Hellooo!!

Last year I really enjoyed the space opera tale Fearless by Allen Stroud this week we heard from the lovely Flame Tree Press that we can now expect a sequel in the same universe. Never one not to know more about a book Allen kindly agreed to answer some of my questions!

Congratulations on announcing Resilient! What can we expect next?

Thank you! There had to be a sequel really didn’t there? The first story leaves quite a lot to be resolved. I felt it would be unfair to shift to a completely different story set in the same fictional future. However, Resilient does begin with new characters and a new story. The premise of this particular take on 2118 AD is a bit more expansive than Fearless. That was essential. Playing the same trick twice would feel forced and unnatural.

There are answers to some of the questions of Fearless in the sequel, but of course, some of those answers provide more questions.

Fearless went for a very tense almost naval style adventure all alone in the night? What is the tone for the next book?

“The Expanse meets Wrath of Khan.” Now we’re into “Die Hard on a Space Station.” Resilient starts to sketch out the political situation of Mars, the careful balance between corporations and governments. There are political agendas at work and very different takes on what you can expect in terms of rights and freedoms. After all, humans are one of the most expensive commodities to maintain in colonies and in space. Someone has to pay for all that.

However, readers who enjoyed the first book will find a lot of continuance and some answers to the questions being left out there in Fearless. People who have read a few of my stories will know I’m a fan of conclusions but not resolutions. Life is not resolved until the end. I like to try and tie things together so there is focus on the outstanding mysteries at the end of a book but leave them available for the next one.

What is the best and worst thing about writing a sequel?

Best: Getting more wordage for this set of characters. Ellisa Shann’s story wasn’t finished, so I was always planning to write more.

Worst: Getting the balance right for new readers and those who’ve read Fearless. I’ve written sequels before. When I was writing the Wisimir books, I set up cliff hangers for the ending and launched the second book a few days after the first. Essentially, that meant people could get them both straight away and run straight on. Fearless and Resilient have a much bigger scope and are massively more intricate. I’ve seen plenty of writers do well with a first book and then watch the numbers tail off as readers didn’t continue with the series. That’s going to happen for some people, but like every other writer, I’m trying to ensure people want to continue with the story and find out more about what’s happening in this near future interplanetary society.

Is there room for further adventures in this universe?

Yes. Fearless set up a lot of ideas and concepts to explore. Mid way through writing Resilient, I realised where I am going. I’ve always been a massive fan of Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov’s work. There were concepts in Asimov’s Robot novels and Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama (1973) that have stayed with me since I first read them in my teens. I don’t think I was ever ready to revisit those ideas in my own writing, but when I started to get feedback and reviews with people comparing some of my work, I could see a path towards them. Being mentioned by anyone in a sentence with either of those writers is amazing. I do get a lot out of reading people’s writing about my novels, whether I agree with them or not, I try and read everything and see if I can use it.

What is your favourite sequel and why?

Empire Strikes Back (1980) is probably the most direct sequel that chose a downbeat ending, setting up the third film. That was courageous filmmaking. Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan (1982) is a sequel, but pretty self-contained. Aliens (1986) takes a strong franchise, switches genres and delivers a massively successful film.

I recognise none of these are books!

I like sequels that offer continuance and more of an explanation of the mythos being developed by the writer. For me, Emma Newman’s After Atlas was a step up from her excellent Planetfall novel. A Storm of Swords offered more story around tactical and strategic warfare in the Seven Kingdoms, Melanie Rawn’s The Star Scroll expanded the mysterious past of her fantasy world, revealing the presence of Sorcerers as the ancient adversaries of Sunrunners. 

Where can we find out more details?

The team at Flame Tree Press will be the first to know when there are publication dates and when we have covers, etc. When they have that information, they’ll tell me and pretty soon after, I expect they’ll release the information. They’ve been brilliant all the way through handling my first book with them and I’m really looking forward to working on this one.