One Week to Unbound
Congratulations to Ariela, who won the audio book of Libriomancer in last week’s giveaway.
We’re down to a mere seven days until Unbound [Amazon | B&N | Indiebound] comes out. It’s possible the book might already be showing up in some brick & mortar stores. Eep!
Coincidentally, Sarah Chorn at SF Signal just posted her 2014 look back for her excellent Special Needs in Strange Worlds column about disability in SF/F. She lists her top ten posts for the year, and coming in at number two is my post about Writing with Depression, in which I talk about both my own depression and that of Isaac Vainio in Unbound:
“In the beginning of Unbound, [Isaac is] on the verge of losing his job at the library. He’s not sleeping or eating enough. All of his time and energy go into trying to undo certain mistakes from the last book. He’s irritable and angry at himself, his loved ones, his friends…pretty much everyone and everything.”
Given the events of the first two books, it made sense to me that Isaac would be struggling hard at this point. He’s won some impressive victories, but each one has come with a cost.
To be honest, writing Isaac as depressed scared the hell out of me. Characters are supposed to be likable, right? Well, on those days when I’m losing the battle against the Depression Brain Weasels of Doom, I don’t like myself that much:
“Isaac’s depression is truer to my struggle. I worry that he’ll be too unlikeable…because that’s how I felt at the time. I worry people will say he’s too weak, that this character should just man up and get over it, because that’s how I felt. That’s what I expected to hear if I talked about it. I worry about readers who don’t understand that depression isn’t something you just snap out of.”
I can reassure readers that Isaac does end up in a better place, and that there’s still plenty of smart-ass humor, not to mention Smudge the fire-spider doing his thing with flair and style. And I’ll say that I’m proud of the book. I’m proud of Isaac’s personal journey, as well as that of Lena and Nidhi. (Nidhi gets one of my favorite scenes early in this one.) I’m also proud of where Unbound ends up, which is a place I’ve been working for three books to reach. But I’m still scared of how readers will react.
I’ll end with one last quote from my column:
“Unbound is a book about battling monsters. Some of them are human. Others less so. Isaac has spent two books fighting monsters out there in the world, but sometimes the toughest monster is the one inside your own head.”
Mark Terry
December 30, 2014 @ 8:40 am
True
Heather
December 30, 2014 @ 9:24 am
As someone who suffers from mental illness and absolutely loves your books, I look forward to seeing your treatment of the subject.
Galena
December 30, 2014 @ 9:52 am
As difficult as it was for you to write Isaac with depression, it’s super important and much appreciated! It’s just so helpful to come across accurate depictions in books; it helps to know that you’re not alone when you’re struggling with these things.
mattw
December 30, 2014 @ 10:06 am
I can’t wait to read it. I’ve enjoyed the other two so much. I’ve read enough of your work to trust that you’ve done what’s right for the story and the characters.
Kyle Mills
December 30, 2014 @ 10:13 am
I think that instead of criticism, you will get a lot of people that relate to his struggle and appreciate that someone was able to put into words what they have felt at times. I wouldn’t say that I completely understand depression myself, so I will certainly appreciate the perspective. Sometimes characters get overly caricaturized to the point that you can’t relate to them, so doing something like this makes it easier to believe they are human.
One of my more recent favorite books, Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson, deals with how you can deal with adversity, even when everything seems to be going against you. Sure, there is a magic system, but it is broken for much of the story and ends up not being the thing that pulls the people out of despair anyway.
I guess what I am saying is that even though the book wasn’t full of magic battles and flashy characters, it was still a really excellent emotional journey. I think that if it is done well, you can have a really good book that focuses on the development of the characters, and the magic and whatever else happens is really just a backdrop. You could even argue that those are the best kinds of stories.
Mason T. Matchak
December 30, 2014 @ 10:25 am
Really looking forward to this one; just pre-ordered it yesterday. And what you’ve said here just makes me want to read it more – I’ve been having a lot of trouble with, well, everything recently, and it sounds like Unbound might be just the book I need to read right now.
Claudia
December 30, 2014 @ 10:39 am
“I worry people will say he’s too weak, that this character should just man up and get over it, because that’s how I felt. That’s what I expected to hear if I talked about it. I worry about readers who don’t understand that depression isn’t something you just snap out of.”
But the majority of readers DO understand this already. I think EVERYONE has gone through some depression at some point. It’s part of being human. Some have severe depression that requires medication to deal with, some are able to “snap out of it” within a day or two, and people fall somewhere in that spectrum.
Thank you so much, Jim, for addressing this issue. I can wait to read Unbound, but it’s so important for people to read about depression, because we as a country have failed HARD in dealing with mental illness, and in educating people to understand mental illness. Yes, because we have a “man up!” and “depression = weakness!” sort of attitude still (it’s getting better, but we have a long way to go), depression is a big problem in the US. I wish more writers touched on the subject, in an effort to educate people and make folks realize that it isn’t about manning up and snapping out of it. Sometimes, most of the time, you can’t just snap out of it. It’s not humanly possible.
I suffered from pretty nasty depression in my 20s (I’m 34 now), and because I come from a culture (born in the US but to Colombian parents) that considers depression to be weakness, I didn’t get professional help. I contemplated suicide more than once but thankfully never went through with it. It was the second time I seriously contemplated it that I realized I couldn’t fight this Demon alone. I went to a therapist and got help. I thankfully never needed drugs. I just needed someone to walk me through it. I was lucky. Years later, I struggle to actively keep a positive outlook and remember that life is beautiful. But there are days where the Demon comes back to haunt me. I know a lot of people who suffer worse than I ever did (and do). It’s so important for folks who suffer from depression to know that they aren’t alone, that it’s okay if you can’t just “snap out of it,” and that you’re not weak if you can’t get better on your own. Depression is a wily Demon – he makes you draw away from your loved ones and support network, who are precisely the people you need most when suffering.
