“The M/S Atlantica, one of the most advanced cruise ships in the world, is lost. Land has disappeared. Fuel, food and hope begin to dwindle.”
With Unfathomed, Ralph Kern has strayed quite a bit from his earlier books and quite successfully so also we might add. We’ve talked to him about the new book and his future plans.
First of all, can you in your own words tell us a bit about your latest novel, Unfathomed?
Hi, Dag. Thanks for taking the time to interview me today.
Unfathomed is set in the near future. The cruise ship M/S Atlantica loses all communications and her navigation systems malfunction. The crew, led by Captain Lars Solberg, are unable to find land and initially hide this from their passengers.
When they find themselves under attack, one of the passengers, Jack Cohen, a war veteran recovering from terrible injuries, has to help defend the ship.
What follows is an action-packed science fiction adventure as they struggle to unravel the mystery of what has happened to them, find new allies and fend off relentless enemies, both external and already aboard.
You also have to tell us how you got the idea in the first place?
My girlfriend and I went on a cruise a couple of years ago. One night, we were in the ship’s nightclub when we began talking about just how isolated the ship felt – if the rest of the world were to vanish… we wouldn’t even know it.
That idea germinated over the course of the holiday and the story came together. What started as a kind of ‘whodunnit’ set on a cruise ship grew into the expansive story you see in Unfathomed with lots of elements in play.
By the time I got home, I had the bones of a plot and then my muse simply grabbed me. Before I knew it, I had a first draft and the outline of where I was going to take the story in future instalments.
With Unfathomed you’ve strayed quite a bit from the space setting in your earlier books and moved more into the area of mainstream thrillers (even if the scifi elements are there). What prompted you to go this way? Do you see this as a shot at tapping into a bigger “thriller” market?
A great question. Before we went on the cruise, it hadn’t really crossed my mind to write this kind of story, but as I say, the muse completely captured me and wouldn’t let go. I’m also quite a fan of serial TV shows like Lost and BSG, where we have an ensemble set of characters, each with their own motivations and thoughts on how they wanted to deal with the situation, a style which naturally seemed to fit.
That being said, I think there are certainly parallels between this story and classic space opera. We have big ships, broadsides and boarding actions. We explore strange new places and new phenomena. In fact, one of my beta readers commented that if we just swapped the words ‘sea’ for ‘space’, and ‘island’ for ‘planet’, then it would almost be a traditional space opera book. We even have the roguish, charming pilot!
The very nature of the story, with much of it set on-ship means we have that same kind of dynamic with what the crew do on the bridge or other vessel locations which we find in SF.
Ultimately though, I wanted to ensure that my existing readership would still enjoy this book, but I am certainly happy that it has captured a whole new audience too. I often think the difference between technothriller and SF isn’t really that wide.
As for moving completely into thrillers in the future, I’m undecided. If I come up with a story I want to tell in that genre, then why not? But I have at least three books in the pipeline, so any transition will be sometime in the future. Instinctively, I think even if I did write a thriller, it would be cross-genre, like Unfathomed and to an extent, Erebus – and would satisfy a SF audience too.
How was it to write a book set in a more near future? Did you do any research into near future tech and other things?
I do pride myself on my research, and other than the titular Locus, all the technology used by the characters and equipped on the ships is real, or in development. Much of the military equipment is very high end stuff – some of which is, quite rightly, difficult to find solid information on. I did consult a couple of technical guys, who were invaluable sources of information, but equally I totally respected when they said, “I can’t really go into that.”
But there is a surprising amount of information which is open source, whether that be Wiki, websites, books or documentaries. It was important that I got the tech as right as I could possibly could get it, but equally, many of the sources I’d reference are quite open in saying that they are merely giving informed conjecture.
Atlantica herself is modelled on some of the advanced cruise ships we will actually start seeing in the near future. I’m not sure if I can say which ship in particular provided the most inspiration, but there is one which pretty much provided the specifications for her.
As for the USS Paul Ignatius? Well, she was launched on the 12th November this year, and is due to be commissioned sometime in 2018. To say she is an impressive ship is an understatement. I hope her crew-to-be enjoy the fact she is already serving with distinction, if only in fiction (so far).
If anyone wants to see her launch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXJSlUpexkA
Your characters have been put into an totally unknown situation and good vs bad guys isn’t always as black and white as you might think. Has it been important for you to also portray this part of your characters?
It was vital to me that every character showed development, goodies and baddies alike. It’s difficult to say how without giving spoilers, but take Jack Cohen for example. He starts in a place where he is recovering from his injuries, and coming to terms with the fact they’re life changing. He’s used to being the protector and leader. At the beginning of the book, he hasn’t just lost his leg, he feels he lost his place in the world. His character arc is about getting him to the place where he once again takes on that mantle – To show he’s still the hero he always was.
Other characters move in different directions as their true situation becomes apparent.
I found the character arcs of the antagonists among the most interesting to write though, and I wanted them to show just as much development as the protagonists.
My thought processes on the bad guys was that while there are undoubtedly evil people in the world, thankfully they are rare. More often, their actions are a function of experience, training and environment. The environment in Unfathomed is undoubtedly hostile and that must factor into their decision-making process.
But also, their actions are a result of the decisions they’ve made and they have to be responsible for them.
