Benedict Jacka's Blog, page 41

Ask Luna #108

From: Anton

Mage Vesta,

This is a very long list of questions, Please feel free to break them up and answering them at your leisure and thank you.

Yeah, I’m definitely breaking these up.  

What kind of knife does Alex use? I’ve known a few “knife guys” the can be really finicky about their blades, considering how often Alex uses one, it seems that he would be VERY selective about it (handle, type of metal, grind, etc.)

It’s a knife.  It stabs things.  I’m pretty sure he’s picky about it, yeah, but as far as I’m concerned one pointy piece of metal’s the same as another.  

Are the Crusaders still attempting to get at Alex? 

Yes.

Does the Dreamstone allow Alex to communicate with Hermes?

Should do.

What is Linking? The way Arachne said it made it seem like something rather significant.

Going to have to give me some context there.  

Can you make One Shot Items? Being able to throw a “hex spell” or carry around a “lucky coin” could be REALLY useful.

I’ve thought about it once or twice, but learning how to do that stuff has kind of a high barrier to entry and I’m not sure I want to do X many months/years of work to figure it out.  Maybe once I’m a bit more settled.

Does being a Councilor come with a salary or estates? (does Alex have access to the Mantis Golems)

Nope.  I think they assume that if you’re on the Council you must be rich already.  You get an office, though.

Who makes up the Conclave? Is it the Junior Council?

Can’t remember to be honest.  It’s some Light Council term or other.

Is Alex ever going to make Samaris pay for leading the charge to burn down the shop? 

Would be nice, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Does the Shadow Realm have a weather cycle/water; can you use solar panels there?

Yup.  You’d have to be really into DIY to want to do the work to set it up, though.

How long does it take an elemental mage to make a gate vs Alex with a gate stone (he normally say it take a minute/60secs)

Depends on skill.  It takes Alex maybe 2 minutes.  A good elemental mage could do it in more like one.  A really good one might be able to get it to half that.  Basically it comes down to how many safety measures you’re willing to skip.  Most mages don’t like the idea of being cut in half so they don’t push it very far.

Do you go by Luna Vesta the way Alex calls himself Alex Verus?

I thought about it, but it sounds kind of silly.  Luna or Vesta, not both.  

From: Exejpgwmv

If Sonder trapped you in a spell that slowed down time would your curse be slowed as well?

Sure, why wouldn’t it be?

From: Luna Mancuso

Do you love Alex?

If you’re going to ask me troll questions at least come up with a better name.  

From: Gerald

What mage type is Richard?

Also what type is Levistus?

Also is Alex technically an adept?

I’ve answered these ones something like . . . I don’t even know, maybe eleven or twelve times between them.  I’m bored out of my mind of typing the same thing over and over.  Go do a Google search or something.  

From: Byron

Hi Mage Vesta!

Did you ever learn at the apprentice program about what exactly happened during the Gate Rune War and why it happened? 

P.S you are my favourite person ever, so cool

Nice to have a fan.  

We did learn it.  Or, well, we were supposed to, but I found it really boring, at least the way the Council teaches it.  This Dark faction did this and then the Council debated about what to do and in the meantime the other faction did something else and then the Council debated some more.  Honestly, I got the feeling it could have been a pretty good story, just not the way they told it.  

Interview at JeanBookNerd

Here’s an interview I did prior to the release of Marked.  

Busy working away on Book #10.  I’m hoping to get the first draft finished by around the end of August.  

Three Quarters

First draft of Alex Verus #10, Fallen, has passed the 75% mark.  I still need to write the end section and then take the manuscript through the whole editing process, but at the current rate, it’s going to be finished soon!

Miscellaneous

Reddit AMA is done!  You can read all the answers here.  See you next year!

First draft of Book #10, Fallen, is moving along nicely.  I’m hoping to have it finished within a couple of months.

I’ve learned that there was some mix-up with Barnes & Noble’s promotional placements in the US, and as a result orders got moved around.  I’ve got in touch with my publisher, and they’ve told me that B&N should have copies of Marked within the week.

And finally, one of the posters on r/AlexVerus has written some humorous but fairly accurate summaries of Books #1 through #8.  I found them pretty funny, so if you’re looking for a recap of the story so far before to jumping into Marked, I’d recommend them.  Major spoilers, obviously.

