The Prison in Antares is the second installment in five-time Hugo award-winning author Mike Resnick’s new military space opera series. We have talked to him about the new release.
The Prison in Antares, the second book in your Dead Enders series is soon to be released. Can you tell us a bit about what to expect?
The book, and the series, is not unlike the old Mission: Impossible TV series. A man is given an incredibly difficult assignment – in this case, rescuing a vitally important scientist from the best-protected jail in the enemy’s territory – and he rounds up a small team of experts to help him. One is a thief, one a strongman, one a computer hacker, one an empath, and of course all their skills will be needed.
Can you give us some insight into Nathan Pretorius and his team of Dead Enders?
I named Pretorius for the South African major who recorded his World War I experiences in the biography Jungle Man, a book I brought back into print a few years ago in The Resnick Library of African Adventure. My Pretorius is a competent and cynical man who’s been beating the odds against successful and survival for years.
Snake is a very small woman, a cortortionist and sneak-thief. She has no more interest in obeying the law now than ever before, but she’s willing to work on the team if Pretorius can get her current sentence ended and her prior record expunged.
Pandora is a superb hacker, and in the kinds of mission that are assigned to Pretorius, he will always need one. Felix Ortega is the team’s muscle. Circe is an empath – not quite a telepath, but usually able to tell if someone is lying. And the final member of the original team is Proto, a small, physically unimpressive alien, who can project an image of anything he wants to appear as (but they do not show up on cameras or other security devices).
There’s said to be a new team member. Is that something you can share with us without revealing too much of the story?
The new member is Irish, a woman who is a jack (jane?) of all trades, with a specialty in spotting and overcoming post-hypnotic blocks.
Over the years you have written a stunningly impressive range of material. In all that time, has your writing process changed much?
Not at all. I found out half a century ago that no one knocks on the door or calls me on the phone between 10 PM and 5 AM, so that’s my workday. As the years accumulate I find I have to do a little less revising than I did in the beginning. I run everything by Carol, and I’ve never failed to sell anything she’s okayed.
You also write shorter fiction. How different do you find writing short stories and shorter fiction rather than novels? Do you have a preference?
I much prefer writing shorter fiction (and all my Hugos are for shorter fiction), but it’s novels that pay the bills.
You’re the editor of Galaxy’s Edge Magazine, numerous anthologies and you write books. Where do you find the time?
I don’t know. I’m 73 years old, and I’ve published more than 20 books since turning 70, along with all the short stores, plus editing Galaxy’s Edge and the Stellar Guild line of books. I suppose the answer is simply that I love what I do. Most writers I know hate writing and love having written; me, I love writing. I don’t care about seeing my books in a store; my kick is when I read what I’ve written at the end of a workday and it came out pretty much the way I hoped it would when I sat down to write it.
Your work has been translated into 25 languages, meaning you’ve got a lot of fans outside the English speaking world. Do you feel fans react differently to your work around the world?
Not really. There are certain countries in which I sell better, some in which I sell worse, I’ve won awards in 7 of them, lost awards in others…but when all is said and done, I think it depends even more on my translators than on me.
How are you finding the e-book revolution? Personally, are you happy with an e-reader these days, or do you still prefer ‘tree-books’?
I went legally blind in my right eye in 2003, and my left eye isn’t the greatest in the world, so e-books have been a lifesaver for me. I can make the type bigger if I need to, I can make the background brighter on days I require it, and my Nook currently has over 2,000 books on it, weighs 14 ounces, and is less than 40% full.
What kind of books do you read, any favourite authors?
Favorite sf/f authors include C. L. Moore, Robert Sheckley, Barry Malzberg, a host of others. Outside the field: Damon Runyon, Robert Ludlum, Raymond Chandler, and a new kid on the block, Jonas Jonasson.
What’s next? Do you have more exciting new projects you’re working on?
I’ll be completing the Dead Enders trilogy, I’ve agreed to do a Stellar Guild team-up with Lezli Robyn, and what I do after those two depends on my various editors, publishers, and producers.
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Interview by Dag Rambraut – SFFWorld.com © 2015
