War of the Gyro

Chapter 34 - The Interview

2006-10-13T18:03:00.000-07:00

In which our hero meets an imposing woman.

This Blog is not Dead!

2006-08-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

I'm just very, very busy. We're just one push away from finishing this thing, and 90% of the text is already written. It will come.

Chapter 33 - Za'dar is back!

2006-07-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

Busy busy busy. So busy. So Za'dar is back. Huzzah!

Chapter 33 - A Prospect.pdf

Thought for the Day

2006-07-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

You can't write your way out of despair; it's akin to trying to reach a high branch on a tree by climbing up yourself.

--Sogol

Chapter 32 - Politics

2006-07-06T17:21:00.000-07:00

Meh. There it is again. The aching suspicion that everything you've written is an utter waste of time. I mean, I've never been under the illusion that the War of the Gyro is amazing. It was never intended to be. But sometimes I just wonder why I'm wasting my time. Nevertheless, I've gone to far to turn back now, so here's yet another chapter. This one includes the word victuals, for some reason.

Chapter 32 - Politics.pdf

Chapter 31 - Introductions and Preparations

2006-07-04T14:03:00.000-07:00

Truckin' on...

Chapter 31 - Introductions and Preparations.pdf

A Chapter with Tamohara in it

2006-06-29T23:57:00.000-07:00

She is my favorite character in the book. Any resemblence to the person who blogs next to me is entirely coincidental (the family that blogs together, well, blogs together).

Chapter 30 - Tamohara Arrives.pdf

Chapter 29 - A Primer on Phantasian Architecture

2006-06-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

If I had an editor, this is just the kind of chapter that might get cut. But I don't have an editor, and so I get to use the word vertex, describe two things as monstrous in the same sentence, and say "spiralling in a vertigo inspiring helix", which is all good clean fun.

Chapter 29 - Mirrors and Sundry.pdf

Part V - Phantas

2006-06-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

This chapter was the first written on this novel. In fact, the first words spoken were the inspiration for the whole thing. This is also where the novel starts really moving towards the climax. Having gotten to this point in publishing this online is a pretty big deal for me. It finally looks as though the end is in sight.

When I started this project, Philaros jokingly suggested that since seven is the sacred number of Talislanta, I should write seven Tal novels. That's definitely not going to happen. Nevertheless, I do have outlines and fragments of several more novels and stories. My plan was to write linked stories that would have a loose relationship to one another, but that weren't specifically sequential; something more like The Chronicles of Narnia than The Lord of the Rings. For example, the second book was to focus on the mysterious stranger who questions Za'dar in Chapter 15. Za'dar, Feuried, and Tamohara also were to have many adventures. Feruid was to die in book four, and at the beginning of book seven, Za'dar makes a cameo as a much older (but still vigorous) man living in Zanth. I also have a multi-chapter tale about a Sniper Bug and his many adventures questing in an enclosed garden in Dracarta. Perhaps I'll finish that off and publish it seperately one day.

Chapter 28 - Phantasian Memories.pdf

Chapter 27 - Gold is Gold

2006-06-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm back, a short little chapter to wrap some things up and to complete the Farad section of the novel. You might notice that a few peripheral facts haven't been cleared up yet. I'm going to leave them for later. If you didn't notice, well so be it. I'm not going to give it away. ;)

Chapter 27 - Gold is Gold.pdf

Chapter 26 - Let's Pick up the Pace

2006-06-17T19:32:00.001-07:00

It's time to get a move on in this story, and this chapter's going to get it done. Here we see the five adventures of Za'dar arrayed in rapid order.

Chapter 26 - The Five Adventures.pdf

Back on Track

2006-06-16T07:19:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a two week vacation to the East Coast. Orkgrrrl, the Orklet, and I stayed in four different places in New Jersey and New York followed by a four day train trip across the country back to Seattle. Now that I'm back, it's time to start posting chapters again and move this thing towards its goal.

And once I get this whole thing posted, what then? I've come to the conclusion that I need an editor; not my gifted and talented wife editor, not friends or volunteers, but a real paid fiction editor. So if I decide to try and put this thing into print, that'll be one of the next steps.

