to chapter 43. Progress!
That's one of those details I forgot, but I also liked. It was a different kind of Morgan. He still distrusted Harry but he was more reserved, he kept his fanatic side in check. It was an interesting take on the character and if the show had continued it was an element that could have been built on.I've heard that Morgan was sort of intended as a mix between Morgan and Michael (and he may be the reason that I picture Michael as a black guy to this day), which would account for his softening.
I think most people liked the human portrayal of of Bob. I think Terrence Mann did an outstanding job as Bob.He was fantastic. One of the best parts of the show. I remember seeing Butcher describe him as having "an arsenal of snide" from being stuck in the skull for so long.
However, having said that, I highly recommend; if you can find it, the original unaired an hour and a half pilot of Storm Front where Bob was just a CGI skull (unfinished CGI, so not great quality) with glowing orange motes in his eyes. Though far from perfect, it was the closest the show ever got to doing something based on an actual Dresden Files novel, because when it was cut down to 42 minutes for the TV show, it was a bit of a mess.I've never seen it! Where is it available?
(OMG - I just started re-watching Storm Front again and it's amazing; all the changes that were made from the novel, some major and some minor. Harry has already told Murphy about the Council. Harry knows his mother was murdered. Bianca and Harry had a prior romantic relationship, sort of. Ancient Mai is Harry's warden and Morgan is her henchman. Detective Carmichael is detective Karmani. Justin DuMorne is uncle Justin Morningstar. The spell that killed Tommy Tomm and Jennifer Randall is the same or very similar to the one Harry used to kill Justin. Harry still has a problem with tech but he can listen to records and has a jazz collection. The actress they got to play Susan Rodriguez was totally wrong. A white women with a whiny voice and dyed blond hair and her performance wasn't very good either. I did like the scene when Bob comes on to Susan and tells her she has great legs. The actress who played Bianca was hot, and she later starred in SyFy's Warehouse 13, which was pretty OK.)Morningside</nitpick>.
It is true that it is a bit unusual, but I still see people carrying them in the bus all the time, so it's not that weird. And I admit I loved it. I think is better than a walking cane (for Harry, at least).
Well, of course, I live in a city, so not many hikers around but some hockey players.
I've never seen it! Where is it available?
I've seen more people carrying guns in public than sticks of any kind other than people who clearly required canes for walking. But I live in Texas where "clubs" are "illegal weapons," and therefore illegal to carry in public. "Clubs" are basically any blunt instrument "designed, made, or adapted" for hitting people. Guns=legal; swords=legal; sticks=illegal. ???
(There are complications, exceptions, and requirements here, so don't just go carrying guns and swords in Texas without actually knowing the laws).
Yeah, billyclub laws are kind of silly. Case in point, Maryland has them; so my pine blasting rod prop is an illegal weapon. The holly walking stick that's much heavier and harder? Totally fine.
The little souvenir baseball bats you can get at a game? Illegal. An actual bat? Totally fine.
I won't. I would probably scream, as I've never seen a functional gun in real life.Really?
The little souvenir baseball bats you can get at a game? Illegal. An actual bat? Totally fine.
How so?wardenferry has the right of it; the actual statute only stipulates the length, not thickness or weight or anything like that.
I won't. I would probably scream, as I've never seen a functional gun in real life.Do you travel much? Though I was speaking about running into civilians in places you wouldn't expect them to have such things*, I'd imagine you'd run into a lot of law enforcement/military/security in most every country over the course of a lifetime. I won't pretend to have done a statistical analysis or anything, but I have seen (in the media) a lot of security with sub-machine guns at lots of European airports and such.
Aw, that's awesome about the air guns. We had two deaths for them this Summer (they are legal). It seems excessive of course on the other things. I would have a lot of trouble :). I once had trouble on an airport because I had Swiss army knife in my backpack, I had completely forgotten about it as it is always there :P.My father used to have an air gun that shot very small pieces of lead and I do not think you could penetrate even a t shirt with it. But that was 40 years ago and their power was regulated by law. We were always careful with it anyway because it would hurt but the killings surprise me. Maybe they are just more powerful, if you do not put legal limits on them people want to have the most powerful ones available.
Aw, that's awesome about the air guns. We had two deaths for them this Summer (they are legal). It seems excessive of course on the other things. I would have a lot of trouble :). I once had trouble on an airport because I had Swiss army knife in my backpack, I had completely forgotten about it as it is always there :P.In America, a swiss army knife at an airport would result in a body cavity search and the SWAT team.
In America, a swiss army knife at an airport would result in a body cavity search and the SWAT team.
I never use them for cutting meat anyway, that is what butchers are for.
@Arjan
If cooking shows are to be believed your dull knives are more dangerous than your sharp knives. It seems counter intuitive.
@Arjan1. You are correct. You have to use much more force with a dull knife. It doesn't give you little cuts like a sharp one but when it breaks through, or slips, you could cause yourself a serious injury.
If cooking shows are to be believed your dull knives are more dangerous than your sharp knives. It seems counter intuitive.
@Fcrate
I've never understood BB Guns or any other air guns. They're either too much or too little. However I do understand the mindset that bans miniature baseball bats.
@Dina
Getting hassled for carrying a Swiss Army Knife through baggage screening is one of the prices we all pay for all the little unconscious habits we all have. Mine is the tendency to leave my keys in the car and locking the door. And then paying a locksmith to open it.
So, any news on Peace Talks?
I was not complaining, I was at fault. I just did it because it's a very old habit. It is much more natural for me to carry a Swiss army knife than packing for a trip.I never thought you were complaining. As for my case, I blame my car. It should know that I want it to open like magic rather than needing pesky keys.
1. You are correct. You have to use much more force with a dull knife. It doesn't give you little cuts like a sharp one but when it breaks through, or slips, you could cause yourself a serious injury.If you have to use force which you usually don't have to do if you only chop some vegetables. It must be sharp enough for that of course but not so sharp that it cuts your fingers before you even notice it.
2. Some of them are pretty average. Besides, it's all I can have without paying a ton to get a license. (Besides a background check on family up to the 3rd degree relatives)You can not shoot with a firearm in the backyard here even if you have a license so if you don't want to go to the range every time then an air gun is the only alternative.
If you have to use force which you usually don't have to do if you only chop some vegetables. It must be sharp enough for that of course but not so sharp that it cuts your fingers before you even notice it. You can not shoot with a firearm in the backyard here even if you have a license so if you don't want to go to the range every time then an air gun is the only alternative.We live in alternate realities when it comes to sharp implements.
So, any news on Peace Talks?
I knew you had the concept of mediation, but I was not sure if my translation of the word "mediación" was accurate, as I am not very used to legalese (in English. In Spanish, I am relatively fluent because I've taken dictations from my dad more than once).
I am not trying to say that you or anyone else is being stupid, and I don't think that is the case. I've known brilliant people here. Nevertheless, I've been telling people that since I've joined this forum and I am not going to stop now. I think most people from USA simply does not realize how colonialist that word sounds forusmany of us and I am just trying to make people aware of that. Not stop using the word, of course, but just thinking of it. When someone tries to tell me I don't live in América, it annoys me, I can't help it (I generally say "US citizens" but with another forumite (from USA) we used to jokingly say "USers"). Give me some credit for writing so many posts in English without using "Americans" :P.
Being honest, what really, really annoys me is when people in my country or other Latin American Countries use "Americano" instead of norteamericano o estadounidense. None of those words is perfect, but it's the correct word and it is not bad for us. When we really want to say "From North America", including México and Canada, we use some expression like "americanos del norte" o "gente de América del Norte". I really wish my own people was not so brainwashed, because as you said, in Spanish we are all "americanos", There are not many Americas, there is only one. That is why there is the OAS, Organization of American States, which does not mean the States of USA but the Countries of America.
We live in alternate realities when it comes to sharp implements.Urban, suburban, countryside iT does not matter here. Even of you can het a license you have to store your gun and amno in seperate locker containers and you can only shoot at a resignaties shooting range usually a recognised club I believe.
And I'm from Kentucky, where my sisters next door neighbor has a range in his backyard where he fires multiple weapons using gunpowder. Of course she is in the suburbs. Shooting a gun in the back yard is illegal inside the urban limit in almost every jurisdiction that I'm aware of. Even Texas. :)
Urban, suburban, countryside iT does not matter here. Even of you can het a license you have to store your gun and amno in seperate locker containers and you can only shoot at a resignaties shooting range usually a recognised club I believe.
I sometimes watch those clips in YouTube where someone buys a reproducties of a mediëval longsword and tests the sharpness with a piece of paper and continuers to hack in chainmail to see hoe it holds. I just need my knife to cut garlick
Ever watch Forge in Fire? Kind of like Chopped only it is four blade smiths crafting a knife in a designated time.. They then test the blades, it is fascinating to watch for a number of reasons.. Anyway the two finalists are given a challenge to recreate a weapon, anything from sword to cross bow from history across the world. They are given five days at their home forges to do it, then the weapons are tested.. The kind of damage that those weapons can do up close and personal makes me cringe.. They have also began to uncover mass graves from battle grounds of the Middle Ages. The knight of old went for the legs.... Most of the skeletons of the soldiers either had their bottom legs lopped off or severely damaged in battle..Probably because the lege were the most difficult to defend and lees armoured. Or you just make a feint at the leg and when he lift his schield to defend you hit the leg. All explained on YouTube your indispensable source of you want to know how a Viking would do against a Roman legionary.
I knew you had the concept of mediation, but I was not sure if my translation of the word "mediación" was accurate, as I am not very used to legalese (in English. In Spanish, I am relatively fluent because I've taken dictations from my dad more than once).
I am not trying to say that you or anyone else is being stupid, and I don't think that is the case. I've known brilliant people here. Nevertheless, I've been telling people that since I've joined this forum and I am not going to stop now. I think most people from USA simply does not realize how colonialist that word sounds forusmany of us and I am just trying to make people aware of that. Not stop using the word, of course, but just thinking of it. When someone tries to tell me I don't live in América, it annoys me, I can't help it (I generally say "US citizens" but with another forumite (from USA) we used to jokingly say "USers"). Give me some credit for writing so many posts in English without using "Americans" :P.
Being honest, what really, really annoys me is when people in my country or other Latin American Countries use "Americano" instead of norteamericano o estadounidense. None of those words is perfect, but it's the correct word and it is not bad for us. When we really want to say "From North America", including México and Canada, we use some expression like "americanos del norte" o "gente de América del Norte". I really wish my own people was not so brainwashed, because as you said, in Spanish we are all "americanos", There are not many Americas, there is only one. That is why there is the OAS, Organization of American States, which does not mean the States of USA but the Countries of America.
