Notes

Awoke at three, still awake by four, so here you are hoping to get something out that is bothering you, chapter five. You suppose it is about bridge building, dreams of foreigners, Nests of the Dead as well as the relationships of the five or six central characters. First, however, look up ‘epic’ so we are both on the same page. – Amorella.

         Epic: “extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size and scope.” Merriam-Webster’s.  On line I found these characteristics from the “Guide to Literary Terms” by Jack Lynch:

Epics also tend to have the following characteristics:

▪                An opening in medias res;

▪                An invocation to the Muse;

▪                A concern with the fate of a nation or people;

▪                A correspondingly large scale, often ranging around the world (and in Milton's case, beyond the earth and into heaven);

▪                The intervention of supernatural figures, who are interested in the outcome of the action (the system of gods, demons, angels, and such is often called machinery);

▪                Extended, similes, generally called epic similes;

▪                Long catalogues, whether of ships, characters, or places;

▪                Extensive battle scenes;

A few stock episodes, including a visit to the underworld.

         You are right. The work does have epic characteristics but there is no intervention of supernatural figures as such. At least not in context as the Nests of the Dead have created their own spiritual world, except perhaps for the Supervisor. The machinery would be the tree of thought and light. Long catalogues are certainly seen in the first three books. No battle scenes though, I don’t think a one. Otherwise, epic in scope the Merlyn’s Mind series is.

         We are on the same page then. You are wondering if you should post the first four chapters as one unit but I think not. This is a working blog not a finishing one. The whole is here if a reader would want to fish it out. I see this caught you by surprise as you were getting excited about posting the printed document, as if to say, “see, here it is.” Even though you now realize this is an epic in scope you do not sense its personal value as a whole. You cannot, of course, until book six is completed, and even then it make take you some time to absorb the work holistically.

         I will feel better if I live long enough to make editing corrections in the first three books through these audio-drafts. I think they will be most beneficial from my perspective, they will better reflect my sense of ‘self-worth’. That I will have done my best with what I have to work with, i.e. with whatever brain is left in my head. The mind may exist separately or may not, but it is the brain that does the functioning and moves my fingertips. The rest may just be ‘romance’.

         I see the neo-classic approach is ebbing its way back into its usual functioning. I am not surprised by this as you have no real expectations beyond this thinking.

         I am capable of separating imagination from earthly reality, Amorella.

         Post. Later, dude. – Amorella.