Comments for Priest http://www.mattcolville.com A Fantasy Novel, Hard-boiled Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:31:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Comment on So I Wrote A Fantasy Novel… by kvnsgrrl http://www.mattcolville.com/comment-page-1/#comment-905 kvnsgrrl Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:31:39 +0000 http://www.mattcolville.com/about-the-novel/#comment-905 Ohai matt, Just finished it and think it's one of the best fantasy novels I've read in a long time. Great handling of language, fully-developed characters and enough twists to keep the reader hooked until the last page. I liked how you took familiar elements like the un-men, the semi-religious/military order, the use of magic, etc and used language to make them very real and specific. There are also plenty of hints that deepen this book but also create the promise of other stories, both before and after. You'd better be working on 2 & hopefully 3 by now! Ohai matt,
Just finished it and think it’s one of the best fantasy novels I’ve read in a long time. Great handling of language, fully-developed characters and enough twists to keep the reader hooked until the last page. I liked how you took familiar elements like the un-men, the semi-religious/military order, the use of magic, etc and used language to make them very real and specific. There are also plenty of hints that deepen this book but also create the promise of other stories, both before and after.
You’d better be working on 2 & hopefully 3 by now!

]]> Comment on Download Priest by Matthew http://www.mattcolville.com/download-priest/comment-page-1/#comment-680 Matthew Sun, 03 Jul 2011 11:09:39 +0000 http://www.mattcolville.com/?p=350#comment-680 Excellent story, that was amazing. I think it's really impressive how you manage to write such complex emotional dialogue, how you create characters affected by various emotional states, and how Heden is trying to read the emotional state of each of the green knights and the esuing confusion trying to figure it out. Writing complex dialogue is hard enough, like your example of Heden and the thief, but writing complex dialogue with this high level of confused emotions, rage, hate,shame, fear, hurt, regret, ... Great job, don't know how you do it. Excellent story, that was amazing.
I think it’s really impressive how you manage to write such complex emotional dialogue, how you create characters affected by various emotional states, and how Heden is trying to read the emotional state of each of the green knights and the esuing confusion trying to figure it out. Writing complex dialogue is hard enough, like your example of Heden and the thief, but writing complex dialogue with this high level of confused emotions, rage, hate,shame, fear, hurt, regret, …
Great job, don’t know how you do it.

]]> Comment on Download Priest by Matthew Colville http://www.mattcolville.com/download-priest/comment-page-1/#comment-517 Matthew Colville Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:42:26 +0000 http://www.mattcolville.com/?p=350#comment-517 Jeff, I am *very* glad you liked it. Thank you for the review! Obviously I need to go through and get serious about editing it. :D It's feedback like this sir, that keeps me writing. Tell you friends! Word of mouth is the only promotion I got! :D I know I'll have arrived when someone (besides me) starts a thread about the book on RPGnet. :D Though I think that may take a second book Book two is about 30% done! But the outline is almost finished at which point the other 70% will just take a few weeks. Stay tuned! Jeff, I am *very* glad you liked it. Thank you for the review! Obviously I need to go through and get serious about editing it. :D

It’s feedback like this sir, that keeps me writing.

Tell you friends! Word of mouth is the only promotion I got! :D

I know I’ll have arrived when someone (besides me) starts a thread about the book on RPGnet. :D Though I think that may take a second book

Book two is about 30% done! But the outline is almost finished at which point the other 70% will just take a few weeks. Stay tuned!

