The Asymptote's Tail (Infinite Limits) - Softcover

Perkins, Bryan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0996395318 ISBN 13: 9780996395311

Publisher: Onyxis Stone Press, 2015

Synopsis

Far into our future humankind controls the fabric of reality with such ease that “here” and “there” have become one. Space is bent such that many separate worlds exist, most in complete ignorance of the others. The Asymptote’s Tail begins the story of the interactions between seven of those worlds. In one, a servant imagines life with no master and learns if she can withstand the risks that come with freedom. In another, a young girl is forced into freedom of another kind when her parents disappear and she sets out to find them. An actor learns how much work is done by who in which worlds and decides what he wants to do about it, a black cat tries to decipher the ways of humankind and protect his owner as she does the same, an assembly line worker seeks revenge for the death of her son, a police officer learns what the job entails and decides if he can stay on the force, and a scientist vies to regain control over her inventions which are being used to wreak havoc on all the worlds of Outland. As each new perspective illuminates experiences from the old, the Sisyphean nature of chasing an endless limit and the totality of contradictions inherent in a divided system become clear. “Then” and “now” take on as little difference as “here” and “there”, for in the end, we are all, everywhere, and forever chasing The Asymptote’s Tail. The Asymptote’s Tail is an epic science fiction novel and the first in the four-part Infinite Limits series.

About this title

From the Author:

I wrote this novel as a challenge to myself. I had been reading the Song of Ice and Fire series and Casual Vacancy--two seemingly unconnected stories, perhaps--around the same time, and what I found myself most impressed with, which was lacking in all my attempts at writing a novel thus far, was both authors' ability to juggle such a large cast of believable, well-rounded characters.   Keeping that in mind, in November of 2013, I started the first draft of what was then called Outland, hoping to come up with a hefty cast of fleshed out characters of my own making. My first attempts were bumbling and undirected. Unable to find the story because the only things I knew I wanted were an expansive character list, a story full of political intrigue, and a unique futuristic science fiction setting, I discarded those attempts and set to building the world properly while the story composted in my brain.   I studied and restudied story structures all the way from the basic three act, to Campbell's monomyth, to Harmon's (Dan Harmon of Community fame) circular story structure, eating up every bit of theory I could, and as I did, I came across a transcription of an interview with China Miéville--whose work I still have yet to read, I'm afraid--in which he gave some advice to new writers trying to get started. Among other things he said:  

"Think three-act structure, you know. Think rising action at the beginning of the journey and then some sort of cliff-hanger at the end of act one. Continuing up to the end of act two, followed by a big crisis at the end of act three, followed by a little dénouement. Think 30,000 words, 40,000 words, 30,000 words, so what's that, around 100,000 words. Divide that up into 5,000 word chapters so you're going 6/8/6. I realise this sounds incredibly sort of drab, and kind of mechanical. But my feeling is that the more you can kind of formalise and bureaucratise those aspects of [your novel's structure]. It actually paradoxically liberates you creatively because you don't need to worry about that stuff."

  And I took that advice to heart. So I came up with seven characters, each with seven different backgrounds and seven different perspectives of the future world I had created, and I decided that each character would get three 5,000 word chapters from their point of view, adding up to a little more than the 20 suggested by Miéville but something that could be made to work along the same lines.   And as I started to write, I did feel liberated creatively. I could see all the characters' timelines intertwining as I went, and though I'm sure I didn't perform up to the standards of the legends I was trying to emulate, I feel like I've created something I can be proud of, and I'm certain I'll continue to improve as I write more novels in the future.   So if you're a fan of the political intrigue and cast size in works like Game of Thrones and Casual Vacancy, or if you're into classic dystopian science fiction like The Handmaid's Tale, 1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451, or even if you're into absurdism of the likes of Tom Stoppard and Albert Camus, think about giving The Asymptote's Tail a read. I believe the cast will become your friends, the decisions they're forced to make will give you philosophical contradictions to mull over long after reading, and most of all, you'll enjoy yourself.   Thanks for giving me a read, I hope you'll join me in the future.   -Bryan "with a Y" Perkins 06/04/15

About the Author:

Bryan "with a Y" Perkins was born an Air Force brat. It took them long time travelling through plenty of states, and another country entirely, to make their way down to New Orleans, Louisiana, where they now call home. From LSU they earned a degree in biology and managed to stay in town long enough after graduating to become heavily involved in Occupy Baton Rouge. They still work tirelessly to end the reign of profits over human needs, but most of that energy is spent in writing revolutionary fiction these days. So sit right down, listen to a story or two, and let's all figure out how to make the world a better place together.

About this edition

• Publisher: Onyxis Stone Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0996395318
• ISBN 13: 9780996395311
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 312