Don’t you hate it when you’re wrongly convicted and sent to space prison, only to have your escape plans altered by zombies?
While this has happened to most of us, it can still be interesting to read how other people handled this predicament.
Which brings me to author S.A. Sidor, who, in the following email interview about his new zombie-infested space prison novel Zombicide Invader: Death System (paperback, Kindle, audiobook), explains what inspired and influenced this sci-fi horror story, as well as how it connects to both the titular board game and the other novels its inspired.
Tim Waggoner did a good job of explaining both the survival board game Zombicide and the sci-fi version, Zombicide Invader, in the interview we did about his novel Zombicide Invader: Invader: Planet Havoc. What then is Zombicide Invader: Death System about, and when and where is it set in relation to reality, the game, Tim’s books, and Cath Lauria’s Zombicide Invader novel, Terror World?
Death System is set one hundred years after the previous book in the Zombicide Invader series, Terror World. It builds on the previous works, and has some direct ties to events in Terror World. But each book can be read as a stand-alone.
My story begins in a high-security prison, where the most dangerous criminals in Terran space live in isolation locked up in the High Terror cellblock. Plans for an escape are in the works, and PK-L7 (the planet where the game’s original Xeno zombie outbreak occurred) plays a key role in the breakout plans.
Where did you get the idea for Zombicide Invader: Death System? What inspired it?
The first idea that came to me when coming up with pitch ideas for a Zombicide Invader story was a kind of Dirty Dozen or Con Air concept where antiheroes take the center stage. I wanted to explore how a team of supervillains, in this case convicted High Terror prisoners, would fare against the Xeno zombie horde.
My team of fugitives come in various shades of evil. The main character is a military pilot wrongly convicted of shooting down the other members of her squadron. They’re all dangerous people, capable of extreme violence toward both the attacking Xenos and to each other. This setup ratchets up the tension and the fun.
So is there a reason why that main character, Shawna Bright, is an accomplished pilot who was convicted of a crime she didn’t commit as opposed to being guilty of it, or falsely convicted but a terrible pilot?
I wanted Shawna to be really isolated, cast out of her role as a leader, and an outsider among outsiders (the incarcerated cons). She’s put in a position of having to make alliances with people she never would have associated with in her former life. She’s a prisoner like they are, but she’s also not like them at all.
I also wanted her to have great professional competence, not only as a pilot but as a leader of people; yet she’s alone in that knowledge. She’s the only one who knows for certain that she’s innocent of the crimes for which she’s been imprisoned. Her honor is her greatest survival skill.
Like Tim and Cath’s novels, Zombicide Invader: Death System sounds like a sci-fi horror story…
Sci-fi horror is an apt description of what’s going in Death System. That’s how I usually describe it. But the book is also an action thriller, a prison-escape story, and a tale of zombie monster mayhem.
Unless I’m mistaken, Zombicide Invader: Death System is your fourth novel…
Death System is my fourth tie-in novel for Aconyte Books. My first three were set in the Arkham Horror universe. Prior to those books, I wrote two supernatural adventure novels for Angry Robot, and before that I wrote four suspense novels and a slew of horror short stories.
I stand corrected. Anyway, Zombicide Invader: Death System is your fourth novel for Aconyte, but the first that isn’t connected to the H.P. Lovecraft-inspired cooperative board game Arkham Horror. Was Lovecraft still an influence on Death System?
I’ve always loved to read and write horror. I love the variety of rooms inside the haunted house of the “horror” genre. I’ve written thrillers with occult elements, cosmic horror (the Lovecraft-inspired selections), and supernatural monster books. Death System was my chance to try my hand at mashing up science fiction and horror. Lovecraft wasn’t an intentional influence on Death System. The vibe of the story comes more from films like the Alien and Predator franchises, prison breakout movies like Brute Force, The Great Escape, and Con Air, and zombie movies like Army Of The Dead and Zombieland.
So then are there any writers who were a big influence on Zombicide Invader: Death System but not any of your Arkham Horror novels?
I’ve always been a fan of tie-in novels and novelizations. Alan Dean Foster’s novelizations were particularly foundational for me. He did great work in both the Star Wars and Star Trek universes, but the ones that I really connected with were his Alienbooks, as well as stand-alones for Outland, The Thing, Krull, and The Last Starfighter. I just ate those books up. I reread his first three Alien books in preparation for writing Death System.
What about non-literary influences; was Zombicide Invader: Death System influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games? You mentioned some movies already, but anytime you have the words “space” and “zombies” within 30 yards of each other, I’m going to think of the Dead Space games.
As far as video games, I wanted to capture some the throwback, old-school feel of games like Doom and Half-Life. Death System, despite the title, is about having a blast, literally, by taking out some spectacularly terrifying space monsters who want to rip off your head and chew your bones to dust.
I also listen to music on headphones while I write, and my choices always bleed through into the work. Death System was a death metal novel, along with healthy doses of doom and sludge metal vibes.
Now, in the interview we did about your novel Arkham Horror: Lair Of The Crystal Fang, you said that it picked up where your previous Arkham novel, Cult Of The Spider Queen, left off. Are you planning on also writing a sequel to Zombicide Invader: Death System?
Death System was conceived as a one-off, rock’em, sock’em, leave it all on the table thrill ride. I would never rule out a sequel — it was a hell of a lot of fun to write — but I haven’t made any plans yet.
Earlier we talked about the movies that influenced Zombicide Invader: Death System. But to flip things around, do you think Death System could work as a movie?
I think it would work best as a tight, stripped-down, ninety-minute movie. The pacing and the arc of the story would fit nicely in that format.
And if someone wanted to make that movie, who would you want them to cast as Shawna and the other main characters?
Julia Garner [Ozark] would make a great Shawna. She has the attitude and the smarts to convey that character’s essence effectively.
[Hell Or High Water‘s] Ben Foster would be my first choice to play Nero. He can capture nasty edginess but also complexity, bringing depth to such a large-scale villain.
For Dr. Lemora Pick I envision Morena Baccarin [Deadpool]. She can do both action and comedy, Dr. Pick is someone who sees absurdity and irony in life, but she’s also a gambler and a risk-taker.
John Boyega has the gravitas to play Bak-Irp. I loved him in They Cloned Tyrone. Bak-Irp is a total professional, but there’s a lot boiling inside of him that he keeps a lid on, until he lets it out. Then you’d better watch out if you’re on his bad side.
Which brings us to the obvious question: Do you think Zombicide Invader: Death System could work as an add-on for the game?
It would be a dream come true to see Death System as an add-on. I tried to build an extension onto the incredibly rich universe of Zombicide. To see these characters in the game would be exciting.
So, is there anything else people need to know about Zombicide Invader: Death System?
If you like playing the game, you’ll like this book. But even if you have no knowledge of the game, the story is just as accessible, and maybe you’ll want to play the game. That’s my hope: to give people who love the game another way to visit the Zombicide Invader universe and to pique interests and bring new players to the game. It also works for readers who simply want to read a sci-fi horror novel.
Finally, if someone enjoys Zombicide Invader: Death System, and they’ve read the other Zombicide Invader novels, what sci-fi horror novel — zombie or otherwise —would you suggest they check out?
I recommend Joe Schreiber’s Star Wars novel Death Troopers. It’s sci-fi, and there’s a prison barge, and infected zombies. That book is also connected to the gaming world — the video game Star Wars Galaxies — so there are plenty of similarities. Death Troopers is a scary, action-packed, fun read. I really hope Death System is too.
