Worm (web serial)
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Author | John "Wildbow" McCrae |
---|---|
Language | English |
Genre | Superhero fiction science fiction web serial[1] |
Publication date | 2011–2013 |
Media type | Digital |
Pages | 7,000[2] (1,680,000 words) [3] |
Text | Worm at WordPress |
Website | https://parahumans.wordpress.com/ |
Worm is a self-published web serial by John C. "Wildbow" McCrae and the first installment of the Parahumans series, known for subverting and playing with common tropes and themes of superhero fiction. McCrae's first novel,[4] Worm features a bullied teenage girl, Taylor Hebert, who develops the superpower to control worms, insects, arachnids and other simple lifeforms.[5][6] Using a combination of ingenuity, idealism, and brutality, she struggles to do the right thing in a dark world filled with moral ambiguity.[7][8] It is one of the most popular web serials on the internet,[9][10] with a readership in the hundreds of thousands.[2] A sequel, titled , was published from November 2017 to May 2020.
Publication[]
Worm was first published as an online serial with two to three chapters released every week. It began online publishing in June 2011 and continued until November 2013,[5][11] totaling approximately 1,682,400 words.
The story was written at a rate comparable to a traditional book being published every month.[10] It followed a strict publication schedule,[10][4] with new chapters released every Tuesday and Saturday, and bonus chapters on Thursdays as rewards for donations.[12] These chapters were arranged into 31 arcs, each of which covered a specific series of events over six to twelve chapters and concluded with an interlude from the point of view of a side character. It maintains a very high level of readership which peaked at over 80,000 unique visitors in June 2015,[13] nearly two years after completion.
As of 2019, Worm is being edited, and McCrae plans to produce both an eBook version and a physical book via traditional publishing.[10][5] A fan-made audiobook project was launched in June 2014 and completed in June 2016.[14]
Backstory[]
Setting[]
Worm is set in a fictional, alternate universe known as "Earth Bet". The events of Earth Bet closely follow that of our own Earth until a naked, golden man named 'Scion' appears over the ocean in 1982. Following his appearance, a fraction of humans gain superpowers if placed in a traumatic and stressful situation, known in-story as a "trigger event".
The arrival of "parahumans" in 1982 leads to a "Golden Age of Heroism", during which the majority of people with powers work for the public good. In 1989, after a parahuman dies trying to prevent a riot, superpowered serial killers, thieves, cults, and gang members begin to increasingly threaten public safety. Governments worldwide create agencies to counter parahuman criminals, including the Parahuman Response Team (PRT), in Canada and the United States.
In 1992, a giant monster launches a devastating attack on the Marun Field, Iran. To adequately prepare humanity for future attacks, and to manage the growing villain population, four prominent heroes form the Protectorate, an organization subordinate to the PRT dedicated to cooperation among superheroes. Two more monsters (collectively referred to as "Endbringers") appear and begin attacking cities across the planet, causing the loss of millions of lives, as well as catastrophic and irreversible economic and geographic damage. The PRT and Protectorate are forced to treat villains more leniently in return for assistance in fighting Endbringers. Mired in bureaucracy and politics, the PRT is increasingly unable to cope with the growing frequency and brutality of parahuman crimes.
The story is set in the fictitious city of Brockton Bay, a formerly wealthy port that has severely declined after Endbringer attacks led to the collapse of the shipping industry. Due to the poverty of the area, it has a higher number of parahumans per capita than any other American city, and a number of superhuman-led gangs vie for control over the city's criminal enterprises.
Powers[]
Individuals who possess powers in Worm are referred to formally as "parahumans" and informally as "capes", a term referencing the general habit of parahumans to establish an alter ego and go out in costume (with or without literal "capes").
In order to acquire a power in Worm, one must suffer a Trigger Event: a moment of severe physical or psychological trauma. The properties of the power are influenced by the nature of the threat the individual faces and the individual's thought process at the time. Some parahumans, when placed under extreme stress – perhaps even beyond that of their initial Trigger Event – can Trigger a second time, expanding and refining their powers to increase their odds of survival.
In rare cases, multiple individuals may suffer a simultaneous Trigger Event known as a "Cluster Trigger". Cluster Triggers are complicated by the Kiss/Kill dynamic. Either a parahuman feels friendly with his, or her, fellow Clusters. Or has a hatred for them. It's a coin toss on the outcome.
