Hyperion

"You are reading this for the wrong reason."

That's one of my favorite opening lines in sci-fi. It's from Endymion, which is the third book in the Hyperion Cantos series.

The series itself is very well known among sci-fi circles, and I remember trying to read it in high school. I think the first book, Hyperion, was initially tough to get through, given that I was young and probably didn't fully understand the literary story the author, Dan Simmons, had crafted.

But as I read along, I of course became hooked and finished the entire series right as I was about to enter college.

The series is so rich and dense, it's hard for me to recall all the details of its plot. It's a space opera with a little bit of everything. And I mean everything, including time travel, religion, the fall of civilization, a mysterious creature called the Shrike, and a clone of John Keats of all things.

For me, what I remember most is feeling quite moved by it at the end. The plot eventually evolves into a love story that later results in sacrifice.

It was sad to see the series end, but I'm glad the author gave it a hopeful conclusion. I highly recommend this series.  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77566.Hyperion

Another thanks

Jim C. at Sci-Fi Book Reviews was gracious enough to read my book, and write up a review for which I'm quite thankful for. He is quite the reader of sci-fi, especially the military kind, and his website is a great resource to learn about new books in the genre. Check it out if you are hunting for stories to read.

The shield

My novel owes a great debt to previous sci-fi works. Some readers may notice the small homages. For example, Alysdeon's son is called Kinnison, which is also the name to the hero of the Lensman series. 

It can be surprising where ideas come from. I remember 7 years ago, when I was playing around with storylines for this novel. One day, I woke up in the middle of the night, with the basis for it. I thought to myself: what if the enemy consumed planets with a giant shield? 

I've wondered where that idea exactly came from. And I can point to two things. 

- Star Control 2

This is another old school computer game, released in 1992, and it's a classic. 

The story: mankind and its allies have been defeated after a great interstellar war with the mighty Ur-Quan empire. Your goal as a human commander is to forge new alliances, and lead a fighting force that can defeat the enemy for good. To do this, you pilot an ancient, but powerful starship. 

Even as this game was released in 1992, it's surprising how much depth it has. There are over a dozen different alien races in it, and plenty of adventures you can go on. It truly is a space opera, but in game form, with great music, witty dialogues, and that epic feel. 

I think what influenced me the most was a story element in this game. From what I remember, following humanity's defeat, the Ur-Quan masters gave mankind a choice: either join them, or become "enslaved." 

Humanity picked the latter. As a result, the Ur-Quan decided to place an impenetrable "slave shield" around Earth. Essentially, mankind is allowed to live, but never again will it venture out in the stars. 

The "slave shield" was only a minor story point in the game, but it obviously impacted me. I highly recommend this game for those interested. http://sc2.sourceforge.net/ 

- Spin

This is a Hugo award winning sci-fi novel, and it's also quite good. One day, Earth is surrounded by a giant alien barrier that causes widespread panic. 

Although this barrier isn't an impenetrable shield, it does have a strange effect. For some reason, it is interfering with the time flow across the planet. 

This novel obviously isn't a space opera, but I enjoyed how it crafted a story about real people dealing with a world-changing event. It's definitely worth a read. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/910863.Spin 

The enemy

I'm a huge Star Trek fan. Been watching since I was a kid. Perhaps my favorite episode is the two-parter Best of Both Worlds.

I was only 5 when the first part aired. This episode basically turned me into a Star Trek fan for life, and I've seen Best of Both Worlds many times since. 

It also made me a huge fan of the Borg. Not that I was rooting for them. But it was so refreshing to see our heroes face off against an enemy that they couldn't really defeat. Not at first, anyways. 

One Borg cube could take down an entire fleet of Federation ships. It was so powerful that this single Borg vessel could potentially assimilate the entire quadrant. 

Thankfully, the Enterprise manages to save the day. But as a kid, I always relished the idea of what would happen if the Borg came back? 

Star Trek eventually revisited the Borg menace, but I suppose I was never quite satisfied with those portrayals. My main question: If the Borg are so powerful, why can't they just take over the whole galaxy?

There's an actual thread on reddit that discusses this. http://www.reddit.com/r/startrek/comments/1az987/is_there_a_reason_why_the_borg_never_sent_more/

Whatever the reasoning, at least for me, the earlier version of the Borg were the best. An enemy that is so powerful and vast that perhaps nothing can stop it. 

That notion went into my thinking for the invaders in my book. I wanted to try and replicate that feel. 

"This is...just another page in history, isn't it? Will this be the end of our civilization? Turn the page." --- Captain Picard. 

Character designs

It was fun trying to visualize a few of the characters in the book. I took some inspiration from old school video games I enjoyed as a kid. One of them was called Phantasy Star, a role-playing series developed for the Sega Genesis back in the 80s/90s.

I fondly remember my dad buying me a computer gaming magazine that previewed Phantasy Star 3, which was released in 1990/1991. I was about 6 at the time and in the magazine, was some wonderful character artwork including this robot soldier named Wren (pictured second below).

Phantasy Star 3 isn't considered great game, but the follow up, Phantasy Star 4 is one of my favorites. It also features another android also called Wren (pictured top).

I won't spoil the story, but it's an epic tale with our heroes trying to defeat a great and ancient evil. What I loved about this world was that it's mix of both fantasy and sci-fi, with characters using both swords, magic, along with spaceships and energy blasters.  

You can probably tell that Wren influenced the character design to Arendi in my novel. (This is the original sketch I used with a mechanical pencil and paper. I wanted to honor the game.)

In Phantasy Star 4, there's also a character named Alys Brangwin, a hunter who uses a boomerang type weapon. I think I based a little bit of Specialist Alysdeon on her. 

I named Specialist Alysdeon after both Alys and the legendary sword used in the game, which is called Elsydeon. It's probably a bit silly, but Phantasy Star 4, along with many other sci-fi works, got me thinking about writing in the genre when I was young kid. I remember being about 10 years-old and scribbling down some fan fiction related to these games. 

Unfortunately, Phantasy Star 4 never received the proper sequel it deserved, although I don't think it really needed one. (The Phantasy Star series has also continued in the form of other games). Still, I suppose I wanted to rekindle those experiences. 

That said, my illustrations are just my own personal interpretations of the characters. Readers should imagine them however they wish. 

A big thanks!

My novel sold over 1,000 copies today since it was first launched. Thanks to all the readers who were willing to take a chance and buy it. Much appreciated and hope you enjoyed the book.

Colored version

An attempt to add some color using the Procreate app on my iPad. This app is great, and I used it on the character images for my novel. I still have much to learn though in terms of coloring.