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Author’s name: David G.
Johnson
Title of book and/or
series: Star Wolf (Shattered Galaxy Series)
Brief summary of the story:
Molon Hawkins, a daring, free merc
captain, earns his living navigating the dangerous borders between factions in
the civil war that shattered humanity’s vast star empire. For the former scout
captain and his veteran command crew aboard Star Wolf, most contracts are milk
runs. Most…
When a routine rescue mission goes awry, Molon finds his rescuee, Dr. John Salzmann, inextricably tied into a web of intrigue that threatens to upset the balance of power in the galaxy. Can Molon and John follow the threads and discover the forces behind the plot? If so, what can a lone ship do to stop it?
When a routine rescue mission goes awry, Molon finds his rescuee, Dr. John Salzmann, inextricably tied into a web of intrigue that threatens to upset the balance of power in the galaxy. Can Molon and John follow the threads and discover the forces behind the plot? If so, what can a lone ship do to stop it?
Star Wolf is the debut novel in the exciting new
Shattered Galaxy setting by David G. Johnson, bestselling author of the
award-winning Chadash Chronicles series.
Brief description of the
world or location you created for this story:
This is set several centuries in
our future. Mankind has discovered another dimension known as “voidspace”, a
malleable dimension where locations can be manipulated and “folded” together
allowing people to enter voidspace, fold together the current location with a
far distant one, and then exit at the other point, effectively traveling great
distances in real space in a very short time. This basically allowed FTL travel
and the expansion of a vast human star empire. Unfortunately, we quickly
discovered we were not alone…
If we were to visit the
Shattered Galaxy as tourists, what would you recommend that we see or
do there?
There are so many different worlds and systems within the setting of
the Shattered Galaxy, but in this story the main “location” in the story is on
board the ship known as Star Wolf. There isn’t a lot of recreational activities
aboard this mercenary star frigate, but lots of great characters to meet and
interact with. It is the breadth and depth of characters aboard Star Wolf, all
of whom are like a large, somewhat dysfunctional family, that makes it a unique
place in the galaxy.
What dangers should we
avoid in the Shattered Galaxy?
There are of course the universally hostile
aliens (or the politically correct term “non-human sophonts”), the Prophane,
which should be avoided at all costs. Even the member of Star Wolf’s crew who
is a Prophane Pariah (outcast from her people) is someone you might want to
tread lightly around. Her call sign is Voide and she is Star Wolf’s security
chief, but the volatile nature of her people runs in her veins. Beyond that,
pirates, money-grubbing corporations, the infamous GalSec (Galactic Security), and
anyone not of the same faction as you in the galactic civil war are pretty much
dangers to steer clear of if you want to survive.
Is there a distinct or
unusual type of food or meal that we might be served aboard Star Wolf?
There is
a wide variety of fare available catering to many different non-human sophont
races aboard ship, but rumor is the best brandy on the ship is the captain’s
private stash…
What types of weaponry or
fighting styles are common in the Shattered Galaxy?
Technology levels vary
greatly from world to world and system to system. Low tech worlds might still
be dealing with swords and bows or early gunpowder firearms while core worlds
might have neural weapons, lasers, flechette rounds, or sometimes even more
experimental weapons. A mercenary captain has to be prepared to face and
function in a wide variety of situations where planetary laws might greatly
restrict what weapons can be carried.
What types of vehicles,
animals, technology, etc. are used to travel in or to other worlds?
Voidspace
capable ships are the only way to travel between systems without spending
decades or centuries to get from place to place. Once in a system, however, or
on planets, again technology level of that local system will determine whether
local transport is horse and buggy, ground vehicles and airplanes, or
hovercraft and anti-gravity vehicles. Intersystem travel is relatively
affordable and safe if you book a low berth, which basically means you are a
passenger-popsicle for the duration of the flight. More expensive high berths
accommodate more wealthy travelers who stay awake for the journey and enjoy
luxury amenities on board transports. Of course most of our heroes are based on
Star Wolf, so they get to travel awake, and all it costs them is a mercenary
contract and signing up to risk their lives to carry out the mission decided on
by Captain Molon Hawkins.
What types of plants,
animals, or sentient races might we encounter in Shattered Galaxy that we
don’t see on Earth?
I already mentioned above the Prophane, gray-skinned,
yellow-eyed, and a mind set only to kill and destroy all non-Prophane. Beyond
that, Captain Hawkins is a Lubanian (loo-BAN-yun), a wolf-anthro humanoid race.
We also meet the comms officer, Mel. She is a Fei, a light-blue-skinned race
with psionic/empathic abilities. There are also the Angelicum (Angels) and
Daemi (Demons) who actually are offshoots of the same parent race. Beyond those
are many minor races, Doppelgängers (shape shifters) Dractauri (large reptilian
centaurs), and thousands of minor races who have not achieved a technology
level to permit voidspace travel. Needless to say if you travel around much in
the Shattered Galaxy, you will find no shortage of new races and people to meet
and get to know.
