Back to writing.

After a hospital stay immediately following the publication of Enchanter, and a subsequent much-needed vacation from Spellmonger, I knocked out the first chapter of the next book yesterday.  It will still take me awhile to get back in my groove/routine, but IF all goes well (heh) and Ifnia is with me, I'm hoping to have it out by the end of September.

Comments

  1. As much as I want the next one, don't burn yourself out. We can wait a bit longer if you need it.

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    1. /\ Ignore this fellow!!!! ��. Seriously, I hope you are feeling better.

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    2. Wait is a word that should be stricken from dictionary... In all seriousness, glad n to hear Terrys doing better.

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  2. Hi Terry! I completely agree with @tempest too! You are a truely amazing author, of course we want all your books NOW! But, your health and family comes first.

    Thank you again for your wonderful stores, I hope you are feeling much better after your hospital stay and that it was nothing too serious!

    Cheers Si

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  3. Woot! - Glad your health is better, & you're now writing again, can't wait to see what you do with Hawk maiden.
    Would love to find out about how the Alka Alon have trained Dara

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  4. You have set yourself on a marathon not a sprint . While I applaud you getting out as many books as you have in the time you have set yourself, a truly impressive accomplishment, remember to pace yourself so you can carry this world you have created and the characters you have breathed live into on.
    Also a Briga,hope I got that right, reminded Min do not allow your work to consume you. Take time to reconnect with those around you. I say this as one who straps on armor, a badge and a gun every work day. Take the time to enjoy the world around you and the company of you loved ones you never know when it all may be gone.
    And on a less gloomy not I am really looking forward to your next book. Blessed Be and good luck.

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  5. Terry, stay cool and keep the writing pleasant, been continually reading you books. Most definately in theworldbuilding part of your readers... coud you in a spare time try and do some facts on sevendor inhabitants, demography, maybe a family tree of vassals in sevendor with coats of arms for instance, so you have min highest and then all his vasals going downward.. thanks for the great books and stay healthy

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  6. Glad your feeling better, any chance the new book will be Space Viking centric?

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  7. Sorry to hear about hospital. I was kind of surprised that you did not post here anything for such a long time.

    May the goddess of inspiration (the one with flaming red hair, you know who you are) be with you.

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  8. Wow. Sorry to hear about your hospital stay Terry I hope you are feeling better.

    Am really looking forward to the next book.

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  9. Hope you are well. I just started reading the series a couple weeks ago and only have hawkmaiden left to read. Looking forward to more.

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  10. I've been thinking, with all the magical industrialization going on in Sevendor, shouldn't the villans have more time to spend on millitary duty, havesting natural resurces, building some serious roads in the barony to tie it together, it's quite farflong at present... developing 1 or 2 more resevours of water in the barony to guard against lack of shortage of what.. or maybe help develop brestal also ?

    my point is there are so many different assignments that could be done by the freed up labor (maybe they are we just didn't hear about them in the book maybe...)

    Does Minalan have a "standing army" because when he makes his "wall of gold" he suggests a couple of the tenant lords can become officers in his army ?

    A wild speculation regarding next book : I think that the baron of sendaria will pass away soon, leaving a couple of open questions, as he's got 2 sons, and the younger being descriped as the better suited leader of the 2, also there is a strange border situation between the new lensely barony and sevendor, maybe some conflict right there...

    Pleased to hear what you guys think? Thanks for the books again Terry

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    1. I think we will see a revolution in Minlans barony in terms of military structure. Min should go Roman style and give out land for x years service. Spellmongers Legion.

      Vive la révolution

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    2. I agree, it would be so cool especially considering his need to populate his land even more densely.. as there are many local areas with low population in his barony, when taking in the descriptions of the different domains into account

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    3. I'm not really sure what any of you are talking about with this.
      Theis Rinaldo Andersen: while you are right that the industrialization of magic frees up the peasants for other projects,
      1: no, he does not have a standing army, he has standing pledges of armed forces from all of his vassal lords should he call his banners.

