Ross Harrison, author of the science fantasy Temple of the Sixth, discusses his writing style, his novel's background, and his series' direction. Check out his blog, Like his Facebook page, or Follow him on Twitter.
Prior to Temple of the Sixth, you’d already published the book’s prequel, Shadow of the Wraith, and a steampunk novella, Kira. What can you tell us about your background as a writer?
I have none. I wrote several small things when I was younger, which are hugely embarassing to read now. Probably the first real step towards what I write now were two short stories which totally ripped off the Metal Gear Solid games. Although publishing still hadn’t entered my mind, they were intended to be more of a proper… thing than the previous short, half-written stories about Brazillian gremlins and odd demon things which stole keys out of your heart…
Then I started writing a thriller about an NSA agent, which turned out to be the first proper thing I wrote. It had a proper story, fairly fleshed-out characters, and of course humour. It was going well, until my computer decided to wipe out half of what I’d written, leaving me with only an old version, devoid of the twist and well-thought-out clues I’d written into it – and which to this day I can’t remember.
So I have no actual writing background other than messing about and experimenting.
Temple of the Sixth is more of a spinoff than a sequel in that
the main characters from the first Nexus novel, Shadow of the Wraith,
play supporting roles. Why did you choose to make this book about Theak instead
of Travis?
The NEXUS series was never going to be about Travis solely. Travis
and his team will be the main main
characters of the series, with them returning fairly frequently, but there will
be plenty of others, like Theak. Those others may or may not return for other
books, and if so, may or may not be the protagonist again!
I’m not entirely sure why I chose this particular book to be
a break from Travis. Perhaps simply so that people could see early on that he
won’t be the only protagonist. But I also wanted someone a bit different. Theak
and Travis were best friends for quite a while, and you can see some
similarities between them. Theak is more able to admit his limits and his fear,
however, which is something I wanted for this book.
The conflict in Temple of the Sixth centers around an ancient,
godlike evil, one that has more in common with epic fantasies than traditional
science fiction. Why did you chose to blend genres?
I’m just taking the fantasy aspect of science fantasy a
little bit further. I just thought that was what I wanted the book to be about,
and wrote it.
Actually, I didn’t have much of a clue what the book was
going to be about until we first meet the Sixth. I wrote her first chapter and
realised that this was something very different to the pages that had come
before, and the entirety of the first book, even. I was eager to continue that
and see where it went.
I always had an idea that there would be a lot more to the universe
than was in the first book, but there was no conscious decision, that I recall,
to put that into this one.
Do you have a favorite character in Temple of the Sixth? What
can you tell us about him or her?
Well, I like the Sixth, and I like how she changes as she
becomes accustomed to being a little more mortal than usual. But I think my
favourite is probably Fonau. He’s incredibly weird, and (I think) quite funny.
He’s responsible for the book having more humour than Shadow of the Wraith,
while it is at the same time a bit darker. That’s one of those things that will
be a matter of opinion. Personally, I think the humour helps emphasise the
darker, serious parts, but I know there will be some who think it takes away
from that.
Actually, I’m quite fond of B4, the little android, as well.
I quite like seeing how the androids’ ability to learn creates such
unique…"people," almost. Especially paired with the identity of whoever
programmed them in the first place. B4 is a Necurian android, so he of course
has their compassion. But as an android, he can never truly feel the compassion, and so that has
some interesting results.
Did you mean for Temple of the Sixth to be a sequel, or did the idea spring up on
you while you were writing Shadow of the Wraith? In your opinion, does Temple
of the Sixth represent a continuation of its prequel, or does it stand on
its own?
As I said, the series was always meant to move between
different protagonists, and therefore, not have direct sequels. But I think
both of those are true of the book. It stands on its own as a unique story, and
you don’t have to have read Shadow of the Wraith to understand it. With some of
the protagonists from that book appearing, it’s unavoidable that there are some
small and infrequent things that require knowledge of their background, but
those things aren’t vital to the story, and the reader won’t feel like they’ve
stumbled through the door in time to hear the punchline but not the joke.
One example is a crossover scene between the two books. At
the end of Shadow of the Wraith, Travis meets Theak, and near the beginning of
Temple of the Sixth, we have that same meeting. This time, though, it’s from
Theak’s point of view, and will allow the reader who has come from SOTW a
slightly different perspective on things. Seeing from Theak’s eyes how worn out
and "beat up" Travis looks certainly isn’t vital, but it pads out the reader’s
mental image of things.
At the same time, there are a few scenes that continue
Travis’ storyline. For example, the second time we meet Travis, we learn a
little more about the fate of his team and their ships. We also find out a tiny
morsel about him and Juni. But again, new readers will get the gist of it, and
likewise, readers of the next Travis novel won’t have to have read Temple of
the Sixth in order to understand things.
Rather than calling it "Book Two of the NEXUS Series," it is "A NEXUS Novel." I intend most of the series to be standalone in terms of main
story, rather than direct sequels. But of course, the series is called "NEXUS"
because of the themes of connectivity, so there will almost always be some kind
of connection between novels. However large or small!
How did you go about plotting Temple of the Sixth?
It started when Theak came aboard the ship in Shadow of the
Wraith. I decided then that he would be the protagonist of a book, wherever
that would come in the series.
When it then came to writing the book itself, I started with
an abandoned space station. I wanted to set the scene of something a little
more sinister, but I still didn’t know what that would be.
