Launching “Oracle’s Fire” (Harper Voyager) by Mary Victoria
Yesterday I was privileged to be asked to speak at the launch of Oracle’s Fire, the third and final book in Mary Victoria’s Chronicles of the Tree series. The other speakers were Tammy Ruffell, on behalf of the publisher, HarperVoyager, and Mary herself, who also read an extract from the book.
So for today’s post, I thought I’d share what I had to say, together with some photos of the event.
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“Launching Oracle’s Fire
It is always an honour to be asked by another writer to play a part in the launch of their book; the more so, I feel, when that book is the culmination of a series. So I am delighted to be here with you today to introduce Mary and Frank and say my few good words of introduction, as together—to spin a metaphor—we celebrate Oracle’s Fire coming off the writing slipway and embarking on its maiden voyage into the great ocean that is published literature. 😉
When I wrote the Acknowledgments for the first novel in my own series I said that “writing the first book in a series is always a major undertaking.” And it is true that very few people who set out to write a book ever complete it, and even fewer get published, so when Tymon’s Flight came out, Mary was already well ahead of the curve.
But writing a series at all—sustaining and developing a story over several books—is an even more significant undertaking. In Mary’s case, the circumstances around completing her Chronicles of the Tree trilogy have included punishing contractual deadlines, crippling Occupational Overuse Syndrome (the latter and the former probably not unconnected, I suspect), and marathon journeys to the far side of the world for family reasons. Not an easy row to hoe, so to be standing here today with this book in my hand is a testament to Mary’s tenacity, commitment and professionalism.
Only Mary can speak to the beginnings of the Tree journey, that place where a story sparked and then grew to become a three-book series. I entered the tale late, when I arranged to interview Mary on local radio—and shortly thereafter the Advance Reader Edition of Tymon’s Flight arrived in my post office box, and I discovered the world of the Tree. Not just a large tree, but one as vast as the Himalaya mountain range …
This world was wonderfully imagined—by which I mean not just the idea of world as Tree, but the practicalities of what that means in term of how people live: their technology and culture, conflicts and beliefs. So—not just a clever idea, but a fully realized world.
Needless to say, I was strongly impressed by Mary’s ability as a world builder. Other elements of her evolving story have impressed me as well: the way in which she weaves scientific understanding into her tale’s mystical elements, and at the same time has not shied away from a story that operates on both the physical and metaphysical levels—for example, the physical Tree and the metaphysical Tree of Being. And this is also a story that has a strong moral centre, while remaining a far cry from the standard “good versus evil” tale.
If Tymon’s Flight set the scene of character and world, Samiha’s Song, the second of the Chronicles of the Tree, is where the story’s strongly metaphysical and philosophical elements come into their own—and the distinctive character of Samiha shone through. By the time we come to Oracle’s Fire, the apparent certainties of the world and its conflicts as first encountered in Tymon’s Flight are open to question, and the seemingly distinct lines between factions have blurred,
In most epic fantasy, the story usually deals with the grand sweep of events. By these criteria, Mary’s Chronicles of the Tree are undoubtedly epic fantasy: a great deal is at stake, with the world poised to tip in one direction or the other, and the central protagonists standing at the heart of the storm. But this is not a story about individual contests of arms or sweeping battles, except in a sense that is peripheral to the core of the action. The conflict is centered at the metaphysical level, in the Tree of Being as much as the physical Tree, and the characters’ struggles are fought and lost—or won—at that level. And as we enter into the events of Oracles’ Fire, the jury is very much out on which it will be.
So yes, this is epic fantasy—but a story in which Mary is very much following her own path. The Chronicles of the Tree, from Tymon’s Flight, through Samiha’s Song, to Oracle’s Fire, comprises an ambitious project, and Mary has pulled it off, piloting us successfully to this final work—not just another tangible and beautiful ‘book in the hand’ but the completion of a series.
But when you hold a completed book in your hand, even before you open it to look at the words within, the first thing you do is look at the cover. What makes the covers of all the Chronicles of the Tree books special is both their wonderful artwork and the fact that they have been created by Mary’s husband, Frank Victoria, who is an artist with WETA workshops.
With the cover of Tymon’s Flight, Frank gave us a sense of the vastness of the Tree, but also adventure and fun with a flying machine that looks something like a ship … The cover of Oracle’s Fire is darker, full of more shadow than light, and conveys menace, but also mystery and wonder. Fittingly, it speaks to us of the story it encloses—which is, I believe, as much a tribute to Frank’s artistry with these covers as was his receipt of the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Artwork, for the cover of Tymon’s Flight, earlier this year.
In addition to the Sir Julius Vogel Awards, Tymon’s Flight was also nominated for two of the UK-based David Gemmell Awards earlier this year: the Morningstar Award for Best Fantasy debut, and the Ravenheart Award for best Artwork. To garner international notice of this kind is no small achievement—and just two days ago the UK-based Fantasy Book Review had the following to say about the story Mary began with Tymon’s Flight:
“Tymon’s Flight is a fantastic read, one that does a great job of refreshing some tired tropes with some truly unique ideas, one that uses our own current events and issues to provide some great pieces of social commentary. This is the best novel I have read this year and it is very easy for me to recommend this story, not just to fantasy readers, but to readers of all genres.”
Today we are here to launch Oracle’ Fire, which is the culmination of that story begun in Tymon’s Flight. Having—in a very small way—been part of the journey from the release of the first book, and come to esteem Mary and Frank as friends, as well as writer and artist respectively, I am delighted to have had this opportunity to introduce both them and the book today.”
Helen, this is the most beautiful introduction and quite blush-inducing. In fact I didn’t know what to do with myself on the day, listening to it… I can only say thank you, on behalf of both Frank and myself. It was an honour to have you saying ‘a few good words’ about Chronicles of the Tree!
Mary, it was my pleasure—and no need at all to blush, because I only spoke what I believe to be a true testament to your achievement.:)
What a lovely launch! Congrats Mary – and very nicely said, Helen.
Thank you, Gillian. I think Mary was pleased with how the launch went, and we had a great post launch session at The Larder, the cafe down the road, where we were joined by a number of other guests including recently arrived UK writer, Alyson Bird, and her family. A very enjoyable day, at the end of which Oracle’s Fire was well toasted and well launched. 🙂
Wow, I so wish I was there. What a fabulous intro to the Chronicle of the Tree and to Mary! Beautiful.
And the images add so much. Next best thing to attending.
Thank you, Helen!
🙂
Kim, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and the post. It was a great launch—a good turnout and atmosphere.