Kelly
asked
Scott Hawkins:
I've read it three times now. I had my husband (loved it) and my book club read it. Book club is meeting tonight! I am curious if Father was the only god? I know that there are his friends, enemies, and creatures but are any of them also deity? And, with that in mind, why is there no catalog of all religions/faiths? I understand you had other catalogs & tossed some so curious if this was one. Thank you!
Scott Hawkins
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[Hey Kelly,
Spoilery spoilers about.
I am curious if Father was the only god?
I wrote about twenty pages of Father-centric story that kind of covered this, but in the end it detracted from Carolyn's story, so I cut it. I honestly don't remember it very well myself, but the gist was that Father, Nobununga and Mithragani (the woman on the platform in the Library who Carolyn stabbed, horrifying Steve) played roles that were sort of parallel to Carolyn, Erwin and Steve. They had a little mini-revolution at the end of the Third Age.
Father was born into the third age, which was ruled over by a sort of generic, Sauron-esque baddie called The Emperor. Like Carolyn, Father wasn't especially powerful in the beginning--he was laborer of some sort. But Father, Nobununga (Father's version of Erwin) and Mithraganhi (Father's heart coal) got together and convinced key figures in The Emperor's palace guard to do the rebel thing. There was about twenty pages of plot-plot-scheme-scheme-stab-stab, at the end of which they overthrew the emperor.
I always pictured the aftermath of that as sort of like Russia in the 1920s. So, like, you've got a number of prominent post-revolutionary figures jockeying for power, and ultimately the biggest bastard (Father/Stalin) eliminates all the competition.
So yes, to answer your question, Father did have some peers who were arguably as powerful as him at one point. And yes, to our eyes they would probably count as demigods. But in the end Father, like Carolyn, was the undisputed champion.
Oh, and in general I was trying to stay away from mentioning any particular religion, so it wasn't like Father was overthrowing Shiva or anything like that.
Best,
Scott (hide spoiler)]
Spoilery spoilers about.
I am curious if Father was the only god?
I wrote about twenty pages of Father-centric story that kind of covered this, but in the end it detracted from Carolyn's story, so I cut it. I honestly don't remember it very well myself, but the gist was that Father, Nobununga and Mithragani (the woman on the platform in the Library who Carolyn stabbed, horrifying Steve) played roles that were sort of parallel to Carolyn, Erwin and Steve. They had a little mini-revolution at the end of the Third Age.
Father was born into the third age, which was ruled over by a sort of generic, Sauron-esque baddie called The Emperor. Like Carolyn, Father wasn't especially powerful in the beginning--he was laborer of some sort. But Father, Nobununga (Father's version of Erwin) and Mithraganhi (Father's heart coal) got together and convinced key figures in The Emperor's palace guard to do the rebel thing. There was about twenty pages of plot-plot-scheme-scheme-stab-stab, at the end of which they overthrew the emperor.
I always pictured the aftermath of that as sort of like Russia in the 1920s. So, like, you've got a number of prominent post-revolutionary figures jockeying for power, and ultimately the biggest bastard (Father/Stalin) eliminates all the competition.
So yes, to answer your question, Father did have some peers who were arguably as powerful as him at one point. And yes, to our eyes they would probably count as demigods. But in the end Father, like Carolyn, was the undisputed champion.
Oh, and in general I was trying to stay away from mentioning any particular religion, so it wasn't like Father was overthrowing Shiva or anything like that.
Best,
Scott (hide spoiler)]
More Answered Questions
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more




Dec 06, 2018 07:12AM · flag
Dec 06, 2018 08:25AM · flag
Dec 06, 2018 02:56PM · flag