Book 1 of The Runelords: The Sum of all Men is the fantasy debut by
newcomer David Farland. CRAP!!! David Farland, the emerging star of the
genre, doesnt even exist. Its a penname. The man behind the bullshit is
Dave Wolverton (if thats his real name) and hes been around for
donkeys. This is no budding young talent, this isnt a fantasy debut,
Wolvertons written a whole score of stuff over the last fifteen years.
Apparently, Dave Wolverton is something of a marketing expert. Before
he wrote the first book of the series, he developed the world, the
magic and an idea of the art and imagery. This isnt unusual, but in
conjunction with pennames and false debuts, one can almost see a
pattern forming.
Consider this: When The Sum of all Men was
released in 1998, the first thing I noticed was the fantastic cover-art
by Darrell K Sweet. Dazza is a god by anyones standards; his fantasy
art has helped people visualize worlds created by such fantasy greats
as J.R.R Tolkien, Robert Jordan and Terry Brooks. But how does my
friend Dazza fit into the picture?
Cover-art can be one of
the most distinguishing features of a fantasy novel, and Darrell K.
Sweet is the best, so who wouldnt use him to help average work rise to
undeserved levels of fame?
I'm being harsh, I know. And you
may be thinking, What has the Lord Winterborne done thats so great.
Thats a fair call, too. But I do know fantasy, and the work of Dave
Wolverton feels more like a process than a narrative. Something just
doesnt feel natural.
In an article by Steven Rea of the
Philadelphia Inquirer, Wolverton reveals: I've recognized for years
that fantasy was on the cusp, and that [eventually] the audience would
be ripe for it." (Www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/entertainment/movies/
8208121.htm? Template=contentModules/printstory.jsp)
Doesn't
this smack of shrewd and cunning business tactics? Have ruthless
marketing tactics now replaced honest, and heart-felt storytelling?
The
fact that this man has entrepreneurial genius is without question.
Wolverton is now an international best seller, with a website, comic
books, and an $80 million dollar movie on the way. But it must also be
said that he had another ace up his sleeve, a single concept so unique
that it would provide the foundation for this whole series. Let me
explain:
A commoner in service to his King and country can
bestow any member of the nobility with a number of additional
endowments. Wit, brawn, grace, voice, stamina, sight, hearing, smell,
glamour or metabolism all can be transferred from one person to another
with magical forcibles.
Depending on the endowment, the
process in turn reduces the donor to a drooling idiot, renders them
ugly in the extreme, blinds them and so on. The recipient retains a
rune, branded into their skin by the process, which signifies the
endowments that person has received. Hence, we have our superhuman
heroes or villains, The Runelords.
This is the concept that
had everyone talking, and it is Dave Wolvertons only saving grace as
far as Im concerned. Certainly these books would have been nothing
without it. The characters are shallow, the plot is tepid, and the
suspense is lost downstream.
Alas, we live in an Age of
Literature where endless, 10-book sagas are written at the expense of a
decent story, where plots are directed by profits, and quality is
replaced by quantity. And so the great marketing machine continues to
consume all things sacred and beautiful, till everything is left
stained and blackened.
Even my beloved Fantasy.
The series so far:
Book 1: The Sum of all Men
Book 2: The Brotherhood of the Wolf
Book 3: Wizardborn
Book 4: Lair of Bones
newcomer David Farland. CRAP!!! David Farland, the emerging star of the
genre, doesnt even exist. Its a penname. The man behind the bullshit is
Dave Wolverton (if thats his real name) and hes been around for
donkeys. This is no budding young talent, this isnt a fantasy debut,
Wolvertons written a whole score of stuff over the last fifteen years.
Apparently, Dave Wolverton is something of a marketing expert. Before
he wrote the first book of the series, he developed the world, the
magic and an idea of the art and imagery. This isnt unusual, but in
conjunction with pennames and false debuts, one can almost see a
pattern forming.
Consider this: When The Sum of all Men was
released in 1998, the first thing I noticed was the fantastic cover-art
by Darrell K Sweet. Dazza is a god by anyones standards; his fantasy
art has helped people visualize worlds created by such fantasy greats
as J.R.R Tolkien, Robert Jordan and Terry Brooks. But how does my
friend Dazza fit into the picture?
Cover-art can be one of
the most distinguishing features of a fantasy novel, and Darrell K.
Sweet is the best, so who wouldnt use him to help average work rise to
undeserved levels of fame?
I'm being harsh, I know. And you
may be thinking, What has the Lord Winterborne done thats so great.
Thats a fair call, too. But I do know fantasy, and the work of Dave
Wolverton feels more like a process than a narrative. Something just
doesnt feel natural.
In an article by Steven Rea of the
Philadelphia Inquirer, Wolverton reveals: I've recognized for years
that fantasy was on the cusp, and that [eventually] the audience would
be ripe for it." (Www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/entertainment/movies/
8208121.htm? Template=contentModules/printstory.jsp)
Doesn't
this smack of shrewd and cunning business tactics? Have ruthless
marketing tactics now replaced honest, and heart-felt storytelling?
The
fact that this man has entrepreneurial genius is without question.
Wolverton is now an international best seller, with a website, comic
books, and an $80 million dollar movie on the way. But it must also be
said that he had another ace up his sleeve, a single concept so unique
that it would provide the foundation for this whole series. Let me
explain:
A commoner in service to his King and country can
bestow any member of the nobility with a number of additional
endowments. Wit, brawn, grace, voice, stamina, sight, hearing, smell,
glamour or metabolism all can be transferred from one person to another
with magical forcibles.
Depending on the endowment, the
process in turn reduces the donor to a drooling idiot, renders them
ugly in the extreme, blinds them and so on. The recipient retains a
rune, branded into their skin by the process, which signifies the
endowments that person has received. Hence, we have our superhuman
heroes or villains, The Runelords.
This is the concept that
had everyone talking, and it is Dave Wolvertons only saving grace as
far as Im concerned. Certainly these books would have been nothing
without it. The characters are shallow, the plot is tepid, and the
suspense is lost downstream.
Alas, we live in an Age of
Literature where endless, 10-book sagas are written at the expense of a
decent story, where plots are directed by profits, and quality is
replaced by quantity. And so the great marketing machine continues to
consume all things sacred and beautiful, till everything is left
stained and blackened.
Even my beloved Fantasy.
The series so far:
Book 1: The Sum of all Men
Book 2: The Brotherhood of the Wolf
Book 3: Wizardborn
Book 4: Lair of Bones
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