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The Algorithmic Draft
Book 3 of The Library Saga
Every story has a beginning… but what if the beginning was the flaw?
When the Library fractures under the weight of algorithmic forces, the companions are thrust into a gauntlet of corrupted genres — sitcoms, fairy tales, mysteries, pulp war novels, and even the library’s own foundations. Each shard hunt becomes a parody of pop culture, but also a mirror of the heroes the Princess trapped in glass crowns, the Marine saluted by mannequins, the Detective’s notebook writing without her, the Sitcom Dad haunted by laugh tracks.
As the Arcane Archivist’s echo grows stronger, the group realizes the shards aren’t just fragments of story — they’re pieces of the library’s origin. The final keystone lies in the Founder’s Wing, where the library began on a faultline of narrative convergence. To save what remains, they must tear out the very heart of the library, knowing the victory may destroy it.
The Algorithmic Draft is twice as long as its predecessor, escalating from playful parody to existential stakes. It closes with a Pyrrhic the shards recovered, but the library collapsing, and the whisper of the Archivist promising, “This is only the first draft.”
Every story has a beginning… but what if the beginning was the flaw?
When the Library fractures under the weight of algorithmic forces, the companions are thrust into a gauntlet of corrupted genres — sitcoms, fairy tales, mysteries, pulp war novels, and even the library’s own foundations. Each shard hunt becomes a parody of pop culture, but also a mirror of the heroes the Princess trapped in glass crowns, the Marine saluted by mannequins, the Detective’s notebook writing without her, the Sitcom Dad haunted by laugh tracks.
As the Arcane Archivist’s echo grows stronger, the group realizes the shards aren’t just fragments of story — they’re pieces of the library’s origin. The final keystone lies in the Founder’s Wing, where the library began on a faultline of narrative convergence. To save what remains, they must tear out the very heart of the library, knowing the victory may destroy it.
The Algorithmic Draft is twice as long as its predecessor, escalating from playful parody to existential stakes. It closes with a Pyrrhic the shards recovered, but the library collapsing, and the whisper of the Archivist promising, “This is only the first draft.”
210 pages, Paperback
Published October 24, 2025
About the author
Cliff Ball
50 books100 followersI'm a Christian first and foremost. I live in Fort Worth, TX, but from Arizona and looking to move back to Mesa. I have a BA and Technical Writing Certificate from University of North Texas. I won 3rd in a short story contest for a magazine through my high school Creative Writing class. I've been independently published since 2008.
I'm a fan of a bunch of different genres, which is why a lot of my novels are different genres. From time travel to alternate history to lite sci-fi to Christian end times/political thrillers.
As a reader, I loathe novels with tons of minutiae where the author describes everything down to practically its atomic structure, so I write fast-paced novels and I try not to get bogged down in unimportant details that go on and on and on for page after page.....
Returned to writing after almost 10 years away.
In order of original publication:
Out of Time - 2008
Don't Mess With Earth - 2009
The Usurper - 2010
Shattered Earth - 2010
Voyager and the Aliens - 2011
Dust Storm - 2011
New Frontier - 2011
Times of Trouble - 2012
Times of Trial - 2012
Final Frontier - 2012 (sequel to New Frontier)
Beyond the New Frontier - combined novel
Times of Turmoil - 2013
Jon Ryan - 2013
Xavier Doolittle - 2013
Times of Rebellion - 2013
Times of Destruction - 2014
Times of Judgment - 2014
Times of Tribulation - 2014
The Long Journey - 2015
The Falling Away - 2015
The Great Deception - 2016
The Great Tribulation - 2016
Guardians of Genre - 2025
The Plot Thickens - 2025
The Algorithmic Draft - 2025
The Unwritten Fallout - 2025
Books 5 - 10 - 2025, 2026
http://cliffball.net
Twitter: http://twitter.com/cliff_ball_1
http://www.facebook.com/cliff.ball.au...
I'm a fan of a bunch of different genres, which is why a lot of my novels are different genres. From time travel to alternate history to lite sci-fi to Christian end times/political thrillers.
As a reader, I loathe novels with tons of minutiae where the author describes everything down to practically its atomic structure, so I write fast-paced novels and I try not to get bogged down in unimportant details that go on and on and on for page after page.....
Returned to writing after almost 10 years away.
In order of original publication:
Out of Time - 2008
Don't Mess With Earth - 2009
The Usurper - 2010
Shattered Earth - 2010
Voyager and the Aliens - 2011
Dust Storm - 2011
New Frontier - 2011
Times of Trouble - 2012
Times of Trial - 2012
Final Frontier - 2012 (sequel to New Frontier)
Beyond the New Frontier - combined novel
Times of Turmoil - 2013
Jon Ryan - 2013
Xavier Doolittle - 2013
Times of Rebellion - 2013
Times of Destruction - 2014
Times of Judgment - 2014
Times of Tribulation - 2014
The Long Journey - 2015
The Falling Away - 2015
The Great Deception - 2016
The Great Tribulation - 2016
Guardians of Genre - 2025
The Plot Thickens - 2025
The Algorithmic Draft - 2025
The Unwritten Fallout - 2025
Books 5 - 10 - 2025, 2026
http://cliffball.net
Twitter: http://twitter.com/cliff_ball_1
http://www.facebook.com/cliff.ball.au...
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