JessGulbranson
2010-08-18, 11:02 AM
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It's hard out here for an antipaladin.
The city of D is in trouble. The forces of 'good' want to keep the people down, by using an iron fist in a velvet glove- but they're going to draw back an iron stump if Kannon has anything to say about it.
The world needs an antihero. Here he is in demonic armor, joined by an unorthodox wizard, an alchemist trying to break the glass ceiling, and the "Last of the Red-hot Archliches" as they hack-and-slash their way through an irreverent postmodern bloodbath, dragged kicking and screaming from behind a GM's screen in your mom's basement.
Hey kids. So, I realize this may be skirting the edges of the no-advertisement rule, but this book isn't technically published yet, and I'm mainly looking to get some feedback and maybe the Giant's blessing. Heh.
I've only been reading OotS for a couple of months, and have been on the forum slightly less, but already I like the people here. So much that I've even landed into a PbP game... and I swore I would never play D&D again. :smalltongue:
So, I was mainly wondering if any of you savvy cats would be interested in taking a look at my manuscript and offer up some thoughts. It is definitely coming out later this year. My publisher and I refuse to delay any longer! So if you would be interested, comment on this thread and I'll see about getting you a pdf.
This has been a tricky book to put out, and instead of explaining it all again, I'll attach the Afterword, which also mentions OotS and its Giant and its forums. So let me know your thoughts on all this. I'd like to hear what you have to say.
AUTHOR’S AFTERWORD
This book nearly wasn’t.
In fact, it seems as close to cursed as a book can be. Antipaladin Blues has weathered delay, divorces, illness, bereavement… and even the looming specter of China Mieville’s awesomeness. I began it years ago on little yellow legal pads written in the mill control room at my job. When I mentioned the concept to a friend, they described its apparent similarity to Perdido Street Station, and I was crestfallen. I had already abandoned the sequel to MEL when I read a Dan Simmons novel and realized my intended plotline was almost identical. So it sat gathering dust while my world fell apart around me.
A few things changed. I was free of the abusive marriage and had time to write. I read Perdido Street Station and found that aside from a general urban anachronistic fantasy vibe, the two novels were very different. Then I found Evil Nerd Empire. Jeremy Needle liked what he read, and believed in both me and the book, enough to want there to be a trilogy. Now you’re holding the result in your hand.
I won’t condescend to explain the layers and nuances beneath the cursing and ultraviolence of this book, dear reader- I’ll simply point out that they are there. Pieces of art can have a transformative value for both the producer and consumer, and my meditations on the nature of good and evil have been quite the revelation to me. I hope that you will continue on this journey with me- along with Kannon and the rest of the crew.
No afterword would be complete without acknowledging those people who helped make it possible. I'd like to thank Ray and Brigitte, my tattoo sponsors, for making my forays into publishing as awesome as being a red hot guitar shredder. If you need any kind of ink, and are in Portland for any reason, look them up at Lucid Ink. You will not be disappointed. I'd also like to thank the amazing talent that went into this book: my editors Garrett Cook and Whitney Streed, and illustrators Nick Rose and Jesse Lindsay. Jesse's cover art now adorns my body permanently, and if you want a nerd shibboleth geekier than having the word 'antipaladin' tattooed on your body, you will not find one.
It came to be that after this book was long done, I ran into a webcomic called Order of the Stick, by Rich Burlew, which is not only amazing and hilarious, but shares a number of similarities with Antipaladin Blues. Coffee-loving powerful lich... check. Morally questionable protagonists... check. Anachronistic pop culture and gaming references... DOUBLE CHECK. These similarities are not only unintentional, but probably unavoidable. If you're deconstructing fantasy roleplay, you're either going to go with some 'blurring the fourth wall' pap or in our case, 'trope madness'. So to Mr. Burlew, and the fine folks on his forum, thanks for introducing me to a whole new world of dungeon shenanigans... like Frank Trollman's [Tomes]. Read, and be forever changed.
Last but not least, I'd like to thank my mother, who encouraged me through some dark times and tolerated a lot of listening to The Doors, and I'd mostly like to thank my wife Kayla. You are the love of my life, and I'm so glad you were here when I typed those last few words.