King Arthur and the Goblet of Fire

2006-04-26T08:19:00.000-07:00

Personally, I’m convinced that the legends of the Holy Grail are fanfic about the Eucharist.

That statement pretty well sums up my approach to writing.
There's a great post on fan fiction from Patrick and Terese Nielson's blog Making Light (gleaned from boingboing). Terese makes the point that fan fiction has been with us since writing began, and that the label "fan fiction" is an artifact of our copyright laws. Here's a great quotation:

The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction this year went to March, a novel by Geraldine Brooks, published by Viking. It’s a re-imagining of the life of the father of the four March girls in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Can you see a particle of difference between that and a work of declared fanfiction?

As far as I'm concerned, this nails it. Writers have to follow their inspiration, not a culturally conditioned notion of what a writer's proper work is. Maybe for a bunch of writers this means being the "solitary genius" or whatever we're calling our romantic heroes these days, but for most it means being vaguely ridiculous in public.

Mind you, War of the Gyro isn't technically a fanfic, since it was conceived in conversation with an actual publisher with the actual capability to publish a novel under the Talislanta license, it's actually a spin-off. The fact that the publisher is no longer publishing Talislanta materials is only a minor setback.

But at this point, I'm dedicated to finishing War of the Gyro just for myself and the half dozen people who visit this page every day looking for a new chapter (yes, I know you're out there). Why? Because fan fiction is fun, and because I believe it can occasionally be really great. If you don't beleive me, pick up the latest by Dan Abnett or Robin Laws.

While I'm ranting, maybe you're wondering where the latest chapter went. There's a simple answer for that. I've had it for ages, but I'm sitting on it because I'm not satisfied with it. This is obviously my internal editor holding me back, so I'm going to go ahead and publish it within the next few days.

A Really Good Hockey Player

2006-04-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

There was this guy in my home town who was a really good hockey player. Back where I grew up, that was kind of a big deal. This guy was really good, better than anybody else in town. He was a sort of a local hero. He eventually got picked up by one of the farm team systems. He may even have played as a bench warmer in the NHL for a while. My point is that there are tons of guys playing professional and semi-professional sports who are better at what they do than you or anybody you've played with.

Lately I've come to realize that I'm not the writer for a generation. It sounds silly, but I've had this persistent voice in the back of my mind telling me over and over again that I just need that one little push, and I'll emerge as one of the great voices of my age. But I'm not.

There's nothing wrong with delusions of grandeur, as long as they help you write. They don't help me. I get all knotted up like a handkerchief wrapped around a lawnmower blade.

Writings really about sitting down and telling a story with your pen. It's a commonplace workday kind of thing that every now and then gives me a huge thrill. It's time to sit at the table. Maybe it'll be great, and maybe it'll just be done, but it'll be mine.

Chapter 25 - Tamohara Dreams

2006-04-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

It's quite possible that this post will eventually find it's way into the "special features - deleted scenes" bin. It's one of those little background bits that you love when you write it, but you're not sure anyone gives a damn about. But then again, this is my novel and I can include anything I want.

Chapter 25 - Tamohara Dreams.pdf

Chapter 24 - Tamohara and Krathe

2006-04-01T16:45:00.000-08:00

Chapter 24 - Tamohara at the Rail.pdf

Chapter 23 - A Box for a Song

2006-03-29T13:48:00.000-08:00

"Are you suggesting this stone is a sort of a jar for a song?"

Chapter 23 - A Jar for a Song.pdf

Where's the Chapter?

2006-03-27T14:48:00.000-08:00

Almost ready! This section of the novel has a couple of holes in it, so I've had to do a bit more editing than usual, plus I've been busy at work, and Orkgrrrl and I are both having dental work, and I've been rather sick.

The next chapter will be ready once I'm out from bedhind this FTP-hosing corporate firewall.

Update OK, after three walks around the block, I've had a great idea for some revisions that need to be made to the whole Tarun chapter. I'm basically going to set all my other myriad projects aside and get some time to start re-writing some chapters in this section. This won't really slow down the chapters (not that they could get much slower), but it will result in some more fun for our heroes!

