Tag: Writing

Influences: A.E. Van Vogt

In this case I’m mainly talking about the Null-A trilogy. This trilogy made the idea of General Semantics understandable, quite aside from being a wonderful read. A.E. Van Vogt has been criticised by reviewers, which seems to have marginalised to some extent. I’m not sure that those reviews were entirely fair, and in the balance of things I think he does belong among the great pioneers of Science Fiction among the ranks of Heinlein, Azimov and the other early greats.

At the very least, presenting General Semantics in an accessible way is a great achievement. I tried to read General Semantics by Korzybski itself, but it’s hell. I drowned in the introduction where Korzybski seems to take the time to explain why each an every person who ever sent him a letter disagreeing with his ideas is carefully counter argued. In any event, I don’t think a list of writers that influenced me could be complete without including the Null-A trilogy. I’ve read several of Van Vogt’s other books, but the Null-A series will always be the one that made the biggest impression on me.

Below is a link to the first book in the trilogy. Unfortunately the trilogy can be hard to find.

The World of Null-A

Progress Fall 2024

From time to time I intend to post progress on the many different projects I have. I tend to switch from one to the other when I’ve had enough of a certain setting for a while. Sometimes I want a break after a intense scene, sometimes I just need me some guns instead of swords for a bit.

As can be seen, my first two books are in the editing stage. It’s a process I’m struggling with, on the one hand because it’s a substantial investment and on the other, because I’m still looking for a line/copy editor that’s a good fit for me.

Tales of Vatan

TitleThenNow
A Path Less Traveled By (working title)38k45k
The Saga of Kára Ice-Eyes23k29k
Sunset91k112k
The Half Elven Orphan (Alagariel I) complete, editing140k160k
The Value of Nobility (Alagariel II), complete, draft
<classified> (Alagariel III), complete, draft
<classified> (Alagariel IV), planned, partial draft
<classified> (Alagariel V), planned, should conclude the 1st series
<classified> (Alagariel VI-X?) ideas and partial plans for a second series
<classified> (Alagariel XI+?) and another, probably concluding series that I have a solid outline for
Total words for all Alagariel series up to now (inc Alagariel I):643k
The Death Witch (working title)1k8k

Total War

TitleThenNow
Dropship Down (Clausewitz I) complete, editing140k?161k
A Nuclear Hello (Clausewitz II) complete, draft
The Long War (Clausewitz III) complete, draft (working title)
Headway at last (Clausewitch IV) was complete, but in the middle of a partial rewrite (working title)
<classified> (Clausewitz V) partial
Total words for all Clausewitz books (inc vol I):672k
Unnamed prequel to Clausewitz series65k75k
Clausewitz Series II29k

Other

This only includes things that I expect to turn into something publishable one day. I try not to include things for which I have no real idea how they’re going to be a worthwhile story.

TitleThenNow
Steampunk Portal Saga Thing (Yes, that’s my working title. I expect this to become a long series eventually.)0k36k
Alternate History Project20k

Sunset at 110k+ words!

Sunset, the life story of an important character that features in the Tales of Vatan: Alagariel series, passed through the hundred thousand word (100k) barrier this week. This really a chronological collection of stories that one character in the world experienced and it’s served as a way to give the world and recent history of Vatan more depth and colour.

I generally consider “full book” status to be achieved from about 125k words. At the moment, I feel there are at least  two large sections still to write, as there’s stll more than a hundred years to cover. So, it’s possible that Sunset will end up being a long one. I don’t anticipate two volumes, but you never know.

Belle de Serraient, on of Sunset’s many guises.

Influences: Dan Simmons

Simmon’s Hyperion Cantos (Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, The Rise of Endymion),series is a wonderful work that weaves a wonderfully complex future world. The Canterbury Tales style telling of a large part of it, the wonderful references to 19th century poets and poetry and all the other strangeness are an intriguing example of how all sorts or real world history can be woven into a captivating science fiction story. The use of real world history, particularly military history is woven in throughout the the Total War setting.

This series is one I enjoyed reading immensely, so if you haven’t read it, I’d strongly recommend giving it a go.

Hyperion
The Fall of Hyperion
Endymion
The Rise of Endymion

Influences: Robin Hobb

I very much enjoyed the Farseer Trilogy and it has always been an example of what I feel a fantasy series should be. I must admit that I could never quite get my head around the quaint names, but it really doesn’t detract from the quality of the series.

I would be hard pressed to describe exactly in what way Hobb’s work influences the The Tales of Vatan setting. I’d say that the feeling the Elderling world evokes is something that I’d like to convey in my fantasy works. In any event, I’d strongly recommend Hobb’s work to any fantasy fan.

The Assassin’s Apprentice
Royal Assassin
Assassin’s Quest