As a US citizen who now lives in Canada I quickly noticed after moving that you do not hear American used much. Canadians usually say the States when talking about the United States or people from the States. If talking about an individual you often hear Texan, Californian etc or just they are from the States. I used to use American all the time but now try to avoid it as to my ear it now sounds like I am forgetting the US is not the whole continent.
We live in alternate realities when it comes to sharp implements.
And I'm from Kentucky, where my sisters next door neighbor has a range in his backyard where he fires multiple weapons using gunpowder. Of course she is in the suburbs. Shooting a gun in the back yard is illegal inside the urban limit in almost every jurisdiction that I'm aware of. Even Texas. :)
Sec. 229.002. REGULATION OF DISCHARGE OF WEAPON. A municipality may not apply a regulation relating to the discharge of firearms or other weapons in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality or in an area annexed by the municipality after September 1, 1981, if the firearm or other weapon is:
(1) a shotgun, air rifle or pistol, BB gun, or bow and arrow discharged:
(A) on a tract of land of 10 acres or more and more than 150 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and
(B) in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract; or
(2) a center fire or rim fire rifle or pistol of any caliber discharged:
(A) on a tract of land of 50 acres or more and more than 300 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and
(B) in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract.
Ever watch Forge in Fire? Kind of like Chopped only it is four blade smiths crafting a knife in a designated time.. They then test the blades, it is fascinating to watch for a number of reasons.. Anyway the two finalists are given a challenge to recreate a weapon, anything from sword to cross bow from history across the world. They are given five days at their home forges to do it, then the weapons are tested.. The kind of damage that those weapons can do up close and personal makes me cringe.. They have also began to uncover mass graves from battle grounds of the Middle Ages. The knight of old went for the legs.... Most of the skeletons of the soldiers either had their bottom legs lopped off or severely damaged in battle..
I'm perfectly fine with estadounidense, except I'm not sure I can pronounce it. My point is that we don't have that word in English (except for various slurs), a native language shared by many people who are not Americans (usually the ones coming up with the slurs). It's not an American thing to use the word America(n) that way. It's an English thing. (It all doesn't really matter, and besides, it's not half as annoying as people confusing then and than >:().
The reason it probably annoys me is because every time someone has said it to me, they have had a condescending tone that implied I didn't know geography or history. I've often had a better grasp of history of other people's country than they did. And I've never detected rudeness or condescension from you to anyone.
We live in alternate realities when it comes to sharp implements.
And I'm from Kentucky, where my sisters next door neighbor has a range in his backyard where he fires multiple weapons using gunpowder. Of course she is in the suburbs. Shooting a gun in the back yard is illegal inside the urban limit in almost every jurisdiction that I'm aware of. Even Texas. :)
What part of KY? I was raised in Ashland and live in Bellevue, across the river from Cincy.
I like the fact that the lovely, kind person with the most posts on this forum has English as their second language. It shows an added level of commitment to the forum and its members.
What part of KY? I was raised in Ashland and live in Bellevue, across the river from Cincy.Louisville. Born there, and if lucky, will cease to exist there. I don't know Bellevue, though my work took me to Northern Kentucky and Ashland, a time or three.
I like the fact that the lovely, kind person with the most posts on this forum has English as their second language. It shows an added level of commitment to the forum and its members.
I don't think the proportion of ignorant people is bigger in USA than here. ...
And yes, then and than are annoying, but not as much as your/you're :P
This is just about the only thing on the internet I contribute to for that very reason.
Because Europe has about as many countries as the U.S. has states (depending on how one counts), I've often wondered how many states can the European insulting Americans' knowledge of geography can name. I don't do a whole lot better at naming the states than I do the European countries. There have been a lot of changes to Europe's internal borders in my lifetime, and no noticeable ones in the States, so that's my excuse.
But it's so much easier to explain the difference between your/you're than then/than. Another one that annoys me was all my Spanish teachers failed to properly define bueno/bien as good/well. They defined them both as good, but used differently because so many native English speakers don't get the difference between good/well. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more subtle differences, but, on this particular, all my teachers failed.
Because Europe has about as many countries as the U.S. has states (depending on how one counts), I've often wondered how many states can the European insulting Americans' knowledge of geography can name. I don't do a whole lot better at naming the states than I do the European countries. There have been a lot of changes to Europe's internal borders in my lifetime, and no noticeable ones in the States, so that's my excuse.There are things the Europeans think, that I care about. Geography isn't even in the top 1000 of those. Take away the identifiers as represented by street signage and and they, like most citizens of the US, would be lucky to make it out of their hometowns.
Geography is the illusion of knowledge.
lol no. It's real knowledge, even if it's not important to some people.^ this.
lol no. It's real knowledge, even if it's not important to some people.Not when all it means is place names. But that's an opinion. YMMV.
Not when all it means is place names. But that's an opinion. YMMV.A lot of knowledge is like that. No particular understanding is needed and you can drill it into young children’s heads. But that does not mean it is always useless knowledge, not if you build upon it.
A lot of knowledge is like that. No particular understanding is needed and you can drill it into young children’s heads. But that does not mean it is always useless knowledge, not if you build upon it.
A place name is just a word and the location is just part of its meaning. The more words you know the easier you can read and look up the ones you do not know.
And it tells you something about your interests. If you follow the news and took an effort to find out where that flood or earthquake really was. If you read a history book and looked at a map. Or maybe you just know more about the geography of middle earth than this one, not everyone is interested in everything.
A lot of knowledge is like that. No particular understanding is needed and you can drill it into young children’s heads. But that does not mean it is always useless knowledge, not if you build upon it.I didn't say that Geography was useless, I said that it was illusionary. In particular with respect to this.
I've often wondered how many states can the European insulting Americans' knowledge of geography can name.I suppose that a better word would have been superficial. For instance three important things are absent from KurtinStGeorge's puzzle.
My grandfather had an atlas of 1939 I often looked in as a child. I don't know what happened to it.I had my father. Shot in the hand in some firefight in Africa that he wouldn't talk about. And full of stories which became part of family lore. My sister and I speculate endlessly about secrets that we imagine to exist.
Not only mine, but even such important countries as Italy or modern Germany. ...
I cannot name the internal divisions of any country but mine (23 provinces + Buenos Aires city) and, to a certain degree, USA :).
(plus all the other stuff just about everyone on this side of he Atlantic will be after their family has been here for several hundred years).Hate to break it to you, but most of us old worlders are decidedly mixed too ;) I definitely know Dutch and German ancestry (Dutch from all over the country, German from the Rhineland), and probably a few generations further to add UK and French/Belgian. Plus the remainders of Germany :)
Several years later my grandmother decided to she wanted to clear some space and she asked family members if they wanted any old books before she gave them to Goodwill or just threw them away. I picked out a large World Atlas mostly because it had a large number of great photos in it, but it also told a story because it was published in 1942. The map of most of Europe was one large Nazi flag. I don't remember if it was named "German Empire" or "Nazi Occupied Europe." There was an equally large Japanese Rising Sun flag spread out over a large part of the Pacific Ocean, South East Asia and China labeled "Japanese Empire." I knew a little about the Second World War, but seeing that book made it much more real for me. I think that Atlas made me want to learn more about history in general.
Did we skip/miss an update on 44?
As far as I can tell, the was no update for 44. It's fine, Jim is allowed to skip updates :)
I really like the updates but I must say I would be enjoying them a lot more if I could read the chapters as he finishes them. :)
All the beta readers I know say it is much more tortuous waiting between chapters than waiting between books. Think about it this way - how many times have you been reading one of the Dresden Files books, thought to yourself "I will finish this chapter and then go to bed/do whatever" then you get to the end of said chapter and it ends on a cliffhanger? Now imagine you have to wait several weeks or months to get that next chapter instead of just staying up later than you should have.Ah, but on the other hand how many times have you finished reading the book in a couple of marathon sessions and thought: damn, I wish I could've made that last a bit longer.
Even aside from the interest, that's probably got enough collector's value that it would have been a shame to just discard.
Ah, but on the other hand how many times have you finished reading the book in a couple of marathon sessions and thought: damn, I wish I could've made that last a bit longer.
Besides, chapter by chapter on a half monthly basis should improve self discipline. :D
Exactly. Reading it a chapter at a time might be torture but it would keep me from staying up all night reading. :) I am guessing that it would help me slow down and really get all the little details he puts in the first time as well. It always amazes me how much more I notice on a reread.The problem for the beta readers is that they have to keep secrets. If Peace talks was published as a serial, like a lot of books used to be in the past, we could discuss every chapter here and reread them in all detail. It would be a lot of fun.
The problem for the beta readers is that they have to keep secrets. If Peace talks was published as a serial, like a lot of books used to be in the past, we could discuss every chapter here and reread them in all detail. It would be a lot of fun.
Did we skip/miss an update on 44?
The updates have not been every chapter.
December 6 - Chapter 36
December 17 - Chapter 38
December 27 - Chapter 39
January 17 - Chapter 41
January 31 - Chapter 43
February 21 - Chapter 45
The problem for the beta readers is that they have to keep secrets. If Peace talks was published as a serial, like a lot of books used to be in the past, we could discuss every chapter here and reread them in all detail. It would be a lot of fun.
The problem for the beta readers is that they have to keep secrets. If Peace talks was published as a serial, like a lot of books used to be in the past, we could discuss every chapter here and reread them in all detail. It would be a lot of fun.
e.g. Anna Valmont telling the "wrong" story in Skin Game of how she first got involved with Nicodemus.
Not sure on the rest but we got a chapter 40 update. It was only about 3 days before the chapter 41 update however so not many people noticed.
Also, they have to keep track of all the different versions of history they've read. It's easy for us to spot continuity errors like e.g. Anna Valmont telling the "wrong" story in Skin Game of how she first got involved with Nicodemus, because we only read one version of Death Masks. For the beta readers it's probably harder, and for Jim himself keeping track of what "actually" happened must be a nightmare.
The updates have not been every chapter.To which you can add chapter 46 as of 3/1 2019
December 6 - Chapter 36
December 17 - Chapter 38
December 27 - Chapter 39
January 17 - Chapter 41
January 31 - Chapter 43
February 21 - Chapter 45
The updates have not been every chapter.
