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What's the best way to read Fearful Symmetry
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?thgir, sleber dna snairartnoc sevol ydobyreve, neht tuB
Marco, firstly, nice to see you back. Secondly, I did actually read it side one and then two, but as a crime reader mostly, I prefer to get the motive stuff as i go along. I think interspersing chapters would have been better, but that's just me.
Again, welcome back - and how long are you staying for?
Having read the book in a way that was completely against the intentions of the author, does anyone who read it the right way have any opinions on the experience?
I really would like to know what the read like, since I'm having trouble envisioning it, sorta like trying to imagine some younger person experiencing the Star Wars films in the order: eps 1-6; so contrary to my experience. What were some of the moments that Zinged for you? What were the best payoffs? Basically what, for you, was the benefit to having read it in this order?
I know all the great stuff that worked for me reading it the way I did, but like some mysterious soul who managed to only see a version of Memento in chronological order, I can only wonder what first experiencing it in the intended order is like.
I really would like to know what the read like, since I'm having trouble envisioning it, sorta like trying to imagine some younger person experiencing the Star Wars films in the order: eps 1-6; so contrary to my experience. What were some of the moments that Zinged for you? What were the best payoffs? Basically what, for you, was the benefit to having read it in this order?
I know all the great stuff that worked for me reading it the way I did, but like some mysterious soul who managed to only see a version of Memento in chronological order, I can only wonder what first experiencing it in the intended order is like.
I think one of the big diferences would be that there is a lot more mystery behind Iliana and her motivations while you are reading Side 1. I'm one who really likes those kinds of mysteries in story so I found it a lot more interesting than I would have if I had read to answers to the questions first. I also think it makes you alot more curious to read Side two becuase you know that is where the answers will come from.
This mysterious soul is known as David Morgan-Mar.
I read it in the proper order, you know, side 1 first then side 2, and it was fine.
But then I'm not one of those people that read the last book in the Double Helix series first because I need to read them in chronological order as opposed to the order the authors intended. I'm not one of those people that read the Worlds of DS9 in chronological order as opposed to the order the authors intended. I'm not one of those people that went through the first 4 New Frontier books and read all the chapters in chronological order as opposed to...well you get the idea.
Hey, we're only talking about media tie-in fiction here, no offense meant to anyone as we all read it, so when I read these questions I need to tell my self "hey, you're at a 10, you need to be at a 2, who cares how someone else reads a book" but I just don't understand the thinking that goes behind the idea that reading a book the way the author and editor intended is "wrong".
But then I'm not one of those people that read the last book in the Double Helix series first because I need to read them in chronological order as opposed to the order the authors intended. I'm not one of those people that read the Worlds of DS9 in chronological order as opposed to the order the authors intended. I'm not one of those people that went through the first 4 New Frontier books and read all the chapters in chronological order as opposed to...well you get the idea.
Hey, we're only talking about media tie-in fiction here, no offense meant to anyone as we all read it, so when I read these questions I need to tell my self "hey, you're at a 10, you need to be at a 2, who cares how someone else reads a book" but I just don't understand the thinking that goes behind the idea that reading a book the way the author and editor intended is "wrong".
That being the case, what was the point of formatting it as a flip book at all? Why not just format it as a back and front half? Sure, the gimmick of a flip book is cute regardless, but it seems counterintuitive to pick a design that works because it has no front and then say, "No, this is the front or you're doing it wrong."
Great book, by the way.
Conformist hack.Steve Mollman said:
Well, I said upthread that I didn't really think that there really was a "right" way or a "wrong" to read the book, but sometimes the intended way might not be the best way for everybody.
As you brought up Double Helix, I'll use that as an example-- I never would have even finished Double or Nothing if I hadn't jumped ahead and discovered that...
..."Kwint" was really Picard. The book was dragging and wasn't interesting me in the slightest (This was before I had read any New Frontier books other than the original four. Silly me, I thought that I was buying a TNG book). I was already skipping the "Kwint" chapters because they just didn't seem to be going anywhere or advancing the story in any way that interested me. Those chapters were just boring to me. Just before I put the book down forever, I flipped forward about 100 pages or so, and just happened to open it to the page where Calhoun first sees Picard in his Kwint disguise. Armed with this knowledge, I went back and started the book over and liked it a lot more knowing that those chapters were about Picard and not some faceless nobody. I know that PAD and the editor (Ordover?) intended for that to be a surprise, but I feel that the book is a much better read if you go in knowing the role that Picard is playing in the story. YMMV, of course.
I suspect the original version of the book would've been more symmetrical in its storytelling; that was the impression I got, anyway. The initial cover that was released had the Mirror Universe logo on it, implying that the story would have one main-universe side and one Mirror-Universe side, or maybe one side focusing on each version of Iliana. The final version of the novel is different from that, so the flip-book format maybe isn't as good a fit, but by the time the author was changed, the format had already been announced for months, so I guess they didn't want to change it.
But I'm only speculating.
I would say that the best way to read it is from the beginning to the end. 
'Cos it was cool idea, and it doubles the amount of cover art you get without having to buy a second "bonus" cover issue.
That's why in my post I specifically said, "If that's the way you roll, fine." But the OP solicited opinions on the matter, and the post to which I was replying claimed that the reverse order "made more sense." I thought clarification of intent from one of the people behind the book would be helpful.
As for the choice of format... The idea was to marry the story to a format that served it symbolically and structurally, much the way The Lives of Dax was done as an anthology precisely in order to mirror the collective nature of the title character. Once the core ideas that became Fearful Symmetry took shape—a tale of two Kiras, two Ilianas, and two universes, all in opposition--the "flip book" format of complementary and, at times, reflective narratives seemed like the natural fit. At least to me.
That said, and in the interest of full disclosure, Fearful Symmetry was supposed to have resolved the Iliana/MU arc; the manuscript was two hundred pages longer than what was actually published. But Olivia and I agreed that those last two hundred pages felt rushed and needed much more room to tell the rest of the story properly. The story had become much bigger and more complex than originally anticipated, and because I'm under a great deal of pressure to do as few Twilight-sized novels as possible (owing to the higher unit cost associated with books of that size), the decision was made to end Fearful Symmetry earlier in the narrative, as a cliffhanger, and allow the author to develop what remained of the story into a fuller and more satisfying second novel. The downside, of course, is that the "flip-book" format works less well that it would have, had the story remained whole.
On the upside, I expect The Soul Key--or whatever we end up calling the continuation novel--to vindicate the compromise we felt compelled to make.
So when I said in my comments about the book something along the lines of "what was there was great but i felt like i had read half a book" it was either an amazingly insightful comment or a smart ass comment that turned out to be a lucky guess.
That's too bad the pressure is on to not produce those epic tomes. I like them.
That's too bad the pressure is on to not produce those epic tomes. I like them.
It will work, I think that this one got everyone talking about the DS9R again so without a long wait, we should be sufficiently eager to see the conclusion of one arc, and the segue into the next one.
Are you back for good, or just to goad us into buying more books and making us broke?
So now you're saying I need to get extra equipment just to read the book? |-)With your eyes.
davidh
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I'm looking forward to the Edoan/Triexian storyline, which has a unique three-way flip.
Plecostomus
Commodore
Underwater, and in the ORIGINAL Klingon format.
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