Twenty-one of them, I make it. Thanks to the sterling efforts of Andy Ross and Anthony Dammasco at E-Reads, ALL the maps from ALL my books are now on-line right here. (And thanks to Tor for contributing the maps from the Dodec books.) You can blow these up to a readable size and print them out. Browse my Worlds!

Several readers have commented that Against the Light uses a well-known theme in Fantasy.  This is true, but my use of it was inspired by a specific historical example, as stated in the acknowledgment at the end.  Compared to other countries (Spain, France, and even Italy) England was normally extremely tolerant.  (As was Scotland.)  It was that exception that made the Elizabethan persecutions so memorable and tragic.  I wasn’t just following Katherine Kurtz, although I greatly admired her Deryni novels.

Many people (including the publisher!)  have already asked for a sequel, but there won’t be one.  If you yearn for a sequel to a book, that is because you have fallen in love with the characters. If you look over the last few threads on this blog you will see some fans’ nominations for their favorite Dave Duncan characters.  A few stand out (Rap, in A Man of His Word” and Durendal in “The King’s Blades”) but overall there are almost as many choices as choosers.  In the past I have created many characters just as lovable as the Woodbridge family.  Try me and see!

Yesterday’s Daily Deal promotion on the Kindle edition of Against the Light was a big success.  The book jumped to Number 5 on Amazon’s top-selling 100 e-books and is still (almost 24 hours later) ranking as Number 9.  It has remained as #1 in both Fantasy and Science Fiction lists.  Fear not, despite this epochal triumph I will remain the same, modest, humble genius I have always been.

I have been informed that Against the Light will be Amazon Kindle’s Daily Deal tomorrow, 8 February, and should be featured here.  Now is your chance.

Against the Light is doing well in its first week. It is especially scoring in the UK, which has rarely been a good market for me, despite my Scottish origins—its numbers on Amazon.uk are a real surprise.  47North has given it a good boost with publicity, and from now on the book itself has to carry the ball.

Congratulations to the ten winners, your books will be mailed to you shortly.

But we also have a jury of eleven voting on favorite characters.  Allowing split votes (half each) the rating is: Rap 2, Durendal, 1.5, then one each for Alfeo Zeno, Sir Beaumont, Katanji, Knobil, Omar, Radgar, and Shonsu, with a half vote for Sir Wolf.  I was happy to see Katanji making the cut, but not surprised.  He is the only non-hero to do so, but he almost stole a book away from me.  (The only character who succeeded in doing so was Radgar, in Lord of the Fire Lands.) Shonsu reappears in the forthcoming The Death of Nnanji and of course Katanji sneaks in there also — couldn’t keep him out!  And no women??  Not even Inos or Aunt Kade?  Oh, well, Dickens was better doing men, too.

But if anyone else wants to vote in this popularity contest, I’d be interested to hear from them.  No book rewards, I’m afraid.  (I do offer three good characters coming up in Against the Light — you see them on the cover.)

PS: I see a twelfth juror just cast a vote for Ylo.  There was another sneaky character!

My new standalone fantasy, Against the Light, will be released on Tuesday, January 24. The publisher, 47North, has provided ten free copies to be given away to the first ten fans to answer this skill-testing question: Who is your favorite character in a Dave Duncan book? Answers must be posted on my blog, www.daveduncan.com, NOT on Facebook.

Having survived our two days at Wickaninnish, Janet and I are off to Maui for a week or so, staying at the same place we visited on our first trip there, around 37 years ago.  I will be offline, so posts to this page may be late in appearing, as they are routed by me for approval.  But don’t let that stop you!

I do not normally write a personal blog, because Janet and I rarely do anything noteworthy these days. At the moment, though, we are wallowing in decadence in one of my very favorite places, the Wickaninnish Inn, at Tofino, on the extreme western coast of Vancouver Island. Not only does this corner of Paradise provide a wonderful (if necessarily brief) Christmas treat of luxury and gourmet food, but it offers spectacular views of the coast. There is nothing between us and Japan except half a world of wild water, which explodes against the rocks here every few seconds, retiring in baffled white foam to try again. It has been doing this for about four billion years; it never gives up. There must be a lesson there somewhere, but I will leave you to draw it for yourself.  Personally I am content to sit back and watch it over the lip of a glass of something cold and  pricey. Happy New Year to all!

This being the time to celebrate the Saturnalia, Hanukkah, the birth of Mithras, Sol Invictus, or any other festival of your choice, I thought I would jump the gun… er, sword?… and offer All You Faithful a treat in the shape of the opening chapter of The Death of Nnanji.  I haven’t seen a target publication  date yet, so you still have time to get hold of the rest of the series and meet the swordsmen of the Goddess.  Or, if you were one of the many who were spellbound by them twenty years ago, to refresh your memory.  (Begin with The Reluctant Swordsman, of course.)  And have a great holiday!

With three new books coming out in 2012, I foresee a great year and hope that you do too.