The Campaigner - Sequel to HNE [Release Date: October 31] · 10:51am Oct 19th, 2023
Friendship is Optimal:
The Campaigner
TLDR: TC is set to begin releasing on October 31st, in just under two weeks, to coincide with the release of the final chapter of The Advocate.
Greetings, everyone!
First, for those of you Friendship is Optimal fans who have not yet read [The Advocate] by Guardian Gryphon, you really, really should. Not only is it presently the longest FiO fic now in existence (for now), it is perhaps the most revolutionary. In fact, so much so, that it galvanized me back into writing. I'm very grateful to Gryph for that.
When I finished writing [Heaven's Not Enough] back in 2017, I had intended to write a sequel following Eliza's work partner, Mike Rivas. In fact, I cut a scene from the end of HNE wherein Mike expressed his his displeasure with CelestAI following his experiences at the end of that book. My intent, at the time, was for him to go back home to Nebraska and to observe the final downfall of society in the United States.
At the time, I decided not to finish that book because I did not feel confident that it would not say anything new beyond the lore material I had drawn from in [Always Say No] by Defoloce. So, unfortunately, poor Mike got shelved, and that cut story sat untouched for the next six years. My thoughts and feelings on it, however, did not.
See, when I met Gryph in March of this year, he and I accidentally developed a James S. A. Corey style writing partnership together. It just hit us out of nowhere, I swear, we didn't plan this synergy. With it though, we immediately got to work building some deep, rich lore which may in fact take several more books to explore, both pre-and-post upload. And now, with that being true, Mike is back in rotation, because we've definitely got new things to say here. At present, The Campaigner sits at approximately 350k completed words. Though still a work-in-progress, TC is set to begin releasing on October 31st, in just under two weeks, to coincide with the release of the final chapter of The Advocate.
While it is intended to be a sequel to HNE and The Advocate both, I stress that prior reading not entirely necessary. The gist of both books will be summarized fairly well within The Campaigner. But, if you'd like to catch up and/or refresh your knowledge of HNE, now might be the time! As a bonus, I've added some author's notes messages to HNE from Princess Luna, which deeply foreshadow what is to come on the longest term projections for this new continuity of ours. Have fun! See you on Halloween!
Another Keystone is always worth celebrating. Here's looking forward to it! As for The Advocate, it is on my to-read list, though I can't guarantee I'll get to it before Halloween.
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I would definitely take the time to read "The Advocate" first if possible. It is completely bonkers in its attention to detail, and has some excellent character interactions. Besides, Keystone has told me that the reason he waited to release "The Campaigner" is to not knock the wind out of "The Advocate"s ending. So, spoilers ahoy
You may find a new favorite author. :)
Hmmm, sounds promising - NHE in my fav list :).
I'm looking forward to it.
I've seen most of it; It is one of the best things I have ever read. Far and away.
Get. Hype.