It's been many moons since I last had a look at IN DARKNESS AND LIGHT: Odyssium Collection Volume 1. I figured since Volume 2 is coming...eventually, I should probably have a look and see how Volume 1 holds up. That, and it's next in line for the Odyssium Revision Project, so...two birds.
I always had a soft spot for IN DARKNESS AND LIGHT. It houses what still might be my favorite thing I've ever written, launches the oddball Strange Days of Odyssium series, and ends with the wonderful conundrum that is MY NAME IS SOLORINE. So far I've done initial revisions on the first two stories, a unique duology that I wouldn't mind rebranding into the Fathers and Daughters of Odyssium because I can see now, years later, that's really what the two are at their core: fathers and daughters, with two wildly different familial pairings.
First up is, as mentioned above (but cryptically so), what was my favorite thing I ever wrote: A SONG OF SILENCE. Is it still tops? Let's find out. In a turn of events that surprised me quite a bit, A SONG OF SILENCE got a fair amount of tweaks in the revision. The story remains unchanged, but as usual, the dialogue got the most upgrades, particularly when it comes to the back-and-forth between the story's two primaries, Salla Saar and Marachette Matsusaga.
It's hard to say if SONG is still my favorite. I love it even more after this polish, but I've written a good few things since it was written. It'll always be special to me, as it was the first (and only) story that I adapted from a nightmare I had, which was probably triggered by subconscious feelings of imminent responsibility as I came closer to getting married, and with that marriage came a (step)daughter. Going through it again, it was a blast to revisit all the twists and turns the story of Zand and Adelaja takes (and there are plenty). I'm still a big fan of this story, and to be honest, I'm kind of baffled I had it in me.
There's another unique pairing of stories in the Odyssium Collection Volume 2, and as much as I'm anxious for you all to read it, I think A SONG OF SILENCE and it's counterpart, THE OTHER SIDE OF SILENCE, really broke the mold. THE OTHER SIDE OF SILENCE is where we take the mostly actionless love story told in SONG and flip it onto its ugly back. It's a parallel story, where the pivotal moment in SONG is given the full story treatment as to what exactly had happened from the instigators of that atrocity.
Atrocity, you might ask? Read it and find out when the revision comes out!
Going into the revision, I realized I had very little memory of writing THE OTHER SIDE OF SILENCE, and even less of what kind of headspace I was in. Even so, the end result I feel speaks for itself, doubly so after getting this update. It's tight, punchy, and for anyone thirsty for some action after SONG, THE OTHER SIDE is just the drink you were looking for.
Next up, I'll be having a look back at the story I'm about to dive back into: the debut novella of the Strange Days of Odyssium series, SQUIRM!
Till then, take care.
-C