One character in particular I wanted to show in such a way that he does something absolutely unforgivable – no matter what happens in the story, there can be no redemption in the eyes of the other characters or readers. How does he cope with this? How will the other characters act and react to him? How will the readers perceive him? But we also twist it, and learn why, and just as importantly, how, he acts in the way he does. He’s been an incredibly complex and challenging villain (if we choose to define him as such) to write.
I think Unfathomed is a very fitting title, did it come to you straight away or were you also considering other titles?
The original title was Uncharted but I learned late in the day, for legal reasons, I couldn’t use it. With my writing group we workshopped an alternative. Dozens of suggestions came out, many of them fantastic, but weren’t quite right.
Then a mutual friend of ours and fellow author, Josh Hayes, suggested Unfathomed and I thought, “That fits perfectly.” So all due credit to Josh on that one.
Which prompts me to say, long gone are the day authors work away in isolation on their books, or at least that’s the case with me. There are many many people who have helped me with Unfathomed, and I’m grateful to them all.
As with your previous books, Unfathomed also has a really eye catching cover. Did you work closely with the artist Tom Edwards to design the cover?
Tom Edwards is the premier cover artist working in SF at the moment, and I knew I wanted him to do the art work on Unfathomed. His eye for detail, colours and raw talent is amazing. I approached him, and we had a discussion on the brief and he said, “yes”.
The starting point was that I sent him three scenes which I thought might make for striking artwork. Without hesitation, he indicated on one of those scenes, which captured both the SF and the thriller elements.
I had a few months to wait until the scheduled slot came up, so I sketched out some ideas of how I thought it should look and sent them over. Tom then produced a quick rough based around that and, well, to be honest I’d probably have taken the that as cover art, it was amazing.
We discussed it a bit more, and then a few days later I got the first version of the final cover through and I was completely blown away. I was actually in a restaurant when I got it and I couldn’t stop looking at it. From there, we did a few tweaks and before I knew it, we had the final version.
To say I was pleased with the work would be an understatement. If anyone wants to see the step-by-step development of the cover, take a look at this post over on SFFChrons.
I for one is definitely looking forward to the sequel and I guess there is a sort of predictable next step to this story. However, I also feel there is room for you to take this into a completely different direction if you want to. So, will there be any aliens or zombies in the sequel?
Are you looking for a scoop here, Dag? Well, let me oblige.
Expedition
An uneasy peace has settled across the fleet, yet the sins of the past will echo in the future.
When an expedition to the mainland goes wrong, former enemies will unite to rescue the survivors.
And amidst betrayal and lies; one man’s mission to learn the terrible truth behind The Locus will once again bring war to the fleet.
The trilogy itself is tightly plotted. I know exactly where this story is going, and it will hopefully provide those SF fans exactly what they hunger for, while not alienating the thriller fans.
When I’ve bounced the plot arc off people; they’ve been really excited about what’s planned and the conclusion especially. It’s very important to me that this series builds to a crescendo rather than splutters out. In many ways, it’s going to be as ‘Big Picture’ as the Sleeping Gods series.
Aliens, zombies or, in fact, monsters though? You’ll just have to see. By the end of book one, not all of the players have been revealed yet, although hints have been planted in Unfathomed which will hopefully provoke an ‘Ahah’ moment.
What’s next, what are you working on at the moment? When will we see you return to the Sleeping Gods universe?
Originally, Endings, the final part of the Sleeping Gods trilogy was going to be my next project. But I’ve kind of had the decision made for me with how much Unfathomed has taken off and it would be silly not to ride on that momentum. No small consideration is also that Expedition is simply flowing out, and to harness that is important to get the books out in a timely manner.
That being said, the Sleeping Gods series is my first writing love, and will always hold a special place in my heart. I’m still working on it on the side. One of the nice things about having two different types of story is that one provides a break for the other.
So absolutely, Endings will be coming. I’m not ready to issue out a publication date yet though.
Other projects I have going on include working with Woodbridge Press on their Explorations series of anthologies. This is a shared world collection put together by Nathan Hystad, who is rapidly gaining momentum as one of the lead SFF anthologists in the business.
In late January, the next one, Explorations: First Contact, will be out. This includes many of the best writers working in Indie SF at the moment. I can’t tell you how proud and humbled I feel to be included in this one. I can’t wait to see it on the shelves, and having read many of the contributor’s stories, I know the readers are in for a real treat.
The M/S Atlantica, one of the most advanced cruise ships in the world, is lost.
Land has disappeared. Fuel, food and hope begin to dwindle.
After months recuperating in hospital, US Marine Jack Cohen hoped a Caribbean cruise would help him recover from the horrific injuries he sustained fighting in the Middle East. Instead, when the ship is attacked, he is once again thrust into battle to protect Atlantica against the ruthless enemy hunting her, and the insidious threat already aboard.
On these mysterious and uncharted seas, where even the compass shows the sun rising to the west, Atlantica’s salvation may lie with a Navy warship which is as lost as they are. Together, they must pool their resources and use every means available to defend themselves while discovering what has happened to them.
And the rest of the world.
Unfathomed, a military science fiction thriller which will appeal to anyone who enjoyed Lost, BSG or The Last Ship.
From the international best-selling author of Endeavour and Erebus.
Please subscribe to my mailing list, which I host in collaboration with a number of other leading authors: www.scifiexplorations.com
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Interview by Dag Rambraut – SFFWorld.com © 2017
