Has this forum died a death

**Maiablackwolf** · July 27th, 2010, 12:08 PM

Originally Posted by Eyes of Wolf

AH NIM! I loved Nim. In fact, I was almost shaken in my faith in MxC when I discovered the cuteness that is MxN.

Nim was very very awesome, and I really hope they met again.

OMG THANK YOU I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE!!! Phew. I was starting to think I was just weird. XD

Still, even though the option is there, I think that there is too much of a cultural difference between the two, even if they grew up in similar rough settings in which they both had to conceal kind hearts. Perhaps if we got to know him better... still, I prefer Dernhil to Nim, and I think Cadders tops him too, despite my discomfort around the age difference.

Yes, the roleplay can really only take one path of speculation, and it's more for fun, not to mention not everyone will do it (just like fanfiction) because not everyone likes it or knows how. More importantly, it's something you have to follow-- you can't just come in, look at the two posts above, state your opinion, and leave.

So, shall I make that new thread?

**Eyes of Wolf** · July 28th, 2010, 11:33 AM

Nim was adorable.

He was my favourite new character in The Riddle.

Yus! Do! I don't rp either. I just don't do it. xD

**kiaga89** · August 4th, 2010, 02:30 PM

I haven't logged in in so long

Anyway, I think the forum will pick up again when Alison's next book is published, and we'll have a new story to talk about...of course, Pellinor will always be first and will always be here, there is always a future, as long as she keeps writing

**Echowindsong** · August 4th, 2010, 03:25 PM

Originally Posted by kiaga89

I haven't logged in in so long

Anyway, I think the forum will pick up again when Alison's next book is published, and we'll have a new story to talk about...of course, Pellinor will always be first and will always be here, there is always a future, as long as she keeps writing

Or when they make the movie!
Welcome back, kiaga!

**Maiablackwolf** · August 4th, 2010, 04:09 PM

You're baaaack!

Or perhaps if she writes and publishes that possible book of small Pellinor stories...? If it's still an option. It was spoken about for a while, but not since, so perhaps it won't happen.

That or it's just simmering on the backburner. Hopefully.

(Just finished rereading The Crow. I've gone into Zelika Denial all over again. Sigh.)

**The Singer** · August 6th, 2010, 07:30 AM

Welcome back, kiaga

Is there going to be a fifth book of Pellinor too!?!?!?!?

**Maiablackwolf** · August 6th, 2010, 09:29 AM

No, almost certainly not; Alison definitely seems done with the Books, sadly. But there was talk of a compilation of short Pellinor stories, I imagine like the one she has on her website; whether they'd be about the characters we know or totally new ones or related, I don't know. The idea seems to have mostly vanished anyways.

**Eyes of Wolf** · August 7th, 2010, 01:58 PM

Short stories would be awesome!

Ah. The Zelika Denial. *pats on back* I know how it feels. I will soon reread The Crow too! Wish me luck.

**kiaga89** · August 9th, 2010, 01:35 PM

I think it's possible Alison is done with the books - although I loved the singing, looking back at it, it looks a tad bit rushed, like she just wanted to get it over with. It's understandable- a lot of work goes into writing, and after some time, I imagine it must get tiring.

**Maiablackwolf** · August 9th, 2010, 01:45 PM

You're absolutely right on that front; it's hard to imagine how she even had the patience to get through one book; I'm finding mine hard enough, and not only is it much shorter, but it's only 1/3 finished.

It must take a lot of discipline to be an author.

Which parts do you think are rushed? Or is it the book in general? I'm rereading it now, and there's been no evidence so far (which is just after Hem notices Karim speaking to what may be a Hull) of impatience with the book, at least not in my eyes.

**kiaga89** · August 9th, 2010, 02:17 PM

Well I think first is the fact that there were things she included in the other books that led to dead ends. The mentioning of Maerad's third name was one of those things, as was Cadvan's truename.

Then of course you have this final book, where the ending should be epic, and although I love it, it just fell short...Maerad in a way was so powerful she became a sue...I mean, it's awesome she had the power to kill the hulls in the way she did, but seriously? It takes the excitement out of it; makes it too one-sided.

Then in the appendices there are quite a few contradictions, mainly Cadvan's age and siblings- in this appendix he is the oldest, and in the other he is the youngest.

Idk, maybe I'm being way too critical.

**Maiablackwolf** · August 9th, 2010, 03:51 PM

They're all very good points nevertheless, none of which I took into account.

It's true, about Maerad becoming a bit of a Sue, though honestly she had those tendencies from the very beginning; daughter of the First Bard of Pellinor, mother and father are dead, slave who has trouble with men and was nearly raped? Those all qualify. Her powers only magnify it. She does have her faults to balance all that, which is why I don't mind as much as I might otherwise; she can be very irritable in some of her interactions with Cadvan, and prone to laziness. I still prefer Hem; he's been through a lot, arguably even more, but has quite a few more weak spots to show for it (also lazy and hot-headed, but on a larger scale, what with getting into fights while in Turbansk), and less crazy power. Another thing that lessens their Sueish traits is the fact that their thoughts are complex and well-written, which means it doesn't sound a thing like bad fanfiction as most stories with Sues do.

(Oh, and if anyone doesn't understand what a Sue, or Mary Sue, is, it's a very powerful character who has been through crap and is perfect in pretty much every way. This quiz for characters outlines most stereotypes: http://www.springhole.net/quizzes/marysue.htm)

I agree that it takes the excitement out of some aspects, but the problem is, if Maerad were less powerful, then she wouldn't have been able to defeat the Nameless One; in a way, the ability to blot out fourteen Hulls with a breath is necessary if she's going to bring down their leader, though I do think that perhaps it should have been less than ten Hulls. Also, as with other people, I did find Sharma's defeat slightly anticlimactic, and although they could never have defeated the entire Black Army in most cases, if Maerad can kill fourteen Hulls with just a breath, with more of an effort she could easily destroy a few hundred, and coupled with the fact that it was attacking both Til Amon and Car Amdridh at the same time... might have been possible, although it also means the book would have been +1000 pages.

Yes, there is the error of Cadvan's siblings, which I'm sure most Cad-fans will never forgive, but do keep in mind that other authors have many more consistency errors; Rowling has dozens more, and only three more books, or so I've heard; I'm not a big enough Potter fan to have found any of the said errors. I do agree, Cadvan's Truename should have been stated... at the same time, there was really no opportunity. Do you think one should have been made? As for Maerad's third name, it could indeed have fit in when she was playing the Treesong... perhaps hearing it as it left her, as I assume it did since it was her Elidhu name and she lost her Elidhu powers.

Long story short: there's no such thing as too critical, but everyone makes mistakes, and Alison makes far less than most in The Singing.

**Eyes of Wolf** · August 11th, 2010, 03:02 PM

I definitely also felt that the ending was a little rushed - it was amazingly written, as always, but a little quiet in terms of excitement. I think we ran Maerad through the Sue-checker, once, actually. xD She came out pretty damn high, but then most fantasy protagonists do, and as Maia said, the quality of the writing really does make a difference.

**Maiablackwolf** · August 11th, 2010, 10:50 PM

Yes, the problem with Sues is that for the general population, a character under the rating of 30 (which is almost definitely a Sue) just isn't interesting enough. Besides, people don't bond with unattractive characters for their own twisted reasons (harder to idolize or some crap?) and if they haven't got some angst, then it means they have no problems, and thus there's no story. I think the healthiest range for a main character in original fiction is 20-40; lower is uninteresting and higher is too Sueish.