Fedcomic he/him Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Starting with the 10th anniversary edition, Elantris will be getting some post-publication edits. Brandon says they pretty much boil down to two kinds of changes: (1) correcting errors in geography and (2) fixing "some of the quirks of my earlier prose." The first I don't have a problem with. Having a particular building be north instead of south (or whatever) seems like it would fall in the same category as accidentally mixing up a minor character's gender from one scene to another, or finding that you had dropped into present tense for part of a sentence. It's an error. So why not fix it? (Although, Jim Butcher apparently made plenty of geographical mistakes in his descriptions of Chicago in early Harry Dresden books, and I think he has left them alone. Anyone know better than I do on this?) The second kind of change I am a little more hesitant about. I like Brandon's prose, including its quirks. And I like seeing it evolve from book to book. I can understand the impulse. I've got a book in print, and there are lots of things that I wish I had done better. But going back and changing those feels a bit to me like trying to airbrush awkward photos from middle school. That was me. I had that haircut. I wore those clothes. Maybe Elantris captured Brandon in the middle of a growth spurt, but that's a Brandon I love. The real problem is I don't know if these changes are like taking the red-eye out of an image or full-on photoshopping. Anyone have an ARC or anything? I'd love to see a more in-depth description of the changes, as well as a critical reaction from someone who's actually seen what this looks like in print. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natc Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I just want to know if Raoden draws the chasm line through a spot that makes more sense relative to the actual chasm now. It was in a weird spot before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterAhlstrom he/him Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I just want to know if Raoden draws the chasm line through a spot that makes more sense relative to the actual chasm now. Yep. As for the stylistic revisions, it will still feel like earlier Brandon, just slightly updated. Maybe the net effect will feel closer to the style of the Mistborn trilogy. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argent he/him Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 (edited) I just want to know if Raoden draws the chasm line through a spot that makes more sense relative to the actual chasm now. That's the big one. Brandon talked about it during the Chicago Firefight signing, and both the scene and the map will be updated to reflect the proper places of things. I also think Raoden's teleportation at the end is off (something about how if you actually calculate the distance he encodes in his Aon, he would end up in outer space... maybe because of the curvature of Sel?), and that will also get fixed (if I am correct in it being wrong). As for the quirks, they should be mostly small things - unnecessary commas, too much "(s)he said"s, and things like that. So not big enough to mask Brandon's development and progress since Elantris. But that's my guess. EDIT: Peter Edited March 9, 2015 by Argent 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surgebound Rainspren he/him Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 (edited) Though none of those things bothers me in the un-revised version, But if the story was altered in a way where raoden ends up fighting evil monks in space I will he happy. Edited March 10, 2015 by Surgebound Rainspren 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sirce Luckwielder he/him Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Fedcomic, I loved what you said. It was very poetic and I like how you said it. I can say for sure that along with the new Words of Radiance, I will be buying both the old and the new. I loved the originals how they were, but having the updated pieces will be nice as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyman he/him Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 I for one will be glad to get the geography straightened out. That was just a continuity error, and it was both a major and minor one. Major because from a technical point of view, it's something that really ought to be right, give the nature of the magic. Minor because fixing it changes nothing important about the emotional core of the story, the mystery, or anything else. Change it and---it just changes. This combo seems to me to be the perfect combo of things to change. I approve. Still not certain about WoR changes, but here is not the place to discuss them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phin he/him Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 For some reason when I first read this I kind of harummped at it. Why change it? but some minor continuality stuff helps the story, not changes it. Just as a FYI, Tolken did some major editing of The Hobbit that had major affect to the story line from what I am told (I haven't read the original so I don't know. ) Either way... Ill read the update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oudeis he/him Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 I had him draw Aon Rao with the Chasm Line in it in my copy of Emperor's Soul, and he explained that the giant Aon Rao was oriented to the west, not to the north, and that more-or-less cleared up any confusion I'd previously had about the chasm line. I had been assuming that when we looked at the map, with north going up, that was supposed to represent the top of the Aon, but once I realized Kae was at the bottom it made more sense. I wonder if his edits are going to simply clarify this, or is he going to change it all so that the explanation as I currently understand it is no longer correct... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natc Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Still, the drawn line should logically not have to leave Elantris' walls, but inside I believe. So they really hsd to fix that bit. The comment on the direction clears up one thing for me though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oudeis he/him Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Still, the drawn line should logically not have to leave Elantris' walls, but inside I believe. So they really hsd to fix that bit. The comment on the direction clears up one thing for me though. No? I don't believe so. The actual Chasm was a line curved down like a frown, entirely south of the curve of the mountain range to the east. So the Chasm Line would be entirely "below" the lower horizontal line of the Aon Rao or, since the city is oriented west, entirely east of the city itself, on the north side of the road connecting Elantris proper with Kae. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natc Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 No? I don't believe so. The actual Chasm was a line curved down like a frown, entirely south of the curve of the mountain range to the east. So the Chasm Line would be entirely "below" the lower horizontal line of the Aon Rao or, since the city is oriented west, entirely east of the city itself, on the north side of the road connecting Elantris proper with Kae. Huh. It's been a while since I looked at the map. Well at any rate it wouldn't cut through the wall right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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