Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that gives us the chance to share our excitement about upcoming book releases. I hadn’t heard of it before I read about it over at Caught Read Handed, but I love any excuse to fangirl, so this one is right up my alley!
The book I’m choosing to talk about this week is the third in a fantasy trilogy I haven’t actually started reading yet. That might sound a bit odd, but I was raised by a book-loving mother who always made sure she had all the books in a series before introducing them to me, particularly those in the fantasy genre, so I like to wait until all books in a series are available before I start reading them. The only time I didn’t do that was with Harry Potter, mainly because it was so popular that spoilers would have been impossible to avoid by the time the last book came out!
I’ve mentioned in a previous post how much I love The Banned and the Banished series by James Clemens. He has written two books of a new trilogy, The Godslayer Chronicles, called Shadowfall and Hinterland.
SHADOWFALL: Four millennia have passed since the gods came to Myrillia, creating the nine lands of peace as a haven from the nightmarish, accursed Hinterlands. In all this time nothing has disturbed the harmony of the nine lands. But now the goddess of the Summering Isles has been murdered. The only witness is Tylar de Noche, a crippled and disgraced former Shadowknight. As he holds the dying goddess, her last breath bestows a powerful blessing on him – a mark that heals his broken body. A mark that many see as proof that he killed a god. A mark that unleashes a powerful force of darkness within him. Chased across Myrillia by enemies both human and ethereal, Tylar must uncover and face down a being powerful enough to kill an immortal – the true godslayer. For if he fails, all of Myrillia will fall into shadow.
HINTERLAND: All of Myrillia is held in a grip of unease when a skull, twisted and corrupted by dark Graces, is found. It’s the work of the Cabal, a faction of daemonic naethryn intent on destroying the Nine Lands. Former Shadowknight Tylar must unravel the mystery of the skull before all of Myrillia is threatened. To save the Nine Lands, and himself, Tylar must enter the Hinterland, the desolate territory beyond the blessed Lands, where rogue gods roam and dark Graces flow – and from which no Shadowknight has ever returned.
I haven’t read either of them yet, because I’ve been waiting for the third one. I’ve been waiting since 2006, when Shadowfall was released. That’s EIGHT YEARS! I’m glad that I didn’t read the first two, as not only would I have been suspended off a cliffhanger all this time, but by now I would have forgotten all the finer details of the story and the nuances of the characters. A shame, as Clemens is a master of both.
So, where has Clemens been all this time? Well, he’s actually been writing A LOT, just under another name, James Rollins. Both these names are actually pseudonyms for James Czajkowski. He uses Clemens for his fantasy work and Rollins for his thriller novels. He chooses not to use his actual name because it’s difficult to pronounce, which is a problem when books are often recommended by word of mouth. I can completely relate to that! My surname is Marjoribanks, but it’s not pronounced as it looks, like AT ALL. Guesses, anyone?
According to the FAQ on the website for James Rollins, he still plans to finish the Godslayer Chronicles. The last in the trilogy has the working title ‘God-Sword’, and he has even said there’s a possibility of a second trilogy in the Godslayer universe after this one. Awesome, right? Yes, but come OOOOOOOON!! Finish it already! It’s been EIGHT YEARS!!
Whew, deep breath. I guess I’m getting a bit uptight because I loved The Banned and the Banished series soooooo much, and I seriously can’t wait to read this one, but I don’t want to start until I can go all the way to the end.
Does anyone else have this problem? Are any of you dealing with author frustration and wish they would just finish the story, dammit?! Tell me in the comments!
Drifting Pages 
I know how to pronounce your last name!! 😉
I don’t really have this problem with series because none of the series I’ve ever read have taken TOO long to come out, but I have had this feeling with new books in general from an author. Well, I also hate waiting a year for each new Rebus book. Lol.
Haha, yeah but you know me in real life. 😛
This is the only one I have a real problem with. Okay, I get impatient with the Star Trek ones, but that’s just because I love them so much. They don’t actually make you wait more than a year, so it’s cool. I just wish Clemens would get on with it!
Yes, I definitely have the same problem! I’m waiting to start Game of Thrones for precisely this reason. And I don’t just do it with books – I wait until TV shows have completely finished their runs before I start with season 1. (Usually. I make exceptions for Orange is the New Black and a couple of others).
I’m glad I’m not the only one! I’m waiting on Game of Thrones too, although my mum has broken her own rules and read all of the series so far, so it’s tempting to start when they’re just lying around the house! Oh my God, I LOVE Orange is the New Black! All the cast are fantastic, but Kate Mulgrew has been my absolute favourite actress since I was a kid and it’s awesome to see her star in another brilliant role. I met her a few years ago at a Star Trek convention before the show came out and she had to explain why her hair was suddenly short and bright red!
