Behind the Sunset Veil was written in 2012 as my least stand alone novel in the Sunset Saga series. It is essentially the narrative link between Thunderboy, which is a big scope stand alone novel and Den of The Ender which is a bizarre novel that works as a quirky sci-fi note of dissonance and also is clutch to the series as it finally introduces—seven novels in—the villain behind the time travel scheme to plunder the past.
I had forgotten how long this novel was, and was surprised upon proofing it to find that it was as good as Thunderboy. I just remembered hating the writing of this book at certain stages and that I had a lot of trouble changing up my narrative voice from character to character. With 9 protagonists it was not so much ambitious as is Seven Moons Deep which I have slogged through for three years now, but rather necessary in the narrative sense.
I include the outline here for my fellow writers who want a clue as to the probable length of a view-point novel with 9 perspectives. You can judge my brevity based on the fiction posted on this site.
To See the Sun is a large novelette-length chapter that would probably not make it past an editor and was not part of the original outline, and was intended as an interlude; a perspective break that would give the reader a look at the type of ‘super soldier’ program I envision coming online about 70 years from now.
Otherwise, the following table of contents is the outline that I began with, except the order of Aristotle’s chapters being changed to place them behind the chapters of the team leader tasked with bringing him forward. This was done to reduce the length of the book by one chapter and to provide the reader a parting view from Aristotle’s ancient perspective.
The research behind the Aristotle and Joan Henderson characters was demanding and took about 70 hours of reading [mostly re-reading my notes from the classics reading I did at the Peabody Library from 1998-2000] and reading on the Singularity Symposium website.
The writing time was from March thru June of 2012, during which period I wrote the novelettes Soter’s Way and This Design is Called Paisley, and the memoir Lesser Angels of Our Nature. Taking breaks to do these works helped me with the perspective shifts. The narrative was written according to character threads, not linearly, beginning with Jay and Eddie and finishing with Aristotle and Joan.
After just proofing Behind the Sunset Veil, I am pleased to say, that for once, the lead character, Jay Bracken—an idiot really—manages to steal the show from the more deeply considered protagonists. The Big House, To See the Sun and The Road to Dolphins have to be the three most psychopathic chapters that I have read in any genre. I won’t be getting an award, but I do suspect I’ll account for a nightmare or two.
The length is 102, 505 words, is available as an ebook in its first edition on this site, and should be out in a print second edition available from amazon sometime this autumn.
Dust Cover
Behind the Sunset Veil tells the story of eight individuals involved in the struggle to bend Space-Time for man’s own purposes:
-Mister Sigmund Shuei a 29th Century time-traveler stranded in the savage 21st Century.
-Jay Bracken, a time-traveler rapidly losing his mind due to Translocation Psychosis.
-Charlie Robinson, a scientist surrounded by adventurers trying not to lose his relevance.
-Three-Rivers, having stolen the Whiteman’s thunder, has the ability to bend Time, and has decided that it is about SpaceTime to turn the tables on the Whites—as soon as he and his totemic squirrel cop some weed.
-Aristotle, father of logic and science.
-Arlene Higgins, a time-hunter tasked with bringing Aristotle forward before he is murdered in the wake of Alexander’s untimely death in 323 B.C.
-Sebastian de Canete, a16th Century Franciscan monk working as Arlene’s translator.
-Joan Henderson, CIA, investigating a man that appears to be a genetic weapon.
Behind the Sunset Veil is at once a rollicking science-fiction adventure and a darkly illuminated fantasy that veers between 17th Century messianic conclaves, and the 21st Century Narcostate, to vivid scenes of ancient Hellenic life.
Contents
Protagonists in order of appearance 11
Composition Notes 11
Debriefing Notes 12
Ancient Hellenic Dialectical and Calendar Notes 13
Chapter 1: Half-past Forever 15
Particulars 15
On Deck 15
Nightfall over Marathon 24
Chapter 2: In the Year of Our Lord… 30
Chapter 3: Duty 36
A Broken Nose 36
Little Joey 40
Weird like That 44
Viral 46
Chapter 4: As The Screw Turns 52
In A Bleak House 52
Mister Consensus 58
Bury My Heart at the Laurel Exit 61
Chapter 5: AllPeople Town 74
Chapter 6: Wolf House [Lykeum] 80
The Circuit 80
The Muse House [Museum] 87
The Garden 90
Chapter 7: Polymara 94
Apostasy and Adventure 94
On Fennel-field 96
The Potter’s Plight 101
Chapter 8: Where Two Rivers Become One 111
Places of Power 111
The Way of the Thumb 119
The Vanishing Beast 124
The Bear Society Warrior 131
Chapter 9: The Inevitable Day 139
Chapter 10: The Policeman is Your Friend 146
Dog Shit Run 146
Eye-in-the-Sky 151
Chapter 11: The Companion 154
The End 154
Emerald Eyes 156
The Iberian Scholiast 160
Chapter 12: Four Horses 164
The Road to Eleusis 164
The Road to Megara 169
Chapter 13: The Road to Delphi 182
A Ruinous Path 182
The Irythraen Gate 186
A Dusty Prize 191
Chapter 14: Old Tree Mother 196
Under the Trees of Dreams 198
Medicine Camp 202
Dream Trading 208
Chapter 15: The Big House 216
Radio Head 216
The Crossing Guards 218
I Shall Rule! 220
Mother 224
New-net-the-love 226
Chapter 16: A Lion’s Den in Winter 232
My Old Body 232
Of Things Un-guessed 241
Menander 252
Chapter 17: Brenner 261
Mean Meat-Puppets 261
Solitary 262
Chapter 18: A Fateful Stone 271
A Hard Master 271
Lion Strong 276
Chapter 19: Toys in the Basement 280
Dream Ride 280
In Bed with Quantico 287
Black Ops 293
Chapter 20: A Song at Seven Gates 298
The Hot Gates 298
House of Seven Gates 302
Labia 304
Chapter 21: Ravaged Sister 310
Painted Post 310
Before the Sacred Pole 313
Moon Beaver 322
Sorrow’s Timeless Song 328
Chapter 22: To See the Sun 335
In The Slit 335
Fresh Meat-puppets 338
That Smell 338
Blooming in the Dark 346
Meat Puppet Moonscape 348
Wong and Irvine 353
The Experiment 355
The Yule Tour 357
Agent Henderson 370
The Mighty Squirrel 377
Chapter 23: The Road to Dolphins 385
When Heaven Reaps 393
Chapter 24: Conclave 410
The Beast Achilles 410
My Fallen Lady 414
Chapter 25: The Sun’s Wanton Wife 421
Chapter 26: The Hand of the Unmoved Mover 429
Chapter 27: The Girl Sitting on the Event Horizon 437
Aunt Joan 437
Pocahontas 442
A Life in Beads 449
On Crossing Rock 454
