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Post by Relenoir on Mar 11, 2005 1:34:27 GMT
Warning!!! This thread itself is a spoiler, and reading further is not recommended to anyone who has not finished the New Order Series (books 21-28)! I am posting this at the beginning because I don't want to put the whole post in white lettering to hide it. I will continue on my next post, so nobody reads further by accident. You have been warned! (But not too sternly I hope!)  ~Relenoir, who hates to spoil things for others.
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Post by Black Cat on Mar 11, 2005 2:04:52 GMT
So... what is this big let down anyway?  (This post will help to add space between your spoiler post and your warning post) |
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Post by Relenoir on Mar 11, 2005 2:11:03 GMT
As of late, I have been playing through the New Order adventures that I purchased during the course of last year. Tuesday night, I finished the series, defeating Autarch Sejanoz with the Arrow of Atonement. I was left with a very empty feeling at the end of the book. It was nothing like when I thought the series ended with The Masters of Darkness, nor like the final quest as Lone Wolf when you snatch away the Moonstone in The Curse of Naar. Instead, it left me with a rushed, cheated, anticlimactic feeling like I had succeeded against insurmountable odds in a race across the Ocean of Fire (i.e. Hidalgo) and gotten to the end to find out I'd won, but that nobody else had competed against me. I mean, here's this 3000 year old evil vampire that you have to defeat, and who wants to kill off this royal family, so what does he do? Takes a hostage and leave the rest of the family, including the almighty Khea-khan who can unite a host of countries against him and his armies. Then, about a section or two later, you catch up to him, the kid gets loose, and you shoot him with a magic arrow and finish the book. Anybody else have a big problem with that? Joe has always brought me to the edge of my seat with the build-up to a titanic battle with the forces of evil, but this left me feeling like it was. . . routine, I guess. There was more suspense when he attacked the rangers in the end of book 27, and you had to scare him off with fire. Up until the end, I was enjoying this adventure as one of the better NO books, but the end was like a movie that has the climax fall flat on it's face. It was like the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indy shoots the swordsman, only not funny! And at least that guy wasn't the primary villain, he was just a generic foe. I'm extremely annoyed and disappointed about this!!!  Not to mention the series ended here.  Anyone else have strong feelings about this? |
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Post by Relenoir on Mar 11, 2005 2:12:14 GMT
So... what is this big let down anyway? (This post will help to add space between your spoiler post and your warning post) Ah, thanks BC! Be sure not to read if you don't know, or don't want to know, but I think you already have the book.  |
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Post by Black Cat on Mar 11, 2005 2:39:44 GMT
Yep, I have the book, and yes I was very disappointed with the end of it. But now that I'm thinking of it, Joe was probably very disappointed too about the end of his contract with the publishers and about the fact that they didn't want to continue publishing his work. He ended the book in a very abrupt way (heck, there's just 300 sections in this one!) probably because the publisher was urging him to finish it so that they can get rid of the series. I think that he didn't got the time and/or the will to write a better battle with Sejanoz. Anyway, don't forget that there's 4 other NO books that are already outlined by Joe, and ending book 28 like he did allows him to keep the door open for a sequel. Maybe that if a new publisher shows up he will rewrite book 28 so that it meets the series' standard?
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Post by outspaced on Mar 11, 2005 9:29:24 GMT
I agree 100% with BC. Additionally, it would be nice to think that Joe might go back and re-add the missing 50 sections from 28THoS, perhaps even rewriting some of the existing book to make it better. I think he might have to, actually. When I first read the book it was 1998 and I'd preordered it from Amazon. I couldn't wait to read the next installment of the Saga of the Grand Master. But it had the wrong map, the font was huge, it only had 300 sections, and it ended the series prematurely. I'm not entirely sure what's to like about the book, Rel! Aside from the fact that it is part of the actual canon and is therefore a must-have.  |
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Post by Relenoir on Mar 11, 2005 13:03:10 GMT
I'm not entirely sure what's to like about the book, Rel! Aside from the fact that it is part of the actual canon and is therefore a must-have. I liked a few things: the intrigue, the supporting characters, the 'race to outrun the army of the enemy' sense of urgency, the combat level (up to the end when you get to shoot Sejanoz automatically!), and the little 'side missions' such as the forest and the attack on the flag tower. I had a similar hope about a rewrite, etc. Hopefully, we're right, and we'll see it on PA someday! ;D After the series is reborn on the bookshelves, of course! |
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Post by Sol on Mar 11, 2005 16:12:30 GMT
I agree - New Order books are just not what they ought to be! There is only one solution, really...
Give 'em to me!
Sol
Only Owns VOtMS
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Post by Relenoir on Mar 12, 2005 2:52:40 GMT
I agree - New Order books are just not what they ought to be! There is only one solution, really... Give 'em to me! Sol Only Owns VOtMS Sure, only. . . $500 a piece! That would pay off some bills. . . Sorry, after thinking better of it, no. Well, okay--$500 each I could live with. ~Relenoir, who dearly cherishes his LW collection, but knows when an offer is too good to pass up! ;D |
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Post by North Star on Mar 18, 2005 0:26:12 GMT
I *still* regret not picking up Book 25 when I had the chance. Of the New Order books, I'm missing 25-27.
NS.
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Post by Racebred on Mar 21, 2005 9:58:32 GMT
not only are there 300 entries, each entry was written without much thought and was shorter than usual.
as i proceeded with the book, i had a feeling that this book was really below par and the quality was really lousy.
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Not to mention the series ended here. 
Anyone else have strong feelings about this?