Individuals who have spent multiple years around capes will, on occasion, Trigger with a similar power. These individuals are generally referred to as "second generation capes" as many are children of previous parahumans, although powers are not, strictly speaking, heritable. The mechanics behind how powers work is gradually explained throughout the story.
Alternatively, powers can be acquired through Cauldron, a shadowy and secretive group which has discovered a method to artificially induce powers. This process carries a significant risk of deformation or mutilation, with the strength or safety of powers acquired varying greatly. Individuals whose Cauldron-acquired powers result in noticeable, sometimes grotesque mutation are referred to as "Case-53s" or "monster capes".
Powers in Worm obey several arbitrary constraints. All powers can be used aggressively, regardless of manifestation. Thus, healers are incredibly rare and often have other abilities as well suited towards combat. Another limitation is the "Manton effect": a parahuman's abilities very rarely affect both organic and inorganic material, and both themselves and others – i.e., a power may affect the landscape, but not the people within it, or vice versa.
Synopsis[]
Taylor Hebert is a fifteen-year-old parahuman who has developed the power to sense and control insects following a traumatic event. She lives in the fictional city of Brockton Bay, a hotspot of parahuman activity, and seeks to become a superhero. On her first night out in costume, she defeats a superpowered gang leader and is subsequently mistaken for a villain by a team of teenage parahuman thieves known as the Undersiders who work jobs for a mysterious benefactor. Taylor infiltrates the team, hoping to learn the identity of their boss before turning them into the authorities. However, Taylor grows increasingly close to the Undersiders whilst having repeatedly poor run-ins with the parahuman law enforcement agency known as the Protectorate and finds herself unable to betray them. She commits to the Undersiders, adopting the moniker "Skitter" and abandoning her dream of becoming a superhero. After a job, Taylor learns that the Undersiders unwittingly assisted their boss, revealed to be a parahuman gang lord known as Coil, in the kidnapping of Dinah, a girl with powerful precognitive powers, and is wracked with guilt over her own part.
In part due to violence initiated by the defeat of various gangs by the Undersiders, Brockton Bay experiences a period of instability. This culminates in an attack by Leviathan, one of three powerful monsters collectively called the Endbringers, devastating the city. In the aftermath and at Coil's direction, the Undersiders seize territory and begin to operate as makeshift warlords in the ruined city. Privately, Taylor and the Undersiders plot to depose Coil if they cannot secure Dinah's release. When Jack Slash, the theatrical leader of a notorious gang of parahuman serial killers known as the Slaughterhouse-Nine (named in part after the novel Slaughterhouse-Five), invades Brockton Bay, Dinah predicts he will bring about the end of the world in two years if not stopped. The city weathers the incursion, but its parahumans fail to kill either Jack or his prized protege Bonesaw, a young girl kidnapped and moulded by the gang of serial killers. In the process of escaping the city, Jack learns of Dinah's prophecy and decides his ultimate show will be fulfilling it and ending the world.
Coil, valuing Dinah's precognitive abilities too highly to consider her release, attempts to assassinate Taylor when she pushes the issue. She survives and the Undersiders kill Coil in retaliation, positioning themselves to take over the remnants of Coil's criminal empire and fully entrenching themselves as the shadowy rulers of Brockton Bay, though it remains ostensibly governed by the United States of America. Together, Taylor and the Undersiders carefully balance staving off attempts by regional criminal organisations to establish footholds in their city with scuffles against the legal authority of the city and assisting the remaining civilian population. At Dinah's counsel, Taylor decides to surrender herself to the authorities and in the fallout is forcefully recruited to the Protectorate as the new probationary superhero "Weaver," leaving Brockton Bay for the city of Chicago.
Over the next two years, Taylor serves out her probation as Weaver with the Chicago Wards, a team of teenage superheroes attached as a youth group to the Chicago Protectorate. When Dinah's deadline passes, Jack returns from hiding at the head of an army of cloned members (and former members) of the Slaughterhouse-Nine, forcing Weaver and her allies to go to war against Jack Slash to prevent the apocalypse. They manage to successfully hold off Jack and his army, however, at the last minute, Jack convinces Scion, the most powerful superhero of all to kill billions in an interdimensional rampage. It is revealed that Scion is the avatar of an unfathomably powerful alien Entity referred to as The Warrior, responsible for seeding the planet with superpowers in the first place.
