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Weber Geekery
Mar. 4th, 2015 04:19 pmDavid Weber is now publishing the 5-volume fantasy series he's been referring to as a "magnum opus" for years. Weber's books are among my mind-candy relaxations, so I'm paying attention to it.
According to interviews, his first book was an early draft of this one. He already had this fully in mind when he first published Oath of Swords. Indeed, he's been planning this for more than 25 years, well before Honor Harrington was even thought of.
The previous four books were essentially to lay the groundwork for this enterprise. They've never been Baen's favourite series - Honor Harrington sold better, and a new fantasy book would get shoehorned in every few years. On the other hand, Weber has been quoted as saying that Bahzell is his favourite character and Oath of Swords his favourite book.
I've always rather liked the Bahzell books, although the quality varied.
The first book was Weber at his best - pre-bloat, with nicely developed characters, an interesting fantasy world, a touch of humour, and a lot of promise.
The second, The War God's Own, filled in a lot of the background of the world, resolved the intra-hradani conflict which had been set up in the first volume, and did so in a reasonably interesting way.
The third and fourth books pose a bit of a problem. Given Weber's long-term setup for the series he really wanted to write, he needed them to exist: the first to provide Bahzell with a courser mount, and the second to provide him with a Sothoii War Maid (human) wife (and a (later) half-hradani daughter). Both had a very similar plot structure - dark gods want to harm the Sothoii, plus Bahzell, Brandark, and the Order of Tomanak in general, and they defeat the threat in one or more high-stakes showdowns at the end. By the time Weber wrote them, though, he'd had his wrist accident and his tendency towards bloat was better developed; you could still get enjoyment out of them, but you had to know when to skim and when to pay attention. Both had their good bits.
Until recently, it was understood that there were a couple more Bahzell books to go before the major work. Apparently Weber has decided that whatever setup they were to provide could be presented retrospectively in the major work. I applaud this: linear narration is clear and simple, but it's a bit of a trap when its principal reason is for build-up to something else.
Because this has been something that's had a shape in Weber's mind for a long time, and because his forte is in plotting, I am hopeful that this will be one of his better works.
The first volume is now slated for August, and he has begun posting snippets in the forums on his website (collected snippets are available at the Dahak website).
It's been repeated a number of times that Champions of Tomanak don't tend to die in their beds, and at some point in these five books, I'm betting that Bahzell dies, now that there's another viewpoint character. However, this being the first of five volumes, I expect that, although it may answer some long-standing questions (like, Who is the god with whom Brandark has his principal affinity?) it will open up things far more than close them down.
According to interviews, his first book was an early draft of this one. He already had this fully in mind when he first published Oath of Swords. Indeed, he's been planning this for more than 25 years, well before Honor Harrington was even thought of.
The previous four books were essentially to lay the groundwork for this enterprise. They've never been Baen's favourite series - Honor Harrington sold better, and a new fantasy book would get shoehorned in every few years. On the other hand, Weber has been quoted as saying that Bahzell is his favourite character and Oath of Swords his favourite book.
I've always rather liked the Bahzell books, although the quality varied.
The first book was Weber at his best - pre-bloat, with nicely developed characters, an interesting fantasy world, a touch of humour, and a lot of promise.
The second, The War God's Own, filled in a lot of the background of the world, resolved the intra-hradani conflict which had been set up in the first volume, and did so in a reasonably interesting way.
The third and fourth books pose a bit of a problem. Given Weber's long-term setup for the series he really wanted to write, he needed them to exist: the first to provide Bahzell with a courser mount, and the second to provide him with a Sothoii War Maid (human) wife (and a (later) half-hradani daughter). Both had a very similar plot structure - dark gods want to harm the Sothoii, plus Bahzell, Brandark, and the Order of Tomanak in general, and they defeat the threat in one or more high-stakes showdowns at the end. By the time Weber wrote them, though, he'd had his wrist accident and his tendency towards bloat was better developed; you could still get enjoyment out of them, but you had to know when to skim and when to pay attention. Both had their good bits.
Until recently, it was understood that there were a couple more Bahzell books to go before the major work. Apparently Weber has decided that whatever setup they were to provide could be presented retrospectively in the major work. I applaud this: linear narration is clear and simple, but it's a bit of a trap when its principal reason is for build-up to something else.
Because this has been something that's had a shape in Weber's mind for a long time, and because his forte is in plotting, I am hopeful that this will be one of his better works.
The first volume is now slated for August, and he has begun posting snippets in the forums on his website (collected snippets are available at the Dahak website).
It's been repeated a number of times that Champions of Tomanak don't tend to die in their beds, and at some point in these five books, I'm betting that Bahzell dies, now that there's another viewpoint character. However, this being the first of five volumes, I expect that, although it may answer some long-standing questions (like, Who is the god with whom Brandark has his principal affinity?) it will open up things far more than close them down.
