With Megacosmic Rift (paperback, Kindle, audiobook), author Abby Goldsmith is presenting the fourth entry in her six-part science fiction space fantasy series Torth.
In the following email interview, Goldsmith talks about the origins of this series, and her plans for it moving forward, while also noting that Megacosmic Rift is, “…secretly my favorite of the series.”
For people who haven’t read any of the books, what is the Torth series about, and when and where are these stories set?
Torth is a sci-fi extravaganza: an epic space fantasy with superpowers and a dystopian galactic empire that needs to be overthrown and replaced. That empire, known as the Torth Majority, is a spacefaring hive that collectively votes on everything and suppresses individual opinions. The heroes fighting their tyranny are a bunch of escaped slaves, rebels, and renegades.
And then for people who have read them, and can thus ignore me writing SPOILER ALERT, what is Megacosmic Rift about, and when does it take place in relation to the previous book in the series, World Of Wreckage?
Megacosmic Rift is a linchpin in the series, where the scale of the conflict escalates from isolated planetary battles to a galactic war. World Of Wreckage ended on a cliffhanger, with the heroes having stolen away with 12 million refugees after triggering a planetary annihilation.
Megacosmic Rift continues directly from there. The heroes learn how the Torth hive mind — the Megacosm — arose and a potential key to its downfall. Meanwhile, the Torth Majority elects a supergenius leader in their time of crisis. Thomas presents a plan to thwart her. Ariock continues to level up in power, growing into his role as a titan of war. Thomas also jumps quite a few levels in power as he conquers a major hub city and wreaks havoc in the Megacosm.
When in relation to writing the other Torth books did you come up with the idea for Megacosmic Rift, and where did you get the idea for this fourth book’s plot?
I daydreamed and plotted the whole Torth series before I wrote a word of it. It’s one humongous story, contiguous rather than episodic. The story did grow in the telling. I’ve revised one pivotal scene in Megacosmic Rift multiple times, especially after an initial horrified reaction from beta readers. Now that character dies like a hero rather than like a villain.
As you said, the previous books in the Torth series were epic space fantasy stories. I assume then that Megacosmic Rift is as well?
Pretty much. Torth has always been hard to categorize. It’s epic space opera dystopian galactic empire with philosophy and superpowers. Amazon categories are restrictive. Is it cyberpunk? Sure, if you squint sideways. Is it hard sci-fi? I mean, Dune is there, so why not? Is it space opera? It doesn’t focus on a space crew or use many of the tropes, but it is a very big story and there are spaceships involved. I guess I have to call it that, even though I don’t see it as much like other space operas.
Moving on to the always popular questions about influences, are there any writers, or specific stories, that had a big influence on Megacosmic Rift but not on any of the previous books in the Torth series?
I will cite some of the usual suspects: Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin, Stephen King, J.R.R. Tolkien, L. Frank Baum.
As we’ve been discussing, Megacosmic Rift is the fourth book in the Torth series. And on your website you say the fifth book will be called Greater Than All, while the sixth will be Empire Ender. Do you know yet when Greater and Ender will be out?
They have release dates, thanks to my publisher: January 7th and May 13th. I pre-wrote the whole series; it is one contained, finite, 1,000,000 word story. It’s finished, but I am giving some last minute finessing to the final book.
Earlier I asked if Megacosmic Rift had been influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games. But do you think Rift, and the rest of the Torth series, could work as a movie series, a TV show, or a game?
I live in hope that someday I’ll have a reader who has major influence at a major film studio. It would be spectacular as a TV series in the right hands. And I do think it lends itself to adaptation as an MMO or multiplayer game, as well.
And if someone wanted to adapt the Torth series into some movies or a show, who would you want them to cast as the main characters?
Torth would be particularly hard to cast due to a lot of atypical characters. Ariock is the only one who fits an action hero archetype. For him, I would go with Alan Ritchson [Reacher], or younger versions of [Stranger Things‘] David Harbour or [The Lord Of The Rings‘] Karl Urban. They have the right dark gravitas and barely contained power.
As for Thomas… well, Thomas is a cynical old supergenius in the body of a 13 year old. He’s humorless, ruthless, and scary. Jude Hill [Belfast] has the right look, physically. A younger Jack Gleeson [Game Of Thrones] would be great.
So, is there anything else you think someone might need to know about Megacosmic Rift and / or the Torth series?
The series is a deep dive exploration of the nature of freedom, both mental and physical. It’s also power progression in the sense that the heroes begin low — trapped or enslaved — and end up as unassailable superheroes and galactic rulers capable of enacting justice. The first books have a dystopian vibe, but that lightens and loosens as the heroes liberate slaves and pummel the Torth Majority. Megacosmic Rift is secretly my favorite of the series, because it fully reveals the power system and also exemplifies the zero to hero progression in the most dramatic way.
Finally, if someone enjoys Megacosmic Rift, what similar kind of sci-fi novel or novella of someone else’s would you suggest they check out while waiting for Greater Than All to come out?
Scott Sigler’s Galactic Football League series grapples with interpersonal power dynamics and weird aliens, and it’s not really about football.
If you haven’t picked up Craig Alanson’s Expeditionary Forces series, that’s well worth checking out for the geeky interactions between Joe and Skippy.
And I would be remiss if I neglect to mention Dungeon Crawler Carl. That one is primarily litrpg, but it does have some low key space opera elements.
