KING OF SHARDS Q&A / Discussion Group discussion

Dear Matthew,
You've drawn from Jewish folkloric and mystical tradition for the Worldmender trilogy. Will you share what particular sources you found particularly helpful?
Respectfully,
Bob

Hi Bob,

Thanks for asking! I did a ton of research for King of Shards and Queen of Static, not all of which made it into the book. But a lot of it definitely colored the mythological and epic scope of the books. Here's a partial list of my sources:

Ansky, S. The Dybbuk and Other Writings. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002.

Ausubel, Nathan, ed. A Treasury of Jewish Folklore. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc, 1975.

Bart, André Schwartz. The Last of the Just. New York: Athenium, 1960.

Bellow, Saul, ed. Great Jewish Short Stories. New York: Dell Publishing, 1963.

Matt, Daniel C. The Zohar: Pritzker Edition. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press,
2004.

Matt, Daniel C. The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism. San Fransisco,
California: HarperSanFransisco, 1995.

Neugroschel, Joachim, ed. The Great Works of Jewish Fantasy and Occult. Woodstock, New
York: Overlook Press, 1986.

Pavlát, Leo, ed. Jewish Folk Tales. New York: Greenwhich House, 1986.

Peters, Madison C. Wit and Wisdom of the Talmud. New York: Baker & Tayler Co., 1900.

Scholem, Gershom G. Zohar: The Book of Splendor. New York: Shocken Books. 1974.

Schwartz, Howard. Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2004.

Singer, Isaac Bashevis. The Collected Stories. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1982.

Weinstein, Miriam, ed. Prophets & Dreamings: A Selection of Great Yiddish Literature. South
Royalton, Vermont: Steerforth Press, 2002.

Wurmbrand, Max and Roth, Cecil. The Jewish People: 4000 Years of Survival. New York:
Adama Books, 1986.

Hope this helps you!

-Matt

Thank you, Matt.
All good volumes. I'll need add Miriam Weinstein's book to my library.

You may also find Aryeh Kaplan's works of interest, particulary "The Tree of Life: The Palace of Adam Kadmon - Chayyim Vital's Introduction to the Kabbalah of Isaac Luria" http://www.amazon.com/The-Tree-Life-I.... I thought of it when reading of your extrapolation of the shards of the broken sephirot (vessels) as containing the demonic worlds that preceded the creation of our world/universe--if I understand the Worldmender cosmology (and if not, please feel free to expand on this).

Respectfully,
Bob

P.S. I had great fun crafting a tale derived from these sources that appears in this month's Galaxy's Edge Magazine, written with , last year's Hugo nominee, eishat chayil (a woman of valor), Ms Kary English) ,

Thanks, Bob! I'm familiar with that book but haven't gotten to it yet. (There are so many!) Thanks for the reminder.

Yes, I took the myth and several other similar Lurianic myths and synthesized them into a new mythology. I'm glad you picked up on that, and yes that's what I was going for. In Queen of Static I explore the Shards/demonic realms a bit more, and we get to see more of the demon point of view. I'm very pleased with how it turned out, and I'm excited to see how readers like yourself will respond, because (and I know I'm biased) I feel I've upped my game so to speak with the second book.

I'll take a look at that Galaxy's Edge issue. Sounds cool! Thanks for sharing, and let me know if you have any other questions.

-Matt

Hi Bob.

I read your story and enjoyed it. I like the premise of a warrior-king from Nineveh surviving down the centuries to the present day. Interesting use of the Sephirot too.

I particularly liked this line, "The blade had drawn me to him in Brooklyn when he was a scrawny but brilliant Yeshiva student with an unorthodox eye for one of the Rebbe’s daughters."

Thanks for sharing.

-Matt

Matt,

Thank you for the kind words. Interestingly, of the 7 stories of mine that have been published /will be published this year and the last, it is the one's with Jewish themes and Yiddishkeit that have evoked the most interest from editors and readers. Thank you for further opening the door for such tales.

Yes, I love writing not only for storytelling but also for story crafting--for the play (and power) of words.

But I note you do as well. [Enough about me. This thread is about you and your work.] I loved the strength of your character depictions and the richness of your prose in your recently published short story "One Spring in Cherryville": "Furniture... Cabinet doors etched into the wings of seraphim, and enormous desks swarmed by schools of wooden octopi. Armoires shaped into masts and sails, chairs that pranced on deer legs, tables that swirled with inlays of ebony. And there were cupboards, cabinets, dressers and stools, each so finely crafted that in the flickering light I was sure they breathed and considered us."

I was sucked right into the moment and stood beside Don and Mitch in the dark cramped space of the closed Newman Furniture's secret basement room. Love it.

"One Spring in Cherryville" has more of the Michael Chabon within it than in King of Shards (which I, at long last just completed a few minutes ago in the vain attempt to stretch this reading closer to the October release date of Queen of Static). ;) While rich with wonder (e.g. the arid yet variegated geography of Gehinnom, its sand seas, ancient cliffs and caverns; its diverse peoples and the mosaic amalgam of its demons -- many of whom I am trying to identify as derived from source material or, possibly, of your own invention), the prose in King of Shards is comparatively concise and sharp. Was this purposeful? Reflecting the setting, for example, or was this unconscious? Or were there other considerations, such as publishing limitations such as book length? Either way, both tales are enjoyable reads, and the ending of Shards is quite epic.

I will need to go back and re-read your Clarkesworld short story "The History Within Us" in (ha! I just noticed...) Michael Chabon's and Peter S Beagle's anthology People of the Book. I find author's styles and "voice" fascinating.

I also enjoyed the nod within Shards to Ambrose Bierce, Robert W Chambers, and the "Mythos" writers in mention of Sheol's "Lake Hali" and "twin suns". :)

Wishing you continued success.

Respectfully,
Bob

Thanks Bob!

I wrote King of Shards and "One Spring in Cherrville" at different times, and in different moods (Shards for example took several years to get the first draft into shape.) So that might partly account for the different tone. I was shooting for about 125,000 words in the first book, so I often had to be more concise in my descriptions. And I thought that sometimes a more direct style is better, since it connects readers more easily to the action.

Some of this is conscious and other times not so much. I try to put my head into the story as much as possible, and the prose and style arises mostly from that.

I'm glad you like, "The History Within Us" too. That's one of my favorites. I'm working on another far-future SF story now, so hopefully I may have that in print soon.

I appreciate the feedback! It's always nice to hear what others think of my work.

-Matt