Introduction from Brandon
Introduction to Aether of Night
Hello! You’re reading this because you requested a copy of Aether of Night from me directly. (At least, that’s what I hope.) I’d ask that you not share this with other people or post it on-line; I like that this book is available only by coming to me. That way, I can make sure people who read it know just what they’re getting into.
You see, this is only an okay book. While some people have really enjoyed it, it was written early in my career (years before I got published.) Unlike some of the books I wrote during those days, it’s actually readable, and has some pretty neat things about it. (The magic system, for one.) However, it also has some problems.
The largest of these is that it feels like two books. Every time I approach a novel, I like to attempt a few new things. In some cases, this is using some kind of storytelling archetype I haven’t attempted before. Here, I wanted to play with the idea of mistaken identity and stepping into someone else’s shoes, kind of like Shakespeare loved to do. This element of the story worked fairly well, making for a lighthearted character story.
At the same time, I was in full-blown cosmere mode by this point (you might recognize elements of the cosmere that I’d later re-use in canonical books.) That drove me to create a war epic, with the end of the world being threatened and deific beings I call Shards clashing for control.
The two halves of this story never melded very well. Beyond that, it displays some of the early foibles of my writing, and hasn’t seen any kind of editing or proofreading.
So, I guess I’m saying, “Read at your own risk.” I worry that people will look into older books of mine like this and find themselves having a mediocre experience from them, then let that color the way they perceive my fiction as a whole. Needless to say, please don’t let this be your first foray into one of my worlds.
I suppose I’ve talked the book down enough at this point. Thank you, as always, for reading.
Brandon