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.