Best-sellers are a separate entity. What catapults a good novel, or even a mediocre one, to the best-seller lists has a great deal to do with marketing, the public's whimsy, and a great deal of luck.
This is so very many kinds of true. Think about it: Is Jennifer Lopez a better singer, a more true talent, than Laura Pausini?
I wish it was as popular. That way we might get a film out of it ( I take it you're on about the Stephen Lawhead ones ? )
Actually, at least one of the Pendragon books did make the New York Times best sellers list, but, for some reason, very few people seem to have heard of this series. Also, it doesn't seem to have much of an internet following or fan base, like Harry Potter. Are people just buying copies, letting them lay around, and totally forgetting about them? I would love to see Pendragon on the big screen. Not familiar with Stephen Lawhead's books. Are they also about time/inter-dimensional traveling?
It's very rare (nowadays, at least; once the 2000s started things got crappy and popular, as opposed to the 90s and backwards where they were much more good as well as popular) that something is good and popular; I've heard of the Pendragon series but haven't read it yet.
Just to clarify, since there seems to have been a bit of confusion . . . I'm talking about the Pendragon series by DJ Machale.
ah....never heard of it. There is also a series by Lawhead about King Arthur/Merlin/Taliesin, one of which is called Pendragon. Still want to see it on film though
Well, personally, I prefer it as just a book. It would be nice to have them make a movie, but they might ruin the whole thing with a bad movie nothing like the books, like they did with Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The books are great, I absolutely love them! Along with Harry Potter, its one of my favorite series.
Hmm, been reviewing some customer reviews of Pendragon on Amazon.com. It appears that the mostly journal format and laid-back, hipster language of the books can be off-putting.
I haven't read the series myself, but I suppose, as mentioned, it has a lot to do with marketing. The general populace of people prefer to read an exciting, yet somewhat flat, story of characters accomplishing fantastic feats, instead of something more down to Earth and yet more relevant to living life. Or, just look at how the authors themselves are marketed. JK Rowling revolutionised Children's writing. Paolini wrote Eragon at age 16? And Twilight? Guess it has to do with a public image.
Pendragon is amazing! It's one of my favourite series, and I agree its very under-rated, and not very popular. Which sucks because I enjoy them all so much, it's a very original idea too!
The strange thing is that the author (D.J. MacHale) is a film director and producer. You'd think he'd know a thing or two about marketing! Now that I think back to the Pendragon series, if I contrast it with stories that really did hit the big-time, I find that the element of fun is somewhat lacking when compared with more popular stories. In Pendragon, there's a lot of misery going on, a lot. Some Amazon.com reviewers have commented that Pendragon is "less dark" than Harry Potter, but the books actually don't actually support that observation. On the contrary, the main character Bobby is constantly floundering, unsure of what's going on, what he really is fighting against, and even unsure of who, or at a certain point what, he is. Bobby not infrequently makes costly mistakes (sometimes obvious mistakes), and often he finds out he is losing just when he thought he was going to win. Once you get toward the middle of the series, Bobby starts losing battles more and more often. I suppose that many people would find this depressing after a while. The books are actually very serious in nature and more realistic in some ways than most fantasy books - which is what attracted me to them in first place. As for the part about the element of fun, Harry Potter has a lot of whimsical things going on (new magic spells, funny creatures, oddball characters) to keep the darkness level balanced. Star Wars has a never-ending assortment of quirky droids and wise-cracking aliens. Even Twilight has Bella taking wild rides on Edward's back and attending vampire baseball. For the most part, all Pendragon has is "hobey-ho" Spader and maybe three more upbeat characters (who aren't always around) to keep the cheer up and a little positiveness going since everyone else is under almost constant stress to figure out what Saint Dane is up to. So, perhaps this is why Pendragon, after briefly hitting the best-sellers' list, faded back into relative obscurity - not enough "fun element" to keep readers happy? What do you guys and gals think?
Ooh, Pendragon! I think I started on those books before I even picked up Harry Potter, and I love them so much. I do agree that they're underrated, which is sad. I never noticed any 'hipster' crap going on, though, just Bobby's humor.
I've never actually heard of this series, but I'm putting it on my 'to-read' list. I love YA and children's lit.
but the main thing is that they need a really good introduction. I thought the intro was overly weird and a little boring
Hi. I haven`t read Pendragon yet and wasn`t keen on Harry Potter if I`m perfectly honest. I do think the difference is, as has already been said, marketing, it has to be really. JK Rowling of course is a good writer but so are thousands of other people. Dedication, right place, right time, and good marketing all add up to success.
Well I will answer this with a question. What's Pendragon? Its culture and media, to sum it up, it is really a lot about marketing.
What I meant is that his language is casual, teenagerish (sic) and often flippant. Yeah, it put me off too the first time I picked up the book. Too much of an info-dump, perhaps?
