The Humani, by Stephen Palmer

[dave.b]

Many long breaks! The first draft was 2010, but events in my personal life made me stack it away. Then I made a second, smoother draft. It still didn't feel quite right, though, some inner sense told me there was something missing. A few years later I realised there was a whole third story that needed telling. Then, last year going into this year, I edited and honed the fourth version, which is what has been published. Very occasionally (as with my debut Memory Seed), something about the characters of a world or the world itself draws me back. In my experience, this is a good sign.
Can I interest you in an image of the underworld of Portitor the Ferryman?

View attachment 111369

Does Portitor ferry dead souls from one dimension to the next? Matrixesque and ominous looking...

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Does Portitor ferry dead souls from one dimension to the next? Matrixesque and ominous looking...

Well... he ferries something across the River Stygos. Dead Humani, as everyone says, who then go on to Divinita. The Simi, by contrast, go straight into the ground when they die...

 

[Stephen Palmer]

A screen inside a forest.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Have added a link to the Amazon page in the first post, so not buried in the thread.

Any sign of the ebook, yet? Usually it's just a case of uploading your Word file directly, checking a few options, then go?

 

[dave.b]

how do you know the book you have now is better than the book you wrote 13 years ago?

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Have added a link to the Amazon page in the first post, so not buried in the thread.

Any sign of the ebook, yet? Usually it's just a case of uploading your Word file directly, checking a few options, then go?

Been mega busy with Stuff! You know... that kind of stuff. Hoping to sort the ebook this weekend.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

how do you know the book you have now is better than the book you wrote 13 years ago?

That's a really interesting question! Me and my other half are gonna watch telly now, so will reply tomorrow.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

how do you know the book you have now is better than the book you wrote 13 years ago?

Well, for a start, an author like me never stops learning. There were elements to the first draft that were clunky. I recognised that later. Also, I sensed later on that the book as a whole was incomplete, something I hadn't noticed before. Hence, the third tale of Moliri and Periculum. A lot of the reason I kept on with this one was to use "emotional distance" from the thing in order to see it better - a standard editing technique.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

More from the underworld...

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Heaven or hell?

 

[Stephen Palmer]

The ebook of The Humani will be available from Thursday 2nd November. Many thanks to everyone who has commented on this thread, been interested in the novel, and enjoyed the images.
Here's another view of the Machinati sector.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

It may be hard to believe that an author of my longevity struggles with anything, but, like everyone, I do. I've delayed the ebook of The Humani owing to being uncertain about how my fans might react to it. Today, I received a positive response, so I shall go ahead with the ebook.
This is from a long-time fan of my work. "... I feel I need to give it a second read. More complex than Factory Girl and Monique/Monica, both of which stood out for me as easily being movies or short series. In some ways it reminds me of your earliest books. I want to wrap my head around the parallel character stories in The Humani and better grasp how they intersect. Don't shed light! I want to read it again

But the short answer for now is I enjoyed it. Gripping characters. Sucked me in and kept me curious as regards the gaps of understanding I need to fill in. Fun creatures and 'entities'. Familiar Steve themes... Dead is DEAD, or is it? The soul?"

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Ebook should be available early next week. Keep checking on amazon. Only 1.99...

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Jolly pleased with this amazon review, especially the "you don't know what the ingredients are" comment!
'The Humani is well written and intriguing. Most sci-fi/fantasy writing depends on the familiar, and genuinely alien or fantastical worlds and societies are a rarity, largely because it can be hard to pull them off convincingly. Stephen Palmer manages it with this book, in ways that reminded me of Gene Wolfe's New Sun series. Like Wolfe, he does not hold your hand and explain everything, but instead leaves you to enjoy the strangeness and work out what you can about the world as you read it. The mystery in the story is also something you work out as you read, and is not obvious, which makes a refreshing change from the multitude of stories with cookie cutter storytelling. It was an engaging, fascinating read that felt like having a really good meal in a distant land you have never had before with ingredients that taste hauntingly familiar, but you have no idea what they actually are. Its one of those books you enjoy reading, then understand better if you reread it, and it captivates you enough to want to.' (Peter, amazon.com)