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Publication Question for Wert and/or Shawn
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Posted:
7/29/2010 2:08:36 PM
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You guys have the connections. What do you hear about the series which in comparison to Martin makes his SoIaF look like it's coming out like clockwork?
I'm referring, of course, to David Gerrold's War Against the Chtorr, which began in the late seventies, and has only four of seven books published in thirty-plus years.
It's one of my favorite science fiction series, because Gerrold was, to my knowledge, the first serious sf author to realize that an alien invasion would require a complete alteration of the Earth's entire ecology to be viable.
Anyway, Wikipedia says Volume 5 might appear by July of 2011. Any truth to that possibility? Or another pipe-dream? 
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Black Staff Admin
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RE: Publication Question for Wert and/or Shawn
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Posted:
7/29/2010 3:05:50 PM
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Wert might dig up something faster than myself, but I decided to just write Tor and find out directly from the horse's mouth, as they say. At least that's who it LOOKS LIKE will be publishing...
"I'm not for hire, and I don't get to choose my path." -- Sider Ament
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RE: Publication Question for Wert and/or Shawn
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Posted:
7/29/2010 4:57:42 PM
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There isn't really any more info out there on this, unless Shawn gets something from Tor direct. David Gerrold's home site is under construction and the biggest Chtorr fansite went down years ago. Amazon.com has a listing for A METHOD FOR MADNESS for July 2011, but Tor's current catalogue doesn't stretch into mid-2011, so we don't know if that date is reliable yet. All the other news I can find via Google is years old. He does have a Facebook page which is public, but he never seems to mention the book there (despite frequent fan references to it).
Personally, I'd take it with a pinch of salt the size of the Antarctic until we get word from the publishers or the author directly.
Visit The Wertzone for reviews of science fiction and fantasy!
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RE: Publication Question for Wert and/or Shawn
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Posted:
7/29/2010 5:35:25 PM
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The concept sounds interesting, and I have little exposure to science fiction besides the Ender/Shadow books. Maybe I'll put that on my list.
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RE: Publication Question for Wert and/or Shawn
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Posted:
7/29/2010 11:00:52 PM
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From what I remember, it was a terrific series but after such a long break, I just have my doubts that he'll ever get around to finishing it off.
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RE: Publication Question for Wert and/or Shawn
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Posted:
7/30/2010 6:28:46 AM
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Thanks for the info, guys, even though it pretty much confirms my own pessimistic outlook.
The series is told from the first-person viewpoint of a man who starts as a grunt soldier in the fight against the most aggressive and scary of the alien invaders, but the story gradually develops into his rise among the powers-that-be on Earth, and we start to see the bigger picture of the invasion.
Gerrold admits on many occasions to being influenced by Heinlein, including Heinlein's didactics, but Gerrold (like Heinlein) could make didactic fiction still very palatable and entertaining.
Truly epic in scope and could have been one of the all-time great series in sf, if Gerrold hadn't "wandered off," as certain authors seem to do, unwilling or unable or whatever to do the huge work required to crank these novels out in a regular fashion.
Over this long period of time, Gerrold has certainly lost part of his readership, if for nothing else but because the older ones have died. However, every time one of these novels is finally published, the entire series is republished with new covers and a new promotion, so who knows? Maybe he can do it again with a new crop of younger readers. If he cared enough. 
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Black Staff Admin
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RE: Publication Question for Wert and/or Shawn
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Posted:
7/31/2010 7:07:32 PM
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I still haven't heard. Perhaps my contact went on vacation after Comic Con...
"I'm not for hire, and I don't get to choose my path." -- Sider Ament
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Black Staff Admin
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RE: Publication Question for Wert and/or Shawn
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Posted:
8/2/2010 3:33:57 PM
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Hey Shawn! A pleasure to hang as well – glad you had some free time during the SDCC insanity J
Gerrold’s next in that series is technically scheduled for a 2013 release date – my standing assumption on waaaay future deadlines like that one is that we don’t have a manuscript in and the editor doesn’t know when it will be in. Fun stuff right? I’ll do some digging with his editor and agent and see if I can get some more info for you…
"I'm not for hire, and I don't get to choose my path." -- Sider Ament
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RE: Publication Question for Wert and/or Shawn
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Posted:
8/3/2010 6:22:08 AM
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Thanks for the info, Shawn.
Absolutely outrageous, though, and I think we can safely assume this is another series that will never see completion. 
Ah, well. I asked.  
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Black Staff Admin
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RE: Publication Question for Wert and/or Shawn
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Posted:
8/3/2010 8:01:03 AM
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Better info:
Heard back from the editor. It’s as I feared: we don’t know when the manuscript will come in, so the 2013 date is a placeholder. As soon as it does come in it’ll go on the schedule, and I’ll be sure to let you know!
"I'm not for hire, and I don't get to choose my path." -- Sider Ament
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Black Staff Admin
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RE: Publication Question for Wert and/or Shawn
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Posted:
8/3/2010 8:06:11 AM
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I will say this. The man writes all of the time. He publishes and publishes. Since I've never heard of this series, Roland, I'm assuming that it doesn't sell very well despite its genius. Some writers don't finish series that don't sell well because there is no financial point to doing so.
I think you should go out, start some kind of fan club, and push this series on everyone you know. Maybe with growing sales, David would decide, "This is worth my time to finish."
Then again, if rumors are true, it looks like he is having trouble due to trying to write an unreliable narrative first person voice for his main character. So it could be several reasons why this series hasn't had a book published in a long time and why, despite only having four scenes left to write in 2007, Book V hasn't been published.
"I'm not for hire, and I don't get to choose my path." -- Sider Ament
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RE: Publication Question for Wert and/or Shawn
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Posted:
8/3/2010 10:03:11 AM
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I think you should go out, start some kind of fan club, and push this series on everyone you know.
Hey, it worked with Paul Kearney. I personally got his Monarchies of God reprinted when all was despair. 
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RE: Publication Question for Wert and/or Shawn
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Posted:
8/5/2010 9:02:34 PM
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I just got book 1 out of the library. Looks interesting.
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