It's hard out here for an antipaladin.
The city of D is in trouble. The forces of 'good' want to keep the people down, by using an iron fist in a velvet glove- but they're going to draw back an iron stump if Kannon has anything to say about it.
The world needs an antihero. Here he is in demonic armor, joined by an unorthodox wizard, an alchemist trying to break the glass ceiling, and the "Last of the Red-hot Archliches" as they hack-and-slash their way through an irreverent postmodern bloodbath, dragged kicking and screaming from behind a GM's screen in your mom's basement.
Hey kids. So, I realize this may be skirting the edges of the no-advertisement rule, but this book isn't technically published yet, and I'm mainly looking to get some feedback and maybe the Giant's blessing. Heh.
I've only been reading OotS for a couple of months, and have been on the forum slightly less, but already I like the people here. So much that I've even landed into a PbP game... and I swore I would never play D&D again. :smalltongue:
So, I was mainly wondering if any of you savvy cats would be interested in taking a look at my manuscript and offer up some thoughts. It is definitely coming out later this year. My publisher and I refuse to delay any longer! So if you would be interested, comment on this thread and I'll see about getting you a pdf.
This has been a tricky book to put out, and instead of explaining it all again, I'll attach the Afterword, which also mentions OotS and its Giant and its forums. So let me know your thoughts on all this. I'd like to hear what you have to say.
AUTHOR’S AFTERWORD
This book nearly wasn’t.
In fact, it seems as close to cursed as a book can be. Antipaladin Blues has weathered delay, divorces, illness, bereavement… and even the looming specter of China Mieville’s awesomeness. I began it years ago on little yellow legal pads written in the mill control room at my job. When I mentioned the concept to a friend, they described its apparent similarity to Perdido Street Station, and I was crestfallen. I had already abandoned the sequel to MEL when I read a Dan Simmons novel and realized my intended plotline was almost identical. So it sat gathering dust while my world fell apart around me.
A few things changed. I was free of the abusive marriage and had time to write. I read Perdido Street Station and found that aside from a general urban anachronistic fantasy vibe, the two novels were very different. Then I found Evil Nerd Empire. Jeremy Needle liked what he read, and believed in both me and the book, enough to want there to be a trilogy. Now you’re holding the result in your hand.
I won’t condescend to explain the layers and nuances beneath the cursing and ultraviolence of this book, dear reader- I’ll simply point out that they are there. Pieces of art can have a transformative value for both the producer and consumer, and my meditations on the nature of good and evil have been quite the revelation to me. I hope that you will continue on this journey with me- along with Kannon and the rest of the crew.
No afterword would be complete without acknowledging those people who helped make it possible. I'd like to thank Ray and Brigitte, my tattoo sponsors, for making my forays into publishing as awesome as being a red hot guitar shredder. If you need any kind of ink, and are in Portland for any reason, look them up at Lucid Ink. You will not be disappointed. I'd also like to thank the amazing talent that went into this book: my editors Garrett Cook and Whitney Streed, and illustrators Nick Rose and Jesse Lindsay. Jesse's cover art now adorns my body permanently, and if you want a nerd shibboleth geekier than having the word 'antipaladin' tattooed on your body, you will not find one.
It came to be that after this book was long done, I ran into a webcomic called Order of the Stick, by Rich Burlew, which is not only amazing and hilarious, but shares a number of similarities with Antipaladin Blues. Coffee-loving powerful lich... check. Morally questionable protagonists... check. Anachronistic pop culture and gaming references... DOUBLE CHECK. These similarities are not only unintentional, but probably unavoidable. If you're deconstructing fantasy roleplay, you're either going to go with some 'blurring the fourth wall' pap or in our case, 'trope madness'. So to Mr. Burlew, and the fine folks on his forum, thanks for introducing me to a whole new world of dungeon shenanigans... like Frank Trollman's [Tomes]. Read, and be forever changed.
Last but not least, I'd like to thank my mother, who encouraged me through some dark times and tolerated a lot of listening to The Doors, and I'd mostly like to thank my wife Kayla. You are the love of my life, and I'm so glad you were here when I typed those last few words.