Mystar Strikes Back

Well, it was to be expected.:-) Honestly, though, I thought that it wouldn't be so long in coming.

This guy took multiple shots at me, and I then called him on it by exposing his rant in my year-end awards. Mystar has just posted his reply. You can read it here. I doubt I'll be making new friends among that crowd!;-) In any case, it will be interesting to see what sort of responses his post generates.

I have no wish to get involved in a pointless war of words with this guy. But I feel I must clarify some absurd ineptitudes he raised in his post on TG's website and in the comment section of my year-end awards post.

Pertaining to the interview I was trying to get around the time Chainfire was released, I told him this summer and I'll say it again: I have never called Tor Books, nor do I know who Barb and Elania are. I never use the phone, only email. Blame my law training, but I ALWAYS leave a paper trail. My contact at Tor back then was Lisa Mondello, who is no longer with the company. This summer, I got in touch with Patty, who is also Steven Erikson's publicist. I also discussed the possibility of an interview with Rebecca, press officer at Voyager Books (UK), who has now moved on and works for Headline. Ron, as a reviewer I have contacts with every major fantasy/scifi publisher on both sides of the Atlantic. So before you throw names around, you better get your shit together, my friend.

I think you have a rather high opinion of your supposed importance in the publishing industry, making it sound like you're such an insider and all. You also seem to suffer from delusions of grandeur, but that's of no moment. For some unfathomable reason, you believe that the industry will repudiate me and this blog because I don't like Terry Goodkind. Last summer, you claimed that Tor Books would never work with me again, yada yada yada. Again, why? I may not like Goodkind, but do you have any idea how many different Tor authors I've helped promote since this blog's creation? David B. Coe, Brandon Sanderson, David Keck, Steven Erikson, L. E. Modesitt, jr., Melanie Rawn, Peter Watts, Kate Elliott, David Farland, and John Scalzi immediately come to mind. And there are more.

Why would other publishers reject me when I can give their writers a lot of exposure? You wonder if those year-end awards and the brand of humor contained therein cost me a lot of interviews? Well, let's see. . . Since then I've had the privilege to interview Guy Gavriel Kay, and I have Dan Simmons, China Miéville, Peter F. Hamilton, Tad Williams and Greg Keyes all lined up. Yeah, that really did hurt my chances to get interviews with great authors. Speaking of my awards, the story was even picked up by www.locusmag.com. I guess some people have the intellectual capabilities to see what lies beyond the humor. . . Heck, Pyr even used my bit on them as the title of their first press release of 2007!

This blog's mission has always been to raise awareness and spread the word about all that's good in the fantasy/scifi/speculative fiction circles. I've been doing this for two years now, and I've garnered quite a following. Needless to say, it's something I'm quite proud of. It never ceases to amaze me that so many people drop by in my little corner of the blogosphere. And I would never have been able to achieve this if I was the turd you seem to portray.

Aficionados of the genre know the TRUTH: Terry Goodkind is not the literary god you guys proclaim him to be. Live with that. Stop telling us that we don't get it. We DO get it. We just don't care much for it, that's all.

To all the Goodkind fans who find themselves in these parts for the first time, welcome.:-) You might want to take a look around before leaving, for chances are that you'll discover new authors and works that are well worth reading!

And that's all I'm going to say on the subject.

P. S. This song just came on the shuffle of my computer, and I had to add this little bit. Just like that 112 remix by Puff Daddy says, "I thought I told you that we won't stop." Mystar, my friend: I'm not going anywhere. Much to your chagrin, I know. . .

10 commentaires:

Sarah said...

Oh, Goodkind followers! Always good for a chuckle.

RobB said...

A rather self-important and self-centered fellow, no? Funny from a guy hiding behind a message board name.

Anonymous said...

Sorry I posted this under the wrong blog-

I like Terrys books and think they are quite good epics personally... but Im not an overt zealot lol. Sure im a fan of other works both sci and fantasy.

I dont get what all the bickering is about but I guess its just personal likes/dislikes.
Great Blog sir by the way
-M.D.-

Anonymous said...

