Stellar

Well, the book is done. Chapter 20 and the epilogue are both here.

November 12, minutes before 2pm: "Sir?" The queries that came from the directorate CEOs were expected, and prepared for. "I am sorry, sir." The CorpSec representative shook his head. "He will be late. I apologise for the inconvenience taken." "Really?" The PM&S magnate seemed confused. "My only experience has been constancy." "As has mine." ParaTech's CEO was unequivocal. "I don't believe this should take so long. What's the hold-up?" "Just a minor glitch," he informed the man, "and fi

Hello, dear readers. You will be reading this post because you have finished the second book, Veil of Shadow. Before I get down to the business part of this post, as with Hidden Sunlight, I will post a bit of random story trivia. Once again, if you aren't interested or don't care, you can skip to the end of the bullet points. poor Lindani had a rough ride in the second half of the book. In the original draft for his arc, there was a good chance he was going to be killed in the Brotherhood rescue attempt. I wrestled with the concept for some time, but ultimately decided he had to make it out. The substitute for that was having Kenji see two friends executed right in front of his eyes. War is a very messy business. the naming of the planet before Dagen's Grace - Yahet - was a hat-tip to the ancient and noble race of the Yehat from the old DOS game StarControl 2. My mind must have been subconsciously focused on this, because maybe a half-dozen times in the final chapter's draft, I spelled it the latter way. One of the betas picked up every instance, the other didn't spot a single one -- funny how the brain can gloss over pronouns like that, isn't it? the girl in chapter 6 who helps Mira was (at the time I wrote it) the only co-worker from my employment that knew I was writing a book. She asked if I could add her as a character, and since Janaya is pretty damn cool, I did just this. She loved the fact she got Mira to slice up a bunch of bad guys with a katana; greater context be damned, it was just fucking awesome. To this day, no-one else I work with has any idea I've written two Tolkien-length science fiction novels, and that's the way I intend it to stay. who amongst you realised that the incident at Taiqing is a paradox? Specifically, it is a bootstrap/predestination paradox, otherwise known as a causal loop. Causality is a basic function of reality that means everything needs to have an original cause, and a consequent effect. This paradox occurs when there is no original cause, only a loop of effects all preceding and proceeding one another. Consider this sequence: a) through the ability to augur, the Herald foresees humanity's defeat in battle at the planet Taiqing b] an arbiter taunts Shay with this information, provided by the Herald, in a vision: Taiqing is important! c) Shay leaves a message for Konstantin, informing the military of Taiqing's apparent relevance d) because of this information, an ambush is planned at Taiqing, because it seems to have strategic value to the alien enemy e) the ambush fails because of hubris and other technological factors, and the human forces are massacred, providing fodder for the augury After reading the above, ask yourself: where does this information first begin? this one was a complete fluke, but the day that Konstantin declares martial law is November 11, which is also the day the armistice for the First World War was signed. Even more so, because it is exactly 400 years to the day; 1918 to 2318. How's that for coincidence? there was a clue to the real identity of Guiterrez a little earlier on than chapter 19's reveal, but it was well hidden. Who remembers him giving a speech in Paris before a great big crowd, in chapter 17? That speech was performed in the Place de la République, at the centre of which lies a bronze statue of Marianne, the avatar of the French republic. Surrounding the statue are three smaller ones, personifying none other than Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité. speaking of the premier, Anton Guiterrez was a man of Hispanic descent who rose to the top administrative role on Earth in the year 2318. In another random bit of coincidence, a man by the name of António Guterres is the incoming Secretary-General of the United Nations beginning in 2017, a solid 301 years before the story starts. What is this madness?! Must be the Illuminati. my favourite chapter is still probably chapter 6. Mira is totally an addiction, and everything from him fearlessly skydiving, to killing bad guys with impeccable finesse, to making love like a teenage Casanova, was just a dream to write and explore. He is such a satisfying complex personality that says so much with so little -- if I could make an entire book about him being awesome, I probably would. Mikom's fate was planned from the start. She is the toughest bitch you ever met, and her age has little bearing on her ability to survive. In combat she could best anyone from their home of Otsin, Yugan and Ralot included, and though she suffered a LOT of damage, she survived the encounter at the telutuk hive by falling off the tree-bridge ... into the water, far below. Remember: I never actually said she died, or showed it happening. Don't believe ANYTHING unless it's stated definitively. the kitten did actually receive a name! I just never had a good time and place to reveal it. So, you, the audience, is none the wiser after a couple hundred thousand more words. The next book will say it, I promise! conversely, the ship was never destined for such an intricate role in Shay's part of the story. It evolved to the point where my long-time beta threatened me to not treat Liberty as I did Morgan from Hidden Sunlight (i.e. sudden and brutal death) or she would be very upset with me. Uh, yeah. Jury is out on that one, since I left it ambiguous at the end of the book. just what is the deal with the Mishith and the 'blood and stone' thing and how they have physically changed from before they were Sundered? I can hear the questions already, and Shay recognises the moment he meets Yugan, that this creature before him does not fully resemble the image of Dagen that Shay saw on Elkos. There are probably a few of you wondering what the hell is going on with this part of the story. This is all very important stuff for the final part of the trilogy, where the remaining gaps will be filled in, and all questions answered. Suffice to say that the Dagenith are all that's left of a truly enormous civilisation that puts humanity to shame. Yugan has some very large shoes to fill. for the record, there were twelve official Star Wars movies in my canon version of events. Hopefully Disney won't try to sue me or anything, but I'm expecting another three to be made after Episode IX, just to prove me right. C'mon guys, get filming. Also, Mira thinks Samuel L Jackson is the coolest motherfucker in the room, because of the purple lightsabre and also because he had the focused analytical nous of a powerful swordsman and tactician. Anakin? Man, Anakin was stupid. He never thought things through. All Mira could consider was: If I was him, Palpatine would be in a dozen different pieces on the floor of that building and the Empire would never have happened. What a moron. Now this is where I say, again: This ... is how I tell a story. Thank you for sticking with me and reading it, if you have made it this far. If you want to say 'thank you' to me for writing it, there are three things you can do: I dislike the reputation system on here and I think it's flawed, but it's the only material way of measuring 'approval.' So I would ask that if you loved Veil of Shadow, then please go through and like each chapter and the story itself if you have not already done so. Any registered user can do this. If you don't, I won't be upset or anything, but anything that helps raise my profile as an author is valuable to me, as well as being a token of thanks. Reputation is one of those ways. The other way is to simple tell me what Veil of Shadow was like to read, for you. Seriously. Send me a PM or write it here, whatever you feel you'd like. I love hearing from people about my work, what they enjoyed, what they didn't and why. Reader reaction gives me enormous satisfaction. Don't be shy, I won't bite or be rude. Both of the above, not just one or the other. I also want to give thanks to my betas for all the work they have done for me over the past three years. Cassie, Marc, Olivia and Dayne -- you guys have helped immeasurably and I could not have completed this to the quality I desired without your input. You have my thanks for what you have done. Lastly: yes, there is going to be another sequel -- you hardly thought I was going to stop here, did you? Whether or not I begin on this sequel straight away or go to something else first is anyone's guess. I have some notes, and some ideas, but a lot of it is still up in the air, floating in the ether, you could say. I will not know how it looks for sure until I sit down and begin that incredibly visceral consuming process of creating it. One that will, with no doubt, take another few years of my life. But, that is what is required, and that's what I'll do. So, there you have it.