December 6 - Chapter 36
December 17 - Chapter 38
December 27 - Chapter 39
January 17 - Chapter 41
January 31 - Chapter 43
February 21 - Chapter 45
To which you can add chapter 46 as of 3/1 2019
March 1 + 48 days = April 18I have been meaning to do this myself. Thanks. If nothing else it is fun to look at. If only the update posts included the total planned number of chapters we could really go crazy with predicting publication dates. I am currently going with hitting shelves just before Halloween :) I like to be optimistic.
March 1 + 72 days = May 12
So now that I've done some simple math and made a rough estimate when we can expect Peace Talks to be finished, it will be interesting to see how closeI getJim gets to meeting my estimates. :) If Peace Talks is finished within this time frame, I expect we will get it in time for Christmas.
Chapter 47 3/4/2019
Just as an FYI, for everyone here, plus Jim.
Here is an essay that Charles Stross wrote on his own problems with writing very long book series
https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2019/03/lessons-learned-writing-really.html
Part of that being Dresden books are easier to write then his non-Dresden because Dresden is written in first person and his other series are not.I agree and disagree with that sentiment. I don't find first-person inherently easier to write than third. I find third simpler in a lot of ways—I don't have to worry about restricting narration ("I'd like to say this, but the perspective character doesn't have access to this information"), I don't have horse blinders on in terms of plot (I can bounce around between characters, each of whom have different things going on, different information, different personalities, etc., so I can keep things going without everything happening at once, in an unbroken chain of events), it's easier to manage pacing, and—this is a big one for me—I don't need to keep all of the characters together to prevent things from happening off-page.
Isn't the longest book in the series only around 53 chapters (Cold Days)?
I believe we are still away of "the end". We are having updates on the drafts, but they will need to be revised.
chapter 49::)
I am looking forward for a Dresden birthday gift, but I don't want to raise my hopes.
I've commented on this topic before. One day, several years ago, while waiting for Cold Days to be released I started going back through Jim's twitter feed to see when he had announced, "The end. I just finished (fill in the blank), now it goes to the publisher for ..." Then I compared that date with the release date of that particular book. I went back as far as Jim's Twitter feed went. What I found was most of his books were released within 9 months after Jim's Twitter announcement. There were some noticeable exceptions. I think one book took a year or a little longer to be released. Another was published just 3 1/2 months later; however, I believe Jim said that novel (I think it was Changes.) had already been very heavily pre-edited before he sent it to the publishers so both the publishers and Jim had much less work to do to get that one ready and out the door. I think there was one other book that was released about 5 months after Jim's "The end" announcement. There were also one or two books that were released within 6 to 8 months after Jim announced he had finished.
That's why I think it's likely we will get Peace Talks in time for Christmas. Here in the U.S., publishers like to get best selling books out by the end of November to maximize sales during the Christmas season. So unless Peace Talks needs a ton of editing and rewrites, the publisher will do their best to get it out before the end of 2019.
Yes, and Skin Game and Ghost Story each had 51 chapters, though Ghost Story had over 10,000 more words than Skin Game. So now that Jim has reached chapter 49 he must be getting near the final boss battle chapter, if he isn't there already.
However, I wouldn't be surprised if Peace Talks has as many chapters and words as Cold Days because there are a large number of potential subplots for Harry to deal with, no matter how well Jim can combine them into a single story.
I've commented on this topic before. One day, several years ago, while waiting for Cold Days to be released I started going back through Jim's twitter feed to see when he had announced, "The end. I just finished (fill in the blank), now it goes to the publisher for ..." Then I compared that date with the release date of that particular book. I went back as far as Jim's Twitter feed went. What I found was most of his books were released within 9 months after Jim's Twitter announcement. There were some noticeable exceptions. I think one book took a year or a little longer to be released. Another was published just 3 1/2 months later; however, I believe Jim said that novel (I think it was Changes.) had already been very heavily pre-edited before he sent it to the publishers so both the publishers and Jim had much less work to do to get that one ready and out the door. I think there was one other book that was released about 5 months after Jim's "The end" announcement. There were also one or two books that were released within 6 to 8 months after Jim announced he had finished.
That's why I think it's likely we will get Peace Talks in time for Christmas. Here in the U.S., publishers like to get best selling books out by the end of November to maximize sales during the Christmas season. So unless Peace Talks needs a ton of editing and rewrites, the publisher will do their best to get it out before the end of 2019.
CHAPTER FIFTY!!!
Irrespective, its solid forward progress and the end is nigh ;)
I am really hoping that 50 was the big battle and all that is left is the wrap-up... with a possible lead-in to the next book.
I am a little torn. I really want it to be almost done but at the same time I want it to be nice and long so that it takes me longer to finish reading it. ;D
I know what you mean. I finished Skin Game the day it came out. I cleared my schedule specifically because I knew I was going to be reading all day. It was a bittersweet experience, because it's such a fun book, but then I gazed into the Jim Butcherless future, and wept.I was the same way -- except I had to immediately reread it in light of the twist.
On the flip side, I'll have at least a twelve-hour audiobook too, which should last about two weeks' worth of drive time.
As of March 28nd, 2019, the current draft of the novel is up to chapter 52. Progress!
As Jim approaches completion of his manuscript for “Peace Talks,” he’s excited to talk about Harry’s latest exploits with his fans. The long-awaited 16th novel of The Dresden Files is set at a summit of the various supernatural movers and shakers who shape Harry’s world, united to formulate a peace treaty with the Fomor. However, Jim has noticed an unsettling trend among his readers, and he wanted to put a stop to some of the misinformation circulating around the fandom.
“Folks seem to have gotten the wrong impression about this book. It’s called ‘Peace Talks.’ It’s about peace. Generally, everyone is nice to each other and they have a good time. They sing a few songs and drink some good beer, then they go home with everything happily resolved.”
While this may seem something of a departure from Harry’s previous adventures, after two dozen novels under his belt, Jim says he’s ready to expand upon his typical formula and experiment with other styles of storytelling. That’s not to say there’s no conflict, however. “Man, can you imagine how tense it’s gonna be to choose between the chicken or the fish entree when you’re seated between a harpy and the creature from the Black Lagoon? Honestly, the host should’ve just gone for lasagna.”
Who will be at the peace talks, you may ask? “I think the readers are going to like this one. We’ll get to see a lot of characters we haven’t heard from in a while. At the risk of spoilers, there’s a great scene with Marcone and King Korb calmly discussing a point of bureaucratic minutiae regarding water rights. It’s gonna be wild.”
When his editor confronted him with quotes claiming this would be his “most supernaturally violent book to date,” Jim seemed confused at first. “Yeah. A bunch of Accorded dignitaries just DESTROY an entire tray of cheesecakes. They’re like piranha. Not a single crumb of that sweet graham cracker crust remained.”
There are a lot of chickens coming home to roost and that takes space to flesh out.And it's going to be downright delicious. I cannot wait to find out what the Council has been up to, and how bad the damage from Changes-->Skin Game is (I imagine that they've got one hell of a bloody nose from the Fomor).
And it's going to be downright delicious. I cannot wait to find out what the Council has been up to, and how bad the damage from Changes-->Skin Game is (I imagine that they've got one hell of a bloody nose from the Fomor).Not too sure; the Fomor in Chicago were pretty smooth operators. Decent chance they managed to avoid any serious open conflict and the Council has egg on its face for failing to deal with them, rather than a bloody nose for confronting them in bloody conflicts.
Well, yeah, they've gotten their butts handed to them when we've seen them fight characters with Plot Armor. I'm just judging from the information we got between Ghost Story and Skin Game, which kinda indicated that the Council was scrambling, to the point that they pretty much ignore North America to maintain order in Europe (with the exception of Bill, Carlos (currently out of action), and maybe another warden or two I can't remember).
Regardless, I phrased it poorly; I didn't mean that the Council was losing , especially not open confrontations. I meant that the Council was fighting a war of attrition, and not doing great. I mean, one dead wizard is more of a blow than, what, a hundred dead Fomor servitors? I don't know how many of them there are, I'm just going based on Fantasy Rules (for every "hero," there are approximately one quadrillion orcs/goblins/Red Court Vampires/Lilliputians.)
As of April 4th, 2019, the current draft of the novel is up to chapter 56.
I must say wow the book is getting long and Jim is really knocking out chapters lately.
Your post makes me wonder about Marcone and the White Court and what kind of losses they have been taking to hold onto the territory they claim within Chicago. I remember the negotiation session Murphy had with Marcone's proxy in Ghost Story when they traded small bits of territory. I don't remember the specifics of what their negotiation was about, but the important thing is that Murphy's people and Marcone would have to be willing to fight to hold on to what they had against the Fomor. The same is true for Lara Raith and the rest of the White Court.
Now Marcone and Lara could use hired guns, but that would get pretty expensive because they would have to be highly trained people to go up against Fomor servitors. Not the same thing as hiring people for a one time job like Marcone did in the Raith Deeps. It makes me wonder how much Marcone and Lara would want a settlement with the Fomor or if either or both would really like the White Council to go all out against the Fomor and solve their problem for them.
We should have had pool going to guess how many chapters this book will have.I'm in! Twenty bucks on 62.
He's up to 57, I'm beginning to think he is writing the Encyclopedia Galactica rather than Peace Talks,He'd better not be. It's too expensive, and lacks any helpful advice on the cover.
He'd better not be. It's too expensive, and lacks any helpful advice on the cover.(https://res.cloudinary.com/teepublic/image/private/s--T11olA5J--/t_Preview/b_rgb:0195c3,c_limit,f_jpg,h_630,q_90,w_630/v1490831605/production/designs/1368582_1.jpg)
Well, yeah, they've gotten their butts handed to them when we've seen them fight characters with Plot Armor. I'm just judging from the information we got between Ghost Story and Skin Game, which kinda indicated that the Council was scrambling, to the point that they pretty much ignore North America to maintain order in Europe (with the exception of Bill, Carlos (currently out of action), and maybe another warden or two I can't remember).I have the feeling the White Council got too much used to major battles; especially Proven Guilty implied that the Red Court fought them en-masse. So a Wizard would be on his guard only occasionally for a period of utter chaos, and then go back to some semblance of normality.
Regardless, I phrased it poorly; I didn't mean that the Council was losing , especially not open confrontations. I meant that the Council was fighting a war of attrition, and not doing great. I mean, one dead wizard is more of a blow than, what, a hundred dead Fomor servitors? I don't know how many of them there are, I'm just going based on Fantasy Rules (for every "hero," there are approximately one quadrillion orcs/goblins/Red Court Vampires/Lilliputians.)
