Zombie stories often take place in dark, foreboding places.
But in Robert E. Hampson’s new zombie novel Across An Ocean Of Stars (paperback, Kindle), which is the 14th novel in John Ringo’s ongoing (and often collaborative) Black Tide Rising series, he has the living impaired taking a vacation to Hawaii. And man, are the buffets plentiful.
In the following email interview, Hampson — who is a neuroscientist and a professor at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina — talks about what inspired and influenced this story, as well as how it connects to the other Black Tide Rising novels and stories.
For people who haven’t read any of the Black Tide Rising books, or the interview I did with creator / author John Ringo about the anthology United We Stand, in which he explained it, what is this series about?
In the Black Tide Rising series, John Ringo has created a zombie outbreak that infects victims, but leaves them alive. At the time, it differs from a lot of zombie = undead stories. This gets a bit science-y, so bear with me; I am a scientist, after all.
“Slow” zombies à la George Romero’s movies, assume that the body is dead and reanimated, somehow. The zombies don’t really eat (aside from the craving for brains) and don’t breathe, so the bodies don’t really generate the energy to move the muscles. It has to come from somewhere, though, and that mystic power has to overcome dead tissue, rigor mortis, etc.
“Fast” zombies, as in 28 Days Later and Black Tide Rising, are victims of a virus, but the body is essentially alive, and capable of the full range of human movement: fast, slow, and everything in between.
I think John’s zombies in Black Tide Rising are unique in that he has rationale for the effects of the virus on the brain, the reason why the zombies are naked (and how this affects geographic distribution), and the need for the zombies to have access to human food and water. It becomes highly relevant to the stories.
And then what is Across An Ocean Of Stars about?
Across An Ocean Of Stars deals with survivors of the zombie apocalypse who are located in Hawaii. Opinions are mixed in social media circles about how Hawaii would fare in a global disaster, given the high tourist / transient population and dependence on global shipping for supplies.
[But this] story is not just about surviving, but thriving and rebuilding civilization and culture — with a strong reliance on the Hawaiian and Polynesian culture.
When does it take place in relation to both reality and the other Black Tide Rising stories
There is a nod to the events directly surrounding the outbreak of the virus, but the primary action of the book takes place over the 12-18 month period after The Fall (of civilization) as people struggle to survive, then rebuild.
Black Tide Rising canon uses a rough date of late summer, early fall 2013 for The Fall. Not coincidentally, Ringo’s first book in the series, Under A Graveyard Sky, was released September 3, 2013. My initial data gathering for the story was 2017, so I had to do some research into what would have been available at the locations in the story in 2013. It was easy then, much harder now!
Most of the other novels in the series also take place within this timeline. I have a few references to the concurrent events, but also tried to keep the story stand-alone and not dependent on those other events in order to avoid contradictions.
So, who came up with the idea for Across An Ocean Of Stars?
John Ringo is credited with the Black Tide Rising universe, but one of the “trivia questions” one might ask is “Who designed the H7D3 virus?” John’s pretty savvy when it comes to bio, but he wanted an opinion on the neuro part of the “Red Flu.” He had the basic concept of the virus, but over the course of a multi-hour videoconference in 2012, he and I worked out a lot of the details of how the virus would work, how the symptoms would manifest, viral transmission, and even “the cure.”
Another bit of trivia is that in Under A Graveyard Sky, a young home-lab scientist is sought by the FBI under the logic that a subject matter expert is automatically a suspect. So what did John do in Graveyard Sky? He put in the acknowledgements that I taught him everything he needed to know about the virus and the brain. Gee thanks, John! If there’s ever a viral zombie outbreak, I will be in hiding.
In 2016, I was sitting at a roundtable panel at the LibertyCon convention, discussing the stories in the book. John turned the conversation to the “beta” zombies: no rage, no conscious thought, but they might be trainable to do basic tasks. I had just returned from my wife’s and my annual vacation in Hawaii, where we had toured the former leper colony on Molokai.
My brain put two and two together, and wondered about a story in which a Father Damien-like character decides to “adopt” betas and care for them, in a modern-day (fictional) adaptation of the Molokai colony.
