Questions, I have questions.

[rreed423]

I'm enjoying this book, but I'm having a lot of trouble seeing the world. I assumed the spires were natural features and wanted to know if the humans built into them or lived in natural caves in them. Then I read some stuff here and it seems the spires are man made. So why were they made? I decided that humans can't breathe in the mist so they live above it, but that hasn't been stated in the book. They do go down to the surface to get wood, and probably other things (water, I presume, or maybe that can be processed out of the mist?) Do they really ship goods between habbles only outside the spire? No internal stairs, lifts, or whatever?  It seems the habbles have fought in the past, but each one would be dependent on lower ones for anything coming up from below. If a lower one was hostile, it could stop the shipments.

Also, the word "Spirearch" sticks in my brain every time. Is it "Spire-reerch?" "Spire-re-arch?" The last 'r" really throws me off. I won't even ask about the word "habbles." Something to do with "habitats," I assume.

[Sterling Rat]

First thing - these are (I think) intentional questions without current explanations that The Big Man is breezing by at the moment in favor of telling the story instead of focusing on the minutia of building the world. Enjoy the story for now and let Jim get to the details when he does. It's probably best to "hand-wave" the confusing Magicy-Science parts if you can... if you can't (a lot of people find it too distracting to allow them to enjoy the book) you may want to leave the series alone for a couple years and return when a few more books in the series have been released. Jim will explain some (probably not all) of those questions as the series progresses.

Second thing - Get a copy of the audiobook. I don't know who finds the people to do Jim's audiobooks, but whoever it is deserves a huge pat on the back. James Marsters (Dresden Files) has been my favorite for a while, but this was my first audiobook from Euan Morton and he's almost as good. It makes pronunciation easy when you read the text version.

Spirearch - just say the two words with no pause. "Spire" - "arch".  Habble is pronounced like "hobble"  with a soft "a" instead of the "o".

[knnn]

Hi rreed423, welcome to the forums!


To answer your questions:

1) Spires are almost certainly "man-made".  There are constant references to the "builders", and the shape and appearance of a spire seems very artificial.

2) People do breathe in the mist, otherwise the Predator couldn't hide there.

3) Wood is specified a number of times to be from the surface, hence it's expense (e.g. the books in the library).

4) Water doesn't seem to be scarce, and there are references to "pipes, cisterns and valves" and other machinery that presumably pumps water out of the air/ground for consumption. 

5) Per the map, there are four internal staircases going from the bottom of the spire all the way to the top.  There are apparently also other ways of going between habbles as the 500 Auroran Marines apparently managed to reach Landing without being noticed.

6) Not everything comes through those staircases.  First of all, each habble apparently possesses machinery to feed itself (see the meat vats that Bridget's father runs).  Secondly, it is stated that much of the intra-spire trade goes by ship via the outside of the spire.  But yes, the convenience of the stair cases as chokepoints is certainly a weakness of a spire.

[rreed423]

Thanks for your answers. Spire-arch. I don't know why I didn't think of that pronunciation. I know there is a lot of handwavium going on here. Airships don't need lighter than air gas, they can use crystals! I don't mind, I read a lot of fantasy. I'm still in the early parts of the book, I haven't met any Predator yet. I asked because when I read a book I see a movie in my head, and when I can't see the background behind the people clearly, it drives me a little batty. But maybe Jim will be more forthcoming with those details later.

[knnn]

Thanks for your answers. Spire-arch. I don't know why I didn't think of that pronunciation. I know there is a lot of handwavium going on here. Airships don't need lighter than air gas, they can use crystals! I don't mind, I read a lot of fantasy. I'm still in the early parts of the book, I haven't met any Predator yet. I asked because when I read a book I see a movie in my head, and when I can't see the background behind the people clearly, it drives me a little batty. But maybe Jim will be more forthcoming with those details later.

Predator is the name of the ship in the second (first?) chapter.  There will be more about her later on.

[rreed423]

Oh, Grimm's ship. I thought it was some monster down in the mist. I am very curious about the surface and why humans didn't settle there. And since these humans need a generation to create a hole in the spire stone, I'm wondering if humans built the spires at all. If they did, they had a lot better technology at one time.

[knnn]

Yeah, there are a bunch of obscure hints about of how civilization broke down (possibly in connection to the weirdness on the planet).  FWIW, there's a minor theory on these forums that "Habble" used to be "Habitat", and that the spires were originally built for space travel and landed on the planet.

I'd recommend finishing the book first.  Then you can come back and join the result of us in speculation.

[rreed423]

I have now finished the book, and among other things I am curious about steel that rusts very fast unless it is covered with copper. Is that just a device to limit the technology of these people? What could be in the air that would cause that? High oxygen levels? If that were true, then fire would burn much faster too.