As soon as the message was received, Konstantin was on his way to the quarantine on the Beta 5 orbital. The station commander had done as requested, with the standard debriefing procedure suspended until the supreme commander could perform his own evaluation. The attendant military doctor warned him on arrival that they had confirmed only the basic requirements: planetary landfall had occurred during the mission and therefore quarantine was still required by military law. There had been no time

I will say my imagination seems to work like cinematography, so your description does feel accurate. Thank you! I am glad it was so well received. The politics phase of the story is drawing to a close, as the various pieces on the board are now more or less in place for the large-scale conflict to begin. Their actions and motivations are mostly clear by now and there are only a few whose ultimate purposes and drive -- and even identity -- are still secret. It is very much as Konstantin realised: the time for debate is just about over and soon, the story will fully enter the period of decision, action and consequence. Most of this will take place in the final book, but of course, chapter 20 is yet to occur.

Hahaha no worries!

The technology exists in this future time for two men or women to have their DNA blended in an artificial process that creates a child. Mira does not know about this, of course, but he would be very happy to find out. The Veil of Shadow is not an enemy of anything. It's a medium; a natural phenomenon like gravity and electromagnetism, and it is simply there, existing. The real enemy is the Master and its servants; the Herald, the arbiters and sharpelings. Guiterrez is also not the only foe on Earth (MFM really does intend to achieve global domination, as Quân was not shy about telling Kenji last chapter) but as a closeted fascist extremist masquerading as a legitimate democratic leader whilst running Earth's government, he is most definitely a dangerous man.

Me and my promises, eh? Well here is Chapter 19 anyhow.

The lunar fortifications were being strengthened as per the most stringent recommendations Konstantin had received. The distance between Earth's child and the homeworld was small in terms of mankind's ability to cross space, but the defences needed to be as resilient as Earth's and those at Mars. There were people living and working on all three, and the Russian had no intention of leaving any of them undefended. All of the military-industrial capacity available was dedicated to the reinforcemen

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading!

