When I wrote God Only Knows, I had no expectations. I didn't know if it would sell, or care, which is good because it really didn't—hardly at all. I wrote it for me, just to see if I could do it, start a book and finish it, and be reasonably proud of the fact that it didn't suck. Besides, the book has no identifiable genre, per se, and I was an unknown, relatively speaking. Another shortcoming, looking back, may have been the title. I think it may mislead in the sense that it could be mistaken for a religious tract, or theology, or sermonizing. All the things it is not, and not enough of what it is—entertaining, sardonic, trenchant, and timely.
That was then and this is now. I've read the book two or three times and each time I like it more. Thus, the decision to re-release it with a new title and graphics. Even God Has His Limits is a big improvement, but it still doesn't entirely capture the layers and complexity of a book that's part science fiction, part satire, part social commentary, part cautionary tale. Presumably, this graphic and thematic reset will offer a more accessible on-ramp to a novel I hope will amuse and enlighten, while it elicits both laughter and maybe a little soul searching.
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