Are you watching Vince Gilligan's Pluribus on Apple? It's such a unique and original show about a woman who is one of the last survivors of a virus on earth that's created an alien hive mind with the rest of the planet.
Yes, I know that sounds insane, but you just have to watch it to understand.
Well, the lead character in the show, Carol Sturka, played by Rhea Seehorn, is a novelist. And before the hive mind incident, she was an extremely popular romantasy author.
In fact, the show opens on her book tour for the fictional "fourth book" in the Winds of Wycaro saga, which she wrote called Bloodsong of Wycaro.
And now, Apple Books has made that book actually available to readers in its store.
Let's dive in.
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A Romantasy Pastiche
Like I said at the top, in the world of Pluribus, Carol is a wildly successful author, but she secretly loathes her own work and her obsessive fanbase.
Her novels follow the high-stakes romance between Captain Lucasia and the corsair Raban.
And while the chapter released follows the tropes of Romantic Fantasy books, what I found most interesting was the letter from the author at the start of the book.
Meta-Fictional Foreshadowing
Okay, so, like any book, it has a brief letter from the author at the top, except this letter is from the character of Carol. In the letter, she addresses her fans—specifically the "Rabasia" shippers—with a mix of appeasement and thinly veiled frustration.
She writes, "You know I am on record for despising 'spoilers' in any form, that my preference would be to let events unfold in their own time through Lucasia’s anguished eyes. But I also understand that’s not everyone’s preference," Carol says. "Different strokes for different folks. How hellish would the world be if we all thought exactly the same?!"
Rhea Seehorn in "Pluribus." Credit: Apple TV
The Genius Within the Letter
The genius of the letter is that it commits to the bit. Usually, when a TV show features a fake book written by a character, we get a glimpse of a cover and maybe a few lines of dialogue. Pluribus went the distance.
The free chapter available for download isn't just filler; it is a perfectly executed pastiche of the genre, and it unlocks some meta ideas about the show.
It creates a tangible artifact of the character’s torture. You aren't just watching Carol suffer through her book tour; you can now read the exact prose she's losing her passion for the fans of the characters.
The letter also offers dark foreshadowing for the events of Pluribus. Carol mentions she is finishing the final leg of her book tour, a timeline that, in the show, directly precedes a worldwide cataclysm of the hive mind.
Her comments about the horror of a world where everyone thinks exactly the same way serve as an ironic nod to the fate awaiting humanity in the series.
The line of "How hellish would the world be if we all thought exactly the same?!" Sets up the entire idea of the TV show and a world with a hive mind.
Where to Read It
The excerpt is currently available as a free download on Apple Books. It stands as a clever piece of marketing that rewards attentive viewers while adding depth to the tragic character arc of the author herself.
Pluribus is currently streaming on Apple TV+, with new episodes released on Fridays.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
