The Piper at the Gates of Fantasy has just posted a review of The Middle Kingdom, glowingly positive, as would be expected:
…moves along at an exhilarating pace […] scale continues to range from the tremendous and remote to the intimate and deeply personal […] set to be a roller-coaster ride that it will be impossible to leave until the author is done with it
Yep, sounds about right. More reviews as they come in.
Some weirdness on the Chung Kuo front to report just one day after the official release of the e-book.
First, it looks like the official site is down. Not sure how long it’s been down — I, like probably most folks, don’t check it too often since there hasn’t been any new material there since around the time Daylight was published — but it’s been long enough for Google to have removed it from their search results. A ping to the site revealed a SERVFAIL error, indicating that the domain exists but the nameservers aren’t returning valid web servers. A whois lookup shows that the domain was updated on September 24th; perhaps the domain was renewed but somebody forgot to renew a hosting plan. In any event, I would chalk this up to purely technical issues and not take this as an indication of hard times with the series.
Next, although the Amazon.com title of the Kindle book was fixed to be”Chung Kuo” instead of “Chung Kao,” it looks like the e-book itself still reflects this error in the header. Oops!
On top of that, the very first review for The Middle Kingdom on Amazon gave the book one measly star, complaining that he was missing the first twenty-five chapters of the book, failing to realize that the chapters and parts are numbered sequentially, beginning with Son of Heaven and continuing through Daylight on Iron Mountain and The Middle Kingdom. Did he not notice that Daylight started with Part 4/Chapter 12?
I can totally understand being thrown off at first by opening to Chapter 26 — I even had a momentary “huh?” moment, but you’d think Mr. COUNTERTERRORISM Inc. (whose other review is for a bunny fun tunnel… maybe a counterterrorist bunny fun tunnel?) would’ve done his due diligence by checking to see if Daylight ended with Chapter 25 before single-handedly sinking the average review of this book. And if Mr. COUNTERTERRORISM Inc. happens to be a reader of this site, well, I’m sorry to put you on blast like this, but you’re ruining it for everyone. Let me explain.
Folks, it comes down to this. Chung Kuo is a masterpiece that didn’t get a fair shake the first time around. We’re all extraordinarily lucky that this epic has been given a new lease at life, but fans have to realize that Atlantic/Corvus is a smaller, independent publisher, not a megacorporation media conglomerate like Random House or Penguin, not to mention that an epic science fiction future history series is already starting off with a niche audience. This series is going live or die based on coverage in industry press, word of mouth, and — you guessed it — reader reviews on sites like Amazon. I can’t help but wonder how many people skipped buying the e-book on Day 1 because of this guy’s misinformation. So please, from a diehard fan who wants to see this through The Marriage of the Living Dark and beyond, I ask you to enjoy and finish The Middle Kingdom and write an honest review on Amazon and other applicable sites. No one’s demanding that you love it or forcing you to give it five stars, but at least contribute your honest thoughts and try to drown out this and any other misinformation that may come up.
In other, slightly happier news, I’ve updated the New to Chung Kuo? and About sections of this site, since they really hadn’t been updated since Son of Heaven and there were a few things to add and/or clarify. Also, work continues on the wiki, where a list of the planned “Expanded Universe” stories has been added to the main page, with David’s synopses soon to follow on those articles. As always, everyone is welcome to contribute to the wiki, whether its creating all-new articles or just fixing typos. Every little bit helps.
And lastly, why the hell are you reading this?? Go read The Middle Kingdom!
Today’s the day! The Middle Kingdom is out right now in eBook format on both amazon.co.uk and amazon.com. David was kind enough to send a long a piece from yesterday called “The Day Before Publication,” detailing his thoughts about the recent Chung Kuo developments, the latest goings-on in China, a brief note about Mitt “We’re Fucked” Romney, and some clarification as to the nature of the updated volumes in relation to the legacy books. Thanks, as always, to David for staying in touch with his fan base and providing us with frequent updates. Full text of his piece is after the break. And, if you haven’t already, go get Book 3!
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The Day Before Publication
Okay, it’s one day before the e-book publication of THE MIDDLE KINGDOM, the third book in the
newly re-cast Chung Kuo. Here, in leafy Islington, it’s quiet. Georgia (daughter number three) arrived
back from California yesterday, but she’s sleeping off the jet lag, while Jessica (the eldest), Amy and
Francesca are elsewhere. So I’m pressing on with a bit of work on the most recent Chung Kuo stories
while it’s peaceful. The only sound is the sound of fingers tapping away at keyboards (Sue’s across
the room, busy writing a ‘pitch’ for Corrie – that is, Coronation Street).
SFBook has published the first review of The Middle Kingdom, the first novel in the main story of Chung Kuo and third volume of the series.
From the review:
The writing is, as ever, quite exceptional […] Elegant with an almost poetic edge […] a powerful vision of a wonderfully rich dystopia […] Chung Kuo is fast becoming a contender for the dictionary definition of ‘epic’, grand in scope and powerful in vision…”
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Head on over to read the full spoiler-free review, and start counting down the days until the release!
American fans can take a breath of fresh air now knowing that The Middle Kingdom has now appeared for pre-order on Amazon.com in both the Kindle version ($9.99) and hardcover. However, the last I heard was that The Middle Kingdom would only be released as an eBook and trade paperback, so keep an eye out on this supposed hardcover and take it with a grain of salt.
Also, the the Kindle version claims to be Book 3 of “Chung Kao.” We’ll see if that gets fixed too.
I’m honored and proud to present Paperhouse, the first short story in the Chung Kuo universe released to the world. David has been exceedingly generous to present this to us, especially by using a fan website as the outlet. Infinite thanks to him for sharing this.
