Babel Clash

First and foremost, I wanted to thank everyone involved with our Dungeons & Dragons theme over the last two weeks!  A big thanks goes out to Ed Greenwood, Bill Slavicsek, Bob Salvatore, and Jeff Mariotte!  All four of you made for a great two weeks on the blog!  I encourage the readers of Babel Clash to think D&D this holiday season as they look to fill out their shopping lists!

Before we can get to the massive holiday shopping though, there’s Thanksgiving!  A time to eat good food, watch bad football, see what happens when the combustible sides of the family get together, and rest up for the 4AM shopping blitz on Black Friday!

On this Thanksgiving week, I am thankful for our next two Babel Clash guests!  For the next two weeks, we will be graced with the presence of not one, but TWO, New York Times Bestselling Authors.

You may recognize who our first guest is from the smiley face with fangs logo her Vlad Tod series is known for.  That’s right, our first guest is Heather Brewer, whose final volume in the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series, just came out this Fall!  It’s called Twelfth Grade Kills!

Joining Heather on the blog is an author who is also familiar with vampires…Rachel Caine!  In her series, the Morganville Vampires, we follow Claire Danvers, a student at Texas Prairie University as she copes with living in a town designed and run by vampires.  Her latest in the series, Ghost Town, came out this Fall! 

Please join me in welcoming Heather and Rachel to the blog!  (also, while I mentioned you should make sure D&D is on your holiday wish lists, I think it goes without saying that Heather and Rachel should find a spot on there as well…)

In case you want a little sample of what to expect from Heather and Rachel, here’s a quick clip of them interviewing each other at Comicon!

Sorry for the Toy Story reference, but in a sense it fits for this post.  Ed, Bill, and Jeff spoke of it last week, but I’m also curious to get your take as well.  As a NY Times Bestselling author, what does the publishing industry look like to you as you gaze into your crystal ball?  Are ebooks here to stay?  Are libraries things of the past?  Will self-publishing overtake traditional publishing?  In your next post, I’m wondering if you would touch on how you see the publishing industry evolving.  Also, on a more refined topic, how will D&D evolve and be affected as technology continues to improve?

Since we have two new guests coming up tomorrow (more on that later today), if you’d also like to take some time promoting some of your current releases and getting fans excited about what’s coming up, please feel free!

It’s been a blast having you this past week.  Thanks for closing up a great two weeks where we got to chat about the ever-branching world of D&D!

Let’s get out of the dark place that killing off a major character gets you into and talk about something a little easier to write about - Drizzt Do’Urden.

Drizzt’s come a long way since The Crystal Shard.  I know you have probably spend a long time talking about Drizzt and his evolution from the days of The Crystal Shard to now, but I’m curious - when you wrote The Crystal Shard, did you ever imagine that character becoming so popular…especially given that he’s a dark elf?

In your next post, it would be great to see you talk about the evolution of the Drizzt character (from sidekick to what he is today).  He’s appeared in everything from novels, to comics, to video games, to the YA series you write with your son.  I think it’s safe to say the character you created on the fly for Crystal Shard has definitely shaped the D&D World forever. 

Also, with your collaboration with your son (and with others who have written the Drizzt character in various medium), is it hard for you to entrust the character’s integrity with someone else?  If you’d like to expand on collaboration with your son in regards to the Stone of Tymora Trilogy (The final book of the trilogy, The Sentinels, was just released), that would be great.  Also, in regards to the YA series, was it hard to reimagine the Drizzt character for a YA audience?

Sorry about yesterday.  My family had a quick bout with the plague and I was slightly incapacitated.  Chris, thanks for covering!

Also, thanks to Bob and Geno for carrying on the D&D torch this week!

I must admit, I haven’t tried 4th Edition quite yet (I think it has more to do with what version I played as a kid more than anything), but after reading your post yesterday, I’ll definitely give it a try. 

While I was laid up yesterday (and thinking that I was going to die), I started thinking about death in literature (fantasy and otherwise).  When the story requires you to kill someone off in your work, how does that affect you as a writer and as a person?  Do you think death scenes are some of the hardest scenes to write?  Hopefully at this point, this is no longer a spoiler, but with Rowling for instance, she’s come out and said some of the deaths in her Potter series wrecked her emotionally.  I’m wondering if that’s the same for you?  I’m guessing it was pretty hard to write a certain scene about a certain Wookie in Vector Prime for instance.