It wasn’t until I got to the Sixth’s first chapter that I
knew what the book was going to be about. From there, I decided that I wanted
to have it told from several perspectives. They would all be varying degrees of
normality. From Theak, a pretty normal man, but with some military training, to
Omar and Palitz, two secretaries who have never left their home town, let alone
their planet, and have no clue what’s going on or how to deal with it.
The main problem with the story was how to end it. How do mortals destroy an immortal force?
The answer always ended up the same: they can’t.
Much of Temple of the Sixth has to do with godlike beings
existing on a higher dimenstion than our earthly realm. What can you tell us
about them? Why did you choose to center your novel on these celestial beings?
The Hierarchy’s leadership were normal people once. They
were killed in a way that created such rage and hatred in them that they were
unable to properly cross over to the spirit world (whatever you want to call
it). They were caught between worlds, and left to seeth in rage. Eventually,
they bagan to harness that rage and hatred and use it to fuel their return to
the mortal world. Here, they attempted to take revenge for what happened to
them.
In response to this unforseen threat, something up there in
the higher realms created the Celestians: six immortal beings whose sole
purpose is to prevent the Hierarchy from destroying all life. Temple of the
Sixth sees the Hierarchy finally become more intelligent, taking the Celestians
by surprise. The six immortals are then forced to do something that isn’t in
their nature: put their faith in mortals.
The Hierarchy is particularly dangerous because they are
able to "infect" people. This works on two levels. Firstly, people are made to
see what they want to see, and experience what they want to experience. In this
way, the Hierarchy can sway that person to their side, without force. After
all, they want the entire universe to wipe itself out, so having people
willingly do so is a very enticing prospect.
Another form of this "infection" is more direct and
forceful. The Hierarchy’s power takes over a person’s mind and bends it to
their will. They become, more or less, zombies. In this way, the Hierarchy has
a massive army to sweep across galaxies, and if those armies are defeated, it’s
still a victory for them.
Above the Celestians and Hierarchy are the Ascentians –
basically, angels. Or my version/idea of them. They aren’t in the book a huge
amount, partly because I think writing such things requires more delicacy than
I possess!
As for why I chose such beings… I don’t know.
Why did you choose to make the novel about Theak, who had only a
supporting role in Temple of the Sixth’s prequel? What can you tell us
about his character—what inspired him, how you developed him, etc.?
I took quite a risk putting Theak into Shadow of the Wraith,
because he actually serves little purpose in that book, other than to set their
course straight. But looking at the bigger picture of the series – at least in
the short term – it made sense and had to be done. The whole idea is that it is
not coincidence that brought them
together.
Theak was on his own little mission when Travis came across
him, and that needed exploring. What was it he was doing? Why was he floating
in space in a damaged fighter? What was it that ensured their paths crossed? As
I said, I wanted to show right away that the series is much more open than the
reader might otherwise think, and isn’t only about Travis and his team.
Theak joined the Air Force with Travis, and so is a military
trained pilot. Like Travis, he found the military too rigid and left. He was
unemployed for three years before giving a go at private detecting. That went
horribly wrong, and he decided that line of work wasn’t for him.
To begin with, Theak is completely against any idea of
anything beyond what he can see, and dreads Travis’ speech, upon their first
meeting, about how there’s no such thing as coincidence. Of course, it isn’t
long before reality is thrown in his face, and he discovers that there’s a lot
more than just what he can see in his own little world. Though, even with all
the evidence in front of him, he’s still not entirely sure he believes it.
Theak is not a soldier, and he doesn’t pretend to be brave
and courageous. So when he’s recruited to rescue a kidnapped god from an army
of immortals, he’s understandably reluctant. He does agree though because on
the one hand, how likely is it to be true? And on the other, he thinks he
should do what he can to help, just in case.
What’s next for the NEXUS series? Will Theak or other characters from Temple
of the Sixth be returning?
Some surviving characters will return, I’m sure. After all,
there must be a reason they were kept alive! Others, perhaps not. Travis and
his team will of course return. I intend Theak to have a small but fairly vital
part in a dark turning point of Travis’ life. Just what place in the order of
the series that will take, I’m not sure. Not in the immediate future, anyway.
I can say that B4 will definitely return, perhaps as soon as
book three! In that same book, I haven’t quite decided whether to have a brief
appearance by a certain other character or not. Another thing I can say is that
the book will feature a protagonist readers almost certainly won’t be
expecting.
Next for the series is a break. I’ve rewritten, edited and
published two books of the series in short succession, with the creation of
novella in between, and it’s quite tiring. On the plus side, book three isn’t
actually written yet, unlike Temple of the Sixth, which was written before I
even started properly rewriting and editing Shadow of the Wraith! That means I
can finally get back to proper writing, instead of all this "maybe that
paragraph should go before that one" rubbish.
As mentioned, book three will not see Travis return as the
protagonist, as I wanted to explore someone else pretty closely connected to
him.
The theme of connections will become more and more prevalent
in the series, and although I intend to keep the humour, I also intend some
entries in the series to be quite a bit darker and more serious than these two.
That’s not to say they’ll become more adult, though.
For now, they’re entertaining adventure and allow the
characters to…play, almost. But, just like children growing up, the time for
play is ending. The galaxy is nearing a defining moment, and everything must
change to prepare for that. No one will come out unscathed. Some heroes may not
survive the journey, will turn on their friends, and will find their spirit
broken.
Until then, we’ll just let Travis, Juni, Theak and all the
others enjoy their blissful ignorance of the darkness to come.