Taylor, with her power accidentally surgically altered to now control people as well as insects, seizes complete control over the trans-dimensional array of parahuman defenders and ultimately defeats Scion before having her connection to her power removed for good by another powerful precognitive parahuman, Contessa. Contessa is shown to be the final agent and architect of the interdimensional conspiracy known as Cauldron, suggested to be responsible for many of the previous events of the story with the aim of combatting the alien Scion. In a series of epilogues, the short-term fate of the remaining Undersiders is addressed and Taylor finds herself living as an unpowered human on the largely untouched Earth-Aleph, the alternate universe which most closely mirrors Earth-Bet, Taylor’s world.
Themes[]
Hal Wierzbicki of entertainment site C0ws observed that
If I had to identify a theme running through all of Worm, it’s Taylor wanting to make the world a better place, a safer place, for herself, her family and her friends. If I had to pick a second theme, it would be that those good intentions aren’t enough. Taylor seems to make the best decision at any possible moment, the decision that gets her out of a losing fight, the decision that saves the lives of her friends, the decision that wins a battle. Yet, in doing so, things just get worse.[11]
suggested that the story contains an "undercurrent" of the idea that "sometimes you have to go outside the rules to do the right thing".[15] Several authors have compared the story to Alan Moore's Watchmen,[16][17] as well as the character of Spider-Man and his themes of responsibility,[16][18] although McCrae has stated in interviews that no one author has heavily influenced him.[4]
The title Worm has multiple potential meanings. It has been connected to the protagonist's character development, as a "lowly, overlooked" person who is nonetheless useful and dangerous; drawing a parallel with the protagonist's power to control worms and other bugs.[15][18] The arc titles also generally have double meanings.[19]
Several reviewers have described the serial as an exercise in repeatedly escalating the stakes of the story.[16][20]
A number of reviewers have noted the characters' ingenuity, and the original and creative use of superpowers in the narrative.[11][18][20] Author Adam Sherman described one of the recurring themes of the story as "that powers don’t really make the person, it's the person who makes the power". McCrae has described how he would regularly write himself into corners, so that "the desperate gambits we see are echoed by my writerly desperation to figure out a way to keep things going."[4] G.S Williams drew a parallel between the protagonist's power being seemingly underwhelming, and her being overlooked in her civilian life, and the broader theme of things being overlooked.[15]
Reception[]
Worm has received almost entirely favorable reviews.[19][18][21] It received substantial attention following a favorable review by author roughly six months into publication, who praised the story's themes and originality.[7][15] Readership doubled when it was recommended by author Eliezer Yudkowsky on his website while the story was in its final months.[4]
Critics favorably compared it to the similar-length book series A Song of Ice and Fire.[1][17] Matt Freeman of Doof Media praised the story's originality, noting that it works as a science fiction story to a degree not found in most works of superhero fiction.[16] Media site Toolsandtoys.net published a review by Chris Gonzales, who described it as "one of my favorite stories ever written". However, he also noted that it was "dark", warning "definitely don’t hand this to a kid to read".[5] Chris Ellis of Ergohacks.com noted that the story "managed to hit every single trigger warning we have listed", but called it "among the best books and universes I’ve ever read."[22]
Reviewers have praised the story's realism and use of consequences, contrasting it favorably with the tendency for characters to return from the dead in superhero comic books and films.[6][16] Many praised the story's originality and creative use of superpowers.[11][18] Several reviewers commended the detail, consistency, and depth of the setting.[23][24]
Several reviews praised the story as being highly addictive.[1][16]
The story also possesses a sizable online fanbase.[7] Fans of the story have collaborated to create a complete audio book, as well as other projects, such as the We've Got Worm podcast, a weekly arc-by-arc podcast with a first-time reader and a Worm expert.[25][26] Fan art relating to the novel has been published on DeviantArt, as well as a large amount of fan fiction.[1][10] There is an IRC chatroom established for readers to comment and discuss the story, which is constantly active, as well as communities of fans on a number of online forums.[7] Worm, along with McCrae's other completed works Pact, Twig, and the Worm sequel Ward, are consistently among the highest-rated works on ratings site TopWebFiction,[1] and Worm is the highest-rated work on several websites that collect serial fiction.[10][12] Worm has an average rating of 4.67 out of 5 stars on Goodreads, with over 3000 user rankings.[27] Of these users, 99% liked the book.[27]
Several publications have discussed Worm within the context of the increasing popularity of web serials,[2][11][16] and compared to the work of authors such as Charles Dickens and Mark Twain, who also wrote in the serial format.[2][16] Authors Olivia Rising and Adam Sherman have credited it as a decisive influence on their work.[9][28]
A number of companies have approached McCrae to discuss adapting Worm, as well as another of his serials, Twig. However, McCrae takes a pessimistic view of whether it will be successfully adapted.[19]
Sequel[]
In October 2017, McCrae announced on his blog that a sequel to Worm would be released.[29] The interim story arc, Glow-worm, was released beginning October 21, 2017,[30] and the sequel, Ward, featuring protagonist Victoria Dallon, began serialization on November 11, 2017,[31] and was concluded on May 2, 2020.[32]
References[]
- ^ a b c d e "Worm, the web serial that will top anything you've ever read before". 26 June 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02.