Also, since we’re talking mainly about fantasy…should dead characters stay dead?  I’m currently reading the Blackest Night graphic novel from DC and the entire plot revolves around resurrected Black Lanterns.  I also remember being extremely upset when Superman died (the first time).  Now, it’s being reported that Marvel is doing a “Death of Spider-Man” story next year with their Ultimate universe.  I guess I see the death/rebirth scenarios more in comics than anywhere else, but I’m wondering how you feel about the finality of death in literature?

Hello Dane and all.  Good to be here, following up some of my favorite folks.

Well into my first 4th Edition campaign now - my monk hit level 6 last night.  We killed a demon - nasty little bugger with all kinds of fiery tricks for us.  I finished him off with my Disruptive Fist Attack; felt good to finally put that stomp-down to good use, particularly since it was the only daily I had left to use.

I think I’m finally figuring out the key to 4th Edition.  I’ve always been a 1st-2nd hybrid player (with a  bunch of House Rules thrown in for good measure).  My sons, however, are in love with 4th Edition, and since it’s Bryan’s turn to DM, that’s what we’re playing.  For a while, though impressed with the mechanics, I found myself having a hard time getting into the game.  It was feeling like a card or miniature game, not an RPG, and I vastly prefer RPGs.

The key to the earlier editions was a strong DM who could create an entertaining exploration/adventure.  That’s still needed, of course, but with 4th, I now realize, the onus is also on the players.  If you’re going to flip a card and just name the power you’re using, then yes, you’re playing a card game, a strategy game.

But if the players inject their role-playing into it, if my monk describes the movements as I execute Spinning Leopard, for example, then the game moves right back into role-playing territory.

I think I’m starting to like this, a lot.

I’ve had a great two weeks chatting about all things scary with our guests Douglas Clegg and M.J. Rose!  They’ve both helped increase my “to read” and “to watch” lists immensely.  Thank you both for spending the last two weeks with us on the blog.  You’re welcome to come back any time!

Make sure you support Douglas and M.J. by checking out their books - Douglas currently has Neverland available and M.J. has her The Reincarnationist Series. A little bit of something for everyone!

Douglas and M.J. - feel free to use yourlast day on the blog to hype up anything you’re currently working on!

Thanks again!

Now, starting tomorrow we have two weeks of Dungeons & Dragons mayhem! 

The first week, we’ll be joined by three members of the D&D world.

First we have Ed Greenwood, whose name should sound familiar to you if you’ve ever played a Forgotten Realms campaign or read a Forgotten Realms novel!  He’s also the creator of Elminster! 

Next, we have the Director of R&D for Dungeons & Dragons, as well as author of the first D&D novel to feature 4th Edition characters, Bill Slavicsek!

Finally, we have Jeff Mariotte, who has a resume that includes stops at Wildstorm (VP of Marketing) and IDW Publishing (Editor-in-Chief), as well as a career as an author, comic book writer, and co-owner of the Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore in San Diego, CA.  His latest novel takes place in the world of the Dark Sun campaign.

Then, after Ed, Bill, and Jeff blow you away with their blogging, a Babel Clash alum takes center stage.

That alum, the creator of everyone’s favorite dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden, is none other than R.A. Salvatore!  Geno may even stop by to chat about the final book in the Tymora Trilogy.

Fasten your seat belts folks, these next two weeks are going to be a wild ride!

As I sit here thiinking about those moments in science-fiction/fantasy movies that really caught me (”Close Encounters of the Third Kind” had about 50 of them, by the way), I notice that almost all of them are far back in time.  Most of that is probably me - you see thiings differently in your teens and twenties than you do in your forties and fifties, i expect.

But I think there’s something else going on here.  I just did an interview with Newsweek Radio where we talked about whether or not the “arts” could inspire manned space flight again, as happened the first time around.  As I thought about it, I realized…probably not.  Here’s why: with computer graphics, we’ve outstripped reality so completely that anything “real” will be boring by contrast.  In the Marshall McLuhan vernacular, we’ve numbed ourselves to all but the extremes.  I find this very evident in horror movies, other than the occasional gem, and so to with science-fiction and fantasy.

I loved “The Fellowship of the Rings,” liked “The Two Towers” and moderately enjoyed “The Return of the King.”  As Jackson got more extreme on the CG in each film, I found myself moving further from them, emotionally.

Thoughts?

Bob