Some people look for meaning at the bottom of a bottle.
Others search for it while hiking; still others in the written word.
But in Riley August’s new science fiction novel The Last Gifts Of The Universe (hardcover, Kindle, audiobook), Scout, their cat, and their brother see if they can find it while flying around the galaxy.
To explain why, and how, I’d ask you to consult the following email interview.
To start, what is The Last Gifts Of The Universe about, and when and where does it take place?
The Last Gifts Of The Universe, is, in a few words, about the end of the universe. It’s about trillions of lives across thousands of planets, and about how and why and whether it mattered that they ended.
The story follows an Archivist named Scout, their brother, and their cat in a tiny ship as it soars across the cosmos, looking for any clue as to what happened to so many fallen civilizations.
Where did you get the idea for The Last Gifts Of The Universe?
I came up with the idea during the COVID pandemic. Lockdown was a tumultuous time; I was surrounded by friends and family who were hospitalized, who were missing out on job opportunities, who were missing their graduations or their children’s graduations, who were sick or confused or scared. Life had been completely uprooted that year. The future seemed more uncertain than it ever had for me, and I thought, “wow, it really seems like the universe is ending, doesn’t it?”
As you said, Scout is joined on this adventure by their brother, Kieran, and their cat, Pumpkin. Is there a significance to it being Scout’s brother and Scout’s cat as opposed to Scout’s sister or Scout’s mother or Scout’s grandpa, and also Scout’s dog or Scout’s rabbit or Scout’s pet from another planet?
Oh I like this question. Let’s see. For Scout’s brother: I think it’s fascinating that siblings (often, though not always) grow up in the same home, at the same time, raised by the same guardians in basically the same conditions, and yet they come out as completely different people. Scout and Kieran were both raised by the same single mother, but they both internalized very different lessons from her. Their mother is part of the plot of the book, and those differences cause the siblings to butt heads, argue, fight — but also cause them to love and understand each other in a way few other people can. Scout and Kieran are the last of their line in a dying universe, and yet because they’re siblings they fight over chores and video games…because of course they do.
As for Pumpkin, and Pumpkin being a cat: One, the book world could always use another cat. They’re sacred in our writing art. Two, and this may sound like a dis, but cats are fairly benign as far as adventuring companions go. They don’t bark at danger or make brave lunges toward enemies to protect their masters; they sleep, poop, play, purr, and eat and I love that about them, especially in the context of a spacefaring exploration. Essentially, Pumpkin grounds this far-reaching sci-fi in the relatable, in the warm and fluffy. He reminds Scout of what of life’s simple, little beauties is at stake.
The Last Gifts Of The Universe sounds like it’s a sci-fi space opera novel…
So when I think space opera, I can’t help but think of Star Wars, Mass Effect, Fortune’s Pawn, and Ender’s Game; and I’m not so sure if Last Gifts is as run-and-gun as all that. It’s a quiet story, focusing more on what I shall dare to say are likely the more “realistic” parts of unearthing dead alien worlds: archaeology, anthropology, philosophy; the thrill comes from discovery, not from explosions — not that there’s anything wrong with explosions. There are a few doses of action, though…and a fire sword.
The cover also makes it seem like it might be lighthearted. Though more like one of John Scalzi’s novels than, say, Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, which is jokey. Or am I wrong about that?
Ah, terrifying to even brush mentions with such greats.
There is some humor in Last Gifts (at least, I think it’s funny), and I definitely intended for lightheartedness in places (can you experience shadows without light?), but I suppose between the two, yeah, I’d lean more Scalzi than Adams, or likelier yet, Becky Chambers.
Now, The Last Gifts Of The Universe is your first novel, but I’m guessing you’ve written other things in your life. Are there any writers, or specific stories, that had a big influence on The Last Gifts Of The Universe but not on anything else you’ve written? Because Scout kind of reminds me of Doctor Aphra from the Star Wars comics.
This is a tough one. Thinking back to what fiction I was consuming around the time I started writing the book, I was reading a lot of Lovecraft in preparation for a research fellowship, and weird as it sounds I think that had a lot of influence over Last Gifts. Lovecraft’s work is acknowledged as the thing that coined “cosmic horror,” and what’s more horrifying than countless dead civilizations instantaneously destroyed by some unknown, unfeeling force in the universe that no one can point to and identify?
What about non-literary influences? Was The Last Gifts Of The Universe influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games? Because Scout also reminds me of Lara Croft and Indiana Jones.
Well around the time I started writing Last Gifts I’d also played and been pretty affected by The Last Of Us Part II. I also had an Animal Crossing game ongoing, and due to lockdown that was one of the concrete ways I spent time with my friends: goofing off in isolated little virtual islands, playing hide-and-seek and showing off our eclectically decorated virtual homes.
If you know much about these two games you know that they’re pretty distinct from one another, and I think in many ways their combination actually sums up Last Gifts fairly well: a story about grief and loss, punctuated by tiny, heartfelt reminders of life’s simple beauty and cute cats. So yeah let’s go with that: Last Gifts is The Last of Us Part II meets Animal Crossing — in space.
