The whole Segrfell series will be published on Amazon, beginning in late July, one volume at a time.
What if you lived in a world where every human being is born again and again, and people’s unfinished stories continue from one life to the next? Of course, not everyone remembers their previous lives — but those who do, know that such knowledge brings not only joy, but also pain. It is a complicated matter. As the legendary warrior Merte Panion says: “What does not kill you makes you stronger. But often, it is what kills you that makes you stronger still.
The archipelago of Segrfell first appeared in humanity’s mental universe in 2013, when the Finnish publishing company TEOS published the novel Segrfellin unikuningas (The Dream King of Segrfell). It tells of a change of kingship that would come to have historical significance. The warlords believe they are choosing a new king from among themselves, but something quite different takes place. Behind the surprising outcome are powerful women: Helan, the Black Andi of Dermun; the secret women’s lineage Veld Kelsinga; and the sisterhood of fearsome female warriors, Veld Gennarai. There are others too — but the whole truth may never be revealed.
Originally, I had imagined the story as a trilogy — but as you know, science fiction and fantasy trilogies have a habit of containing at least four volumes. Mine grew to six, and I also rewrote the first volume from beginning to end.
At the time, I was working at the Finnish Forest Research Institute, and I decided that, in order to save trees, I no longer wished to see any more of my books in print. Do not misunderstand me. I am by no means opposed to using wood as a material — quite the opposite. Wood produced through sustainable forestry is one of the most ecological materials there is. But let us not use it for anything unnecessary. Therefore the six-part Segrfell series exists only in digital form.
I believe we are at last approaching a time when trees will no longer be felled in order to print books. Although I love printed books, and have far more of them at home than it has ever been financially sensible to acquire, from now on I would gladly leave standing every tree that would otherwise be used to print my words. They are not worth a single living tree.
A book is only written speech. Speech is moving air. And air is an odourless, tasteless gas. But a tree is a living being, and every living being is a miracle in itself.
Have you ever considered which is more wondrous and complex: a thousand-dollar smartphone, or a potato forgotten at the edge of a field after the harvest? The potato, of course. Compared even with a single cell of a potato, a smartphone is laughably primitive. A living tree is an entire universe.
The first volume of the series, The Black Andi of Segrfell, tells the story of Helan Benn from her early childhood in a remote village all the way to the royal election in which Helan played a central role.
The second volume, The New King, examines the same period from the perspective of another of the series’ central characters. The story also gains a new dimension with the appearance of the legendary ancient hero Merte Panion.
The perspectives of the first two volumes complement one another, but they also raise new questions — questions that require a much broader view to answer. The third volume, The Earl of Rats, suggests that the roots of the royal election may lie far deeper, in the mythological past of the archipelago. At the centre of this volume are Earl Darian and his sister, the King’s historian, Naramir Barka.
The fourth volume, The Return of the Gods, opens up the mythical dimension of the story. In the fifth volume, Two Kings, the events become part of the island’s historical, social and political continuum, shaped for centuries by the confrontation between two peoples: the Gorgi and the Segri. In the concluding volume, The King’s Dream, the story of the Dream King is finally revealed as part of an epic drama that has no beginning — and perhaps no end.
Spiritus ubi vult spirat
et vocem eius audis,
sed non scis
unde veniat et quo vadat