      2: While I was perplexed that he turned sashtalia into a different barony under his son, there is nothing really wierd about the current border situation, just a little tension over Sire Sigelan's preference of Min over Arathaniel.

      Jeremy Klimpsch: Land in return for military service IS ALREADY the way they do things in this society. Thats the whole point of feudalism. The whole thing is built on pledges of military support in return for land and power.

      Theis Rinaldo Andersen: you have a point there about Sevendor's population density, but that doesn't necessarily mean min WANTS to increase said density. He has enough problems as it is.

      and all of this is kind of beside the point. The books indicate clearly that with the possible exception of Hawkmaiden, most of the next few novels are taking the focus off of Sevendor in favor of the recovering duchy of Alshar. I can't wait to see Court mage, where we will get more dev for the Orphan Duke, Counts Anigrel and Salgo, Arborn, and everybody's favorite Sexomancer, Pentandra.


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    4. I can't wait to read more about The Orphan Duke, he seems like a person who can become a great ruler. Another person I would like to learn more about, surprisingly, is Princess Rardine. We saw how she actually seemed somewhat lonely in her role, and was willing to help Min for close to no reason. Even her attempt to kill Min were based on the knowledge she had at that time, so its hard for me to see her as an enemy now.

      To her, Min was all but declaring rebellion, and her failed assassination must have secretly terrified the royal family. Seeing as how Isily all but said that, at least for now, the queen sees that Min is probably going to stay loyal, this means less of a hostile relationship between the Magi and the Family.

      Also, considering how stupid Tavard has been acting, its unlikely he is going to get to be king, or if does get to be king it won't be for long. Which means whoever marries Rardine will have a very strong chance of becoming king. Almost makes me wonder if the Orphan Duke will become the Orphan King through marriage, since marriage between cousins was fairly common between royals back then. (If so, may the gods preserve his sanity)

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    5. Aaron Schwartz....land for service is not the same. The Roman Republic awarded land to legionnaires after after 20 years of service and would count as freemen.

      These people were beholden only to Rome and their personal loyalty to a specific general. Not some petty noble.

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    6. Aaron Schwartz, i feel we are talking about different things..

      Borders; part of the new barony is separated from the rest by sevendor.. hence the funny,borders, especially considering fleria on the other side.

      Density of population, with inclusion of trestendorr there definately needs more inhabitants in the area.

      Military, when offers positions as officers in his army, we must assume that besides his vassals and their forces he also has an standing army.

      I really think thats mins problem is a more efficient cabinent of ministers, but its coming along, with cei, the lawbrother, banamor, olmeg and dranus he's sort of established a local government to rule from day to day in his lands.

      Lastly while the next books is expected to hapn other places than sevendor life is still going on there and therefore i fully expect more progress to happen in the next couple of books.

      Thnks for the comments, nice discussing a bit guys :)

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    7. The current feudal structure of Castalshar varies from region to region, depending upon the resources and defensive needs of a particular place.

      In Remere and parts of southern Castal (and in the southern and western parts of Merwyn) the system works more like the Roman one: a vassal is given a certain amount of land for a specific term of service to a lord. That doesn't just mean personal service, but the use of the entire military household. An estate is held in fief as a tenancy/lease for a specific period of time, usually a decade, after which the lord is granted the deed to the land and a lessening of his military responsibilities to his overlord.

      In the Riverlands of Castale, Remere, and Alshar, the fiefs are usually granted in tenancy to an individual lord for a specified term with specified tribute and military obligations. In other cases the tenancy is given to a noble's house in perpetuity, and can be inherited - or terminated at the will of the overlord.

      For particularly deserving or loyal retainers in the Riverlands a fief is sometimes granted outright, with a permanent tribute and specific military obligations spelled out in the deed. The overlord has no say in the inheritance in this case, but is due a heriot fee at the time of the will.

      In the Wilderlands things are a little more primitive. Fiefs are not so much granted as recognized. Due to the harder agricultural traditions, and the incessant petty warfare over scarce resources between domains, specific military duties to an overlord are vague, usually being confined to responding to a banner call with all possible strength.

