If judging a book by a cover is bad, then judging a book by its title must surely be worse. After all, covers are pictures, pictures are worth a thousand words, and titles are usually a mere phrase.
But it’s not that simple. Titles name a book, and names are important. A good name can make or break you.
Take, for example, the case of Ziz. Poor sad Ziz, of whom you have NEVER heard.
You see, there was once this trio of awesome creatures. All three were in the Bible [oops, see the update below], rocking out with special dispensations from Yahweh and generally kicking young earth ass. Three unbeatable giant beasties, one of the water, one of the land, and one of the air . . .
Leviathan, Behemoth, and, um, Ziz.
How bad is it to have a lame name? Well, thousands of years after their cameos in the Bible, Leviathan and Behemoth are still both famous. Their names are words in modern English, both meaning, “stuff that is big and awesome and/or scary.”
The word “Leviathan” appears in Moby-Dick, is the title of a famous work of philosophy and a movie, not to mention a record company and a comic strip.
“Behemoth” is equally culture-spanning, including this delightful Polish metal band. (Warning: high-volume flash intro Not Safe For School.)
But Ziz? Ziz has a crappy name, so the creature itself wound up fading into obscurity.
So if names are this important, surely titles are too.
Titles bring the reader into the world of the book. They set them up for what’s coming: comedy, tragedy, farce, or all three. They create inevitabilities (Death of a Salesman) and anticipations (The Year of Living Dangerously), or intensify the poetry of a key phrase (Dude, Where’s My Car?).
Even punctuation can be key. I mean, what if James Kelman’s classic novel How Late It Was, How Late, had been titled “How Late? It Was How Late?”
Totally different story, man.
Which brings us to my next trilogy, the first two books of which are called Leviathan and Behemoth. But seriously, can I call the third book, um, Ziz?
What do you guys think?
Update:
As CosmicDog points out in the delicious and insightful comments below, Ziz is not actually in the Bible, but is a part of Jewish folklore. Behemoth and Leviathan are both in the Book of Job (and Leviathan other places), so that part’s right. I got confused because they are frequently pictured together.
Does this mean my point fails? Or does this mean that Ziz has been double-dissed! First by being left out of the Bible, then by being generally forgotten!
Maybe if you add something on to the end of Ziz? Like Zizanion? LOL Ziz is so short? Names are a difficult subject but I like mine as Aberleigh… Though Abby is shorter… Hmm
yeah, i agree. you should lengthen it into something. I can’t WAIT for the books, even if one is called Ziz.
Wow I never ever knew that. I agree also that it should be lengthened. I’m not sure why but the length makes it fit better with the other titles and doesn’t make it feel like as much of a third wheel.
BUT WAIT! Scott-la, you said that Leviathan and Behemoth have all kinds of stuff named after them, and Ziz got the crappy end of the deal, right? Well you can change that by naming your flippin awesome book after him! It’ll totally pwn the others then! Even though they’re named after one of you books too…*ponders*….But still, it will. Cuz it’ll be your newest!
But, maybe instead of going by the name, you can make a reference to what you just explained to us. There’s Leviathan, Behemoth, and Ziz, who was the forgotten one. I don’t know how the book relates to the titles though, seeing as Leviathan isn’t out yet. : ( But if it DOES in a way that you explain about them in it, you could maybe title the book something like The Forgotten One(sorry that’s kinda cheesy, just an example. I just woke up, ha.) and then explain that the one that was forgotten was Ziz. The first thing for a title that popped into my head though was Infamy. But I think that’s kinda strong for it, because I don’t know how he would have earned that…I just know he was Not Famous. Still, I like it for a title…GOOD LUCK!
That was pretty long. ^ But just fyi, that long post is ALL on topic. That’s like a record for me I think.
It’s so short. And a little strange. I agree that if it were a book title, it would have to be longer. Would you really call a book Ziz, or are you just joking??? ❓
Ziz is cool. I dig it.
how about:
Ziztrous (Monstrous)?
