An interesting review of BEC by The Phoenix Project. The reviewer is as eloquent as ever, and praises the novel highly, but DOES call its placement in the series into question, arguing that it should be the third book, not the fourth. To which I reply...

Nonsense!!! :-)

Seriously, while I do see his point, I think it's placement is perfect, and I don't say that lightly. It certainly didn't need to be #4 in the series -- it was actually the second Demonata book that I wrote. After Lord Loss, the next five books were written in a different order to the way they were published. I spent quite a few years gnawing away at the structure, trying to figure out the best way to tell this huge, sprawling story that had more than one narrator. It wasn't actually until I wrote the sixth book, Demon Thief, that I cracked it.

Three narrators. A storyline that moves backwards and forwards in time. The idea that time is circular and we keep coming back to key moments in our lives. I decided it need a PALINDROME-like structure, where the order of narrators would be the same backwards as forwards, and where the timeline flowed like the sea, moving backwards and forwards like the waves coming in and retreating from a shore.

I know the structure is more challenging that way, and perhaps many readers would have enjoyed a cleaner presentation, but I wholly believe that this was the very best way to deal up the story, and of all my works' structures, it's the one I'd argue most vociferously for, as it's the one I'm proudest of. (That said, I may well help tear it to shreds and rebuild it in a very different way if it gets adapted for TV!!)

Anyway, heres the link to the full review, which is VERY worth reading, even if the reviewer and I have agreed to disagree on the order of the books! https://phoenix-prjct.com/2024/04/15/%F0%9F%93%9A-bec-blasts-us-back-to-the-past-to-deliver-some-bloody-revelations-in-depth-review-%F0%9F%93%9A/