      That was prewar. Four years after the goblin invasion things are even more chaotic, especially with the influx of magelords, and will result in a restructuring of the feudal order in Northern Alshar, as will be seen in Court Wizard.

      Things are a little different in Southern Alshar and Farise. The overlord has the traditional power to require troops of all districts in a province, regardless of land ownership. Grants of land are still made outright, and tenancy is common, but thanks to the Ducal traditional right to confiscate property, and frequent dynastic disputes and rebellions, owning land in those territories largely means being able to defend yourself politically and militarily. It's a big hot mess.

      Hope this helps a little.

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    8. Hey Terry, thanks a lot for the clarification - i think we were more talking about where he's headed with his Barony.

      Will Trestendor actually be incorporated or is it only a "threat" to Arathanial?

      How long time before some enterprising mage will develop a "magical engine" along the lines of a "electrical engine" that you can connect to any other appliance, like a waterpump, a train engine or similar... Seems like it's a very open situation right now with the advances they are making...

      I've been wondering why the truth telling lady (i can't remember her name) doesn't hang around the gate while the gates receive visitors to the magic fair for instance, so that when they are asked "what is your purpose in Sevendor" then they will reply truthfully "i'm here to undermine the peace and prosperity of Minalan the baron of Sevendor" you can easily apprehend them and put them in the stocks...

      Curious as to how focus will shift in court mage :)

      Keep em coming Terry, thanks a million

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    9. As far as Lesana the Truthsayer is concerned my guess is that if she was hanging around the fair entrace then knowledge of her and her existence would get around very quickly

      Also I think its unlikely that an event that is as large as the Magic Fair would have more than one entrance

      Terry/Fans please correct me if my logic is off here in any way

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    10. Theis Rinaldo Andersen

      thechangingofways is right. Lesana's existance and abilities have been repeatedly called one of minalan's closest secrets. if it were known what she could do, other mages might be able to counter it, or, far more likely, grendine, rardine and arnet would all shit themselves on the spot and send every single step-child in the entire family to assassinate her.

      however, I do wonder why there isn't just a regular blue magic truthspell being employed at the border? they might be less reliable than lesana's power, but they would not endanger anyone, and would work on all but magi who are skilled at blue magic

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    11. I didnt mean as in standing in the front of a person being questioned. But carrying a water bottle around the dikegate for instance just being part of The background... then the normal Watch says; whats your purpose here and then someone says to spy from censorate or manipulate the baron or similar... planus makes a amulet that ditects falsehood.. i mean, thats a simple thing to do making a big difference

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    12. I get what you meant but it wouldn't take long for people to work that out. Also my post was meant to say that its unlikely the Magic Fair only had one entrance.

      The people coming in from the fair were coming in weeks in advance and were coming over both passes.

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  11. These books have given me plenty of enjoyment from reading them. The amount of times I've stayed awake into the early hours of the morning, turning up to work shattered the next morning. It was always one more chapter.....just one more....

    So I was wondering if there was a way to donate directly to you and help support the series?

    Finally while I appreciate the work you have put in though to give me the enjoyment I have gotten from the book, take things easy. We can all wait for the next book as long as you're in good health.

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  12. @Eddie Cookie, you took the words right out of my mouth!! I've done exactly the same and I'd be happy to donate directly too!

    Hope your better Terry!

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  13. Are we going to see the rise of a new Magocracy and a new Archmage (Minalan I) ???

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  14. Hey terry could we have an update on your next book? How far you written and a possible release date if you have one please?

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  15. since we are at a lull in discussion, I thought I'd re-post this because it really didn't get very much attention when I posted it in the Journeymage spoiler-thread, despite its significance

    probably the biggest source of them in the series thus far has been the exposition given to Min by the Aronin of Amadia (which has seemingly been retconned into "Anigrel" by high mage) in Spellmonger:

    things he said that seem to have been retconned:

    Goblins were originaly Alka Alon that hid in caves, and devolved into the gurvani, instead of being the genetically engineered workforce

    Trolls were one of the three orginal races, called the deliol along with the sea folk (vundel) and alka alon (Alon), instead of genetically engineered workforce

    also, In spellmonger, Zagor says that his father found his witchstone in the creek they used for water, and the tree folk helped him use the stone

    but in magelord, it says that the alka alon basically raised him, and gave him the stone

    Lastly, in magelord, you called it the iron ring. but ever since high mage its been referred to as the iron band.

