A Sigma Thing
This is not the book you're looking for
At the risk of departing from our usual range of topics, I would be remiss if I did not at least keep you updated on the latest Original Sigma-related news. While you obviously know me as the originator of the Socio-Sexual Hierarchy and a commentator on the intricacies of intersexual relations, I do spend an amount of time doing things that are unrelated to deeper explorations of the SSH and its implications, and one of those things is writing epic fantasy novels.
Since it represents the culmination of a decade of work, I thought I should take the opportunity to share the release of my most recent novel, A SEA OF SKULLS, in print today. It’s a 764-page hardcover that continues the series known as ARTS OF DARK AND LIGHT that began with SUMMA ELVETICA and continued with A THRONE OF BONES. A Kindle edition is also available and a paperback edition will be available soon. The audiobook edition, narrated by Jeremy Daw, will be available this fall.
It’s available on Amazon, on Barnes and Noble, and via our NDM Express store. A two-volume leather edition will also be released as part of the Castalia Library subscription. Below are some reviews based on the Kindle edition.
Absolute page turner. Ignoring family, work, and the need for sleep so you can read it straight through is recommended. Each character's story is built so you can't wait to reach the conclusion, then you realize you are on the final page.
A real rollercoaster ride through the pits of despair to triumphal acclaim. A Sea of Skulls weaves together a tapestry of the triumphal faith, character, and perseverance of its scattered key characters.
This entry was worth the wait. One of the things that VD does well is action scenes. With armies on the march there is plenty going on. Another strength is the different cultures of the species. Unlike other series Orcs, elves, dwarves and man each have a unique voice and worldview. In my review of ATOB I said that music was missing. Be careful of what you ask for as a reader as we get some really catchy orcish camp songs. A bit dark but fitted with the culture and in my view quite funny. The curtain is drawn back on who and what is behind all the growing chaos and it seems that this is only another cycle in a long running conflict. A long book with plenty happening.
I bought the first edition, oh, it seems like a century ago and that was a great story. I bought this edition expecting more goodness and Day delivers in spades. Tolkien never wrote much re the economy of the Dwarves. Day writes to that and very interestingly so. Same with the economy of the orcs/goblins. Why don't the orcs bring enough food when they invade Savondir? Oh they do but...that's no way to treat an ally :) His take on the use of magic - and it's limitations are very believable. His earlier work, A Magic Broken, tells of how an Elfess loses her magic. The prologue to this book tells of how a young human discovers her magic. Heartbreakingly sad. Same verisimilitude with his characterizations of the orcs and goblins as described through the perspective character of Lugbol. No one dimension characters here either. eg. Theudric is a good guy and a totally amoral POS. I appreciated the different human attitudes towards magic. The kingdom of Savondir celebrates magicians. The kingdom of Amorr will kill you for it. About the only criticism I have is that sometimes a characters dialogue seems a bit too, what?, not erudite but maybe stilted. Less of that in this book than in A Throne of Bones but maybe that's just me with a stick up my rear. I mean there's gotta be something here that's less. We don't know much about her yet and she's not important but I think my favorite character so far is Myf. I don't know why - she's not even a perspective character but her interactions with Lodi (the sky burned) are great fun. Bereth is good too though she's a bit of a twit, on or off her Warhawk. Wheels within wheels. The hierarchy of the demonic realm. Using the ancient Roman Social Wars as a template for what's going on in Amorr. Bessarias and the glass desert. Is Marcus the 'Christian' going to hook up with Fjotra the heathen? He's sure not going to marry Shadowsong. Good stuff. Can't wait for the next book.