I have the feeling the White Council got too much used to major battles; especially Proven Guilty implied that the Red Court fought them en-masse. So a Wizard would be on his guard only occasionally for a period of utter chaos, and then go back to some semblance of normality.
And I think it's also where the Council's main strength is - bring your army to the battlefield the Council knows about, and they can prepare the magic to utterly wipe the floor with you. So noone who has an army wants to annoy them (much).
But the Fomor are fighting a guerilla war, and that requires constant vigilance and a desire to always go out there and kick the Fomor back. We see Marcone and Lara Raith (intelligent and adaptable operaters) struggle with it, so imagine what a bunch of hidebound conservatives would have to do?
This also means the victories of 'normals' against the Fomor are less impressive than otherwise would be the case - the moment a Fomor operation is known about by their enemies is the moment they have already half-lost, and smart Fomor operators start running (of course, the examples shared make it clear that such smarts aren't always in evidence).
I think that what happened is the White Council suffered some big losses during the war with the reds. They have been weakened, thus making their fight with the Fomor a more difficult one. A good example is the Captain of the Wardens had her power placed in a weaker individual, and she can no longer forge the powerful swords the wardens carry. Morgan, one of their greatest Wardens was killed. Archangel, and the Brute Squad were all slaughtered.Absolutely.
So they lost some heavy hitters, and that's not including all the people they lost to the Reds. A White Council at full strength would be less vulnerable to the Fomor, and their tactics I think.
Wasn't there an ongoing power struggle between White Council factions when we last saw them in Changes?
If we see a fourteen page explanation of how magic works in the nevernever, we'll know for sure...
I just miss Bob as Harry's partner, not saying that Bonny won't be good, but will never be the same.
Yes, but Bob + Butters & Andi has the potential for something truly, dare I say, magical.
On a more serious note, I'm curious about what happens when a spirit of intellect starts spending a lot of time with the faith side of things. Bob said he's not equipped to deal with it, but with Butters by his side... I suspect Jim is setting us up for something big.
<heh>No signs? Among the first things we see of Bob under Butters' ownership is him giddily gushing about just how much porn is on the internet. He is absolutely still pervy.
But nah.
Bob's not a perv. HARRY's Bob is a perv.
Evil Bob? Not a perv. Scary as fuck, but not a perv.
Butters' Bob? Ummm. I don't think we know enough to be sure... but I don't think we see any signs of perviness... which just is NOT pervy Bob, especially with Andi around!
<heh>
But nah.
Bob's not a perv. HARRY's Bob is a perv.
Evil Bob? Not a perv. Scary as fuck, but not a perv.
Butters' Bob? Ummm. I don't think we know enough to be sure... but I don't think we see any signs of perviness... which just is NOT pervy Bob, especially with Andi around!
<heh>
But nah.
Bob's not a perv. HARRY's Bob is a perv.
Evil Bob? Not a perv. Scary as fuck, but not a perv.
Butters' Bob? Ummm. I don't think we know enough to be sure... but I don't think we see any signs of perviness... which just is NOT pervy Bob, especially with Andi around!
As of yesterday, Chapter 59!I'm gonna need a wheelbarrow! ;)
As of yesterday, Chapter 59!
I think the reason for the book being so many chapters is that he wrote 1/3 the book and then ended up having to take two year break on writing....when working on a project like a book you never stop thinking about what you are writing even if you cant write. I bet Jim Butcher came up with another plot line to weave into the story and ended up rewriting a great deal of the chapters he all ready had written. this new plot line ended up also adding another 12 chapters to the book....this is my guess and if I ever meet him at Q and A I am going to ask him. if I am right I think the plot line was created when he wrote the short story Zoo day.
I think the reason for the book being so many chapters is that he wrote 1/3 the book and then ended up having to take two year break on writing....when working on a project like a book you never stop thinking about what you are writing even if you cant write. I bet Jim Butcher came up with another plot line to weave into the story and ended up rewriting a great deal of the chapters he all ready had written. this new plot line ended up also adding another 12 chapters to the book....this is my guess and if I ever meet him at Q and A I am going to ask him. if I am right I think the plot line was created when he wrote the short story Zoo day.
...
By and by, is his next work after Peace Talks (and, I suppose, the Maggie and her Maggical Pals series debut) confirmed to be a Cinder Spires entry, or is he jumping straight to Mirror, Mirror? I'd heard the former, but I saw some speculation that he'd be sticking with Dresden to try to get back on schedule.
we have no more threat of a Robert Jordan...Knock on some wood, right now!
may 19th is the 3 year anniversary of the release of the first chapter. I wonder if we will get news by then or at least a rerelease of the chapter or even an updated version
Time to break up the boredom and make a prediction. It's been 11 days since it was announced that Jim was up to chapter 60. I don't know if that means Jim is working on chapter 60 or he has finished 60 chapters. That wording is a little vague. Whoever is writing those updates needs to write more clearly; and I say that as someone who often needs to remind myself to write more clearly, but I digress.
For the past few weeks Jim has been knocking out a chapter every 4 or 5 days. Several months earlier Jim was averaging about 8 days per chapter. Now there could be some simple explanation why the current chapter is taking so long for Jim to get through. Jim may have had some personal or family issue come up that he needed to take a few days off to deal with. However, I'm hoping it's not an outside problem, I'm hoping it's actually a good thing; something indicative that Jim is really in the very final stretch of finishing up Peace Talks. I'm thinking Jim has been working through all the final twists and turns of the final confrontation or set of confrontations Harry must pass through, and following the conclusion of the current chapter (or two) there will only be the epilogue to write. The epilogue chapter probably won't take more than 3 days for Jim to knock out.
Even if the current chapter isn't the penultimate one, the extra time Jim is taking to finish the current chapter will mean the final boss battle chapter will go pretty quickly because Jim has already set everything up for the conclusion he's aiming for. I think after the current chapter is finished, it might only be 3 to 8 more days before Jim writes "The End."
The problem with you idea is that we do not always get an update for every chapter. This means that while you could be correct and the latest chapter is taking a little longer it is also possible the next update will say chapter 62 or 63 not 61 meaning the chapter is not taking any extra time compared to others.
It is also possible we will just get a book complete notice soon and we will not know for sure how many chapters until we get the book. :)
He needs to do 62-63 chapters for me to win this bet. Any less, and the terms are unmet for both of us and we have to roll the pot (and add to it) for a release date bet. Any more, and I just lose. COME ON JIM FINISH THIS ONE AND THEN DO AN EPILOGUE.
no one tell Jim about the new larp group that combines larping with mixed marshal arts. he will never get back to writing
Maybe Jim realized he needed to make a critical change back in Chapter 13, and has to re-work the rest of it going forward.
(this Public Service Announcement is sponsored by the Society for the Infliction of Cruelty to DF Fans)
Thankfully Harry is not one of the readers of the books because if he was Jim would probably be doing just that to torture him.
I hereby declare the readers tortured.
New Theory:
Jim has just thought of an amazingly-kewl crossover, the Cinder Codex.
He has put aside the Peace Talks draft to write Vol.1 of this new series.
(this Public Service Announcement is sponsored by the Society for the Infliction of Cruelty to DF Fans)
New Theory:
Jim has just thought of an amazingly-kewl crossover, the Cinder Codex.
He has put aside the Peace Talks draft to write Vol.1 of this new series.
(this Public Service Announcement is sponsored by the Society for the Infliction of Cruelty to DF Fans)
Jim decided to take a break and got sucked into the world of Pony fic and isn't surfacing until he figures out a way to add them to the DF ecology...I think you're behind the series, so I'll sblock it, but
still 30 chapters to goYou have some wicked thoughts going on! ;D
As of May 22nd he's up to chapter 61
no one tell Jim about the new larp group that combines larping with mixed marshal arts. he will never get back to writing
As of May 22nd, 2019, the current draft of the novel is up to chapter 61.
I'm curious... guess we'll find out when the book comes... big chapter? convoluted? required tying up lots of things? Or did RL/writers block/something outside just get in the way.
Looks like he's up to chapter 62! I wonder how many chapters there will be in this book...
Looks like he's up to chapter 62! I wonder how many chapters there will be in this book...
That's evil! LOL Has anyone ever made a chart of Butcher's average pages per chapter length and seen whether it has gone up or down?
If I did that someone would suggest that it wasn't good enough. To be truly accurate we would need to compare the average number of words per chapter Jim has used over the past five or six books. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to know the highest number of words in a chapter Jim has used per book and see if that number has changed significantly over time. We could also do a character count per chapter, and divide that by the number of words per chapter to see if Jim's vocabulary for Harry and the other characters, plus the description of people, things, the environment, events and emotions have become more complex, meaning Jim is using bigger words, not just more of them. Of course, some people might think that last suggestion is a bit too much, but aren't you a little bit curious to find out?
If I did that someone would suggest that it wasn't good enough. To be truly accurate we would need to compare the average number of words per chapter Jim has used over the past five or six books. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to know the highest number of words in a chapter Jim has used per book and see if that number has changed significantly over time. We could also do a character count per chapter, and divide that by the number of words per chapter to see if Jim's vocabulary for Harry and the other characters, plus the description of people, things, the environment, events and emotions have become more complex, meaning Jim is using bigger words, not just more of them. Of course, some people might think that last suggestion is a bit too much, but aren't you a little bit curious to find out?
Yeah, I think using the size of the words is going just a weeee bit to far.... ::)Wee bit too far?! No such thing! Are you just a fan or are you the full word which is fanatic? LOL
I am moderately pessimist too, but not with Dresden. I trust Jin, even when I like the newer books less than the older ones.
I'm the other way around, I think (almost) every new book in the series has improved over the prior ones. Exceptions are Blood Rites, White Night and Ghost Story.
A part of me is like the longer the book, the more I'll get to read, but another part of me is like finish already! I want to read it now!
there is part of me that is convinced that nothing has been done and these updates are just to stall the mob until a contract can be signed for another project
I'm the other way around, I think (almost) every new book in the series has improved over the prior ones. Exceptions are Blood Rites, White Night and Ghost Story.Ghost story is one one of the better ones, especially if you like world building.
As of June 5th, 2019, the current draft of the novel is up to chapter 63.
That is a manner of opinion...
