One of the interesting things about the board and card game-related novels published by Aconyte Books is how many of the authors have not been hardcore players of the games they’re writing novels about. (See these interviews with Cath Lauria, Ari Marmell, and Tim Waggoner.)
But the same cannot be said of M. Darusha Wehm, who, in the following email interview about their new sci-fi adventure novel Terraforming Mars: Shores Of A New Horizon (paperback, Kindle, audiobook), talks about how being a fan of FryxGame’s board game inspired and influenced this story.
Jane Killick gave a good primer on the board game Terraforming Mars in the interview we did about the first Terraforming Mars novel, In The Shadow Of Deimos, so let’s just dive in: What is Terraforming Mars: Shores Of A New Horizon about, and when and where is it set in relation to our reality, the timeframe of the game, and Jane’s books?
The book is set a generation or two after the second Terraforming Mars book, Edge Of Catastrophe, which is several hundred years in our future. In Shores, Mars is not quite terraformed yet, but it is well on its way, and there are more Martian-born Martians than anyone else on the planet.
Where did you get the idea for Terraforming Mars: Shores Of A New Horizon?
The previous books in the series, as well as the narrative of the game itself, provided a lot of the inspiration. Every playthrough tells a story of how Mars could go from a lifeless planet to a new home for humanity, and several of my own sessions with the game helped to inspire the narrative for this book.
And is there a significance to Professor Zambrotta “Zammi” Kaspar learning that his missing sister is an indentured worker as opposed to her just working for a shitty company or her being a sex slave? Or, to go a different way, it being Zammi’s mother or child?
I wanted to tell a sibling story from the outset, and Val’s early experiences partly relate to some of the outcomes in the book (no spoilers!). But the initial inspiration is that “Indentured Workers” is one of the cards you can play in the game, and I was intrigued by that concept as a story hook. I tried to include a lot of elements directly from the game, because I’m a player myself and wanted to give readers who are also avid players those fun “ah-ha!” moments of recognition.
Jane Killick’s Terraforming Mars novels — In The Shadow Of Deimos and Edge Of Catastrophe — were sci-fi adventure stories. Is Terraforming Mars: Shores Of A New Horizon one as well?
Shores is definitely sci-fi adventure, but it also has elements of classic thrillers and spy stories. There’s even a get-the-team-together heist.
Terraforming Mars: Shores Of A New Horizon is not your first novel. It’s not even the first novel you’ve written for Aconyte. Are there any writers, or stories, that had a big influence on New Horizon but not on anything else you’ve written?
I’m a huge fan of the Expanse books by James S.A. Corey, and while their Mars is not this Mars, I thought a lot about the way those books deal with how competing interests and ideologies shape the way people work together (or don’t), and some of those ideas come through in Shores Of A New Horizon.
What about non-literary influences; was Terraforming Mars: Shores Of A New Horizon influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games?
Family dramas, buddy comedies and road trip movies definitely influence this book. The core of the story is the push and pull of a sibling relationship that’s grounded in love but tested by different priorities and long-buried secrets.
And how about poetry? You write poems (and, presumedly, read them); how do you think poetry influenced Terraforming Mars: Shores Of A New Horizon?
Interestingly, I had a John Keats poem in my head while I was writing, “When I Have Fears That I May Cease To Be.” The contradiction of feeling individual insignificance in the face of the beauty of nature while also being a part of something immense seemed to fit with an activity like terraforming an entire planet.
Now, as I mentioned a couple times, Terraforming Mars: Shores Of A New Horizon is the third Terraforming Mars novel. Are you planning on writing a direct sequel to Horizon like Jane did?
As far as I know, this is the last book in the Terraforming Mars series.
Earlier I asked if Terraforming Mars: Shores Of A New Horizon had been influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games. But to flip things around, do you think Terraforming Mars: Shores Of A New Horizon could work as a movie or a TV show?
It would make a fun limited series, but it would need a pretty big budget to manage all the Martian travel. There would have to be a lot of shots of the partially terraformed Martian scenery.
And then there’s the obvious question: Do you think Terraforming Mars: Shores Of A New Horizon could work as an expansion to the game?
Not really, since so many of the elements in the book come directly from the game (and, to be fair, several of its existing expansions). I tried to slot this story into the frame of the game without needing to imagine too many new elements.
So, is there anything else people need to know about Terraforming Mars: Shores Of A New Horizon?
Readers don’t need to be familiar with the mechanics of the Terraforming Mars game to enjoy the book, but those who are should find lots of fun references sprinkled throughout.
Finally, if someone enjoys Terraforming Mars: Shores Of A New Horizon, which of your other novels would you suggest they check out next?
My novella Retaking Elysium is set on Mars and also deals with the conflict between corporate interests
