Book worlds you wish you could play [Archive]

Crittias

10-12-2008, 06:18 PM

Ever read a book (or see a TV show, I guess. I'll try to be inclusive) and think to yourself, "THIS would make for a great game environment!" I'm reading a book now that I would just love to actually spend some time in.

The book is titled Pirate Sun (http://www.amazon.com/Pirate-Sun-Book-Three-Virga/dp/0765315459/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223857147&sr=8-1) by Karl Schroeder. It's the third in a series of sci-fi stories, set in a very cool location. Virga is a fullerene sphere, 5000 miles across, that has been filled with air and artificial suns. The central sun, Candesce, emits radiation that makes advanced technology (radio, radar, electronics, etc) non-functional inside the sphere. The result is a steam-punk-esque setting, where everyone is weightless except when they're spending time in cities, which are actually wheels and cylinders spun to create artificial gravity via centrifugal force.

The setting is amazing, perhaps even moreso than the plot of the series. I would LOVE to play a game in this setting.

Anyone else have setting suggestions?

Kryopsis

10-12-2008, 06:27 PM

Unfortunately the world of one of my beloved Sci-Fi universe, Revelation Space (http://www.amazon.com/Revelation-Space-Alastair-Reynolds/dp/0441009425/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223857599&sr=8-1), would not make a great setting for action games as space-travel takes decades. An RPG akin to Planescape: Torment could actually work out as the novels are nothing if not rich in back-story and intriguing factions (such as the Conjoiners).

A setting that would make an excellent (if controversial) setting for a game of any genre would be Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash. Set in a near-future cyberpunk setting that is like a dark parody of our own world, a capitalist society taken to an extreme and, well, if you haven't read or attempted to read Snow Crash (http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Crash-Bantam-Spectra-Book/dp/0553380958/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223857870&sr=1-1), shame on you. I can think of pretty much any genre of video games that would work *very* well in this setting. From squad-based RTS to action-adventure/free-running game where you play as a Kourier.

(That book you linked sounds very interesting, by the way, I'll add it to my list.)

Hellbug

10-12-2008, 06:57 PM

A good fight club that focused less on the fights themselves, and more on fulfilling project mayhem.

fitbabits

10-12-2008, 07:09 PM

Absolutely without question... The Fugue. Actually, I wish I lived there.

Superman's Dead

10-12-2008, 07:14 PM

Dune, the actual Arthurian legends, Ender's Game, Stephen King's Dark Tower, and more Matrix and LOTR because there's never too much.

And when I say Matrix I'm drawing that from the comic books. So it counts, technically. =)

darkbase

10-12-2008, 07:23 PM

A good fight club that focused less on the fights themselves, and more on fulfilling project mayhem.

Story and cut scenes could unfold in first person like Bioshock while in a world like GTA or The Darkness.

Men rustle with excitement and anticipation as Tyler moves through the isles of chairs, passing out small pieces of paper under the dim light in the basement of the department store. What will your objective be today? Who ever would've thought that fat guy with tits from your office could've introduced you to the greatest thing in your life. One proud accomplishment in your miserable, repeating, suburban live. Tyler puts a slip of paper into your open palm, and tonight's homework assignment is: Destroy 25 satellite dishes on rooftops before dawn. You have 10 minutes. Go

Alternatively: "Get in a fight with 10 pedestrians and lose. Go."

Wow, it really is a great setting and structure for a game! JESUS, DEVELOPERS, GET ON THIS!

Karak

10-12-2008, 07:41 PM

Dragonlance.
Shannara
Fading Suns

Dragonlance as a full on adventure game somewhat like Final Fantasy style
Shannara the same.
Fading suns would be a Oblivion deep roleplay game thats starts out on a planet and then if you so choose you can attempt to get into space and if you do that it takes on a Smugglers style Planet to Planet game.

Vandabo

10-12-2008, 07:49 PM

The Hyperion novels by Dan Simmons would make for a sweet game universe.

Crittias

10-12-2008, 08:29 PM

Absolutely without question... The Fugue. Actually, I wish I lived there.What is The Fugue? A movie? A book? I've never heard of it...

