It's Happening: Second Fractalverse Book Announced

[masterghandalf]

Literally just stumbled onto this on Tor.com this morning, and when I checked here I was a bit surprised to see that no one had posted this already, so I thought I'd go ahead and break the news. It looks like another Fractalverse book is indeed happening; behold Fractal Noise, coming May 16th, 2023. I'm honestly a bit surprised by this, since To Sleep in a Sea of Stars didn't seem to make all that big of a splash, but it looks like Paolini is determined to go ahead. At the very least, hopefully it will be sporkable. And apparently it's set before To Sleep, rather than a sequel.

There's also a summary, which sounds rather generic to me: July 25th, 2234: The crew of the Adamura discovers the Anomaly.

On the seemingly uninhabited planet Talos VII: a circular pit, 50 kilometers wide. Its curve not of nature, but design.

Now, a small team must land and journey on foot across the surface to learn who built the hole and why. But they all carry the burdens of lives carved out on disparate colonies in the cruel cold of space. For some the mission is the dream of the lifetime, for others a risk not worth taking, and for one it is a desperate attempt to find meaning in an uncaring universe.

Each step they take toward the mysterious abyss is more punishing than the last. And the ghosts of their past follow.

Comments

[pangolin20]

Good luck, Paolini! I hope this book fails as hard as the previous one. I'm also glad to see it's at least something from the Fractalverse, and not the mythical Book Five or something. I couldn't care less about this stuff.

And a preemptive note: I do not think I would be available for a potential group sporking. I really want to do those things on my own terms.

[torylltales]

I hope it fails much harder than To Sleep, both artistically and financially. They might stop giving him blank-cheque publishing contracts.

[epistler]

Same here, of course. It's past time someone or something put a stop to this nonsense.

[sassyelfby]

The sheer arrogance of this is astounding. Freaking Star Wars couldn't pull off a successful prequel - what makes Paolini think his flash-in-the-pan space opera is going to succeed where a mega-franchise failed?

[ignoresandra]

Being reasonably fair to Star Wars, the fanbase kind of had unrealistically high and specific expectations. The prequels are fairly good if you let go of those expectations and take them as what they are.

Source: Am a massive star wars fan.

To Sleep isn't even good by that metric, which is an extremely bad starting point for a series. Why would I or anyone else care about the origins of the "fractalverse" setting?

[sassyelfby]

Yeah. The prequels had some interesting ideas, and I respect that they did their own thing instead of just repeating story beats from the original trilogy. Very casual Star Wars fan here, but I can remember the general plots of all three films despite it being years since I last watched them, which is more than I can say about any of Paolini's work. Meanwhile, I doubt anyone but Paolini's Inheritance Cycle fans remembers the space brick - and they want Book Five, not whatever this is.

[epistler]

Why would I or anyone else care about the origins of the "fractalverse" setting?

Why indeed? At least Star Wars had a lot of interesting lore and history to explore. The setting of the Space Brick, whatever the hell it's called, has nothing.

[ignoresandra]

I mean I could stand to read a fic where the inventor of "Overlays" gets beaten up for their obviously terrible invention but other than that there's no interesting mystery at the core of Space Brick.

[epistler]

Yeah, exactly. There's just nothing there to explore, or at least nothing that would be worth the effort. And if that's just me being overly cynical then I'll respond with even more cynicism by saying fine, but even if I'm wrong we all know Paolini will still make it boring, just as he will make all the characters one dimensional and unlikeable.

[minionnumber2]

On one hand, I can understand trying to push thorough with the Fractalverse if he really did sign away most of his merchandising rights when he made the Eragon movie.

On the other, there really isn't much of a hook here and it makes me think the plot is going to be as boring as the Tentacle Brick. We don't get any clues into the social dynamics, no interesting environments mentioned, not even a main character. It might as well be saying it's a blog about the company mandated picnic.

[fairythorn]

I really hope any aliens in this are not the jellies; I've had enough of those for a lifetime. But yeah, the premise . . . So people find a weird hole and investigate it; they must "journey on foot" to it (oh joy, more travel log stuff), and there are a few characters who either really want to be there or really don't. I can just imagine this long trek to get there, with some characters dying weird and violent deaths, and when they finally get to the hole Angela is sitting there like "you were looking for meaning but will never find it, riddles etc., teehee."