    I still consider this series to be among the best I've ever read in spite of these, but I just thought someone should mention them

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    1. oh, and also, even if I can just use headcannon to explain away the Aronin's reverence for trygg and Briga, all of that seafolk/ celestial mother/ nameless invading species greater origin story you added in Enchanter also contradicts the Aronin's version of the story "In the beginning there were only the elves, trolls, and merpeople".

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    2. thats on the planet...
      the story has clear hints that humans came with spacecrafts onto that world and lost the last of that technology after Pelwin sunk so...

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    3. none of what I said had anything to do with the origins of humanity. I was talking about the inconsistencies in the backstories of the gurvani, trolls, and any species with Alon in its name.

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    4. I think its ok as long as you keep in mind it is an Alon perspective.

      They are kind of arrogant about their place as the masters of Magic on Calidore and likely don't often acknowledge that there are or have been greater powers on calidore except when forced to.

      Also in the beginning could refer to the beginning of Alon existence on the world - likely by their standard the only significant 'beginning' or because its the beginning of their recorded, or in their case remembered' history on Calidore.

      The Aronin likely would not have mentioned the Merfolk / Celestial Mothers as for one the celestial mothers have likely been extinct since before Alon arrival on Calidore and so as not to confuse the issue or dilute the narrative of the point he was trying to make at the time. From what we know there is only very limited understanding of the true nature of the other powers on Calidore. The nature of the society might be to esoteric for the Alon to consider it a civilisation on Calidore - even if they are the true power on Calidore.

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    5. when I said merfolk, I meant the vundel, or seafolk, which the Aronin did call one of the original races.

      also, the Alon clearly did understand more about the "true callidorean powers" than I think your giving them credit for. or else why would a species that is otherwise so incredibly arrogant "not want to act for fear of attracting the wrong sort of attention" (see end of high mage)

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    6. But the Alon had access to Ghost Rock and in just the Grain of Pors , there's the Celestial Mother, what's in the enormous one under that Alon city???

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    7. thats an excellent point SteveAllen. But while we're on that subject, why is everyone (including the Alon, who usually use the formal names instead of base human labels) calling it ghost rock. Its real name according to High Mage, is Hapaxilite

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    8. I couldn't remember it's real name... and if the Alnon are talking to humans maybe they use informal names so humans " get the drift"....

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    9. the grain of Pors came from whereever while the Alon have (mabye) one big piece of ghostrock under a sea city an the *grain* could have drifted for eons in the ocean

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    10. and the sea folk is part of the cerestal mothers for my understanding. like the river- and montain- and stone folk are Alons...

      and the administration changed the name to ironband cause it wasnt round ^^

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  16. Also, terry, you never really responded to some of my previous questions about dragons in this universe, mainly:

    1: at timber watch, the dragon was old and feeble, but at Cambrian, the dragon was young and stupid. which is it. do dragons power up with age (like in most fantasy settings) or do they weaken in old age like humans

    2: why is everyone still treating dragons as insurmountable obstacles? Cambrian proved that all the arcane orders needed to kill a dragon was to stick it full of snowstone arrows, and then hit it with enough high magic to level a city. I know that would still be tough, but the order of Horka could pull it off easily, given how many members they have in the warzone.

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    1. the dragon at Timberwatch was JUNG and the dragon at Cambrian is compared to a baby so... they get more powerful as they age BUT "Warmage" has a refference to a old story about some old (and sick) dragon getting poisoned.
      The mages killed a dragon hatchling and hurt two dragons (while the dragons killed tens of thousands) so i would piss my pants...

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    2. Lodrik18 is right. The Dragon at Timberwatch was young and the one at Cambrian was younger still.