Set in the year 2067, Paperhouse story takes place just between Son of Heaven and Daylight on Iron Mountain. David also mentioned that “It might also interest readers to note what music I was playing while I was writing this: Tool, Nine Inch Nails, Caravan, Tangerine Dream, Can, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Wishbone Ash. Bombay Bicycle Club, Alan Stivell, The Who. And others.”
Paperhouse will be featured as the featured landing page on this website for a week or two before reverting to the main page, but the story will continue to be available in The Vault section, and the dedicated page will be accessible from the pages menu to the side.
And if you haven’t caught it yet, here’s the story in its entirety, after the break. Happy reading!
Since there’s been a lot of recent interest in the spin-off stories on this site, David has been extraordinarily generous by providing us with this detailed breakdown of all the planned stories in the Chung Kuo universe that aren’t included in the main sequence of novels. This “expanded universe,” as planned, is much bigger than I ever could have anticipated.
There’s a spoiler warning before the breakdown of each story’s plot – if you’re new to the series, I desperately urge you to heed the warning; these plot summaries are related to major plot points in the main sequence. For those who have read the original 8, this set of teasers will be a rare treat and a taste of things to come.
This also gives those of us working on the wiki a lot of articles to add!
Full text appears after the break.
And, as always, a major thank you to David for providing this wealth of supplemental material.
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Spin-offs
Okay. A lot of you have shown interest in Chung Kuo 2.01, or the spin-off stories. That’s great, and spurs me on to get the things written. But let me specify what I’ve got planned out, because – as it’s a Chung Kuo venture – it’s BIG. Okay. Here’s the details
Oh yeah, and this is the part that’ll make you think I’m totally batty, but…
There were whole parts of CHUNG KUO which, because of the way the story-lines developed, either couldn’t be used, or were things I decided not to pursue. But, going through all of the box files, I realised that what I had was a complete other take on CHUNG KUO – one which cuts right across the grain of the epic version. A future history, in fact, rather like Robert A Heinlein’s. That is, told through a series of stories (short and long), which, in their entirety, will give a whole new perspective on the world of CHUNG KUO.
David has just sent this along. Lots of good things in store, including news of Chung Kuo side-stories – one of which will be exclusive to this site! Stay tuned, folks.
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Brief News From The Home Front
It’s been birthday season here in sunny Islington. Sue began it all with hers on August 18 th – for
which we had a little party with just a few friends round – and then it was Amy’s on the 27th.
We celebrated hers at a café called “Bill’s” at the Angel, with her boyfriend, Ben, Jessica and her
boyfriend, Mark, and Sue and I. That was great fun, and was followed very quickly by my birthday on
the 1st September – with a little birthday bash at our friends’ Icaro and Sarah’s, followed by seconds
at home the day after (with all the family along). We’d then have celebrated Georgia’s, on the 6 th,
but she was in California, which now leaves us anticipating Francesca’s birthday on the 16 th – it’s
her eighteenth, so we’ve agreed she can have a big party, which she’ll share with one of her oldest
friends, Ellie.
And I realise I’ve not followed up on my comments about the Olympics and Paralympics, which Sue
and I have been following with great delight. I commented before about how the atmosphere in
this country seems to have changed, and I still believe that’s so. We’ve shown real spirit these past
few months and coming third on the medal table both times is great. As a nation we can show great
pride at what we’ve achieved. It’s simply very nice to share in the general collective air of positivity
about ourselves.
But my main activity these past few weeks has been to start producing the Chung Kuo spin-off
stories, and I’m pleased to say that they’re going well and I’m enjoying the experience. First off the
line was “One Moment Of Bright Intensity” – an 8000-worder which I hope will be available as a
freebie on Amazon, along with a sample chapter from THE MIDDLE KINGDOM. I followed that story
up with CLOUDS AND RAIN, which weighed in at 12,000 words, and the next to appear was BLACK
STONE, WHITE, a 13,000-worder which kind of fell out of me. It was written from scratch in a day
and a half, with 8000 words of it written in a single mammoth sitting. Hey, and it didn’t feel like
work!
I’m now working (very slowly) on one of the larger spin-offs, a shortish novel called THE DRAGON IN
THE EARTH, which I hope to have done by the end of the month. Alongside that I hope to produce
three other much shorter stories – THE FINDING, FILIAL PIETY and PAPERHOUSE. The last of those
I’ve promised to Matt for the site.
Oh, and I hope to have news about ROADS TO MOSCOW in the next few weeks, so watch this space.
With the publication of Book Three, THE MIDDLE KINGDOM, only five weeks away, I’m feeling highly
energized right now. An American publisher? We’re working on it. Hollywood? We’ve got a guy
working on that, too. So stay tuned (as they say) for a busy last four months of 2012.
And a big “Tsai Chien!” to everyone out there!
David Wingrove
9th September 2012
Hot off the presses: foreign rights to the new Chung Kuo series have sold in Turkey (in addition to the previously secured France and Indonesia). They’re going to run 1,000 copies of Son of Heaven and Daylight on Iron Mountain to test the waters in a country that isn’t known for its huge sci-fi following.
Also, word on the street is that Mr. Wingrove is about a third of the way through a new Chung Kuo story (probably a short story), One Moment of Bright Intensity. No details about the plot or how it fits into the Chung Kuo universe just yet, but I will post more news as it comes.
Lastly, new contributors (notably Adam from The Wertzone) to the Chung Kuo Wiki at Wikia have been hard at work making updates and providing some structure to the pages. It’s coming along nicely. If you don’t already know, anybody can contribute to the wiki, including YOU – the goal is to make it an encyclopedia of all things in the Chung Kuo universe.
Here’s the full resolution cover for Book 5: The Art of War. Looks like DeVore, I believe.
Click for full-size.
