I'm closing in on the end of a complete restructuring of Shader book 1: Sword of the Archon. In it's current form, many readers have found the first 80 or so pages too dense: there are a lot of point of view characters, lots of place names, and there are some difficulties getting a geographical bearing. Also, the new introduction, with Shader as a child, which was meant to make things simpler, actually seems to have had the opposite effect.

So, the childhood scenes at the beginning have gone, along with every point of view that isn't Shader, Cadman, or Shadrak. I'm still considering keeping a Gaston point of view, seeing as he has some strong scenes in book 2.

The process should be complete within two weeks. I'll be re-releasing the ebook and paperback, plus making the same changes to the omnibus edition, Against the Unweaving.

My hope is this will make the series much more accessible to a wider range of readers. So far, it's looking good: much more flow and pace, and the structure is rock solid.

I felt it was time to make the changes, especially because book 4, The Archon's Assassin, has exceeded my expectations. It would be a shame if readers don't make it that far due to the slow, difficult opening in book 1.

The Audible version will also be updated very soon, although it generally takes Audible about 6 weeks to set the modified files to live.

If anyone has bought the ebook version or the Audible version, you will be able to download the new edition for free.

I'll be sending out details via my mailing list once the new version goes live.