The Many

Bowler1

Bowler1

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One more for everyone and the second book in a series with Captain Smith from Culture Shock making a second appearance in The Many. The Many is very different to Culture Shock and is a straight up science fiction book with aliens, spaceships, ray guns and even four different types of humans all in the mix. People smuggling, and humans being where they are not supposed to be is another thread in the storyline and provides an excuse for conflict when humans refuse leave their new home in the stars. The Many are caught up in this conflict, with one Many named Two taking a path all her own as she struggles to understand humans and the world around her.

I have to say that I really enjoyed pulling this one together and allowed myself to explore funky and novel ideas while writing this book. There is Ship, that is an actual star ship struggling with concepts of justice and right and wrong through pretending to be superhero's in virtual worlds, and this allowed me to take off in flights of creativity that I really enjoyed. Hopefully a star ship controlling entity with a taste for superhero costumes and dressing up is to your liking, because what Ship gets up to was fun for me to write.

One of the things I most liked in this book was finding a voice for the Many that worked, and this took two years to bottom out. Think of the Many as a helping species, sort of like the Wombles but nowhere near as fluffy (having no fur at all) and with an agenda all their own.

The free to read section on Amazon is long enough to give a good and fair taster of what The Many has to offer. If you enjoy the free to read sections then I do honestly think you will get on well with The Many. If however the first free to read sections leave you feeling a little lost then maybe this one is not for you. I have in my view written a book that is very marmite, this one will be a love it or hate it, a hard core science fiction story and not for everyone. A possible cult classic and a surprise to me by the time I'd finished, but I am very happy with The Many which is a unique read. There really isn't another book like it, an odd recommendation, but it is what it is, very much like the Many and the aliens central to the storyline.



Here is the book blurb for the book.
It is difficult for a young Many to conform and find their place within Nest and learn the tasks they must do. When caught up in the middle of human conflict it is all too easy for a single Many to become confused and stray from the group. A Many named Two lost in the confusion of conflict is forced to make difficult and dangerous choices as she tries to take her place with the adults who work to help humans prosper. Can she become one among many or set a path all her own, only she can decide.

The Many, a collective created to help by a long-lost alien race that have spread across the stars, unknown by humans until now.


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The Many eBook : O'Dwyer, Seamus: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

The Many eBook : O'Dwyer, Seamus: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
www.amazon.co.uk
 
Is Amazon the best place to link to? been trying to do a bit of promoting on social media for Culture Shock.
 
Amazon is the only place where both of my books are at present, so potential readers will have to head there at some point.

I appreciate the promotion work, what have you been doing? Clearly, any help leaves me almost speechless (for a few minutes, which is a long time in my world) and I am very grateful for anything that gets attention.
 
Nice one, just Tweeted the cover and your name etc. so far (I haven't finished it yet and want to do it justice on the forums, blog, FB blah)
Well done again
 
Ok, much appreciated.

I have popped up on my Facebook feed, so who knows where that might end up. All we can do is try, as limited as my promotional access is. I live in the hope of going viral, but online and by making people happy, not the other type of viral.
 
Good stuff, could ya add the FB here when ya get a chance? Sadly I think grim and nasty is what their web crawlers like (they've all but admitted it with the scandals etc.), but at the same time it's a very popular website. I have no clue about promotion or social media but I reckon if ya play the long game it'll get there -be nice to see the books slot into their place on the Irish SF timeline;)
Best of luck
 
No pushing in the que... behave everyone....

Good news, The Many is now free for anyone with an Amazon Kendle or Kendle account.
I think it might have been before, but for sure, it's free now.
 
Hi Bick - can you point out the bit that needs to be edited and I'll get right on to it - thanks.
 
Bowler1 said:
Hi Bick - can you point out the bit that needs to be edited and I'll get right on to it - thanks.
Click to expand...
Well, there are many writers on these forums, and I'm not one of them, so I feel like a bit of an imposter to actually advise on this. My self-appointed role on the forums is to offer terse criticism without actually providing any help. :)

But seeing as you've asked, I'll just point out a few things, with my edits in bold/italic and annotation comments in bold. Apologies if this is not helpful:

It is difficult for a young [individual of the] Many to conform and find their place within [the] Nest and learn the tasks they must do [This seems odd to be honest, as how young develop is generally natural and therefore 'easy']. When caught up in the middle of human conflict it is all too easy for a single Many to become confused and stray from the group [It's unclear what is meant here - what conflict? Why would a Many stray from the group?]. A Many named Two[,] lost in the confusion of conflict[,] is forced to make difficult and dangerous choices as she tries to take her place with the adults who work to help humans prosper [you alluded to 'human conflict', but it's now suggested they are helping humans - this is a bit confusing]. Can she become one among many or set a path all her own, only she can decide. [This seems to run counter to the first sentence, in which it is suggested she is trying to conform despite difficulties, while here it is inferred that not conforming might have some sort of merit. This doesn't present the idea that the book has a clear narrative and direction. The last sentence is actually a question incidentally, and would need a question mark]

The Many, a collective created to help [created to help is rather clumsy] by a long-lost alien race that have spread across the stars, unknown [to, not 'by'] humans until now. [This introduces the "Many", so I'd put the introductory sentence on the top; otherwise, the first sentence in the paragraph above doesn't make a lot of sense to the casual reader. Moreover, this sentence lacks a verb so changing it to 'The Many are a collective...' is better. Also - 'created' by an alien race makes them seem like an AI entity - are they an alien species, or mechanical, or a collective of different species? It would be better to explain what they are I think. A general point - you try and cram three or four ideas into one sentence here - my advice would be to split up the information into several sentences]
 
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