I have read up to number 11 in The Imager series. I have to know what happened after that. Is there a 12th book?
Yes, there is. The last book (number 12) is Endgames, which was published in February of 2019.
August 2nd Question
And you wonder why I have to curb my desire to lecture?” (July 31st, 2024) So, please don’t curb such desire. You describe a politician’s small office staffing in your “Grand Illusion” series. Please expand on your experiences in the US Congress; specifically the elements/expertise that usually makes up the staff of a U.S. Representative’s office staff and/or a U.S. Senator’s office staff. How/why are these people chosen by the politician?
After the rather poor reception of /The Green Progression, I doubt that I’ll write about contemporary or even near future U.S. politics. Since I know something about staffing a U.S. Representative’s staff, I can give you a general outline of the key personnel, at least at the time I was a staff director. Usually, the head of the office is the staff director, once called the A.A.(administrative assistant). Then most offices have a media/press aide, a legislative assistant, a chief caseworker, and the appointments/personal secretary to the Representative. These positions can overlap. When I was in charge of the office, I was effectively the head legislative assistant. My successor as staff director was the press/media aide. There is almost always an office in the district (sometimes two in large rural districts), with several staff members there. As I recall (it was 40 years ago), the total number of employees was 18 (including those in district offices), but there was also a total salary cap for staffers. Unpaid interns didn’t count against the cap; so there were usually a few of those, but not that many, because the D.C. employees had to fit into two staff rooms. There were usually other staffers with assorted duties. For new Congressmen or Congresswomen, usually a few campaign aides ended up as staff, depending on abilities. Others are picked for needed expertise. Salaries and duties are determined by the Representative, and the only real limits are the number of staff and the total staff pay ceiling.
July 16th Question
I’m rereading the Imager books, and I’m reminded of a recurring experience by most of your main characters. Their situations require that they kill people (sometimes A LOT of people), and yet they never seem terribly bothered by it other than some occasional regret. Quaeryt is certainly driven into at least a month of madness at killing many 10’s of thousands but not so much after “only” 10 thousand troops, and Lorne feels guilty about a single innocent. I have a harder time understanding how a portraitist like Renn can become a cold-hearted killer in less than a year after an earlier lifetime devoid of violence. Is the mark of a hero the ability to avoid PTSD or significant guilt from the body count they amass? Or is it the necessity of the plot moving on? Curious what your view is on this. Thank you!
People are different. A single brutal incident is enough to create PTSD in some. Killing doesn’t seem to bother others in the slightest. From my experience and observation, most people lie somewhere in between. Also, I’m convinced that the circumstances make a difference, and the closer and more “personal” the killing is, the greater the emotional impact. Also, I tend to write more from the viewpoint of the “defender” than the conqueror, possibly because I tend to believe that killing in self-defense or defense against raiders or attackers exacts less of a price. And, from a practical viewpoint, I’d rather not write a military story where the main character is effectively reduced to mental rubble by killing. Instead, my characters vary, ranging from those less impacted to those more so, but over time, there’s a definite impact.
June 26th Question
I really enjoyed the Imager series. Is there any plan to continue the series?
I have no plans to write additional Imager books, and it’s unlikely that I will, but I won’t say “never,” because I learned a long time ago that was unwise.
June 20th Question
Given the sheer amount of writing and years you have spent on the world of Recluse, it seems likely there are some things you established early on that have caused annoyance in later books. I certainly have seen plenty of things that cleverly show how things that certain characters (and readers) thought to be true were in fact not, but are there things that you have found more difficult to work around?
So far, I’ve managed to work around most items in the earliest Recluce books(that is, those I wrote first, in which the events take place after the earlier books) that might suggest contradictions, but occasionally a reader will bring something to my attention. In many cases, there’s no contradiction, because, as is often the case in the history of our world, the historians had an agenda to either excessively glorify or denigrate the acts of previous powerful figures. There also have been instances where I made a mistake, despite my best efforts.
June 19th Question
You worked a lot of great mythology into The Timegod, but there’s one reference I always thought I missed. At the end, Loki realizes that the bell told him where everyone had gone, and he understood it due to a recent language implant. I’ve always felt like that was more significant than I was picking up on. Is that actually a reference which went over my head?
