Ending Announcements

On By ErraticErrata

Hey!

First off, the last book’s over and so all the Patreon-exclusive extra chapters are now up. They’re in the extra chapters tab, it starts with Beatification I. Hope you’ll enjoy them!

Moving on, whew. The series is over and the shock of that is only beginning to hit me. I’ve spent nearly seven years of my life on the Guide to some extent or another – and began doodling with the concepts even before that – so it feels like the end of an era.

I still remember starting with one chapter a week on Book I, back when I started this whole project to motivate myself to write with public deadlines. It’s more than a little humbling that over the years I got to move from that to full-time writing and make a living out of my work.

I owe that to all of you, and I can only give genuine thanks for it. I’ve been getting an outpouring of messages from people who’ve been reading the series and tell me of when they began and how the work came into their lives, which I’ll admit has brought a tear to my eye on occasion.

I guess Catherine’s not the only one who got sentimental as she got older.

As for all of you whose lives were touched by the Guide, no matter how small the way, well I can only say I’m glad. It’s certainly changed mine. I said as much yesterday in the comments, but it’s been a hell of a ride and I’m you got to take it with me.

So, last two announcements. Most of you should be aware that my next project, Pale Lights, already has the first two chapters up as a teaser. I’ll be taking a longer break than usual before chapters start, however – more precisely, six months. The 26th of August will be when it starts again and I’ll be putting my Patreon in vacation mode until then.

As for the last bit, while I can’t get into details at the moment there’s been things in the works so don’t be surprised if there’s another announcement made here in the coming months. While I’m aware this is frustratingly vague, I’m sure it’ll end up being a pleasant surprise.

Hoping to see you in six months,

E.E.

59 thoughts on “Ending Announcements”

  1. LiesAndViolencePlusLoot

    Thank you so much for everything EE! What an unbelievable ride it’s been. So few authors can say they stuck the landing like you did. You should be proud.

    Liked by 14 people

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  5. SpaceEmperorSpar

    I just want to say that Guide has been a genuine joy to read, and the new chapters were some of the highlights of my weeks ever since I started following. Thank you so much for bringing this world and these characters to life, and if you ever publish a hard copy I would jump for joy. Thank you

    Liked by 4 people

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  7. Quiet

    Again, thank you for writing A Practical Guide to Evil, E.E. It was a truly amazing ride.

    I’m definitely following your next work start to finish.

    I have only read the first two chapters of Pale Lights and I already love the characters.

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  9. Fiieri

    My first and only comment as a lurker since book 2
    It was a very beautiful ride and I wish you the best of vacations 🙂

    I shall follow pale lights as well and thank you very very much for your guide.

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  13. LD1977

    If the announcement is going to be the printing of the Guide, I bet there will be rejoicing 🙂 I will certainly buy several copies to give away!

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    1. Jernik

      This just means the patreon keeps everyone subscribed but it doesn’t charge people. You can find more with a quick google search for Patreon Vacation Mode 🙂

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  15. Ewain

    Thank you for everything. While I’m sad to see the Guide end, I’m also pleased to see it’s end, and a good end at that. A new chapter has been something I’ve looked forward to for years, and it does feel like the end of an era, an era I’ll miss. Cat’s pragmatism, love, wit, genius, and undying, bloody minded determination have resonated deeply at times when I’ve needed it most. Thank you so very much ee, it has been truly appreciated. See you in six months.

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  20. Stewart

    Thank you so much for everything. It will truly be something my friends and I will treasure for the rest of our lives – both for the amazing, epic tale you’ve written, and for the way it brought us together for gossip and glory twice a week. Thank you for everything, and I look forward to rereading it many times over the coming years.

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  21. nugito_bambino

    Reeeeeeeeee! Wow! I have nothing much to say that others haven’t said already. But wowser, this ending is an absolute banger! Grinning the whole way down once we got the Woe back together.

    Also, I’ve decided in my heart that Masego finds a solution for immortality for all his friends.Don’t worry EE, you don’t need to write it, I already know.

