[Rob B]

OK, finished the book and have time to post my thoughts.

I liked the book as I said in earlier posts. I thought all the characters were well fleshed out and believable in the context of the story and the "world" of the novel.

As much as I liked Marias' character it seemed rather quick how the zor and humans were able to accept each other as allies rather than enemies.

That being said, I can accept Sergei's initial support of Marias in that Marias was driving towards the solution that Sergei had been wishing for his whole life, the end of the war. I think as a veteran of the war, he was tired of fighting it and saw past the beaurocratic propoganda that the Empire tried to perpetuate in stopping Marias. I saw Segei as serving humanity and the Empire (as the collective humanity) taking precdence over serving the Empire as goverment.

I agree with Kam about the Wing movements in the speech, it really adds a depth to the culture of the Zor and also further shows how alien the creatures are--humans had to really think unlike themselves to see that as part of the way the Zor communicated.

Stone's status as esGa'u. In the secret organization the color missing from ROY G BIV was Indigo, I simply thought Stone was agent Indigo, a rogue agent at that. I didn't initially think he was anything more than that, but as the story unfoloded, I came to realize he had a much bigger part in the scheme of things.

As I said earlier with the comparision of Doc Smith's Lensman series--the higher forces at play in the sense that the zor refer to working/fighting a greater force than humans and the whole thing with the four forces/roles of power of esesLi, esGa'u, esHu'ur, and esTli'ir.

I am really looking forward to the remaing books in this saga.

[hotc]

Originally posted by Fitz
OK, finished the book and have time to post my thoughts.

...

As much as I liked Marias' character it seemed rather quick how the zor and humans were able to accept each other as allies rather than enemies.


Not all zor were so quick to accept this notion - the High Lord's choice was not something that Lord HeU'ur found palatable. But there was no choice to not follow the High Lord - the alternative would be to become idju.

What the interaction between zor and human will be like in the future . . . take a look at Book 2. :-)

Walter.

[Rob B]

I realized that not all the zor accepted the human/zor alliance so quickly and that there was some dissention. Within the context of the pacing of the novel, the end of the war was right. After 60 years of fighting a war it seemed quick, but either that is a consequence of war or illustrates how strongly the zor adhere to the religous/mystical beliefs.

[CybrGamr]

Walter,

Thanks for a most enjoyable book - it was really my first foray into science fiction outside of the star wars novels, and I quite enjoyed it!

I was particularly fond of your character interactions, my favorite scene being the scene in the wardroom on the Lancaster where the Zor meet with Sergei, Chan and the officers. I was able to get a feel for the Zor from that scene - the perspective change from human to zor also helped that. Most enjoyable scene.

Stone was referred to by the Red agent - I believe - when he said "we have lost our informant on the Lancaster" - or at least that is how I took that. Was I incorrect in that? He was playing many sides of the fence it seems. He was Marais's aide, he was an Agency operative, and still playing for a third side. Correct?

I too thought the Zor gave in to the humans rather quickly. The first scenes depicted the Zor as fierce warriors. I was expecting many hotly-contested battles n the rest of the book. But after those scenes, it seemed the fleet had an easier time moving into Zor space. I understand the reasoning behind the Zor philosphy change (and their beliefs) but it did seem a rather quick end to 60 years of war.

It didn't lessen my enjoyment of the book any. I approach these types of novels with a "suspension of reality" if you will. The universe is yours to do with as you please, so I don't get hung up on what is realistic and what isn't.

The characters of Marais and Torrijos were well developed. I loved the statement Sergei (and the 60+ officers) made at the trial by resigning. I look forward to seeing their involvement in the rest of the books.

I'm not much of a reviewer or critic, as I usually take a book as face value (I don't usually read into them too much). The dark Wing was most enjoyable, and I look forward to the rest of them.

[hotc]

Originally posted by CybrGamr
Stone was referred to by the Red agent - I believe - when he said "we have lost our informant on the Lancaster" - or at least that is how I took that. Was I incorrect in that?

Incorrect, actually. There was an agent in the fleet, but it wasn't Stone.


I too thought the Zor gave in to the humans rather quickly. The first scenes depicted the Zor as fierce warriors. I was expecting many hotly-contested battles n the rest of the book. But after those scenes, it seemed the fleet had an easier time moving into Zor space.


