Sing Mir Das Lied Der Dunkelheit
When I sold The Warded Man in the US, it was something of a shock, but it had been my goal all along, so at least it was intentional. The same goes, to a lesser extent, for the UK sale. What I didn’t expect was that publishers around the world would want to buy the rights and translate the story, much less that it would be a bestseller in some of those markets. Even now, a substantial part of my brain refuses to accept that reality.
Heyne in Germany was one of the first international markets to make an offer for the book, which they retitled as Das Lied der Dunkelheit (AKA The Song of Darkness). I love the stark, beautiful cover they designed, and overall, the Heyne edition is one of the more aesthetically pleasing ones, with an embossed trade paperback format and full-color fold-out maps on the inside front and back cover. It weighs in at a hefty 800 pages.
Heyne has put together a fantastic site for Das Lied der Dunkelheit, which includes excerpts, a contest for signed copies, a video interview, and more. You can click the wards along the top of the page for each feature, and more are to be added as soon as they are completed. It’s a wonderful place for German readers to go and learn more about the story and me personally.
If you’re not the type who enjoys all that reading, there is also a lovely German audio version.
But in addition to that, there have been a great number of reviews and forum discussions from enthusiastic German readers. There is a great and burgeoning fantasy market in Germany, with more and more English books being translated, as well as a rising tide of German authors. I’m in good company.
You can find an upcoming feature on the book in the new issue of the German magazine Nautilus. See a preview here (page 43): Nautilus preview reader
A later issue will include a long interview I did with Christian Endres (translation) for the magazine, which is being translated as I write this.
Here are some of the reviews I’ve seen thanks to the power of google alerts:
Suite 101: German version, and the English autotranslation
Der Fantasy Weblog: German version, and the English autotranslation
Papiergefluster (Paper Whispers): German version, and the English autotranslation
Westropolis: German version, and the English autotranslation
LiteraturBlog: German version, and the English autotranslation
Things, Books, and More: German version, and the English autotranslation
Zauberspeigel: German version, and the English autotranslation
Schreiblust-Verlag: German version, and the English autotranslation
Blog ohne Titel (Blog with no Name): German version, and the English autotranslation
Alexiel’s Heaven: German version, and the English autotranslation
There are also a couple of German discussion forums:
Fantasy Forum: German version, and the English autotranslation
Phantastik Couch: German version, and the English autotranslation
Click here to watch my German video address on YouTube. It is in English with German subtitles.
Did you shoot that yourself, or did you have help?
Dani filmed it on the Vado while a sitter watched Cassie in the other room. We only had a short window to shoot and couldn’t afford multiple takes, so I pre-wrote my answers to Heyne’s questions and made giant cue cards by printing them landscape in like 28 point font. That’s why it has that teleprompty feel.
I’m a native German. And I think there will be a lot of readers who will like the German version. But I must admit that I prefer either UK or US versions of books from non German authors. I read The Painted Man and it was superb.
The German translation of an English book is mostly a third longer.
The Painted Man paperback = 560 pages
Das Lied der Dunkelheit paperback = 800 pages
That is one reason why German editions are often released in several books. You are lucky that Heyne didn’t split your book in two parts.
Anyway I appreciate your post which shows again that you take care on your worldwide readers.
I’m keen to read The Desert Spear but I know I have to be patient and I will be patient…
[…] https://www.petervbrett.com/2009/07/11/sing-mir-das-lied-der-dunkelheit/ […]
[…] Wie dem auch sei, es gibt glücklicherweise von der Lesefront auch Gutes zu berichten: Und zwar habe ich seit langer Zeit endlich mal wieder ein richtig gutes Buch gefunden, das es tatsächlich vermag, mich zu fesseln: “Das Lied der Dunkelheit” (“The Warded Man”) von Peter V. Brett. […]