Book Giveaway: Blood of Elves (10/3/2014)
Work is currently suspended on the last dragon book (I want to call it Black Moon now but that’s probably already taken, right?) while I wait for a alpha reader to read everything except the last act (which isn’t written yet). I don’t know who the hell told Zafir she could just take over this series but I suppose one doesn’t argue with a dragon queen. Copy edits for Empires are done, the edits for the second Bulldog Drummond novella are done and there are rumours of possibly a third. This week’s project is a structural going-over for the second civil war mystery, in which the poet Milton figures fairly prominently.
This week’s giveaway is Sapkowski’s Blood of Elves because I like Geralt and yes the gaesm were fun too (the first more than the second) but I do mean the books. Gollancz has a new one heading out soon. Poke me on Twitter (@stephendeas) and I’ll see if I can give away a copy of that too when it comes out.
Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well, so far. Recent winners, I have (just about) cleared my backlog again – they’re all in the post!
March 11th, 2014 at 4: 55 am
Just guessing elves & dwarves & orcs have what they have because JRR Tolkien wrote them that way and every one who read him (we are legion) decided he had some inside information. So monkeys see, monkeys expect, monkeys keep doing. Just ask Gareth Powell (about monkeys, that is).
March 11th, 2014 at 6: 05 am
Dwarves have axes because swords are really long and Dwarves are really short. Best they could do, when not tripping over the darn things, is run around poking holes in their opponents’ legs.
However, with an axe they can chop the legs off at the knee which has the added benefit of making their opponents as short as they are. This enables them to remove their heads on the back swing.
Win/win
March 11th, 2014 at 11: 23 am
Elves have curved blades to match the way their mind works. They think in curves rather than in straight lines resulting in behaviour very different to other sapient beings
March 12th, 2014 at 10: 06 am
Elves are too proud to be blacksmiths and have to rely on the dwarves to make their swords. The dwarves make them curvy as payback for insults real and imagined.
March 12th, 2014 at 2: 23 pm
The typo is the bit about “March 10th”, right?
March 14th, 2014 at 12: 21 pm
Dwarves use axes because they’re miners & axes are an important part of the mining process? (as a non miner i’m not sure what & couldn’t even hazard a guess)
Curved swords are pretty & elves are the prettiest of all the mythological races (except Mermaids/mermen but they use tridents)
Orcs are a bit rough thus their weapons are a bit rough & ramshackle. Proper weapon sellers wont deal with them so they make their own (studded clubs, stone mauls etc) or steal them (but being a bit rough they take very little care of them & go blunt/rusty but then the orcs start using swords as metal clubs)
March 15th, 2014 at 12: 11 am
I agree with Mango Heroics that Tolkien defined the characteristics of elves and dwarves, and most authors respected that style.
Dwarves probably use axes because they are tough and short, and axes give the impression of being heavy. Elves tend to be agile, and curved swords add to their swiftness. Longswords don’t really give the impression of speed…