Sorry, I'd intended to post this yesterday, but high winds had us without power for most of the day yesterday, and it took the net an hour or more to get restored after the power came back. I could've posted from my phone, but I really hate typing anything more than a line or two on there.
Control System is now live on Amazon, at:
Thanks,
Tom
Really great next offering in the series. Just left a glowing review on Amazon. Can't wait for the next and hoping 2-3 months like your usual pace?
ReplyDeleteI'll be shooting for early April for book #4.
ReplyDeleteTom
Just a comment and not a critical review. In book 3 the protagonist gets the cleanse spell in chapter 13 and proceeds to ignore it for multiple gear cleanings. Even worse the spell says one non magical object can be the target (does not specify clothing at all) , so why no cleanse the cowcatcher on the train after the ogre instead of manualcleaning up the guts and cosmetic abuse? Why not cleanse the interior of the spaceship since the ship itself is also not magical but is now with a burnt interior and minor damage from the lightning bolt? Since Cleanse also does "minor repairs to the object" this would be another obvious usage. Note this is a situation where you read something that is obviously an RPG element (d&d mending spell) and then proceed to waste time manually doing something when you got plenty of mana.
ReplyDeleteSecondly you make a big issue out of communicating between safe zones, but you allow people to buy pads, put in content, and publish them to be bought at any kiosk on earth. So somehow no one thought of a safe zone newspaper with a letters column published on data pads? BTW shipping/train schedules were totally a historical part of coastal newspapers.
Some of that is intentional. The cleaning in chap 13, if you are referring to the armor, is not mild cleaning (which the spell is designed for), but sunken in sweat and grime on the leather.
ReplyDeleteAs for the spaceship, the spell would clean and patch the walls, but not the circuitry as the circuitry wouldn't be considered a minor repair. He left the walls open so they can tell where the circuits will need to be replaced later on.
It would've worked for cleaning the cowcatcher, but Marc didn't think of it as he wasn't in the best of shape at that time. The dent would've been questionable though, probably non-workable to repair with the spell since it took a major effort to repair it.
While that would work, re: newspaper, it assumes that the Safe Zones they want to get the newspapers are aware that they are there to be gotten. Easier once they've made contact and can let people know to look. As for schedules, as of yet, they aren't really working on a regular one and they're in regular contact with all the Safe Zones connected to the railway, so it isn't that important for them to have a set schedule yet.
Thanks for your comments though, hope you're enjoying the series.
Tom
In Chapter 9 of Control System did your "Hero's" make like Anakin Skywalker and chop down the flowers or just leave them to starve to death? Because you wrote that the Orc's had children with them.
ReplyDeleteI thought I also pointed out that they killed any of the orcs that attacked, and all of the orcs had, including the children. I was envisioning the children orcs to be about the equivalent of teenagers although I might not have gotten that across well.
ReplyDeleteTom
Hi!
ReplyDeleteIs there a way to contact you directly, such as email? I wanted to ask something a little less publicly regarding this series, if that's alright.
Apart from that:
I just finished Control System, and I really like where it's heading!
As the other poster mentioned though, I also interpreted the Orc scene to mean they killed all the warrior adults, then the fallback village guardians, and then left the helpless others to die slowly. I felt sad because the Orcs seemed protective rather than aggressive, and with having their own developed language, maybe Marc could have kept one alive to learn at least basic words and communicated peacefully with them. It felt more like a slaughter of village people than a clearing of dangerous creatures.
On a lighter note, it would be really cool if Marc tried to use the language skill on Beggar! It feels like you're building up to having Beggar play a big role later, so maybe you've got it covered or have something else in mind, but I keep wondering why he hasn't at least tried it since Beggar seems very keen on being seen as a person. Don't most of us wish we could talk to animals? :)
Lastly--I felt a bit funny-sad for the admirer who sent Marc his gift. Marc knows he's being watched at all times, and I just pictured the sender waiting with bated breath as his receiver opens the package he picked out and bought with great care--to a complete lack of grateful reaction, lol. I had thought Marc would send at least a "Thank you!" up into the void.
All in all though, great book, and I'm looking forward to what's next!
Hello, I am really enjoying the series so far. The third book is currently unavailable on Amazon Canada. Is it a error or by intention? Thanks for the fun read.
ReplyDeleteHi,
DeleteSomeone used the reporting function to report some errors on the story. Some of them were something they termed a formatting error and they used a code that implied a critical formatting error which caused Amazon to automatically Suppress the book. I made all the other appropriate fixes and changed the formatting in those two small sections (System notices for Marc) and resubmitted. We're now just waiting on Amazon to check my fixes and make the available again.
Tom
I went to check and it it available again on the .com store. If it isn't in the Canadian store yet, it should be available again there shortly.
DeleteFYI I normally use a 2015 iPAD and read using kindle app which of course Apple does not allow updates to anymore (planned obsolescence ),and routinely get chapter heading errors and other alt formatting issues.
DeleteSo you are not the only author with markup tag errors in your books and it may not even be on your end due to publishing formats being updated. I also have the latest kindle reader on an android phone, but that is sub optimal for my old eyes that have read over 5K books (reading glasses for 30 years now.) please keep up the good work and hopefully the ePUB people will have QA software to spot issues like they have for website vs various browsers.
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ReplyDeleteHello Tom! I love the Natural Laws Apocalypse series! So much so that I'm wondering if you would allow someone else to write books in your universe?
ReplyDeleteI'd prefer that they waited until after I'd finished my series. That way any major events I've got planned would already be set into the timeline. Once I've finished my own series, I wouldn't be against it though.
ReplyDeleteI've just read this and the previous books from the series throughout the last week or so and must say that it is by far my favourite of this genre and that I'm very much looking forward to the next installment. Thank you very much for writing this series as it's entirely captivating and enjoyable :)
ReplyDeletei know that this is a bit stupid and anoying but is there an update on an ETA for book 4
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately it won't be early April as I'd originally planned. Lots of life stuff getting in the way (think things like jury duty and dentists). It is, however far enough along that it should be out in the last week of April, first week of May at the very latest, barring any more major interruptions.
DeleteTom.