[/quote]Peter Cawdron discusses his latest novel, ‘The Tempest’
My novel The Tempest was written in homage to Shakespeare’s play and the 1950s classic Forbidden Planet, which was also loosely based on Shakespeare.
Forbidden Planet was the first big-budget, science fiction film in Hollywood and was recorded in color at a time when most movies were being recorded in black and white. Although the acting, special effects and dialogue are stilted by today’s standards, it still stands out as a classic. Its influence on the genre has been profound.
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The use of matte paintings to give the sound stage a sense of immeasurable size and depth set the tone for franchises like Star Wars and the interior of the Death Star. As there was no actual drop off the side of the stage, there was no need for railing and this too has permeated Star Wars and other science fiction movies even though it would be insanely dangerous and impractical in real life.
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Although shows like The Expanse have avoided saucer-style spacecraft, they too still follow the pattern of making their spacecraft sleek and streamlined when in space there’s no need for any such constraint. Perhaps the biggest impact of the saucer from Forbidden Planet is seen in the most iconic spacecraft of all time, the USS Enterprise. When considering various designs, Gene Roddenberry wanted to get away from the saucer but eventually, even he admitted it had a futuristic look and allowed it to be incorporated into the design (with the addition of a central body and nacelles).
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The original design for the Enterprise isn’t quite right, is it?
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Even movies and shows that had nothing to do with space still pay homage to the Forbidden Planet. In the Breaking Bad episode Crawl Space, the sound of the monster’s footsteps in Forbidden Planet is used in the closing scene. In the 1970s classic horror/thriller The Thing, the movie Forbidden Planet is playing in the background on a television within the Antarctic base. Forbidden Planet has had a lasting impact on science fiction.
So if you love compelling science fiction and you’re a fan of the classics, be sure to check out my novel The Tempest and keep an eye out for the various homages woven into the story, referencing both Shakespeare’s play and Forbidden Planet.
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Here’s the synopsis of The Tempest.
Marc and Emma are on the graveyard shift onboard the Sycorax, an interstellar spacecraft bound for New Haven, a colony world fifty light years from Earth. Eighteen thousand colonists lie in suspended animation, awaiting a new life around another star. For the crew of the Sycorax, interstellar flight is boring—that is until they run into a tempest. Before long, they find themselves on a crippled spacecraft falling in toward a black hole, but that’s the least of their problems...
The Tempest is a tribute to Shakespeare’s final play The Tempest and explores similar themes while weaving some of his dialogue into the narrative. It includes references to the 1950s classic sci-fi film Forbidden Planet and Michael Crichton’s Sphere, both of which were influenced by Shakespeare’s work.
FIRST CONTACT is a series of stand-alone novels that explore humanity’s first interaction with extraterrestrial life. This series is similar to BLACK MIRROR or THE TWILIGHT ZONE in that the series is based on a common theme rather than common characters. This allows these books to be read in any order. Technically, they’re all first as they all deal with how we might initially respond to contact with aliens, exploring the social, political, religious, and scientific aspects of First Contact.