I knew he had been in hospital recently, but I did not know it had become this serious. This is very sad news

Nyx is indeed a much safer guess Thanks for reading!

Thank you! My aim has always been a complex narrative with many interlocking parts. The characterisation is the ultimate driving force, so I am glad the protagonists stand out as individuals worthy of notice. There is more to come, so stay tuned!

Thanks for kind words, and I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Elia is no longer on Lucere, because she was captured and taken by the Herald, but ... there are indeed other possibilities for the identity of that person Konstantin has always been a capable person, with the sort of personality well suited for leadership. He might not have intentionally sought it out, but he is very able to manage where he has found himself. CorpSec is doing what it does! That is to say: doing the bidding of MFM's elite and making things happen -- mostly unpleasant things to their enemies. Writing that scene was rather satisfying, I won't lie; though poor Lindani had to suffer for it. Shay, Mira and Yugan will feature the most in chapter 20, though they will be back for chapter 19.

Thank you!

Whoops! Did the same thing again. Forgot to put Chapter 17 here, and now Chapter 18 has just rolled out as well! Look for the last two, hopefully, before the end of the year.

After the morning exercise routine, Lucas was back to continue his latest case investigation. His department's superiors were very hands-off, allowing the solitary and individualistic personalities of their particular field a high degree of autonomy. It wasn't so common in any branch of the armed forces to get much leeway, but the sort of work he did was very sensitive and the servicemen doing it highly trusted. There were a number of active jobs that Lucas was expected to focus on, but he had p

Well, it's unfortunate that you don't think yourself suited, because I think you'd be fine at it. However, I dare not second guess someone else's own mind, so I'll leave it at that. As for this story being the death of me? Veil of Shadow became a headache to produce somewhere in the middle, and the time taken to get anything done was ridiculous once the chapters reached into the double digits. It's taken much longer to write than I ever intended. Should have finished it maybe a year ago, but here I am approaching the end of 2016 with the last of it still to come. Just thinking about what I will need to do to get Number Three done is already making me feel exhausted ...

You are quite right, Yugan is the host for his ancestor's essence, just as Shay is Sulin. In much earlier chapters, Yugan has already demonstrated the ability to see possible futures, just as Dagen was able to in the very distant past. You are also correct that Mishith/Dagenith are not small creatures, although it's worth remembering that Dagen was *not* Sundered like the rest of the Dagenith. I have no intention to elaborate on the specifics of why and how Dagen is different physically because of this fact, because such precise detail would be a spoiler. However, in chapter 15, Mikom tells Yugan about ancient eye-witness accounts of Dagen's appearance in the neighbouring settlement of Gerik, not long before he left the planet. A description is given of his appearance: "Alike us in form, but more. Greater than our greatest guardian, and so hardy as to withstand a mighty foe. He was half again our height, built of Mishith muscle and power, yet with a tremendous defence; a part through and upon him was strange, essence likened to hewn metal and glittering rock." Simply put, the non-Sundered Dagen was half again as tall as the Sundered, and proportionally more massive. From this information, you can approximate the size of the Sundered, and so should have some idea of how big Yugan, Ralot and their kindred are.

At this point, Shay's entire purpose is to find and meet his reincarnated 'sibling'. In that vein, just where do you suppose this pathway of networked worlds is leading?

Not qualified? Why on earth are you not qualified? You probably would be easily qualified, in honesty. As for the third book, I think I have mentioned this maybe twice before? This is certainly not the first time, but I am happy to confirm it. This is indeed a trilogy and there will (and HAS to be) a third book after Veil of Shadow. The 'potential to carryover if interest exists', is in reference to whomever becomes the beta wanting to continue for that next book.

Thank you! It's a complex tale, I'd be the first to admit. Though I'm happy it is doing what good science-fiction should -- challenge the mind and imagination with possibility!

One of my enduring memories of my mother was of her tendency to compare me to herself, especially when it came to parts of my personality she considered virtuous. There was a pride that she had when it came to her one and only son, and she was never hesitant about telling everyone about how intelligent and well-mannered and 'good' I was. Naturally, I never really thought of myself as inherently valuable, and had never understood why she loved to talk about me so much, beyond the simple parental

So two of my betas decided to quit simultaneously, which is rather inconvenient and disappointing. Nonetheless: I am seeking a replacement beta for the final chapters of Veil of Shadow. If you have a good grasp of English and the language's intricacies, a mind for detail and the grand plot, and you really 'get' the sort of tale I am telling ... then this might be a role for you. Send me a message if you are interested in doing so. Potential to carryover into the third book also, if interest exists.