EPT Novels

[Finarvyn]

I found the first two EPT novels by MAR Barker (Man of Gold and Flamesong) and am hoping that reading them will give me a better feel for the world of Tekumel.

For anyone who has read these, did I choose well? (Logic tells me that the first ones should be the best, but sometimes that doesn't work out.)

[greentongue]

I liked them.
I found them easy to use for getting the feel of the world but then I knew some about EPT before reading them.
=

[calithena]

Man of Gold is almost everyone's favorite Tekumel novel. My second choice is Lords of Tsamra, which also features Harsan. The others are rich in world information but not quite as good as stories IMO (although they're more readable than a lot of the horse puckey on the shelf at Borders etc.).

[Epengar]

You chose well. In addition to the two you've got, the three more recent ones were released by an amateur publisher (one of Barker's players). As Calithena says, they are not as good as stories, and they are not nearly as well edited as the first two were.

[badger2305]

epengar said:

You chose well. In addition to the two you've got, the three more recent ones were released by an amateur publisher (one of Barker's players). As Calithena says, they are not as good as stories, and they are not nearly as well edited as the first two were.

Actually, there's at least some question as to the amount of editing either Man of Gold or Flamesong really received. Don Wollheim's acceptance method was "if I get to the end of the manuscript, I'll buy it" (or so was reported to me by various members of the NY publishing establishment). It's possible that they were edited, but Prof. Barker's relationship with Wollheim goes back a LONG way, and Phil never cottoned to being edited very closely (look at S&G if you doubt me).

[coffee]

epengar said:

You chose well. In addition to the two you've got, the three more recent ones were released by an amateur publisher (one of Barker's players).

I almost took exception to this, until I read it again.

But I work for the company that printed these later books, not the publisher (who very well may be amateur, for all I know). (It's a print on demand shop that I work for, so we get all kinds.)

I have Prince of Skulls and A Death of Kings, as well as the two volumes of the Mitlanyal (book of gods).

I tried reading one of the novels, but couldn't get past the language. Perhaps one of these upcoming long winter nights I'll give it another try.

[alvahardison]

I've read all 5 books. "Man of Gold" is a very good introduction giving a person without access to the Swords and Glory V1 Sourcebook enough background info to use for a game or whatever. "Flamesong" is the better of the early 2, while "Lords of Tsamra" and "A Death of Kings" (in that order) were the best of the modern 3. "Prince of Skulls" is, IMHO, lame when compared to the others but still worth having and reading.

[foster1941]

I've got copies of both Man of Gold and Flamesong kicking around somewhere, but haven't gotten around to reading either one yet. They're on the list, but not particularly near the top and it's a very long list...

[Finarvyn]

epengar said:

You chose well.

I'd like you to think that I was brilliant in my selection, but actually I had been looking for Man of Gold on e-bay (since it was the first written) and happened to find a single auction with MoG plus Flamesong. I figured, "what the heck" and bought the combo......

Brillance by accident?

[thorswulf]

Maybe I just have good used book stores and paper back exchanges in Olympia. I have seen at least 5 copies of Man of Gold this year! I liked Flamesong better than Man of Gold myself. I have wondered why Barker never wrote a story during Nayari's reign. Then again it probably would be to *ahem* explicit.... A fun read though!

[grodog]

I only know of Man of Gold (which I don't own), and Flamesong (which I do). What other EPT novels are out there (and what about short stories, other than those on the tekumel.com site)?

[Epengar]

grodog, there are three more novels: Prince of Skulls, Lords of Tsamra, A Death of Kings. They have been published by Zottola Publishing, which is run by one of Barker's players. Their website hasn't been updated in years, but it has some information about each of the novels in the Products section. Click on cover icons to see more:
www.zotpub.com

I don't know of any short fiction that isn't on the tekumel.com site. You've seen the "Visitations of Glory" pages there, I hope.

[grodog]

Thanks epengar, that's just what I was looking for

[Rhuvein]

I've got to get these ~ add to list. I'll guess that eBay might be a good way to buy!



Haha, will you look at that? Just bought one on eBay for $3.40!

[Thorulfr]

Personally, I liked Man of Gold a little better than Flamesong; the earlier book gives one a better feel of the current culture(s) and political situation on Tekumel, while Flamesong gives you a whirlwind tour of some of the stranger byways of the planet, giving you a disturbing sense of the sheer antiquity and staggering variety of the place.

[James Maliszewski]

thorulfr said:

Personally, I liked Man of Gold a little better than Flamesong; the earlier book gives one a better feel of the current culture(s) and political situation on Tekumel, while Flamesong gives you a whirlwind tour of some of the stranger byways of the planet, giving you a disturbing sense of the sheer antiquity and staggering variety of the place.

They make nice book ends to the setting, I think, showing the two "poles" of how you can run a Tékumel game. As a novel, I like Man of Gold best, but Flamesong is more broadly "gameable" and shows that, at base, Tékumel is a pulp science fantasy setting, which is something we sometimes forget in the mass of constructed languages and fantasy ethnology.

[bigjackbrass]

It was announced a few days ago on the Tekumel mailing list that The Man of Gold and Flamesong are at last to be published in Zottola editions too. That will then be three editions of the first book, but doubtless I'll buy them anyway! (It was published in the UK by Century Hutchinson just after the original US release)

The three recent books feel slightly more like game fiction than the first two, I feel, and do not stand alone so well, but they make for an enjoyable read. Flamesong remains my favourite, despite the "whirlwind tour" aspect that thorulfr accurately described. It's nice to get a view of the tensions and activities within the Tsolyani military, for one thing.

[casey777]

It's worth noting that Flamesong is the only standalone book of the five. The others start with Man of Gold. IMO Flamesong is a tad less of a page turner* but is more directly tied to combats, starting with members of a legion.

Some of the short stories online are good, and I rather enjoy the fanzines, which often have adventure stubs as well. Strategic Review and Dragon also had a good number of Tekumel articles including some in-setting reports and a battle account. Those are now online for free.

www.tekumel.com/archive.html
www.tekumel.com/gaming_advadvice.html (has the TSR articles and more)

The Tekumel Yahoo Group has some more stories in its files section but you'd need to join first.

games.groups.yahoo.com/group/tekumel/files

Mitlanyal (Book of the Gods), also from Zotpub, is a bit pricey but really brings the setting to life and places the conflicts forefront. Spells, magic items, fesitvals, secret societies, and a good writeup of the recent civil war. It also has some fiction vignettes that have really helped some.

* I've loaned out my copies to people in my group before or some have purchased copies and most have read and been helped by the novels, I personally have yet to finish them to avoid duplicating ideas in my campaign >.<

(edit: done for now, cool forum all, now to try sleeping again)

[doc]

I've recently started reading my first Tekumel novel, Flamesong. I'm finding it heavy reading what with all of the names and characters, but I'm enjoying it so far. I picked it up for under a dollar, so the price was certainly right.

It gives a good feel of what a military-based adventuring party would look like. And I like how the main characer, while loyal to the empire, doesn't always agree with all of their laws and customs (particularly in regards to the Emperor).

I've only just passed page 100, so I still have some 300 pages to go.

Doc