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The first of several wonderful advance reader reactions to my forthcoming novel, Border Crosser!

“Here is a novel that starts at a gallop and then accelerates. Tom Doyle’s invention is sly and continuous, his command of the ins and outs of science fiction adventure is exhilarating. And in the redoubtable Eris, he has created a character who is smart and sexy and more than a little twisted. Border Crosser is a book you won’t soon forget. “��James Patrick Kelly (Nebula Award winning author of Burn)

I’ve dedicated the book to Jim–he’s been a supporter of this story since the Clarion Workshop. Border Crosser will be out October 1st!

I’m joining a group of science fiction, fantasy, and horror authors, artists and others who are going to invite you virtually into our homes and neighborhoods. Each day at 5PM EDT one of us will do a Facebook Live video to show you what’s happening in our world: what we’re reading, writing, painting, playing (or in my case, the creepy old house where I live). I will be “Live�� at 5PM EDT, May 8th. But I’m the least of it. Check out the extraordinary talent on the schedule below, starting April 18th at 5PM EDT. To watch, join this Facebook Group: “Stroll With the Stars: Home Edition Spring 2020.��

Friday 17, Practice Lap (Stu Segal)
Saturday 18, Kaaron Warren
Sunday 19, Scott Edelman
Monday 20, Lawrence Schoen
Tuesday 21, Ellen Datlow
Wednesday 22, Jody Lynn Nye
Thursday 23, David Brin
Friday 24, James Patrick Kelly
Saturday 25, Joe & Gay Haldeman
Sunday 26, Frank & Brianna Wu
Monday 27, Troy Carroll Bucher
Tuesday 28, Rest Day
Wednesday 29, Ellen Kushner
Thursday 30, Alex Dawson
Friday May 1, Peter Atwood and Derek Kunsken
Saturday 2, Steve Segal & Valya Dudycz Lupescu
Sunday 3, Frank Wu
Monday 4, Rachel Robbins
Tuesday 5, Steven Silver
Wednesday 6, Bill Fawcett
Thursday 7, Rest Day
Friday 8, Tom Doyle

Thursday, February 20th, the Voided by Guises/Litany of Complaints/Partaken Eyes 20 year reunion gig at the Velvet Lounge! Doors at 8PM, show at 8:30. We’re going to assemble as many of those as we can who participated in two decades of jams, with tributes to others.

My story “Noise Man�� is now available on Kasma SF Magazine:

Among other things, it’s about first contact, deception ops, and the birth of the modern world

Baltimore-area friends: next Saturday, Nov. 2, I’ll be at the Baltimore Book Festival, SFWA stage, USM Columbus Center, Inner Harbor. My panel at 6PM: Through the Lens of History.

My @capclave (DC area science fiction convention) schedule (Fri 10/18 to Sun 10/20):

Fri 730PM Reading
8PM Real Religions in Fiction
10PM I Can’t Wait for the Apocalypse!

Sat 10AM Coming Civil War
2PM Failure of SF Prediction
8PM Mass Signing
10PM The Golden Child

Sun Noon Non-Western Mythology in Modern Fantasy

A few weeks out, and it’s more clear that effectively concludes w/ The Long Night aka Battle of Winterfell. @Djawadi_Ramin’s haunting music is the perfect accompaniment to the seeming end of all things, when even the memory of the living world will be erased. Rest is epilogue. Also, I think it would be helpful to have a semi-official retcon on the nature of precog warfare. It seemed clear to me what was going on between Bran, Melisandre, and the Night King, but only perhaps because I write about precog warfare in my own work.

The problem prior to the battle similar to that presented in Dune Messiah when precogs are trying to out-scheme other precogs and the people in their immediate orbit, and the Night King either has some ability in the precog line or such good supernatural intel that it amounts to the same thing. It was as much as Bran could do to tell everyone that he’d be the bait for the Night King, and arrange the pieces (and knife) accordingly. To say (or even probably think too loudly) the rest would be to give the game away. He allows everyone else to assume that Jon or others will be the ones to take out the Night King. So, like a perfect Taoist, Bran sits calmly with seeming passivity as things play out. Dispersing his consciousness into the ravens probably both engages the Night King’s attention and makes Bran harder to read as the Night King approaches.