Well, there were several hundred thousand zor casualties that put paid to that idea. There are a couple of battles that are not described.


I understand the reasoning behind the Zor philosphy change (and their beliefs) but it did seem a rather quick end to 60 years of war.


The only other outcome would be xenocide, so while that's true it is possibly the only other way the war could've come out.


I'm not much of a reviewer or critic, as I usually take a book as face value (I don't usually read into them too much). The dark Wing was most enjoyable, and I look forward to the rest of them.

So do I!

[hotc]

Folks,

I'm going to be offline until late next week - I'm on vacation and don't expect to get to a browser much.

I've tried to reply to comments and questions in a timely fashion, but it'll have to wait until I get back - so if you ask a question or want a clarification, don't think I'm being rude or ignoring you if it isn't handled for awhile.

This is a great discussion thread and I've enjoyed participating.

Also, I've just added some new events to my schedule on my homepage (http://hotc.home.attbi.com) - so I hope to see some of you in the near future.

Walter.

[hotc]

I'm back from Germany, and ready to jump in again. Looks like everyone else took a vacation too :-)

Should have some exciting news for everyone shortly.

Walter.

[Erfael]

As we near the end of the month, I'd like to dredge something up from the beginning of the month and maybe kick a little life back into this one.


Mr. Hunt, I am curious to hear (perhaps toward the end of the month after we hash things out a little more here) what some of your thinking was as you approached the writing. I am also curious (not necessarily at the end of the month) what some of your biggest influences are. I have a few that I might pick, but I'm curious what you have to say about it. Erf.


Excusing the Mr. Hunt at the beginning, I would like it if you would let us in on some of your thinking as relates to issues you wanted to address, some sylistic thoughts you may have had, and some of your biggest influences in shaping this story and its world. I look forward to hearing from you again. Erf.

[hotc]

Originally posted by Erfael
As we near the end of the month, I'd like to dredge something up from the beginning of the month and maybe kick a little life back into this one.





Excusing the Mr. Hunt at the beginning, I would like it if you would let us in on some of your thinking as relates to issues you wanted to address, some sylistic thoughts you may have had, and some of your biggest influences in shaping this story and its world. I look forward to hearing from you again. Erf.

The first objective in doing something like this is to tell a good story. No one will read a science fiction novel for its philosophical underpinnings unless it's also interesting, entertaining, and/or fun to read.

That being said, I did have some objectives in mind. First, this is a war book, but I'm not a war hawk; war is a nasty, destructive business that involves killing people. In the end, there's nothing glamorous about that. There's a scene late in the book involving Yuri Okome and Sharon MacEwan in which Yuri, an old veteran, points out to Sharon that she's offended that there's a part of this war that isn't "honorable", and that's too damn bad. The fact is, realistically, the glory of war is only enjoyed in retrospect.

Second, I intend to portray my concept of history in this series: that it's a wave phenomenon (things lead to other things) but also a particle phenomenon (single events and more particularly single people can completely change its course). Also, some of the great history-changing people emerge from nowhere and disappear to the same place. Their origins and their ultimate fate remain a mystery. You'll see more of that as the series progresses.

Stylistically, I've maintained the structure of two parts per book - and there are four books in all; thus, eight parts, corresponding to the zor fondness for things in fours and eights. I've tried to inject a certain numerical consistency in large and small things throughout the book; particularly observant readers will notice them. (There are even four oblique Masonic references in the book. :-))

Hope that begins to answer your questions.

Walter.

[hotc]

Originally posted by hotc
I'm back from Germany, and ready to jump in again. Looks like everyone else took a vacation too :-)

Should have some exciting news for everyone shortly.

Walter.


And here it is:

Tor Books has made an offer on the next two books in the series. The third book, The Dark Ascent (working title), is in their hands, and will be published some time in mid 2004. The fourth book, The Dark Crusade (working title), is currently under development.

This is very exciting, as Tor has never bought a book from me without having the manuscript in hand. Their interest in the rest of the series, and by extension in my writing, is most gratifying.

More details to come on my web site.

Regards,

Walter.