Hello readers! I’m back! Two posts in two days is cutting it a little close, but … We’ve got special circumstances here.

How so? Well, as of two weeks ago Jungle, the long-awaited sequel to Colony, launched at last.

That’s right! It’s been out two weeks already. Some of you might even be getting close to finishing its titanic 1500 or so page length!

And a few of you already have, and left delightful reviews and ratings.

So, let’s talk about it for a bit! What’s the reaction so far?

Positive. Very positive. After two weeks, Jungle is sitting at Five-stars. With only five-ratings and reviews across Goodreads and Amazon. But again, it’s a titan of a book, and only came out two weeks ago. So even in two weeks, that’s a pretty hefty, time-consuming read. Five ratings and reviews in that time is pretty good.

Though, if one goes off of the reviews so far, it’s pretty easy to see how some finished it that quickly. Jungle has a knack, it seems for sucking the reader in and taking them on a ride to the very end, a ride no one wants to put down. One of the reviews is titled “A Tour de Force” for this exact reason.

So, let’s take a peek at some of these accolades! Well, from the aforementioned “Tour de Force” review, we’ve got this praise:

Lush, wildly imaginative and painstakingly yet appropriately concisely detailed settings, interstellar in scope but with careful attention to individual characters and their human(-ish?) interactions, speculative science that was fantastic beyond my imagining yet internally consistent and satisfyingly believable, and most important to me, characters that I could care about – even several of the ones who were obnoxious or abrasive (much like the real humans in my circle).

Another reviewer noted that the story “… becomes a frenzied dash for survival” and summed up a lengthy (but concise and spoiler-free) review with—

Ultimately, Jungle is a slow-build thrill ride full of interesting characters, deadly stakes, and terrible threats looming around the corner. The threats here are far less human than the last story had to offer, but is no less engrossing for it. Fans of Colony will not be disappointed.

Both gave it five stars.

So yeah, Jungle is off to a very strong start, at least in the reactions from the public. Speaking of which, if you’re currently working your way through it, what are your thoughts so far? Predictions for the future? Where are you at? How are you liking it so far? Leave a comment! I’d be interested in knowing what you’re thinking!

So, Jungle is being received well critically. What about as far as sales go? Well, that’s proved interesting so far. Hit the jump for a discussion on sales and interesting trends on display.

So the big question. The really big question: Is Jungle stacking up to Colony? Well … yes … and no.

Right, a little muddled. Well, lets take a deeper look. Now, Colony (pictured to the left there) did come out a week earlier than Jungle did in the same month, releasing on November 11th. So by this point in it’s clock, it had an extra week Jungle isn’t getting. However, if I backtrack and look at the history, which one is selling/sold better in those opening weeks right now?

Well … technically it’s Colony. Technically. If you look at the numbers as just numbers over a two-week period, Colony is outselling Jungle over this opening period. However … it’s not by much, and Jungle has almost caught up. In addition, there’s something else at work here.

Jungle had the lowest pre-order numbers of any title I’ve sold, while Colony had the highest. Which really flips things. See, Colony exploded out of the gate thanks to those pre-orders, with a massive number of its sales right on day one, and then a swift drop to a more nuanced pace.

Jungle, by contrast, had much lower pre-orders. Quite literally a third of what Colony had. So it didn’t have that explosion of pre-orders. Instead, it had an explosion of orders in the first few days, and that explosion continued on at a much higher pace and sales rate than Colony did.

So, while technically it’s only slightly behind, it’s only by virtue of the pre-order advantage that Colony held. Without it, Jungle is actually selling much better.

Will one eclipse the other? I don’t know, but for a sequel that’s pretty good. Though I have no good explanation for the low pre-order numbers. Maybe that’s how it rolls with sequels? Or maybe folks were waiting for the first few reviews to drop before snapping it up? I don’t know.

But I do know this: I am pleased with its progress so far. And I hope it keeps along the current path.

Better yet, it’s led to a kickup in sales of Colony as well, as new readers stumble across Jungle and head back to start at the beginning.

So, the two week report? Good. Jungle is performing admirably, and those that have left their thoughts on it seem to agree that it’s a worthy successor to Colony, building on the universe to deliver a titanic tome of suspense and adventure.

May there be much more success to come. I could use the lucky break.