To Prologue or Not to Prologue

[swan_tower]

Tor has a long-standing habit of releasing the Prologue to the next Wheel of Time book in advance of the book's actual pub date, as a teaser for what's to come. I read those from (I think) A Crown of Swords through Crossroads of Twilight, then stopped because I wasn't going to touch the series until the end was in sight. And when I came back, I just read the books themselves; no need to play teaser games with the Prologues.

But now, at last, I'm caught up, and the final book hasn't yet come out. So I put it to you, my blog readership:

[Poll #1883074]

Comments

[desperance.livejournal.com]

You could write your own prologue, anticipating how you think the series ought to end? In your, y'know. Copious free time.

(Personally, I never touch sample chapters of books I know I'm going to read; I want the whole thing, not a taster. And I never touch sample chapters of books I don't know I'm going to read, because I might want to read on, and then I'm stranded; or else I might not want to, and then I've wasted time. I am ... not the ideal market, for the sampler industry.)

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

<smacks you>

You are indeed not the ideal market for that sort of thing. I'll have the whole book soon enough, though.

Pre-Release material

[namle84.livejournal.com]

Tor also released Chapter 1, audio of chapter 2, and part of chapter 11 (that doesn't spoil any of chapters 3-10) on its web site. I can post links to them here if you'd like, but I wouldn't recommend reading them unless you read the prologue first.

Re: Pre-Release material

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

Heh. Nah, if I do this, it will be as one last hurrah for my high school/early college experience of reading the Prologues; I don't need to go beyond that.

[iopgod.livejournal.com]

I have been suckered in to buying the prologue a couple of times... they have been disappointing, unnecessarily torture inducing, and, given that you get the *whole book* in a couple of weeks anyway, a waste of money.

[aulus-poliutos.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I would not encourage that shifty practics of getting some extra money out of fans by buying part of a book twice.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

Oh -- are they being sold now, rather than released as free teasers?

[iopgod.livejournal.com]

Certainly the previous WoT prologues have been sold (since WH, I think)... not sure what they are doing this time. There are a few free teasers up on Tor.com, but I think they are the first few chapters-proper, rather than the prologue.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

Oh, phooey. I didn't know that. (I thought I'd read the WH prologue, but I certainly didn't buy it; maybe I was wrong about the reading.)

Well. I'll have to reconsider, then.