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» Hatrack River Forum » Active Forums » Discussions About Orson Scott Card » Mr. Card, thank you for going out on a limb.

   
Author Topic: Mr. Card, thank you for going out on a limb.
BlackBlade
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Well first of all thanks for spending so much time on Friday signing people's books. I found out about the book signing 3 hours before it took place, and went straight to the book store, and yet I found myself 10th in line. You sound different then I imagined you would, but in a good way. Though it was over so quickly, I have wished to meet you in person for quite some time.

I am sure its an obnoxious, "Damned if you do/don't" scenario, anytime an author tries to write outside of his/her comfort zone. On the one hand, if you stick with what has brought good reviews in the past, you are accused of being, "repetitious" or, "uninteresting, and the work is usually called, "tired" or "formulaic."

Conversely if you brave the unknown and write outside the genre that made you famous, the criticism becomes, "a weak attempt," and "should stick with what he/she knows." I imagine you of all people understand that you can't please everyone.

Well as an individual who has read both old and new, let me just thank you for not only trying, but in my opinion succeeding where most authors fail. I had a blast reading Empire. As I read I had the bitter sweet feeling of increasing enjoyment, yet having the realization that there were fewer and fewer pages remaining. The risks you took in the book paid off in my opinion, and I hope sales of the book, and reviews will encourage you to continue taking the risks you have.

Having said that, feel free to grant us more Ender and Alvin novels. It's not as if we stopped loving them [Wink]

Hope the Enders Game movie script gets the green light, I'd much rather have that movie made then say The Hobbit.

But again thank you, Mr. Card, for going out on a limb.

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Lyrhawn
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Why, oh why would you choose to harp on The Hobbit? I'd rather have the Hobbit made, no offense to OSC, I'm hotly anticipating an Ender's Game movie, and it's easily in my top ten list all time of movies I'd like to see made, but The Hobbit, is going to be one of the best movies ever. Seems odd to single it out above all the CRAP that gets made these days.
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mr_porteiro_head
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I would rather The Hobbit not be made.
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Stephan
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Is he doing a book signing tour? I have not seen any dates anywhere.
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cmc
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Check out the 'calendar' section... : )
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BlackBlade
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quote:
Originally posted by Lyrhawn:
Why, oh why would you choose to harp on The Hobbit? I'd rather have the Hobbit made, no offense to OSC, I'm hotly anticipating an Ender's Game movie, and it's easily in my top ten list all time of movies I'd like to see made, but The Hobbit, is going to be one of the best movies ever. Seems odd to single it out above all the CRAP that gets made these days.

Oh don't get me wrong I LOVE The Hobbit. But with LOTR having been made we've got our fix of Middle Earth.

I was merely comparing the two as they are both tied up in pre production nonsense.

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DDDaysh
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ok... Does the title of this thread make anyone else see two boys in a tree at a New England boarding school?
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Soara
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quote:
but The Hobbit, is going to be one of the best movies ever.
Why do you think that?
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cmc
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How come a NE boarding school, DDDaysh?
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pooka
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I believe Card has gone out of the speculative genre before- but I haven't read any of his suspense (Treasure Box, Lost Boys, Homebody). I guess his various biblical/historical fiction also would count, which I have read and enjoyed.
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BlackBlade
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quote:
Originally posted by DDDaysh:
ok... Does the title of this thread make anyone else see two boys in a tree at a New England boarding school?

He is referring to A Separate Peace?
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Lyrhawn
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quote:
Originally posted by Soara:
quote:
but The Hobbit, is going to be one of the best movies ever.
Why do you think that?
Tons of little hopeful reasons.

1. Peter Jackson is going to make it. Despite the roadblocks, I think in the end he'll be at the helm, and we already know what he's done with the others, some of the best films ever made.

2. He's not going to leave anything out. A lot of the complaints with LOTR was what Jackson chose to leave out. He HAD to leave something out, there was just way too much information, and I think he did a great job of culling it into a workable story, despite some of the problems I had with scenes he chose to omit, and changes he made for what I thought were nonexistant reasons. The Hobbit, I think, will have everything the book has, with little or nothing being left out, because there's less information to cover.

3. It's a fantastic story, and Jackson, with Phillipa Boyens and Fran Walsh already have a few years of experience in turning these magical stories into masterpieces of film and art. I think it's going to be epic.

I have no opinion on the second movie supposedly being made, as I have no idea what it will contain, but I have high hopes for The Hobbit, just as I have high hopes for Ender's Game as a movie.

quote:
Originally Posted by BlackBlade:
Oh don't get me wrong I LOVE The Hobbit. But with LOTR having been made we've got our fix of Middle Earth

Well, from the point of view that we already got our LOTR, so it's Ender's Game's turn, I'd agree with you. From the point of view of what deserves to be made, they both do, equally, because they'll both be great, especially with OSC writing the script himself. And I'll never be satisfied with LOTR on film, I'll always want more, just like I always want more Tolkien to read.

quote:
Originally Posted by MPH:
I would rather The Hobbit not be made.