Zizerable (miserable)
Zizabolical (diabolical)
Zizthsome (loathsome)
Zizainous (villainous)
Zizantuan (gargantuan) *my favorite*
Zizocious (ferocious)
Zizious (vicious)
Zizked (wicked)
Zizild (wild)
I think Ziz would be an amaaazing title!
XD
I’m kidding (kind of). It would seem almost… Anticlimatic, wouldn’t it? Leviathan, Behemoth, and then… Ziz. It reminds me of Zim. Invader Zim? xD
I like ziz, personally. But overall, I don’t think it’s that big a deal. No one is going to get into a trilogy by reading the last book…people will already want to read the third book regardless of what it’s called, because they’re fans already from the first two.
HOWEVER
I do think that, while a cool name, Ziz does not really go with the other two very impressive and intimidating names, and you might be better off with something like “Colossus” or “Titan”
Depends also on the book’s content..Ziz has to do with birds…does the book?
I have to say I disagree with making Ziz longer. It’s either Ziz or it’s not.
i like the name Ziz. keep it as the third book title 😀
I think you guys are forgetting that Behemoth is also the name of the the most amazing roller coaster in the world – the new one at Canada’s Wonderland? Gah, Canada is becoming Ziz… discretely labelled “lame” and missing out on:
1. being the home of cool authors / actresses / celebrities
2. having super-famous landmarks (although we DID score two spots on Monopoly World…)
3. etc.
I also agree with the lengthening. Ziz could quite possibly be awesome.
Anyone else in the middle of Mind-Rain? I have to admit, it’s getting me to think about some things I never considered in the story. I’m starting to be on Shay-la’s side.
You need to rewrite the stories from her point of view asap, Scott-la! Or, when you have the chance and everything… 🙂
Courtney, it kinda reminded me of Invader Zim too. I loved that show!!! 😀 Too bad it was cancelled. 🙁
Oh man. Poor Ziz. I bet he’s crying into his claws now…But imagine the joy he will experience after realizing that SCOTT WESTERFELD of “Uglies” fame named a book after him??? Oh, the joy.
Bring Ziz back! =)
The problem is that Ziz is not in the Bible. There’s a location called the ‘ascent of Ziz’, ziz in this case referring to a flower. That’s probably why Ziz isn’t a rock star. There is apparently a creature called Ziz in Jewish mythology, which is not even in the same category as the Bible.
As much as I love the cohesiveness/tri-awesomeness of those titles, Ziz is, admittedly, a little underwhelming XD.
I am for the lengthening of Ziz, because it would still have it’s origins in
you could call it mammoth. or titan. or GARGANTUA (that’s my personal favorite).
i heart thesaurus.com!
As much as I love the cohesiveness of those titles, Ziz is, admittedly, a little underwhelming XD.
I am for the lengthening/altering of Ziz, because then at least it would still retain the theme/origins.
Ah, this is a tough call!
Either way, I am really excited for this next trilogy.
Scott Westerfeld + Alternate History = WIN x 10^27 !
And yes, I did just put win in scientific notation.
=)
(ps – I’m a long time reader and first time poster on the westerblog – hurrah, I have emerged from the shadows!)
carly-wa! canada has Kenneth Oppel! and my seventh grade english teacher! two of the coolest people in the world!
Hilariously, I had this same line of thought when I finished Leviathan– since you’d appropriated the name for the sky, I figured “Kraken” & “Behemoth” were next. I will say though that in the last few DnD games I’ve been in, Ziz played a pretty visible role. Mythnerds!
Um… Yeah, I guess you could. If the first two were extremely awesome (as I’m sure they will be) then I’m sure that Ziz can survive. Definitely not a name to title a first book in a series, but maybe the last? Why not? You’ll already have all the fans for the first two, and they’ll read the last one just ’cause they already spent the cash on the first two if nothing else.
So, yes, Ziz can live and possibly even floursih.
But, if not Ziz, perhaps Griffin? Or something of that sort?