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  22. salamence

    Damn man. I even got my dad hooked on this series and he had a fun time. He stopped at the end of book 5 or 6 though since he wanted the series to be complete and not to wait for an update. He’ll be glad to know this is now finished. Congratulations EE! It’s been a journey.

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  23. AvacLuminous

    YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO we are either getting a Book 1 rewrite (iirc i think EE said that he would be re writing Practical Guide Book 1 so its longer and more in the flow and style of the rest of the books, mostly longer. but idk if im being wierd and making stuff up so that i can hope we get more guide…)
    orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
    A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO EVIL IS BEING PUBLISHED LESGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
    Either way that is great news and i sure as Hell cant wait for the announcement. Also if u do end up publishing do signed copies – with sick ass hardcover art and logos and ughhhh itll be so cool -cos i will buy every single one straight up.

    But once again thank you EE. You and your writing is amazing and it will always hold a dear place in my heart. So thank you, take care and hope you have a wonderful rest.
    Cant wait for Pale Lights woohooo!!! ❤

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  25. RivettedReader

    I just want to note that this was an amazing read. Thank you for such an enjoyable story over the past years.

    The world you created is rich and the groundwork for so many more adventures and mysteries already laid.

    On the one hand, if you choose to write more in this world, I can’t wait to find out more about the Yan Tei, the Emerald Swords and more.

    On the other hand, especially with your concluding chapter, at least we know the characters we’ve come to know and like have so many more mysteries to understand and explore.

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    1. That’ll be so bad though. At least with Netflix’s current track record.

      Also literature suits PGtE really well. I am not saying it’s impossible, but just transcribing the story would be left with so many challanges and/or omissions.

      I hope they use the setting to make either a sequel to the books, or an anthology series of the interludes.

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  27. Rabblerouser

    It’s a bittersweet ending. I don’t know what to say. I am going to miss these characters so much. EE, you’ve written a brilliant work of art. Thank you for all your effort.

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  29. Bob7777

    Think I’ve been reading for 5 years? Been a constant. Super weird knowing it’s done. Thank you for a great adventure!! Loved every second of it.

    Question though, are there any plans to publish these books? Cus I’d buy the box set.

    Anyway, can’t wait to read your next project!!

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  30. Stephen Marsh

    Is there a write-up somewhere with the details of the death of Black rather than all the remembrances we have in the main story?

    Otherwise this remains marvelous.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Abnaxis

      I mean, there’s the whole chapter that had Cat stabbing him in the heart with the knife he gave her…

      Chapter 26: Singer; Sung

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      2. Stephen Marsh

        Somehow I missed that chapter. I’ve been doing a lot of backpacking and dang.

        Checked. I’ve read everything else.

        Dang.

        But thank you.

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        1. Stephen Marsh

          Dang. I’ve been reading and thought this chapter being missing was a style choice or a bonus chapter and never realized I’d missed it.

          Well. Better late than never.

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  31. Frosty

    Thank you EE for the amazing work! It’s been an amazing journey and glad to have been a part of it. Already looking forward to your next project!

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  33. The work was inspirational, in that parts of this were the first time I personally have seen narrative causality as a setting feature that the characters pay special attention to.
    And this might be the only time I’ve seen the obstacles of narrative causality confronted tactically by people in a villainous role.

    Those setting elements are definitely making it into my ideas file.

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  34. AdLeto

    First time commenting here and i have only one thing to say: Holy Shit with the capital letters, that was awesome, the desire to reread is hitting hard, but i don’t have a lot of time now.
    What i am saying is…
    I love your world and every madman that dweels in it.
    I’m exited for your next story, but the Guide will stay forever in my heart.

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  38. David

    Everything I could have dreamed of and more!

    I’ve been running DnD campaigns now and I can say in no small part, the creative energy I now have has come from reading this work.

    I wish I could have this series in paper on my shelf for the rest of my life. It’s definitely my favorite by far.

