Novel? There's a novel?
Yes, there is. Sort of. Not published or anything but it does exist. I should know. I wrote it. Metallus can vouch for that if he wants more air holes.
It's been hosted by Glottis' Garage (find it through the Grim Fandango Network page) for over a year. Small problem, though. There's also a short story to go with it. GG's novel page was updated for it before Dozer went down, but the novel page on the resurrected GG is pre-story. I don't know if Helios (the guy who has maintained GG) will return or not. So...if anyone wants to get to the totally complete thingy, the only way right now is to go to my Yahoo! Briefcase (
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/meddlingmonk) and go into the Grim Fandango Novel folder. There's also a folder containing mp3s of unused dialog.
OK, for those who don't know already (like this post isn't long enough), just what the ampersand-semi-colon-dollar-sign is this novel thing? Well, duh, it's a novel of Grim Fandango. But, really, it's a little more than that.
I've never been all that happy with most fan novelizations. Not because they're amaturish, but because many are more or less transcripts of games with a little connecting prose. And if that's what the authors were after it's not my intention to condemn them; my point is that I wanted to be a bit more ambitious. The basic idea behind my little effort was 'If Grim Fandango had started as a novel, what might it have been like?' I did two general things to get there: first, because the game had a film noir inspiration, and since many noir films were based on hardboiled detective novels, I went with (or attempted) that kind of style; second, I 'forgot' that it was ever a game. That is, puzzles go 'pfft' and the gaps between years get filled in so that there is a continuous narrative.
So far the novel hasn't caused cancer it lab rats. Of course, the rats can't read.
As for the short story, I chose to do the novel in the first person (from Manny's perspective, natch), but there was one big incident in the game that he didn't witness: Don Copal being sprouted by Hector LeMans. So it got left out of the novel. Manny didn't see it, so he couldn't relate it (although he does learn from Salvador that Copal disappeared and that Domino replaced him). The short story fills in that omission. But it's more than that as it covers some of the early events of the game and novel from Domino's unpleasant point of view. And because there's some dependance on the novel, the short story probably won't make much sense in places to anyone who hasn't read the novel (and there are no guarantees if you have).
My fingers are weary so I'm stopping now.
I read the novel Monk and i have to say it was VERY good. Highly recomended :)
I never got to reading it, I only red segments
perhaps you should send an official e-mail to LucAr telling them about the novel and they might publish it
I still need to read this sucker. I have a hard time reading things on the computer, though, but I'll give it a shot.
I don't think LEC would have it published, Hel-ter. While I was writing it, and when I saw that it wasn't sucking as badly as I expected, I thought it might be worthwhile to try what you suggest but it turns out that their policy is not even to respond to unsolicited ideas.
I could find an agent and try it that way...but that'd probably still be blown off. That's ok, though. I really only did it to see if I could. I'm surprised at how well the thing has been received by the people who have read it. It's weak parts have been criticized, of course, but no one's hated it and said so (yet).
Met: You could print the WordPad version but personally I don't think its worth killing a tree for.
By the way, I love the new forums.
DAmned and I was hoping for a 10% for bringin it op to you
do we get a discount if we just like it?....no?....oh ok
cool I will read it as soon as I can
I would, it is a truly brilliant novel.
Originally posted by fender
I would, it is a truly brilliant novel.
No money has exchanged hands. Really.
hey what's that avatar meaning if I may ask...?
It's a police box. They used to be used all over England up to the '70s. They were a combination telephone booth (for emergencies only) and storage (like roadblocks).
It's also the Tardis (time and relative dimensions in space), Dr. Who's time machine. Tardises (Tardii?) are supposed to change shape according to their surroundings but the Doctor's is defective. It got stuck in the shape of a police box during an extended stay in London in 1963.
It's connected to my user name. The Doctor's first adversary from his own race was called the Monk, who appeared in the stories The Time Meddler and The Dalek Masterplan. In the first he was trying to change the outcome of the Battle of Hastings and avert the Norman Conquest.
and you have a personal bandage with these?
well now I understand what it is but I don't understand why you use it as an avatar
just me wanting to know everything...
Originally posted by MeddlingMonk
No money has exchanged hands. Really.
