Why Journey to Raal is a bad debut (and why I wrote it that way)

Journey to Raal was a long-running passion project. All along, I kept asking myself a single question: would I personally enjoy this story? As long as the answer was yes, I kept going. The result? A dense story, filled with introspection, political detours, and philosophical meanderings. Many questions. No clean answers. Much to ponder.

I’ve never liked stories that tell me what to think. My favorites let ambiguity flourish.

However, the book is equally defined by a question that I failed to ask myself: why should the reader trust me? Why should they stick around for the long haul, trusting that an unknown author will deliver the promised payoff?

A well-tuned debut does several things. It signals what kind of story it is. It reassures the reader that their time will be rewarded. It prioritizes momentum. It explains itself.

These conventions exist for good reason.

Journey to Raal does none of this. It simply asks the reader to be patient, assemble meaning, and trust that the pieces will come together.

That is a big ask, and I know it.

Some will find that frustrating. Others will enjoy exactly that.

It’s up to the reader.