Monday I had the wondrous opportunity to go see Scott at the SF Nocturnal tour stop, during which he read a new chapter from the book, and after which he fielded a bunch of questions.

A lot of the same questions were asked, like "When's Mt. Fitzroy? What's next?" etc. And Scott was answering in a way consistent with what he's mentioned in various podcasts and annoucements. One thing that he said struck me, though, something to the effect of, "...and then I can really get around to writing The Crypt, which is what I really want to be doing." (paraphrased from my memory)

This got me thinking. Scott's big novels that have hit the bookstores are Infected, Contagious, Ancestor and now Nocturnal. All of these involve heavy, heavy scientific research to support the story he's telling, for which he effusively thanks his researchers and consultants, and which end up making the stories all the better for their realism. In the last couple of years, he's also kicked out some GFL, Kissyman, and Hunter Hunterson. These are all great stories that we enjoy immensely. But to me, they lack one thing from the other Crown properties: Hard Science. The Crypt, which also came out in recent years, is chock full of cool Space stuff that Sigler learned in Space Camp for Overlords (or something like that) and includes really freaking cool outer-space concepts.

The other stories in the GFL and Kissyman series are great character-driven stories but don't have that hard science element that I think our Future Dark Overlord really craves. I think that explains why he is so eager to get back to The Crypt, so he can dive back into being the hard core nerd he really is.