Reddit AMA finishing up

My Reddit AMA is just ending.  I’ll answer questions for the next few hours, then pack it in.  Thanks to those who came along!

Reddit AMA is live!

I’m doing a Reddit AMA on r/fantasy right now!  If you’ve got any questions or just want to hear my answers about Marked and the Alex Verus series in general, come drop by!

Marked Release Week, The Sequel

Marked has been out for a few days, and so far everyone seems to be very happy with it.  Which I had a feeling was going to happen (I usually have at least a vague idea of how well a book’s likely to be received) but is very encouraging all the same, since if you like this one you’ll probably like the next one too.  Here are some reviews, two shorter ones from I Smell Sheep and The Genre Minx, and a longer, more detailed one from More Books Than Time.  

Next, for those who haven’t heard (or who have forgotten) I’ll be doing an AMA on Reddit Fantasy this Tuesday, on July 10th.  You can read the one I did last year here, but for those who are new to it, AMA stands for ‘Ask Me Anything’ and it’s exactly what it sounds like.  Some of the questions people will ask are highly likely to contain spoilers to Marked, so consider yourself warned!  The AMA will start at 12 noon GMT on Tuesday, and I’ll try to answer every question I get in over the next 24 hours.  

On the subject of Reddit, I get asked occasionally if there are any forums on this site where people can talk about the books.  There aren’t, since forum hosting and maintenance is a major timesink that I don’t want to be spending my energy on, but there’s a Reddit sub, r/AlexVerus.  I’d recommend going there.  

And that’s it!  See you on Tuesday!

Marked Released!

Marked is out!  Hope you all enjoy it.

Marked Release Week

Finally into the last stretch!  The ninth Alex Verus novel, Marked, will be out in four days, on Tuesday July 3rd.  

Just as a reminder, you can read the first chapter here, and I’ll be doing a Reddit AMA one week after the release date, on July 10th.  

Ask Luna #107

From: Fade

Hi Luna, a few questions for you.

1) I’m a bit curious as to how things are going for Alex as a councilor. As a result of the means of his elevation to the position, does he have the same influence as the others? I imagine that the vast majority of the council members, both junior and senior, amassed a great deal of power and influence to even be able to secure themselves a seat. Given that Alex received his seat almost by accident, and thus very likely began with significantly less influence and connections as the others, has being a councilor actually gotten him any pull? I understand Junior members don’t get a vote on council resolutions, so what actual power to junior council members achieve besides the title itself and the perception of being powerful? If perception is the key, does he suffer in it as a result of the nature of his appointment? Or does he benefit from the mystique of having been chosen by Morden (even more infamous now) and surviving the strike team? (If that is common knowledge, which I assume it is given how significant the blow must have been to Sal Sarque’s power base and reputation.)

2) It seems like Alex doesn’t manage to see all that far into the future in a lot of ways that other Diviners manage too. For example, he didn’t see Lyle coming to try and recruit him way back when everyone was trying to get the Fateweaver, while all the other Diviners seemed to know what was coming. I understand that Alex was somewhat removed from the situation, but that also seems to be the standard mode of operation for Diviners in general. Is Alex better at

close range Divination? Can he pick apart immediate futures better than someone like Helikaon? In my head right now I imagine it somewhat like Anne’s magic. Top notch close-up, but challenged at range.

3) Has Arachne explained what Alex might eventually accomplish with the Dreamstone? I believe there was mention of physically stepping into Elsewhere, but what exactly are the benefits of that? Avoiding confrontation? Traveling physically in the real world, like gating

except to people rather than places? I also recall mention of connecting with items. Could Alex potentially wield something like the Bloodsword without going on a murderous rampage?

Finally, given that Sal Sarque seems to be shaping up as an enemy similar to Levistus, I was curious both as to what his magic type is, and how his name is pronounced. Is it like sal-sar-kay? or Sal-Sark? Thanks for your time!

The last one’s the easiest to answer – its ‘sark’. The first three are harder.

1) He has a lot less influence than the others, as you’ve guessed. The others all bought their way on by having a lot of friends and a lot of pull. Alex didn’t inherit Morden’s networks, so he started pretty much from zero. He’s done a decent job working his way up, but he’s got a long way to go. The mystique thing hadn’t occurred to me, but that might explain why none of them have moved against him openly.

