There have been over 50,000 downloads of the stories in the Creative Commons licensed Green Comet trilogy. I have had a lot of compliments and encouragement, including from people I don’t even know. But there is one concern I have about the first novel, Green Comet itself, that keeps niggling at me.
While I feel that they are integral to the story, the first thirteen chapters can just as well be thought of as a long introduction. Green Comet is a big story that paints a big swath across its universe. It’s big enough to merit a big introduction, and I believe that people who like that kind of thing will have no problem with it.
I understand that not everyone will feel the same way. Some people don’t have that kind of patience and would rather just get on with the story. For those people I suggest starting at chapter fourteen and using that as their introduction. After that it’s adventure, boy meets girl, danger and courage. Once into it, I don’t believe they will feel as if something is missing, even though the rest of us might. Of course, there will always be the option of dipping back into the introduction for background.
What prompted this post was a review of Green Comet that stopped at chapter thirteen and based itself on the relatively dry reportage there. The introduction and the meat of the story are written in two different styles and three-quarters of the book is judged by the first quarter of it.
When I suggested to the reviewer that he might want to look further, he got sniffy and defensive. He didn’t like me telling him how to do his job. I carefully backed away.
So there you go. A choice. Read it however suits you best. Full four course meal, or a lighter one of three.
Thank you and happy reading.
rjb
