One of the characteristics of a good Space Opera is opening the story with an explosion, a kidnapping, a death, a war, or some other instantly engaging scenario that catapults the reader/viewer front and center into the action, and encourages them to want to know what happens next.
Star Wars did this well by starting the movie right in the middle of a laser conflict with massive battleships. Doctor Who sometimes did this with a preview before the episode started.
TV shows that want to get people into the action know this works, but episodic shows usually follow the basic three step formula of introduction/conflict/resolution. Unless a viewer is a fan of the show, the opening of an episode doesn’t usually pull people in quickly enough to stop them from hitting the channel surfing button. So, starting with a preview from about twenty minutes in, or even just before the resolution, can hook someone in, and they’re more likely to continue watching.
I had hoped to avoid this idea by starting Temporal Incursion with a robot kidnapping Admiral Victoria Heartness.
I know. Robot kidnappings are an old trope, but I haven’t personally done one yet, so it’s new for me!
But, then I thought, if I start with Heartness being kidnapped, it’ll be like Hogart being kidnapped by the Florans in The Andromeda Effect. I don’t have a set formula for how each book should develop, but two books in a row where a main character is kidnapped at the beginning, might suggest I do. But, besides the other trope of a friend in danger, Heartness has been written into her semi-retirement position on board Space Station X-1a, and there’s no other reason to get her into the action. (Okay, she could get a flash band malfunction, ordered by Earth Council, gets drunk and takes the wrong flight, falls through a wormhole, etc) but I want to create a subtle underlying mistrust of all robots from here on out, to set things up for Book Four: The Robots of Atlantis, due out in 2020.
Eventually, I went back to the old idea of a prequel, prequel. Something that happened over 4 years ago (2129) that would affect the situation in Proxima Centauri B in 2133. So, rather than a disaster which started Book Two, this one starts with more of a mystery.
Book One is a straight out First Contact story with a twist.
Book Two is a high tech defeat the invaders story.
Book Three is a mystery horror story with a deadly alien.
Temporal Incursion Book Three is due out on the 5th March.
Here’s the new cover:
The image of Proxima Centauri B featured on the cover has been released by the European Southern Observatory under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ and originally comes from the video: ESOcast 87: Planet found around closest Star. Please visit: eso.org/public/announcements/ann16056/ to watch the complete video.
I’ll post more details as soon as it is released.
Cheers!