2) Pretty much, yeah. Alex is much more of a combat diviner than someone like Helikaon. He’s really good at short-range divination and he’s really good at sorting through futures quickly. He’s decent at path-walking – that’s the medium-range kind where you see what’ll happen over the next few hours. What he’s not so good at is the long-distance stuff. From a few things I’ve heard I get the impression that it might be a lifestyle/personality thing as much as anything else. To be good at that stuff you have to have to be coming from a very controlling, stable sort of place.

3) I’m not sure. Arachne hasn’t told Alex exactly what it does, so that mostly just leaves guesswork, and the times I’ve asked around, no-one’s been very helpful. Half the people will tell you that it’s supposed to be flat-out impossible, and the other half just give you vague warnings that don’t really explain anything. I get the feeling that they don’t actually know much about it, either, which makes me wonder why there’s so much mystery.

From: Fade

Oh hey, I forgot to add one more in addition to my previous questions. Given that Alex is now theoretically the representative of all the Dark Mages in Britain, has his contact with them increased? Do Dark Mages ever come to him with issues to take to the council? Or do they mostly view the idea as a joke? Has their perception of him changed as a result of his position? As a result of his surviving Sally’s strike team? Has Alex been re-classified as a Dark Mage rather than an Independent? For the light mages, he holds a seat that exists for Dark Mages, which would make him Dark. For Dark Mages, he works for Morden and Richard and helped kill a Crusader strike team, which also makes him pretty Dark. What do you think about what Morden said to Alex about him being already a Dark Mage in all but name? Do you think Alex could reconcile his own personal actions with Dark philosophy? If being a Dark Mage is about doing what you want, which is basically what Alex does, and what he wants to do is generally positive, do you think he could tolerate thinking of himself as a Dark Mage once again?

Wow I’ve really rambled on here, that was way more than one more question.

Sorry if I’m asking too much of your time!

I think a handful have tried coming to him with issues and stuff like that. And I do mean a handful. The rest all think it’s a joke. Even the ones that have come are really cautious about it, probably because they don’t want other Dark mages to see them as the kind of guy who has to run to the Council to solve their problems.

As for the Dark mage/Independent mage thing, god knows. That’s something I’m going to have to figure out one of these days, but that philosophy stuff just annoys me so much that I’d rather throw up my hands and let someone else deal with it.

From: Brian

Dear Lina,

Alex told Chalice that the prevailing theory is that Drakh’s magic type is either Enchanter or Mind mage, because he’s a very good manipulator.

Alex also speculated that he might be a Diviner for similar reasons, but didn’t think it was likely because Drakh had a reputation of having killed a lot of mages by himself.

My question is, why haven’t we seen Life mage discussed as a potential magic type?

A life mage’s ability to read physiological indicators for lying could contribute to Drakh’s manipulation talents.

It could explain why he chooses to hide his magic type and rely on items. He wouldn’t have ranged capabilities and mages are typically twitchy about letting a life mage within arms reach. So, he hides his magic type, to make it more likely that he can get close in combat situations.

Additionaly, Anne says his body showed signs of longevity magic. And, when Drakh was masquerading as Archon he seemed to be able to sense Alex spying on him without seeing him.

All of this seems to point pretty strongly to him being a life mage. Is there anything I’m missing that would suggest Drakh definitely isn’t a life mage?

Yes . . . and no. I mean, everything you’ve said is true, and there’s nothing Richard’s done that proves he isn’t a one. And technically, it could explain everything he’s done. But it would still be really, really odd. For one thing, life mages get serious amounts of attention. You can pass as another type of mage if you’re an enchanter or a diviner or something; it’s a lot harder if you’re a life mage.

For another . . . it’s hard to explain, but from everything I’ve heard, he doesn’t really feel like a life mage. There’s just something distinctive about them. Even the ones that are polar opposites in every way you can think of, like Anne and Vihaela, you can sort of see the ways in which they’re similar. Richard doesn’t have that.

From: Exejpgwmv

If Sonder trapped you in a spell that slowed down time would your curse be slowed as well?

Haven’t tried it, but I’d expect so. My magic doesn’t do anything special as far as time goes.