Author: blablablaandgabbler
[BLA and GB GABBLER are two halves of the pen name behind THE AUTOMATION, Vol. 1 of the CIRCO DEL HERRERO series]
Anatomy of a Book Cover: [The Pre-programming by Anonymous]
[1] Crown of gears for the mirrored Laocoöns represents the fated characters sucked into the god Vulcan’s machine. The gears also match the ones on the first volume, strategically (ahem) placed on the Venus de Milo. See for yourself.
[2] This is a sequel, duh. The first, called THE AUTOMATION, is forever free as an ebook. There will be three volumes in the Circo del Herrero series. Also, Circo del Herrero means The Blacksmith’s Circus. This is an analogy to something one of the characters says in Volume one, and the fact that many antique clockwork automatons brought circus scenes to life (often depicting clowns, magicians, animals doing tricks).
[3] Supposedly fiction. BLA would argue otherwise. Probably slapped on there for legal reasons.
[4] This is the title, reminding us all of our pre-programmed existence. The characters, however, are part of a bigger program. A show for the gods!
[5] This is a collaboration, but not the James Patterson sort. BLA is the narrator and author. G.B. Gabbler is the editor. Both are characters in this story also, technically.
[6] Glitches. For the aesthetics. Also, symbolic of how the gods can bend our reality.
[7] [BLA and GB GABBLER CANNOT SEE THIS]. [No need to tell them there’s a number seven.] [This story is really written by one person, not two].
Don’t be blindsided 🔩🔧🔗
We’re giving our labor away for free this Labor Day!
Our Vol. 2 is free as a Kindle download. Our Vol. 1, however, is permafree!
Find out what readers are saying:
GABBLER RECOMMENDS: Legion series finale
“Still, even though David wrestles with mental illness that feels cloudy in description and specificity, there are moments when Legion touched a nerve of emotional truth with his experience — such as whenever David struggled with the idea of whether he is worthy of love and can change as a person despite his troubled nature. The series finale ends on an image of baby David cooing in his crib against yellow satin, his whole life laid out before him. We don’t get any answers to what that future will look like. Will the love of a solid family make him into a better man? When the time comes, will he accept help for his mental-health struggles? Will he use his power to aid instead of harm?
The image of young David in his crib is not what will stay with me from this final season. Legion’s most beguiling visuals are elsewhere in the psychedelic enchantment of David’s cult, the jittering visage of the Time Eaters, the ecstatic villainy of Lenny as she crawled on top of a table in a forest that hearkens to Alice in Wonderland. But the message Legion lands on in its closing moments — a hopeful one that suggests that we can remake ourselves and even the world into something better — is perhaps its boldest gambit. Ultimately, Legion is a series of bristling enchantment and wonder, even when it failed to live up to the fascinating threads of family and mental illness that it wove into its story of superhero power.” [Via]
