Is it really twelve months since Safe State's release? Apparently it is, and apparently it's also sold 3,500 copies in that time. Which means it's reached approximately a thousand times as many people as I expected it to, and some of them even appear to have liked it! Here's a few highlights from the reviews:
“I haven't been this blown away by an author's achievement since House of Leaves. I'm on my second read, revelling in the prose, characters, and world. Buy this book. It's one of the best you'll read.” ★★★★★
“Safe State’s world is an absolutely standout creation, full of fascinating ideas—the Storybirds, the Hoffman-Schwarz syndrome, those emotion inductors—and such clever extrapolations of current tech that, reading it, this future seems not only possible but somehow likely.” ★★★★★
“This is gripping, fresh cyberpunk with relatable, clearly defined characters, each with their own arc, and an ending that will make your head spin.” ★★★★★
I wasn't expecting that kind of reaction. I also wasn't expecting to see Safe State rising up in the paid charts to briefly rub shoulders with my all-time faves Neuromancer and Gridlinked either. That was a particular highlight of the year. I am not 'an author' and have no pretensions to be, but I can't deny I smiled when I saw this:
What's next? A sequel hot on the heels of Safe State to capitalise on all that interest? Um... no.
There is a follow-up in the works. It's called Null Trigger and it'll bring together a cast of characters old and new, five years on from where Safe State left off. I hope it'll be a worthy sequel, just don't expect it anytime soon. If everything goes to plan it'll see the light in 2028, but nothing ever goes to plan when it comes to my writing, so any talk of dates is pissing in the wind. In the meantime there should be a novella, Edge Case, with a neat little extra twist that might be appreciated by those who've read Safe State or Calibration Run. Look out for that later this year. Maybe.
Anyway, that's the update. It might be a year before the next one. If you're here reading this because you bought Safe State, thank you for your support. And if you're here looking for more... thank you for your patience!