That is how I am increasing feeling about the whole series.. Actually I've felt this for some time.. Why? Because as the years go by, Jim gets occupied with more creative projects, like all of us he has a life and that gets more complicated... Result longer stretches between books, with a few unsatisfying crumbs scattered in between... Jim talks about Maggie at school spin offs, he is writing a whole new major series concurrent with the Dresden Files... Result, the books since Changes have seemed rushed, diluted even, sometimes especially the short stories, going through the motions... If Jim is floundering and I pray he isn't, it may because he is trying to stretch it out just a bit too thin, trying to put in six books where one focused one could tell it all.
Ghost story is one one of the better ones, especially if you like world building.
You poor optimistic fool.I will do you one better. Jim Butcher has died and the person we see walking around is his look-alike stunt double. Unfortunately, the double can't write. There will be no new book.
The contract has already been signed, and Jim's hard at work on it. And developing a new proposal.'
The draft of Peace Talks is actually the 3rd item down his "Projects" list. Most days he doesn't even think about it.
(is this pessimistic enough for y'all?)
I will do you one better. Jim Butcher has died and the person we see walking around is his look-alike stunt double. Unfortunately, the double can't write. There will be no new book.
On the positive side, Jim is making (what I believe) is his first appearance at a Con this year (Westercon) over the July 4th weekend in Layton, UT; which is just north of Salt Lake City and right next to Hill Air Force Base. I will be in attendance. The reason I'm being positive is I think (hope) Jim will have wrapped up Peace Talks by then.I liked the discussions especially those with Lea, she is always a fun to read and I liked the world building. Seeing the impact of Harry’s suicide on his friends was important as well. Too often these things get drowned in one big fighting scene. The fighting is not the most important part of the book.
Yes, to all of this.
I'm also becoming annoyed by things like the retconning we saw in Skin Game. Anna Valmont and the other two Churchmice didn't rip off Nicodemus. That's not why Nic killed Valmont's friends. They didn't know Nicodemus existed. I'm actually surprised none of the Beta readers caught that. It makes me worry that other errors might get introduced into the series.
I really disagree with you here. I thought at least one early chapter in Ghost Story was sloppily written, and overall I think the story aimlessly meanders back and forth, rather than powerfully driving to a satisfying and emotional conclusion. When we get the big reveal, that explains why Molly is such a mess, I felt like, "Oh, I get it. Molly blames herself for Harry's death because she went along with his suicide plan. That's it? That was a long way to go just to find out that Harry set up his own assassination." What should have been an emotional gut punch was like getting hit by a pillow. Now that I think about, the Star Trek theme in Molly's head didn't add anything either.
That's not to say there weren't some very good parts in Ghost Story. I enjoyed Harry's discussions with Lea, Carmichael, Captain Murphy and Uriel, but overall I thought it was the most disappointing book in the series. I don't think you can compare it to something like Fool Moon; a book many people feel is mediocre, because Fool Moon was such an early effort. Jim was still learning his craft then.
I'm also becoming annoyed by things like the retconning we saw in Skin Game. Anna Valmont and the other two Churchmice didn't rip off Nicodemus. That's not why Nic killed Valmont's friends. They didn't know Nicodemus existed. I'm actually surprised none of the Beta readers caught that. It makes me worry that other errors might get introduced into the series.
Do we know if Peace Talks is going to be crash-published or are we looking at the usual 6-8-12 months to publish after the manuscript is finished?
Do you think blood thirsty readers with pitch forks and torches might motivate them?Just draw a big circle 'round the editor's office when the ms. arrives, and then order in pizza.
We won’t have a release date until Jim finished the manuscript, but hopefully that will be soon, so look for an announcement in July!
More to the point...Well he better, I don't have a wheelbarrow ;)
Seems like he's coming up on the end.
More to the point...
We won’t have a release date until Jim finished the manuscript, but hopefully that will be soon, so look for an announcement in July!
Seems like he's coming up on the end.
It will soon be announced that just as Quentin Tarantino divided Kill Bill into parts 1 & 2, Peace Talks will be released in two parts. Whether we will have to wait until after the second Cinder Spires book is released for Peace Talks part 2, is an open question. ;D
I am very grateful that books like the Dresden Files exist, I can read them over and over and they are still great.
Mr Butcher, you have created something amazing and I admire your work.
... and now I want the book. ;D
Finished the finale of Peace Talks this morning.Just the wrap-up chapter to go. :) News regarding pub dates as I get it.
So, you think that Peace Talks could come out on 4th of July?
The soonest possible date is probably November or December but that would involve the publisher spending a few buckets of extra money, parallel edits and copy edits, a lot of *really* tight deadlines and betting there won't be major revisions of the manuscript. I think the publication process can be condensed down to about three months (which I think is the plan for GRRM's book) but that assumes writing and editing can be done in parallel. Given that the Dresden Files are a single POV in rigid chronological order, I don't think that can be done.*In the past, Jim has used Beta readers that get chapters as he goes. They provide notes, so there are fewer surprises at the end. I don't know if he's continued to use them or not, but it seems likely. That should help with the editing turnaround.
More likely is spring or summer of next year, which is what most of me hopes they'll do. It tends to make for a better book and is less likely to burn out the author. I'd rather Jim get back into the rhythm of regular releases than go into a major editing crunch just to get the book out a few months earlier.
*I don't know how Jim's writing process fits into editing or what state his submitted manuscript is in. But what I've heard about the more common methods is that edits in later chapters can often mean revising previous chapters to make it look like they knew what they were doing all along.
From reddit, the turnaround time for prior books, after Jim posted "The End" on Twitter:
Skin Game: 191 days* (6.4 months) [151,922 words]
Cold Days: 120 days (4 months) [175,685 words]
Ghost Story: 109 days (3.6 months) [162,899 words]
Changes: 93 days (3.1 months) [149,280 words]
Turn Coat: 97 days (3.2 months) [141,745 words]
Small Favor: 208 days (6.9 months) [139,798 words]
Assuming the clusters of turnaround time have meaning, do we know of any distinguishing characteristics of Skin Game and Small Favors? It's not time since previous novel.
Well, they both start with "S" :D
We can crunch the numbers any way we want, it's not like we can draw any real conclusions.
First, there isn't enough data to actually do any (valid) statistical analysis.
Second -- and much more important -- Jim isn't delivering his manuscript to some predictable, homogenous, PerfectEditingEngine. The publisher won't slurp up the draft and PEE out a hardcover in 4.61829 months.
It's a bunch of PEOPLE. What other projects have they got under way, because they cannot just put the whole business on-hold waiting for the next DF novel; not even a guaranteed hit is worth that! Maybe his editor is going through a divorce of their own, or moving, or just lost a pet, or is undergoing gender-reassignment surgery. I dunno, what other reasons has Jim given -- valid, understandable reasons -- for being so much slower to complete this draft? Maybe Jim's editor isn't playing "Keeping up with the Butchers," maybe they aren't hitting EVERY hardship Jim hit en route to finishing this draft. Maybe they've got it worse. We have no real way of knowing. (n.b. I don't remember all of Jim's (very good!) reasons; I may have forgotten one or two, or added-in one or two that didn't actually happen to him).
I think release date will have more to do with looking for a release date that fits....you don't want the release date being the same week as George R Martins Game of thronesPretty sure that we don't have to worry about until, like, maybe the 20th DF novel.
We can crunch the numbers any way we want, it's not like we can draw any real conclusions.
Pretty sure that we don't have to worry about until, like, maybe the 20th DF novel.
Gotcha. Thanks, Dina. Is that a clue to the books or a reference to what he is watching? Are we going to get a Clue-like scene in the novel?
I want a Christmas' release...because it's my birthday.An old girlfriend of mine from many years ago was born on Christmas. Whenever she mentioned it to anyone, they always said, "Oh, I'm sorry, that must've been rough." She always found their immediate sympathetic responses annoying as hell, because, as she put it, "Every year, I spent my birthday surrounded by everyone in the world who loved me. And ham is my favorite food."
I have enough of that but also the "that's amazing". I am just glad I never had to go to work (or school) in my birthday.
So, did she eat ham for Christmas?
My niece's birthday is on December 20th. She just has a party in June and sometimes tries to scam a second gift out of us.
I understood that she wanted a birhday gift and a Christmas gift, both around the same date as her birthday is close to Christmas. But the party in June...well, I did not understand that, to be honest. I thought it was an unrelated thing. Why does she have a birthday in June?
You people are weird :o
Our family did that too: the idea is a "half-birthday" party (as close to 6 months' offset as can be made to work) when friends might be more available and when it can "stand out" more from Christmastime celebrations.Pretty much this, but my niece is a kid, and I haven't noticed kids having a lot of Christmas parties that they have to go to (other than something in school). People are in such a hurry around Christmas (at least in my little part of the world) that a lot of events around Christmas can start to feel like a burden. The husband's office party, the wife's office party, this social group's party, that social group's party, a business organization or two's parties, the landlord's, the extended family's (again on both sides). And the traffic around the bigger local shopping spots was crazy the last time I went there during Christmas after office hours. (It was 10-15 years ago, so maybe ordering online has changed things. It sure has for me).
You people are weird :o
Is it normal for it to take this long to announce a publication date? The book was supposedly finished July 22... It is now over 3 months later...
According to Priscellie and the official JB website, he has done some revisions and rewriting. But the releasing date is supposed to be announced soon, so cross your fingers.Just checked. The upcoming works page does indeed state that revisions are done. So we're close to a release date. I'm anticipating a Halloween announcement, because that would be fun and appropriate.
You are right in that.
I'm a little concerned that the cover art isn't up.I don't think it need worry you.... AFAIK the rest of the publication process is unimpeded by that. Maybe something in the artist-submitted pic was deemed too spoilerific, or egregiously mis-representative, or otherwise needed extensive reworking. Getting the cover done/ready USUALLY happens early-on, but doesn't HAVE to happen early-on...
I names my 9mm Darla. She's a biter. :)You do know that's weird, right? :D
The way this is going, I think we'll get a release day around christmass.
My new puppy, who is a rescue, she and her sisters were dumped... Anyway she is very pretty and sweet, so I call her "Princess Buttercup."
Perhaps Mouse is one of his Names, but it is good that you are not going around calling him that. You don't know any dastardly character knowing it. By the way, your Jax sounds amazing :)Fair point.
I can go on and on about border collies or Aussies. They're both awesome breeds, and I highly recommend them—if you have a yard. They are not well-suited for apartment or condo spaces.
The revisions took a LOT longer on this book because of the extended span of time over which it was written. Usually, that 4-6 month turnaround is from the time Jim sends the last chapter to the betas and tweets "The End." It INCLUDES any revisions. Clearly, that wasn't the case this time. But I'm reading the revised novel now, and holy crap holy crap holy crap HOW DID HE MAKE IT EVEN BETTER?!???