Whoa how cool!!! Red is one of my favorite characters. I mean, there are so many awesome characters in that show but she’s still at the top of the list. I didn’t realize Kate Mulgrew was in Star Trek; I’m completely jealous you got to meet her! 🙂
They really have an incredible cast of characters, don’t they? I started watching the show because of Kate but there is a serious amount of talent on that show from the rest of the cast. Kate had the lead role as Captain Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager for 7 years, so she’s basically Star Trek royalty! There’s been one or two Star Trek references in OITNB as a shout out to those fans, like when Nicky says to Red “I thought I was your Spock” in the election episode. I got my photo taken with her and her autograph, I was completely star struck! She’s a wonderful, genuine person and I was delighted to meet her; she called me sweetheart! Sorry, if I get started I tend to go on and on about Star Trek and Kate, I’m a serious fangirl about them! 🙂
the 1st 2 books are great & am very much looking forward to the final 3:
“UPDATE (05/12/2014): After recent correspondence with Jim, he has revealed that now the Godslayer Chronicles will be five books in total. The original plan was to finish the first arc with God-Sword (book III) and then continue with another trilogy with most of the characters set in the same world. Now due to the publisher’s request, the latter trilogy has been combined into two big books. So now the Godslayer Chronicles will be a Pentalogy similar to his debut series. Jim has completed book III and is currently 50-pages into book IV. The current plan is when Jim is in the finishing stages for book V, the publishers will begin the official relaunch.”
fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-paean-to-myrillia-godslayer.html
That’s awesome! Thank you so much for letting me know! I can’t wait to read them. 🙂
no problem-btw since you are also a big fan of Banned and Banished, you also may be interested in this bit of news:
“I have read and loved all your “James Clemens” books and was wondering if you have anything planned in the fantasy department.”
” As to more, yep. I have entire outline for another series set in Alasea”
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1774834-ask-james
Ooo that’s even better, I can’t wait to read those! Thank you! I really need to get better at following his updates.
if you have not read it yet, you may want to check out Tad Williams “Shadowmarch” series too. i find it to be quite excellent myself.
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Hi, I was just reading your page about James Clemens. I fell in love with the Banned and the Banished series years ago, some of the best fantasy I’ve ever read, and I also have the two Godslayer books. And I’m waiting too! I actually reread them recently to refresh my memory and I’m excited about the news that he’s finished book three and yes, the series will continue. I’ve also read some of his Rollins books and I love the series he’s doing with Rebecca Cantrell. I also love Game of Thrones, the books and the show and would like to talk more about them and any other similar interests. Please email me if you’d like. Take care.
Hi! Thanks for commenting! I was also glad to hear that the third book in the Godslayer series is finished and there will be two more. I think since I’ve waited for so long that I’ll wait until the final one is published before I start to read them as then I can just binge read them one after the other, which will be great I’m sure. I did that with The Banned and the Banished and I think it made me love them more since I could just get completely lost in the story without taking a break. I haven’t read any of his Rollins books because I’ve never really enjoyed thriller novels, although I would be open to giving them a shot at some point. I’m a big fan of the TV series Game of Thrones (although the torture/gory scenes are difficult to stomach at times!!) but I’ve never read the books. I had intended to, but then my mother gave hers away without realising I wanted to borrow them, and I never got round to getting them again. I’m never short of books to read and it’s difficult to keep up with them all! My second favourite fantasy series next to The Banned and the Banished is The Artefacts of Power by Maggie Furey. They were actually the first fantasy novels I ever read and they were a fantastic introduction to the genre. Have you ever read them?
Hey ! I’m glad I found your blog because I have exactly the same problem, with the exact same trilogy ! Unfortunatly I made the mistake of reading the first book… When I realised the third wasn’t out yet, I decided not to read the second. I’ve been waiting since then…
I just read the trilogy was over and the second one started, but if I get it right (I am French and the article was in English so I may have misunderstood it), he wants to wait the fifth book to be done before he releases them all.
Anyway, it’s a torture…
I’m glad I’m not the only one! I think part of the problem is that he also writes a lot of thriller novels (under a different name) so they take up a lot of his time. It’s very frustrating! He confirmed in a Goodreads interview a while ago that he would be writing another series set in the same world as The Banned and the Banished series, which would be awesome, but that will mean even more waiting!! I’m sure the books will be worth the wait once they eventually come out, whenever that will be!
I am in the same boat, but I had read both those books after falling in love with the banned and the banished, and since then I can’t read a series unless I know the author has good timing.
It’s good to know others feel my pain.
I definitely feel your pain! I’m getting very impatient with James Clemens as I really want to read more of his books, but I’m definitely not starting another series until he finishes writing it!