In fantasy, we often deal with huge and world-changing events. Even when the focus may be, like in my own writing, largely on the way it affects people on a more personal level, there’s still big history-making events happening. So it feels strange that I should be writing this afterword while living through an event that will doubtlessly be written about in the history books of future generations. Of course, being stuck at home because of the coronavirus isn’t hugely different for me, I’m generally at home anyway. But it’s amazing what a creature of habit you can become as a writer. Monday to Friday when there’s no one about is writing time. But there are people about, and even though these are people I dearly love it’s not normal and I can’t quite settle. But it seems that “not normal” will become the new normal for us all and, just like you in your life, I’ll have to learn to get through it. However, it really cheers me to see hundreds of small acts of kindness happening. I hope we don’t forget how much we need each other once this has passed.
By the time you are reading this, I will have finished writing the saga of Joron, Meas, the gullaime and Tide Child and moved on to something else. Such are the ways of publishing but it seems really odd that you’ll be partway through when I am finished. Anyway, I hope you’ve enjoyed the second part of their story and I must apologise for leaving things on a – literal – cliffhanger. It’s always a thing I’ve said to myself I would never do, but I am also an incredibly contrary person who absolutely cannot be relied on to do as I say, and anyway, it was what the story needed.i
In The Bone Ships we saw Joron built up from nothing, and in Call of the Bone Ships we see Joron, quite literally in some ways, taken apart again, going through the pain and the loss that we all have go through at some point and in the end losing the one thing he has depended on the most. In fact, this book is about loss and sacrifice in many ways. Now Joron must strike out on his own without the person he has relied upon for so long. This cycle of growth seems to be one that fascinates me as Girton, in the Wounded Kingdom books, went through a similar process. We all grow and change; it is our nature, and the more elastic you can keep your mind and ability to change the better really. Or so I tend to think.
As ever, when I write I am supported by my wonderful wife and (somewhat) helped by my son and definitely given no help at all by our cat. There’s also my very patient early reading group, Fiona, Richard and Matt, who very kindly give up their time and probably get a massive headache from reading very early versions of these books. They also offer me some invaluable cheerleading which every author needs now and again.
One of those little-known facts outside the publishing world is that writers write, but other people make us look good, or at least a lot less foolish than we really are. So thanks to my agent, Ed Wilson at Johnson and Alcock, for making sure I can afford to eat, which is always useful. My editor, Jenni Hill, who is wonderful, and the team at Orbit; Joanna Kramer, who helps make sure I don’t take YEARS to bring you these things and put them out riddled with errors; and my copy-editor, Saxon Bullock, who really locked into the style of these books and made the usually onorous task of doing the copy-edit, well, if not fun exactly than at least less onorous.
I owe a lot of authors a thank you for supporting me and these books with kind words and, probably more importantly, friendship: Robin Hobb, James Barclay, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Pete McClean, Tasha Suri, Sam Hawk, Devin Madson, Melissa Caruso, Evan Winter, Chaz Brenchly, Steve Aryan, Anne Stephens, Nicholas Eames, Luke Arnold, Rowenna Miller, Alix Harrow, Jenn Williams, and oh my there is so many of you I would run out of ink. You know who you are and you are all brilliant.
I suppose I should also thank Tom Parker for his interior art and the astounding work he’s done on the special edition hardbacks from the lovely people at Anderida Books. Even though he is TOO FAMOUS to read books now.
I’d also like to thank Austin Farr and Chris Shrewsbury who talked to me about what it is like to be an amputee, and the process of getting used to being without a limb and what that feels like. I’ve tried to stay as true as I can to what they were kind enough to share with me and any errors are mine (though I will of course claim they were forced upon me by the requirements of drama and plotii). But thank you ever so much for being generous enough to share your experiences. I’d also like to thank Wilfred Berghof who made a very generous donation to the Worldbuilders charity in exchange for having his name appear in this book. I did say you wouldn’t make it out, Wilfred. . .
As ever, thanks to probably the most important people of this entire process: you, dear reader. For reading, leaving reviews, talking about the books and helping put me in a position where hopefully I’ll get to write more.
I’d like to share one last thing, and it might seem a bit trite but I promise you it’s true. Be kind to others whenever you can be and it will reward you. You’ll see “be kind” said a lot, and sometimes it’s hard to think the best of people when our own situation is tough. But if you can try, if you can always meet a stranger and presume the best of them, then you will be one of the people out there making the world into a better place. Maybe sometimes you’ll be let down, but that’s on them not you. More often than not you will be rewarded, often in very small ways. Sometimes you won’t even know about the good you’ve done, or how you’ve made someone’s day a little bit better just by sharing a smile. But you will have done it, and you will carry that with you. The world is a strange place right now, and it’s a little bit scary, so try and go through life making it a bit better. Cos even a bit better is a step in the right direction, and sometimes a tiny gesture on one person’s part is a huge gift to another.
Life is hard, look after one another.
RJ Barker
Leeds. March 2020
i The author’s favourite excuse
ii Or maybe this is