Lance Uppercut

10-12-2008, 08:36 PM

http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/4688/carideeromancenovelfabibs1.jpg

fitbabits

10-12-2008, 08:50 PM

What is The Fugue? A movie? A book? I've never heard of it...
The Fugue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weaveworld).

Schnoogs

10-12-2008, 09:16 PM

Hyperion would be interesting.

Swanky

10-12-2008, 09:21 PM

I second the Ender Series and Dark Tower. Can never have too many doors to an infinite wheres and whens.

Schnoogs

10-12-2008, 09:22 PM

Asimov's Robot novels

Evewalker

10-12-2008, 10:15 PM

Vandabo

10-12-2008, 10:20 PM

Asimov's Robot novels

This would be cool. The level where you have to chase someone through the moving sidewalk things practically creates itself.

Bingley Joe

10-12-2008, 11:34 PM

Ringworld, as well as any of the Man/Kzin Wars novels, or really anything based on Larry Niven's Known Space.

... but mostly just Ringworld.

And the first person who mentions Halo in response to this gets a smack :)

Squidbot

10-13-2008, 01:46 AM

Weaveworld and Cabal.
And although I like the idea of being able to play in an Hyperion environment, please do not let anyone ever make a game of that series. Ever. Ever ever.

pomeroy

10-13-2008, 01:59 AM

A WoT game.

Yeah, I went there.

Vandabo

10-13-2008, 02:09 AM

A WoT game.

Yeah, I went there.

Been done already. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_of_Time:_The_Video_Game)

Also, there was a great MUD called WoTMUD that I played the shit out of about 8 years ago. The best MMO experience I've ever had.

pomeroy

10-13-2008, 02:14 AM

Been done already. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_of_Time:_The_Video_Game)

Also, there was a great MUD called WoTMUD that I played the shit out of about 8 years ago. The best MMO experience I've ever had.

Yeah, but I want a GOOD WoT game. I had that one...it was merely ok.

muddi900

10-13-2008, 02:33 AM

Book to game adaptation can't work. One is a strictly storytelling medium, other is an interactive medium. Yes storytelling can be done through games, but interactivity is paramount.

Vandabo

10-13-2008, 02:49 AM

Book to game adaptation can't work. One is a strictly storytelling medium, other is an interactive medium. Yes storytelling can be done through games, but interactivity is paramount.

Clearly you have not had the chance to take part in the literary journey that is a choose your own adventure book.

Plus, we aren't specifically stating we want a book turned directly into a game, but merely that we want a game based in the same setting as a specific book.

mightbe

10-13-2008, 02:56 AM

Good Omens would make an amazing adventure game.

Battle Royale needs a good source mod based on it.

BrassGecko

10-13-2008, 04:47 AM

Anything from CJ Cherryh's Alliance/Union (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance-Union_universe) universe, especially Merchanter's Luck (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchanter%27s_Luck) and Downbelow Station (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downbelow_Station).

Crittias

10-13-2008, 05:33 AM

Plus, we aren't specifically stating we want a book turned directly into a game, but merely that we want a game based in the same setting as a specific book.This. Thanks, Vandabo, for serving as my agent of righteousness. :)

Kryopsis

10-13-2008, 07:38 AM

I'd love to see a game series set in the world of Bas-Lag, the setting of the Perdido Street Station (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perdido_Street_Station) series of books from China Miéville. It could actually work very well with a lot of genres, but I could only imagine how cool a full blown RPG would be using that source material.

I'd actually expect it to happen at some point, especially because from what I've read, Miéville is/has been a pretty avid gamer himself.

Yes, I definitely agree with you. For some reason, I completely forgot about Perdido Street Station, however after posting my first reply in this thread, I had a nagging feeling I forgot something. If there would ever be a game based on China Mieville's universe, I'll be the first in line!

President Fred

10-13-2008, 07:49 AM

I would like something set in a similar setting and with an atmosphere like The Castle of Otranto, The Monk, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, Carmilla and that sort of thing. And make it scary not Resident Evil/shock scary but psychologically scary in that it builds for ever. I think an adventure detective type game. Most gothic games are just Silent hill set in 19th century but I would like that actually tries to replicate the growing unease.

hunterx280

10-13-2008, 09:26 AM

I am currently reading Mainspring (http://www.amazon.com/Mainspring-Jay-Lake/dp/0765356368/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223911954&sr=8-1) by Jay Lake. It takes place in a literal clockwork universe. I would love to explore something like that.

