JANNY WURTS - Most under-recognized Fantasy author!

[GOLLUM]

Hello Anna, good to see another who corresponds with Janny.....

 

[Grimward]

I also discovered Janny Wurts thru Feist's collaboration with her in the Empire series, then picked up Cycle of Fire series and Sorcerer's Legacy, and haven't been able to put any of her stuff down ever since.

Weighing in here to say that it's almost criminal that she can't continue to get published in the US!

 

[Clansman]

Grimward, your screen name is a tip-off to your allegiances! Well done! I too discovered Janny as a result of Feist. I liked Feist, which led me to read the Empire books. Then I picked up Curse of the Mistwraith in paperback (never saw the hardcover), and I knew that I had something special.

No, The Wars of Light and Shadow is not a light read. Most fantasy that I read previous to her was mere escapism. Janny was very much a trail blazer for fantasy's path to "growing up", so to speak, and she tackles some pretty heavy themes. Fantasy is a great vehicle to do that without putting off the reader, especially if the author does not get preachy, but lets the theme play itself out for the reader to interpret. Janny is especially good at doing that.

I agree with Starstorm's list. I would be inclined to add GRR Martin, and perhaps JV Jones' latest series, though what they do is so very different from Janny's stuff, but they are similar in their complexity of plots and sub-plots.

A fun and recent stand-alone is To Ride Hell's Chasm. I think Gollum mentioned it above. It was a nice interlude from the The Wars of Light and Shadow, though I read it back-to-back with Traitor's Knot.

 

[zabylin]

I first read Curse of the Mistwraith over a decade ago, I think I had just started high school. Anyway, my tiny library happened to have a copy. Out of that series, my favorite is the new one, Stormed Fortress. It is absolutely amazing.
I liked the books she did with Feist, though I'm a little opposite from everyone else it seems. I don't care for him too much. I also didn't really like Wurt's Cycle of Fire trilogy. However, I do highly recommend the Wars of Shadow and Light.

 

[the_faery_queen]

i dunno. i got bored of her war of light and shadow or whatever it was thing. read the first three, then there was another lot and i couldn't get into them at all. found them dull.

i did like the cycle of fire, i read that as a kid. not read it since, but bits of it have stayed with me so it had an impact of some sort.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Weighing in here to say that it's almost criminal that she can't continue to get published in the US!

The thing is, Clansman, Grimward, zabylin, dekket, and so forth, if this is supposed to be some sort of grass roots effort to revive interest in Janny's books here in the US, the time to do that effectively was while her books were still in print.

Right now, what you're doing has the look of viral marketing (so many new members joining in swift succession, all talking exclusively about the same author) and that could do more harm than good.

If it's just coincidence and you're simply enjoying the opportunity to converse with kindred spirits, you're very welcome here, but if you are doing what it looks like you are doing, you might want to think up a better way to accomplish it.

 

[Clansman]

Teresa Edgerton:

Ouch! That is quite a supposition. And, I daresay, quite a back-handed welcome.

I did not start this thread for any other reason than that I love good fantasy, and this is an author who has suffered at the hands of publishers merging and poor marketing, and a publisher closing (Meisha Merlin). It is not an attempt at viral marketing whatsoever, but rather an attempt to make like-minded people aware that this series did not die, but is alive and well, and is extremely well written. I felt similarly about Steven Erikson's books, but he has experienced something of a boost in the last year or two. I am also relatively new to recreational use of the internet, going on-line for fun reasons for only a little over a year. This is why I haven't joined before.

I have been on many different sites that purport to discuss fantasy and science fiction (though not as a member), and few, if any, had the correct facts on this series. Most of them had it horribly wrong. I looked through this site and saw virtually nothing on Janny Wurts, despite her having quite a catalogue of work to her credit, and most of which has enjoyed a great deal of critical acclaim. That is why I posed the question: Most under-recognized fantasy author? I could not understand why, when the quality of her work, depending on your taste (someone above said she was tedious) is so high. The various reasons I listed above, but there has even been speculation that by having the last name "Wurts", her books are always on the bottom shelf in bookstores. As a result, her sales suffer because her books are not at eye-level allowing prospective purchasers to see them and buy them.

I am sick of being marketed the garbage they call fantasy that some publishing houses turn out. I am not the 13 year-old kid who will gobble up the next farm-boy-with-magic-sword crap that has been swirling around the bowl in recent years. I want an intelligent read that challenges my assumptions and makes me really think about what I am reading. Wurts' books do that for me, especially The Wars of Light and Shadow. Martin's books have done the same, as have Erikson's and Kay's. I haven't read Carol Berg, but I understand that she is in that class. The ones who get the best marketing, Jordan and Goodkind, never did that. Goodkind continued to get decent marketing even when his books turned to his brutal Randian philosophy and were just a chore to read (I gave up at Naked Empire). I assumed that the people on this site who liked reading Erikson and Martin et al, might like something that was similarly challenging, so I brought up the question. That "lurking non-members" might have joined me is not overly surprising, and some of the people with whom I correspond regularly decided to throw in their two cents once they found out what I had posted.

