Growing Worlds

Posted on by Sarah A. Hoyt

I guess vacation starts on Wednesday as far as the blog is concerned.  I’ve been writing and completely ignoring the date, so I just realized tomorrow is the drop date for Darkship Revenge.

And in case you forgot this great cover, here it is:

51x643uifpl

And yes, the cover is a buying link, since even with my title of the World’s Worst Promoter Ever, I’m not that bad ;)

So, what can I tell you about Darkship Revenge?  The minor answers are the one you’ve been waiting for since the end of Darkship Renegades.  Yes, the book opens with Athena having a child.  And honestly, guys, like most of us who thought we’d be disasters at it, she’s not a bad mother.  Yes, she does use her kid as a decoy and once as a sort of shield (in the sense she thinks people are less likely to shoot a mother) but not as a weapon.  Our Athena is coming on.

However, when you write many books with the same voice, sooner or later you realize this is not about the character.  The first one, sure.  And for fans of Athena, yes, she is still very much present and her voice… well, she is still Athena.

But after a while, the books, even in a character’s first person voice, become ensemble casts.

The first surprise that is no surprise is that the Je Reviens… did. When you name something “I return” you sort of have to expect that.  And I did.

What I didn’t expect is the circumstances of its return, and who is aboard the Je Reviens.  You know (and I know) I always seemed to assume the best of the Bio-Lords/Mules went away on the Je Reviens and left the dangerous ones, the maimed, the difficult behind.

Well, let’s say (pictures scene from Independence Day when Area 51 is mentioned) “that is not PRECISELY true.”

The manner of their return leaves the Earth in dire straits, and if it hasn’t destroyed Eden, has come close.  Which is why Kit and Thena and an expedition of their friends will fight for Eden in the next book “Darkship Defiance.”

This book introduces a lot of juveniles.  I never set out to write a “generational saga” but this seems now inevitable.  Someone I didn’t want to die, dies.  That seems to be becoming a thing.

Which brings us to…

This book is also Fuse’s book.  He is still somewhat impaired, but healing fast through the book (an interesting trick to write, btw.)  Because the only reason for the existence of the “heirs” of the Mules, on Earth is to present the appearance there’s no cloning (life extension is achieved in other way on Eden and on board of the Je Reviens — more on that later) the “Heir” must look ready to inherit.  Fuse, obviously, wasn’t, and his father has created a new heir.  Unfortunately for his father he has some illness as yet unspecified that will not allow him to live long enough to wait for his new “heir” to grow up.  It is therefore necessary that Fuse, with all his dangerous knowledge, be rehabilitated.  Publicly.

He’s captured and put in a hospital and injected with various things that act slowly but surely (as well as I presume given an initial regen.)  Yes, I know how he escaped the hospital.  It’s tied in with his OWN story.  But he escaped while still far from well.  Let’s say he was pushed.  Only the slow acting nanocites continue working.  He’s also been given a series of messages (which we don’t know about in this book) in the form of sensis, where he relives parts of his past.

Anyway, he runs into Athena, and as he “grows” through the novel he’s both comic relief and (to quote Kate) rather heartbreaking.

His own novel will be Hacking the Storm, the third of the Earth Revolution, which is up next on the work table at least for my afternoon work.

So, you ask, how come the original Mules are still aboard the Je Reviens? After all the Mules on Earth age and die.

Yeah.  What happens with the inheritance of Good Men on Earth is the result of bad law and unintended consequences.  It is, in fact, the reason I started writing the first book, lo, those many years ago (remember Dolly?  That was when.  Older son was, I think, 5.  He’s now 25 and in medschool.  WHERE did the time go?  Darkship Thieves just took 13 years to be bought.  This is something that people won’t understand in another couple of years, thanks to Indie, but it was a fact of life of traditional publishing.  I.e. there was no other resort, if no one bought your book.  I wonder how many books moldered in drawers and were eventually thrown away, books we would have, perhaps, liked to read?)

There was, then, talk of outlawing cloning, and I thought “you can’t outlaw something like that; you can just make it go underground and vicious.”