Crittias

10-13-2008, 09:29 AM

I'd love to see a game series set in the world of Bas-Lag, the setting of the Perdido Street Station (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perdido_Street_Station) series of books from China Miéville. It could actually work very well with a lot of genres, but I could only imagine how cool a full blown RPG would be using that source material.

I'd actually expect it to happen at some point, especially because from what I've read, Miéville is/has been a pretty avid gamer himself.Man, that would be a heavenly RPG, wouldn't it? I could definitely go for being a cactus-man. Good suggestion!

Young Al Capone

10-13-2008, 09:34 AM

A setting that would make an excellent (if controversial) setting for a game of any genre would be Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash. Set in a near-future cyberpunk setting that is like a dark parody of our own world, a capitalist society taken to an extreme and, well, if you haven't read or attempted to read Snow Crash (http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Crash-Bantam-Spectra-Book/dp/0553380958/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223857870&sr=1-1), shame on you. I can think of pretty much any genre of video games that would work *very* well in this setting. From squad-based RTS to action-adventure/free-running game where you play as a Kourier.

This, or something like this. I would actually prefer the Sprawl from the Neuromancer/Count Zero/Mona Lisa Overdrive trilogy but still...

Basically a Cyberpunk RPG is what I have been dying for since I can remember. Deus Ex is my favorite game, but you can only play it so many times before you have seen it all.

President Fred

10-13-2008, 09:43 AM

Also the George RR Martin books, as an MMORPG (which I have very little experience with) but chaotic so that players inhabit all the important roles in the game world but you can be killed at any second. When you die you lose everything and whoever killed you or ordered you killed took you place. I have a hard time seeing how it could work, but I think that sort of chaotic, non-static, world could be quite fun.

Khrymsyn

10-13-2008, 10:39 AM

I seriously have to go with Ender's Game.

Hell, there are three distinct games I can think of based off of it I'd want to play.

Game A) Ender's Adventure. The one that Ender plays hours upon hours in where he defeats the giant, and the giant's body becomes a hill, etc, etc, etc.
Game B) The BattleSchool. Probably multiplayer FPS. Actually, I'd want to play this for real, F the video game.
Game C) The war against the buggers. Totally, 100% RTS, preferrably multiplayer RTS Pick which fleet goes where (planet wise), and assign your commanders to different squadrons / fleets. You give orders to commanders, they give orders to the AI. Include some "personality" to the AI (such as a ship captain who questions orders, or fighter pilots who might panic, etc), and it could be one of the coolest games ever. I WANT A DR. DEVICE!

Deadend

10-13-2008, 02:01 PM

I want a game set in The Culture universe...
Yes, the same books brought up by Dennis Dyack on 1up Yours in The Player of Games.

Borthcollective

10-13-2008, 02:50 PM

Dune and Mechwarrior/Battletech. Yes I know they have both been done, but I want more!

Nameless

10-13-2008, 03:01 PM

Dark Tower. It screams for a video game adaptation. I can see the engine being used for Fallout 3 working really well, especially that targeting system; it reminds me a lot of how the gunslingers will hit small targets inhumanly fast and accurately. Plus it'd need a big world.

OK, now I hope this game is eventually made...

Evewalker

10-13-2008, 06:22 PM

Man, that would be a heavenly RPG, wouldn't it? I could definitely go for being a cactus-man. Good suggestion!

Thanks. It's awesome to see that there are other fans of the books here.

As soon as I finished Iron Council, I started thinking about all of the possibilities of an RPG on the books. It's crazy how game friendly Bas-Lag is, because you have this pre-packaged set of unique and complementary races and character classes ready to go, in addition to a ton of conflicting groups and motivations to move an open-ended player driven story along.

Whether it be a RPG, a sandbox game, or even a progressive mission game like Thief, it would work so well. Hell, I'm not even a huge fan of typical formula MMOs, but I'll be the first to admit that it could work in that vein, too. Just the sheer amount of character options would make for one of the most interesting games in years if it was crafted correctly.