Needless to say, you will see me post on other items here. I only joined two weeks ago, and I don't see the point in echoing or repeating what others have said. That would just make me guilty of verbosity, or of being a cheerleader or a sheep, following the crowd. I wanted to say something new that had not received any attention, so I said it.

I hope I have not sounded too indignant, because I don't mean to be a fussy prig, but I don't like assumptions being made about me, or my opinions. I am not trying to sell Janny Wurts' books. I am trying to draw like-minded readers' attention to something that I find to be an excellent read. I thought that this was the main point of sites like this.

Now that I have cleared the air a bit, perhaps you'd like to respond to the actual posts?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I hope I have not sounded too indignant, because I don't mean to be a fussy prig, but I don't like assumptions being made about me, or my opinions.

Since the only assumption I've made about your opinions is that you love Janny's writing and would like to see her books published again in the US, I'm not sure where this indignation is coming from.

Some of the people with whom I correspond regularly decided to throw in their two cents once they found out what I had posted.

This is pretty much what I thought was happening, so my assumptions about what is going on (as opposed to assumptions about your opinions) prove to be true. I think it's very laudable (if belated) that you're all trying to give a favorite author's work a big push. Unfortunately, the way you are going about it has the appearance of spam. If that's not what you are doing ... well, there are more convincing ways to remove that impression than jumping on me for pointing it out.

It wasn't so very long ago that Janny Wurts was commanding a great deal of shelf space. When a formerly popular author falls out of print, or goes from being published by the big publishers to a smaller publisher like Meisha Merlin, it's generally because one of two things happens: there is a long gap between books (frequently due to some personal illness or family crisis) and he or she loses momentum because of it; or, for whatever reason (could be marketing, timing, or some other factor quite unrelated to the quality of the work) the last book put up very poor numbers, such that the bookstores are reluctant to publish the next book her or she writes.

I've seen this happen to many authors, and, as a matter of fact, it happened to me. Some authors who are in this bind find a publisher who is willing to take them on regardless. Quite a few go on writing and publishing but under a new name. Some of them are much more successful the second time around. (Michelle Sagara West, Alis Rasmussen/Kate Elliott, Megan Lindholm/Robin Hobb are three authors that come immediately to mind.)

Sometimes the publisher insists that this be done with a great deal of secrecy, so that even the author's most enthusiastic fans aren't allowed to know about it until long after. Sometimes it's done more openly (for instance, Judith Tarr is now writing as Kathleen Bryan, and her name is right there on the copyright page).

My own belief is that Janny Wurts is too good and too prolific to just give up. She may concentrate on reviving her career by building sales abroad; she may reinvent herself under a new name. Either way, it's early sales that make or break a book. If she has a new book published in Australia, order it now; don't wait for it to be published over here. And if a new author appears whose writing strikes you as very familiar, then support that new career while it is new.

These are positive things that you can do.

 

[Clansman]

Teresa:

I appreciate your comments. I maintain that my post was not an attempt at spamming or anything dishonest, which is perhaps the reason for me sounding indignant in reply to you. This has bugged me for some time, and so I said something. I had the impression from your first post that I was trying to be a schill, and I am not. I apologize for sounding a little shrill in my first response.

Your insight into reasons for this kind of thing happening has opened my eyes somewhat. And I have done those positive things you suggest, namely buying Janny's brand-new book, Stormed Fortress, from the UK while living in Canada and paying exorbitant shipping. Still, I felt compelled to ask the question.

It would also be good for book fans to step out of their favourite author's webpage and to discuss that author on sites like this, so that others can know about the reasons why the book fan has a favourite author, and to be challenged by others who do not necessarily agree. I joined to find good books to read, and to tell others what I know of those books that I already like.

 

[j d worthington]

Teresa is right about the appearance of all this happening at the same time. Usually, when such a thing takes place, that's exactly what is going on. So I wouldn't be too indignant about a question being asked -- believe me, we've had our share of such campaigns.

Genuine interest and the attempt to get more discussion of a writer going is fine -- again, as Teresa says, it's a laudable thing. But it also helps if those who join a forum for such contribute to other aspects of the forum as well; after all, a forum like this is very much a community we've all built (and are continuing to build), so pitching in and discussing others' interests as well helps to build a feeling of camaraderie and quite often has an even greater effect in getting people to looking at a writer you yourself like in turn....

EDIT: Ah, I see you were replying to at least a part of what I addressed even as I was writing the above post. Good response. I hope to see your feedback in other threads.....

 

[Clansman]

I hope to see your feedback in other threads.....

Don't worry. You will. In fact, I have commented a couple of times already.

 

[j d worthington]

Don't worry. You will. In fact, I have commented a couple of times already.

So I see.

 

[Werthead]

Having seen half a shelf dedicated to Wurts' enormous catalogue in my local bookstore, I was very surprised to learn that she wasn't published in the USA any more.