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  39. DC

    I reread the whole thing as soon as it finished; it was my go-to downtime activity for weeks. It just feels…solid, in a way no story really has for me before. It crystallised for me when on my second readthrough I got to Tariq putting on the crown and killing himself and for a second it was almost like I forgot he wasn’t a real person; it felt nigh identical to reading about a tragedy in reality.

    I think it’s because of the consistency in characterisation; people do things because of who they are, in a way that is really hard to write without slipping up.

    I dunno. Story good. Too good for BSD word man to explain why good. Bad word man only know good word man is very good word man.

    Liked by 1 person

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  41. I disappeared for a while some years ago, spent months trying to find this again (searching “webnovel where Characters have Names and a parts of a Story” is… Not Helpful).

    It’s a shock to come back and find it finished and I’m super hyped to read from the beginning all the way to the end.

    I really just came to show support and just say thanks for making this at all! I’ll be finishing this now and waiting for your next work!

    Liked by 1 person

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  42. AzTech

    I had been eagerly awaiting new chapters for years but fell off and have finally read everything, can’t wait to read more of your work. I’ve enjoyed reading APGTE more than anything else I have read in a long time. Best of luck in the future EE, have a good long break.

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  43. I am a little late to the party I know, but as I lie awake at night after finishing the last stretch of this marvelous story I feel as though a word or two must be spared for it and its writer.

    EE, I would like to thank you deeply for writing one of the best stories I have ever read. It has typos aplenty, and the mobile webpage is atrocious, but I would not care less If I had had to read it on a stack of wet napkins, I would have loved it regardless.

    I look forwards to your great return. As some have said already, it will be hard for Pale Lights to live up to this masterpiece, but there is no-one better than you to undertake the task regardless.

    Be it better or otherwise, know that by what you have written, you have gained a follower, EE. What you write, I will read, and I have absolutely no doubts that I will enjoy the ride all the while.

    My regards,

    Elegate1

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    1. To expand on my comment:

      Though I am yet young, I have read many great stories, most of all those which dwell in the realm of fantasy. I have learned to recognize the patterns, the “Hero’s Journey” if you will, and sometimes the holding that secret knowledge of what lay ahead of the narrative-bound protagonists detracted from my reading. I make an effort not to abandon novels, but I do end up finishing them in a sort of “forced march”.

      I did not start reading the Guide as soon as I learned of its existence. I was introduced to the marvelous world of web serials through Wildbow’s Worm (A torrid past of fanfiction notwithstanding), and thereon picked up many others. I have recognized a trend in this “genre”: the prevalence of the theme of grayness in morality, and watching the story of the villain unfold rather than that of the hero. When I read the Guide’s summary in December, I was intrigued by the meta-aware world you created, but was put off by two things: the recurrence of the aforementioned morality theme and the YA rating. So I read the first two chapters, and I did not like them.

      Cat was much too cocky and brash for my liking when I had come love the likes of Wildbow’s Taylor, and I do not know why but the writing itself did not appeal to me. The chapters were not bad, not by a long shot, but nothing clicked in me when I finished them. Now, after finishing the last of seven books, I have no doubt that if you, EE, had written said chapters in the manner you later adopted and perfect as the story unfolded, I would have been hooked from then on. But alas, I did not like the chapters, so I put the Guide off, embarking on other readings until mid-January.

      One night, I was I was binging through articles on TVTropes on a whim, and through searches and links I came across the name of the Guide in on the tropes. I do not remember which one, but I brought up the article and started reading through. I know it is a terrible thing to spoil yourself so unabashedly, but what I read definitely caught my interest, so I picked up the Guide once again. I got through those two first chapters, and kept going.

      And damn if I didn’t make a good decision.

      That the characters were aware of and that the world itself was sensitive to intricacies of narratives and stories as metacontextual constructs was such a breath of fresh air that I fail to see how no-one thought of writing the Guide before you did. Where Cat first failed to endear me to her, the rest of the world did not. And what a world indeed! Nothing in Calernia is revolutionary, I think, but what it is is consistent to a fault. the order of the world is the story within the Story (To borrow from your clever use of capital letters). I loved it, the little symmetries of Callow and Praes, of the East and the West.

