TBB BOTM OCTOBER: THE TRAITOR BARU CORMORANT BY SA'S OWN GENERAL BATTUTA

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > TBB BOTM OCTOBER: THE TRAITOR BARU CORMORANT BY SA'S OWN GENERAL BATTUTA

Hedrigall: Mar 27, 2008; by vyelkin

I stayed up until 2am to finish this last night. Great book. Soul-crushing, but great.

Battuta, I have some questions! (We can use this thread like a bastardised AMA right?)

1) What's the deal with the Mother of Storms? (very minor spoilers about something that doesn't affect the plot at all)The few descriptions we get are tantalising, and I need to know what that expedition (mentioned in the letter at the end) found. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be an overtly fantasy element in a book which otherwise has no such elements, but I seriously got some Cacotopic Stain vibes from it. Is it going to be prominent in the sequel?

2) Also, what exactly are the Stakhi mansions? I think at one point it's mentioned that they're underneath the mountains in the north, so now I'm picturing huge Moria-like underground kingdoms.

3) Have you made any map, even a sketch on a napkin, of the wider world beyond Aurdwynn? I'd love to see what the shape of the land looks like.

4) Could you tell us more about your other projects that you mentioned in the Clarkesworld interview*? Both Exordia and Durandal sound really cool, I need them now. I'm hoping for cool alien races in both.

5) Tangential question, what are your favourite alien races in SF, and your favourite fantasy races in fantasy? Doesn't have to be limited to just books.

* Important note: that interview also has some plot information about the sequel to The Traitor Baru, which will spoil the outcome of the first book, so be careful if you haven't finished the book yet.

Hedrigall fucked around with this message at 00:32 on Oct 12, 2015