I have to admit, I agree with the poster on all accounts!
Quick question - The Polity universe is what you're mostly 'known' for. Do you get tired of it and want to move on, risking alienating your existing fan-base but wanting to do something different, or do you still really enjoy it?
Just wondering, as I know I really enjoy it and highly recommend new readers start with your Polity books.
A very relevant question considering my 'departure' in the last year. No, I don't get tired of writing about the Polity because it is big and diverse so I can tell just about any sfnal story in it. However, I do fear getting stale and formulaic, lazy in fact. Having a crack at something new or different keeps me on my toes.
I like the Polity. I think you can play with it to your hearts content forever, and I really don't think writing outside of that universe would have any effect on your fan base what so ever as long as what you write stands up.
For me, Hilldiggers was spoiled in some ways by being in the Polity universe, or better put being in the Polity universe in within it’s time frame, I think it should have been much further along, maybe a few hundred years further. The whole adaption to environment is an interesting route to travel, because (and I’m sure you’ve got this under wraps) the lack of alien civilizations found thus far leaves the door open for finding all sorts of other human adapted remnants from generation ships, forgotten and lost, no record of their origins and entirely (by human standard format) alien.
6 comments:
I have to admit, I agree with the poster on all accounts!
Quick question - The Polity universe is what you're mostly 'known' for. Do you get tired of it and want to move on, risking alienating your existing fan-base but wanting to do something different, or do you still really enjoy it?
Just wondering, as I know I really enjoy it and highly recommend new readers start with your Polity books.
A very relevant question considering my 'departure' in the last year. No, I don't get tired of writing about the Polity because it is big and diverse so I can tell just about any sfnal story in it. However, I do fear getting stale and formulaic, lazy in fact. Having a crack at something new or different keeps me on my toes.
I like the Polity. I think you can play with it to your hearts content forever, and I really don't think writing outside of that universe would have any effect on your fan base what so ever as long as what you write stands up.
For me, Hilldiggers was spoiled in some ways by being in the Polity universe, or better put being in the Polity universe in within it’s time frame, I think it should have been much further along, maybe a few hundred years further. The whole adaption to environment is an interesting route to travel, because (and I’m sure you’ve got this under wraps) the lack of alien civilizations found thus far leaves the door open for finding all sorts of other human adapted remnants from generation ships, forgotten and lost, no record of their origins and entirely (by human standard format) alien.
The master of monsters indeed! a definite for your business card.
Graeme, Hilldiggers was a lot further on. Check its position on the timeline: http://freespace.virgin.net/n.asher/page70.html
Business card, Thud? I gave up on the idea of them decades ago when someone suggested I put 'grass maintenance technician'.
I'm sorry Neal. It just wasn't my favourite, but as ever there was a shed losd of gold in it.
Post a Comment