The various reasons I listed above, but there has even been speculation that by having the last name "Wurts", her books are always on the bottom shelf in bookstores.

This statement doesn't make a huge amount of sense to me, I'm afraid. Her books are located next to Tad Williams' and not too far below JRR Tolkien's in most bookstores and they don't have any selling problems.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

The more people know your tastes, and the more they feel you know their tastes, the more likely they are to take your recommendations to heart. But even then, if the books aren't readily accessible, they may think about reading them, but never get around to ordering them. As you say, overseas shipping can be exorbitant -- particularly because the vendors charge more than the actual postage. Some of them a lot more.

If more readers knew the rhythms of the publishing business -- like how small the window that determines a book's success or failure -- they would be in a better position to impact what gets published in the future. If a book does well enough within that crucial time period it may stay around long enough to enjoy a greater success, but if the initial numbers are poor it probably won't be given the opportunity to show some legs. And it doesn't matter whether the author has put up comfortable numbers in the past, because these days you are only as good as your last book. Expectations grow higher and higher, the business gets tougher and tougher, and more and more authors are squeezed out. And it's not always because nobody loves their books, or because no one has ever heard of them.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Werthead, I'm sure her last name does figure into it to some extent. People buy books by Tad Williams and J. R. R. Tolkien because they are already looking for them and go straight to those shelves, but when someone is going through the shelves in alphabetical order to see what catches their eye, being in the W's is not an advantageous place to be.

You can't imagine how much the alphabet came into play when choosing my own pseudonym. My editor wanted me right in there between Hobbs and Jordan (but not too close to either), and she was quite adamant about that.

And, I have to say, going by the results, she was apparently right.

 

[zabylin]

I would also like to add a small note. Its not just the issue of spreading word about a book, but also a site.

My point is that I never knew of the existence of this forum. So, yes I did hear about it in a particular context, and during a particular discussion. And yes I did join and then post in a thread about Janny Wurts. But she is one of my favorite authors, so that seemed natural. When I get the chance to explore the rest of the site, I will. I have browsed a bit, and many other discussion of authors and books look interesting.

Really it is a matter of having a break from school/work etc to explore more thoroughly, not so much about joining to post only on one topic.

 

[Pyan]

You can't imagine how much the alphabet came into play when choosing my own pseudonym. My editor wanted me right in there between Hobbs and Jordan (but not too close to either), and she was quite adamant about that.

That's something that's never occurred to me, Teresa, that a pen-name is picked on those sort of grounds.

So if you wrote hard SF, you'd choose one starting with, say, "B", to fall between Asimov and Clarke?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

So if you wrote hard SF, you'd choose one starting with, say, "B", to fall between Asimov and Clarke?

The publisher might be strongly in favor of such a name, yes. Since we would be inventing a name to begin with.

Now that I think back, I did suggest Woodhouse (before my editor started pitching "H" and "I" names at me), and that didn't go over well at all.

Of course there are a lot of other factors besides the name. But supposing you're an author who hasn't been published in a while, and your fans have fallen out of the habit of heading straight for your name at the bookstore. That's where a name that comes near the end of the alphabet could be a disadvantage.

There are just so many things that go into the success or failure of a book, and these days the sales and marketing departments have such a strong voice when it comes to a publisher deciding whether or not to continue with a particular author. It used to be that if the editorial department really believed in you and liked your books they might overlook a little slip in your numbers and buy your next book, hoping things would improve. They no longer have the power to do this.

 

[Grimward]

Grimward, your screen name is a tip-off to your allegiances! Well done! I too discovered Janny as a result of Feist. I liked Feist, which led me to read the Empire books.

Indeed, Clansman, as is yours (I like yours better than mine, although I enjoyed my ultimately-futile search for a picture of the flaming inside of a dragon's skull to use as the avatar!). While I devoured a lot of Feist's earlier stuff, I think his latest efforts haven't been up to par (too much inspiration from gaming?), or maybe I've just gotten spoiled by Ms. Wurts!

Teresa, J.D. and the other's, rest assured that I didn't join only to rant about WoLaS' lack of a US publisher, or superficially inflate the number of threads about Ms. Wurts so that she gets her own separate space on sffchronicles. It was my first visit to the site, true, and I did come from Janny's site, but I rarely join anything without taking a look first, and am quite impressed with sffchronicles. Janny Wurts is definitely in my top 3 SF writers, however, so after taking a stroll thru the site I latched onto this thread and put my 2 cents in. You're quite likely to find me elsewhere on this site going forward.

 

[elvet]

And just because it sometimes helps to know who what other authors someone reads (one of those, "if you like author x, then maybe you'll also like Janny" sort of things ), rounding out the rest of my Top 5 are Carol Berg, Guy Gavriel Kay, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Tad Williams.

Well, 3 of those are my faves too (GGK, Carol Berg and Tad Williams). I found that Chapters had the Empire books in stock, so I ordered them. As for her earlier books, nothing is available through my usual channels. I'm definitely going to track down To Ride Hell's Chasm. The summary caught my interest.