{"id":17184,"date":"2024-08-08T23:49:23","date_gmt":"2024-08-08T15:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/what-if-the-aliens-win-thats-the-subject-of-a-new-saga-from-creators-of-the-expanse\/"},"modified":"2024-08-08T23:49:23","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T15:49:23","slug":"what-if-the-aliens-win-thats-the-subject-of-a-new-saga-from-creators-of-the-expanse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/what-if-the-aliens-win-thats-the-subject-of-a-new-saga-from-creators-of-the-expanse\/","title":{"rendered":"What if the aliens win? That\u2019s the subject of a new saga from creators of \u2018The Expanse\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full-width\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/PNG-image-630x444.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-834153\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/PNG-image-630x444.jpeg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/PNG-image-1260x889.jpeg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/PNG-image-768x542.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/PNG-image.jpeg 1330w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham are the authors of the books in \u201cThe Expanse\u201d series, under the pen name James S.A. Corey. Their newly published novel, \u201cThe Mercy of Gods,\u201d kicks off a whole new trilogy. Franck and Abraham will be at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Wash., on Saturday. (Kyle Zimmerman Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In nearly all alien-invasion tales, the puny humans somehow find a way to win \u2014 for example, in classic novels like&nbsp;\u201cThe War of the Worlds,\u201d&nbsp;or in movies like&nbsp;\u201cIndependence Day\u201d&nbsp;and&nbsp;\u201cBattle: Los Angeles.\u201d&nbsp;But in a new novel by the authors of \u201cThe Expanse\u201d sci-fi series, the humans lose within the first hundred pages.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Mercy of Gods\u201d&nbsp;is the first book in what\u2019s destined to be a trilogy by James S.A. Corey, which is actually a pen name representing a long-running collaboration between science-fiction writers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. \u201cThe Expanse\u201d is their best-known work \u2014 consisting of nine novels that lay out a future history of the solar system and encounters between human settlers and alien outsiders.<\/p>\n<p>Those novels inspired a TV series that ran for three seasons on the Syfy cable network \u2014 and was then picked up for three more seasons on Amazon Prime Video. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos&nbsp;made a memorable splash in 2018&nbsp;when he announced at a Los Angeles space conference that \u201c\u2018The Expanse\u2019 is saved\u201d from cancellation.<\/p>\n<p>In this week\u2019s episode of the&nbsp;Fiction Science podcast, Abraham says the idea behind \u201cThe Expanse\u201d came from Franck\u2019s imagination. The idea behind \u201cThe Mercy of Gods,\u201d which kicks off a trilogy of Captive\u2019s War novels, came from Franck as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen Ty pitched the idea, the thing that I loved about it was this very different kind of not-at-all-triumphalist vision of being a human in a wider galaxy,\u201d Abraham says.<\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/02ldhqTjTxHBBPJVmgAA8J?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Franck says he was inspired by stories of oppression ranging from the&nbsp;ancient Babylonian captivity of Judeans&nbsp;to the excesses of&nbsp;Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler&nbsp;and the&nbsp;Soviet Union under Josef Stalin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the things the Babylonians did, and the Persians after them, was when you conquered a people, you took their best and their brightest back to your capital, and you had them learn your ways, and you learned their ways,\u201d Franck says. \u201cThere was this real mixing of culture that happened. I\u2019ve always found that idea very interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Franck imagines that the same strategy would apply in the wake of an alien conquest. Why would an advanced alien civilization seek to conquer other planets? \u201cThis idea that they come here to steal our water, or our gold, or whatever, is pretty ridiculous,\u201d he says. \u201cSo, the idea is, what is the one thing in the galaxy that is actually scarce, that is actually hard to get \u2014 and that is intelligence. Intelligent life is rare, and it\u2019s scarce, and it\u2019s unique.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In \u201cThe Mercy of Gods,\u201d that\u2019s what the alien overlords are after.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re looking at a galaxy of potential life forms, every one of them is going to have something unique about them, the way their intelligence works,\u201d Franck says. \u201cSo, going and conquering the galaxy, and taking the smartest beings from every species, and bringing them back and going, \u2018Do whatever it is you do best, and we\u2019ll just reap the fruits of that\u2019 \u2014 that actually made sense to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full-width is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"975\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/mercyofgods-630x975.jpg\" alt=\"Book cover for &quot;The Mercy of Gods&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-834159\" style=\"width:250px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/mercyofgods-630x975.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/mercyofgods-814x1260.jpg 814w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/mercyofgods-768x1189.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/mercyofgods.jpg 969w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cThe Mercy of Gods,\u201d by James S.A. Corey. (Orbit Books)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Like those who were taken prisoner during the Nazi Holocaust, the human characters in \u201cThe Mercy of Gods\u201d fight to survive by mollifying their captors \u2014 even as they try to figure out how to get out of their predicament. The captives also have to contend with other species that share their prison planet. Some of those species serve as enforcers or trusties for the aliens. Ethical dilemmas abound.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to the scientific underpinnings of the plot, \u201cThe Mercy of Gods\u201d takes a lot for granted. \u201cThe ways that these various species move faster than light, really, that\u2019s fairly mysterious,\u201d Franck said. \u201cWe don\u2019t know, but they figured something out.\u201d Also, there\u2019s no long-winded explanation for a little black box that serves as a universal translator for the aliens. The thing just works.