Think about how awesome the art design of a place like New Crobuzon would be if you got some really talented folks on board on a project like this? It's gotta happen eventually. :)

MalReynolds

10-13-2008, 06:26 PM

Hmmm Book Darth Bane :)

Crittias

10-13-2008, 07:07 PM

It's crazy how game friendly Bas-Lag is, because you have this pre-packaged set of unique and complementary races and character classes ready to go, in addition to a ton of conflicting groups and motivations to move an open-ended player driven story along.Agreed, his universe feels pretty complete and lends itself to a gaming scenario.

I wonder if I could get myself one of Uther Doul's Possibility Swords? Now THAT by itself would make me buy a game.

KingGorilla

10-13-2008, 09:42 PM

The Bible, I want to be the douche bag god, pillars of salt, raining fire and sulfur, that sort of shit.

Tel Prydain

10-13-2008, 09:51 PM

Shadowrun

I know what you're all going to say, and you can all shutup.

Dread7x

10-13-2008, 10:02 PM

The Malazan book of the Fallen series -Would be awesome as an MMO.
The Dresden Universe
And of course Star Wars.

iHap

10-14-2008, 02:43 AM

Dark Tower, FireFly (EVE doesn't cut it for me.), WaterWorld.

neutralism

10-14-2008, 03:40 AM

Anyone else have setting suggestions?

I'd like to see a game (or even a tv series) based on the "Thraxas" books. :)

http://i38.tinypic.com/11w4y3d.jpg

If you haven't read these, the genre can be described as "Comedic Fantasy Detective Noir."

I think a game in the style of a fusion of "Day of the Tentacle" and "Betrayal at Krondor" would work well for this. :)

Squidbot

10-14-2008, 05:17 AM

When I saw the cover I had a terrible feeling it was going to be some of that Gorean crap. I am glad I was mistaken.

Jeffool

10-14-2008, 05:28 AM

When I saw the cover I had a terrible feeling it was going to be some of that Gorean crap. I am glad I was mistaken.Curious of what 'Gorean' was, I just looked it up. ... Dude. I remember my grandma having some of those books when I was younger. *shudder* (Though, aside from that, what's wrong with fantasy and BDSM? Win-win! :D )

Squidbot

10-14-2008, 05:33 AM

Nothing wrong with fantasy BDSM, it’s the rampant misogyny of the Gor stuff that revolts me.

Jeffool

10-14-2008, 05:37 AM

Ah, maybe I should read more than the first section of the Wiki entry. Actually, it's barely mentioned on the entry at all, save a 'See Also' tag of 'Male dominance'.

Shit... My granny was a freak.

SilentScreams

10-14-2008, 08:09 AM

Swiftly getting back on topic...:)

I just finished the WH40k Eisenhorn trilogy, and I've love to play a game based on that. I know there are games set in the WH40k universe, but I mean one where you play as an Inquisitor and maybe even be able to choose your own style (go solo, recruit a group of allies, dabble in Chaos powers, enlist alien help, etc)

Superman's Dead

10-14-2008, 09:05 AM

Wait a second. Wait a second wait a second wait a second.

A Hitchhiker's Guide game. It would be like GTA on really terrible acid. You could play a young Ford Prefect.

Crittias

10-14-2008, 09:07 AM

Wait a second. Wait a second wait a second wait a second.

A Hitchhiker's Guide game. It would be like GTA on really terrible acid. You could play a young Ford Prefect.I'm guessing you're too young to have played Infocom's text adventure of Hitchhiker? A true classic in every sense of the word.

Superman's Dead

10-14-2008, 09:40 AM

I'm guessing you're too young to have played Infocom's text adventure of Hitchhiker? A true classic in every sense of the word.

Too young to have played it when it was released? Yes. Too young to have hunted it down and played it regardless, no. =)

But I think a free-roaming game where you play one of the guide's reporters would be absolutely hilarious in the right hands. I mean, talk about all the bizarre minigames you could do. And roleplaying aspects...trying to defend your expense account ALONE...

Crittias

10-14-2008, 10:26 AM

Too young to have played it when it was released? Yes. Too young to have hunted it down and played it regardless, no. =)Kudos to you for finding it and playing it. Too many young gamers missed out on the magnificence that was Infocom in its heyday.

