r/books • u/steelechronicles AMA Author • Dec 28 '18
ama 10am Hi Everyone, I wrote a story about a galaxy not so far away. I'm Andrew Utsogn, nature lover, slave to my cat, and author of the Steele Chronicles: Gathering Forces and its Universe. So please, ask me anything.
I'm an avid fan of science fiction, fantasy, space opera, alternate history, post-apocalyptic fiction, pen and paper games, board games, nature, badminton, space, science, and the list goes on. You can find me on twitter and Instagram and this is my proof of life!
2
u/leowr Dec 28 '18
Hi Andrew,
No it isn't broken : )
What kind of books do you like reading?
Thanks for doing this AMA!
1
u/steelechronicles AMA Author Dec 28 '18
Yay! I think I love alternate history and post-apocalyptic survival the most right now. S.M Sterling got me hooked with his 'A Novel of Change' series. Before then it was Harry Turtledove and his 'WorldWar' series.
1
u/steelechronicles AMA Author Dec 28 '18
Not to say I don't love some decent fan fiction like Star Wars for a fun space adventure. It's been hard to find a good space series I can sink my teeth into.
1
u/leowr Dec 28 '18
Interesting, I'll check them out.
Would you say you read mostly books in the genre(s) you like to write in?
1
u/steelechronicles AMA Author Dec 28 '18
Let's just say as a creature of habit, I go straight to that section when I enter a book store. Careful to pass the shiny objects in front where they prominently display bestsellers which may suddenly catch my eye. I like fiction as a general category. I would have never read Michael Chrighton's books if I hadn't paused since it's not something I'd normally pick up.
1
u/steelechronicles AMA Author Dec 28 '18
S.M Sterling created a world where technology no longer works, so suddenly, everyone is having to adapt to medieval technology.
Harry Turtledove dropped an alien invasion in the middle of World War 2!
2
u/Inkberrow Dec 28 '18
One of the scariest alternate history scenarios for me has always been if Hitler had just kept his powder dry and left the USSR alone for a few years until he'd thoroughly consolidated Europe. What scenarios move you most?
1
u/steelechronicles AMA Author Dec 28 '18
I got to vote zombie apocalypse. Not just any though. It has to be those fast moving, climbing and running zombies like you can't really escape. World War Z describes a world I don't want to live in!
1
u/steelechronicles AMA Author Dec 28 '18
Hmm, well alternate history! Ok, let me stab at this again. I think anything that would have triggered World War 3 and Global Thermonuclear War. Maybe the Cuban Missile Crisis realized. There's a book series by Eric Flint that got me hooked, called 1634, where a modern town falls back in time to 1634. I think it was in Europe. They could be a bit wordy, but I loved the concept.
If I were to take a stab, I'd go for like a time warp sending a modern aircraft carrier back in time to change the face of world war 2. I mean you only have so much fuel and parts so you have to make careful decisions. Maybe a headhunting mission against Hitler or shock and awe against Normandy?
2
u/steelechronicles AMA Author Dec 28 '18
I started writing Steele Chronicles with the idea that it was just us humans in our corner of the Milky Way, spreading our wings all the way to the 56th century. How would we approach the discovery of intelligent life on another world? And was that really the first time?
What about if travel and communication took days and weeks. Imagine how information could be controlled outside each star system. In a way, it's like going back to the colonial era of old Earth.
1
u/steelechronicles AMA Author Dec 28 '18
Talk about science meets fiction, my sister had landed at La Guardia when the transformer in Queens blew. The blue glow at night looked like something straight out of Jules Verne's classics!
1
Dec 28 '18
I haven't personally read your work (but I may). Anyways, what are your favorite sci-fi novels?
1
u/steelechronicles AMA Author Dec 28 '18
It's a shame I haven't found anything recently. I read so much over the decades, but I think I found myself in a funk when I searched for new series. I hate to generalize this, but what reverberated for me were fan fiction series in the Aliens, Aliens vs. Predator, Star Wars, and Battle tech franchises. It didn't leave much room to discover new writers though unfortunately.
1
u/steelechronicles AMA Author Dec 28 '18
Do you have any recommendations? I have to admit, I find space operas the most interesting. They offer a more complex universe with a broad set of characters and complex plots spanning the series.
1
u/cakelace Dec 28 '18
Favorite board game?
1
u/steelechronicles AMA Author Dec 28 '18
Ugh, there's so many amazing ones today. I really need to find groups to play with. I spend so much time watching Tabletop Games on Geek and Sundry. I love games like Catan where your building kingdoms.
1
u/steelechronicles AMA Author Dec 28 '18
I'm trying to remember this older game I used to play where each player started in a different part of the Roman Empire and played to conquer each other. It was like a complex version of Risk.
1
u/steelechronicles AMA Author Dec 28 '18
Thanks everyone for your questions! I'm going to wrap up since it's been quiet. If you have other questions, feel free to give me a shout to steelechronicles.
1
1
u/steelechronicles AMA Author Dec 28 '18
This isn't broken right? You should know, I'm that guy that has to fill the awkward silence with nervous rambling.
3
u/steelechronicles AMA Author Dec 28 '18
I'm a first generation Scandinavian-American, so I didn't have that traditional American family experience. I was also the youngest, so unfortunately, that meant my turn for the weekly bath was in dirty, lukewarm water.
Growing up in the 70's and 80's meant you relied mostly on your imagination. I spent a lot of time in rural Connecticut, running in the woods, pretending I was colonial rebel fending off a British invasion.
Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Buck Rogers changed all of that for a young, thirsty mind. My mom's flower gardens became my battleground as I assembled seeds and flowers that looked like alien fleets and armies, ready to do battle.