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SOMEONE'S TRYING TO START A WAR
The once-friendly Republic of Villacqua and Kingdom of Wilbourne are stumbling toward war. But why?
The Association of Planets' intelligence agency is concerned. The Agency is a myth, of course. The government denies it exists. Everyone knows it's not real.
The Agency sends their top operative, Bert Mangum, to head off the war. His mission: Find out who's causing it and stop them. Permanently.
Mangum and his alien sidekick Sam ally with Gloria Dent, of Gaston's Bureau of Intelligence and Espionage, to find and stop the war instigator.
But can even they succeed against their wily adversary?
.
INTERVIEW WITH RICH WEYAND
"Eve of War" starts a new series?
Yes, the Agency series. Espionage thrillers, in an SF context.
That's a new genre for you, as well.
Yes. I like to have a change of pace. The Childers series was straight Military SF. The EMPIRE series was Galactic Empire SF. The COLONY series was Colonization SF. And the PANTHEON series was Hard Fantasy. So I was looking for something different to write.
Is Espionage SF even a subgenre?
There aren't many, but there are some. Keith Laumer's Retief series comes to mind. And Poul Anderson's Dominic Flandry series. But in writing "Eve of War" I took a different tack. I kept more in mind the non-SF espionage books. Not the Le Carré sort of thing as much as James Bond, Matt Helm, and even Derek Flint.
So this is James Bond in Space?
More or less. Handsome, dangerous men. Beautiful, dangerous women. Twisted, dangerous villains. Lots of sex. Guns, and assassination attempts, and treason. High stakes. All the elements of that genre, but in a science fiction milieu.
And "Eve of War" has your first sentient alien?
Yes. Sam, Bert's sidekick. I haven't attempted aliens before. Part of my problem with aliens in science fiction is that they seldom satisfy my intellectual appreciation for just how alien an alien is likely to be. I want more than to put pointy ears on Leonard Nimoy or a rubber face mask on Michael Dorn. And even the aliens who aren't physically humaniform are emotionally or motivationally humaniform. I mean, if you're going to write about someone with human emotions and motivations, why not just make them human?
This book has a dedication as well. That's new for you, isn't it?
Yes. Sam Valenti was a friend of fifty years, and he died suddenly last year of a heart attack. Sam had a subscription to Analog for sixty years and read every issue cover to cover. There are few people I know who are so deeply knowledgeable about science fiction as he was. He was one of my alpha readers through most of my books, especially EMPIRE. They were much better because of him.
What's the cover about?
That's Bert Mangum, our hero, front and center. The woman is Gloria Dent, an operative of another intelligence agency, who teams up with Mangum on this assignment. And the golden doodle dog is Sam, the shape-shifting alien. The cover is another outstanding work by Luca Oleastri and Paola Giari of Rotwang Studio in Italy.
What's next for your writing?
Most likely another Agency thriller with Bert Mangum. There is a difference here from my other series, though. Childers, EMPIRE, COLONY, and PANTHEON are all serializations. That is, the story continues across a span of books, which should be read in order. The Agency series is episodic, like the James Bond books or a TV series. You can read them in any order, as they are each complete stories in themselves.
Given that, though, I can come back to Bert Mangum anytime. So I might do something else next. I don't know. I never do.
Genre: Thriller
The once-friendly Republic of Villacqua and Kingdom of Wilbourne are stumbling toward war. But why?
The Association of Planets' intelligence agency is concerned. The Agency is a myth, of course. The government denies it exists. Everyone knows it's not real.
The Agency sends their top operative, Bert Mangum, to head off the war. His mission: Find out who's causing it and stop them. Permanently.
Mangum and his alien sidekick Sam ally with Gloria Dent, of Gaston's Bureau of Intelligence and Espionage, to find and stop the war instigator.
But can even they succeed against their wily adversary?
.
INTERVIEW WITH RICH WEYAND
"Eve of War" starts a new series?
Yes, the Agency series. Espionage thrillers, in an SF context.
That's a new genre for you, as well.
Yes. I like to have a change of pace. The Childers series was straight Military SF. The EMPIRE series was Galactic Empire SF. The COLONY series was Colonization SF. And the PANTHEON series was Hard Fantasy. So I was looking for something different to write.
Is Espionage SF even a subgenre?
There aren't many, but there are some. Keith Laumer's Retief series comes to mind. And Poul Anderson's Dominic Flandry series. But in writing "Eve of War" I took a different tack. I kept more in mind the non-SF espionage books. Not the Le Carré sort of thing as much as James Bond, Matt Helm, and even Derek Flint.
So this is James Bond in Space?
More or less. Handsome, dangerous men. Beautiful, dangerous women. Twisted, dangerous villains. Lots of sex. Guns, and assassination attempts, and treason. High stakes. All the elements of that genre, but in a science fiction milieu.
And "Eve of War" has your first sentient alien?
Yes. Sam, Bert's sidekick. I haven't attempted aliens before. Part of my problem with aliens in science fiction is that they seldom satisfy my intellectual appreciation for just how alien an alien is likely to be. I want more than to put pointy ears on Leonard Nimoy or a rubber face mask on Michael Dorn. And even the aliens who aren't physically humaniform are emotionally or motivationally humaniform. I mean, if you're going to write about someone with human emotions and motivations, why not just make them human?
This book has a dedication as well. That's new for you, isn't it?
Yes. Sam Valenti was a friend of fifty years, and he died suddenly last year of a heart attack. Sam had a subscription to Analog for sixty years and read every issue cover to cover. There are few people I know who are so deeply knowledgeable about science fiction as he was. He was one of my alpha readers through most of my books, especially EMPIRE. They were much better because of him.
What's the cover about?
That's Bert Mangum, our hero, front and center. The woman is Gloria Dent, an operative of another intelligence agency, who teams up with Mangum on this assignment. And the golden doodle dog is Sam, the shape-shifting alien. The cover is another outstanding work by Luca Oleastri and Paola Giari of Rotwang Studio in Italy.
What's next for your writing?
Most likely another Agency thriller with Bert Mangum. There is a difference here from my other series, though. Childers, EMPIRE, COLONY, and PANTHEON are all serializations. That is, the story continues across a span of books, which should be read in order. The Agency series is episodic, like the James Bond books or a TV series. You can read them in any order, as they are each complete stories in themselves.
Given that, though, I can come back to Bert Mangum anytime. So I might do something else next. I don't know. I never do.
Genre: Thriller
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