Chapter 22 - Tarun Arrival

2006-03-23T10:52:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the slowness of posts. I'm starting to work into a section of the novel that has some holes and inconsistencies that I need to fix as I go. This is a relatively short bit, but I had to work it over several times. I finally ended up deleting a whole dialog that I was rather proud of but that has no place in the novel as it's now organized. I may salvage this dialog or post it as a standalone bit at some later date.

Tarun is a fascinating city in that it is given entirely over to the most laissez faire form of capitalism. Its Farad rulers are merchants and deal makers extrordinaire. I seem to remember that there's a great story about a Farad merchant in the Tales of Talislanta book (now out of print, I beleive).

Chapter 22 - Tarun Arrival.pdf

The Sad Oranges of Poland

2006-03-22T13:15:00.000-08:00

A short story of mine has just been published in Margin - the Journal of Magical Realism. Every couple of years I initiate a big push to get some of my stuff published. It's usually not very successful. This story was the only one from the dozen or so I sent out two years ago that was picked up. I'm particularly happy to see The Sad Oranges of Poland published, as it is one of my personal favorites. There's a funny thing about this story. It was written before the Iraq War, 9/11, or the 2000 Florida Election re-count. But read in the light of those events, it becomes rather political.

Part III

2006-03-17T19:41:00.000-08:00

Part III of War of the Gyro, covering the period from the parting of Za'dar and Feurid to the end of Za'dar's immediate adventures is now collected in one pdf file. You can find a link to it at the right. Enjoy!

Chapter 21 - Sogol

2006-03-15T23:19:00.000-08:00

I should be in bed, but I wanted to get another chapter out since tomorrow is probably going to be much too busy for that sort of thing.

Chapter 21 - Sogol.pdf

Good night!

Another Zadar

2006-03-14T13:16:00.000-08:00

Character naming is a tricky business. I remember reading an interview where Ray Bradbury tells of his own surprise when he realized that two of the main characters in Fahrenheit 451, Montag and Faber, are named after makers of writing supplies. Presumably the names slipped into his subconscious while he was working. It's always a surprise when you find out that your characters have names with meaning you are not aware of. Today I found mention of another Za'dar; a place in Croatia with an interesting way of approaching the sea.

Chapter 20 - Something Completely Different

2006-03-12T16:51:00.000-08:00

Now that I've managed to completely seperate all my characters and drop the treasure into the ocean, it's about time I did something completely different. Za'dar is off in the jungles, Feurid has gone to Phantas, the Sunra are off on their own business, and who knows if Tamohara and Krathe are even going to appear again. So I figure it's time to introduce some completely different characters, and by different, I mean not only new, but new to Talislanta altogether.

Chapter 20 - In a Grotto of the Sea.pdf

Welcome to Zanth

2006-03-12T11:19:00.000-08:00

It is best, when you really want to understand someone, to know where they come from. And while a treatise on the land of Zanth, with its 10,000 gods, 500 guilds, and numberless taverns pleasures would be beyond the scope of this or any study, it might be worthwhile to provide a glimpse of this city.

Now while Za'dar is the "Blade of Zir", his heart, as the hearts of all Zandir (expect perhaps the recalcitrant Zann) belongs to Zanth. Zanth has been called the Jewel of the West, but this saying is false. For if anything, Zanth is a whole heaping pile of jewels, cut and uncut, precious and semi-precious, magical and mundane, with a few rocks, teeth, bits of hair, a frightened snail, and at least one lump of coal mixed in. For as Conteraz said:

Zanth is everything to everyone, except, of course, when it's not

I could certainly say much more, but as more and better guides than mine are to come, I satisfy myself with these humble maps:

All of Zanth
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7

War of the Gyro reviewed at 0.333

2006-03-11T09:13:00.000-08:00

James at 0.333 published a very good review of War of the Gyro. Not only does he like it, but he rates me favorably in the same review with Cory Doctorow. I can't help but being a little puffed up by that.

He isn't a graduate of Columbia's MFA program nor did he attend a Clarion Writer's Workshop, as far as I know.

It's true. I don't have any special writer's cred in that way (though I did get a rejection slip from Wizards of the Coast yesterday). I did, however, "waste" my schooling years studying philosophy, so I'm nearly as low on the usefulness scale.