And if you don’t mind straying from the Bible affiliations, check out this list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_species_in_folklore_and_mythology
I know you should never trust wikipedia, but maybe find something with a cool name and look into it some more:)
hmmhmhmhmmmm, i quite like the adding-a-bit-onto-it part. : )
it’s kinda odd on it’s own but i don’t think you should totally disregard it because… well, because. XD
I don’t know, while Ziz seems kind of short, I do like how well the titles fit together. I’d be interested in what else you considered.
Ziz is supposed to be a griffin, right? I wouldn’t be completely adverse to Griffin as a title, though it’s not as thunderous and doesn’t have the allusions the other two have.
The name isn’t bad though, once you get over it’s relative shortness. It’s growing on me, at least.
Of course, Ziz is kinda fun to say [:
It doesn’t leave as big of an impact as a lot of other things do though…so I definitely see what you mean.
I don’t really like ziz as a title. Its more of name… Maybe you could make a reference to the lost name (name lost in time, the third giant– sorry, those are stupid, but they help me get my point across) like naming a horse or something Ziz and making the book title a little more mysterious. And then we loyal readers who look at your blog like every 20 minutes to see if there’s a new post (I have a life! Its just that your blog seems more interesting….) would get the joke.
but on a kinda different topic– your the first person i have ever met/read their blog who new about Dude, Where’s My Car!!! My mom is into obscure funny movies and I’ve never met anyone who even new about that movie! Awesome bubbly icyness!
wow, sorry for the long post….
Totally awesome point.
And a bit of a dilemma.
I know it would sort of break the pattern of titles, but maybe you could turn the title into a phrase containing the word “Ziz.” Like, “A Beast Called Ziz,” but something infinitely cooler than that.
Or, you could try to find an alternate name for it that sounds somewhat cooler. Like Griffen. Or Garuda. Even though they aren’t technically the same thing.
Or you could just call it Ziz. The titles of the first two books are cool, and the three beasts kind of go together.
What they said about adding something to the end of Ziz. I laughed at the lame name “Ziz” . . . not the best idea to have that as a title.
I think Ziz sounds awesome. Don’t go with society! Be different! Put Ziz in culture! Yay Ziz! ZIZ!!!
I’m all for naming it Ziz, as long as the cover it fanrazmic, I think we all need a bit more culture in our lives, and I think naming the 3rd book Ziz accomplishes that. Of course I could just be wierd, but its the wierd out there titles that grab my attention
haha
bubbly
yeah… when writing, one of the last things I think about is the title…. and naming charas, I do it carefully.
hmm, i think that ziz would be cool. i, personally, like shorter titles, because they don’t reveal much about the book, so you wanna pick it up and read the back cover to see what the titles mean. This is part of the reason why i read uglies( and becuz my bff was reading it and i read the first few pages and was captivated.
Ziz is actually a pretty cool word. i’d totally buy a book called that 🙂
Bahahaha I love the name Ziz. If I was walking around and saw a book titled Ziz I would read it. But maybe if the name isn’t appealing to other readers maybe you should make it SUPER clear that they should read the other two then maybe they’ll be be more apt to read it cause of course they’ll be great. And plus the weirdest titles are always the best books lol. I mean come on: Uglies? First time you look at the title you gotta think it’s a little strange.
In my opinion, you should call it Ziz. you should bring some attention to all the Ziz’s of the world. Do somthing different. Plus I like the way it sounds.
If you could have excellent cover art that cpatured the zizness of ‘Ziz’ then it might be okay. I would say go for another Bibilical monster though. Garuda is the Hindu equivalent and Simurgh the Persian. Keeps with the air-monster theme with a heavier punch. Personall yI like Simurgh. I don’t like Griffen. Ziz over Griffen.
Also, having read the above comments, mordicai having read the books seems to imply Leviathan is about the air (despite Leviathan being a sea monster?) and the following books to be ground and water themed. If the 3rd is supposed to be water and not air themed why not go with Taninim, which is basically the same thing as Leviathan.
