A serial novel is one that is released in parts over a period of time. This was an extremely popular form of producing literature during the Victorian era when authors such as Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, and George Eliot, to name a few, would release installments of their novels to which people would subscribe. The ability to purchase the novel in installments, often for as little as a shilling, made works of fiction available to a larger audience than ever before, opening up the world of the novel to an entirely new class of readers. Of course, this type of popular fiction had its critics, as do all forms of production when they are first made available to the “unwashed masses,” but the obvious talent of the authors, their continued fame, and the quality of the work they produced have made those critiques mere demonstrations of class-based complaint rather than enduring damnations.
With the growth of self-publication options in the modern age, those types of critiques have been revived but so has access to wonderful works of literature that might have otherwise been ignored. When we consider the works published only after an agonizing number of rejections that have since gone on to form the core of what is considered classic literature, we can only wonder how many works of great beauty and talent were never discovered at all. The possibility of sharing works online has opened up the avenues to discovering talented authors, and the publication of the serial is making a comeback. One author of serial fiction, who wishes to be known only as Yitzakh, is currently drumming up interest in his project entitled The Saga of elAmea.
This work promises to cover the life of a hero named elAmea on another planet. Humanoid in appearance, he and his people are, however, adapted to life on a planet that is primarily composed of water broken by high mountains. The primary difference appears in the facial structure, which marries a typical romantic hero with the Creature of the Black Lagoon. In the words of author Yitzakh:
“I want to tell the story of a creature who is like us but lives in another world. elAmea begins as nothing in his society, and rises to rule his nation during some of the fiercest conflicts of the era.”
A prologue has been released and the first installment is promised for the beginning of January, with a new chapter to be released subsequently every two months. In addition to the story, the author is working with artist Joe Kleeman / makerof3d to create a 3D printed figure to accompany each release. Kleeman, who has worked across a wide variety of media in his career, will be using Autodesk Meshmixer to create the models which will then be 3D printed, on a printer he himself has designed and built, in low fire clay. Details and finishes will later be added by hand making each piece unique.
The prologue that has been released consists of nine short sentences and so it is difficult to gauge how enthralling, or not, the novel will be, but the wait time for the first chapter is brief, and that will most likely define the success of the entire enterprise.
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[Images courtesy of Yitzakh]