I'm somewhat embarrassed that I still haven't read Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, as I really enjoyed Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, but maybe I'll get to it soon. I've been on a huge paperback science fiction kick lately. The reason is as simple as the discovery of a used bookstore behind the place where I buy my groceries. Now, thanks to a bunch of replies to a thread I posted on Attacks of Opportunity, I've got a even more recommendations to sift through.

Recently Read:

Trekmaster by James Johnson - a totally random choice that turned out quite well. A world degenerated to feudalism has been reunited by a powerful leader who hopes to reintegrate it with the galactic union.

Solar Lottery by Phillip K Dick - In the future, Von Neuman's game theory is the basis for a system of government, and someone's trying to kick over the game board.

The Crack in Space by Phillip K Dick - A fascinating political sci-fi that can summarizedied in the following sentence: A helluva lot of strange stuff has to happen before an African American can get elected president.

The Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove - Lee's army accepts miraculous new weapons from a group of mysterious strangers but find that winning independence comes at a great cost. This novel presents a much more optimistic view of the South than Turtledove's other "south wins the war" alternate histories.

We're Back! Chapter 19

2006-03-10T13:13:00.000-08:00

What a week. To top it off, I had to re-write the last three paragraphs of this story as they'd gotten eaten by my laptop somewhere along the way. I almost always have multiple backups and hard copies, but this time I was left cold.

Chapter 19 - Za'dar's Story.pdf

Next week on "War of the Gyro"

2006-03-01T07:38:00.000-08:00

I realize that there hasn't been anything here in about a week, and I'm very sorry. It's been a chaotic week and I spent most of my free time this weekend (such as it was) catching up on some much needed sleep. The good news is, things are going to stabilize in a day or two, and I'll be back to posting regualrly every couple of days. There are some good bits coming up that I'm very anxious to publish, including looks at Farad and Phantas, Za'dar getting into even more trouble, Tamohara in a slinky ball gown, and eventually the war itself. You don't want to miss it, I promise!

"Out Of Ambit": Diane Duane's weblog#114069083471800451

2006-02-23T09:05:00.000-08:00

"Out Of Ambit": Diane Duane's weblog:

A lot of people offered to send money up front, which was nice, but per se was a suggestion I preferred to resist: I'd rather there be something concrete on the barrelhead for people to put their cash down on, as it were. A lot of the people who mailed me knew about, and mentioned, Lawrence Watt-Evans' celebrated approach to his own version of this problem, in which he 'serially' self-published his Ethshar novel The Spriggan Mirror, posting a chapter every time the PayPal donations from interested readers reached a certain point. (And afterwards, his book found a publisher, too.)

Diane Duane is the author of the popular Young Wizards series of books. My wife is a fan of her work. Diane has just announced on her blog that she's going to publish the next volume in her current trilogy serially on her blog. This is exciting to me too since as you can tell, I'm interested in serial online publishing.

The evidence is that the publishing industry has been broken for a while. If you're a new writer of speculative fiction just starting out, you've probably experienced how unrewarding it can be to try to get your stuff published. Even if you do get published, the pressure to produce a blockbuster every time is intense. A moderate success isn't enough to guarantee you'll be able to get your next one published. We need alternate channels for distribution, like what Diane is doing.

On the other hand, sometimes I feel like I'm a cop-out for publishing my beta version online. Maybe I should be out there grinding away at getting more of my stuff published into paper.

Chapter 18 is a Short One

2006-02-22T20:53:00.000-08:00

This is a little short one, but the next one is humdinger, I promise.

Chapter 18 - Sometimes a Tale.pdf

Chapter 17 - Tangle Vines

2006-02-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

Swords, magic, and nasty predators. It's what fantasy is about.

Chapter 17 - Tangle Vines.pdf

Chapter 17 - Sometimes a Tale

2006-02-16T19:43:00.000-08:00

Did I say we were in for some longer chapters? I guess I lied, because this one if probably the shortest one yet, and perhaps one of the most annoying. :)

Update: FTP is down for some reason. You'll have to wait to be annoyed. :(
Update Update: You know, I'm not ready to post this chapter just yet anyway. I've got some other cool stuff to get out of the way first.