So I've been poking around looking for more Peace Talks news, and found this from Priscillie on Reddit, 24 days ago:Thanks for the update. The wait is freaking killing me. How hard is it to publish a release date?
So, revisions are 100% complete, Priscillie has read the finished, publishable novel. Everything is in Penguin's hands, and they're holding off on announcing a publication date for now, presumably until they decide on the best release window for it. Personally, I was hoping for a Christmastime release, and it's still technically possible, but now I'm thinking they're going to shoot for Q1 2020. We'll certainly have it within the next six months, unless Penguin decides they want to sit on it for God only knows why.
Priscillie has read the finished, publishable novel.I doubt her copy had been copy edited (edited for grammar and such) and proofread yet (for clean pagination and such).
apparently if you call up penguin and ask they will tell youWell, that's not in time for my birthday. Maybe it will be several months earlier.(click to show/hide)
apparently if you call up penguin and ask they will tell you(click to show/hide)
Well, that's not in time for my birthday. Maybe it will be several months earlier.That is my birthday :)
I doubt her copy had been copy edited (edited for grammar and such) and proofread yet (for clean pagination and such).
That reminds me of some stuff I noticed in my last reading of Blood Rites. I think it might be the worst (copy) edited book of the DF. I noticed so many mistakes (for a Penguin book, at least). The funniest one was "Harry said" instead of "I said."
I've read some pirated copies of Jim's books (I had already purchased the eBook iterations, but needed EPUBs with no DRM so I could copy + paste from it for some presentations on modern novels; I'd never steal from Jim).I remove the DRM protections from any epub I get my hands on. I've pulled all the short stories out and put them in there own epub file. I've also changed the names of the books (and short stories) so that they are in chronological order (First Fistful of Warlocks to that most recent Christmas story that I haven't done yet).
...
But anyway, word processors tend to interpret all of the formatting in a PDF precisely. So the end of a line in a PDF will get a hard line break when you copy and paste it into Microsoft Word. That means you have all of these weird paragraphs with random breaks spread across a whole document. It's a real pain to clean that kind of thing up (there is no quick fix; you have to go through it and delete the breaks, fix the spacing, etc.)
Maybe that's just a rough-guesstimate placeholder, pending some imponderables; and rando-customer-service-worker just reported it, not realizing it as only a guess.
Or maybe it's brand-brand-new info, that hasn't wended its way through the Normal Channels, and we'll get it in a few days...
Maybe someone who knows someone who knows Jim (add layers of knowledge as needed) can kick this back up the ladder, and Jim can WTF his editor?
What would be amazing is if they actually went to a "full cast" audiobook. That could cause a significant delay, but would be freaking awesome. Highly unlikely, though, and a lot of people would probably hate it.
What would be amazing is if they actually went to a "full cast" audiobook. That could cause a significant delay, but would be freaking awesome. Highly unlikely, though, and a lot of people would probably hate it.Yes! I remember listening to Arabian Nights as a radio show with a full cast when I was a kid, a full set of actors, was awesome :)
Call for Extras for the Peace Talks trailer!and so on...
Nov
23
2019
Attention, Los Angeles: Want to be a part of the fan-made book trailer to promote the next Dresden Files novel? We’d love to have you! All shapes, sizes, genders, ages, and ethnicities welcome to submit.
Try to relax. The book will be released when is released, meanwhile is not as if there are no other books in the world.Hi, Dina.
... We have no indication the book publisher will coordinate the announcement of the release date of the book with the release of the trailer...
... the trailer for Skin Game.... was posted to YouTube on May 9, 2014 and the release date for Skin Game was May 27, 2014 ...
... almost exactly a year since Butcher wrote The End on Peace Talks ...I don't think anyone has tracked down this span -- "The End" to publication-date -- to see if the publisher has any patterns or predictability...
As of July 22nd, 2019, Peace Talks is in the hands of Jim’s editor! Look for a release date announcement in the next couple weeks.I'd like her to define 'next couple of weeks'. Look at the post date. :o
We’ll announce further details as we have them!
Posted by priscellie on 2014/05/23 at 2:31 pm
I believe they have on reddit ...Has anyone done all the data, though. How many times has Jim typed "The End" and had it mean, all revisons/betas/etc are done... Jim won't touch it again before publication (is that even what it means THIS time?) ?
I speculated in the past that the delay in Butchers writing war games had to do with the divorce and how may years his ex would share in profits from the books. I think that is the reason for the delay.
I presume you mean Skin Game not "war games." ;DWhile it definitely is not of our business, surely, over the course of several years, someone can find a place where they are comfortable to write. I bet his publisher would even help pay for an office space, an extra apartment, comfortable decor, whatever.
But far, FAR more happened to him than just the divorce. Including the lack of any "room of ones own" for writing in. It's really, REALLY not the case that writers can just sit down and be equally productive in all circumstances; it's not like being a sales-clerk or an bookkeeper or etc; creatives are profoundly impacted by their internal state. Mr. Butcher reports (with, I think, some surprise) that the editors and readers don't seem to be able to tell the difference between inspired-Jim (who just got shagged by his muse), and pedestrian-Jim (whose muse seems to be deleting his voicemails without even listening) ... BUT that his productivity goes down to about 1/4 inspired-Jim's daily wordcount.
Add in the fact that Aeronaut's Windlass is also somewhere in there, alongside the tons of disruption in his life, I don't think you need any extra motivation (such as trying to stick a knife in the Ex) for him to delay.
But this is, really, none of our business; and we can think whatever we want but I seriously doubt that anybody's guesses will be confirmed by anyone who actually knows. So if someone wants to allege that Jim was actually abducted by Greys and spent the time touring the habitable planets of TRAPPIST-1... well, I guess that's a theory to consider alongside the other unprovables...
While it definitely is not of our business, surely, over the course of several years, someone can find a place where they are comfortable to write. I bet his publisher would even help pay for an office space, an extra apartment, comfortable decor, whatever.
I love his books, but I've never bought this "lack of writing space" excuse.
I love his books, but I've never bought this "lack of writing space" excuse.
Or if his books were selling as good as J.K. Rowlings Harry potter books he could have applied her solution and spend 1000 pounds a night in the Edinburgh Balmoral hotel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjLan582Lgk
I bet Jim wishes his books sold that well as well. Having read everything from both of them I think Jim is better though his stuff is not as kid friendly. :)No contest. Jim's a better writer. Now, at least. Though I think he was a better writer in his first book than Rowling was for hers.
Magic in the DV has been consistent from book one. The rules were obviously thought out beforehand, and I can't pinpoint anywhere they're broken.There is a lot of early installment weirdness. I'd say the "rules" for the series isn't really on solid ground until book 4 or 5.
Having worked from home the lack of space makes sense to me when combined with the house building as covering a fair amount of lost time. When I first started working from home I would set up anywhere and it took me a while to realize I was getting almost nothing done. Then I cleaned out a space for a small office and things got a lot better. If Jim did the same thing we wasted a chunk of time not really thinking about the fact he was getting almost nothing done on the dinning room table. Then he may have been thinking the new house will be ready soon not worth worry about I will carry on this way. Then the house kept having delays.Four additional years, though? Lack of a writing space was way too high on the excuse list. Hell, just say, "I haven't been in the right frame of mind for a bunch of reasons and had to take a break." I'd be fine with that. But not being able to find a place to write for 4 years? 4 freaking years?!?! I mean, come on. That's just blowing smoke and feels completely disingenuous. If he really wanted to be writing, he'd have found a space in which he could write. Get a larger apartment for God's sake. Rent a house. Four years is a long damn time to be in limbo. I can't imagine putting up with that. Maybe a year, max. I'd much rather have just heard, "Sorry folks, I had to take a break. I'll get back to writing as soon as I can!"
This does not explain all of the delay but I think the lack of writing space was certainly real and cost him a good chunk of time.
Four additional years, though? Lack of a writing space was way too high on the excuse list ...
Apropo of nothing, Locus magazine has again listed a publication date for Peace Talks. They list an April 2020 release...
Rowling ended it in seven books, and she captured a generation or two, internationally. By any definition that includes the readers, she wrote better books. Butcher might have served himself better by not trying to make a life's work of it. You get tired of anybody or thing that consumes as much of your life as the Dresden Files. Rowling hit it and moved on. Now she can work for pride and fun.
I agree with most of it, but I disagree about first books. I think The Sorcerer's Stone is almost perfect and I think the writing is better than SF. That said, I completely agree about Butcher learning faster and I think he is now a much, much better autor than JKR.
Rowling vs Butcher?
Well -- at least for Philosopher's Stone vs Storm Front -- Rowling's effort was overwhelmingly superior.
Rowling was trying to write a whimsical kids' adventure-story in the "British Boarding School" model. It was a runaway international bestseller, and went onto innumerable "best of..." and "must read..." lists. You don't have to like the books, personally, but you need to face the fact that most people -- from literary critics to librarians to the buying public -- love the books. You must face up to the fact that any "dislike" is a matter of personal taste.
Jim Butcher? He was trying to prove that his own writing style was incompatible with what his writing-teacher thought he should write. He wanted to demonstrate it would be unsalably bad. Jim Butcher utterly failed his goal with this book (the poor guy; gotta pity him, really...).
:o
Rowling's was excellent in the first four to five books, but when she began to write about our favorite young wizards as teens things began to fall apart. She also kept to her original outline, which she has admitted was a bit of a mistake as far a who ended up with whom. However she did know when to quit.I wasn't making a judgement on what I thought of my experience reading both series. For people who choose to write for a living then sales are the only metric that counts. Jim uses the money to afford the lifestyle that he wants to live. So does Rowling. If they didn't get paid they wouldn't be writing.
I wasn't making a judgement on what I thought of my experience reading both series. For people who choose to write for a living then sales are the only metric that counts. Jim uses the money to afford the lifestyle that he wants to live. So does Rowling. If they didn't get paid they wouldn't be writing.
The biggest problem with both writers was and is that the books got bloated as they went along.
I assume that's [vampires] what you're [me] talking about.I just grabbed a quote from tvtropes and eliminated the references to style, tone, and themes as they didn't have anything to do with what we were talking about.
