Dear Jim

[SerScot]

Yep. We were spoiled for a long time. Hell, there were even a few years when we got two books, with the Codex Alera included.

The reason we're all feeling it is because it's a serial. If they were just loosely connected books that took place in the same universe, like Stephen King, we wouldn't care as much.

These books have serial aspects but the really are just loosely connected novels set in the same universe with the same characters.

[Talby16]

Very few authors can pump out books at the rate Jim has. I'm all for him slowing down if that is what he needs to remain refreshed and keep the quality of books consistent.

[Kindler]

These books have serial aspects but the really are just loosely connected novels set in the same universe with the same characters.

Sure, I'm mainly thinking about the larger metanarrative that's been shaping across the entire series. I liken each book to an episode in a short season. 1-4, 5-11, and 12-14, maybe 12-15, depending on how Peace Talks shakes out. All three (or four) arcs have the underpinnings of an ongoing narrative, revealed and named in Cold Days.

It's not exactly serial, you're right, but it's close enough for me.

[jonas]

When we have unanswered questions from almost every book... It's a serial mystery, so it's spot on for me. Still waiting to find out about either parent, faith Astor, Sells kids, Mavra's fate, Nemesis/Black Council explanations, ect. One book stands alone as a story within itself, but it's a series of stories with an end game so...

[KurtinStGeorge]

Slightly unrelated topic, but not really.  Jim was scheduled at a writer's conference in Colorado starting on April 27th.  I just checked the conference website and Jim isn't listed as attending.  That may be disappointing for aspiring writers who are also fans of Jim's work, but it suggests he his concentrating on finishing Peace Talks which I think we can all agree is a good thing.

I do miss those times when Jim would go on twitter and announce "I just loaded (fill in the blank) and I'm at 75% of my expected word count."  Plus, those times when he would announce "I just finished up the final battle and now have only to write the denouement chapter," let us know he was getting close to finishing.  Also, I agree with the OP on one subject.  Unless it would be super spoilery, I'd love to see Jim do a reading of the first two or three chapters several months before publication.  He hasn't done that in ages. 

[SerScot]

Slightly unrelated topic, but not really.  Jim was scheduled at a writer's conference in Colorado starting on April 27th.  I just checked the conference website and Jim isn't listed as attending.  That may be disappointing for aspiring writers who are also fans of Jim's work, but it suggests he his concentrating on finishing Peace Talks which I think we can all agree is a good thing.

I do miss those times when Jim would go on twitter and announce "I just loaded (fill in the blank) and I'm at 75% of my expected word count."  Plus, those times when he would announce "I just finished up the final battle and now have only to write the denouement chapter," let us know he was getting close to finishing.  Also, I agree with the OP on one subject.  Unless it would be super spoilery, I'd love to see Jim do a reading of the first two or three chapters several months before publication.  He hasn't done that in ages.

Given the level of bitching that has been leveled at him recently is it any surprise he’s more reticent to post updates?

[flying peach]

Don’t obfuscate this. JB has given up on us. It is what it is. The bs anthologies are nothing more than an (poor) attempt to keep readers happy. Write a novel if you care so much about your fans. I show up to work everyday just like you.

Treat the series as having ended with Changes. It was a great book with a great fight scene and wrapped up a lot of threads. Maybe in twenty years you can check if Jim ever finished the series (not attacking Jim, it's an ambitious series he may not finish it in his lifetime).

His personal life is none of my business and I've said that before on this board. Where many fans get lost is that when our lives go to sh@t we don't get to not work. We show up and put in our time or we starve (or our children starve, or we are unable to make child support, or the house gets foreclosed, etc.) Our feels don't matter.

On the other hand, it's also important to remember that none of us know Jim, we just like reading his books. So, let me compare him to Kurt Cobain or Hemingway. Would nagging Cobain or Hemingway about their next project speed things up? Well no, because they really didn't need to get that far ahead with their planning. Just let it go, he's a stranger to us. 

You are not owed a book by Jim Butcher.  If he chooses to take up his eponymous  trade and never write again you have no claim for anything from Jim Butcher.  I want to read Peace Talks as much as any other fan but guess what... life happens.

I've seen it posted before that Jim Butcher doesn't owe us anything. I disagree. When standalone books are written absolutely nothing is owed. Implicit in every trilogy is the belief that there will be a third book. If the third book doesn't get written there is no point in reading the first two books. It wasted the readers time defrauded the reader out of money and time and left the reader hanging with no resolution.

The early books were standalone novels. Once he left the case mysteries set up (really since Changes and his books that I preferred) it became more like a trilogy or long series.

Imagine if you get to the last book of the Harry Potter series and it doesn't get written just because the author decided that she didn't want to, had plenty of money, and didn't owe the fans anything. Well, it's pretty clear that in such a circumstance the writer is a jerk.