[epistler]

I can just imagine this long trek to get there, with some characters dying weird and violent deaths, and when they finally get to the hole Angela is sitting there like "you were looking for meaning but will never find it, riddles etc., teehee."

I swear to Satan if that actually happens I will not be held responsible for my actions.

[torylltales]

Why would you swear to Paolini('s dad)? :P

[epistler]

Why risk invoking his unholy if completely impotent wrath??

[dryaddryagain]

"Now, a small team must land and journey on foot across the surface to learn who built the hole and why. ... For some the mission is the dream of the lifetime, for others a risk not worth taking..."

Who assembled this team? Were they just the closest to the site? Why wouldn't they all be excited to investigate? What's so risky? I ask out of confusion, not intrigue.

"Each step they take toward the mysterious abyss is more punishing than the last. And the ghosts of their past follow."

So...the story is about GETTING to the abyss?

Edit to say: I wonder if this is a horror story? It seems focused on the characters and the ghosts of their pasts, which seems like he's trying something new.

[epistler]

It seems focused on the characters and the ghosts of their pasts, which seems like he's trying something new

As soon as we know what their names are I'm going to start making bets on which one will get the ridiculous unnecessary superpowers.

[dryaddryagain]

I cannot for the life of me find what the space wizards that Angela is a part of are called or what they stood for or when it began, but my first thought is of them. I'm throwing it out there in case I'm right 😁

[epistler]

You're probably thinking of the annoying Entropists. Angela isn't one of them though. She's just randomly hanging around being OMG RANDOM AND SO QUIRKY LOLOLOL. It's amazing how she keeps finding ways to scale new heights of insufferability.

[dryaddryagain]

Yes, thanks, I was thinking of them. I was scouring my degraded memories of the spork to make tenuous connections. The round pit--is that something like where Kira found the Seed? I assume it was made by the long-gone entities, which I want to call the Builders except I think that's from The Expanse? So I'm grasping at fuzzy holograms of straws.

[epistler]

The round pit--is that something like where Kira found the Seed?

Yeah, I think it's called The Beacon or something. You never actually see it in the book.

I assume it was made by the long-gone entities, which I want to call the Builders except I think that's from The Expanse?

The Vanished, who basically seem to be the equivalent of Paolini's elves/grey folk. We don't learn anything about them in the book other than that they made the Limp Dick and its fellows, as well as the pointless Staff of Blue.

[dryaddryagain]

I wonder if the trend of authors connecting their works as literary universes is growing, or if I've just started encountering it more? I can only think of three right now but I don't read as much as I used to.

[torylltales]

Paolini is just blatantly copying the idea from his idol Brandon Sanderson.

Except that Cosmere was built up for decades within his novels before it was announced as an overarching universe, to the point that fans had figured it out long before Sanderson said anything about it. He waited until he knew he had a big enough fanbase to support such a huge project.

Paplini annoubced his fractalverse literally begore the first book came out, with no idea of how it would be received or whether there would be enough interest to sustain an expansive multi-novel universe like that.

[epistler]

Because once again he doesn't want to write so much as he wants to have written.

[torylltales]

Exactly!

[dryaddryagain]

I just read an interview with the two of them and pulled out some amusing quotes:

Paolini added that “The goal was to do an entire series in one book. I’ve done the multi-book series with over a million published words, and I think you hold the record for the biggest of the big series at the moment—but I wanted to tell a complete story with a beginning middle, and end in one volume. It was a personal challenge, and I thought it was going to save me time instead of writing a series, but it took me nearly ten years to write the darn thing anyways!”

and

"BS: I’ve read a lot of your books, and this is by far your best technical writing so far. I’m loving the book. I can see the influences, but it doesn’t feel derivative in any way. It’s its own thing. This is a big departure in a lot of ways for you."