And how about your cat, Warden? How did they influence The Last Gifts Of The Universe?
Ah, this is my favorite little buddy in the universe, Warden (named for the Grey Wardens of Dragon Age).
Warden
Completely transparently: Pumpkin is Warden, appropriately fictionalized as orange and under a different name, in case my cat learns to sue. His antics, little mood swings, and unconditional love are all things I’ve included in the book. Pumpkin has a few minor special sci-fi quirks to distinguish him (he is fluent for a hot minute in translator collar speech), but if you enjoy his more mundane insanities you have my fluffy co-author cat to thank.
Man, should I have given him a co-author credit?
Now, you originally self-published The Last Gifts Of The Universe a couple years ago. Aside from the new cover art, is there anything else different about this new version?
So aside from some grammatical and word choice changes (including a culling of “debris,” which my editor kindly told me I dared to love too much), everything in this trad-published version is pretty much the same. It’s certainly cleaner and easier to read, and I enjoyed having the opportunity to do another polish pass since I’m a firm believer in each iteration making the work a little stronger. But plot, characters, the resolution of the story? All remains as intended since the original, self-published version.
Sci-fi novels like The Last Gifts Of The Universe — be they space opera or something else — are sometimes stand-alone stories and sometimes part of larger sagas. What is Last Gifts?
I wrote Last Gifts to be stand-alone with series potential, so while the book’s main character arcs tie up at the end, there are mysteries and problems in the larger universe still around to solve.
I like doing it this way for two reasons: One, because I find it more resonant for stories to end with some things left unsolved and unsaid; and Two, because, well, book publishing isn’t always predictable. For instance, if a book doesn’t sell well, it may not be contracted for a sequel. For now, I can at least say that I’m in the lucky position where I have been contracted for a second book to follow Last Gifts.
So, what can you tell us about the sequel and this series?
I can say that the sequel is set in the same universe but follows a different set of characters. I like the themes I’m working with in Last Gifts, and working with a new cast with their own problems lets me present those themes from a new angle — it let’s me complicate them.
One of Last Gifts’ antagonists is an immoral, late stage capitalistic megacorporation that competes with Scout and Pumpkin for the secrets of these long-dead civilizations they’re scouring. While Last Gifts closely follows Scout, this sequel is going to take place on an artificial theme park planet run by said immoral, late stage capitalistic megacorporation, and follows one of the unlucky people who works for them. I’m really excited about it.
I’m currently contracted for only the one sequel; whether it ends up being more is up to many factors — some out of my control, some within it. Time will tell.
Earlier I asked if The Last Gifts Of The Universe was influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games. But to flip things around, do you think Gifts could work as a movie, show, or game?
Hmmm, okay, so remember how I said I thought this book was more about discovery than explosions? I’m not sure if in the current climate of TV and movies if a Last Gifts screenplay would get very far.
Though, now that I think about it, the closest genre match I can think of might be Arrival, which I thought was an excellent film — so color me very down to be surprised.
Personally I think a game set in the universe of Last Gifts where you play as an Archivist scouring dead civilizations haunted by deadly Remnants would be amazing, though I think it might be more fun as an original story rather than an adaptation of Scout’s. Uncovering ancient logs, unraveling alien secrets, and dodging unbeatable death itself are all well-suited to a game, I think.
And if someone wanted to make a game set in the same universe as The Last Gifts Of The Universe, what kind of game should it be and who should make it?
Oh, a horror adventure game, absolutely. One with some camaraderie and heart, sure — keeping it light here and there makes the dark so much more frightening, and there has to be characters and a mystery that makes the fear worth it — but definitely horror. Aside from that megacorporation I mentioned, there is one threat on the planets Scout explores: Remnants. Eldritch, shadowy, unbeatable, nigh inescapable masses intent on one thing: destroying life. Avoiding and fleeing Remnants while unearthing long lost logs that tell a larger story; navigating ruined alien terrain; managing supplies and oxygen; maybe a cat companion to boost your resolve — I think it could be a great game.
As for who I’d love to make it? I mean, Naughty Dog does the gut punch right, and when it comes to weird, eldritch horror you can’t go wrong with Remedy. Maybe they can team up? Aw wait, darn, something woke me up. Dream’s over.
So, is there anything else you think people need to know about The Last Gifts Of The Universe?
Over the course of the book’s life being out in the world, being read, from self-published to trad published, readers keep coming back with one thing: they thought the book would be one way, but it turned out to be something they didn’t expect.
I think this has for most readers been a good thing, so I’ll just say that I hope any new readers come to the book with an open mind, and if you do happen to pick it up, thank you, and I hope you get something back for the time you put into it.
Finally, if someone enjoys The Last Gifts Of The Universe, what sci-fi novel or novella of someone else’s would you suggest they check out?
Definitely check out Becky Chambers’ Monk And Robot series, starting with A Psalm For The Wild-Built.
And if you want more sci-fi on the funny, hopeful, and character-driven side, look at the Duckett And Dyer series by G.M. Nair — hilarious, full of adventure, and touches on some elements of human relationships and societies while keeping things light.
