The Humani, by Stephen Palmer

[Stephen Palmer]

They look amazing, but - and I think it's a big but - there is a huge backlash against using AI generated art for promotion etc. I know this is different as you would have been the creator regardless, but feel I'd be remiss not mentioning it.

A good point. I'm cool with it. "AI art" covers a wide range of images, from ethically problematic living artist rip-offs to generic stuff that any human copyist could, and would do. I've been having long conversations with an AI guy who has pointed out to me the complexity of the thing. It's not just a matter of everything AI being a problem. It's much more nuanced. I do however appreciate that the general atmosphere regarding "AI art" is bad at the moment, but I'm going to see how it works out for this novel.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

I’ll be buying the book and I like the images but there seems to be a disconnect between the varying styles of vistas - from high-tec, Dune-like, a city that wouldn’t look out of place in an album cover, arboreal and almost spiritual.

Perhaps the book covers all these aspects but, if not, I’d have gone for a more consistent style for all the images.

Just my view

Thanks for this! There was no overall style that I wanted to follow. It was much more, 'let's use images rather than words this time and see what happens.' It's kinda like the stance I took for Halfie, making it available only from one shop. I'm fortunate in that I can take these sort of risks, because I have a lot of unpublished books, I'm prolific, and I have a contract for my nonfiction I Am Taurus next year. So I want to exploit my position...

 

[Stephen Palmer]

As soon as he took a step forward the streets lit up and he saw dozens of forms below his feet, swimming as if through abstract aether. Many of these forms were Machinati, but others were polygons, numbers, or blobs of colour. The effect on the eye was disconcerting.

“We need to find an information point,” he said. “Any ideas?”

“Ask a stranger!” Ater replied.

“They are all beneath the streets, in their own world.”

 

[Robert Zwilling]

The art work is fantastic and well worth the price, or lack of price. Its a great way to get the atmosphere of the story out where people can appreciate it. The public doesn't care how it was made, the question for some people is whether it is "art" or not, which has nothing to do with publicizing the story.

A long time ago, as evidenced by book covers, one didn't judge a book by it's cover, there wasn't much to it. That's all changed now. A flashy book cover gets attention. Adding artwork to the story was always a positive touch, but expensive. That's all changed now as well. You can keep banging out pictures until you get the ones you want.

I remember the best books (what I liked) at relatives homes, from when I was a child, had a really good, detailed, color illustrations, protected by a thin tissue paper, one picture for each chapter. AI art could easily make this practice a part of producing a book once again.

 

[Foxbat]

A good point. I'm cool with it. "AI art" covers a wide range of images, from ethically problematic living artist rip-offs to generic stuff that any human copyist could, and would do. I've been having long conversations with an AI guy who has pointed out to me the complexity of the thing. It's not just a matter of everything AI being a problem. It's much more nuanced. I do however appreciate that the general atmosphere regarding "AI art" is bad at the moment, but I'm going to see how it works out for this novel.

My knee-jerk reaction is to say that AI art is bad for the industry but then I think about all the great renaissance painters who used apprentices to do much of their work, or of concept artists today that employ somebody (usually an artisan) to build their creation and I’m left asking myself ‘has anything, apart from the actual method, really changed?’

I think for somebody self-publishing, perhaps on a budget that can’t afford an artist or illustrator, I can see how AI can be a big help.

But I digress into an area that should (and does) have its own thread so let’s just say that I think I am an AI-agnostic

 

[Stephen Palmer]

I think the time has maybe come in the global debate to step back from the term AI Art. After all, if we think of, say, the cave paintings of Chauvet (30,000+ years old), Pablo Picasso's work, and Jeff Koons' work, should we discuss them under the term Art? All three were made for profoundly different human reasons. It's a bit like talking about religion, when what you actually mean is Theravada Buddhism circa 1700AD.
Images made by generative algorithms now cover a vast scope. They are not all ethically problematic in my view. And, as many have observed, what they do is what human artists have done in the past and fuel it with high octane petrol.
Having said all that, @Jo Zebedee is right to point out that the attitude in the biz towards such images is quite negative. For The Humani, I've taken a decision to ride the storm, if any. So far, the response has been one of interest and intrigue. Next time, however, if I go down the "a picture is worth a thousand words" route, I may try something different...

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Subrufus knelt down and called out, “We need an information centre! Is there one nearby?”

A blue blob labelled 1½ appeared in the material of the street, then began moving away. They followed.

“Oh, what d’you suppose one and a half means?” Ater asked.

“Minutes, I hope,” Abiuravi replied.

In fact, it was leagues. They walked for over an hour through the hallucinatory landscape before the blob stopped, then faded. In the wall of the building before them they saw a screen.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

At once the spherical vehicle rose, swaying a little from side to side on its cables. Lamps flickered as it moved. The moth made no noise as it flew, yet I saw a trail of glittering flakes behind us, as if dropped from its wings.

I looked down as we ascended. After a minute or two I saw much of south-east Cingulum below: battlefields filled with lanterns, in which the minuscule shadows of men jumped, lines of Miles arriving at the scene, and numerous buildings on fire.

“Why has Plutho done this?” I asked in despair.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

The domed building was the cover for a set of wide spiral stairs leading into the substrate of the lamina, and these they followed until they stepped out onto a white marble concourse. Spherical lamps hung from the ceiling and the place echoed with reverberating voices. Moliri saw long wooden booths placed at random on the concourse, each occupied by an Acridida, whose immense legs touched the booth roof and whose dull green eyes stared. Stridulating noises emanated from every booth. Set into the far wall she saw a row of eight lift doors.

 

[Foxbat]

Love the insects.

I’m assuming the book will be available for kindle?

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Yes. There's been a formatting issue, so I'm putting back publication to 23/9. Apart from that... good to go! Thank you for your support, means a lot to me.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

The Humani is composed of three interrelated books. One tells the story of Moliri and Periculum, a young sister and brother who decide (with help from their enigmatic lodger) to depart the family home in Divinita - the great sphere in Earth orbit to which dead Humani travel - to head planetside. But to get to Earth's surface, they must travel through the infernal realm of Inferia...

 

[Stephen Palmer]

The second intertwined story is that of Abiuravi and Subrufus. Abiuravi, consumed by a need to enter Divinita without first dying, journeys into a forest of flesh, bile and phlegm to find the Abradere Tree, whose fruits will aid him. But will Portitor the ferryman notice the couple as they approach the Flumenstygos?

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Here I am doing an informal reading from the opening part of The Humani.