Agreed, edit, edit, edit.... An author really guilty of writing bloated books in a series that goes on way too long is Terry Goodkind, his "Sword of Truth" series.I've never read him. A lot of good books trying to get your attention is the problem. And solving that problem is more luck than good writing. When I was young lurid book covers worked as well as anything. Possibly some cheesy sex. Jim pays homage to the idea with the bodice rippers for Bob. Although he could dial it back just a little. In a small way it reminds me of the Doc Savage books. The tone, rather than the content.
... I think he wanted to write that chase on a skateboard and turn expectations on its head. And I don't know that it was needed...
I think Jim spent so long building Butters up as the comic little not-a-credible-threat nerd -- whose highest aspiration to Hero'dom is gnawing (briefly) on a villain's leg -- that we'll be seeing a fair bit of Jim building-up New Butters as a smart hero, using wits and Science! and magical Inspector Bob-Gadget'ry (in addition to being a Jedi Knight of the Cross). I think that's why we saw, e.g. the Skateboard of Awesome (also, I'm willing to bet that somebody in Jim's life (maybe Jim himself) is a 'board fan; just sayin' ).
Agreed, edit, edit, edit.... An author really guilty of writing bloated books in a series that goes on way too long is Terry Goodkind, his "Sword of Truth" series.Oh lord. Especially his newer stuff -- in one, Richard spends 200 goddamn pages in a cave, most of which is spent with him learning about the "unholy half dead" zombie things over and over again.
Create the most overpowered weapon in the books.
We’ll probably get the new wielder of Fidelacchius in Book 14 or 15. Um, Amoracchius is gonna, uh…(Jim chuckles evilly), that’s gonna be apocalypse time by the time we get [unintelligible]. Amoracchius is not one of those Swords that really rampages around the world very often, and when if does, you’ve heard about it, so…( https://wordof.jim-butcher.com/index.php/word-of-jim-woj-compilation/woj-on-future-df-works/ )
... a combined aura that made the thrumming power of a roused Amoracchius seem like a low-wattage lightbulb in comparison.(emphasis added -- not Amoracchius "whenever" but Amoracchius roused.)
Q: What are the upper levels of magic?( https://wordof.jim-butcher.com/index.php/word-of-jim-woj-compilation/woj-on-magic-in-the-dresden-files/ )
A: There are none, if the person has enough juice. If someone was strong enough, they could completely rewrite reality.
... Have a Jew carry a weapon forged with the nails of Jesus's crucifix, which is somewhat dubious ...
To make Butter's a Knight Jim had...
Create the most overpowered weapon in the books.
Are you going back to that whole "Jews killed Jesus, and therefore are Eeeevil!" rationalization?Being an atheist your point is lost on me.
Nicodemus attacked in the moment Michael's attention was elsewhere. The Denarian's weapon blurred, and Michael barely managed to get Amoracchius into a parry. He was thrown off balance and to one knee for a fatal second, but Sanya roared and attacked, whipping his saber through whistling arcs, and driving Nicodemus back. The Russian drove the Denarian toward the far side of the car.And here comes Butter's, snickity, snick. Nic is done.
In none of the fights involving the swords did one sword cut through another leaving behind white hot metal. I'm thinking of the fight on the train. And here comes Butter's, snickity, snick. Nic is done.
The swords' power has always been variable according to the circumstances, though. As I said, they have cut metal other than opposing blades in ways a physical blade obviously can't on a couple other occasions, and their mystical power varies in some combination of response to both the bearer and the current adversary. Fidelacchius gives Harry a fighting chance wrestling with Nicodemus, but it lights up like a freaking meteor for Karrin against Deirdre.
And I think Fidelacchius starting to act like a lightsaber all the time when it was thrown to Butters may have just possibly been influenced by the fact that the one throwing it had the very probable spear of destiny - which is legendarily supposed to confer victory on the side that carries it - stuffed up his sleeve at the moment.
But he always was a hero in the eyes of his fans, from the very beginning. Remember before he was introduced he stood up for the truth of his scientific findings at great cost. Yes, he relented some, but so did Galileo so he'd have some career left. In Dead Beat, scared out of his mind, yes, but willing to help Harry as best he could. "Polka will never die!" ;D
huh?
Shiro was Buddhist, not even one of the People of the Book. Sanya calls himself an atheist, but admits to -- maybe -- being agnostic (when pressed).
I mean, Jesus was a Jew! Matthew 1:1 also cites him as from the line of Kings, the Davidic house (regarding the importance of which, note how Jim is going to great lengths to demonstrate how important a Kingly lineage is).
A whole bunch of "Christian" words -- like "Messiah" and "Hallelujah" -- are Hebrew. All those -el names, Raphael, Uriel, Michael... they come from Hebrew, where "-el" means "of God."
During Jesus' lifetime (and his direct disciples) "Christianity" was a sect of Judaism; specifically, the sect that believed the prophesied Messiah had in fact arrived.
There's STILL groups like "Messianic Jews" (some of whom are mere revanchist Christians (trying to proselytize the unconverted Jews), but some are genuine practicing Jews who believe the Messiah has come and given them a New Testament).
Are you going back to that whole "Jews killed Jesus, and therefore are Eeeevil!" rationalization?
I feel like I'm attacking motherhood or the Queen. However, Jim pivots from the swords being important, to making swordplay moot. Butter's can't have a sword fight.
I agree. Also, Butters have faith in the red cross or, better, in what it represents. Yes, the origin is the Christian symbol, but now it stands for medicine and hellping people in most parts of the world and clearly in USA, so Butter grew up with that meaning. He has literally served under that sign for years. Besides, Butters is not obtuse. Whatever his faith he knows the importance of symbols, and knights like Arthur's round table ones are powerful symbols.
The swords, like Mouse, like pretty much any really significant power - are incredible and unstoppable in the right circumstances. Mouse powered up by the Carpenter house is much stronger than when powered up by Dresden's poor threshold ("from the Thing to the Hulk" WOJ). The Archangels and the Mothers and the Walkers are incredibly powerful, but only in very specific situations. Choice seems to unlock the power, but so does destiny (which one could argue is the result of a line of choices - no wonder you can't fight fate). Harry was never a Knight of the Cross, and so could never wield a blade like one. Although I do admit, Jim does seem to vary the powers of the Swords a lot. Early Michael was way less powerful than later Michael, despite the damaged leg. Karen makes them all look pitiful, and despite Shiro supposedly being a Sword-Saint we never saw him unleash the way Karen did. Sanya is as true KotC but has he ever been as strong as the others? A good argument might be that Jim needed to super-charge them for the writing later in the series as events demanded. Also perhaps one could argue as the stakes get higher, so does the power of the swords increase (we are getting close to the end of the world).
This was explained in one of the books. The power of the knights (or the swords if you like) is not fixed. Their purpose is to balance the scales ...
... And even Murphy and Sanya together were insufficient to beat all the vampires in that last battle. Not even close.
The medical symbol is the Caduceus, not a cross. And the Red Cross is symbolic of the Swiss Flag where the International Red Cross was founded. The cross is a symbol of the crucifix, wherein the three nails affixed to the swords are thought to be from. And since the rules expressly forbid taking this any further I'll stop.
I hope Butter's story line works out. Jim can't unwrite it.
This was explained in one of the books. The power of the knights (or the swords if you like) is not fixed. Their purpose is to balance the scales so that human skill, will and morality will decide the battle, not supernatural power. So if the knight needs to fight two vampires, you get power X. If the knight needs to battle a frigging dragon, he gets power 5X.
I suspect there is a range of possible power. A knight can probably easily kill any normal vampire 1-1, so there seems to be a minimum power level. And the top end a knight can channel also appears to be limited. Murphy was apparently a VERY powerful knight in Changes, while Sanya appears to be of more typical Knight power. And even Murphy and Sanya together were insufficient to beat all the vampires in that last battle. Not even close.
Well, most of us are ok with Butter's story. And you don't need to patronize me.I'm sorry that you took it that way.
When I was young lurid book covers worked as well as anything.I didn't read a book once because of it's ridiculous cover art. Years later, my brother highly recommended the book. I ended up loving it.
...
@Bad Alias
One of the better things about the books is that Jim will retcon if it makes the story stronger. Keeping too much technology out kills the story.
Uriel: I must admit I never foresaw that particular form of faith being expressed under my purview.
Harry: Belief in a freaking movie?
Uriel: Belief in a story, of good confronting evil, of light overcoming darkness, of love transcending hate. Isn't that where all faith begins?
Harry: Huh. Lot of Star Wars fans out there. Maybe more Star Wars fans than Catholics.
Uriel: I liked the music.
“Excalibur, Durendal, and Kusanagi, yes, yes,” Sir Stuart said, his tone a little impatient. “Of course I know the Swords of the Cross. And the little blond woman has two of them?”
See this quote from Ghost Story:Absolutely agree. That's the whole point that Jim made isn't it - that it's mortal's understanding of the entities that changes, not really the entities themselves.
And what Kusanagi actually is:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kusanagi
Definitely more Shinto than christian. These things adapt to keep functional. How they express themself is a function of human belief. It is probably older than christianity and it will survive it.
Any reading of Changes suggesting that the Knights balanced the table at Chechen Itza seems a little nearsighted. Harry is shitting kittens thinking he has led his allies to their deaths. Had the Knights been able to run the table, Susan needn't have died. Harry killed every vampire everywhere. god was late to the game and purely local.
As an extra added attraction for the Butter's story line he had to mug Murphy, again. She is apparently Jim's torture doll. While Butters was carving the dead Murphy got mind raped. Lost her career and got demoted. Got dumped at the boat and abandoned in place to cope with the Fomor and the White Vamps. And got a bad knee and a rep as a sword breaker. Kincaid broke her arm, but at least he showed her a good time. Oh yeah and she got puppeted by an angel. She deserved a larger cut of the diamonds. And the sword.
We definitely know that the Almighty created the universe etc.Tiny quibble: I recall Jim saying something along the lines of how would one know the difference between the creator of the universe and a being potent enough to retcon the universe/creation story.
The fact that Harry carried the Spear of Destiny (or Longinus) is definitely worth remembering. The power to warp reality and probability so that all conflicts go your way? Greater than any of those swords or any spell that we have seen. Perhaps it supercharged Butter's sword, perhaps not (which is likely considering it functionally worked the same in the short story). But the fact that Harry carried it with him in hopeless odds, and won, should not be overlooked.
Speaking of Peace Talks, a release date has been set, and we should be able to announce it VERY soon! Join our snazzy new mailing list to ensure you’re among the first to know. (If you were a member of our old Yahoo Groups mailing list, you’re good! Your subscription has been automatically transferred.)Weirdly this is an announcement about an announcement, and had you been following on Reddit it had been rumored that the date was set, just not announced. Go figure.
priscellieNow we can all say awomen to the WG.