There was also talk of creating children who are just clones, for a brain/parts transplant.  And I thought “but if cloning is not illegal, science will go on, and eventually it will be possible to cone PARTS of people for transplant and life extension.  However, if it’s illegal, they’ll have to have children, and raise them as their heirs, and keep it secret.”

Of course, the Mules turned Good Men outlawed cloning for two reasons: to calm the populace, and to pretend their true nature from being found out.  Thena is still in the process of having her nose rubbed into “law is for the little people.” She doesn’t like it.

In Eden the process of life extension is to replace aged parts with purpose-grown parts, not whole bodies.  I will be honest and say I’m not yet sure how they did it in the Je Reviens, but I have a funny feeling in my gut.  They’re NOT good people.

I don’t know what else to say about the book, save that I think it’s the best I’ve written to date (this might change.)  Also, that it opens entire new panoramas for the directions in which the Darkship world will grow in the future.

I intended to do a reading, but I’ve been using Advair for the asthma, and my voice keeps going away.  (To be fair I always had issues with laryngitis for any number of reasons.  Anyway, right now I can’t do a reading.

I have posters of the cover.  Should you want one, signed (by the author, not the artist) please put your name in the hat in comments.  I HAVE to do a post-office run tomorrow, no matter how much I hate to ;)

If you have read the book, in e-arc and enjoyed it, it would be greatly appreciated if you can leave a review on the first day.  For whatever crazy reason, it seems to help Amazon rankings!

I will, needless to say, answer questions in comments.  Of course, the answer might be “Pfui.  Read the book.” Or not.  We’ll see, right?

70 thoughts on “Growing Worlds”

  1. Darkship Defiance should be called (checks snerk collar) “Big Momma vs Bad Dadda”. :evil:

    As for what I meant by that… Tum, te, tum, te, tum . . . . :grin:

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’d love a poster. And as soon as I get the book into my eyeholes I’ll get a review up. (at Kobo too, since that poor site is so neglected…)(I can’t help that I love their ereaders…)

      Like

        1. Now you know why some people say “Word Press Must Die!”. :grin:

          Like

  2. “WHERE did the time go?”

    Mostly, if your life has been at all similar to mine, it snuck away while you were being distracted.

    (Stoopid WP: “snuck” is too a word. I do not want snick, suck nor shack. I do not want them in a sentence, I do not want them in the back. I do not want snick, suck nor shack, so bugger off you useless hack. WP Delenda Est.)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. *chuckle* It got sucked away into the intake of the log truck that broke down on me this morning, snickering away while walking to the shack of a gas station to use the phone, and then buggered off before anyone could catch hold of it and make it do something useful. Just seems to be the way of things.

      Like

  3. Anything that the people who think they should be in charge want, if made illegal or declared immoral, will continue in some form or fashion. Of course, this could lead to some really interesting results if/when they discover that no, they are NOT in charge and the real People In Charge have ways to make their “no” stick.

    Or society could be torn apart as the two groups battle. (Yes, I need more caffeine.)

    Like

    1. Who doesn’t. Need more caffeine, that is. Writer are addicts. I’d think half of the confessions in “Writers Anonymous” concern coffee and energy drinks rather than the actual writing addiction. :/ (I know, I’ve been thinking of joining, but…)

      Like

    2. Tell that to the fine folks who want to outlaw this or that for whatever reason. I need not elaborate too much, it’s The Usual Folks for The Usual Reasons. Illegality only abandons the product in question to the black market. It’s like what I tell people who are all-out for gun control. “No matter what laws you pass, there will still be a civilian gun culture. The only thing it decides is whether it will be a lawful, responsible and accountable culture or a criminal one with no limits, no decency and no restraint.” Same with cloning, “vices” or anything else.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. You can’t stop trade with laws. You can just make it more expensive to do business. Once the risk/reward gets to extremes. Only desperate, nasty, stupid, venal, brave, oddly righteous or other nefarious people join the trade.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. By the way, I liked Athena’s lecture to “Little Brother” (and the other juveniles) after he said that he wasn’t human. (He had a terrible upbringing, if you can call it upbringing.)

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Humph!

        All True Sarah Fans Will Have Purchased The eARC or Will Have The eBook Tomorrow! :grin:

        Oh, there’s something else about the lecture that I haven’t mentioned and mentioning that Would Set Off The Snerk Collar. :wink:

        Liked by 1 person

  6. hehehe.. you have know created an entire world. It can get distressing– and then all of a sudden you have to keep writing in it… for how would all these people exist without words?