]]> Comment on Download Priest by Jeff Hewitt http://www.mattcolville.com/download-priest/comment-page-1/#comment-516 Jeff Hewitt Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:05:10 +0000 http://www.mattcolville.com/?p=350#comment-516 Hey Matt! Decided to add the the flood of praise here rather than where I commented before. Keep it nice and tidy, you know? Well, I gave you 4 stars on Amazon and you can read my review there, but I thought I'd give you more insight here, writer to writer, as it were. I only gave it 4 stars, by the way, because of the editing. Had I only caught a few, maybe five or less errors, I wouldn't have noticed or cared. I think a careful read-through or two would clear up the vast majority of them. That said, what a read! Wow! I loved it! It's a real page turner, and I think your build up at the end showed a real mastery of pacing. Everything builds and builds and then the fight is a crescendo worth waiting for. Very nice! I think your characters are well-developed. Even Sir Nudd, who doesn't (really) speak a line, felt like a flesh and blood person. I recently read a non-fictional book about homicide detectives, and every character felt as real as the people from real life I read about. Truly excellent job, here. The dialog was spot-on as well. I love good dialog. There's real music to the way people speak to each other that writers can catch if they're talented, and you have that talent. As I said on Amazon, my highest compliment to you, sir: please write more so I can read it! Hey Matt!

Decided to add the the flood of praise here rather than where I commented before. Keep it nice and tidy, you know?

Well, I gave you 4 stars on Amazon and you can read my review there, but I thought I’d give you more insight here, writer to writer, as it were.

I only gave it 4 stars, by the way, because of the editing. Had I only caught a few, maybe five or less errors, I wouldn’t have noticed or cared. I think a careful read-through or two would clear up the vast majority of them.

That said, what a read! Wow! I loved it! It’s a real page turner, and I think your build up at the end showed a real mastery of pacing. Everything builds and builds and then the fight is a crescendo worth waiting for. Very nice!

I think your characters are well-developed. Even Sir Nudd, who doesn’t (really) speak a line, felt like a flesh and blood person. I recently read a non-fictional book about homicide detectives, and every character felt as real as the people from real life I read about. Truly excellent job, here. The dialog was spot-on as well. I love good dialog. There’s real music to the way people speak to each other that writers can catch if they’re talented, and you have that talent.

As I said on Amazon, my highest compliment to you, sir: please write more so I can read it!

]]> Comment on So I Wrote A Fantasy Novel… by Matthew Colville http://www.mattcolville.com/comment-page-1/#comment-508 Matthew Colville Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:33:34 +0000 http://www.mattcolville.com/about-the-novel/#comment-508 Holy crap I'm glad you like it! One of the questions I asked Beta Readers was; "Who was Heden talked to in the basement of his inn?" I got a lot of interesting answers. :D The answer is revealing in an already-written chapter of the second book! You have to let me know what you thought when you get to the end! Or if you ever feel compelled to commend on something you read. Holy crap I’m glad you like it!

One of the questions I asked Beta Readers was; “Who was Heden talked to in the basement of his inn?” I got a lot of interesting answers. :D The answer is revealing in an already-written chapter of the second book!

You have to let me know what you thought when you get to the end! Or if you ever feel compelled to commend on something you read.

]]> Comment on So I Wrote A Fantasy Novel… by Jeff Hewitt http://www.mattcolville.com/comment-page-1/#comment-506 Jeff Hewitt Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:08:19 +0000 http://www.mattcolville.com/about-the-novel/#comment-506 Hey Matt! Reading on this right now. I think I'm about 25% through (he's just gone downstairs to talk to the rats, if my suspicions are correct) and I have to say I'm really enjoying the book so far. I look forward to the rest of the story, and when I finish I'll add further thoughts. Very engaging, very fresh, so far! Hey Matt!

Reading on this right now. I think I’m about 25% through (he’s just gone downstairs to talk to the rats, if my suspicions are correct) and I have to say I’m really enjoying the book so far. I look forward to the rest of the story, and when I finish I’ll add further thoughts. Very engaging, very fresh, so far!

]]> Comment on Download Priest by Travis http://www.mattcolville.com/download-priest/comment-page-1/#comment-444 Travis Sat, 26 Feb 2011 01:38:38 +0000 http://www.mattcolville.com/?p=350#comment-444 I found this by way of an rpg.net thread on hardboiled fantasy cops. I liked the story well enough to go buy it, but I don't buy kindle books. The background on the Celestials and Elementals is something that I'd like more of since I am particularly taken by neat worldbuilding. I agree with the above comment about the lack of a clear idea of what was actually a threat to Heden. Starfall was interesting and I did like that he had no real idea of it was really capable of doing. I'd like maps and prefer having them with a setting; even if just for wondering about all of the places that never make it into a story. I found this by way of an rpg.net thread on hardboiled fantasy cops.

