The Hiero series by Sterling E Lanier. Set a few millenia after a nuclear war this series traces a Christian Church (Not Catholic. I can’t remember what branch the church is) surviving against subtle assualts from a dark conspiracy. There are mutants, psychic powers aplenty, surviving relics of the ancients etc. It’s a fun read that reminds me of Robert E Howard or Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Hiero’s Journey and Unforsaken Hiero were published. A third book was clearly planned to resolve some of the plot threads and answer some big questions (Like who is the big evil head of the Dark Brotherhood, the One Who Must Not Be Named?).
I seem to recall that the whole “why” of the gastropod thing that kicked it all off had yet to be fully resolved, but it’s been years since I read them. I just remember that there were to my mind some big questions that had yet to be answered.
I used to hang out with his daughter back in '86-ish. From her stories, he was kinda screwed up guy (as was she, one of those girls that would have a beer and suddenly be sobbing about how horrible her life is and lock herself in the bathroom). She said he seemed to think that it was kinda cool how Threshold just ended and wasn’t super interested in continuing the story. I think he succumbed to “second album sydrome” and couldn’t deal with the pressure of having to write on demand.
Well, it’s only the one book, but I always thought that A Barnstormer in Oz needed several sequels and I’m sorry that Philip José Farmer never wrote any.
I’m going to be 80 before Melanie Rawn actually publishes The Captal’s Tower, the 3rd book of the Exiles series. Mage-Born Traitor was released in 1997. Ten years ago. I’ve stopped waiting for it, actually…
One of the British comic 2000AD’s best remembered strips was The Ballad Of Halo Jones by Alan Moore. Planned as a 10 book epic, abandoned after 3 books. I think there was some dispute between Moore and the editors, but I don’t know the details. People have been moaning for 20 years about that, wishing that they could patch up their differences and get the other 7 books published.
Well, I wish he’d written it in the first place. But I wouldn’t want him to complete it now. The last thing of his that I read was his sequel to The Dark Knight Returns, and that was pretty bad. I suspect that if he ever does write Halo Jones book 4 it would be just as bad.
Really what I’d want is for the series to be completed by Alan Moore 20 years ago, which isn’t going to happen.
Way ahead of you there, BG. Do you know whether there were supposed to be more books after the third one? I only read the first two but I liked 'em better than much of his other fiction.
I have heard that his fourth book is already written and is sitting on a shelf somewhere until he is able to agree with his publishers about what genre it will be published in. Apparently he thinks he’s invented a new genre, and is upset with always being lumped in with the fantasy. He sounds like a really egotistical coot, but I will forgive him because of his gorgeous writing. I read about this on a fan site somewhere…just google his name, something will turn up.
Nature’s God ends with a lot of plot threads unresolved and the last page says, "The next volume in the Historical Illuminatus Chronicles will be titled, The World Turned Upside Down." I got so impatient waiting for it that I wrote RAW a letter; he replied that he had had such a dismal history with his publishers on that series (not being paid royalties, etc.) that he had given up on it.
Yeah, me too. I liked the first two books fairly well, but I try not to think about them much because she’s just taking too long to get the next one out. Wouldn’t be so bad if she didn’t end each book with a major upheaval and cliffhanger sort of ending. These are some of the few books I don’t re-read very often, just because I know the next book isn’t coming anytime soon. It’s a sad state where Jordan is more prolific than someone.
Well, the good news is, Alan Moore didn’t have anything to do with The Dark Knight Returns or its sequel. Both were written by Frank Miller. So if the quality of the writing in them is what bothers you, you don’t need to worry. Alan Moore has been writing such wonderful things as League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Tom Strong.
I know the author said that The Masters Of Rome series is complete, but I refuse to believe it and want either a sequel (with the Rise of Augustus) or a prequal (With the Gracci).
I’ll just keep pretending and continue to look longingly at bookstore windows as I pass.
