I’ve finally turned it around. The latest book, written
intermittently over the last couple of years, was a mess. I’ve said before how
I just let myself go with the writing following plot threads that led off into
the wilderness and then, on numerous occasions, tore the whole thing apart and
put it back together again. This time I’ve again torn it apart, rewritten it
and stuck it back together again. And it’s working.
I am now 9 chapters in and can get back to writing new stuff.
I did my 2,000 words yesterday but am not yet contemplating going back to doing
that five days a week. I don’t want to push too hard and find myself bouncing
out again, which has happened before. Anyway, I have some other writing-related
work to get on with and I have a life to rebuild beyond slaving at a word
processor for you lot!
But on the subject of the new book, I can’t leave this post
without a few obligatory teases. I decided to make the character who delivered
something nasty to a weapons platform – one of many around a particular
accretion disc – an expendable character who does not appear in the rest of the
book. An entity I have dubbed ‘the wheel’ might be a Jain AI. I don’t know – I just
write this stuff as it comes to me. Anyway, it certainly shows a great deal of
interest in a Jain super-soldier. And Orlandine … why is she building two war
runcibles?
Heh.
10 comments:
I just finished War Factory. I needed to get in to it, but it's -fantastic-, maybe my favourite Asher yet (I've read all the other ones several times. It'll have to crystallize).
I do hope I'm missing something and the best character will turn out not to be gone...
This presumably predates the reappearance of the Jain in Orbus. Can a war runcible wipe out a proto star and accretion disc?
Your book sounds interesting. My own last one, scheduled for publication by the end of the year, is merely a fantasy story of a girl and a dragon :/
I stumbled on Neal's work a couple of years ago and have avidly hunted down every series and book since. I am finishing War Factory now, which is possibly the best yet, but knowing there's no more Asher, I am rationing myself to a few pages a night, even though I want to finish it in one sitting. Neal is up there with Tolkien, Donaldson and Herbert and I hope has many more stories to tell. Love the Polity, love the irascible AIs, love the various enemies and the human condition tying it all together.
I could not believe my luck stumbling upon Mr Asher, after a long time away from serious reading (20 years or more) I slowly started to discover newer writers, (an Asimov fan to the last) my three current favourites Reynolds (The prefect), Donaldson (gap) and now Neal Asher, The Polity universe, starting at the wrong end of the time line of course, but now working my way back by starting in chronological order, a few more for me to get through yet though. I can not imagine how hard it is to keep or rekindle focus and an imaginative flow especially with life events carrying on around, such as Neal has endured in the recent nearsome, (his forword will never go unread) and good to hear that things are back on a roll in that department. Now I have to get back to repairing that old ag motor....
Sounds great Neal, finger's crossed! :-)
Hi Neal,
I've been trying to email you, but I only have your old address,
I recently discovered that a novella of mine was published in the Czech anthology, Plameny Hvězd, edited by Martin Sust. I received no payment for it. Six other Brit SF authors had novellas in the same volume - yourself (The Engineer), Steve Baxter, Paul McAuley, Al Reynolds, Charles Stross and Ken MacLeod.
I'm writing to these worthies to see if their tales were used without permission or payment, too. I've heard back from Steve and Paul: their tales were used illegally. Yours too?
Trust this finds you well.
All the best, Eric.
Maybe a Csorian needs to return to the Milky Way looking for some payback!
Please give more prominent spoiler warnings. I, and many people I know, make it a policy not to read in-progress trilogies until they are done (still bought it, just sitting in my e-reader library until Infinity Engine is out). This wasn't too bad but it's still a little spoilery (especially since I am waiting to read this trilogy before I continue past The Technician since I got to it just as War Factory was coming out, so I figured I would stick to chronological order).
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