This afternoon, I went to the Doctor Who NY meetup. They hold two meetups per month: a pub meetup for booze and conversation, and a “video” meetup for watching of classic episodes. This month was a tribute to the third Doctor, and we watched “Terror of the Autons.” It was cool to see an instance of how the old school monsters were resurrected for the new series. I also got to chat with some fun folks about costuming. Yay for getting out of my apartment!
Heading over, on my way out the door, I tucked my copy of The Name of the Wind in my purse. I finished Barrayar the night before last, and Watchmen is too big to fit without shoving, and I wasn’t about to risk damaging a copy signed by Dave Gibbons. NotW has been on my mind a lot recently, and even though it’s no longer coming out April 7th, I decided to go forward with the reread as scheduled.
Good lord, I’d forgotten how much I love this book. I remember loving it, but getting that thrill of readerly intrigue at the end of the prologue–every bit as effective the second time around–reminded me of exactly why this story kept me spellbound for a week. Looking back, I’m amazed I managed to drag it out that long, despite my slightly mad work schedule. I was caught in a bizarre tango of savoring and devouring. I wanted to forgo sleep and ignore my job and just keep reading, but I also wanted to ration it, because when it was gone, it was gone. I knew the sequel wouldn’t be coming any time soon, and the author hadn’t written anything else in that vein. It was my favourite book I read last year.
Even though I’ve “known” for ages, but it’s still somewhat disheartening to see it in writing: yes, the sequel to The Name of the Wind has been delayed. It was originally slated for April 7th, the same day as Jim Butcher’s Turn Coat, and watching Jim barely scoot under the publication deadline while Pat continued to blog about writing and revising, writing and revising, the frustrating reality set in.
I’m glad Pat is taking the time to get the book right, though. The last thing I want to see is the sequel getting rushed out the door before Pat is satisfied. I’ll happily wait another year or longer to have another experience like that I had reading NotW. For now, I’ll savor my reread!
It’s kind of odd, though. Last year, after I finished NotW, I was at a loss as to what to read next. What could follow it? Finally, I picked up Bujold’s The Warrior’s Apprentice, the first book I read in that series. As I mentioned earlier in this post, I just finished Barrayar, my last book. Funny that such an awesome novel would bookend such an awesome series for me.
