The Imaginaerium Engine - Red Book
Final book of The Imaginaerium Engine. The 2nd. Ed has been published and contains additional content and formatting changes to improve readability.
After rebuilding the Imaginaerium Engine, Maggie only has four days to break Bres’ hold on the Engine’s Heart before it explodes and leaves the Tuatha stranded in this world.
In her dream, the world was on fire. Bres was laughing at them from a nightmare sky. The sky itself was changed into reds and oranges, a hellish glow that spread across the ground. Trees and grasses were featureless shadows cast against the flame. A mob of Bres' demons danced and screamed on the edge of a dark lake that lay in front of the fire.
The demons wanted to kill them all.
Maggie's heart sank. To have battled Bres for so long, was this the end of everything? They were all going to die!
Before reading the Red Book, you will want to begin with the Green Book and then the Blue Book.
Writer Notes from the Red Book...
Some fundamental rules I established for myself at the beginning of working on the Imaginaerium Engine:
- The Imaginaerium Engine is a piece of meta-fiction—essentially, a story about a story. It uses a frame narrative structure that puts the reader in the present before revealing the main story set in 1936. At its core is Maggie’s story, which acts as the main narrative, while the external introductions and conclusions involving Perry and Maddie serve as framing elements. These frames exist independently, separate from the main narrative arc.
- The frame narratives are set in the present world but include instances of unexplained phenomena that are regarded by the characters as normal occurrences. Some of the phenomena you might have questioned, but which Perry and Maddie accepted as a regular part of their world, included:
- The inside of the grandmother’s trailer is surprisingly large, larger than expected for a small travel trailer.
- The chest that holds the book will not open unless Perry and Maddie demonstrate their worthiness.
- The chest creates the books that it offers to Perry and Maddie. The books are generated from Maggie’s memories and from her journal entries.
- The main story is told from Maggie’s perspective using a close third-person point of view. You may notice that chapters and scenes often start with Maggie waking up or end with her falling asleep. While this might seem repetitive, it emphasizes that we only know what Maggie knows—the story pauses when she sleeps. It also stops when she leaves a room or can’t overhear a conversation, limiting our understanding of the world to her experiences. Events and backstories only develop as Maggie becomes aware of them. There are two exceptions to this rule, besides the opening and closing meta sections: the introduction of Jamison in the Green Book and the final shift to Áine in the Red Book.
- We can only access Maggie’s thoughts; the minds of others remain unknown. This close focus is achieved through a close third-person point of view. Howl’s thoughts appear only through Maggie’s perception. Ideally, others’ actions are shown only as Maggie witnesses them; anything outside her view is left out. Additionally, there are few broad physical descriptions of the environment—only those Maggie has seen. Using a close third-person narrative introduces various limits in how information is shared. Creating scenes and descriptions this way is a deliberate, time-consuming process. I feel conflicted about whether to continue the Museum book in a close third-person style or to choose a simpler third-person point of view. While simpler is quicker, it may not be better. Perhaps a basic first person would be better? So many considerations - for me writing is not an accidental process. It takes me a bit of time to consciously sift through the narrative options.
- Maggie’s story combines reality, myth, magic, and history. By grounding her experiences in real events and locations, the narrative aims to create an authentic atmosphere (verisimilitude) for the magical elements.
- Fighting demons and evil powers in the physical world is a terrifying, dangerous, and painful task. The suffering, sacrifice, and dedication of the characters in their battles against evil should be recognized and appreciated by the reader. The descriptions of battles with demons in Part 3 were intended to align with descriptions in Lebor Gabála Érenn and Lebor Laignech. They were brutal, physical fights, and I chose not to sanitize them by depicting bloodless encounters. I also aimed to maintain the consistency of Cú Chulainn’s intense fighting style with how the bards portrayed him. In some ways, I did soften the depiction of his “warp spasm.” His physical form in the story does change, but not in the grotesque way described in the bardic narratives.
Dublin and Trinity College are real locations, and visiting the Old Library to see the Long Room is worthwhile. However, as fiction, the descriptions of the city, college, and library are meant to serve the story, not as travel guides. Although inspired by reality, these descriptions are not literal. You won't find Em’s chambers under the Library in real life! The tunnels and secret passages beneath Trinity College and the Library where Em lives only exist in the story.
Like the other books of The Imaginaerium Engine, I included a partial list of sources used during my writing. If you’re curious about my inspiration when writing this book, my ad hoc Bibliography might offer some insight.