Chapter 16 - The Swordsmage

2006-02-14T15:09:00.000-08:00

"The pirate lifted his blade to parry the attack, but Za’dar twisted the point of his rapier underneath the pirate’s saber, sliding three inches of steel into the pirate’s left shoulder. His opponent cried out in anguish and fell to his knees."

Chapter 16 - The Swordsmage.pdf

Part II in one PDF

2006-02-13T09:34:00.000-08:00

Here's part II of the novel in one PDF.

War of the Gyro Part 2.pdf

Last night I was hanging out with Philaros, and the topic of "Talislanta adventures we'd like to see" came up. I suggested "Talislanta Winter Olympics", which led to speculations about sporting events around Talislanta (Duneship regatta? A marathon across the wilderlands? Dung digging in Maruk? Speed skating through Ice Giant territory?) Philaros made the observation that every event boils down to "don't get eaten". That raises a point that may not be entirely obvious - the wild lands of Talislanta are ridiculously lethal. They're crawling with Kra, Vasps, Exomorphs, and demons of all descriptions, any one of which could finish off your standard hero in one bit. This is apros pos because in the next section we're going to see some of Za'dar's adventures in the wilderlands.

Chapter 15 - Za'dar on the Rocks

2006-02-12T17:07:00.000-08:00

This is the start of the Za'dar section where the story will follow the adventures of Za'dar for a while. Feurid's adventures (and there are quite a few of them) will have to wait for a bit. This is a short one, but they get longer after this for a while.

Chapter 15 - Za'dar on the Rocks.pdf

Chapter 14 - Waterspout

2006-02-08T10:01:00.000-08:00

I've got a spare minute so.... chapter 14!

Chapter 14 - Waterspout.pdf

Update

2006-02-07T09:40:00.000-08:00

I had a good session yesterday morning going over the next few chapters and getting them ready to publish. I hope I'll get a chance to post them pretty soon, but it's going to be a busy day today. After this there's a section that has a few gaps, so unfortunately, posting may slow down a bit more. But after that comes the final section of the novel, the grand finale, the war, and all that sort of good stuff!

Chapter 13 - Parting

2006-02-03T20:52:00.000-08:00

Some of these chapters are very short, I realize. This one is only a page long. In practice, they may be unified into larger chapters. I seem to think in short scenes for some reason. I makes things easier to organize in my head.

Chapter 13 - Parting.pdf

Chapter 12 - Adrift

2006-01-31T10:14:00.000-08:00

...in which our heroes face an unpleasant fate.

Chapter 12 - Adrift.pdf

Sea Dragons

2006-01-28T22:21:00.000-08:00

This has been an exhausting work, with little time for fun or blogging. But now it's done so...

Dragons are a continual problem in the wilds of Talislanta. Terrible beasts, Dragons are feared by everyone. Although they are imbued with all the great warrior virtues in popular myth, they are actually rather stupid creatures. Nevertheless, no other large predator enjoys the prestige a dragon enjoys. Rather unfair, really.

Chapter 11 - The Sea Dragons.pdf

Chapter 10 - The Sea

2006-01-22T20:03:00.000-08:00

This is a fun one - a little Talislantan philosophy talk, and a Rahastran's opinion of telling the future by the stars.

Chapter 10 - The Sea.pdf

Chapter 9 - Dragon Barque

2006-01-22T09:03:00.000-08:00

In an early draft of this novel, Za'dar was startled by the barking of a dog. A reader pointed out "that's all very well, but are there dogs in Talislanta?" No, there are not. That's one of the things that make writing a fantasy novel so difficult. In Talislanta, the flora and fauna must be different. There are birds, but they're called Avir. There's a draft animal like a horse, but it's called an Equus and has six legs. For consistency, I had to leave dogs out. I suppose I could have called them Canem and left it at that.

Fantasy leaves you with a challenge of metaphor. You can get around a lot of it by using nonsense phrases that sound as though they mean something. "Za'dar, your plan isn't worth a kwintsag in a possnots bush." For various reasons, that's not an approach I like.

A better way is to use elements that have meanings even though the reader may not be aware of those meaning, such as references to gods and places that are part of the story, even if they are not explicitly in the story. That's the approach I've used whenever possible. It helps that Talislanta is a very rich setting, and that there's a wealth of speculation and discussion to draw upon in the archives of the Talislanta Yahoo Group.