The successor volume to A Throne of Bones, extends and deepens the Great Game played across Selenoth. The mysterious Watchers emerge as events grow wider and more subtle; with armies marching and leaders falling, they must now step out of shadows and reveal themselves to their selected minions in the Younger Races. The minions respond in various ways; what can be counted on is that The Watchers are not revealing the complete truth or timeline to their minions, each other, or maybe themselves. A gateway, an alignment, and an artifact are common elements, but the reader must determine which parts are true. Rudyard Kipling would approve of The Great Game play, and how leaders and common folk are portrayed. Visions of intense beauty mix with prosaic household scenes, and acts of horror or terror are met with stern justice and supreme sacrifice. Treachery, double-dealing, and acts of mercy conflict and act at cross-purposes, creating unintended consequences and surprise outcomes. The action, battles, and intrigues build across species, realm, entire regions, with several startling climax moments of horror and glory, sufficient to make men weep in joy and grief. Some characters may not be seen again; others – perhaps leave a legacy, or return through Grace? The narrative and writing style are reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings. The prose is well structured, but doesn’t have the depth or meter of an Oxford Don. The author would make Tolkien smile, with a sprightly and almost gleeful Thomisitc analysis of a question by one character, something worthy of placement in Christian epic fantasy. This is a worthy addition to the set of Epic Fantasy as an homage to Tolkien, supporting the Good, Beautiful and True, and explicitly Christian in structure. The characters range from an orc leader of decent but evil intellect, promoted for rational acts to protect his lads, to a decrepit, nearly deceased elf Magister who answers dire pleas for help – but with painful costs for his people and himself. Several heroes and villains continue, with greater depth and subtle character revelations. Some are introduced, some strengthen their positions, while others make their final curtain call. This is the way of all life in Selenoth, as is true in our world. All are striving to protect and defend what is Good, Beautiful, and True or its Inverse, driven by their faith, morals, and internal desires.
Highly recommended for high school ages and above. Be prepared to make side studies of politics, Republican Rome, faith and theology, logic, logistics, and poetry, and enjoy the excursions.
It is somewhat astonishing to do the math and realize that the combined word count of ARTS OF DARK AND LIGHT already exceeds the total of THE HOBBIT, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and THE SILMARILLION combined. That being said, it’s not Tolkien. No one is Tolkien. Tolkien is the original and the grand master and the apex of epic fantasy, and every other author in the genre necessarily suffers in comparison with him and his meisterwerk. I will point out, however, that most of the readers who have read both epic fantasy series have compared ARTS OF DARK AND LIGHT rather favorably with George R.R. Martin’s A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, and they were doing so even before it became apparent that Martin is never going to finish his series.
Whereas I will definitely finish mine as I am already working on A GRAVE OF GODS. Anyhow, if you enjoy Sigma Game, you read fantasy, and you’d like to support what we’re doing here, however indirectly, you might want to consider picking up a book or two and leaving a review on Amazon once you’ve finished it. As promised, we will be doing a crowdfund for the Sigma Game and Hypergamouse books this fall, so if you’re not into fantasy, never fear, there will be other means of taking part in supporting this platform.
And yes, it is absolutely stupid to write massive books in this day and age. It makes absolutely zero economic sense, given the many better alternatives. But, as with Alphas, Gammas, and everyone else, Sigmas are going to Sigma. Ever since reading THE SWORD OF SHANNARA, I wanted to write a fat fantasy book… and here we are.
But it is the book we need. Fantasy is like poetry - epic is apex tier. This is [create your own culture] at the highest level in an important genre. Consider where epic fantasy’s gone in the last 20 years or so. Now there’s a finally a fantastic new one. And it serves the Good, the Beautiful, and the True. I’ll indulge some effusiveness - I get distaste for self-promoting but this is a really significant accomplishment. Much more so than even most fans realize. Consider what a reality-facing epic fantasy is in the widest socio-cultural sense. Either a complete Arts or Castalia alone would be worth a lifetime’s walking the talk cred. This can’t be understated.
The tangential link to the SSH is the foundational honesty. Obviously an author isn’t consciously thinking through a heuristic when writing characters. But characters that ring true will fall into realistic patterns. With enough face time, profiles will show. More generally, it’s the core structural realism that makes the best fantastical timeless. There’s nothing to seem obviously dated except a forced message. True characters have Tolkien’s applicability and resonate as real no matter what setting. Tl,dr - it is built to last.
Enough blather. Readers know how hard I bang on about building outside the House of Lies. Some excitability is excusable when something like this happens.
If you have any interest in fantasy, then definitely get this book. I’d strongly recommend getting Throne of Bones first. If you’ve already read TOB, then you don’t need comments and reviews suggesting you pick up the new book, you’ve had enough of waiting and got a copy as soon as you could.
I think the greatest strength in this series is the way Vox really fleshed out the perspectives of the non-human characters. Orcs and goblins are not just ugly bad guys. Elves are not just humans with pointy ears who are especially good with bow, sword, and spell. Dwarves are not just muscular short humans with beards.
I can see that a lot of thought went into how these characters are different, and given the differences, what would be the consequences of that.