Jon Mollison picks up from Nathan Housely to give his impression of Souldancer chapters 13-19.
A warning to anyone who hasn’t read the book, Jon’s review CONTAINS SPOILERS.
During the teen portions of Souldancer our Guildsman betrays the trio to a creepy pranadrinker, but meets his comeuppance when they survive thanks to Xander’s mysterious powers. They escape from the Isnashi hunters by using a magictech portal that drops Nahel and Damus off in a vast Guild space, but drops Xander off in the clutches of a terrifying nightmare…of sorts.
Just popping in to say how much I love the fitting ambiguity of the phrase “a terrifying nightmare…of sorts”.
I also find the inaccurate interpretations in Jon’s reviews just as interesting and enlightening as his accurate ones. Keep in mind that the plots of my books make perfect sense to me because I’m the author, and I know what everything means and where it’s going. Seeing how people misread clues, foreshadowings, and outright expositional statements gives me valuable insight into how readers process my prose.
Which is all a convoluted way of saying that Brain Neimeier [sic] might be crafting more detailed and intricate plots that any author working today. His books are woven through with so many threads, it can be hard to keep track, and you often find yourself wondering about the significance of what you’re reading. There are moments where I have to remind myself to be patient – all will be revealed in due course.
I’m flattered by Jon’s remarks, but honestly I don’t think my plots are that complicated. It is true that I prefer not to indulge in lengthy exposition, and I have an aversion to redundancy. You can still enjoy reading the Soul Cycle on the bus ride to work or before bed, but those who give the story their undivided attention will find even richer rewards.
That sort of reveal takes time to set up, and Neimeier [sic] shows tremendous patience in laying all of the groundwork in order to maximize the power of the reveal.
Delayed gratification is the best gratification. Again, I’m flattered, but if I didn’t have patience, I’d need to find another line of work.
If you’d like to experience one of the most original, lovingly crafted sci-fi/fantasy worlds in years, the Soul Cycle is now on sale for less than the price of a single Tor eBook.
The way you described the Pranaphage's appearance reminded me of the Chozo from Metroid, was that an inspiration?
Among other things. The Metroid series is one of my favorites. Good eye!