Dragaera

[OT] Most Promising New Author?

Gaertk at aol.com Gaertk at aol.com
Fri Feb 28 16:43:56 PST 2003

In a message dated 2/28/2003 2:47:02 AM Eastern Standard 
Time, David Goldfarb <goldfarb at OCF.Berkeley.EDU> writes:

[Jo Walton's great novels]

> I will second the recommendation for all of these, and I 
> would do so even if my name *weren't* in _Name_ and _Prize_ 
> on the Acknowledgements page. :-)

I *knew* I've seen your name someplace else.

> According to Jo's LiveJournal,

Link?  A quick Google turned up several other people's LJs
mentioning her, but not her own.  And Jo's old website 
( www.bluejo.demon.co.uk ) is disappearing fast.

> however, she isn't currently writing _Breaking the Ward_. 

Okay, that was wishful thinking on my part.

> (Quoth she: "If they want me to write a sequel to Prize 
> they can tell me so and give me some money.

I'm surprised (borderline shocked) that Tor hasn't remedied 
this yet.  Don't even bad sequels make money?  (Not that Jo
would ever write a bad sequel.)

She does seem to be at least thinking about it, since she 
asked us on rasfw for title suggestions (and was surprised
when we asked what the book was about).

> Meanwhile, I want to fiddle about with the edges of fantasy 
> and perception.)

What's wrong with doing both at the same time?

> The thing she's currently doing doesn't have a title yet so 
> far as I know. 

_Tooth and Claw_ is expected to be published this fall.  I
don't know if that's what you're talking about here.  She
described it as "a comedy of manners where all the characters
are dragons" and I commented that I expect that description
to match parts of _Lord of Castle Black_ as well.

> It does have an opening paragraph:
>
> "If you go far to the west, they say, you come to places 
> where people grow more and more rigid in their ways until 
> at last you come to lands where they are like stone 
> statues. Conversely, if you go far enough east, you come to 
> places were people grow stranger and feyer, more powerful 
> maybe, but with less ability to hold themselves apart, 
> until at last they run together and separate as fast as 
> rainbows on stirred oil. In between lie the Marches, where 
> folk have both will and wit enough to keep themselves to 
> themselves."
>
> I don't know about you, but *I* find that paragraph really 
> makes me want to read more.  I'm excited.

Me too, but anything new from her would excite me.

[this next part is from me]
>> [That reminds me: I still haven't written my discussion of 
>> the similarities between _Prize in the Game_ and _Paths of 
>> the Dead_.]
>
> That sounds quite interesting.  You might consider sending 
> a copy to Jo herself when you're done.

I'll certainly post a copy to rasfw as well as here so she 
and those of her fans who aren't on this list can see it.


--KG