Why not?
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rivka
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quote:
Originally posted by BlackBlade:
He is referring to A Separate Peace?

She. [Smile]
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BlackBlade
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quote:
Originally posted by rivka:
quote:
Originally posted by BlackBlade:
He is referring to A Separate Peace?

She. [Smile]
Bah Oops! I don't know why I didn't say she. Though the book she is referring to is about a group of boys. Geez when boys get together legs are broken, glasses are stolen, and everyone goes crazy, section 8 crazy.

Lord of the Flies meets A Separate Peace.

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DDDaysh
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Yes she.. and yes it is crazy, but that is the picture I get in my head whenever anyone says "Going out on a limb"..... or whenever I see a guy in a pink shirt.
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Rohan
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quote:
1. Peter Jackson is going to make it. Despite the roadblocks, I think in the end he'll be at the helm, and we already know what he's done with the others, some of the best films ever made.
Do you know something more recent than this?
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Lyrhawn
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Read the very bottom of the article you linked. MGM has some say in this, and they're dead set on Jackson. If New Line is stalled enough, Saul Zaentz gets the rights back, and he's said he'll make the movie with no one but Jackson, and will give him an unlimited budget.

It's not over until they start shooting.

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pooka
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I'm starting to feel ambivalent about whether this was a political thriller, what with the mechs and the hoverbikes. Maybe those were stipulated by the videogame collaborators.

The problem with my observation is, I've never read a political thriller. but I believe there would be more detailed explanation of the technology if it were. I guess I read a James Bond novel in my teens (to impress a guy I had a crush on) and I thought a bunch of tech-babble was part of what guys like about that stuff. Having that stuff be in there without detailed explanation made it feel more like science fiction to me.

I also found it funny that a reviewer on B&N said (dismissively) "it was like an Ender's Game writte about adults for adults". As if! 1. Ender's Game was written for adults. 2. I think it belongs on the 100 greatest books of the century. I hate to say Empire isn't all that. It was just a really, really funny thing for that reviewer to have said.

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cmc
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Strange... I literally just picked up A Separate Peace to read again two nights ago... Is Hatrack infiltrating my brain??!?!! ; )
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Tante Shvester
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quote:
Originally posted by BlackBlade:
Lord of the Flies meets A Separate Peace.

How about Lord of the Flies vs. Lord of the Rings?
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Libbie
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quote:
Originally posted by cmc:
Check out the 'calendar' section... : )

Why no Seattle?

WHY NEVER ANY SEATTLE?

I am crying. :'(

Okay, not really crying. But very sad.

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A Rat Named Dog
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Because Seattle is a magnet for apocalyptic storms, apparently.
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DDDaysh
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There's never anything in Texas either... I think he's afraid of posse's or something. :-)
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Oobie Binoobie
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Bah. Seattle. Come to Portland! Sign at Powells! Then I might actually be able to come.
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dantesparadigm
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No way, he wants to come sign books in New England, or to be more specific, the Barnes & Noble in Portsmouth New Hampshire, not the downtown Borders because they refuse to stalk anything written by conservatives.

March works for me.

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rivka
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Not just Seattle. Nowhere on the entire West Coast. [Grumble]
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DDDaysh
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This is beginning to sound like a bad kidnapping plot.
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Libbie
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quote:
Originally posted by A Rat Named Dog:
Because Seattle is a magnet for apocalyptic storms, apparently.

Yeah, I guess that's true. Darn it!
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skruesch
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Hey, Libbie...I didn't realize you were a Pacific Northwesterner, too! When did you get your power back on? I'm over in Kitsap County and we finally got ours back yesterday! Yahoo! I love light...I love heat. Although I must say it's a totally new experience reading Hart's Hope completely by the glow of a book light [Smile] . It's good to be civilized again.
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Flaming Toad on a Stick
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He has yet to come to Canada...
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Lisa
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quote:
Originally posted by pooka:
I believe Card has gone out of the speculative genre before- but I haven't read any of his suspense (Treasure Box, Lost Boys, Homebody). I guess his various biblical/historical fiction also would count, which I have read and enjoyed.

I cried at Homebody. It's one of my favorite of his books.
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DDDaysh
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Yes, and a very sad one, but still nothing on the tear scale of Lost Boys
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BandoCommando
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quote:
Originally posted by Oobie Binoobie:
Bah. Seattle. Come to Portland! Sign at Powells! Then I might actually be able to come.

You and me both!
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Verily the Younger
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No one who lives in a place he's been to before has the right to complain.

Now, those of us in Alaska, on the other hand. . . .

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quidscribis
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He hasn't been to Sri Lanka, either. Or anywhere in Asia, really. Bah! An entire continent, ignored!
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