So, I just finished reading both official novels...

Post » Tue May 08, 2012 3:37 am

... and I'm really surprised with the emotional impact they had on me.

The first book was slow to pick up - the first two hundred pages felt like one very long introduction. Only at the last 100 hundred pages did things start happening, but the book ended too quickly for the plot to develop much at that point. I was a little doubtful of the second book at this point, but the first ended on such a cliffhanger that I really had no choice but to read the second. So, I did.

As I discovered, the second book invests a lot more time developing the main characters and advancing the plot. By the end of it, the plot had developed quite well and I was thoroughly attached to the characters in an emotional sense, so the bitter-sweet ending (I won't spoil it any more than that) felt particularly heart-wrenching to me. Honestly, I'm still trying to convince myself that everything worked out in the characters' best interests.

On a separate note though, I'm kind of surprised to find that it was the author of these books who orchestrated such infamous events as the fall of Morrowind, the decline of the Empire, the rise of the Thalmor, and the slaughters in Black Marsh. He did a bit more than just leave his mark on Nirn, I think.

On yet another separate note, I think I may have just lost interest in my Skyrim save file since reading this book. With little-to-no social life and a Highschool education that is now rapidly coming to a close, I'm not sure what to do with myself.
User avatar
adame
 
Posts: 3454
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2007 2:57 am

Post » Tue May 08, 2012 9:21 am

Keyes's books were pretty good. Lord of Souls seemed to be quite a bit rushed IMO, but I bet he had a deadline to keep and with so much content ... well it sure explained a lot of stuff in the bridge between Oblivion and Skyrim. I kinda teared up at the end, reading certain parts, and wound up feeling mixed, but I bet that if there was flowery happy ending I'd hate Keyes forever. The destruction of Morrowind was kinda hard to deal with at first (and quite some people weren't happy about it) but hey, it was inevitable (but still why did Vehk not use his awesome CHIM powers to stop the Lie-Rock from falling?)
User avatar
Latisha Fry
 
Posts: 3399
Joined: Sat Jun 24, 2006 6:42 am

Post » Tue May 08, 2012 9:24 am

I'm pretty sure Keyes and Bethesda had a very open dialogue concerning the books. Keyes didn't fully orchestrate everything by himself, it was most likely in cooperation and agreement with Bethesda. However he certainly helped! :biggrin:
User avatar
neen
 
Posts: 3517
Joined: Sun Nov 26, 2006 1:19 pm

Post » Tue May 08, 2012 9:20 am

On a separate note though, I'm kind of surprised to find that it was the author of these books who orchestrated such infamous events as the fall of Morrowind, the decline of the Empire, the rise of the Thalmor, and the slaughters in Black Marsh.
He didn't. The fall of Morrowind and the decline of the Empire were foreshadowed way back in Morrowind itself. Also,
I was given a preliminary outline of history after Oblivion, but I was also told that some of it was negotiable. I wrote a number of different short proposals, which were reviewed by my editor and the guys at Bethesda. Once the basic idea was settled on, I wrote a longer, more detailed outline, which then went through a few changes. All through this process I had access to Bruce Nesmith and Kurt Kuhlman at Bethesda, so I could bounce ideas off of them, ask whether I could or couldn't do something.
http://www.imperial-library.info/interviews-greg-keyes
User avatar
xemmybx
 
Posts: 3372
Joined: Thu Jun 22, 2006 2:01 pm

Post » Tue May 08, 2012 7:17 am

My only complaint is that the final battle had a wierd flow to it. I had to re-read it several times to get any idea of what the hell was going on.

Other than that, love 'em.
User avatar
Samantha hulme
 
Posts: 3373
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2006 4:22 pm

Post » Tue May 08, 2012 9:45 am

I'm pretty sure Keyes and Bethesda had a very open dialogue concerning the books. Keyes didn't fully orchestrate everything by himself, it was most likely in cooperation and agreement with Bethesda. However he certainly helped! :biggrin:
I only wish Bioware was as careful with outsourcing their book.... Mass Effect Deception is terrible....
User avatar
Claire Mclaughlin
 
Posts: 3361
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2006 6:55 am


Return to The Elder Scrolls Series Discussion