So, should we read anything into the fact that the living impaired person on the cover seems to have a big mohawk?
Not a mohawk per se; think “aging surfer dude / beach bum.” In my mind our cover model — let’s call him “Ed” — has weathered hair, bleached by the sun so that it is almost white. His skin is extremely weathered, and blotchy. His post-apocalyptic diet hasn’t been so great, and he’s…starting to deteriorate! Now, Black Tide Rising zombies are naked — and Ed is not — there must be a story there…and there is.
Kurt Miller created this fantastic cover. He had no particular character in mind, but the moment I saw it, I knew it fit the story, and readers will find out exactly how.
Uh, you do realize that by calling him Ed that I now think he’s Eddie, the guy on every one of Iron Maiden’s album covers, right? Which means I now have “Number Of The Beast” in my head…
Anyway, stories about zombies are usually horror stories. Usually. Is Across An Ocean Of Stars a horror story or are there other genres at work in it as well?
Ocean is actually adventure and hard sci-fi. It seems I can’t not write hard sci-fi, and Ocean is meticulously researched. I just received an email from a fan who actually lives in the uplands of Hawaii Island who was reading the electronic Advanced Reader Copy (eARC) and was thrilled about my portrayal of the area. I blended military sci-fi, hard sci-fi, and adventure into this story as possible, and according to John’s (and Baen publisher Toni Weisskopf’s) vision for the series, it needed to be hopeful as well.
Now, Across An Ocean Of Stars is the sixth novel you’ve written or co-written, though you’ve also had stories in such anthologies as World Breaker, Lost Signals, and The Ross 248 Project. Are there any writers, or stories, that had a big influence on Ocean but not on anything else you’ve written?
Readers will note a couple of references to places and details from The Moon And The Desert [Hampson’s 2023 novel]. I’m sure some folks will decide that the main character in “Part 1,” Ham Forsyth is me, and I can’t deny that there are people around him from my real life, but for the most part, the story is unique with respect to my other work.
I also can’t deny the influence of John Ringo, Mike Massa, Chuck Gannon, and Jason Cordova, as we have all contributed to the canon of the series.
Other influences were not discrete stories, but my “writing mentors” also include David Weber, Sarah Hoyt, and Tom Kratman. I’m sure some of them snuck in.
What about such non-literary influences as movies, TV shows, or games? Because having this zombie story set in a tropical paradise immediately made me think of the Dead Island games.
I would actually point more to both the new and original versions of Hawaii Five-O and Magnum, P.I. for influence for this one. A bit of Sea Hunt (yes, I’m that old) also crept in.
Another influence is simply taking tours, visiting museums, and talking to the residents in Hawaii. My wife and I go there every year, and we’ve been doing so for 15 years, so there’s a wealth of experience and information to tap for the story.
Oh, and by the way, Ocean was edited while I was sitting on a lanai 30 floors above Waikiki Beach.
And what about your scientific expertise? How, if at all, did that influence Across An Ocean Of Stars? Because when not writing fiction, you’re a Neuroscientist, and neuroscience has to do with brains, but we already know zombies like brains… Wait, do you explain why zombies like brains in Ocean?
As I mentioned, my neuro expertise is actually baked-in to the canon of Black Tide Rising. B.T.R. zombies don’t just crave “braaaaaiiiinzzz” though, they are just perpetually hungry and enraged. So, little to no neuro there.
The surprising science connection to the story is the HI-SLOPE space simulation I created for the story. Part of my research looked into effects of radiation-therapy for brain cancer. That led me to looking into NASA and other space-related radiation exposures, and how they affect the brain and memory. I’ve been to a few conferences, and done some reviewing for the relevant agencies. That led me to the discovery of HI-SEAS: the Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation on Mauna Loa. While not the “3-year mission” of the fictional HI-SLOPE, it did inspire that part of the story.
As we’ve been discussing Across An Ocean Of Stars is part of the Black Tide Rising series, which was created by John Ringo. Did John give you any feedback on Ocean, either before you started writing or after you finished a draft or two?