      The only reference to an old dragon in Warmage was Thinradel saying that an old dragon has once been poisoned.

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    3. incorrect.
      warmage, chapter 43: Sire Koucey: "you can expect retribution for that - dragons are not unintelligent, and he knows your kind wounded him so grieviously. and you should know: he is but the eldest of his kind. Shereul has procured a number of them....."

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    4. ???? Huh. Sorry I don't get how this makes the dragon at Timberwatch old.

      Koucey said its the Eldest of his kind. If the rest of his kind are all 1 year olds and and the dragon at timberwatch was a 3 year old then it would still be the eldest of its kind - and my guess is the only one old enough for a solo trip at the time - it just would not be old as in elderly.

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    5. PS The ages given are just examples I don't think we are even given exact ages on any of the dragons except to say that they are all in effect children by dragon standards

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    6. Mage Lord states that Dragons take decades to mature (into awareness) ^^

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  17. Can anyone help me on this, at what point does guris become reeve in gurisham? And sagal yeoman of southridge?

    If sire cei is lord of boval village, what about his heirs, will a part of sevendor/brestal be taken out of The domain as its no longer directly controlled by minalan?

    Does anyone have some high resolution maps of the bontal areas, for instance of fleria, bocarator and so on, not just sevendor?

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    1. In regards to Sire Cei he was given an estate within the domain, not an separate domain, so it's highly unlikely that boval village will be removed from Sevendor. Not sure the specifics of what makes a domain compared to an individual estate.

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    2. @ Theis Rinaldo Andersen
      The changes happened after the battle of Cambrian when Min lost some of his vassals but before that start of High Mage.

      I asked Terry about it. I think we will likely hear more about it in one of the short stories or Novella's - probably Hawklady.

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    3. Thanks a lot details thechangingofways :) Will check that place again :) Looking forward to end september and next installment in the series

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    4. a man can hold several titles and loyalitys at once (example: the british crown had several estates in germany cause the House of Windsor was originally the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)

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  18. Y'all make it real hard to focus on writing the next book.

    Keep it up. It's entertaining.

    But one thing to keep in mind is that there is a difference between history, oral history, legend, and actual fact. Cultural perspective plays a large role, and misinformation and mistranslation is a constant in a preindustrial civilization.

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    1. What is the status right now ? Any titbits you can feed us to pass the time ? maybe a picture from the book or something like that?

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    2. Well that answers why there are some inconsistencies in what the Alon, the Gurvani, the humans say is "what is"

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    3. My pet theory....

      All hail Caesar Augustus...or should I say Imperator Minilan the archmage

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    4. Commodus ??? There's a lots going on, what with Kobal, the Dead God, the hornets nest Tyndal & Rondal are sure to stir up with their personal war with Brotherhood of the Rat, finding the Staff of the Archmage that the Aronin told Min to find, find the Aronins daughter, who is supposedly living with a dragon, errant Gods who want to be permanent, & Ayla's scrambled mind... not to mention Min's cracked ironite sphere, the Celestial Mother , and the brood of kids Min just adopted , not to mention Mother, who by now has to have decided that Min's gotta go before the can't get rid of him...

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    5. Min should just merge with his sphere

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    6. the location of the Archmage staff is known and (sorry Ayla) the most pressing point on my mind is the Celestial Mother ^^

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  19. Listen to the rumble.....OVER Four years and still counting! We have been patient beyond belief. No words presented, no encouragement spoken, no tidbits held out, no samples presented to the faithful. Last we heard was careful research had to be done. We ask; How much research can one conduct over fours years to finish or continue a story in which you have already written two books? If you took four years between Spellmonger books this site would crash from overload of all the complaints. Why are we different? We are a small group of fans and can be ignored. ALTHOUGH, It seemed we mattered several years ago when you needed cash from book sales, but we are small of numbers and matter no more. All I can ask is for you to finish the Trask storyline and never write another. At least we can have an end to our Odyssey!

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    1. Hi Otto, I can't decide if your being serious?!?

