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Gunslinger Patch
Royal Black Watch Regiment
Major
Joined: 04-Mar-2002 00:00
Posts: 1611
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 Posted: 10-Apr-2002 18:37 Post subject: Stackpole at it again... |
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I haven't read Stackpole's fantasy novels either, only the Battletech work. And if I had to pick my most favorite Battletech author, it would be Victor Milan for giving us Comacho's Cabollieros (did I spell that right?).
But I think he does deserve full credit for being a founding giant in the universe of Battletech. His work in the 3025 sourcebooks and the Warrior and Blood of Kerensky trilogies created the blackboard of people and events on which every other Btech author and fan has scribbled. And since he's the guy that made our universe what it is, he certainly has more right to talk about it and the direction it heads in than most anyone else has. And the right to expect some respect for the work he has put into the game too.
Some would say that was just in the beginning and his stock has dropped much lower now. But then Washington has been dead a long time now and he is still the best President we ever had and the one who set the standard all successors are expected to live by.
And I still find nothing wrong with him appealing to people to buy his books. No sales means he stops writing new ones. It means we don't get to enjoy reading his stuff again in the future.
I used to frequntly buy off the shelf books from people I never heard of to see if I would like their work, but I rarely do that anymore save for Battletech novels only. Paperback prices keep climbing higher all the time, I can remember when the standard book price was 4 or 5 bucks, now it is mostly 7 or 8 bucks. And I think that with all the entertainment competition, the number of authors to pick from for books that see modest (less that 20,000) sales is getting smaller all the time and publishers are making it harder to get published. So the writers you know are becoming more important in terms of buying their work to keep them working since they really get very, very little money per book sold.
What I do nowadays is mostly stick to the writers I already know and like and buy their work in hardcover most of the time. So when Anne McCaffery dies and the Dragonriders of Pern ride no more I will really feel the pain of loss. If Stackpole has to give up writing more Battletech and get a regular job I will miss him. Not as much as I'd miss W.E.B. Griffin, David Weber, and others, I admit, but I would indeed miss him.
And I can't seem to post anything today without scerwing up my spelling.
[ This Message was edited by: Gunslinger Patch on 2002-04-10 18:45 ]
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"Those who beat their guns into plows will plow for those with guns..." -Thomas Jefferson
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Karagin
Imperial Karagin Army
Imperial General
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 4120
Location: United States
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| Posted: 10-Apr-2002 20:05 Post subject: Stackpole at it again... |
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Again, the part folks have a problem with is his essays that slam the fans, "I AM BATTLETECH" comments etc...and then he writes a couple begging us to buy his other work...some how the two don't go hand in hand. You can't slam your fans and then turn around and expect them to actually BUY your books.
And again I don't see any other authors begging for folks to buy their work. I don't see Drake or Stirling or Pournell or Weber or anyother decent scifi writing tossing up an essay begging for you the fan to buy all of their works not just one book or one series. That alone should tell you his work is in need of a lot of help if he has to resort to begging.
So as to why folks don't like him, his essays are a good place to start...and then there are the folks who felt his style of writing wasn't up to par and the way his main characters seemed to be able to do things perfectly all the time not matter what they always came out on top. And as been said his writting was and will always be good vs bad...not a grey inbetween.
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Karagin
Only the dead have seen the end of war. - Plato
"Wasted trip Man. Nobody said nuthin' about lockin' horns with no tigers." Oddball
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Cadet
ComStar
Lieutenant, SG
Joined: 17-Mar-2002 00:00
Posts: 495
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| Posted: 10-Apr-2002 22:09 Post subject: Stackpole at it again... |
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Quote:
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On 2002-04-10 14:56, AcidQueen wrote:
Quote:
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On 2002-04-09 22:31, ICER wrote:
OH BOY!! cadet is going to have field day with this one.
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*roll eyes*
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Now THAT is an intelligently biting remark wrought with wit and irony. I bow before your great intellect and superiority with words and phrases. I was mistaken for ever crossing swords with you in the past.
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Gunslinger Patch
Royal Black Watch Regiment
Major
Joined: 04-Mar-2002 00:00
Posts: 1611
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| Posted: 11-Apr-2002 08:20 Post subject: Stackpole at it again... |
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Actually, from what I recall of cruising the web and learning of FASA's demise and so on, it was clear that many veteran fans were slamming Weisman and Stackpole before Stackpole ever wrote those essays and before they heard anything about the changes save for the word Mageknight. When he talks about the flaming aimed at him, that's called "shooting back".
And again, what is so wrong about asking his readers to stand by him? What does he make, a few cents per book with 20,000 copies on a good day? How many bookstores are there in this country? A lot more than 20,000 I bet.
How much of his life did he spend writing that? I do some writing myself and anybody who can finish one and get it on a bookshelf has my admiration even if I didn't like the book. I have written for years myself and I know very well how easy it is to start writing and how hard it is to finish something. I have big pieces of three novels on disk, worked on them for years now. Lord knows when I'll ever finish one of them and be satisfied with it if I do.
As for his saying I AM BATTLETECH. Well... he is Battletech. Stackpole, Weisman, and a few others can say that without lying since they are the reason our game exists in the first place. He is one of the very few who laid down the foundation that the rest of us build our own personal Clan Wolverins on top of. He IS BATTLETECH, I just play Battletech myself. And no matter how much I fiddle with my own personal Clan Wolverine, I never forget that important point. Just like I don't own Star Wars, either. It belongs to George Lucas. HE IS STAR WARS.
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"Those who beat their guns into plows will plow for those with guns..." -Thomas Jefferson
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Karagin
Imperial Karagin Army
Imperial General
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 4120
Location: United States
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| Posted: 11-Apr-2002 08:33 Post subject: Stackpole at it again... |
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Stackpole IS NOT BATTLETECH. The only persons who are BATTLETECH are it's founders.
Not the author of some novels...back in the 1st Edition of MECHWARRIOR RPG and in a STARDATE article the actually story of BT was published, no where is STACKPOLE mentioned as having ANYTHING to do with it.
If any of the authors has a right to lay claim to the title of being Battletech it would be Keiths not Stackpole.
It's one thing to fire back at folks, but to slam the entire fan base and tell them that if it wasn't for him (Stackpole) there would be no Battletech is crazy.
And again I don't see any compitent author in the Scifi or Fanasty genera begging their fans to buy all of their books. So maybe Michael should take a clue and cue from them and STOP with these pointless and trival essays and work on his writing...
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Karagin
Only the dead have seen the end of war. - Plato
"Wasted trip Man. Nobody said nuthin' about lockin' horns with no tigers." Oddball
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