I would probably buy a book called Ziz on its own, but it does seem a bit anticlimactic after these cool, more-than-one-syllable words that people recognize as meaning BIG AND POWERFUL to… Ziz.
(Is it the ADD part of me, or does anyone else find Ziz amazingly fun to say? It could be a new slang word. “Dude, that’s so ziz!”)
Keep Ziz! Ziz already got forgotten and left out once. Save it Scott-la!!! Make it the best of the three and show the other two up.
yes ziz is kinda anticlimatical… what if you made it the name of the second book? so that behemoth could be the last one… since that sounds a lot cooler/grander and can end off the series better… but you probably have a reason for the order right? because otherwise i really think you should stick ziz in between leviathan and behemoth
Oops, CosmicDog is right: Ziz is not in the Bible, but in Jewish folklore. Behemoth and Leviathan are both in the Book of Job, however, so that part’s right.
I humbly update the post now.
niiiiiiiiiiice!
I think that, although Ziz has a crappy name, if you used the name, it may actually become really popular. especially since your a well known author, People would read your books anyway, so naming a book Ziz wouldn’t be that bad, but it would also not help alot with getting new ppl to read it.
just decorate it up a bit. use some illiteration, or a play on words, something that adds to the crappy name and makes it popp.
If you think about it, although Ziz is short and crappy, it can be made into something really cool. I mean having Ziz as your name? kinda cool
I really like kirkintilloch ideas. the’re really cool =]
plus, im sure the cover picture would totally make up for it.
Ziz is a griffin type bird type creature, and griffins? yah. they’re cool.
and i didnt even cetch that. ooops.
Admittedly, while I think Ziz does sound like a cool name, it would be rather anticlimactic to name the third book in the trilogy Ziz. It also doesn’t have the same ring or iambic pentametre to it. With Uglies, all the books are two syllables and end in “s” sounds. Or how Robin Wasserman’s next installment in the Skinned trillogy is “Crashed”; they share the same grammatical phrasing. Trillogies or series that don’t have an all-encompasing name (like Midnighters) need to work harder at having cohesive titles. Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Legacy is another example, where the titles all share in the name “Kushiel”.
And then you’ve got Leviathan, Behemoth, and Ziz. Leviathan and Behemoth you can kind of get away with since they’re only one syllable and, as you said, are easily recognisable from their Biblical connections and their modern uses.
Ziz also kind of makes me think of Zix. Like Zix Level Six.
(You probably actually know all this already, in all your authorness.)
From the looks of it, Ziz is kind of gryphon-y. Could you find a name that describes a similliar animal/creature, per chance?
I’d say Ziz was double dissed. Poor dude!
I think Ziz is an amazing name and your name descrimination makes me upset. I would totally go for a book called Ziz.
Poor, forgotten Ziz!
At least he has his own LOLcreature. That has to make up for centuries of neglect.
Well you could always use the names given by other cultures. Like you could go the Persian route and call the book “Simurgh”, or the Asian route with either “Garuda” or “Roc”. There’s even an Iranian alternative with “Shahrokh”. They’re essentially the same creatures, being winged mythical beings, and if you have to warp them just a bit, then so be it. It’s not like you see witches, vampires, werewolves, etc. represented the same way throughout literature. Personally, I like Garuda, but Shahrokh sounds cool as well.
There are a few alternate names that still are Hebrew in origin. Bar Juchne or Bar-Yuchnei could do, but both names are likely to be mispronounced. It seems that an alternate name from a different culture could do because these monsters are archetypes. Good luck on the search for a good book title! Mary at comment 51 had some pretty good suggestions.
i personally think ziz is a wonderful name for a book it is fun sounding and would catch my attention.
The story about Ziz in Jewish Folklore is one of my favorites! Plus, if you’ve already read the first two books – when the third comes out you’ll be dying to read it, no matter what the title. I’ll even make sure to tell all of my friends about it.
