ℚ The Last War: The Noukari Trilogy [1] - Alex Davis

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Alex Davis to talk about The Last War  (1 June 2015, Tickety Boo Press Ltd, 205 pages) a Sci-Fi Space Opera and book one of The Noukari Trilogy.

Author Q&A | Synopsis | Teaser | About the Author | Tour Stops

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Hello Alex, and welcome to BooksChatter.

What was the inspiration for The Last War?

"The Last War itself was initially written as part of a shared universe project, which unfortunately folded after I had written this book.  The concept was to build up an alien species from the ground, with The Last War literally being the origin story.  It's a story of the very earliest days of the Noukari, and with two books to come in the trilogy there's plenty more to come as the timeline moves forward."

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"The book is very much about a subject that has always been of great interest to me – religion, or more particularly the role of religion.  I'm not really a religious kind of person, but the book is very much about the influence religion can have and just how much it can give shape to societies."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover.  Can you tell us about your cover for The Last War - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"The cover was done by Gary Compton, who as well as running Tickety Boo Press is a really talented designer.

The cover depicts 'The Seeding' – the Noukari themselves being planted on Noukaria by their creators.  The watchful eye over them plays into the story as well, and will do so even more as the trilogy wears on."

Why should we read The Last War and what sets it apart from the rest? What makes your book unique?

"I've really tried to write the kind of science-fiction I like to read, which is more low-tech and uses the SF setting to tell character-driven and emotional stories.

The story is about an alien species, who are quite human in many respects, apart from their gift of telepathy. If you're someone who's turned cold by SF because of all the tech and science that can be involved, this book could well be ideal for you.

Also it's an origin story, which you don't always see a lot of – these are truly the stages of the species' existence that will be future myth and legend, so I've tried to capture something really epic with it. My published described it as 'biblical', which pleased me immensely because it was obvious he had really grasped what the book was. "

Can you tell us something quirky about The Last War, its story and characters?

"As the story was originally part of a shared world, I had to go back over and make a host of changes to names when sending the book out as a stand-alone. So I certainly had some fun adding more of my own ideas and flavour to it at that stage!"

Who would you recommend The Last War to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"Like I say, I think it's SF that will appeal to the usual SF audience and hopefully also be of interest to readers more widely. It's effectively a human story, about characters trying to build a society and a structure for life as they believe it should be. Obviously not everyone agrees on this, and the initial tension this develops grows from there.

If you like more 'human', low-fi science-fiction then this might just be your bag."

If you could / wished to turn The Last War and The Noukari Trilogy series into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"Interesting, I've never thought about it until you asked!  I'd love somebody like Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium) to direct – he seems to capture that human element really well alongside delivering great action scenes, which would be important as you get deeper into the story.

Actors-wise I really wouldn't know – there are a lot of actors I really like, particularly in European cinema. Somebody like Mads Mikkelsen or Vincent Cassel would be amazing. Katherine Isabelle is an actress I really like – she'd be ideal for Asha."

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"I love writing SF, but I'm also every bit as keen on horror and have written a fair bit of that in the past.  I've got some future projects that might focus a bit more on that aspect of things.  I do read a lot of SF, with particular favourite authors being JG Ballard, Ray Bradbury, Eric Brown (Kethani is an underappreciated modern classic, in my opinion), DG Compton, Kate Wiilhelm. They all brilliantly use the SF background to build story that are very relatable and emotional."

What is your writing process?

"I'm pretty strict on my writing process – 1000 words at least a day, come rain or shine!  Some days it comes easy, other days it doesn't, but it gives me a target, keeps me motivated and keeps me moving forward on any given project."

What is in store next?

"The Last War is the first in a trilogy, with The Last Days and The Last Star yet to come.  It's hard to say too much about the second book without spoiling the first, but while The Last War is very much about conflict within the second and third books will see a new enemy emerge from the wider universe. "

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you (this could be absolutely anything!)? Could you please provide us with a picture of you with them / it?

"I'm not usually much one for photos, but this is me and my daughter playing with the camera on my laptop! She's three years old now – four in October – and I balance all my work and writing with childcare.  What's been great about freelancing and working for myself is that it's given us a lot of time to build a close relationship that I wouldn't have had in a 9-5 job." 

That is a lovely picture!  Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
I did notice about the lack of pictures of you... I did have to scour the "interweb" to find the two I used!
Thank you so much for joining us.   Have a great tour!

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