Thursday, February 17

Correction

I'm issuing an official correction . . .

I think some people got the wrong idea from yesterday's post.

Look, nobody at Del Rey has insisted or demanded that I de-violenciate CAINE BLACK KNIFE. There has been some discussion about the level of graphic description of violence in the Overworld stories, but much of it has come at my own instigation.

I am very aware that CAINE BLACK KNIFE and DEAD MAN'S HEART are Caine's Last Best Shot at Making It . . . if he doesn't break out, he -- and Overworld -- are dead, as far as the publishing industry goes. So I asked Chris Schleup (my editor at Del Rey) straight out what he thought I could do, as a writer, to help prevent CBK from becoming the same kind of spectacular flop, sales-wise, that HEROES DIE was.

He told me that Del Rey is aware that the floppitude of HEROES DIE had more to do with marketing and packaging failure on their part than with the quality of the book itself (which is why they plan a re-package in conjunction with the release of CBK), but that he and the Powers That Be are of the opinion that some people are turned off by the exceedingly fierce and graphic descriptions of violence and suffering in HD and BLADE.

This, my good friends, is something we all know to be true.

Most people who read fantasy are looking for THE WIZARD OF OZ -- y'know, Baum wrote those books because he thought that traditional fairy tales were too scary and violent? If he'd lived to see the film made from the first of his Oz books, he would have sued the fucking studio for making the Wicked Witch of the West so, well, wicked, and for making the flying monkeys give kids nightmares . . .

So I've got a double-switch going in CBK. I've learned so much about controlling esthetic distance and using psychological closure while writing these three Star Wars novels, that I get to do shit in CBK that's actually WORSE than most of the stuff in HD or BLADE . . . but I get to do the RESERVOIR DOGS thing, where the worst of it happens in your imagination . . .

So I get to look at the beancounters and say, "Graphic violence? Where? Which sentence?"

"Well, okay, that one . . . but that's an isolated case. Except for that one there. Okay, there's one more, but really . . ."


It's honestly not a question of standing firm. This isn't about artistic integrity. I don't have any.

I can only write what I can write. I literally CAN'T do it any other way . . .

I am who I am.

14 comments:

NSB said...

Ben -- they're actually released THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST RECUT dvd with six minutes of violence removed or some such.

Anonymous said...

It's bullshit.

Your fanbase would have been a fraction then, to what it is now. Your profile amongst the genre fans is high and you have people eagerly awaiting the next Caine novel.

Is it not normal for book two to outsell book one and then book three to outsell book two? Why choose to ignore the success of book two? Didn't they worry about this before releasing BOT?

If they sorted it out and got you a distribution deal in the UK and gave you the budget you deserve for marketing, they wouldn't be whining now... fuckers.

Sorry mate.

Anonymous said...

... sorry for consecutive post

And the people 'turned on' (in a manner of speaking) by the levels of violence in the Caine books, are the same people turned off by the shit Goodkind and Jordan churn out.

People will catch on, they already are for f sake!

Anonymous said...

Yea I can see that Chris, but still, MW has taken it onboard. I just think it belongs in the 'better to say something, than nothing' bin and when asked, the guy threw the 'too much violence' crock.

JT can mean Juicy Tits if it pleases you mate.

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