Sometimes, though, you need to make your own metaphors. It takes a little longer, but that's the method I prefer. The story about the Rahastrans in chapter 2 is an example. It tells you what it means (or might mean) that someone is a Rahastran. And it serves another purpose. The world of Talislanta is strange. Instincts that we have from our familiar world aren't always relevant to Talislanta. No, in this world, something stranger than anything you've ever seen before lies just around the next bend of the river. When you use familiar names, your readers know what to expect, and that is not appropriate to the Talislanta setting.

To float down the river like a bug clinging to a pod is one thing. But if that pod happens to be an Eelyrind pod, and the bug happens to be a sniper bug, well the meaning is very different. Hence the previous chaper and the first line of this one. It's my way of having a little fun.

Chapter 09 - Dragon Barque.pdf

Map extravaganza

2006-01-21T12:17:00.000-08:00

After tearing my house apart looking for the Maps of Isalis I drew a few years ago, I got fed up and made some new ones, which was frustrating, because I knew the new ones didn't capture everything I put into the old ones.

So I was looking through some old magazines totally at random when I came across a hard cover sketchpad that had no business being where it was. I popped it open and behold, my Isalis maps.

So I went ahead and scanned them in and dropped them in my Flickr Maps Set. There are also a bunch of maps of Zanth, the home city of Za'dar, that I did last year. Enjoy!

A Chapter about a Tree

2006-01-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

Today's chapter is about a tree. To find out why I have a chapter about a tree, you'll have to wait for the next chapter. :)

Chapter 08 - Eelyrind.pdf

A Sea Voyage and a Story

2006-01-18T20:35:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, reading through these before posting, I feel despair that what I've written falls so far short of what I wanted to achieve. And sometimes I see something I'm actually proud to have written. This chapter falls closer to the latter, particularly the second half where we get to see Za'dar embellishing the tale of some of his own adventures. It was a very fun scene to write, and I hope it's fun to read as well.

Chapter 07 - A Sea Voyage.pdf

Comments? Send them to me.

2006-01-17T21:39:00.000-08:00

I've discovered that some people have comments about the War of the Gyro, but they don't really feel right about posting them on the blog. Please feel free to send them to me by Email. My address is tony -at- dowler -dot- com.

Honestly, I don't really feel right about posting chapters either. It's a little weird dredging up these words that seemed just find when you were the only one reading them but that might not really be worthy of the light of day. You just have to keep posting them. That's how you get better.

Every now and then I read some of Issac Asimov's early short stories. Then I feel a bit better about my stuff.

Chapter 6

2006-01-16T10:10:00.000-08:00

I'm starting to feel the first pulls of "I'll do it tomorrow" with this blog. In other words, the hump is coming. Luckily the next few chapters don't need much editing. After I post them, I'll put up a collected pdf for the entire first section. That should give me enough sense of accomplishment to keep me going. I hope to get this whole novel published without any major gaps of time (so that I can concentrate on writing the next one)!

Chapter 06 - Time to Fly.pdf

Feurid retreated back into his place of concealment. He fingered the deck in his pocket and drew a single card. It was the Alchemist, which can be interpreted as “unseen developments”, “pursuing the wrong goat”, or even “look behind you.”

Chapter 5 - Contest of Blades

2006-01-13T23:27:00.000-08:00

*Yawn* Just went out for dinner for our five year wedding anniversary! Anyway, before bed, here is chapter 5.

Chapter 05 - Contest of Blades.pdf

Chapter 4 - Meeting and Melancholy

2006-01-11T09:44:00.000-08:00

OK, chapter 4 is finally ready. These are taking more editing than I expected. Sometimes paragraphs that looked great a year ago look pretty bad today.

Chapter 04 - Meeting and Melancholy.pdf

Love and curiosity are the surest ways to stay a Zandir's blade.

Map of the Coral City

2006-01-09T10:33:00.000-08:00

More chapters soon, I promise!

In the meantime, here are some pictures and maps of the Coral City of Isalis. I drew some maps of the city back when I started these chapters three years ago, but somehow they were lost. So I created some updated ones from my memory.