Resident Intellectus
21 points ·
6 hours ago
This is the only comment I'll make about the timing of the release date, as I don't want folks to press me into splitting hairs, but YES, the release date will be announced before Christmas.
I'm not proposing Fidelacchius needs to be in the immediate presence of the spearhead to function every time - it clearly doesn't. I'm proposing that the presence of the spearhead helped with its initial recovery / transformation.
And I think Fidelacchius starting to act like a lightsaber all the time when it was thrown to Butters may have just possibly been influenced by the fact that the one throwing it had the very probable spear of destiny - which is legendarily supposed to confer victory on the side that carries it - stuffed up his sleeve at the moment.
Tiny quibble: I recall Jim saying something along the lines of how would one know the difference between the creator of the universe and a being potent enough to retcon the universe/creation story.
Tiny quibble: I recall Jim saying something along the lines of how would one know the difference between the creator of the universe and a being potent enough to retcon the universe/creation story.
I'm pretty sure I recall seeing that WoJ!I also remember something about the current holder of that mantle not being the first one.
I'm also pretty sure Mr. Butcher is kinda infamous for playing geeky wordgames with his fans.
If "The White God" actually had enough power to retcon Creation, and that's how he BECAME the creator... it's kind of like a cyclic pre/post BigBang universe, in a mystic sense.
Maybe THAT is the secret of the Outsiders -- they were in charge of everything, and TWG retcon'ed them out of existence. 8)
I'm pretty sure I recall seeing that WoJ!
I'm also pretty sure Mr. Butcher is kinda infamous for playing geeky wordgames with his fans.
If "The White God" actually had enough power to retcon Creation, and that's how he BECAME the creator... it's kind of like a cyclic pre/post BigBang universe, in a mystic sense.
Maybe THAT is the secret of the Outsiders -- they were in charge of everything, and TWG retcon'ed them out of existence. 8)
I also remember something about the current holder of that mantle not being the first one.
Except the WOJ I mentioned says basically the opposite - The Creator is ALWAYS the Creator, it is MORTAL understanding that changes.Which changes how he expresses himself in the mortal realm. That is what he is for us. It is a very powerful being but in certain ways humanity is more powerfull.
See above. I think you are confusing that with a WOJ that said Uriel might merely be a being that THINKS he is an Archangel etc, and not necessarily be JUST that. All to do with mortal belief, I grant you.I specifically remember the white god. At the time I linked it to the radical changes in his character in history though that does not have to be the case. Human understanding changed.
Which changes how he expresses himself in the mortal realm. That is what he is for us. It is a very powerful being but in certain ways humanity is more powerfull. I specifically remember the white god. At the time I linked it to the radical changes in his character in history though that does not have to be the case. Human understanding changed.
Uriel's grace behaves like a mantle. If Michael had kept the mantle he would have become Uriel. It was not said with so many words but that is how it looked like.
It also once posited that the Earth was flat - some fools still believe that today!...It's not the fools who believe such things that worry me.
In any case, if you could pull up that WOJ or direct me to it as I am having a hard time tracking it down I would appreciate it. :)...
He still had his identity, and seemingly his intellectus.
Jim's channeling Karl Popper. Popper said, more or less, that if it couldn't be falsified, then it wasn't worth investigating. So if a being could retcon the creation of the universe there isn't any test you can propose that would allow you to contradict the idea. And this is a gross oversimplification.We just change the story. Or drown it in more stories. We can oblivion war him out.
If you look at it historically as in what people really believed at the time the hebrew god started as the head of a pantheon of gods with a wife and so on. The story changed and the other gods in the pantheon changed and some became angels just like some other gods later became saints. I think we can assume that Uriel's grace evolved from something that was originally even more like a mantle.
It's not the fools who believe such things that worry me.
Sorry. I just have some vague recollection of it, but I do mostly just watch videos posted on Youtube (as opposed to Reddit AMA's and magazine interviews whose transcripts I don't trust to be precise enough to be useful anyway). The main thing is that I recall Jim asking the question "how would you know." A question for in response to an answer is only the implication of an answer. Basically, even if I remember perfectly correctly, Jim did not say that the Creator wasn't the original creator.
Uriel didn't have his intellectus. If you recall, he had to ask where the towels (or sheets or some such thing) were.
apparently if you call up penguin and ask they will tell you(click to show/hide)
Which fools worry you then?It's not the fools at all. It's the people who are otherwise not foolish. It's kind of like any strongly held position. No matter what it is, some smart people disagree with it. That means, that no matter how smart you are, you are likely to be vehemently, adamantly, and proudly wrong about something. What am I vehemently, adamantly, and proudly wrong about? (That's a rhetorical question folks).
It's not the fools at all. It's the people who are otherwise not foolish. It's kind of like any strongly held position. No matter what it is, some smart people disagree with it. That means, that no matter how smart you are, you are likely to be vehemently, adamantly, and proudly wrong about something. What am I vehemently, adamantly, and proudly wrong about? (That's a rhetorical question folks).This is a very interesting post. I've never thought about it that way. Thanks.
...Robots would never have such problems.Go to the grocery and stand and look at the canned green beans. While you're looking, you use an emotional process to decide which can to buy. You justify your choice with a veneer of rationality, but advertisers know better. If you took away all emotion than it is possible that you could make no choice at all. A guy won a Nobel Prize for his studies of the psychology of decision making.
But a purely logical and unemotional society would be harsh, boring and probably wouldn't have made it as far. Certainly this wonderful series wouldn't have been written, for if Jim was purely logical in his attitude to writing he never would have believed he could write a 20 book series (as he puts it).
It's all about balance.
inflexible of thought, too dogmatic of belief, too narrow-minded, too insecure to have their views challenged and too arrogant or scared to be wrong is dangerous and difficult, and pitiable.about something.
Is your contention Morris, that Robots are incapable of making choices? Or that emotions are required to make choices?We'll it wouldn't be the first time I have been wrong. However I was paraphrasing Daniel Khaneman, in Thinking Fast And Slow. For instance, in Bad Alias's answer, what happens if five brands are at exactly the same price point? How does
We have a law for that here, but sometimes the smaller stores don't do that, only the big supermarkets.Every man, women and child should be able to do that calculation, it's an indictment of educational sytems that they can't. :'( >:(
Every man, women and child should be able to do that calculation, it's an indictment of educational sytems that they can't. :'( >:(Sometimes it is difficult, you need to do 453.2/27, for instance. So the law helps.
Sorry for the divergence.
... Every man, women and child should be able to do that calculation, it's an indictment of educational sytems that they can't.
It's not so easy to figure out when one product is in grams and one is in ounces. I do use a calculator to figure it out when the grocery store doesn't supply the answer.
There used to be a type of cheap toilet rolls commonly called sandpaper in the supermarkets but I do not see it anymore, I do not know when it disappeared but nowadays all brands are usable. Sometimes it makes sense to buy something more expensive and at other times it is just hot air. Or extra fluffy paper with little pink dogs printed on them.A thread about when a favorite author is finally going to release his latest book devolves into a discussion about toilet paper... I hope this thread is not prophetic. ;) :P :-\
I didn't read a book once because of it's ridiculous cover art. Years later, my brother highly recommended the book. I ended up loving it.
Agreed. And he usually manages to do it well enough that the inconsistency can be explained away.
On Butters and such. I always assumed Shiro was Shinto. Death Masks doesn't specifically mention what religion he was before he "converted." Shiro serves "Heaven. Or the divine in nature. The memory of my fathers past. My fellow man. Myself. All pieces of the same thing."
Sanya isn't an atheist. He's a Trotskiest. "Because it must be done. ... For the good of the people, some must place themselves in harm's way. some must pledge their courage and their lives to protect the community." That's what he believes in.
I don't know what kind of Jew Butters is. There are a lot of atheist Jews and a lot of pious Jews, but Butters faith is in stories.
For the Knights, it isn't about what religion they are; it's not about faces, skin, flags, membership lists, files. "God sees hearts." It's about what they believe in.
With that context, it would make sense for Butters to where a red cross. The imagery of a knight would appeal to Butters.
What was he before he was Baptist? G33k said Shiro was Buddhist (before he was Baptist). I always assumed he was Shinto. Shiro wasn't an "orthodox" Baptist. My point was that his views were probably indicative of whatever religion he "converted" from, but I don't know enough about Buddhist or Shinto beliefs to make an argument of what those views are indicative of.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryukyuan_religion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryukyuan_religionWell, for values of "recent" in excess of a century... And with massive influence from mainland China before that. And I think "Yoshimo" is a Japanese name, not distinctively Okinawan.
Okinawa is not Japan, it was conquered quite recently.
Well, for values of "recent" in excess of a century... And with massive influence from mainland China before that. And I think "Yoshimo" is a Japanese name, not distinctively Okinawan.He might have had more than one. The abrahamic religions all claim exclusivity and monopoly but outside that people don't mind worshipping different gods in different contexts. Many japanese are both shinto and buddist and I can totally imagine Shiro being all three of them, honoring the Ryukyuan religion of his ancestors as well.
But I'm not actually clear WHAT faith Shiro held to, before he accidentally converted to being a Baptist...
Me trying to figure out the difference between Ryukyuan and Shinto beliefs is probably like someone over there trying to figure out the difference between Church of Christ and Baptist without speaking any European languages.You get it with a bit of wiki reading. Shinto is the japanese state religion and Ryukyuan was the local religion representing a seperate identity with distinct practices. Incorporating it into shinto is the thing to do if you want to make them into japanese. It is like the difference between roman and celtic gods. It is part of their identity.
A bit of wiki reading has things like "Ryukyu Shintō," and similar descriptions of the religions.That is the japanese trying to make it shinto. They had some success.
Looks like it might be a nail biter! ;D
The cover is out and an excerpt from the book. (https://ew.com/books/2020/01/16/jim-butcher-peace-talks-preview/)
Still wearing a hat...Oh yeah, Big Man???
Oh yeah, Big Man???
I got 25cents says that in the BAT, Harry Dresden is finally gonna wear a hat.
And the covers will show him hatless.
:D
Oh yeah, Big Man???
I got 25cents says that in the BAT, Harry Dresden is finally gonna wear a hat.
And the covers will show him hatless.
:D
I'm thinking that his mirror mirror counter part will wear a hat