Tell me more about Ricardo Pinto

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

So, I picked up the second volume of his Stone Dance of The Chameleon trilogy because the first one has been regularly showing up on our Book Club nominations, but wasn't available here. So far, it is dead good - no faux pre-industrial Europe, but a nose-dive into an ornate, sophisticated and brutal culture that reminds a trifle of the Mayans. I have an inkling that, in the mainline epic fantasy fray, Pinto may emerge as a personal favourite alongside Erikson if he follows through as well as these first few chapters.

Anyway, will the Pinto-ists here please tell me more, anything at all that comes to your mind that you think I should know. Thank you.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

*And knivesout is forced to cover his ears to shield them from the deafening silence *

 

[dwndrgn]

I only read the first (sorry to break the silence ) so I don't know much about his work. I sort of enjoyed the story - mostly for the uniqueness of it. What I didn't like was the bleakness. I'm only a few steps from being depressed on most days so I tend to steer away from these types of stories (one of the reasons I was resenting being forced to read Perdido Street Station but thanks, btw). The first book started out oddly and I mostly kept reading to find out what the heck was going on. I suppose as a 'pull the reader in' ploy, it worked on me.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Sorry if I forced PSS on you btw - certainly not one to read when you are not feeling too positive as it is.


Yes, I'm finding Pinto quite dark in his writing - there is a lot of cruelty and anguish happening so far. But his world-building seems remarkable original and fresh to me, and discovering the workings of this truly strange culture does give me some sense of enjoyment. The sexuality angle is something that is handled well too, I thought, as a part of the plot and the characters, and not a shock-tactic to stand out.

It is pretty dark too. I can only hope there is some light by the end, or at least in part three when the tale is concluded. All I seem to read these days are bleak (but fascinating) fiction and heavy (but, again, fascinating) non-fiction, I think it is time I went and bought some new comics. If those turn out to be complex and angsty too I shall just have to break down I suppose.

 

[dwndrgn]

If you are down at the mouth for any reason, reading any of the Callahan series by Spider Robinson is just the cure. Intelligent, fun and down-to-earth, it can't help but make you feel better.

And don't apologize for Perdido Street Station for as it was a tad bleak, it was definitely an engaging story. Something I never would have read on my own.

 

[rune]

This sounds promising I like a dark plot. I've got a copy of The Chosen from my library. Will be reading it within the next couple of weeks so hope to have found a good author How many books has this author written?

 

[dwndrgn]

I don't know much about the author but I thought I read somewhere that The Chosen was his first. I could be very wrong though so don't quote me on that. I found it to be very fresh in that it was an entire new world with very few resonances with other fantasies. As I said in my earlier post, it is a bit bleak but somehow one hopes that in the end everything works out at least somewhat good. My libraries don't have any of the others so I'll have to wait to find out.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Here's his website for more info: http://www.ricardopinto.com/

 

[rune]

I'm half way through The Chosen and though the characters are different and I like the unusual creatures that have been developed in the story. It is a very slow paced book and there isn't much in the way of magic so far

 

[rune]

Well I've finally finished The Chosen and though it is a well written book with well defined characters and an interesting world. There is little magic in the story, very detailed and rather slow

I dont feel compelled to continue with the series, I like something a bit more straight forward than this story. It did have some good dark aspects and I think if anyone likes to stories of political intrigue and unsual culture they will enjoy this book.

 

[GOLLUM]

HMM..can't believe I didn't find this thread until now...

OK for those who have been following Ricardo Pinto's at times wonderfully complex, refreshingly original and richly detailed fantasy trilogy Stone Dance of The Chameleon he's recently posted an upatde on his progress with Book 3. Like his books his post is pretty detailed so in a nutshell he's reported completion in Novmeber of Chapter 24 of an estimated 32 chapters in what will be the longest of the 3 book series. As he estimates his work rate so far has been 1 chapter/month his first draft can probably be expected by mid 2006.

From there there's a minimum of 3 rewrites but each taking less time than the one before as to be expected.

Therefore it's not reasonable to expect the final book will be out before 2007, so I'm guessing a 2007 release.

This series is extremely rich in the detail of a fully realized society, so much so that at times advancement of the overall plot line can be a litle glacial but despite its obvious dark undertones it would not surprise me if this series were to be viewed as a classic of the genre in years to come, at least by some critics.

Another underrated author who deserves more mainstream attention IMO.

Highly recommended.

 

[Gary Wassner]

I interviewed Ricardo about three years ago after I posted a review of The Chosen. He was as interesting to get to know as one would expect after reading his books. You can read it here if you want to.

http://www.sffworld.com/interview/87p0.html

His books are dark, definitely, and they were ahead of their time in many respects. He is not widely read, which kind of surprises me today considering how so many readers are migrating to grim, violent, graphic books. His are quite intelligent as well, and very different than most of what's on the shelves.