Anyway, I’m babbling. I’m just so happy you’ve written a hero with depression, Jim (seems like a very strange sentence to write, but yeah…). Thanks so much for not being afraid to touch important subjects, and for making Isaac so very human and relatable.
Martin
December 30, 2014 @ 10:42 am
Excellent timing, Jim! On the 10th i’ll start my vacation, so i can really dive into it….
Marla Rudas
December 30, 2014 @ 11:41 am
Looking forward to reading Unbound. Hope to pick it up at ‘Fusion. 🙂
Betsy Dornbusch
December 30, 2014 @ 12:13 pm
I also write a character who suffers from depression and anger management issues and I worry about the same things. But such representation in fiction is important, and like with depression in real life, it’s worth the fight to keep on. Congrats on your upcoming release. Can’t wait to take a look 🙂
Special Needs in Strange Worlds – A Look Back at 2014 » Bookworm Blues
December 30, 2014 @ 2:02 pm
[…] other news, Jim C. Hines gave my column a shout-out on his website. That absolutely made my […]
Kanika Kalra
December 30, 2014 @ 3:15 pm
We have known Isaac for two books, now. So, we already love him, Jim! I doubt any of your readers are shallow enough to start disliking a wonderful character simply because he suffers from depression. In fact, it adds more depth to Isaac’s character, and it is reassuring because it makes him seem much more realistic. You would have to be Mary Sue to not fall into depression after having been through what Isaac has experienced.
If you really are worried, don’t be. UNBOUND is going to be bloody freakin amazing! I’m so excited about it, it’s all I can do not to jump up and down. 🙂
SherryH
January 2, 2015 @ 10:47 am
“I worry about readers who don’t understand that depression isn’t something you just snap out of.”
You will almost certainly get readers who don’t understand depression. I think that’s why writing it is so important-because after they finish the book, they’ll have been exposed to it, or at least one character’s experience of it, and that’s how people learn and change their views. Perhaps seeing it through your eyes will be the thing that changes their perspective and makes it real to them, which can’t help but be a good thing.
I want to thank you for the link to Special Needs in Strange Worlds, too. I’ve always been interested in the lives and experiences of individuals with disabilities, but in 2013 I unexpectedly joined those ranks when I lost my eyesight very suddenly to optic nerve damage from a brain tumor. The past year and a half have been an incredible learning curve, and I have been and continue to be amazed at the fluidity and grace with which my compatriots and I navigate the world.
I still read, I still write, I still dance. I no longer do the intricate counted-thread embroidery I loved so, but I am learning to weave, so my love for fiber arts carries on. I want to read representations of people like me-and unlike me, for we’re all individuals-and I’m overjoyed to have a starting point.
(Ironically, however, I was unable to express this to Sarah, because the comment form on her blog includes an unlabeled field-perhaps a captcha?-which I do not know how to fill and cannot figure out from context. In addition, the Contact Us page stated that contact information for various columnists was available on the About Us page, which I could not find. Ah, well. It’s good that the column is there.)
Jim C. Hines
January 2, 2015 @ 11:03 am
Sherry,
Thank you. I hope you’re right.
I mentioned the captcha and other navigation trouble to Sarah by email. I’m hopeful she can pass that along to the folks at SF Signal, and that it’s something they can get corrected.
Jim C. Hines
January 2, 2015 @ 11:03 am
I have to be worried. It’s part of the process!
Yeah, it’s a pretty messed-up process, I know 🙂
Jim C. Hines
January 2, 2015 @ 11:04 am
I’ll be doing a book launch party with Karen Lord, and I’m told the dealer’s room should have plenty of copies 🙂
Iyeska
January 2, 2015 @ 1:02 pm
At the end of Codex Born, Isaac’s life has changed profoundly. He’s no longer allowed to do things the way he knows how, he’s unable to help people in all the ways he could before. That’s enough to depress anyone, and to have Isaac be all chipper and upbeat in Unbound would be so wrong.
I think it’s important for characters to show the wide range of human behaviour, and that includes disabilities. It’s so easy to disappear swathes of people because certain characteristics might not appeal to every reader. You’re one of my favourite authors because you resist writing characters that will always appeal to the majority and the most privileged among us. You give a face and a voice to minorities, and I appreciate that more than I can say.
Right now, I’m reading a book by Harry Bingham, in which the principle character struggles through her recovery from Cotard’s Syndrome. She’s a dynamic, interesting character. I find Isaac, Lena, and Nidhi to be dynamic, interesting characters too, and that won’t change because one or more of them is suffering from depression.
Alex Hurst
January 2, 2015 @ 3:42 pm
I was sad… got a Chapters giftcard for Christmas and rushed off to the book store a day ago and they didn’t have it. 🙁 Online ordering it is!
Jim C. Hines
January 2, 2015 @ 3:45 pm
Well, technically, there’s still four days until it comes out.
And unfortunately, Canada’s stores don’t always get books from the U.S. in as timely a fashion as some of us would like. It’s frustrating.
Holmelund
January 4, 2015 @ 7:16 am
Just got a confirmation on my preorder. Should be in my hands by the 15th at the latest 🙂
Leslie R.
January 5, 2015 @ 7:41 pm
I got an e-mail that my copy of Unbound has shipped and should be delivered tomorrow. I can’t wait to continue reading about Isaac’s journey. Thank you for writing a character dealing with depression. I know it’s part of the process to worry about how it will be received, but this kind of representation is so important, and I for one have no worries about Unbound living up to my expectations. Happy book birthday tomorrow!
Jim C. Hines
January 5, 2015 @ 8:30 pm
Thanks, Leslie!