Mr. Wingrove has announced a publication date for Chung Kuo book 10: The Stone Within on his social media: September 20, 2018. Just a little over a month away!
Book 10. Publication date: 20th September 2018!
— David Wingrove (@David_Wingrove) August 10, 2018
It’s not appearing yet for pre-order on Amazon USA or UK, but I suspect it will soon enough.
It seems as though many of you, based on the comments on the last post, are planning on waiting until all 20 are out before collecting a set. It’s an understandable position – we’ve been burned by publishers a few times now. Personally, I think it’s important to show support by picking up each book as it comes out; I don’t think I have to spell out the logic of what could happen if everybody held off on buying.
On a personal note, I just returned from a two-week vacation in the UK (I’m US-based, if you hadn’t picked up on that already). I was pleased to see this in Forbidden Planet:
More news as it comes in (if a day or two late…).
well, I would like to pick them up in two-book steps…as that would be my reading pace (always two, then wait for the next two) and it would save a bit of shipping.
But I agree, the less people hold off, the better..
I won’t be holding off.
I hope he does another book-signing event at Forbidden Planet, but that seems unlikely at such short notice.
Looking forward to it immensely. However… one volume per year? All very well asking us not to hold off purchases but this is rather a long way off the alleged schedule. I’m going to be a very old man when the conclusion arrives!How about we all commit to buying as they come and David publishes them every other month as promised?
that is the sad thing, I bought them all again (after Corvus) hoping it would hep the publication of the next ones. Also I was under the impression that the next 5 or 6 books are all finished. Sure releasing them is always extra work, but it really takes long. With one per year, I will try to scoop up the old original published novels to finish the story once and for all.
Then I will re-read the new ones. Besides the new ending I have no clue what is actually different in the new books. And based on the Roads to Moscow finish, I can already imagine the type of ending in the original books.
I will buy them anyway, but he will lose a lot of fans if they have to wait until 2024 (I think his given release date of the last book).
At the rate of one release per year, we are looking at the schedule being completed in 2028(!) which is obviously way off what was originally targeted.
I was actually thinking about this the other day. If I remember correctly, the re-release was announced in 2008 on Bob Newell’s website. From there the first book was finally released in 2011. 7 years on and we are essentially still only half way through the sequence. If indeed we do get the last book in 2028, it will have been a massive 17 years from book 1 to book 20, or 20 years from the first announcement.
I can’t recall exactly, but David mentioned the last volume to be released around 2021-23. That was before the delay of book 10….
I’m experiencing mixed emotions because I’m glad that book 10 is coming out but this has been such a tortuous process. I absolutely adore this series and what has been done to the publication schedule is just sad and tragic. I fear that I may be retirement age before all 20 books are out.
I would love to pick up books 1-8 in the current editions but for I am not keen on being stung again (I know it’s not Davids fualt) but I’ve now had at least 6 different copies of what was originally book 1 (now book 3?) Now it’s caught up I will be buying each as it arrives and keeping my fingers crossed that we get at least 2 or 3 a year…. If we do get to the end I will look to buy yet another copy of the first 8 if it’s still available to make a matched set :/