Kryopsis

10-14-2008, 10:59 AM

Kudos to you for finding it and playing it. Too many young gamers missed out on the magnificence that was Infocom in its heyday.

Being only 21 years old, I fall into this category. However, several years ago something made me to go back and play a dozen of Infocom titles. HHGG was an excellent, fun and frustrating game but to this day I dream of a 3D game made out of Border Zone.

Getting back on the subject, there can never be enough Discworld games. Discworld Noir was one of the best adventure games I've played (along with Gabriel Knight, Sam & Max, and Quest for Glory) and with over 30 books in the series there is ample data to make another game based on Terry Pratchett's books.

VerseD

10-14-2008, 09:09 PM

Heinlein's Starship Troopers (NOT the movie) would make a cool game. Kill millions of bugs as an elite warrior and still lose.

Battle Royale needs a good source mod based on it.

That is a great idea.

Also the George RR Martin books, as an MMORPG (which I have very little experience with)

The Song of Ice and Fire series would make a great Total War style strategy game. There are so many factions who change allegiance so many times, the novels almost play out like a Medieval II campaign.

Loki

10-14-2008, 10:02 PM

1984 RTS. Eastasia vs Eurasia vs Oceania.

sea7marie

10-14-2008, 11:24 PM

Been done already. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_of_Time:_The_Video_Game)

Also, there was a great MUD called WoTMUD that I played the shit out of about 8 years ago. The best MMO experience I've ever had.

Ooohhhhh I wish they had a new version of a WoT!!!! It definitely would be my next purchase.... and then I wouldn't do ANYTHING until I'd played the entire thing, LOL.

Superman's Dead

10-15-2008, 09:28 AM

1984 RTS. Eastasia vs Eurasia vs Oceania.

And randomly, every level, the sides and units change and you get demoted.

Sl1pstream

10-15-2008, 09:37 AM

The Bible, I want to be the douche bag god, pillars of salt, raining fire and sulfur, that sort of shit.

Yes, if only to see the backlash against the game. The idea of actually playing as God alone will make more than enough religious groups mad.

The game itself, if not made by some obscure Christian developer with an agenda (see Left Behind) could actually be decent too.

Durka-Dan

10-15-2008, 10:09 AM

...Ender's Game...

Ditto. And ofcourse Star Wars, but I suppose I could play in that universe... but the games just suck. Give me a good SW MMO for the love of God.

Young Al Capone

10-15-2008, 10:15 AM

Ditto. And ofcourse Star Wars, but I suppose I could play in that universe... but the games just suck.

KOTOR, Jedi Knight II and X-Wing all have something to say to you, and they do not look happy.

As for the MMO, can't help you there.

PathMaster

10-16-2008, 10:33 AM

Simmons Hyperion would be very interesting. So might his Ilium & Olympos books.

roboninja

10-16-2008, 10:48 AM

I'll bring up what was mentioned by someone else in another thread: RIFTS. A great world to set a game in, technology and magic.

Durka-Dan

10-16-2008, 02:47 PM

KOTOR, Jedi Knight II and X-Wing all have something to say to you, and they do not look happy.

As for the MMO, can't help you there.

Beat, beat, and half beat. Looking more for a SW flavored WoW, but with interplanetary/system travel via light speed. Basically I want a game where I can buy/rent/sell/create my own ship(s), customize the insides, deck them out with awesome gear, walk around them with my character, and have other people (crew) come aboard and/or join my vessel or my squad. Imagine owning a star destroyer with a real player run crew. AWESOMENESS!!!

Karak

10-16-2008, 06:58 PM

I'll bring up what was mentioned by someone else in another thread: RIFTS. A great world to set a game in, technology and magic.

I "think" that was mine and from what I heard there has been a time or two when the game was actually bopped around. But it seems like the company is ALWAYS having bad luck or problems.
Felony theft from a worker
Rifts on the N-gage
Always late with product.
I just wish Kevin S would give the idea over and say. "Go with it" The books are the real fiction but go have fun.
That would rock.