They are certainly not for everyone though, and I can understand why you did not enjoy them Rune.

 

[rune]

Ive just got a lazy brain when it comes to my reading Gary. I find a detailed book is just to hard for me to take in. Especially when Ive so many other facts I have to retain whilst study.
And I also feel a good story can be told without including every detail about everything.

 

[Gary Wassner]

I do know what you mean. I read The Gardens of the Moon, and though I appreciated how involved Erikson's story was and how well he put it all together, I had no desire to pick up the next one. But I rushed through Bakker's PON rapaciously as if someone might take it away from me before I got to finish. Scott is a very dear friend of mine and I expected brilliance from him before I even began it. We also share similar backgrounds in philosophy and we talk about that frequently. I know that you found his books unappealing as well, probably for similar reasons?

As you know, I write very differently than Pinto, Erikson or Bakker. But I think that I have more in common with Pinto in terms of literary style than the other two. I felt as if I was reading a very long Epic poem with his book, The Chosen. But it was grim and violent, within an elaborate, rich and intricate environment. My books are neither grim nor terribly violent.

 

[GOLLUM]

His books are dark, definitely, and they were ahead of their time in many respects. He is not widely read, which kind of surprises me today considering how so many readers are migrating to grim, violent, graphic books. His are quite intelligent as well, and very different than most of what's on the shelves.

Yes that's interesting to speculate why his books haven't become as popular in the mainstream, perhaps it is because there's so much effort and thought put into developing his society and that the plot takes its time in developing that a lot of readers just don't have the patience or time to invest in the book despite its dark undertones or as I suspect maybe the same sex realtionship has put off a significant number of mainstream fans in combination with a lack of overt magic we see in other fantasy novels or maybe the books weren't marketed as strongly as they might have been? I'm inclined to believe the answer is probably a combination of all of the above.

 

[GOLLUM]

I do know what you mean. I read The Gardens of the Moon, and though I appreciated how involved Erikson's story was and how well he put it all together, I had no desire to pick up the next one.

Well I genuinely believe if you picked up the second book in this series you may well change your mind about this author. GOTM is IMO the weakest of the books as it is very much a setup book and because Mr. Erikson was still learning his craft but I'd be surprised if you weren't more hooked after reading the second book in the series which is a tour de force in the art of storytelling....

EDIT: BTW thanks for putting up that interview with Ricardo I really enjoyed reading it and you're absolutely right, the commercial cost is very much secondary to this author's obviuos labour of love when it comes to Stone Dance Of The Chameleon.

 

[Gary Wassner]

Definitely. It's a very intricate and harsh story, like an old Chinese matriarch, all dressed up, powdered, polite and deadly. The same sex issue did cause a problem years ago when it was first published, and I suspect as well that his publishers didn't push it the way it deserved. It's really quite a beautiful book.

It seems quite timely to me now, but it may be too late for the entire series to be resurrected.

 

[GOLLUM]

It seems quite timely to me now, but it may be too late for the entire series to be resurrected.

Well that's sad if you're shown to be correct on that point but perhaps it will become one of those series that is only rediscovered in another generation or two and hailed as a significant work of the genre as it could be viewed as being ahead of its time right now.

 

[Jaxom_Ruatha]

Wow, I was amazed to find this thread. I read The Chosen, around four years ago, I was much younger (13 or 14) and was attracted to it's colorful cover. I actually really enjoyed the book, it was extremely creative and well developed. I especially liked the rediculous way that the aristocracy were all like imbred and status depended on the "purity" of their blood. I searched for the second book but never found it, I remember really wanting to found out what happened next (possible spoiler) didn't the main character get kidnapped or something (Spoiler ended), how are the following books?

 

[GOLLUM]

Wow, I was amazed to find this thread. I read The Chosen, around four years ago, I was much younger (13 or 14) and was attracted to it's colorful cover. I actually really enjoyed the book, it was extremely creative and well developed. I especially liked the rediculous way that the aristocracy were all like imbred and status depended on the "purity" of their blood. I searched for the second book but never found it, I remember really wanting to found out what happened next (possible spoiler) didn't the main character get kidnapped or something (Spoiler ended), how are the following books?

The second book is even better than the first and is called The Standing Dead and was published a couple of years ago. I'm sure if you quiz your local bookshop they might be able to get in in for you or else you could always try amazon. I still see copies of it floating around the bookshops here. The third book looks as if its first draft will be completed by mid 2006 so I expect a 2007 release but maybe I'm an optimist.