Lisinthir's Wonderful Tor.Com Review

I'm interested to know if this review lands you any sales!

I think this is a great idea! I actually do think you could do something sellable for folks who aren't on Patreon but who would read a bridge from Earthrise to the series beyond (which I hope will bring together folks from PG too!). I actually do think something along the more experimental lines of Rose Point Holiday could be interesting enough for even folks who have read PG to buy (though I wouldn't turn down Patreon freebies :) ). For example, at some point Sedryl, Jahir, and Lisinthir get debriefed from their adventures. We readers who have followed the omniscient narrator know what has happened to them, but rarely do people actually have a complete understanding of themselves. What would their choices of how they tell their stories to say Liolesa or Hirianthial (I never spell Eldritch names right, sorry) reveal about them? What discrepancies would there be and would it make sense for there to be? A lot of the things your readers don't want to read are very, very private experiences that the characters wouldn't be willing to tell either or would gloss over in a retelling. How reliable are they as narrators? I think there are actually some really cool things you could do with first person narration as an art form that would get me to buy this even though I've already read the series. I don't know what the meta-story would be in which they would tell their stories (mission debrief seems a bit dry), but maybe something involving how did the four mindmages end up with their powers (I love that Sedryl, who will be riding herd on probably a bunch of incredibly powerful mindmages when she takes over is apparently immune to esper influence. Lol)? Hirianthial also has an incredibly personal tale that he wouldn't necessarily be completely transparent or honest about either. Not to mention that people's memories, especially of high intensity times, frequently are inaccurate and conflict. Do Jahir and Lisinthir or Vashit'h and Sederyl (did I mention that spelling these names is really hard?) agree on their recollection of events? I'm reminded of fascinating studies about the unreliability of eye witness tendencies, etc. Actually, I remember being witness to a (non-fatal) motorcycle accident and being unable to reliably say if someone had run a red light even though I had literally been sitting there staring at the light as it changed waiting for my carpool buddy. You've explored themes of trauma and its effects earlier in this series, I think it would be fascinating to hear what sense the principals make of their really intense experiences. How do they react differently? Lisinthir was strong enough to make it through torture, but would he be able to talk about what he went through to someone? I don't think he ever told even Jahir what happened; Jahir picked it up from his memories directly. What situation would be so compelling as to get him or the others to be willing to say aloud what they went through? Not to mention there's all sorts of tension regarding romantic partners actually knowing the full extent of each other's experiences, particularly the twisting of the psyche that being attracted to Sedryl caused Jahir. What is he willing to tell her, especially if she actually does have mental walls strong enough that he has a choice about what she knows even with physical contact? You mentioned once that the theme of all your work is emotional intimacy. The exploration of what to reveal and what to conceal is another dimension of that. It would change radically depending on who was in the room I imagine. What on earth (or Estacheon (sp?) could be compelling enough to get the three Eldritch at the heart of PG to tell their full story to someone like Hirianthial? And what would change about their revelations depending on who was in the room? I imagine they'd give each other precis when they meet again in the midst of craziness in PG 6, but once the fighting's over, to sit down and tell the whole story? I don't think they could. Also, I personally love stories where what you think is happening you later learn was actually really different (e.g. the movie Fingersmith). For someone who's never read PG, what would their impression of the series be after the first round of idle chit chat at court "oh yes, I was ambassador to the dragons for a bit," then what other layers come out over the course of what conversations. When would new readers really catch on to like "oh, they WUZ TORTURED?!" It's not the kind of thing you would mention in casual conversation on the first go round. Lisinthir's experiences, for example, are completely alien to what any normal person would expect a successful ambassador to do. It's kind of like Lisinthir's realization of what "honor wounds" really means in PG 1 - "you rise in this court through submitting to the Emperor doing WHAT?!" Anyway, I actually think this could be a really fascinating novella. A bit unusual, but I think it might draw more people in to read PG if added as a novella to the Her Instruments series. What did actually happen to these people? Especially if the unreliability of the narrators is made apparent with Hirianthial's story not quite matching what the reader knows. Anyway, a few thoughts.

Also, that was a terrific review! Congrats!

This would be perfect - as another of your target audience who is a completionist at heart but not into dark this is exactly what I need. I also in general love to catch up on previous books when a new one comes out so that also perfectly fills that niche. Great Idea!

AmethystAlpaca

Way to go Maggie!! That's an excellent, thoughtful review, sounds like she very much understood what you write, and it ought to pique the curiosity of many!

Because I am exactly the target audience for this (I know I wouldn't be able to handle Wingless at all), I will say that... I like the sounds of this! If I would be lost in future Pelted books without the context of the Wingless set, something like this would help me bridge the gap.

It might not be fair, but it sure happens! I think your clarifying and engaging synopsis idea is a good solution for helping people approach post-PG books without divers alarums.

I think it is a good marketing strategy. I've always been lukewarm about Wingless because of the volume of stuff to go through. This could make it more accessible and help prime me to read the whole series. This is just my opinion, of course, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out in practice, if you go through with it. Good luck.

Tygepc

If it's unfair for readers to blame me for writing books they can't read, it is equally unfair for me to blame readers for not reading the books I have written. (Did I say that right?? Ack.) Anyway. I don't think blame is appropriate in this situation. We shouldn't be shaming each other for our writing OR reading habits! So granted that, I'd like us all to find a way to catch up with one another. :)

M.C.A. Hogarth

Also, that IS a lovely review on Tor. Congrats!

Very true... but ask yourself this, is a fun-to-write slanted synopsis more valuable than a dry as an accounting textbook even keel summation?

Dain Unicorn

I like this idea. I'd feel guilty skipping books and the fact that I could understand what had happened without feeling any judgment from the author would really help keep me onboard for future series. (It might also lead some people to read the books that wouldn't otherwise, once they have a better idea of their content--I personally tackled Princes' Game last, after I'd read everything else of yours, and had to take a deep breath and remind myself, "Okay, she's probably not going to do me wrong.")

I, for one, don't think you are crazy... any more than a fox is... Good plan! Go for it!

As someone who loves Jahir and Vasiht'h, and soldiered through Wingless and STT before admitting that I just can't handle it, I would be very interested in this and it would make me much more likely to get back into the Peltedverse!

That would certainly be fun for me! But I'm not sure it would serve the purpose of helping readers really understand the context of the series. As we all like to notice (and rightly be alarmed by), news articles are often lacking in nuance. If I did it right, it would be fun, but it would be another piece of fiction that would slant things a certain way and leave a lot out. :)

M.C.A. Hogarth

It wasn't created by Robert Jordan, but what your idea reminds me of is the Encyclopedia of the Wheel of Time. A wiki-esqe repository that forms a study guide and 'plot crib sheet' for such an epic. If you write this one, why not write like a series of 'galactic news service' exposes?

Dain Unicorn