A Ramble about Vacant Graves

Vacant Graves is coming out soon and I felt I should say a few things about it. I firmly believe that an artist should never apologize for their work. All art is experimentation, and experimentation is, by its very nature, risk. That said, a little warning never hurt anybody, right?

Well, I've taken some risks with Vacant Graves. There are certain elements in Cruel Numbers that will make no appearance at all in Vacant Graves. It isn't that I was unhappy with Cruel Numbers. But if I'm going to spin Donovan into a series, I'm going to need some leeway. This means that a lot of his adventures are going to occur outside of the city--his 'safe zone,' if you will. For some stories, that translates into a distinct lack of zany Dutch inventors, violent wives, or sarcastic meditations on New York City.

If, like me, you like these things, then be safe in the knowledge that Moira and Verhalen and New York are still there, waiting for the next adventure.

While we're on the topic, there is something else in Vacant Graves I need to address: the technology. I had a decision to make, early on, about how far out of "realistic" science I was going to go with this. The fact is, I love mecholimbs and ornithopters, so 21st century physics are going to have to take a backseat. That's not to say I'm going to ignore reality entirely, though. You'll notice that my steam engines need to get their boiler going (instead of magically turning on, like an internal combustion engine) and that the weight and byproducts of steam technology prevents it from being used in submersibles and ornithopters. For them, I have to go with steam-cranked "kinetic energy banks," or as you might call them, 'springs.'

Yes, I'm aware of the irony. I refuse to put a steam engine into a physics-defying vehicle because I want it to be real. I can't help it. There's a logic to how ornithopters would work, and steam engines don't fit. I guess I have to plead 'poetic license.'

And add that ornithopters just plain kick ass, so we should give them a break.

Anyway, for all this discussion of ornithopters, they don't show up in Vacant Graves. I guess I mention them now because I know they exist in Donovan's world and they don't exist in ours, so there is a certain guilt there, the guilt of a man who loves science and tries to be scientific whenever he can. They aren't the only technology that defies our science, either. Without giving too much away, Vacant Graves is driven by an impossible technology. It is going to set the stage, in fact, for many impossible technologies that will appear throughout Donovan's adventures.

I hope that doesn't bother anyone. The fact is, I couldn't just leave Donovan investigating financial conspiracies and dragging little girls out of brothels. As much as I gussy it up as 'alternate history,' the Magnocracy is really steampunk and steampunk is about the impossible.

You've been warned and, I hope, whetted.


So read on you crazy diamonds.