I'm still bobbing around with what I think about the Fractalverse. I like that Paolini is pursuing something he seems excited about, even if his fans would prefer Book V and the reinvigoration of interest hasn't resulted in well-received pieces of work. I think he intends to write more Inheritance stuff and is just slow to produce. He tweets about having a few projects going on right now, and I'm most curious about how potentially being in the writers' room of the Eragon show might improve his writing.

I guess the main thing is WHY he wants an overarching universe and what the different worlds and stories have to offer each other except for lore and Angela. Brandon Sanderson's method seems to be the way to go, and the authors I thought of went the same route. I'd read a lot of Stephen King's works and enjoyed the way he brought some of them together in The Dark Tower, and he has his own fictional settings that he returns to and builds up. I'd read just enough Laini Taylor for a near-ending line suggesting that there was hope for a character from one series if they encountered one from another spawned a yearning in me for it to happen. Maas seems to have been building a universe for a while.

But if Alagaesia and Fractalverse are connected, it doesn't say much to me except maybe the vanished/grey folk wrought different things in different places.

[epistler]

but I wanted to tell a complete story with a beginning middle, and end in one volume.

Oh my GOD could he possibly get any more clueless?? EVERY BOOK SHOULD HAVE A BEGINNING MIDDLE AND END. Even if it's part of a series!

"BS: I’ve read a lot of your books, and this is by far your best technical writing so far. I’m loving the book. I can see the influences, but it doesn’t feel derivative in any way. It’s its own thing. This is a big departure in a lot of ways for you."

Kiss-ass. 🙄

[dryaddryagain]

"Oh my GOD could he possibly get any more clueless?? EVERY BOOK SHOULD HAVE A BEGINNING MIDDLE AND END. Even if it's part of a series!

Yeah I thought that was pretty funny, along with the idea that the parts of To Sleep should stand on their own but have been gathered into one volume.

As for the Brandon Sanderson quote, I amused myself by imagining he was implying that Paolini's previous works were derivative by saying To Sleep is a departure in that way.

[epistler]

As for the Brandon Sanderson quote, I amused myself by imagining he was implying that Paolini's previous works were derivative by saying To Sleep is a departure in that way.

If he was then he was either bullshitting or has somehow never heard of Venom or watched an episode of Star Trek or Firefly. Actually, now I mention it I realise we never really discussed the fact that the idiots on board the Edible Snail are clearly supposed to be like the crew of the Serenity - ie multicultural and endearingly quirky and eccentric. Falcon Punch for one is a blatant attempt at a Mal Reynolds type Badass Captain With a Heart of Gold and a Troubled Past. I said as much when I sporked the chapter where he's first introduced.

[dryaddryagain]

I totally buy that. I saw him use "the 'verse" once or twice on twitter.

[epistler]

Goddammit, Paolini.

[minionnumber2]

Either that or which SciFi classic is he going to rip off and claim is an homage. Given the description, I have my bets on Event Horizon or The Thing.

[epistler]

I'm definitely picking up shades of Event Horizon.

Of course that doesn't preclude the existence of Sueperpowers, because for one thing Paolini seems incapable of writing any novel that doesn't star a stupidly over-powered Sue.

[ttt]

This summary doesn't specify what is the urgency or the risk. Is it just the generic 'dangers of space?' How boring.

[epistler]

The sheer cynicism of this is breathtaking.

Executive Editor Will Hinton said “To Sleep in a Sea of Stars opened up a whole new universe for Christopher Paolini to explore, and in Fractal Noise he takes us on a journey to the heart of its terrifying wonder, exposing entirely new and exciting dimensions to this world. I’ve always loved Christopher’s writing, but Fractal Noise really blew me away with his incredible storytelling gifts.”

Case in point. Either this guy has such appallingly bad judgement and taste that he has no business editing anything, let alone being highly placed in a major publishing company, or he's just spewing PR bullshit. Either way it's fucking pathetic and incredibly disrespectful to the reading public. I mean really - there's no way any sane person with the amount of experience they would need to get to this point in their career wouldn't know damn well that Paolini is unpublishable.

Also, "Fractal Noise" is one of the worst titles I ever heard.

