Thursday 30 October 2008

Creatures of Halcygen

I.C. - Knight Wearing Sallet (1985)I often complain about art blurbs. Now here's your chance to criticize my blurb for Krorn Sunrise, the first volume of Creatures of Halcygen by yours truly. Click the title link to read Chapter 1.

The Blurb

Krorn Sunrise is the first volume of an adult fantasy saga of alien invasion in a medieval world: Creatures of Halcygen. The second volume, Knife Grass, is completed and awaits publication.

This saga is not for the squeamish. It is violent, brutal and bloody, politically incorrect, irreligious and sexually blunt; but it has fast-paced action, endearing families and wit. It also boasts strong characters, from perky Apprentice Duval to his 200-year-old master, Wizard Shelraw, who has occasionally been mistaken for God.

Have you ever wondered why fictional characters are so weak? Even the Great Detective takes 100,000 words to find the vital clue. It's because authors have an ending in mind when they begin their stories. Their characters must be weak to be manipulated into reaching that ending. Look at Hamlet, dithering until tragedy strikes.

My characters needed to be strong enough to create their own ending. I set them mountainous problems to overcome: two vast invading armies of aliens seeking human blood and flesh, while the unsuspecting humans make war amongst themselves. There is no magic spell to resolve the story in its final chapter. It can be resolved only by strong leadership. I had no idea whether my characters would succeed or fail.

Then the aliens began developing personalities of their own. And the reptiles have wizards too! That's when the story became really scary....

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