Got my author copies today - they look great! I am very excited about the conclusion of this series. I hope everybody enjoys reading it as much as I did writing it. And thanks so much to Rene and Pyr for seeing the series to the end.
There is one rather egregious typographical error, however. On page 33, when it says, "Then Christopher noticed the queen was coming," it's supposed to say, "Then Christopher noticed the ants were coming," I am mortally embarrassed that this slipped through our editing process, but even more so at how utterly confused anyone who reads that line will be. Please, tell your friends - or if you see a copy in a bookstore, take out a pen and scribble "ants" over the word "queen." You'll be doing everyone a favor. :)
EDIT: An astute reader points out another mysterious typo. On page 43 a character introduces herself as "Jenny" and in the very next sentence is referred to as "Claire." I must have changed her name at some point and missed that one, but I can't even remember it - she's always been Jenny to me.
I've been reading the series since Sword of the Bright Lady came out and I've been completely in love with it. The final book though.... was rough. It very much felt like the last season of Game of Thrones where the show runners where just kinda tired of the world and material and just went through the motions to wrap everything up. Judging by the review on Amazon and Good Reads, I'm not the only one to make that observation. I don't know if you'll ever see this but if you do: can you tell us what happened? After four good books, you sure as hell don't owe anyone anything but some high level thoughts on the meta of writing the series or your thoughts on the last book might be cathartic for some fans.
ReplyDeleteI hated the last season of Game of Thrones because I felt it departed from the premise of the show; it broke its own rules.
ReplyDeleteWith Black Harvest I thought I was leaning into the premise. All good D&D campaigns finish in the Epic tier and so did mine; the pace and scale of events really scales up. Christopher's character also changes, in that he goes from a piece on the gameboard to a player of the game moving other pieces.
This was how it had to end, as Christopher discovers the wider plot around him and takes control the only way he can. He becomes fully co-opted by the system (the fate of all revolutionaries) and yet still manages to eke out a win for the little guy. It was the best ending I could imagine for him.
I think the change in pace and focus is why people didn't like it as much; it's not just the simple "busting heads and taking names" adventure that it had been. But I'm not really sure. On the other hand my first novel, The Kassa Gambit, also got a lot of comments about the ending being abrupt. To me, it's obvious when the story is over and I can stop talking; but perhaps I need to work on sticking the landing. :D
I am currently working on a new World of Prime story (with different characters) and I will definitely be thinking about the ending.
I read the book in a day (partly while waiting for my car to be inspected) and I have to say I echo the first poster. I thoroughly enjoy the book, don't get me wrong, and I agree with everything you said in regards to Christopher having to become part of the system, but it seemed rushed since it was all crammed into a single book (though, granted, splitting it up into two books would have its own difficulties).
ReplyDeleteRegardless of any misgivings, your setting has enchanted me for quite a while, enough so that I'm trying to create a roleplayer server in a video game to capture that feeling.
I did worry about the pace... but I just thought everybody had had enough of sword fights. :D
DeleteI am working on another book in the same world, though from an entirely different perspective.