[dryaddryagain]

"Also, "Fractal Noise" is one of the worst titles I ever heard."

He's been tweeting #FN, so my money was on Fractal Newt.

[epistler]

...okay, I admit it - it could have been even worse. 😒😫

[dryaddryagain]

Nononono, it could be AWESOME. It's like a newt but you zoom in on its foot and all the toes are more newts! How will our heroes deal??

[epistler]

*a low, menacing growl slowly fills the room*

[torylltales]

Also, "Fractal Noise" is one of the worst titles I ever heard.

It's actually very appropriate, just maybe not in the way Paolini wanted. Noise, in data, is meaningless information that is irrelevant to the data you're trying to decode or analyse. Fractal noise, which keeps repeating the same pattern on any scale, is practically indistinguishable from what we call "white noise".

AKA, a whole lot of meaningless nothing that drowns out the significant information.

That's my prediction for the book: a whole lot of meaningless nothing, where you cannot reasonably distinguish the significant from the insignificant.

[epistler]

Ha, good point. As the song goes,

"If looks could kill
I'd be in trouble by now
Time stands still
When you're around
I gave you all my time
You gave me all your lies
For you to just come around
To say goodbye
Now here we stand
With our hearts in our hands
Squeezing out the lies
All that I hear
Is a message, unclear
What else is there to decide?
All that I'm hearing from you
Is White Noise
Placing yourself
In a world of mistrust
Making excuses -
It's not you it's us
How can something unspoken
Seem so loud?"

https://youtu.be/QskZwT1psEc

[dryaddryagain]

I did a li'l search and could definitely buy him taking the idea from this: https://www.provideocoalition.com/fractal-noise-advanced-analysis-of-after-effects-most-versatile-plugin/

Fractal noise, as an algorithm or technique, is not unique to After Effects. The concept was developed for Hollywood in the early 80s by a remarkable guy called Ken Perlin. In many fields of computer graphics fractal noise is called “Perlin Noise”, and a quick Google search will reveal lots of information on the principle, and how it has been implemented in everything from blockbuster films to computer games. A famous early use of fractal noise was in the terraforming scenes in “Star Trek II”, and Ken Perlin eventually won an Oscar recognising his efforts in 1997. There are a number of websites dedicated to the history of computer graphics, and the landscapes generated with fractal noise for Star Trek II are among the earliest uses of CGI in Hollywood films.

Which seems to be just what you described, but I thought the Hollywood/Star Trek thingy was interesting.

Fractal noise is especially good at generating natural textures such as marble, fire, clouds, woodgrain, water, fabric and more. However it can also be used to generate displacement maps, bump maps and gradient wipes for advanced effects, and the range of textures, patterns and effects you can create is practically endless.

[croscorant]

Well this sounds boring and generic.

I checked his Twitter and it looks like something Inheritance related is coming too:

https://twitter.com/paolini/status/1576956047151226880?s=20&t=QMfoJPsl_O0XpCGJCF364Q

2023 will be a busy sporking year!

[epistler]

Yay, more sycophantic fan tweets...

At least we'll be staying in business for a good while to come. For a while there between the end of the Cycle and the Space Brick coming out, we'd been pretty much reduced to re-examining the same shit over and over again and it looked like AS might be winding to a close even before we left LiveJournal. So it's good to have some new material at last.

[hidden_urchin]

I really wish I could fail as hard as a mediocre white man.

[epistler]

Me too. If I'd spent the last decade plus producing nothing but insanely unoriginal, poorly written trash I would have been laughed out of the room a looong time ago.

[ultimate_cheetah]

Unless you wrote trash targeted toward girls since 'women's fiction' is devalued. (Ex. Stephanie Meyer)

[epistler]

True, if I wrote garbage and filled it with cheap sex and abusive rich creeps murmuring sweet nothings to their latest moronic victim I'd probably be doing just fine. 😒

[ultimate_cheetah]

Let's take this to the next level: five rich creeps and one moronic victim in a polyamorous relationship.

LOL!

[epistler]

I actually have some friends who write harem and reverse harem romance, but they're all indie published of course. The mainstream probably isn't ready for that sort of thing.