People keep saying that Ziz would be fine as the title for the third book just because readers will be hooked after the first two and wouldn’t care what the third one was called. True, people who read the first two woould be hooked, but what about the people who have never heard of the series and happen to see the third book with its strange title on the new release shelf? They might be turned off by the title ad not even bother to look for the first two books, no matter what they’ve heard about the author or how cool the cover looks. You could be losing a lot of readers.
Okaaay… My comment just jumped to 52, when it should have been 55. Strange, very strange. o_O
OMG OMG OMG OMG Taly and Zane u r geniouse scott-la you could name it THE FORGOTEN ONE that is REALLLLLLY catchy. But if you wanted to make it incorperate the name Ziz you could call it ZIZ, THE FORGOTEN ONE. 🙂 that is soo cool im just geting excited thinking about the new series. And people on wester blog please coment because i love the name how about you. (and not because i made it lol)
Ziz, the forgoten one. I would love that to be the tittle it roxs. lol what do you think
PRETTY-SLANG TIME!
Ziz: “lame†and fun-missing.Pretty bogus.
I’m gonna use this tomorrow! Garn,yeah!
TOTALLY CALL IT ZIZ!! Here are my five reasons why:
1. Ziz is totally cool! (‘Have you read Ziz yet?’ ‘Ziz is a totally righteous book!’)
2. No one (ever) uses ‘z’ a lot. Seriously.
3. Ziz is like is just more ‘z’ sounding
4. Ziz is already an underdog, as You’ve pointed out so obviously it is your DUTY as a human BEING to not let poor little Ziz fall behind.
5. Ziz would fit nicely on a shirt, centered under the other two. (Making shirts=fun)
kirkintilloch: I like your list of words to change it to. Because, Dear Scott-la, if you do change it you gotta at least keep ziz in there somehow. (RE:above)
Kit-la: Welcome! And sometimes, you can only express win in math language.
Ziz, the forgotten one Sounds good, but wouldn’t fit on a shirt well. Still good…
*ponders*
Good Luck!
i think you should call it Ziz. Apparently you knowenough about it to have blogged about it, plus i think itd be pretty awesome. Your first two books being namedafter awesome creatures and the last a strange name would be pretty hilaious 🙂 whether it would help you or not, who knos??
i agree with becca too…
I think Ziz might be my new favorite name. My best friend is expecting. Maybe I can convince her to name the baby Ziz. (It can be a girls name, right?)
I think that precisely because Ziz is the underdog, you simply have to use it. Pretty please, for the sake of underdogs everywhere?! 🙁
Your “Ziz” book can just be called “Really, Really Huge.” I like it. Or “Big Foot.” That’s a good one, right there. 😉
I looked up big in my dictionary, and this is all I got:
Brobdingnagian
Exciting.
Go ahead and call it Ziz! Nobody knows what it is supposed to mean. It could make a huge comeback! Besides a Z-name is a good way to end a trilogy since Z is last in the alphabet.
I’m so glad you posted this! I was wondering about the word Leviathan and was in church one day and it was in one of the psalms that we sang and so I looked it up and found out more about it. Very cool title indeed!!!
I was so excited that I looked it up in church! And I brought the print out home for later musings…
So, here’s the reference from Psalm 104 vs. 27 (not sure which version, sorry):
“There move the ships,
and there is that Leviathan,
which you have made for the sport of it.”
Maybe as an acronym? For someone’s name, or an association, or a situation?
Scott~la i realy like the name Ziz but it souds like a childrens book and im gessing there is alot of acton in the book so could call it Ziz, the forgoten one. Lol thats raly catchy…… wat do u guys and gals think loooooooool!!
While Ziz doesn’t exactly have that certain je-ne-sais-pas factor, it is quite fun to say a few times fast, while if you try to say the others a few times fast, you’re likely to get your tongue in a not…. Plus, if the series is a big hit, no one will care too much WHAT you call it.
My suggestion for title of the 3rd book in the trilogy: Juggernaut
Zane: ‘Brobdingnagian’ how exactly do you say that lol
Eva Shea: Juggernaut? *chuckles* what does it mean?