John and I talked quite a bit, early in the process. He and Black Tide Rising anthology editor Gary Poole saw the initial premise and gave me some pointers on overall tone (and avoid conflict with other stories). Toni Weisskopf bundled their comments into extensive feedback on the novel — and it involved some major changes in the story.
I’ll give an example of one: the feedback I received was that this story had the opportunity to comment on the ethics of how survivors handled not just the “beta” infected, but also the alphas, the rage zombies. As a scientist, I had some exposure to the ethical considerations, and I had created characters in a position to ask, “What are the ethics involved.”
It was eye-opening, and once I made a few editorial changes (surprisingly, not many!), I felt it added to the story, because the questions became motivations of the characters, and the whole thing led to why the story ends with the events of “Part 4: Kahuna.”
Across An Ocean Of Stars is the fourteenth Blade Tide Rising novel. Though from what you said earlier, it seems like this is a stand-alone story within this series.
Yes, I tried to include the relevant info so that someone can read this as a stand-alone. There’s references to the other books as well, so I feel that it can easily be enjoyed whether or not a reader has read the other books.
I will say that I dropped a few Easter eggs in, though, that will specifically reward readers of the other books. (Hint: “What’s your backup plan?”).
Given that, are there any previous Black Tide Rising novels you think people should consider reading before they get to Across An Ocean Of Stars?
The first four Ringo novels [Under A Graveyard Sky, To Sail A Darkling Sea, Islands Of Rage And Hope, and Strands Of Sorrow] provide the most context. In fact, just the first one would be sufficient, but again, most of the cross-book references are to the first four.
Earlier I asked if Across An Ocean Of Stars had been influenced by any movies, TV show, or games. But do you think it could work as the basis for a movie or TV show? Or a sequel to Dead Island?
I think Ocean would work best as a miniseries or limited series, and possibly the 4 parts of the book as different seasons. Movie and sequels would work, too, but I think 8-10 episode seasons would work best with the depth of character development involved. Parts 2 and 3 certainly have plenty of action to divide into episodes. Part 1 less so, but it could be beefed up. Part 4 would need to be expanded, but there’s some backstory there which could be added for a full season.
Then if someone wanted to add an erupting volcano, I wouldn’t mind extending it…
And if someone decided to make that show, who would you want them to cast as the main characters?
I have a few ideas for actors to play my characters:
“Part 1, Voyagers”: Ham Forsyth would be a great Mark Wahlberg role (but I also think he should take on Glenn Shepard from The Moon And The Desert). “Lugnut” Ludwig could only be played by Tom Holland [who co-starred with Wahlberg in Uncharted].
“Part 2, Seafarers”: The late Richard Attenborough would have been a perfect “Bubba” Gnad, mainly because the real-life Brian Gnad does a great job of cosplaying Attenborough as John Hammond from Jurassic Park. For Jackson Toivo, I’d cast Jonny Miller. Now mind, you, Miller’s Sherlock in Elementary is not a favorite of mine, but I can definitely see playing Toivo in that manner. I’d also want to cast Daniel Dae Kim [Hawaii Five-0] as one of the other boat captains.
“Part 3, Iron Men”: For Lee Eller, cast Alex O’Laughlin [Hawaii Five-0], he’d bring the necessary physicality to the role. For Allie, I’d go with the beautifully exotic Katrina Law [NCIS].
“Part 4, Kahuna”: I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest Taylor Willie, Kamekona from Hawaii Five-0, for Wizardbear. [Moana 2‘s] Dwayne Johnson would be good, but it would be too small a part. After watching Red One, I’d stick J.K. Simmons as Father Bart, and Stanley Tucci as Bram Krebs. For Abi? Amy Adams [Man Of Steel]. For Ku, I’d go with Cliff Simon, Ba’al on Stargate SG-1. He’d make the character so believable in the first part, then be the perfect villain in the end.
Finally, if someone enjoys Across An Ocean Of Stars, which of your other novels would you suggest they check out next?
Obviously, I would recommend a person read The Moon And The Desert. That’s the novel with the greatest expression of my hard sci-fi style.