      The use of the meta-narrative knowledge and awareness was the second hook in me. As I said before, I have grown rather unenthused in recent times with fantasy tropes and narratives because I could see how they would play out but not the characters. That Cat and the gang could know in-universe exactly the same amount of information I did if not more appealed to me greatly.

      And then, after a fashion, the third hook were the characters. Some have been consistently great, such as Black and Malicia, but as I said it took me a while to come around to Cat. Her strokes of luck and sheer stubbornness were amusing, and I grew to like her by the end of the first book. It would not be until the fourth book, during the character-centric trip to the Everdark that I grew to love her.

      I thought I would see old ground being treaded anew in Cat’s struggle with morality, but the bleakness of some other webserials was balanced with how much Cat genuinely cared for everyone that surrounded her, and the great lengths she went to to see them smile and have a somewhat happy ending. In short, I expected Worm’s cold pragmatism, and got willful, slightly-optimist pragmatism. And I love the story for it.

      The rest of the gang I grew just as fond of, and during my read of the second epilogue I felt genuine bittersweetness at the losses no matter of solidly in tune they were with the writing.

      And the writing. One of the main things that I had first disliked of the story was probably what ended up hooking me fully. Reading through the Guide, save for a few sparse times, was an exceedingly satisfying experience. Again, I must praise your consistence both in the characters and the plots, and I would like to extend you a rare compliment from my part in that I have eagerly read every interlude and sidestory whereas other great works of literature have oftentimes held points of view which I paged through quickly to get to the characters I most wanted to follow. The denizens of your world, I have come to love them all, and they will stay with me for some time, I think.

      tl;dr it was a blast, thank you, EE, ro filling my days with joy.

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  45. Lord Haart

    Finally at the end and can only echo others – this is a Tour De Force, a work of art.

    To not only build this world but see the story to such a satisfying end is a remarkable feat. Kudos and you have a long term reader and patron in me!

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  47. Morgenstern

    Thank you. I’ll also second the vote for a hard copy of this for our bookshelves. Digital is nice, but sometimes.. you just like something more physical to look at and take in hand reverently.

    (Also, I’d even volunteer for checking for spelling errors / missing words etc. still left if needed. They kinda bug me, as about the only thing actually bugging me. Especially the ones that make whole sentences an “uhm.. what? what’s that supposed to mean?”, at the very least to non-natives. ^^° Can’t agree with those who don’t like Akua taking up the Fetter(s), though. I think it’s absolutely beautiful, just like the epilogue(s); after all, Villain Cat succeeds with her Big Plan to make someone else take the fall for her – and from Akua’s perspective, she finally gets her Big Purpose, of her own free will, making the world more to her liking. I very, very much liked how she succeeded in giving herself enough weight by being the one to counter the Bard where even Cat failed, and thought it very much in character that for this exact line of argument, it would be her and no one else to come up with it and take the spot for herself. And “Calamity”? She had been wanting to become one of those right at her start. It is very very nice imho to see her take up that Mantle, only in a rather altered meaning, as she grew past her initial aspirations.)

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    1. Morgenstern

      (Also, very nice how Cat paid her own long price for making Akua into what she turned into and what plan she had for her, when it became fulfilled despite even herself no longer believing it would come about (that sweet sweet sour “she only did it after Cat had already given up on that plan, because her OWN wishes now truly called for it”) – and then both of them being allowed _some_ bittersweet bliss after all, after such a long time, if only for a few precious nights. I didn’t think I’d ever come to like that “Ubua” enough to enjoy this at the end, but I truly did. She has a *very* stark character development behind her in the end, wonderfully written.
      On another note, I also really don’t see how people really were blind to Cat’s falling for her in more ways than just appreciating her looks. I found that expressed rather aggressively in her inner monologues and the way she acted for at least the last book, so I can’t say it came as some surprise turn-around, like some said. oO?)

      So, simply: Thank you.

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