An OMW Universe Chronology
Posted on August 19, 2008 Posted by John Scalzi 27 Comments
In e-mail I just got a question about the temporal sequence of all the OMW-universe stories and novels. To date, it goes like this, from earliest events in the universe to latest events:
1. Old Man’s War (novel)
2. Questions for a Soldier (short story)
3. The Ghost Brigades (novel)
4. The Sagan Diary (novelette)
5. After the Coup (short story)
6. The Last Colony & Zoe’s Tale (novels)
The Last Colony and Zoe’s Tale take place simultaneously, which is why they’re listed on the same line.
(If you’re curious as to the order in which they were written: OMW, TGB, Q4S, TLC, TSD, ZT, AtC.)
I suspect that in the short term, if I write any additional short stories in the OMW universe, I’ll slot them in the same timeframe as “After the Coup,” i.e., before and during the events of the last two novels. I’ll do that partly because that’s a lot of time to explore (most of a decade, in fact), and partly because I have to have a nice long think about where the OMW universe goes after the events of TLC and ZT.
Also, a reminder to the folks who haven’t read “Questions for a Soldier” (which would in fact be most of you, since it was published as a chapbook, of which only 576 copies were printed) that the short story is being reprinted in the Subterranean Magazine #8, which will be the final printed version of the magazine (it’s mostly migrated online). So for you completists, that’s the way to go.
As for future OMW universe novels, I have to finish The High Castle and at least one other standalone novel (new universe, no relation to the OMW or TAD universes) first, and as noted earlier, no further OMW universe books are currently under contract. And anyway, four novels in the same universe in three and a half years is, you know, a lot. So for the next year or two at least, anything new in the OMW universe is likely to come in the form of short stories. Don’t worry, I’ll let you know where you can find them if and when they come out.
And that’s the whole OMW universe for you, so far.
I look forward to The High Castle and the standalone novel. You’re flexing your imagination and that’s a good thing.
OMW universe novels will always be good, but new stuff is good also. Keep them coming and we’ll keep buying.
Are you ever going to try your hand at fantasy?
I’m going to do a fantasy novella for Subterranean Press at some point but at the moment, no plans for a novel (or a series of novels).
I was under the impression that The High Castle would be in the OMW sequence. Is it also going to be a stand-alone or will it be something different?
It’s a follow-up to The Android’s Dream.
I’m pumped for The High Castle. Have fun writing it.
Ummm, not to sound like a nag, but when will legitimate (paid, zero-DRM) copies of the other stories: TGB, Q4S, TLC, TSD, ZT be available? I got ATC from Tor.com, laughed like hell and would gladly buy the other stuff were it out.
Please?
Geoffrey:
“when will legitimate (paid, zero-DRM) copies of the other stories: TGB, Q4S, TLC, TSD, ZT be available?”
They’re already out; they’re called “books.”
As for electronic versions, here’s the primer on that.
You know, when I asked that question at the reading you didn’t specify the last novel was in a new universe. I interpreted the answer as it was could be “OMW, TAD, other”, and it wasn’t clear if which was your or Tor’s choice.
Oh well, clarity occurs.
I recently found your blog and I’ve enjoyed it enough to start reading your books. I just finished up with “Old Man’s War” and quite enjoyed it. However, I found the strangest typing error. It’s on page 139 of the paperback Tor edition (2007), while Oglethorpe shows the recruits the picture of the Bathunga:
“Above the shapeless pile of a body, three eyestalks or antenae of whatever perched. Ochre dripped from them. H. P. Lovecraft would have run screaming.”
I presume ichor is the word you intended to put there since it’s a substance much more icky and horror inducing than red clay. Not that I’m accusing you of getting it wrong, though. I also presume the initial drafts were touched by a lot of different fingers and pens. I know it’s not a huge deal but it’s too bad that never got caught prior to publishing.
Red clay is icky and horrible, especially when it is dripping off an Elder One.
I think you’d rock doing a fantasy. Just sayin’.
monique,
I think you are going to win a prize.
At the very least, you should write enough more OMW shorts to fill an anthology. Then you could write introductions to the stories. When I was a kid, I wanted to write science fiction short stories just so I could write introductions to them. I was a strange child.
To be truly Heinleinesque, you should invent 3+ universes and then ruin them all with 3 or 4 multiverse novels that mix characters freely, and are significantly below the quality of any of the single universe novels….
I didn’t start out to create a flame-bait post, but I think if I were to add the magic words A__ R___, all Hell might break loose. So… “Cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of war!”
God I hope I didn’t screw up the Julius Caesar quotation.
Arrears? You want a book about an interplanetary tax collector.
$80 for the hardcover edition of Subterranean #8? Great googly moogly, is it hand scribed in gold leaf by Trappist monks or something?! heh.
A prize for most anal, maybe. Maybe Chris at #12 is spot on and I just missed the horroribleness as it was my first time reading. heh.
So where can i find a reasonable copy of “Questions for a Soldier”. I can find copies for sale in the $200 dollar range from amazon.
Michael P, you might want to read the entry more closely.
I preordered Subterranean #8 a while ago, just for “Questions for a Soldier,” and I thought my copy just never came. Now I realize it’s still “not-yet-published.” Oh! I don’t know when it’s due, but I bet it arrives when I least expect it, a pleasant surprise after a long day at work…. ;-)
I just re-read the list of contributors to the issue and see groovy authors listed…cool.
I just finished (literally) Zoe’s Tale and loved it. The different perspective was quite nice as well as the much more in depth story of what happened in TLC with Zoe.
Congrats on another great book and hopes for another Hugo nomination!
Good morning
I have the opposite question that the person at the top had…
Will After the Coup (I know it’s incredibly short) ever be in printed form?
Just wonderin for no real reason
If I put into a collection one day, yes.
OK. I get the message and will STFU about ebooks.
let it (omw universe) rest for some years and write something new.
take temporary world politics (watch them from all perspectives – inet is your friend), put them into space (solar system, maybe stellar neighborhood) and write a similitude like novel
Just found out I’m a completist. Thankfully I am just finishing up OMW and can read in the series order. I’m a Dan Simmons fan and enjoy great tales of space life and warfare. I just wish the opportunity to volunteer to be a “Green Warrior” existed. Thanks for a great book.