In contrast, it would have been unfortunate to the reader, but completely understandable for Robert Jordan to not have spent the last part of his life outlining the wheel of time series.

YOU Sir, are NOT fanatical and you don't deserve the title..... Even i don't give a damn about Bandwagon 'fans' so idc if Jim does certainly, just saying..

If you are a Jim Butcher fan then you've seen him write/speak about how much he hates fans attacking each other over Peace Talks Release Date. It's possible to disagree without personal attacks.

[jonas]

Na A. I didn't 'attack' fyi. if I had it would be against the precepts and the mods would have said something
B. second, I can be a fan without following his methodology. Gene Roddenberry was a helluva nice guy... who kept a lawyer on a leash to release like a pitbull. Gene never stopped that from happening despite his own outstanding nature. "looks left" "looks right" oh look, nobodies running to stop me here either.

[flying peach]

Na A. I didn't 'attack' fyi. if I had it would be against the precepts and the mods would have said something
B. second, I can be a fan without following his methodology. Gene Roddenberry was a helluva nice guy... who kept a lawyer on a leash to release like a pitbull. Gene never stopped that from happening despite his own outstanding nature. "looks left" "looks right" oh look, nobodies running to stop me here either.

I don't really care about the moderator's definition of attack. The question is: was that portion of your comment emotionally charged and designed to elicit a negative emotional response from the op? If so, it was an attack.

As for Gene Roddenberry's lawyer that was his lawyer. His lawyer was literally paid to do stuff and a good lawyer tells his client to blame everything on the lawyer when talking to people.

I was just hoping that this forum could stay civil until a new book came out that would allow me to toss out wags in a friendly manner in what used to be a friendly board.

If you see it differently than so be it. No board is perfect, but maybe the op was right that the board isn't what it used to be. 

I'm sure I'll check the board again in a few months, until then later.

[jonas]

No actually that's just how I communicate, are you currently attacking me??? I feel it, even if you don't. and I was stating pretty pure facts there Bub. I was relating my personal opinion regarding not just this but all bandwagon auctioning and pointing out, that the original 'attack on Jim for not caring was backed by real fan's knowing that's not what's going.
I wish this forum didn't have people trying to make mountains out of molehills, something I think you and the Op have in common here now.

[wardenferry419]

I think "Elvis has left the building," jonas. Darn. I was hoping for an encore.

[airyie]

Sometimes life happens dude.

Plans getting put on hold.
Dealing with all the things life throws at you becomes like dodgeball.
Things that use to come easily are now more difficult.
Sometimes breaking even is the best case scenario - after all, you don't want to take 10 steps backwards.

I wouldn't say the fanbase is dead, just inactive. They're out doing other things. Some check back once a year. Others once every couple months. And when a new book is out, I'm sure the majority of them will find their way back to the fanbase as active members.

Lord knows the LV426 fandom held out for years!

[KurtinStGeorge]

This isn't aimed at any one person.  In the immortal words of HAL 9000:

"I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill and think things over." 

[WereElephant]

I wouldn't say the fanbase is dead, just inactive. They're out doing other things. Some check back once a year. Others once every couple months. And when a new book is out, I'm sure the majority of them will find their way back to the fanbase as active members.

In their hall at Arctis Tor,
Dead Butcherites lie dreaming.

[SerScot]

flying peach,

I've seen it posted before that Jim Butcher doesn't owe us anything. I disagree. When standalone books are written absolutely nothing is owed. Implicit in every trilogy is the belief that there will be a third book. If the third book doesn't get written there is no point in reading the first two books. It wasted the readers time defrauded the reader out of money and time and left the reader hanging with no resolution.

The early books were standalone novels. Once he left the case mysteries set up (really since Changes and his books that I preferred) it became more like a trilogy or long series.

Imagine if you get to the last book of the Harry Potter series and it doesn't get written just because the author decided that she didn't want to, had plenty of money, and didn't owe the fans anything. Well, it's pretty clear that in such a circumstance the writer is a jerk.

Here's my difficulty with your position "owed" implies a legal obligation.  I just don't see that.  We were given a book that is part of a series.  We paid for the book and read the book with full knowledge of the fact that is a part of a series.  There is no guarantee the series will ever be complete.  There is no obligation by the author to complete the series.  That might make the writer who chooses to hang up his pen and become a... blacksmith a bit of a jerk but there is nothing we can do about that other than kvetch that it was not fair that we didn't get the "whole story". 

My problem is that when people claim they are "owed" something by a writer they really don't know what they are talking about.  When you buy a book, you get the book that you bought, and nothing more.  There is no legally binding promise to finish the full story.