Turtledove and Stirling book covers

[Archangel Michael]

Amazon has released the book covers for Turtledove's End of the begging, sequel to Days of Infamy, and Stirling's The Protector's War, sequel to Dies the Fire.

On a side note, what do you think will be the primary color on the cover of the Settling Accounts book three? Green maybe?

 

[NapoleonXIV]

I thought you were going to say that there was a Turtledove/Stirling collaboration.

That would be interesting.

 

[Psychomeltdown]

I prefered the Great War style of covers, even REturn Engagements was pretty cool looking.

I never got Stirling's Dies the fire cover. Who's the guy with the sword and the guitar? A rip off of Siz String Samuri?

 

[Diamond]

I think 'End of the Begging' will be the title of the Turtledove book that actually has less than 300 viewpoint characters.

Please, please, please, please, please, Harry... can't you? Just for once? Limit it to three or four?

 

[Wendell]

He does have too many characters' perspectives. I agree. But, how would you do it differently?

 

[reformer]

It was nice in how few remain when he had only about 7, and they were all very colorful historical character (I love Schlifen or however you spell it), even though they messed up Lincoln.

 

[Diamond]

He does have too many characters' perspectives. I agree. But, how would you do it differently?

Uhh... maybe:

Just for once? Limit it to three or four?

 

[Wendell]

Uhh... maybe:

Well, that could be difficult to do so few. Why not a single character w/a single perspective?

 

[Chengar Qordath]

He did just have two POV characters in Guns of the South...

 

[Wendell]

He did just have two POV characters in Guns of the South...

I haven't read Guns of the South...

 

[Aaron]

I think 'End of the Begging' will be the title of the Turtledove book that actually has less than 300 viewpoint characters.

Please, please, please, please, please, Harry... can't you? Just for once? Limit it to three or four?

Gunpowder Empire only two viewpoints.

Aaron

 

[Flocculencio]

Well, that could be difficult to do so few. Why not a single character w/a single perspective?

The thing is that he's shown that he can do it and write well in his earlier fantasy stuff- totally unlike the abysmal monstrosities he writes these days where he eats a history book and regurgitates it onto the blank pages of his manuscript.

I've always been of the opinion that Turtledove is a good fantasy writer (Tales of the Fox, Land between the Rivers, Videssos series) but a terrible AH writer.

 

[Superdude]

I think he has it in him to be a good Alternate History writer, he just doesn't understand that he has to make things as plausible as possible. Some times artistic license doesn't cut it.

And he has to cut the character viewpoints down to three.

I still like his work, even his alternate history, its just that his alternate history isn't exactly right.

 

[Archangel Michael]

I've always been of the opinion that Turtledove is a good fantasy writer (Tales of the Fox, Land between the Rivers, Videssos series) but a terrible AH writer.

Some of his AH is good, but not all of it.

 

[Flocculencio]

I think he has it in him to be a good Alternate History writer, he just doesn't understand that he has to make things as plausible as possible. Some times artistic license doesn't cut it.

And he has to cut the character viewpoints down to three.

I still like his work, even his alternate history, its just that his alternate history isn't exactly right.

You see, this is why his fantasy works better. No one minds if he takes Byzantine history and rewrites it in a fantasy world with magic and a Roman legion thrown into the mix. That makes for a fun and interesting fantasy story.

If, however, he takes WW2 and rewrites it with the CSA under an authoritarian government bent on exterminating blacks instead of Germany being under and authoritarian government intent on exterminating the jews, he just gets boring. Especially if he then stretches the story out into fifty books.

This is why he's not getting any of my money. He can still write creative AH- 'Ruled Britannia' for example- but the majority of his stuff has been crap. Sorry Mr. Turtledove- I'll read and reread Tales of the Fox with pleasure but not a single cent more will you get out of me.

 

[Diamond]

In a way, I admire what Turtledove's trying to do - Great War, American Empire, and the next fourteen sequel trilogies will be definitive and exhaustingly detailed. The problem I have is that he concentrates too much on North America. That may work fine for a single book or even one trilogy, but if you're writing a complete alternate century (as he seems set to do), you have to examine cause and effect in other places in more detail than just offhand comments from American characters about an event occurring in Germany or wherever. Rather than 5 billion North American characters, how about a balance?

It's as if the series is meant to convey the typical American reaction to living through these tumultuous events. Again, that's fine for a book or two, but it becomes verrrrrry repetitive through three or four trilogies. We need a broader perspective!

 

[Hierophant]

I usually end up re-writing a Turtledove in my head the way I like it. Like in the Great War series, in my version, that super chritian Union soldier ends up charging a trench by himself, he runs outa ammo, and then falls down playing dead. In actuality, he pulled a grenade, and when the Confederate soldier flips him over, the grenade goes off killing him and like 5 other confederates.

 

[Psychomeltdown]

I liked Mcsweeny (sp?) especially how he died. a random bombardment by a ship towards the end of the war. The ultimate soldier.

 

[Archangel Michael]

I liked Mcsweeny (sp?) especially how he died. a random bombardment by a ship towards the end of the war. The ultimate soldier.

McSweeny died? I never really read all of the Great War trilogy, so I wondered where he'd gone in the American Empire trilogy.