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Exclusive Interview: “Tomorrow’s Troopers” Co-Editor David Afsharirad

 

Most of the time when someone says “suggestions welcome,” they don’t mean it; they’re just being nice.

But apparently the good people at Baen Books are open to your ideas…sort of.

You see, when someone recently suggested they reprint an out-of-print anthology of science fiction short stories about power armor, they decided to instead put together one of their own.

In the following email interview, co-editor David Afsharirad discusses Tomorrow’s Troopers (paperback, Kindle), which collects classic sci-fi and military sci-fi power armor stories by Brandon Sanderson and Ethan Skarstedt, Joe Haldeman, and Harry Harrison, among others, including how he and co-editor Hank Davis (who had to bow out of this interview because of computer problems) picked what stories to include, what subgenres are represented…and whether the person whose suggestion inspired this book got a free copy.

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Exclusive Interview: “Rogue Sequence” Author Zac Topping

 

In the following email interview about his military science fiction novel Rogue Sequence (hardcover, Kindle, audiobook), author Zac Topping talks about the military and sci-fi stories that inspired and influenced this story…before adding that, “it’s probably about as ‘military’ as the Mission: Impossible franchise.”

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Exclusive Interview: “The Dragonfly Gambit” Author A.D. Sui

 

Rage is a strong emotion. And it can be a powerful motivator.

Just ask A.D. Sui, who, in the following email interview about her new “anti-military and anti-empire sci-fi” novella (paperback, Kindle) says that it was inspired by, “Rage, mostly rage. We don’t talk enough about disabled rage and how disabled people can often feel like some version of their future was taken away from them following injury.”

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Exclusive Interview: “Halo: Epitaph” Author Kelly Gay

 

With four previous novels based on the Halo games under her belt, it’s not surprising that writer Kelly Gay’s newest, Halo: Epitaph (paperback, Kindle, audiobook), would connect to the other novels she’s written about the titular sci-fi shooter series.

But as she explains in the following email interview, this installment is actually more connected to someone else’s Halo novels than her own.

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Exclusive Interview: “Beyond Enemies” Author Marisa Wolf

 

Surviving combat requires a great many things: the right equipment, good leadership, a lot of luck. But soldiers also rely on their compatriots.

In the new military science fiction novel Beyond Enemies (paperback, Kindle, audiobook), writer Marisa Wolf introduces us to two soldiers who couldn’t be any closer. And no, I don’t mean that in a romantic way.

In the following email interview, Wolf discusses what inspired and influences this story, as well as why she chose to give it a snarky tone.

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Exclusive Interview: “The Good Soldier” Nir Yaniv

 

In fiction, it’s fun to think about “What If…?” scenarios, especially where history is concerned.

For instance, what if the first human on the moon was Russian? Y’know, like in the TV show For All Mankind. Or what if the Nazis won World War II? Like they do in Philip K. Dick’s novel The Man In The High Castle and the recent Wolfenstein games.

It’s this kind of questioning that sets the stage for Nir Yaniv’s satirical military science fiction novel The Good Soldier (paperback, Kindle); a stage in which neither the first World War, nor the second, ever happened, but Europe still kneeled before Germany after the other nations split…for space.

In the following email interview, Yaniv discusses what inspired and influenced this novel, including why he made the main character so Gomer Pyle-esque.

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Exclusive Interview: “Aliens: Bishop” Author T.R. Napper

 

Apologies for spoiling a movie you should’ve seen 31 years ago, but one of the big shocks of 1992’s Alien3 came when Bishop from Aliens showed up, only it wasn’t that Bishop, it was Michael Bishop Weyland, the creator of the Bishop android. And while he wants the queen growing inside Ripley, he also wants his ‘droid back.

Which is where the story begins for T.R. Napper’s cyberpunk-infused military science fiction thriller Aliens: Bishop (hardcover, Kindle, audiobook).

In the following email interview, Napper discusses how he came to write this book, as well as whether the real Bishop, iconic actor Lance Henriksen, has gotten his copy yet.

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Exclusive Interview: “Threading The Needle” Author Monalisa Foster

 

Though I’ve never felt the inclination myself, I understand why some people want a simpler life, away from the hustle and bustle. It’s also what I want for Talia Merritt, the main character in Monalisa Foster’s military sci-fi / space Western novel Threading The Needle (paperback, Kindle). Though after reading the following email interview (with Foster, not Merritt), I have doubts it will actually happen.

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Exclusive Interview: “Through The Storm” Authors John Ringo & Lydia Sherrer

 

With Through The Storm (hardcover, Kindle), writers John Ringo and Lydia Sherrer are continuing the military sci-fi gamelit adventure series TransDimensional Hunters that they launched in 2022 with Into The Real. In the following email interview, John and Lydia discuss what influenced this second installment, how it ties in to the first book, and how their plans for this series have changed.