I’m sticking with Ziz. If I saw it, I’d be all over it.
ALSO for those of you not following Scott-la on Twitter:
Scott Westerfeld Spoiler Alert! An odd sentence from my Scrivener corkboard for Behemoth: “Ch 24. The barnacles are delivered, but things go pear-shaped.”
hehehe
😀
You can totally name it Ziz. I mean any other name would just be a shame to your first two names. Plus poor Ziz. if you dont, you would just be another jerk.
Saw the excerpt of Leviathan in my Extras book. Haven’t read it yet. I must admit i did judge the book by it’s cover. Not the title the title actually makes it sound interesting. So i guess you decided on Leviathan. Ziz is cool too.
I’m totally second guessing myself. I’m a melodramatic mess. Oh well, Ziz, well what does it tell you? Z names usually go with fantasy books. Ziz is a name that reminds me of fizz which reminds me of soda. Good or what?
Ziz shall not be forgotten!! Keep it. 🙂
I agree with Livi-la! Ziz isn’t really that bad! In fact it’s really fun to say!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)
Ziz !!!!!! i loove it!!! it adds texture to the book,it may be short and weird but it adds POP to the book!! its soo different, you shall NOT change it!!
ziz…. well, i say it shouldn’t be used. it just doesn’t have that extra something. maybe, like i think someone has said, you should make a referral to it. something like ‘the forgotten one’ or ‘the unknown’ 🙂 but no matter what it is, i’ll love the book anyway
i’d agree that names are important. but for a third in a series by a loved author, i don’t thing it is as important as a new writers first book title. just think, if j.k. Rowling had of called the last of the Harry Potter books something like well hello there bob, everyone would still read it because they’ve already got such a big name for themselves.
and just because i want to say it, i cant wait to read the series!
YES YES YES!
NAME IT ZIZ!!!!!!
THAT IS LIKE THE COOLEST NAME EVER!
Scott: You should name the third book Goliath. It’s still biblical, and it also can mean “big.” Also, it’s got the whole Castle in the Sky thing going for it (the huge military ship is called Goliath…)
Name the last one Bahamut. No seriously. Gigantic flying dragon. It would be spectacular.
Ziz… Ziz is not associated with Leviathan and Behemoth as often as the two, Lev&Beh, are associated with each other… but Scott-la, honestly… you’re a brilliant and hooking writer so I wouldn’t worry about it. Use it if you want.
I’ve used Dundayin as a setting in my tril… “…called Behemoth, which holds his chest in an invisible desert whose name is Dundayin…” You could turn it into something…
Or does Ziz translate into anything? Or is it anything dif in French or Latin or Italian… or any other language…
Depending on the plot of the book, lenghthen it accordingly. Like
Ziz the Forgotten, Ziz Ends it All, Ziz and the Fantastic Finale, Ziz
and the Flying Carpet. I’m kidding on the last one, but just Ziz seems to short the final book. Maybe for an earlier book, but not for the end.
ok so i no im kinda sorta late hehe but IIIIIIII personally LOVE the name Ziz!!! i mean, my theory is that a big part of WHY it was totally forgotten was only because it WASNT in the bible! do you have any idea how influential the bible is? well of course you do. i mean its THE BIBLE!!!
so anyways. Scott-la, if you named your third book ZIZ, i’d probably fall in love all over again. hehehehehe! even though i no you PROBABLY wont end up using it for your title. because you ARE the totally awesome author and i AM the totally random fangirl who im sure doesnt have as much influence on you as the bible. hehe but ive put in my opinion.
ZIZ is awesome. Z is my favorite letter of the alphabet. because its just so pointy and futury and it makes a funny noise. hehehe. so when theres TWO of them, i gotta love the word/’totally awesome title rite? hehehe does ANYBODY agree with me?!
-Lizzy-wa OUT! 😕
ooohhh!!! Livi-la and Eva-la! i’m with ya!!! hehehehehehehe
-Lizzy-wa OUT!