    Liked by 1 person

          1. Mimeo? Sal Mimeo? Two-time Oscar nominated actor and pop star sadly forgotten since his mysterious death?

            Loved him in Rebel Without a Cause and Exodus.

            Like

          2. Or did you mean mimeograph?

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3b6MnCvjts
            This irresistible Paris original,
            All slinky with sin;
            Already slunk in
            And I could die.
            And I could kill her.

            This irresistible Paris original,
            Tres sexy, n’est pas?
            God damn it, voila
            And I could spit.

            Thirty-nine bucks I hand out
            For something to make me stand out
            And suddenly I’ve gone into mimeograph.
            Some laugh!

            One of my favorite B-way musicals!

            Like

        2. Well it’s better than being a statist or instate. :)
          And yes I do live in a province. :D

          Like

    1. One of the “children” of the Good Men. Mentioned in an earlier story has having major brain damage. Mind of a child and a love of explosives. He was part of Athena’s Bomber-Gang.

      Like

  9. I’d love a poster. And as soon as I get the book into my eyeholes I’ll get a review up. (at Kobo too, since that poor site is so neglected…)(I can’t help that I love their ereaders…)

    Like

  11. Somehow thought Fuse was dead, awkward… Revenge was ordered long ago, Amazon promises delivery tomorrow. Would like a poster, please add me to the drawing.
    As far as med school, tell your son to choose very carefully when it comes to specialty. He is making a choice that will change his life dramatically, and may change him too. A lot of pain lies ahead in residency. Personality match seems to be a good index for happiness in specialties. Stereotypes of specialties exist for a reason: they’re not universal, but they’re good leading indicators. Best of luck to him, I hope he keeps his humanity intact.

    Like

      1. maybe he should be an allergy doc. just sayin, I’m sure you could use the discount :D

        Like

      3. Yeah, pretty much. In neurology, you know a lot, and can’t do a thing about it. Maybe try to shadow a procedure-driven doc not doing surgery? Critical care, GI, Pulmonary, Anesthesia? My best to him.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Not just that. It’s also the fact that even when there is something you can do about it, the smallest error, including drinking an extra cup of coffee making your hands shake almost imperceptibly, has catastrophic consequences for the patient and their loved ones.

          Like

  13. Woohoo new book! I’ll grab it Friday and not sleep much this weekend :D

    I would love a poster and you wouldn’t even have to mail it as I will be in your neck of the woods more than once this month.

    Like

  15. OK, I’ve preordered. This is good timing, as I have a long plane ride coming up this week, and a new Darkship book sounds like a good way to use the time.

    If there’s any room left in the hat, I’d like to throw my name in for one of those posters. Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

  21. “I wonder how many books moldered in drawers and were eventually thrown away, books we would have, perhaps, liked to read?”

    In Dorothy Sayers’ mystery The Documents in the Case, one character is a writer, who is persuaded to dig out and submit an early novel he considered worthless. To his profound astonishment, it becomes a huge best-seller.

    Like

  22. If it’s not too late, put me down for a poster. I’m only recently into the series, though, so if it’s down to me and a longtime fan, pick them instead. I’m one of those who came here for the politics after finding out about you from Larry Correia, but I’ve since stayed for the entertainment. And the politics.

    Congratulations on continuing the series! I’m looking forward to working my way through them all.

    And I remember Dolly! I forget what grade I was in, but I remember most of us were both freaked out and excited by the idea of cloning. It worked its way into a lot of my fanfiction a few years later, so it must’ve had an impact.

    Like

  23. Yay. I have a trip out of town in two weeks, and was dreading running out of reading material. Now I just have to resist actually reading this long awaited book for two weeks.

    Who am I kidding? I’ll have it finished by bedtime tomorrow.

    Liked by 1 person

  24. I need to get up to speed on this series. Maybe I’ll catch up with this before I grab that third Dyce Dare book. :)

    (Ooooh, and I would *love* a signed poster. I haven’t had a fan poster on my wall in decades!)

    Like

Comments are closed.