by Mark Rosenfelder
My new novel set in the Incatena, was published in July 2011.
It’s published by Yonagu Books and it’s available in three formats:
- In trade paperback, the same size as the LCK, at $13.95
- In Kindle form at $3.99
- In Nook form at $3.99
It’s a comic novel...
I feel I should emphasize this, because a) we need more comic sf, dammit, and b) some of the discussions I’ve had about the book and its universe have been kind of deadly serious, and people may be expecting a Tome.I like to put it this way: the Incatena’s top agent was sent to Okura to solve the situation there. This is what happened next. After he failed, I mean, and we had to send Morgan instead.
...and it’s hard sf
At the same time, I’ve made an effort to make a consistent and plausible universe. I’ve tried to keep the science clean. Thus, there is no faster-than-light travel, and indeed interstellar travel is mind-bogglingly expensive. There are no super-races seeding the galaxy with humanoids. There’s no physics-defying source of nearly free energy and no unobtainium.Of all the sf written in the last hundred years, I have a feeling that no one got closer to how things will actually be than Douglas Adams.
More to read!
- What is the book like? This interactive adventure gives a good feel for how it reads.
- What is the universe like? Here’s a reasonably full description.
- Why did you make it that way? I have that covered too!
- What is that cover illo? You’ll see when you read the book.
What’s it about anyway?
The Incatena is a loose organization of the fifty-odd human colonies, loose being the key word. It’s the year 4901, so economics and politics as we know are obsolete: people are kept happy and prosperous by the science of socionomics. With three thousand years of data to draw on, socionomics easily takes most crises in hand.But it can’t handle big crises. That’s when Diplomatic Agents are sent in. And we’ve got two big crises out in the South Quadrant.
One is the dictatorship on Okura. Planetary Marshal Kumari has been in power for a hundred years— the regime isn’t going away of its own accord, and it’s stirring up trouble with the local aliens as well as the Incatena.
The other is the financier Jules Ormant, who’s up to something either on Okura, or his homeworld Sihor, or the ultra-individualist new colony New Bharat, which he owns a third of anyway.
It’s time to send in our best agent... ah wait, I used that line. Anyway, Agent Morgan arrives in Okura. And things immediately go wrong.
Is Morgan male or female?
I leave that to the reader to decide. Hey, it worked for Mass Effect.So who should play Morgan in the movie? I’m leaning toward Hugh Laurie or Gina Torres.
So who is against peace and freedom?
Morgan, according to some people. The Peace Party of Okura and the Freedom Movement of New Bharat, for two.The book was originally called AD 4901, and I referred to it that way in the Planet Construction Kit. My wife still prefers that title, but I decided that it sucks, not least because as soon as Morgan climbs into a quickship it’s no longer AD 4901.
Did you make conlangs for it?
No! There was really no call for it. I did apply some sound changes for Okurinese though... e.g. Haikoa, the name of a character in the book, derives from Hayakawa.Sigh... I can see you there, looking mournful. OK, tell you what: if 200 people buy the book, I’ll work out one of the future languages mentioned.
...OK, as of December 2015, we have made it, with 201 sales! It only took four years! Enjoy Hanying here!