      I personally love the fact that Terry is writing an 'epic' story!! Works like these take time, look at Raymond E Feist and Terry Goodkind, these are epic storylines with years in between book releases. I think we've been thoroughly spoilt by Terry as he knocks out his books in an amazingly short amount of time.

      I would love Terry to continue the Spellmonger series for a long long time! (and I'd be willing to pay more per book too). Terry is writing about an entire world and he's doing an amazing job!

      Cheers

      Si

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    2. I think that Otto is replying to some other series by Terry maybe...

      :) I'm not sure - i would also not mind to throw a buck or more after the books.. but then again i don't know how everybody else feels :)

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    3. Ah shit.

      Thanks Theis! Sorry Otto!

      I wasn't aware that there was another series (I had to look it up).

      Please Ignore my post!

      Sorry!

      Si

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    4. A bit harsh Otto, but darn a few words now and again about Space Vikings and how Trask's Odyssey was going would go over a lot better than every post on the subject being ignored.

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  20. Just finished binge reading the Spellmonger series and naturally my addiction cries out for the next!

    That being said, health is more important and take care of yourself first and our addiction later. Best & speedy recovery Terry.

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  21. Looking forward to the Spellmongers next adventures.
    But I have to ask...What happened to Trask's Odyssey?

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  22. sooo, just finished re-reading enchanter, and I just have 1 question.

    who the hell is Beldurazzeko and why is he such a big deal.

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  23. another thing. I also re-read checkered past, and I am pleased to say that the prophecy of the maidens of Guzkia supports my theory that some enormous catastrophy/ coup d'etat is going to destroy the kingdom, which will make room at the top for minalan to become archmage.

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  24. I also like the idea of Minalan I The Archmage of the Imperial Magocracy. I am also convinced that this will indeed happen because Terry gave an interview and he mentioned a book titled Archmage.

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    1. I said something similar and terry stated that "The last book's title will, indeed, involve the word "Archmage". But "Archmage" won't be the last book."

      also, just because I think min will end up being archmage, that doesn't mean he's going to restart the imperial magocracy. it will probably be something different. with more silly hats

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    2. I remember Terry saying something about the series having separate periods. Spellmonger, Warmage, Magelord,High Mage, & the novellas make up one period. Then the next set make up another period... So .. there could be whole series of books & they only make up a small portion of the overall series...

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    3. Aaron Schwartz. Minalan already displays characteristics of monarchica figure and it is obvious that he thinks himself the supreme sovereign of his lands, as it is natural ,so it is a matter of time and books until he is inaugurated Archmage with the Crown of Souls and the Emerald Staff of the Archmagi . Definitely the new Magocracy will not be the same as the old or the middle but it will be an Empire.

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    4. Journeymage clearly stated that he is in any way, no matter what going to become Archmage but why would it be Imperal?

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    5. 'Journeymage clearly stated that he is in any way, no matter what going to become Archmage but why would it be Imperal?'

      ...because it would be eppppiiiiiiicccc. nuf said. Hahaha. But who knows.

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    6. Yeah he is going to rise to the position of archmagus. But the two previous governments privileged only the nobles and leave everyone else to scramble for scraps. They both rely on strength to enforce their will. Min is about to upset the power structure. He already had up set the power structure of the human society but now he is about to do so on the world level. I think he'll have vetoe authority but will charge others with the running of everything. Archmagus ready isn't going to adequately encompass his role in the future.

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  25. Hi Terry,

    I wanted to share some of my observations on Enchanter:

    1. Action Scenes are weak. Especially the last fight, it was un-satisfying. You have made magic system much complex then other Fantasy series (which can be a good thing), I think this poses a challenge in writing Epic series.

    I have been reading a lot of Chinese Web Novel (eg Coiling Dragon), and after reading it, fight scenes in your book looks weak.

    2. Slow Pace: Again, your pacing is OK by western standards, but by Wuxia or japanese Light Novel standards, its slow. I have found Western authors to usually write I big tales building upto conclusion at end.

    In contrast, Chinese/Jap books have a Chapter published every week/day. So the plot and action moves much faster.