It’s not so much a reference as a hint. The bell is inscribed with a Terran language. Sammis tells Loki that he can find Baldur and Wryan, and even Sammis himself, and gestures to the bell before he vanishes. The inference is that all the Scandinavian myths in our world come from Baldur, Sammis, and Wryan… because that’s where they went from Query.
June 18th Question
Why does the era of the books of Recluse not start, for example, with the arrival on the island or with the birth of the founder?
The dates in the chronology begin with the year that the rationalist colonists landed. Those dates show up in Magi’i of Cyador and Scion of Cyador. The term A.F., refers to After the Fall. Other cultures around the world may use other dates, but I used the founding of Cyad as the base date.
June 11th Question
Will there ever be any Film or Episodic adaptations of the Recluce series? If so, could you please elaborate?
I’m not aware of any plans of even rumors of plans to present anything in the Saga of Recluce in film, television, or the like. While I can hope, I’m certainly not holding my breath.
Although I’ve been occasionally approached about gaming possibilities over the years, those have not turned out, either, at least so far.
May 28th Question
Do you have a public appearance schedule for the rest of the year?
At present, I do not have any other public appearances scheduled for the rest of the year.
For personal and logistical reasons unrelated to my health, it’s highly unlikely that I’ll be making many public appearances in the foreseeable future.
April 29th Question
I’ve just begun reading the Ecolitan novels, and I notice that you have used the same system names as in The Hammer of Darkness: Fuard, Halston, etc. Do you consider all of these novels to be in the same timeline/universe? If so, what is the chronology?
In writing my science fiction, I’ve always considered the different “series”/books as possible varying futures from the present in which we live, or, as in the case of the “Ghost” books, an alternate present. That’s why certain names recur in various books. The Ecolitan books are set in a future somewhat different from The Hammer of Darkness, and there’s no real connection except the past.
Second April 7th Question
I just finished, and greatly enjoyed, From the Forest. My impression (having not re-read other Recluce books with chaos-wielding protagonists recently) is that Alyiakal learned a number of fairly advanced techniques (which I have always likened to lasers or energy weapons) quite quickly. I’m curious, if that’s the case, is that more reflective on Alyiakal’s unique talents, or on the benefits of having lots of order-chaos devices around to learn from. I’m also curious if there’s any genetic differences between the Cyadorans and the surrounding nations that affects the prevalence of order-chaos wielders. It seems that Cyador is much more sparsely populated despite their higher technology level and employ a lot of the same techniques as Recluce later does to rely on technology and technique when they are outnumbered.
Alyiakal isn’t really that much different from other Magi’i, nor does he have more in the way of devices or technology to learn from. What he does have is a very good tutor in Master Triamon, who makes Alyiakal really think about how to use chaos, Healer Vayidra, and the experiences of the Great Forest. No other magus has that range of experience. He also has the incentive to learn because he almost instinctively knows that he’ll be killed if he doesn’t. Because most of the inhabitants of Cyador are from the Rational Stars, that means there are definite differences in genetics from the inhabitants of the lands bordering Cyador. With the later fall of Cyador, many of the techniques for dealing with order and chaos are lost or forgotten, and have to be rediscovered, partly in Fairhaven, but largely in Recluce because greater mastery of order is required to fully harness the power of chaos.
April7th Question
Love the GRAND ILLUSION series and am desperate to know when you will release the next in the series.
I’ve taken a little break after finishing the latest four Recluce novels. I’m considering writing a prequel to the existing three Grand Illusion novels, but it will be a few weeks before I know whether that’s possible.
March 3rd Question
I have started to reread the Recluce series and also recently revisited The Lessons of History by Will and Ann Durant, a concise synthesis of their broader work in “The Story of Civilization.” The Durants’ exploration of historical cycles, the interplay of moral and ethical considerations, and the forces of progress and decline resonated with me, particularly in light of the themes you explore in the Recluce series. This parallel has sparked my curiosity about your own historical and philosophical influences. Could you share whether the works of Will and Ann Durant have played any role in shaping the ideas or themes within the Recluce series? I am interested in understanding how historical narratives and philosophical explorations might influence the creation of fantasy worlds that, while entirely fictional, echo with the weight of real human history and ethical dilemmas. Thank you for your time and for the worlds you’ve created — not just within the Recluce series — that have so deeply enriched my reading experiences and thinking.
