Space fascinates us. For as long as anyone can remember, mankind has fantasized about what lies beyond the stars, and if we could ever go there ourselves. Countless works of science fiction have entertained the idea of what space has in store for us. However, over time the world of fiction has changed the cosmos into something it is not. Part of what always fascinated me about space is the incomprehensible size of it all. Earth and Mars are, at their closest, 56 million kilometers apart from each other. You could travel across the world a hundred times and still only cover the scarcest fraction of that distance. It's difficult for the human mind to imagine anything of such size exists, and yet it does. And this is just the distance between two planets. The distance between two stars, or even two galaxies, is even more astounding. It seems almost disrespectful to the grandeur of the universe to have a character cross such tremendous space instantly.
"Per Astra Ad Aspera" may take place in outer space, but its setting is one of realism. There is no faster-than-light travel, and with that, no aliens. The novel takes place entirely within our own solar system, and all space travel must be done the slow way. Mankind has long since set up colonies throughout the solar system, with a government organization called the League of Interplanetary Relations managing affairs between the colonies and Earth. The problems that come with extraterrestrial colonization plays an important role in the novel, as the concept raises not only many scientific quandaries (What do we do about heat? How do we adjust to the lower gravity?), but political ones as well (How would Earth react to colonial independence? Is Earth responsible for an independent colony's well-being?) The book's plot begins when the colony on Saturn's moon of Enceladus threatens to declare war on Earth. The League sends a ship to carry out negotiations with the Enceladeans...a trip that will take two years to complete.
However, at its core, "Per Astra" is a work of drama as much as it is science fiction. Early works of science fiction often envisioned a utopia where intellect, through science and technology, would cure the evils of the world. Yet no matter how far our technology advances, it seems unlikely that we will ever create a machine that can change human nature.
Caught in the middle of this saga of a war against Earth is Timothy Clear, a new recruit for the League who's dreamt of going into space and becoming a great hero ever since he was a child. Tim begins the novel cheerful and optimistic, so eager to achieve his dreams that he gladly leaves everything he knew on Earth behind for it. However, spending two years trapped in the isolation of the League's ship gradually takes its toll on Tim's mind. Humanity has never ventured farther out into space than the Moon, and even that was just a brief visit. If man were to travel deeper into the void of space, what would it do to his mind? What happens when he feels each of the millions of miles separating him from home? What happens when he stares Jupiter in the face? Among other questions, "Per Astra" attempts to imagine what long-term space travel could do to a person psychologically.
Stuck with a crew of hostile strangers, Tim's sole sources of comfort are his mentor, a bitter, elderly science officer named Arthur Kane, and a shy communications officer named Christine Williamson. Each of them have their own reasons for coming aboard the ship, their own dark stories to tell. If long-term space travel existed, who would agree to do it? What motivation would one have to leave the planet? The League is a group for the world's pariahs, and Tim has unknowingly been destined to be among them. As Tim spends two years being spent through emotional hell, he anxiously awaits when the ship reaches its destination, hoping the long trip will finally pay off by the time they reach Enceladus.
"Per Astra Ad Aspera" will be coming to Kindle later this year. It's a title fans of both science fiction and character-driven drama should be sure not to miss.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
"Per Astra Ad Aspera" Coming To Smoke Signal!
As my new novel, "Per Astra Ad Aspera," nears its release, I've spent a lot of time wondering the best format to release it in. Obviously at first I wanted nothing more than to see it released as a good old-fashioned book, yet others told me "Books are on the way out! E-books are all the rage now!"
I spent a long time considering that route as well. Perhaps the best home for Per Astra was on the Kindle. But wait, I began to think. What if e-books are just a passing fad? For all I knew they could be on the way out themselves in a few years. No, I want my book to be remembered, so it has to be released on a format that'll last. One that's proven to stand the test of time. And so, after much consideration, I'm pleased to announce that Per Astra Ad Aspera will be released exclusively as a smoke signal.
Smoke signals have been in use for millennia, and they're guaranteed not to go obsolete anytime soon. Can a computer float up into the air? That's what I thought!
So here's how it'll work. On the big day of my novel's release, a team of professional smoke signalers will be dispatched to the hill nearest you with a set of two torches. The torches will then be used to signal out the entire text of my novel in accordance with the Polybius square. Just step outside, look up in the sky, and watch the magic of literature rise up into the air! If you ever wish to read the book again, simply notify your local smoke signalers, and they'll signal the novel again, all the way from the beginning.
I know you'll all love Per Astra when it releases, especially now that I've made the right format choice. Smoke signals are all-natural and environmentally-friendly, unlike those stupid tree-killing books. You don't have to spend a bundle on an e-Reader to look at them. They can be seen in the dark. They're accessible to everyone. You don't even need to know how to read to appreciate a smoke signal novel (although you do need to understand a Polybius square). Most importantly, however, is that this format guarantees my book will still be remembered decades, maybe even centuries, from now. For as we all know, smoke signals are guaranteed to never, ever become a dated format.
(DISCLAIMER: Promise of dispatching smoke signalers to "the hill nearest you" is void for residents of anywhere outside Alpharetta, Georgia. R. Anthony Mahan is not responsible for any injuries, illnesses, or deaths incurred from having a 98,000-word novel's worth of smoke being dispersed into the air. It is illegal for anyone under 18 to read a smoke signal novel. Smoke signal novels cause lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and may complicate pregnancy. If the smoke from Per Astra Ad Aspera turns black, the new Pope has not yet been chosen. April Fool's.)
I spent a long time considering that route as well. Perhaps the best home for Per Astra was on the Kindle. But wait, I began to think. What if e-books are just a passing fad? For all I knew they could be on the way out themselves in a few years. No, I want my book to be remembered, so it has to be released on a format that'll last. One that's proven to stand the test of time. And so, after much consideration, I'm pleased to announce that Per Astra Ad Aspera will be released exclusively as a smoke signal.
Smoke signals have been in use for millennia, and they're guaranteed not to go obsolete anytime soon. Can a computer float up into the air? That's what I thought!
So here's how it'll work. On the big day of my novel's release, a team of professional smoke signalers will be dispatched to the hill nearest you with a set of two torches. The torches will then be used to signal out the entire text of my novel in accordance with the Polybius square. Just step outside, look up in the sky, and watch the magic of literature rise up into the air! If you ever wish to read the book again, simply notify your local smoke signalers, and they'll signal the novel again, all the way from the beginning.
I know you'll all love Per Astra when it releases, especially now that I've made the right format choice. Smoke signals are all-natural and environmentally-friendly, unlike those stupid tree-killing books. You don't have to spend a bundle on an e-Reader to look at them. They can be seen in the dark. They're accessible to everyone. You don't even need to know how to read to appreciate a smoke signal novel (although you do need to understand a Polybius square). Most importantly, however, is that this format guarantees my book will still be remembered decades, maybe even centuries, from now. For as we all know, smoke signals are guaranteed to never, ever become a dated format.
(DISCLAIMER: Promise of dispatching smoke signalers to "the hill nearest you" is void for residents of anywhere outside Alpharetta, Georgia. R. Anthony Mahan is not responsible for any injuries, illnesses, or deaths incurred from having a 98,000-word novel's worth of smoke being dispersed into the air. It is illegal for anyone under 18 to read a smoke signal novel. Smoke signal novels cause lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and may complicate pregnancy. If the smoke from Per Astra Ad Aspera turns black, the new Pope has not yet been chosen. April Fool's.)
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