Letters From the Labyrinth 482
The Beginning of The End
Way back in 1995, when I was first writing things with an eye toward publication, I decided that all of my fictional works would take place in a shared universe, similar to the Marvel and DC Comics I’d read as a kid in the 1970s and as a teen in the 1980s. Events in one novel or short story would impact and have ramifications in other novels and stories. Sometimes, characters would crossover. Behind it all would be an uber-narrative. In time, my readership began to refer to it as ‘The Labyrinth Mythos’. I liked that a lot, so I called it that, too.
I purposely kept the continuity subtle. Every book or story you write is going to be the first for some lucky reader. I never wanted anyone to feel hampered or intimidated by the overall connections. Thus, whenever somebody asks, “Well, where should I start with your books?” I usually answer, “You can start anywhere” because you really can. You shouldn’t need to read DARK HOLLOW to understand THE COMPLEX, and you don’t need to have read THE RISING to understand EARTHWORM GODS. Indeed, one of the things I hear most from readers of a certain age is how they found CITY OF THE DEAD — a direct sequel to THE RISING — at their local grocery store, WalMart, drugstore, etc, and purchased it and enjoyed it, realizing only after they’d finished it that the book was a sequel and there was more out there.
And that’s how it has been for the last thirty years, with each new short story and novel and novella forming another puzzle piece in the overarching Labyrinth Mythos.
Now, as I approach age 59 and am eyeing retirement, that mythos is drawing to an end. That ending began with the publication of THE SEVEN: THE LABYRINTH Book 1. It continued with SUBMERGED: THE LABYRINTH Book 2 and SPLINTERED: THE LABYRINTH Book 3. It continues now with the forthcoming publication of FALLING ANGELS: THE LABYRINTH Book 4. It will come to a conclusion with the publication next year of THE END: THE LABYRINTH Book 5. That will be the last book in the series.
Why end everything? Well, as I said, by the end of this year, I’ll turn 59 and Mary and I will move from Central Pennsylvania to forty acres of forested mountains in West Virginia, where we intend to retire and live out the rest of our lives together. I am downsizing, and I am also acutely aware that I am slowing down. I am proud of the relationship I’ve maintained with my readers for the last thirty years. And just in case my time as a retiree is cut short due to health or some unforeseen circumstance, I want to make sure The Labyrinth Mythos is all tied up with a neat little bow. I don’t want my legacy to be Horror fiction’s version of The Kingkiller Chronicle or A Song of Ice and Fire, nor do I want to end up in a situation where a younger writer and dear friend like Wile E. Young or Stephen Kozeniewski has to finish it for me they way Brandon Sanderson so admirably did for Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time. The thought of passing away, or perhaps being rendered unable to write, before finishing this uber-saga literally wakes me up at night. I owe it to you to finish it, and finish it I will.
Retirement doesn’t mean that I’ll stop writing, though. Far from it. But it does mean that I won’t be strapped to a grindstone anymore, beholden to deadlines and signings and touring. I’ll write when I feel like it, and honestly, I can’t imagine going a day without writing. But instead of writing for seven or eight hours a day, I’ll probably write two or three. (I know that Joe R. Lansdale and Stephen King and others have done something similar in retirement, and it’s something I think has value and nobility to it). I want to enjoy the time I have left here with my wife and my kids and friends. If I attend a convention, it will be because I want to, not because I have to. If I write a book it will be because I want to, not because I have to.
Most writers don’t get to go out on their own terms.
But I am not and have never been most writers.
Good morning. I’m Brian Keene and this is Letters From the Labyrinth — a long-running weekly newsletter for fans, friends, and family that comes out every Sunday. Welcome to the beginning of The End.
Preorders have begun for the signed, limited edition hardcover of FALLING ANGELS: THE LABYRINTH Book 4. Cost is $125. Print run is limited to 248 signed copies. Click here to reserve your copy. The book is expected to ship later this Fall.
(A paperback and eBook edition will be released in late December, and an audiobook will be released in early 2027.
The Penultimate Chapter In Bestselling Author Brian Keene’s Universe-Ending Opus!
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Frankie has stood against it all. From the zombie-infested shadows of the Baltimore City Zoo to the flood-ravaged ruins of an Earth swamped by global supernatural storms, Frankie always remained standing.
Now, she’s falling — passing uncontrollably through steadily fracturing dimensions of time and space, plummeting into increasingly terrifying realities, and helpless to act as the universe itself begins to disintegrate around her, consumed by a ravenous, encompassing evil. Frankie must find a way to stop her descent before both her sanity and her soul are forever lost.
Meanwhile, as her companions Teddy, Tony, LeHorn, and The Exit search for her, they must contend with the new member of The Seven in their midst — Ob, Lord of the Siqqusim — and determine if he is the ally that he claims to be, or the most devious foe of all.
From far-off planets in distant galaxies to the downtown Los Angeles of the 1990s, the war against the Thirteen reaches its final battle, and many will fall.
Brian Keene’s FALLING ANGELS: The Labyrinth Book 4
The End continues, and the Fall has escalated…
Again, click here to reserve your copy of the signed limited edition hardcover.
If you like the opening essays every week in this newsletter, then then you should just go ahead and bookmark my Blog, and get yourself into the habit of checking it every day. When you pick up your phone, instead of scrolling aimlessly through Instagram, why not just go read my Blog instead? Some examples from the past week:
Thoughts on literary immortality and feeling forgotten.
More on this impending retirement.
This week’s Women In Horror Year write-ups feature Tananarive Due, Joan Samson, Gwendolyn Kiste, Gemma Amor, Michelle Garza, Melissa Lason, Carol Gyzander and Rachel A. Brune. You can read those, and all the other ones I’ve written so far, via the index for Women In Horror Year.
KEENEVERSATIONS - Episode 51
Brian sits down Eating the Fantastic-style for a dinner conversation with the legendary Scott Edelman about autobiographies, legacies, podcasting, and awards. Listen now for free via Spotify or Brian Keene dot com.
I think most long-time readers know I’m the world’s biggest Phantasm fan. Enough so that in the notes I’m making for my forthcoming autobiography, there’s an entire chapter about the movie (which I realize I’ll have to edit down to a few paragraphs).
The ‘Cuda is every bit as iconic and essential to the Phantasm franchise as everyone’s favorite former ice cream vendor turned sphere slayer. My sincere thanks to Don Coscarelli and Fright Rags for gifting me this Phantastic new addition to my wardrobe.
Currently Reading: Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen and Dead Money issue 1 by Jesse Scoble, Devinder Thiara, and Tomas Aira
Currently Watching: Cold Storage and The Last Ship season 2
Currently Listening: Sirius/XM’s Classic Rewind, Ozzy’s Boneyard, and Howard 101.
Annie Jacobsen has become my new go-to nonfiction writer. Having recently finished her superb Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government’s Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis, I started her exhaustively researched Nuclear War: A Scenario this week, and am absolutely transfixed.
There will be new auctions posted every day this week on the Vortex Books & Comics eBay page. Click here to peruse them daily.
And that does it for this week. Thanks for reading. See all of you back here next Sunday.
As someone who has been a fan of your work for decades, I have so much respect for your plans to wrap the Labyrinth and enjoy retirement. Readers often fail to realize/forget their favorite authors are people, human beings with the same or similar life things. I enjoy how you humanize rather than aggrandize yourself. Good vibes and best of luck with the finale and your move.
The idea of building a fictional universe over 30 years and deliberately bringing it to an ending is fascinating. I especially liked the thought of finishing it on his own terms rather than leaving the story incomplete. What do you think makes a fictional universe worth following for decades?