While I’ve certainly heard of the Durants, I have to confess that I haven’t read any of their works. I have read history widely, particularly ancient history, beginning when I was quite young, and I continue to do so, although these days I peruse periodicals such as History Today and World Archaeology rather than larger tomes. On the more philosophical side, I’ve also read Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces and Edward Wilson’s The Meaning of Human Existence and who knows how many others.
March 2nd Question
I noticed three references in the first two Grand Illusion books to how the “burgher’s delight” was the lousiest thing on the menu. I just wondered…do you have a friend who’s a cheeseburger fiend, and you were teasing them? It felt like an inside joke. Just wondering.
No, the “burgher’s delight” just came out of my own musing. I was just thinking how unappetizing a slab of ground beef between two slices of bread sounds. What makes a hamburger or a cheeseburger is everything else.
February 26th Question
Two questions if I may. Firstly, did Lerris and Krystal ever have children or was that part of the price paid in The Death of Chaos? Second, I find myself sympathetic to Ryba’s position in Fall of Angels, though slightly less so in The Chaos Balance. Do you think she would have truly turned on Nylan or was she driving him out to ensure he dealt with Cyador?
While I didn’t spell it out, or even hint at it, given what Lerris and Krystal have been through, they won’t have children or live beyond a normal lifespan. In the case of Ryba, she doesn’t perceive herself as being unreasonable, but only doing what she believes is necessary — given her scattered visions of the future. Nylan doesn’t like being treated like a tool and needs more affection. Since Ryba is so driven, a rift is inevitable. And, in the end, Ryba’s actions, through both Nylan and Saryn, do remove the unthinking mysogyny of latter-day Cyador and Lornth and effectively change the political structure of the entire west of Candar.
February 18th Question
I am reading and enjoying From the Forest. Could you include a map of Cyador to identify the place names in a later volume of the series?
Unfortunately, it’s not my decision as to whether a map is included in the book. I sent a rough map and my editor presented the idea. The higher-ups declined the idea of a map in the first book. I will bring the matter up again, but, while I control the text, I don’t control whether maps are in the book.
February 16th Question
I had pre-ordered “From the Forest” and recently received the book. As soon as I started reading it I found that I had read all of this before but I cannot remember where exactly. But I do remember the book and unfortunately already know the ending of course. Can you tell me where I read it before please?
The first seven chapters are an expanded version of the short story “The Forest Girl,” which appeared in the collection Recluce Tales. This was stated on the copyright page of the book. The rest of the book is entirely new and hasn’t appeared anywhere before [unless there are pirate editions somewhere else].
February 14th Question
I remember reading an Imager story where Renn and Seliora’s daughter is older, preteen, maybe. But I can’t find it. Where is it? I would like to read it again.
I’ve never written such a story. The only incident that I can recall is once speculating about how interesting it might be to write about Diestrya as teenager, but whether that was at a convention, online, or elsewhere, I honestly can’t remember because it was a while back. It’s also possible that someone wrote fanfiction about Diestrya when older, but I did not.
February 7th Question
Is there a map for the new series beginning with From the Forest? It would help me a lot (and others, I am sure).
There is, and there isn’t. That is to say, I submitted my hand-drawn map to Tor, and my editor did her best, but, presumably for reasons of cost, the higher-ups nixed the map inclusion, possibly because my maps are rather detailed and costly to produce for books. Since my talents do not lie in graphic arts on the professional level, that means no map.
January 19th Question
After Lerris reset the world, you haven’t added any stories post the sundering of Recluse. Do you have any plans to do so? That’s something I have hoped you would do, a more technological world, maybe with the beginning of order and chaos Magery.
Outside of the one story — “Fame” — that ends Recluce Tales, I haven’t written anything after the sundering of Recluce, and I have no plans to do so. That would be a very different world, and it wouldn’t be the same, not if I’m to be true to what I’ve already written.
