PT Brainum: Blog

To help with the confusion, I wrote a new Transmutation: Chapter 21 for the first Elements of Power book. It should post shortly, so please do go read it, the old chapter 21 is now chapter 22. Hopefully you can increase your score for both that book and the sequel after reading it.
Thank you
PT

Elements of power came to an end today, and elements of power 2 began posting today. I'm currently writing elements of power 3. Because of the effort involved in getting a book ready for bookapy, it will be a week or two before EoP2 gets posted there. I have created a pre release draft, but it needs more editing, and right now I'm focused on writing. To give me more time, chapter 2 of EoP2 will post tomorrow, but posting will then move to an every other day event, instead of the daily posting that EoP enjoyed. I'm hoping to be completely finished writing the EoP trilogy by the time EoP2 finishes posting. Once that's done, I intend to go back and work on editing the omniscient series (aka John the genius) for publishing on bookapy. I've also had a reader volunteer to edit microgates, so if that happens then that'll probably get put on bookapy too.

I'm trying bookapy out by posting parts 1 & 2 of elements of power, i think i might have under priced it at 2.99. If it works well, I'll be posting parts 3 & 4 there in November after the daily posting catches up. It's been a fun write, and I'm still into it, writing part 5, with plans for a part 6. Parts 1 & 2 are 93k words, and part 3 & 4 are about the same.

It's happened again, I was struck with inspiration, and started writing. This seems to happen when I do a lot of reading. Thanks to a gift of Kindle unlimited I've read probably 100 books in the last 3 months, maybe more.

The new story has part 1 and 2 complete, and I've got great ideas for part 3. The completed section is 40+ chapters and 80k+ words, so novel length already. This is most definitely a sex story. It's got some of my personal experiences, and fantasies spread through it.

Inspiration did strike a few months ago, but that story was never completed beyond chapter 15 or so. I fell out of love with it, and part of it was to experiment with a different style and pacing. I'm thinking I could wrap it up, when I'm done with Elements of Power rather easily, we'll see if I can find the love.

His Dark Materials

His Dark Materials is a show that aired November 2019 on BBC1 in the UK, then on HBO. It is rated TV 14 for some disturbing events. The first season was 8 episodes, each about 55 minutes long. It is based on the sci-fi trilogy of the same name consisting of the books Golden Compass (aka Northern Lights), The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. The first season primary covers the Golden Compass arc, a second season has been ordered.

I haven't read the books, but I did try reading Golden Compass a long time ago but don't remember why I stopped. I do remember it being confusing. The series too can be a little disorienting, as it takes place in a world parallel to our own, and much of the first episode is world building.

Understanding the world of Lyra (Dafne Keen) who sees her world through the eyes of a prepubescent girl, orphaned and raised as the ward of Jordan College, Oxford, is difficult at first. Further episodes continue to reveal various forces at play. Prophecies about Lyra state that she will do great things in the future, as long as no one tells her that she's supposed to do so. It's astonishing the number of people who are in the know about her, and have to keep this secret, while helping her as best as they can.

Her universe is one filled with airships, Edwardian style, and a steampunk vibe. Cars are early 1920s when visible, and ocean going boats still carry sails even if they have engines.

The special effects are great, especially the dæmons, a creature which every person in this world has. Dæmons are considered exterior manifestations of the human soul, and can change shape when people are young, but become fixed as a single animal at the onset of puberty. Dæmons can also speak, and are generally limited from going more than a few feet from their human. They also cause pain to their human if injured, and visa versa. At death a dæmon disappears in a sparkle of light.

Additional characters include a race of polar bears, known simply as 'the bears' who talk, and work metal fashioning suits of armor that they wear. There are also witches, and a totalitarian government known as the magisterium. It is an excellent example of world building.

The story also slips into our universe, or at least one like it, with another character that is destined to meet Lyra someday, a boy named Will.

It's an adventure tale, well acted, but if you have trouble with British accents (yes plural) you might need subtitles. If you like grand adventures, unexpected surprises, and the knowledge that no adult is truly to be trusted by any child, then you will probably like this show.

It's currently available according to a quick Google, on Amazon Prime, HBO streaming, BBC streaming, and Hulu+. If you don't have those then you can watch it here after you start up your most powerful ad blocker: https://projectfreetv.fun/series/his-dark-materials/

I wouldn't try torrenting it, or using any download service, it's not secure or private. I'm not advocating piracy, but I've heard that the dmca doesn't apply to streaming, thus the link I provided. I'm NOT a lawyer, you're responsible for your own ass, like usual.

Spoilers Below:

Some have referred to the book series as a young adult novel, but the author has insisted that it was written with no target audience. Considering the story primarily revolves around the kidnapping and torture of children in scientific experiments, it's hard to understand why people think this would be good for kids.

Lyra grows up believing that she is an orphan, that her parents died in an airship accident. She occasionally gets to see her uncle, the adventurer scientist Lord Asriel Belacqua (James McAvoy). She eventually gets sent from Jordan College to stay with Marisa Coulter (Ruth Wilson) an accomplished scientist, and rare woman scholar. Lyra eventually discovers the two characters are actually her parents, and she's an orphan because of abandonment, not a tragic accident. Again, not sure why anyone would think this is for kids, even teens.

She escapes from her mother several times, each time after revealing her mother is behind ever more perfidious deeds, as she desperately tried to find the kidnapped best friend, a real orphan named Roger Parslow (Lewin Lloyd), who has been caught up in her mother's schemes. Roger is not one to go on adventures, he would rather grow up to work in the college kitchens. His stoic friendship and loyalty to Lyra is therefore heartbreaking when (too much of a spoiler).