Spectre-7

10-16-2008, 10:28 PM

Ooohhhhh I wish they had a new version of a WoT!!!! It definitely would be my next purchase.... and then I wouldn't do ANYTHING until I'd played the entire thing, LOL.

Hmmm... 8 hours worth of women sniffing and wondering if their necklines are too low, while the men whinge about being forced into heroism. That's how I spell excitement.

I kid, I kid.

pomeroy

10-16-2008, 10:31 PM

Hmmm... 8 hours worth of women sniffing and wondering if their necklines are too low, while the men whinge about being forced into heroism. That's how I spell excitement.

I kid, I kid.

I will kill you in your sleep.

Spectre-7

10-16-2008, 10:31 PM

Spectre-7

10-16-2008, 10:35 PM

I will kill you in your sleep.

Oh, you might try... but then you'll spend 750 pages pissing and moaning about how fate has forced your hand, before finally deciding on some tangential course of action that ultimately forestalls our final confrontation for another five books. :D

Widgetcraft

10-17-2008, 01:51 AM

When I saw the cover I had a terrible feeling it was going to be some of that Gorean crap. I am glad I was mistaken.

This CoG can't stand that shit. Or at least, not the people who decided to make it into a real world philosophy.

As for the world I'd choose? I'm gonna say Spelljammer; though, there was already a Spelljammer game, and it was shit. I also second the people who say Rifts and Waterworld (I love aquatic areas in games). I also think an RPG based on Neil Gaiman's American Gods would be awesome. Some of my friends from college did an epic-level D20 Modern game where they played gods in a similar setting, and it was fuckwin.

Raen

10-17-2008, 02:35 AM

A setting that would make an excellent (if controversial) setting for a game of any genre would be Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash. Set in a near-future cyberpunk setting that is like a dark parody of our own world, a capitalist society taken to an extreme and, well, if you haven't read or attempted to read Snow Crash (http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Crash-Bantam-Spectra-Book/dp/0553380958/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223857870&sr=1-1), shame on you. I can think of pretty much any genre of video games that would work *very* well in this setting. From squad-based RTS to action-adventure/free-running game where you play as a Kourier.

(That book you linked sounds very interesting, by the way, I'll add it to my list.)

Snow Crash would be awesome if done well. I'd never even considered the Kourier option, that'd be a pretty entertaining game to play, although it could get repetitive quickly. Playing as a character similar to Hiro would be cool, I think a sandbox from that perspective could work well. And obviously the transitions to the Metaverse would have to be awesome to make it any good at all.

VerseD

10-17-2008, 06:18 PM

Beat, beat, and half beat. Looking more for a SW flavored WoW, but with interplanetary/system travel via light speed. Basically I want a game where I can buy/rent/sell/create my own ship(s), customize the insides, deck them out with awesome gear, walk around them with my character, and have other people (crew) come aboard and/or join my vessel or my squad. Imagine owning a star destroyer with a real player run crew. AWESOMENESS!!!

Everyone rags on Star Wars Galaxies, but I thought the Jump to Lightspeed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Galaxies:_Jump_to_Lightspeed) expansion did a pretty good job of introducing space travel and combat as you describe it. It was twitch based like TIE Fighter, and even though the missions got a little stale cruising asteroid belts with a squadron of friends.

You could buy different models of ships and customize them with parts you found, and mastering the pilot class qualified you to fly big Millennium Falcon-sized ships (and to fill it with your collected loot). The big ships even had a crew mechanic, with a pilot, gunners, and an engineer, although they were still pretty easy to take down.

I'd love to see new game where I could live out my Han Solo/Mal Reynolds fantasies. The Star Wars, Firefly, or Cowboy Bebop universes would all work for that, and it was the one thing that got me excited for that recently floundered Star Trek MMO.

pomeroy

10-18-2008, 09:49 PM

Oh, you might try... but then you'll spend 750 pages pissing and moaning about how fate has forced your hand, before finally deciding on some tangential course of action that ultimately forestalls our final confrontation for another five books. :D

I hate you.

You're right, of course. The series really only works if you read it straight through (especially books 6-end). Then it doesn't seem as uneventful (at least it doesn't in my twisted worldview).

Whatever, though. Eye of the World 4 lyfe!