The funny thing is he simply has no clue he was cut in two, sliced and diced. But what can I do, I tried to offer up some simple advice...can I help it if he's too slow....I think not...

He's rather amusing when he thinks he's making a point.

Anonymous said...

I'd say.. Mystar K.O.
The response you posted in the comments section of the awards post last year, was miles ahead of the response he just gave you.
Never knew there were people that could make such fuss about other people not liking Goodkind books. XD

Anonymous said...

So I went and had a browse around the TG site/forum to see what all the fuss is about. And I must say, this Mystar fellow really *is* a douchebag.

Let's get some Mystar quotes happening...

Terry Brooks, now copies Goodkind's lead...

Ahem? Admittedly, he later goes on to say that this claim was a "test" to prove that the TG fans on his forum are of a better breed than the rest of us bums. And yet, joke/test or no, this talk of Brooks copying Goodkind is laughable.

After all, not too long ago a new section was added to the TG fansite. It's a Q&A section where fans can ask the almighty one all sorts of innane questions. 'What's the name of this new section?' I hear you all ask. Well, really, couldn't you have guessed? Why, it's Ask Terry... That's right, exactly like the segment hosted on Terry Brooks' webpage for the last few years.

So who was copying who again?


But wait, there's more!!! (I'm just warming up!)

Seems not only is Mr. Brooks using Goodkind as a template for his works these days, but 'lo and behold!...

Looks like GRRM wants to get into the mini-series action too... says Mystar.

This, despite the fact that Martin has been looking to sign a deal to get aSoIaF on our screens for many years. But let's ignore that simple fact and recognize that the only reason GRRM has signed the deal to see his series hit the screen is because Goodkind had already done so. Errr, right?


Ok. So while I said I was just warming up, the time I've spent actually reading this idiots posts has left me somewhat braindead and reluctant to continue.


But let me end on this note: Goodkind fans, and Mystar in particular, harp on about how narrow-minded the rest of us are, because we refuse to acknowledge Goodkind's glowing brilliance and absolute domination of all things literature.

And yet, until very recently (I assume when they overhauled their forum) ANY DISCUSSION OF AN AUTHOR WHO WENT BY A NAME OTHER THAN GOODKIND OR AYN RAND WAS ***FORBIDDEN*** ON THE TG FORUMS, TO THE POINT WHERE THEY WOULD DELETE YOUR POSTS AND ***BAN YOU*** IF YOU PERSISTED SPEAKING OF SAID AUTHOR.


How's that line go? Something about the "pot calling the kettle black"?

;P

Alice said...

Good old Mystar! How I miss his incoherent, badly-spelled rants and his constant insistence on how immature we are for not liking Tairy. Shame he doesn't realise that if the Sword of Truth was that bloody great then he wouldn't need to keep defending it...

Anonymous said...

I've never read Goodkind and don't hang out on his forum, but I must say Pat that the chest thumping in this last post of yours is unbecoming. Frankly, you sounded like a 12 year old. Be the bigger person and drop this.

Michael

Anonymous said...

Even though Mystar claims we are mindless followers, he does tell the people on his forums what to do!
Pat only tells us to go out and buy a book, while Mystar is busy telling people on his forums where they're supposed to write reviews and praise Goodkind to the skys. And he says we don't think for ourselves. On Goodkind's forums you can clearly read the posts there from many narrow minded members, but aside from Comments Pat doesn't have a forum where his 'mindcontrol' can take place so obviously people are making up their own minds wether to read Goodkind or not, or enjoy it or not.

I can understand where they're coming from, e.g. I can't understand why everyone doesn't find Erikson to be the best thing to ever happen to fantasy, but im not going to belittle anyone, like they've been doing, just because someone has different tastes from.

I'll disagree with the previous poster, Pat wasn't chest thumping, but standing up for himself, and even then anything goes when trying to put somebody else down in arguement.

CyLowe said...

The TG board was amusing. There was a related thread regarding TG as a 'novelist' and not a 'fantasy author,' as well as how he had to insist TOR change his book covers and remove the word 'fantasy' from under the TOR logo on the spine. It's a good thing a SF/F printing house like TOR is branching out to accomodate 'novelists' these days.

Sheesh!