Eric Klein Author

Interview with E.M.Swift-Hook

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Welcome to the weekly Feature Friday Futures, were I will interview a new science fiction author each week about their world and the technology in it.

 

 

First up is E.M. Swift-Hook and we will be discussing her Fortune’s Fools Books. The latest book is Haruspex Trilogy 1: Trust a Few with Haruspex Trilogy 2: Edge of Doom due out in early August.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now let’s get right into the interview.

What was the most surprising thing you found out while researching/writing your latest book?

I have really enjoyed doing research into a number of areas of science for Fortune’s Fools as a whole. Especially I have been fascinated by the physics involved in the various technologies my characters have available to them. Mostly I don’t go into any of that in the narrative. My characters take it for granted and so don’t spend time discussing it. But it is there in my worldbuilding.

So maybe what most surprises me is the genuine future possibilities that presently theoretical notions in physics hold.

Why did you choose this setting?

I chose a space opera background for my books because I like the open-ended possibilities that offers. As well as a story about the characters and their experiences, it allows me to express some awesome concepts which, whilst genuinely science fiction today, are not beyond the realms of possibility for humanity in the future. There are elements in my stories which – like Star Wars – brush into the science fantasy realm rather than the hard science, but I like to feel that my world is built on a foundation of scientific equations – with handwavium yes, but only with it as only one element in those equations.

What’s unique about your world?

I don’t think it has any single ‘unique factor’ I could point to. There is no one overarching concept or technology which is unique to Fortune’s Fools. That said, I do think it has a unique combination of the many elements that are found in science fiction. But probably the most ‘unique’ factor is found in the characters rather than the setting. They seem to impact every reader very strongly in one direction or another.

I have had one person complain about what I was doing to ‘her people’ in the stories and another refer to them as ‘a parade of jerks’. They seem to be very polarizing in their impact and whether someone enjoys my books or not seems to rest on which side of that line they stand.

How real do you think the science is in your book?

It is as real as any far future extrapolation of science can be. My setting assumes a different track of development from today’s as it is set in a situation in which technology retreated and then redeveloped.

I mention in passing that sub-light space travel uses a resonant cavity drive and FTL – based on gravitational geometry – is, to quote how one of my characters sees it: ‘not so much on moving faster than anything and more on moving at a tangent through it.’ [Interviewer’s note: These are both being investigated by NASA and other agencies already.]

My kaon local gravity generators are based on the idea that as kaons lack time symmetry, it might one day be possible to manipulate that to create a gravitational effect and my spaceports are all fitted with ‘gravity shields’ for launching purposes, based on the ideas that Dr. Ning Li proposed and assuming Bose–Einstein condensate could be achieved at non-supercooled temperatures. I’m currently investigating what is known about dark matter and white holes for use in future books.

What did you include that you wish was real today?

Undoubtedly space travel – although the medical sciences would probably be my first choice, both the curative and restorative elements. In particular, I like the idea of extending healthy life to centuries in duration. I personally believe that the methods I have envisaged leading to this happening are not that far beyond our present level of understanding and it may even be within our own lifetimes that such an extension to human lifespan becomes the norm.

Thank you E.M. Swift-Hook for taking the time to chat with me and enlightening the readers about your books and the science behind them.

You can find out more about Fortune’s Fool and E.M. Swift-Hook at:

 

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