    I understand this may be a specific issue, but can you explore mini-arcs with more events happening in the books, and not necessarily have a big fight at the end?

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    1. Come on......you're really gonna bring this sort of crap up.

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    3. Sorry but why on earth would Terry be trying to match the pace of Chinese authors.

      Why are Chinese / Jan books with chapters publishing every week suddenly superior. Its a completely different format and a completely different style of writing.

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    5. I agree that Chinese/Jap Web Novels are much different compared to Western Fiction. I had read insane amount of western fiction, before delving to Chinese LN's. After that, its tough for me to easily like Western Fiction. Most are too slow, or to bland.

      Action scenes in Chi/Jap series are much more interesting as they incorporate forms & elements of Wuxia and have cool name for tech's and very linear path for power progression. You have to read it to believe (its available by many Fan Translation sites on Web).

      Frankly in Fantasy, I only found Robert Jordan to have a good magic & martial arts system. The technical detail of the magic (while not being too complex) made WOT greatly immersive.

      Again, I am not saying CHIN/JAP series are superior to Western, both medium have their own Plus points.

      If writing about Action scenes using Modern Tech, Western F is superior, but when writing about Magic systems and Action scenes in Fantasy setting, Asians are unmatched.

      If Terry can get inspiration from them, it will mean more awesome books for us.

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    6. So basicly you want Terry to write a different kind of book that would please you more, is that correctly understood?

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    7. Xinxia = MOAARE powerups, lots of loose ends and serious plot holes. This is a very repetitive theme. I know because i have read alot of them.

      Let Terry dictate his own novel as he sees fit.

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    8. most webnovels suck in the long run cause they need a highlight every week... reality doesnt work that way and the spellmonger series is trying to be realistic in his setting.
      dont ask for changes in writing style, this is Terrys series and we (the mayority reader) like his style (that why we read it)4

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    10. Theis/Jeremy/Lodrik....I DONT want Terry to change his style. However Style's implementation can be different.

      What I would like is better Action scenes, especially where 1vs1 is happening. If you have read Xinxia, would have seen its quality of action scenes. I have found few Western authors match Xinxia in this aspect.

      (Although as Jeremy said, due to frequent Power up's and fast updates in Xinxia, they tend to loose plot coherency).

      Final action scene from Enchanter was a little disappointing for me, especially how suddenly the "antagonist" became powered-up. It sounded forced.

      By the way, I really like Terry's "WAR" scenes, they are very good (some of them EPIC).

      But, I have not seen many engaging 1 vs 1 action scenes.

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    11. Another thing, which can be seen as change in "Style":

      I feel Terry should introduce more POV's. They done have to be very much (just 15-20%) of the book, but they can make the story appear fresh.

      Their is nothing wrong in 1 POV, but after reading 4-5 books fron single POV (or focus on 1 character), reading other's POV can add variety.

      No matter how good a dish is, if their is no variety, you will soon get tired of it.

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    12. No thank you, if you want to read chinese authors go read chinese authors, if you want multiple POV then go and read game of thrones, I like his books and his style, if he changes his style to please you then he will make me unhappy, so i would gladly prefer for terry to continue as he is, and if you want something different then go look at another author there is plenty out there

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    13. Well Terry has included different points of view, his short stories/anthology , this novel focusing on Tyndal and Rondal. All give the world of Callidore greater Depth and breadth, but the Spellmonger Series is about Min, it's not about who wit s a throne , and how the get it...

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    14. Well, I rather enjoy that the main storyline is told from the same point of view. It's OK to introduce anthologies and other books, which supplement the main books and which are told from other points of view, but the main storyline is Minalan's story and should rightly be told by him.

      Other authors have changed the point of view mid-through the series, thereby also changing focus away from the main character. This, I've found, often doesn't work out all that splendidly. An example of an author who tried to go this way is Anthony Ryan, the author of the Blood Song series. The first book had one point of view and one main character. The next two books in the trilogy had several. In my opinion, the result was less than desirable seeing that the main character whose story I really wanted told, was sidelined in favour of other characters. Seeing that the whole reason I enjoyed the first book so much to begin with was my appreciation of the main character and HIS story, the change in point of view was a sore disappointment.

