The Next WhorlWhorl

(I thought I had already posted this, but I must have screwed up as I find no evidence---late night and under influence, arrrgh.) Oyez! News directly from David Hartwell, Wolfe's editor. Wolfe has not yet turned in the first volume of Short Sun, but it is expected August-Sept. His pattern is as follows: He writes a first draft of all the books (and there may be four!), then he revises them for consistency. Then he polishes, book by book, and this typically takes him nine months, so if the first one comes in Aug-Sept, you can count on your fingers what the publishing schedule will be, starting with fall '98 (no room in the spring list, says Hartwell). I'd figure spring '99 next, then it depends on whim to a degree (from our POV, not necessarily Tor's). More news: Yes, there may be more Soldier books---there have been many, many reader requests, and Hartwell himself is fond of them. But there are problems. Hartwell confirmed my assumption that Wolfe, in perfectionist mode, found the period details difficult, but said there was a serious second problem from a publisher's viewpoint. Latro's memory failure, established in the first 100 pages of the first book (and a brilliant 100 pages, said he) is a stumbling block for anyone starting with any subsequent book. Merely to put a "translator's note" in the beginning is, in his opinion, not sufficient to clue in the new reader. I'm not certain of that myself, but I pass it on. I, myself, read Gibson's Sprawl series backward, starting with Mona Lisa Overdrive and ending with Neuromancer, and enjoyed them very much, so I do understand Hartwell's concern. If I had picked up Soldier of Arete first, I think I would have bogged down quickly. -alga-

(I thought I had already posted this, but I must have screwed up as I find no evidence---late night and under influence, arrrgh.) Oyez! News directly from David Hartwell, Wolfe's editor. Wolfe has not yet turned in the first volume of Short Sun, but it is expected August-Sept. His pattern is as follows: He writes a first draft of all the books (and there may be four!), then he revises them for consistency. Then he polishes, book by book, and this typically takes him nine months, so if the first one comes in Aug-Sept, you can count on your fingers what the publishing schedule will be, starting with fall '98 (no room in the spring list, says Hartwell). I'd figure spring '99 next, then it depends on whim to a degree (from our POV, not necessarily Tor's). More news: Yes, there may be more Soldier books---there have been many, many reader requests, and Hartwell himself is fond of them. But there are problems. Hartwell confirmed my assumption that Wolfe, in perfectionist mode, found the period details difficult, but said there was a serious second problem from a publisher's viewpoint. Latro's memory failure, established in the first 100 pages of the first book (and a brilliant 100 pages, said he) is a stumbling block for anyone starting with any subsequent book. Merely to put a "translator's note" in the beginning is, in his opinion, not sufficient to clue in the new reader. I'm not certain of that myself, but I pass it on. I, myself, read Gibson's Sprawl series backward, starting with Mona Lisa Overdrive and ending with Neuromancer, and enjoyed them very much, so I do understand Hartwell's concern. If I had picked up Soldier of Arete first, I think I would have bogged down quickly. -alga-

I guess there's only one thing for them to do--reissue the the first two. And this time, let them put some half naked women on the cover so the books will move! Michael Richman 380 Homans Av Closter, NJ 07624 mrichman at bc.cybernex.net