The following is a multi-page HTML version of the Hardiner Primer, which can be found in pdf format here.

Before we begin...

The structure of this primer was a subject of intense debate between myself and the indomitable Dr Rex Patch. I firmly believed that we needed to start with biographical information—what we know, and what we can guess about the man himself—before we got into any discussion of his work or the study it invites. Dr Patch in most things Hardiner is an adept and a sage, but I believe for a first-timer to truly step into the world of Harry Hardiner, we have to touch on the allure of his personal unknowns before we can ever start discussing "foamy prose". So, my apologies to Dr Patch: I've sided with myself and decided to initiate you into the writer before the work... with a caveat.

I myself came to Harry Hardiner first through one of his books, and then only much later through a study of the person who made it. I found a copy of the black book, the untitled seventh entry in the Rosewire series, at a beach house when I was truly too young to be reading it, and I devoured it in secret under the covers late at night. In retrospect, it was an intensely profound experience—the strange was made painfully familiar in the black book to the point where I never realized I was missing six prior entries. Yes, Rosewire 1-6 fill in enormous gaps and support the decisions of the characters in Rosewire 7 beautifully: it's obviously a product of everything that came before. But for little David under the covers with a reading light, the black book felt magically whole. I remember reading stretches of words aloud, nearly expecting to summon Center Lake or the proud wild Stavra myself. Moving from the first page to the last felt purposeful and weighty. It never would have crossed my mind then, but today, the memory of reading the black book that first time feels intensely similar to initiates and devotees walking a labyrinth.

So I begin here with biographical information on the man himself, still firmly believing that when you follow him from Bookbright to reality, you'll get a better hold on what comes after. But with that certainty comes an acknowledgment that nothing can better present Harry Hardiner to you than Harry Hardiner. Though it has become indecently difficult to find first-editions of his work (printed by the original Pinkum Press!), and though reprints and electronic copies have been strictly controlled by the Trust Maghreb, I can wholeheartedly support leaving this page and trolling the depths of eBay for a pop-up auction. A copy of Lights Low can go for upwards of a hundred dollars, but perhaps you can go in with some friends—or maybe you'll get lucky, and your local library had the foresight to order Hardiner's works while they were still in more or less ready circulation.

(A quick note on the Trust Maghreb: though there seems to be no familial Hardiner connection within this trust's leadership, it has exercised incredible control over Harry Hardiner's estate, particularly after the author was declared dead in late 2010. They have allowed for no reprints, they have stringently searched the internet for scans of Hardiner's work and sued for millions, and worst of all, they do not allow excerptation on commercial websites. Because you can buy ebooks from our store, DavidSilvester.com could be sued a kajillion dollars [from our lawyers] if we paste quotes from the author himself on this website, and even if we direct you to outside websites. So I would never, ever suggest that you Google Harry Hardiner quotes. You'd be contributing to piracy, and piracy is illegal. The Trust Maghreb is very clear on that. I apologize for this inconvenience, but the law's the law, and the Hardiner estate is off-limits.)