I can honestly say I’ve never heard of Ziz. I feel a bit bad for the poor guy.
But I say, Scott, why not bring back Ziz? Name your third book that. Give it some pizaz. Or, piziz. Or just Ziz. Whatever.
I think it’d be bold and, quite frankly, if you’ve kept your readers through the first two books, the third one’s title would be borderline irrelevant.
In Hebrew “Leviathan” means whale and “Behemoth” mean cows, and sheep and thing like that
Never heard of Ziz. Ziz in Hebrew means a part of a rock that sticks out. So yeah..
I personally have no opinion on whether or not ziz is a good title for a book. I would like to add that i agree that titles are super important. The reason i read uglies in the first place was because i saw it at barnes and noble and said “wow, thats kind of a rude name for a book.” On that note, I would most likely pick up a book called ziz if i saw it at barnes and noble even if it was not in the scott westerfeld section.
Ziz shouldn’t be longer. I like it how it is. It would be kinda random, but still in a way that makes it cool. And people would see it and want to see what it’s about. Plus if it is in the bible, it’s good enough for God. He didn’t think the name should be longer.
I think Ziz could be a cool title.
Possibly “Ziz: (insert something about Air and Space and possibly birds in less then four words here)”
But if the first two are just “Leviathan” and “Behometh” you wouldn’t want the third to seem off with the colan
(I really would not change it to Ziziocious or create some other random ending, its just tacky)
As someone said before, its the third in the trilogy and typically a person does not start out by reading the last book – it’s built up too by the first two. Most fans will already want to read it regardless of the title length.
In my case, I would read it simply because it was written by you (/end brown nosing/) =P
Anyway, I think Ziz could be interestingly different and compelling to read.
*laughs at darkness’r’us’ comment*
harry potter and well… hello there bob!
ahahaha…
call it ZIZ in the largest letters possible.
yeah, really big letters that are shiny. I will make people laugh, and then want to read it, just because it’s so, i don’t know, intriguing that way. everyone will want to know what ZIZ is.
lol. 🙂
I like Ziz. Er. . . It doesn’t exactly fit with the other two names, I’ll agree with that, but something about it is so you, and I mean that in the best way possible. xD Two epic, blow-your-mind names and then. . . Ziz. It’s perfect. Besides, if you did lengthen it, those three people who have actually heard the name would have no idea how it related!
Ah! Doing what Zane did earlier, I looked Ziz up in my dictionary, but it only had ‘zizz’, which is to take a nap in England! Again, perfect!
I think you should name the third book “Ziz”. It would be kinda shocking (if you don’t read your blog) to see the title. In a good way, of course.
Keep Ziz. Continuity and consistency is essential.
But think, some YA reader in their local bookstore/ library, walking past all these epic – but when you tink about it – kitsch titles, “Ziz” will come as a relief. It’ll make them stop. They go, “ugh, ugh, ugh – huh? What’s this?” And we all know that the time it takes to pick up a S. Westerfeld book is the time is takes to create a fan!
Ziz stays. No question.
Or maybe Ziz got morphed into Zeus, who used a lot of air power (storms and such) as ruler of Olympus.
Ziz is a great title, i would totally be intrigued by a book with that title, so for it.
@mssjenn
I’m not gunna say your idea to name the third book Ziz is a bad one, but if your first two were two names that were fairly intimidating from the Bible then maybe you should stick to intimidating names from the Bible, may I suggest the name for the third book be the Goliath or another name that is actually in the Bible
But if you’re to use Ziz you shouldn’t modify it because that would take away from the value of the name, take it’s meaning away, so for the name Ziz you should definitely leave it the same
Btw I love your books, and may I be so bold as to say Leviathan is one of your better works of literature
I saw something about this subject on TV last night. Great post.