City Map

Sunra Dwelling

Isalis Environs

The City of Isalis is composed almost entirely of living coral that the Sunra coax into city shapes using ancient biomantic arts. The primary exception to this is the foreigner's quarter, which includes several stone and wood buildings. The map, sadly, shows less than half of the city, because even at low tide, most of it is submerged. Once a year, at the season of highest tides, the entire city is submerged. This is a necessity, for the corals die if they do not gain some exposure to the sea.

This, sadly, is the city's greatest weakness. In ancient times, the Quan were able to conquer the city intact by damming the main inlet to the Inland Sea. By threatening to lower the water levels, the Quan were able to conquer the Sunra without a battle. The Sunra then became the source of the Empire's navy and merchant forces. When the Quan's military slave race the Kang revolted, they took control of the dam and the Sunra in turn.

Chapter 3 - A Game of Cards

2006-01-06T21:48:00.000-08:00

It's funny what you see when you know that someone's going to read your work. After taking another look at the first part of the book today, I see that the "Interlude" chapter will probably need to be cut for three reasons:

The main character of the chapter doesn't appear again in the novel.

It's a lead in to chapter 3. But chapter 3 is a flashback, and for various reasons, a multi-chapter flashback seems problematic to me.

Who ever heard of having an "Interlude" when you're only one chapter into the novel?

I may yet work this in somehow. In particular I want to get across that Isalis is a city of tides (so much so that the whole city is submerged once a year), and to continue to emphasize that it's the Kang that rule things here.

I'm a little embarrassed to be cutting and rearranging this early in the beta, but I suppose it's best I get it over with as soon as possible.

So on to chapter three, wherein we introduce the second main character, a wily Rahastran Cartomancer named Feurid.

Chapter 03 - A Game of Cards.pdf

"After all, I've never lost a finger playing cards."

Chapter 2 - Rising Tides

2006-01-03T21:55:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who read chapter one. It's been awesome having people read and comment on my stuff.

Chapter 2 is a short one. More to come later this week.

Chapter 02 - Rising Tides.pdf

"They do not look at the sky. They do not look at the sea. They do not see how it changes with the hours, with the days, with the seasons. For them, every day is the same."

Wonkette: From Blog to Novel?

2006-01-03T10:15:00.000-08:00

Today in the news I see that the well-known political blogger Wonkette has just published a novelization of her blogging exploits (does that even work? Do bloggers even have exploits?): A Blogger Creates a Blogger for a Trip Back to 2004. The one think I know about Wonkette is that a while back she outed another Capitol Hill blogger who was blogging about her multiple affairs with politically connected men. That blogger then published a racy tell all novelizations called Washintonienne (I got it out from the library out of curiosity. It was pretty terrible.)

Anyway, I hope Wonkette has the best of luck going from blogger to novelist!

I'm off to a work meeting, but I hope to publish chapter two when I get back.

Welcome to War of the Gyro

2006-01-02T22:12:00.000-08:00

Three years ago, a mutual friend introduced me to a game designer named John Harper. He had recently published the third edition of a role-playing game called Talislanta. John mentioned how they were really hoping to get people to write some supplements for the game. I responded along the lines of "what I really want to do is write a novel for it", and The War of the Gyro was born.

Frankly, now that I'm ready to let people read it, I'm having second thoughts. What seemed like a great idea while it was hiding in a drawer seems pretty weak in the daylight. I'm not sure that anyone's going to enjoy it, and I'm pretty certain some people aren't going to get past the first line. On the other hand, I'm not sure I can bring it any farther without some more eyes. I figure that if I get some people to look at it, some of them are going to say things that will help me make the novel better.

This is a beta version. This novel isn't done. All the chapters are there, but some are incomplete, and several need to be re-written. Nevertheless, the essential storyline and characters are present. Please read and enjoy and feel free to comment. I'll be publishing a chapter every few days as I edit them and format them for pdf. Here's chapter one:

Chapter 01 - The City and the Sea.pdf

"A swordsman was singing a song. And because he was 1500 miles from home in a strange city where he knew no one, and because he guessed the natives wouldn't appreciate Zandu love songs here, he was singing to his sword."