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.

[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?

[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."

[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.

[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.

[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!

[hidden_urchin]

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