      So please: don’t change the point of view of the main storyline!

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    15. please dont forget that the series has hints to being Minalans biography (he hints beforhand at several points that things were a mistake and so on...)

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    16. Web novel/serial =/= A fantasy book.
      To try and compare a web serial, with a novel of any length, is, I'm sorry, but absurd. If you read something, and you like it, you obviously like it for it's style. If you read something else, and decide you like it more, then you obviously like that style more.To try and compare a web serial, to a novel, is like comparing a steak to a tomato. They aren't the same, therefore, there is no bases for comparison.
      I read Worm's web serial, and while I enjoyed the hell out of it. I can tell you right now, if Spellmonger were broken down into Worm's formatting, it'd completely destroy the story. Please don't confuse web serials with novels. They are completely different breeds of animal.

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  27. To be fair Terry is amazing fast compared to most fantasy authors. Hes putting out multiple books per year. Most author like Jim Butcher, George R. R. Martin, or Robert Jordan) you get a book every year or so, sometime longer.

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    1. G.R.R.Martin takes many years for each book but you cant compare Martin and Mancour. Martins books are dark fantasy with many P.O.V. characters while Mancours books are high fantasy with one to a few P.O.V. characters. (the main reason Martin gives for taking so much time)

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    2. It was more in response to comment above about weekly update and publications. Your right they are completely different writing styles but Terry is a beast to publish 2-3 books per year

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  28. But what about Trask's Odyssey? ?? Waiting, and waiting! Please when does it come out?

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  29. First, please don't suggest an author with an established story, IE: with multiple books. Suddenly change how they do their writing. It will 1. Cause a delay as the author adjusts to doing the new style. 2. Hardly ever lives up to maintaining the cohesion from the original story style. 3.Causes extreme delays as the author adjusts to doing things completely different from how they would normally.

    Second. Please don't suggest an author include multiple point of views into their books, when they have a history of doing epic work with their own style. A style in which YOU have enjoyed reading enough to follow their blog. It again returns to the cohesion issue. In many cases, multiple points of view detract from a story as a whole, and much of the information in the povs becomes redundant over time. A very good example of this. Would be Connie Suttle's work. The bulk of her earlier work was done in single point of view, or at the most, two different points of view. Her current/latest work can have anywhere from four to seven different points of view. With occasions for two or three different POVs in the same chapter, and at the very least, a new POV for every chapter. This leads to confusion, redundancy, and in many cases, a rush through the story to 'end' a pov to swap to the next leaving things seeming rushed, and fractured.

    Finally. Please, have some respect for an author's individual talent and expression, and NEVER tell an author. "HEY! You should TOTALLY write your stuff like this guy!" Every author has their own inspiration, every story has it's own muse, and every book should have it's own flavor. People might like to say that imitation is the highest form of flattery, but all it does is lead to pale imitations, and alot of anger from people that love to 'draw' comparisons between works. In many cases, what works for one author, just doesn't work for another. A prime example, and I use the one already provided, being the Wheel of Time novels. I personally own every one of them, with a copy bought and donated for each that Jordan put out, to my local library. HOWEVER, after the incredible Mr. Jordan passed on, and Sanderson was slotted to take over his writing to finish the Wheel of Time series. I could never get 'into' it like I did with Mr. Jordan. Sanderson does not write like Jordan, and in my personal opinion, was unable to complete the vision as Mr. Jordan saw it. This does not detract from Mr. Sanderson's own writing ability. In fact I very much enjoy his Reckoners series. But it comes down to, each author has their own voice. To suddenly try and CHANGE that voice, for an established and set series, would be a gross injustice both to the Spell Monger series, and to Mr. Mancour in suggesting that his talent isn't what brought this series to life and keeps many of us stalking for the next release.

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  30. Was wondering how you are feeling. Also, do you have a timeline for book 8?

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  31. Was wondering how you are feeling. Also, do you have a timeline for book 8?

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