- ^ a b c d Blair, Robbie (December 27, 2013). "Exploring the Digital Wilds: Expanding Our Approach to Novels". Litreactor.
- ^ McCrae, John. "Worm A Complete Web Serial". Retrieved 2017-05-25.
- ^ a b c d e "Interview with Wildbow". Adam Sherman. July 2, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Gonzalez, Chris (2 December 2015). "'Worm' — A Complete Web Serial". Blanc Media.
- ^ a b Biondo, Christian (January 22, 2016). "Worm – Web Novel Review". Ringwood Community News.
- ^ a b c d "Interview with Worm Author John McCrae". Creative Writing Guild. 2 December 2015.
- ^ "EpiCast #12". EpiGuide. June 13, 2013.
- ^ a b Collings, Jesse. "Adam Sherman of Maynard publishes web serial". Wicked Local.
- ^ a b c d e f "Discipline and determination pay off for webserial writer". The Star. 20 February 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "SERIALIZED NOVELS, WORM, AND YOU". C0WS.COM. October 23, 2014.
- ^ a b "Wildbow is creating Web serials". Patreon.
- ^ "parahumans.wordpress.com – Compete". siteanalytics.compete.com. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
- ^ "After 2 years and 304 chapters the Worm Audiobook is finally complete! • r/Parahumans". reddit.
- ^ a b c d Williams, Gavin (March 10, 2012). "WORM – It grows on you". Web Fiction Guide.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Freeman, Matt (5 June 2015). "MATT'S SCI-FI PICKS – WORM WEB SERIAL REVIEW". Doof! Media.
- ^ a b Green, Silas (August 28, 2014). "THE GREATEST (SUPERHERO) STORY EVER TOLD". Geeks Under Grace, Inc.
- ^ a b c d e "8 Reasons You Should Read "Worm"". The Odyssey Online. Sep 15, 2015.
- ^ a b c "TODAY I ASKED: WILDBOW". Balloon Day. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- ^ a b Shanley, Ciaran (January 3, 2015). "Review: Worm". Geek Ireland.
- ^ Page, Bart (May 1, 2016). "Hottest 6 New Fantasy Fiction Books and Authors". Best Fantasy Books HQ.
- ^ Ellis, Chris (October 23, 2016). "WORM. A REVIEW". Ergohacks.
- ^ Shah, Sakhi (June 18, 2016). "10 Reasons Why You Should Read Worm (a Web Serial) Right Now". Quirk Magazine.
- ^ Miller, Chad (December 10, 2014). "Worm – Web Serial Review". Mana Pop.
- ^ "Home – Worm Audiobook". Worm Audiobook. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
- ^ "The Daly PlanetWeve Got WORM Archives – The Daly Planet". The Daly Planet. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
- ^ a b "Worm by Wildbow". goodreads.com.
- ^ "Interview: Olivia Rising". Genre Reader. May 9, 2016.
- ^ "An End to the Twig Experiment". John C. McCrae. October 17, 2017.
- ^ "Glow-worm P.1". John C. McCrae. October 21, 2017.
- ^ "Daybreak 1.1". John C. McCrae. November 11, 2017.
- ^ "Last 20.end". John C. McCrae. May 2, 2020.
External links[]
- Novels first published online
- Science fiction literature
- Novels first published in serial form
- 2010s science fiction novels
- Superhero novels
- Alternate history novels
- Debut science fiction novels
- 2011 debut novels