Yes, no money at all has been exchanged in my praise of his wonderful, superb, illoustrious, mega, kajunga, hilarious, funny, excellent.........
*Goes on for 2 hours in the same strain*
....brilliant, great, godlike fan novel! I would suggest that you read it now.
so now 7 hour have gone already (5+2)
well I'm uncapable of making anything else even remotely funny up.
hahahahaahahah that remark was funny :-))
*bows*
Here's my card......
*hand him card*
Originally posted by Hel-ter
well now I understand what it is but I don't understand why you use it as an avatar
just me wanting to know everything...
Read the third paragraph in my explanation post. It probably wasn't there when you first read it. (I edited the post, but you're just too quick. :D )
* scabb whistles the Dr Who theme tune
...whether you like it or not.
At Scabb whistling the Dr Who them tune? You are an easy man to please.
I'm so easy, I come when I see a naked shoulder
That's way to much information...
why do you think I spebnd so many hours behind my screeN,
cos you live in the middle of nowhere?
that too, and because I am incapable of making a decent conversation with anyone without constantly yelling 'they're in the holes!'
ahhhhhhhh..... nwo I'm scared of you.
then my job is done here and I can rest in peace
set the controls for the heart of the sun
you wrote the novel??
let me shake your hand!!
let me polish your shoe!!
let me kiss your....*someone slaps me*
i read the novel twice!
i printed it out and made it into a book
it RULES!
best novel i've read
(pretty much only novel i've read)
but honestly. the novel kicks ass!
speaking of novels, what do you guys read (people who don't read don't need to answer to this)
some books i like
fight club
clockwork orange
catcher in they rye
on the road (havent finished)
i wish i could read more :D
Most of the books I read are from Belgian or Dutch writers, so I don't think you'll know them
Originally posted by NiKo
you wrote the novel??
let me shake your hand!!
let me polish your shoe!!
let me kiss your....*someone slaps me*
Are you saying you want to be my groupie? Flattering yet disgusting. :D
Originally posted by NiKo
best novel i've read
(pretty much only novel i've read)
Could've guessed that. ;)
Seriously, if you liked it there are some real novels you might like. I tried to write the novelization in the style of hardboiled detective novels, so maybe you should try some of those like Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep or Dashiell Hammett's The Thin Man.
(I was smart enough not to try to imitate anyone, but I had The Thin Man in mind the whole time because it mixed humor into the hardboiled. And Nick Charles in his movie incarnation shows up in Cafй Calavera on opening night; he's the guy telling the bartender that mixing drinks needs the right rhythm.)
I have only read the first 10 or so pages of the Grim novel and the first 3 or so of the Sprouting of Don Copal and I need to finish them both now :)
It's really great stuff! However, you need an editor :) The first sentence of the GF novel irked me a little, how it immediately substituted "Department of Death" with "DOD." ... but yeah that's awesome.
I think if it were ever published as a book, opening with the sprouting of don copal would be a great way to go, as a sort of preface, then dump you into the story of Manny.
Originally posted by Jake
It's really great stuff! However, you need an editor :)
In Ned Sparks mode: 'You're telling me? I'm telling you!'
I'm not sure I get the problem with going with the acronym after spelling it out once. Seems like SOP to me. :p But, yeah, it could've used an independent editor, but *shrug*.
I revised the opening at least four times. I'm still not happy with it. The tone doesn't seem right. I'm not sure what would be right, so that's the heart of the problem right there.
If you downloaded the PDF version of the Domino story, you'll find at the end of it a couple of pages of what I think are the biggest problems in the novel...but that probably won't make much sense until you've read the whole thing.
ahhh, I never even beat the damn game and now there's a fan novelization.
well, hope it's good, I just may read it.
anything Fandango's too good to pass up ('less it sucks, for sure)
--kickass cover, I love that artwork, concept art kicks ass
I downloaded it (the novel), but I still have to make time to read it through. I had no idea it would be so, well, long!
ooh, that's some sharp thinking, Met.
so sharp you could reap a lost sould with it
It's about 130 pages long or something.
When someone is determined.. hell they are determined... good job meddlingmonk ;)
The novel kicked some ass.