Ask the Author: Seth A. Cohen
Answered Questions (2)
Seth A. Cohen
Hi, Larry, Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the book. I’ve not reached out to the SAAB community as I don’t feel I know them well enough yet. Do you have any contacts? Getting books into the SAAB museum and on their website is a wonderful idea; I’ll try to figure it out. Which five SAABs?
Seth A. Cohen
Hi Ann-Marie,
Thank you for asking a great question. The book is not meant to be a parody. I intended it to be entertaining on multiple levels with a story a reader will enjoy. Some scenes were written to be funny, but within the context of the characters and the plot. There are also a few Easter eggs for readers into sci-fi movies and TV shows; I did not intend for them to distract from the story or to satire the characters, I just thought they would be fun.
Within the book’s world, members of the Ragnorache navy wear chainmail armor, or a synthetic equivalent, because the uniforms’ designers wanted to express both the Ragnorache success as warriors and their heritage. The royal family and the military leadership would have directed the uniforms’ designers to do so in order to create national symbolism, foster comradeship, and generate morale in the ranks. That Captain Smith, smart, clear-eyed, and focused on results, would complain about the costume-like aspects of the uniform fits with his character; it also allowed me to introduce a contemporary, understandable worldview to the Ragnorache as people. As you read more about the Ragnorache in the book, the design of their uniforms should be in keeping with the rest of their society.
Finally, I always thought about the uniform choices of the various peoples encountered in sci-fi TV shows and movies. The costume departments dressed the characters to create a specific look and feel to help tell the story. Would the characters, or their societies, really choose to dress in that fashion? As the author, I dress the characters (only a few, most of the time I leave it to the readers’ imaginations), but I want those choices to make sense. As I based the Ragnorache on the Vikings, providing them with a religion based on Norse mythology, I saw them as medieval warriors. However, I could not commit them to that style unless it fit within the context of the Ragnorache world as described above.
I hope I answered your question.
Regards,
Seth Cohen
Thank you for asking a great question. The book is not meant to be a parody. I intended it to be entertaining on multiple levels with a story a reader will enjoy. Some scenes were written to be funny, but within the context of the characters and the plot. There are also a few Easter eggs for readers into sci-fi movies and TV shows; I did not intend for them to distract from the story or to satire the characters, I just thought they would be fun.
Within the book’s world, members of the Ragnorache navy wear chainmail armor, or a synthetic equivalent, because the uniforms’ designers wanted to express both the Ragnorache success as warriors and their heritage. The royal family and the military leadership would have directed the uniforms’ designers to do so in order to create national symbolism, foster comradeship, and generate morale in the ranks. That Captain Smith, smart, clear-eyed, and focused on results, would complain about the costume-like aspects of the uniform fits with his character; it also allowed me to introduce a contemporary, understandable worldview to the Ragnorache as people. As you read more about the Ragnorache in the book, the design of their uniforms should be in keeping with the rest of their society.
Finally, I always thought about the uniform choices of the various peoples encountered in sci-fi TV shows and movies. The costume departments dressed the characters to create a specific look and feel to help tell the story. Would the characters, or their societies, really choose to dress in that fashion? As the author, I dress the characters (only a few, most of the time I leave it to the readers’ imaginations), but I want those choices to make sense. As I based the Ragnorache on the Vikings, providing them with a religion based on Norse mythology, I saw them as medieval warriors. However, I could not commit them to that style unless it fit within the context of the Ragnorache world as described above.
I hope I answered your question.
Regards,
Seth Cohen
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