I liked the story well enough to go buy it, but I don’t buy kindle books. The background on the Celestials and Elementals is something that I’d like more of since I am particularly taken by neat worldbuilding. I agree with the above comment about the lack of a clear idea of what was actually a threat to Heden. Starfall was interesting and I did like that he had no real idea of it was really capable of doing. I’d like maps and prefer having them with a setting; even if just for wondering about all of the places that never make it into a story.

]]> Comment on Download Priest by Matthew Colville http://www.mattcolville.com/download-priest/comment-page-1/#comment-394 Matthew Colville Wed, 16 Feb 2011 01:27:14 +0000 http://www.mattcolville.com/?p=350#comment-394 Yay! Glad you liked it. Tell your friends! Post on the internets! I crave readers! Lots of people complain about the language in the first chapter, but I'm sticking to my guns. :) My Significant Other works in a real, actual jail and hers was the first opinion I sought. From her point of view, it's ridiculously tame. From many readers' point of view, it's distractingly profane. From my point of view, it's just right! The second book is well on its way! I post excerpts of it on the book's Facebook page every once in a while. Yay! Glad you liked it. Tell your friends! Post on the internets! I crave readers!

Lots of people complain about the language in the first chapter, but I’m sticking to my guns. :) My Significant Other works in a real, actual jail and hers was the first opinion I sought. From her point of view, it’s ridiculously tame. From many readers’ point of view, it’s distractingly profane. From my point of view, it’s just right!

The second book is well on its way! I post excerpts of it on the book’s Facebook page every once in a while.

]]> Comment on Download Priest by Michael http://www.mattcolville.com/download-priest/comment-page-1/#comment-393 Michael Wed, 16 Feb 2011 01:12:28 +0000 http://www.mattcolville.com/?p=350#comment-393 I loved this book. I couldn't get anything done the whole time I was reading it. I can't wait for the next one. The next one is coming, right? Anyways, the only thing that I thought was bad was at the beginning. In the jail scene, everyone seems to say "fuck" too much. I'm not saying that the word shouldn't be used, I'm just saying that it's OVERused. This got much better in later chapters. I think that maybe a few of the "fuck"s should be either removed, or even just replaced with another word. Like when the guards call the cultists "fuckers". It could be easily replaced with the word "bastards" or some other swear word. It just seems that they use the word "fuck" more often than is realistic. Once again, I can't wait for the story to be continued, and I hope that you finish it soon (and that you're still working on it). I loved this book. I couldn’t get anything done the whole time I was reading it. I can’t wait for the next one. The next one is coming, right?
Anyways, the only thing that I thought was bad was at the beginning. In the jail scene, everyone seems to say “fuck” too much. I’m not saying that the word shouldn’t be used, I’m just saying that it’s OVERused. This got much better in later chapters. I think that maybe a few of the “fuck”s should be either removed, or even just replaced with another word. Like when the guards call the cultists “fuckers”. It could be easily replaced with the word “bastards” or some other swear word. It just seems that they use the word “fuck” more often than is realistic.
Once again, I can’t wait for the story to be continued, and I hope that you finish it soon (and that you’re still working on it).

]]> Comment on Download Priest by Robert http://www.mattcolville.com/download-priest/comment-page-1/#comment-383 Robert Sat, 12 Feb 2011 20:58:52 +0000 http://www.mattcolville.com/?p=350#comment-383 Hi! I just wanted to say that I read Priest a few weeks ago and I really liked it :). It felt a bit rough still in a few places but I'd still gladly have paid money for a print version. Hi! I just wanted to say that I read Priest a few weeks ago and I really liked it :) . It felt a bit rough still in a few places but I’d still gladly have paid money for a print version.

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