<\/p>\n<p>But Franck and Abraham paint vivid word pictures of the various species that play roles in the novel: The alien overlords are giant lobster-like creatures, served by species that are reminiscent of wolves, horses, crows or knife-legged snakes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you had to pick one kind of underlying scientific idea that really drives this one for me, it\u2019s the idea of convergent evolution,\u201d Abraham says. \u201cThe idea that there are some things that are just good moves, given the nature of the universe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Abraham sees that as a metaphor for the universality of experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have these different life forms that are all in a particular set of pressures. Watching humans go through this and discover the things in there which we\u2019re going to be doing throughout the whole series is, for me, the heart of the scientific end of the science fiction,\u201d he says. \u201cLiving under totalitarianism, living under authoritarianism, living under power is another kind of pressure that also drives things toward similar solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That principle of convergent evolution may apply to psychological as well as biological pressures. It\u2019s no accident that some passages of the first book echo what happened during the Holocaust.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe survival techniques that let you survive in, say, Stalinist Soviet Union probably were very similar to the ones that let you survive in Nazi Germany, probably very similar to the ones that let you survive in ancient Assyria. When you have a top-down, militaristic, authoritarian government, the ways people survive are probably very close. It doesn\u2019t matter what time period you\u2019re in,\u201d Franck says.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no question that these historical themes will play out as the Captive\u2019s War trilogy unfolds. \u201cThis series has its roots in&nbsp;Ursula Le Guin&nbsp;and&nbsp;Frank Herbert, and those big science-fiction universes. But it also has its roots in&nbsp;Viktor Frankl&nbsp;and&nbsp;Hannah Arendt,\u201d Abraham says.&nbsp; \u201cA lot of this been on my mind recently, and I think a lot of that kind of winds up in the story.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pearls from the podcast<\/h4>\n<p><strong>We touched on a broad range of topics while recording the podcast. Here are a few of the gems worth listening for:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Franck and Abraham already know how the trilogy will end. \u201cI can\u2019t write a word unless I know the end of the story,\u201d Franck says. \u201cIt\u2019s sometimes frustrating to Daniel that we\u2019ll start working on something, and I\u2019ll say, \u2018I need to know where this is going, or I can\u2019t write anything.\u2019\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Even though the Captive\u2019s War trilogy will have historical resonances, the authors say they won\u2019t try to turn their novels into political tracts. \u201cI think the most important thing that you can say for the deep politics of the book is that our protagonists are at their best when they\u2019re not on Twitter,\u201d Abraham says with a laugh.<\/li>\n<li>Abraham says he and Franck learned a lot about TV production when they got involved in the process of turning the books of \u201cThe Expanse\u201d into a TV series. \u201cYou can\u2019t really be a novelist in modern America without having a day job,\u201d he says. \u201cIt just turns out that our day job is television producer. So, that\u2019s weird.\u201d But he\u2019s not yet ready to talk about the behind-the-scenes projects they\u2019re currently working on. \u201cAs soon as we can take it out in front of the curtain, we will,\u201d Abraham says.<\/li>\n<li>Any advice for science-fiction writers who want to get into the world-building business? \u201cFind Ty,\u201d Abraham says. \u201cAsk him if he has any good ideas. That has worked for me 100%.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Franck has a different answer to that question. \u201cHonestly, the only advice I can ever give to writers is, do the thing that you love, find the idea that you love, and do that, and don\u2019t listen to other people,\u201d he says. \u201cDon\u2019t listen to the marketplace. Don\u2019t listen to the people who tell you, \u2018Well, the X kind of book sells now, so you definitely have to write X.\u2019 If X isn\u2019t the kind of book you love, don\u2019t write it. Write something else.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n<p><em>Abraham and Franck are on a&nbsp;nationwide book tour&nbsp;that includes a stop at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Wash. The event takes place at 7 p.m. PT Saturday. Check out&nbsp;the website for Third Place Books&nbsp;for information about the event and to buy tickets, and check out&nbsp;JamesSACorey.com&nbsp;for the full list of novels in \u201cThe Expanse\u201d series. You\u2019ll also find links to&nbsp;\u201cThe Expanse\u201d TV series&nbsp;on Amazon Prime Video and other resources.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>For what it\u2019s worth, in a 2018 interview, Abraham discussed how he and Franck have borrowed and reimagined patterns from human history for their science-fiction stories. \u201cSo much of the point of the books is that humans are humans, and the things we did before, we\u2019re going to keep doing wherever we go,\u201d he said back then.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Take a look at&nbsp;the original version of this item on Cosmic Log&nbsp;for a bonus reading recommendation from Abraham, and stay tuned for future&nbsp;episodes of the&nbsp;Fiction Science podcast&nbsp;via&nbsp;Apple, Spotify, Player.fm, Pocket Casts and Podchaser. If you like Fiction Science, please rate the podcast and subscribe to get alerts for future episodes.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham are the authors of the books in \u201cThe Expanse\u201d series, under the pen name James S.A. Corey. Their newly published novel, \u201cThe Mercy of Gods,\u201d kicks off a whole new trilogy. Franck and Abraham will be at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Wash., on Saturday. (Kyle Zimmerman Photo) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4409,4418,4487,4419,4488,4482,4489,4490],"class_list":["post-17184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-aliens","tag-books","tag-daniel-abraham","tag-fiction-science","tag-james-s-a-corey","tag-science-fiction","tag-the-expanse","tag-ty-franck"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17184"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17184\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}