What role, if any, does
magic or the supernatural play in the lives of people in Shattered Galaxy?
If there is magic, please give some examples of what it involves or how
it’s used.
While there is not “magic” per se, certain levels of technology can be almost
magical in its ability to do things far beyond mundane capabilities. Beyond
that, there are rare individuals (and the Fei race) who have psionic abilities,
mental powers that can range from telepathy to telekinesis to mind-control to even
more strange and powerful manifestations. I’d say the broad spectrum of psionic
abilities are the closest thing to “magic” in Shattered Galaxy.
Is there any advanced or
unusual technology in Shattered Galaxy? If you haven’t described it
already, please give some examples.
Many have already been touched on, but many
of the technological advancements have been driven by the civil war, so they
revolve around weaponry, defenses, and medical technology. One interesting offshoot
is the development of CIDs/NIDs (Cerebral Interface Device/Neural Interface
Device). These are datajacks that tap into a human brain and/or nervous system
and allow humans to control or interface directly with machines. While we see
some instances of how CIDs/NIDs are used in Star Wolf, future books in this
setting are going to explore these aspects of technology much deeper.
Are the days of the week
and months of the year the same in Shattered Galaxy as
on Earth?
Actually with Earth being the origin of humanity, and time
being so variable and relative, Earth’s standard time of
days/weeks/months/years are used as a calibration or plumb line for time aboard
Star Wolf and other ships/systems. While individual planets obviously will have
day/week/month/year cycles dependent on their planetary and orbital
characteristics, all human colonies and ships also keep a conversion algorithm
in place and for all interstellar messages, etc, the Earth-standard time and
date stamp is used. Interestingly the variable gravity for all the different
worlds are measured in Gs. One G is standard Earth gravity, and all other
calculations are either percentages or multiples of that standard.
Is there a particular religion
practiced in Shattered Galaxy? Please describe what it involves.
The
remnant of Christians are called the Faithful in Shattered Galaxy, but they are
largely persecuted and hunted by various anti-religion factions, particular
Dawnstar Technocracy. One of the heirs to the pre-Shattering Emperor Halberan,
Enoch Halberan, actually took vows and became a minister in the Faithful
religion. He has set up his region of space, the Theocracy of the Faithful, as
a safe-haven for Faithful refugees from other factions. Non-Faithful are not discriminated
against or hunted in the Theocracy, but Faithful from everywhere are welcome to
seek refuge under the protection of Enoch Halberan and the Theocracy.
What is the political or
government structure in Shattered Galaxy? Who is in charge there at the
moment, and what kind of leader is he/she?
There are five main human factions,
four led by the Halberan children and heirs, and the fifth is the remnant of
the old Empire under marshal law and controlled by High Archon Zarsus. The
other human factions are the New Halberan Empire under Seth Halberan, The
Rimward Demesne under Phoebe Halberan (allied with Seth), the Dawnstar
Technocracy under Tubal Halberan (allied and a puppet to High Archon Zarsus and
the Provisional Imperium), and The Theocracy of the Faithful led by Enoch
Halberan.
Has anything in
your actual life inspired the locations, cultures, etc. in your book?
Yes, a love of Sci-Fi and living for the last six years in a country where religious
freedom is controlled and often persecuted. That contributed a lot to the situation
I have set up with the Theocracy of the Faithful in Shattered Galaxy.
What, if any, “hot-button”
or controversial topics do you touch on in your book?
Well for Christians there
is the question of “do aliens exist”. I speculate here that they might, and
what that might look like within the context of Biblical truth. The Bible does
not explicitly preclude the possibility, and while Shattered Galaxy is a work
of fiction, I endeavored to keep my speculations to areas that are at least
“gray areas” or open to interpretation within Scripture. It is merely a “what
if”.
Author Autobiography:
I
have a Bachelor’s in Asian Studies and a Masters of Divinity in Biblical
Languages. I have been a lifelong fan of Science Fiction and Fantasy and have
endeavored to write my novels from a biblical worldview and contain my
“speculation” to the gray areas not explicitly contramanded by Scripture.
Where, and in what formats,
can we purchase your book(s)? Please include links.
Book on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/
Where can readers connect with
you online?
I hope you all enjoyed the trip to the Shattered Galaxy. Questions about the world or the book? Ask them in the comments and the author will get back to you!
Click here to read other posts in the Realm Explorers series.
Please join us again next Monday for a trip to another world in next week's edition of Realm Explorers!
Click here to read other posts in the Realm Explorers series.
Please join us again next Monday for a trip to another world in next week's edition of Realm Explorers!
-Annie Douglass Lima
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