I like Ziz but it is a bit short…… maybe for the title you could call it Beastie…? idk just a thought
Perhaps continue to use a biblical (or Torah) reference that also is synonomous with size such as Ziggurat or Nebuchadnezzar. While Nebuchadnezzar might be a bit too generic or overused (the name of the ship in the Matrix), if perhaps you use it to reference some sort of flying machine, Ziggurat would be completely relevant biblically. In the biblical story of the tower of Babel (which is widely also known as the Ziggurat of Babylon), God smote his people for reaching too high in the heavens for their own glory. There are many ways you could tie in a title like that I think….
Okay, I can totally get where you’re coming from, when I first stumbled across the trio, I was underwhelmed by Ziz to. (And please excuse my terrible english)
BUT
I personally would LOVE to see Ziz as the last title. I feel that there’s a lot of really awsome Jewish mythology out there, and frankly, no one really uses it. Would anyone write “Percy Jackson and the Rabi Loew?” No. Jewish mythology is REALLY COOL and REALLY UNDERREPRESENTED. Go for Ziz, dude, stick with the cohesivness, and bring some new cultures into the limelight.
If to you Ziz is termanally lame (I could totally understand that), the only other thing I can come up with is the name Simurgh, which is a Russian name for a Ziz-like monster.
Just my 2 cents.
Why not go with a shortened version of a scientific name? Like “Kraken” has already been done in Leviathan, so using it as a proper noun wouldn’t break any new ground. But a kraken is a cephalopod…so how about “Cephalos”? That sounds awesome.
Even though the name Ziz has been obscure during the last few thousand years if it returns it will be a household name, And will be much more fearsome.
Goliath even though in the bible is not a beast, your book must be named after a beast and a flying one at that.
So I vote Phoenix.
Wait I meant my first pick is Ziz
Second choice is Phoenix.
Sir, On wikipedia It says that Ziz is comparable to a persian monster called Simurgh. I don’t know about you but to me Simurgh sounds pretty badass. Even More badass than goliath.
YAY whoever wrote Goliath before, thats what the name is gonna be! Thats what I love about Scott-he ACTUALLY TAKES FEEDBACK FROM HIS READERS! yay how refreshing! oh, and although I feel sorry for ziz, and it sounds cool, I hate it as a title. Its a horrible match for Aleks and Deryns story, which is not very silly.
Man… I am so annoyed that it wasn’t named Ziz. I mean, how can you not complete the trio? It’d be perfect, and would bring out more awareness on the guy.
I mean, the Leviathan is the ruler of the seas, the Behemoth is the ruler of the lands, so obviously the last one’s going to be the ruler of the air, right? Right? Nope, just a random dude (sure, a big dude, but he can’t really compare).
“sigh” I know it’s silly to get so upset over a name, but it just doesn’t feel right at all.
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I think you should call it “Ziz” just as ’tis. I say so for a number of reasons.
1.) it reinforces the theme of the previous iterations
2.) One word titles are hot right now (to be colloquial for a moment)
3.) ‘His’ name is not ‘Zizagon’ or ‘Zizael’ but ‘Ziz’, your previous monsters got to keep their names.
4. and this is the big one) You could be the person that makes the name demonstrable (keypart ‘monstr’) by demonstrating it. Things only sound “cool” as they are used by people. ‘Ziz’ does not have to inspire a sense of heaviness and size as ‘Behemoth’ does, nor does it have to inspire mysterious and massive unknown power, as ‘Leviathan’ does. These are just sounds formed by our tongues anyway. in Korea for example, the term for a legendary bird not dissimilar from our’ Phoenix is ‘Bonghwang’
While the Korean name may sound like a drug reference/sexual innuendo to Westerners, it sounds like an awesome mythological figure to Koreans. Use Ziz, paint him as the ethereal, ephemeral, zephyr-monster that he is. Thusly will the character of the thing defined inform the language. This is the nature of language and always has been. ‘Groovy’ and ‘Cool’ both came into being around the same time, one is now considered stupid, the other is commonplace. It is our associations that shape our language, which then, in turn, shapes further language. Even ‘Groovy’ is making a comeback in some circles.
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