Bran relies on Melisandre, the other
precog on the scene to complete his plan. She has to wait to speak with
Arya until the Night King is fully engaged with the business of the
battle, and even then she uses soft language (like someone in our world
concerned about surveillance). It’s just enough for Arya to get it.

When
the Night King finally reaches Bran, his focus is totally on his goal.
The NK pauses and tilts his head. He senses Bran isn’t afraid, but can’t
get a handle on the reason. The solution seems to be the same in any
case–kill Bran. But Arya gets there first.

A note on Arya–it’s unlikely that the Faceless Men have ever let
someone else with their training retire. They must have wanted Arya to be a free piece in the Westeros game, which they themselves couldn’t play under their guild’s rules. Like their use of faces, the stealth of those assassins must have a supernatural aspect.

Also, Bran’s calm is probably in itself an intense effort. Given the nature of precog against precog conflict, he can’t know for certain his plan will work–in fact, it’s probably a helluva long shot that relies on everyone (even Theon) exceeding expectations. But it’s the best shot they have, so he stays calm, because his very doubts might betray his scheme.

The whole first time I was watching Bran in that episode, I was projecting a hidden activity beneath the seeming passivity and seeing the deliberate calm of someone who had already made all their moves. But that was my reading based on how I wanted it to be. Objectively, it’s not there on the screen, and the writers had an obligation to put it there somehow. So, let’s get a semi-official retcon.

To put it fully onscreen may have required some allusion in the aftermath episode. Too much beforehand wouldn’t have worked, though maybe a simple statement by Bran during planning that he couldn’t say anything more would have helped set things up.

Or maybe all of the above + retcon is still not enough to save Bran’s role, so let me know your thoughts and we can try to hammer it out some more or give up the whole business as a lost cause.

My Schedule at Balticon ()

Friday, May 24 9pm
So What Do They Get Out of It: Writing Motivation for Doomsday Cults

Saturday, May 25 11am
Autographs: Doyle and Kimmel

7pm Monarchy and Empire in Speculative Fiction

8pm 1970 Hugos

9pm Scifi, Dystopian Fiction, and Horror

Sunday, May 26 11am
Non-Western Medieval History
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2pm Just How Many People Live in Your Fantasy City, Anyway?

6pm Readings: Avery, Doyle, Krasnoff

Monday, May 27 12pm
30th Anniversary of Sandman

1pm Navigating the Alternate Future

2pm The Good Place as Dystopian Fictionbalticon.org

Here’s a snippet from my story, “Collaborator�� in the new Lost Signals anthology of tales from Chuck Gannon’s Terran Republic:

Agent Conrad shared her credentials, though it took a moment to figure
out how to get them to the mayor’s primitive comp. The mayor looked at
his screen, which was now flashing at him. “Hmm, your ID is quite
literally demanding my attention. So please, have a seat. You were
saying that you’re lookin�� for someone?��

“Yes. Professor James Marlow.�� She sat
in the cubicle’s guest chair. The wood of the cubicle was fragrant,
like sandalwood, masking any less pleasant odors. Conrad showed the
mayor a picture on her pad: a pale, ginger-haired, clean-shaven man.

“Why are you lookin�� for him?�� he said.

“He betrayed the human race.��

“During the invasion of Earth?�� The mayor took off his glasses and
rubbed the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “Unfortunately, not
that uncommon a crime. We have folks here who are probably former
CoDevCo, and we have likely deserters from both sides, and so forth, but
I have no fricken idea what their real backgrounds are. Frankly, as
long as they keep the peace here, I don’t wanna know.��

“This man’s betrayal was at a higher, more public level. And we have reason to believe he may be betraying us again.��

“I see.�� The mayor glanced again at the photo. “I haven’t seen anyone here who looks like that.��

“He doesn’t have that name and face anymore,�� said Conrad.

“Huh. Then how will you be able to ID him? Going to check everyone’s DNA?��

“Better,�� said Agent Conrad. “I have his story.�� And with that, she began the collaborator’s tale.

The book is now available here: Print book: . Ebook:

I’ll be at Washington DC’s Awesome Con this weekend. My panel is:
12:30 PM �� 1:15 PM (room 154)
Dark History Meets Dark Fantasy and SF
My co-panelists are Jack Campbell (John Hemry), Alma Katsu, Alan Smale, and Robert E Water. Hope to see you there!