It's November 2023 and we are part way through the release of six Fractal series episodes,beginning with Europa released at the end of September. Here is the blurb:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/196786290-europa-the-fractal-series

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0CFM9W733

Then we have Ceres, episode two, released in October:

A strange anomalous object is discovered in a mine shaft. Hours later, an intruder has broken into Guiseppe Bas, murdered Doctor Mattias Stavinson, and stolen the find. Mine Team Supervisor Jakob Tremayne blasts off in pursuit. Can he stop the murderous thief before he escapes.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/194932768-ceres-the-fractal-series

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0CCPNJGWW

And now, Lagrange Point, released in November:

A freighter is delayed at a corporate space station between Earth and Mars. When cargo inspector, Jason Samarto, discovers illegal cargo onboard, he finds himself embroiled in a deadly game of corporate cat and mouse.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/194932570-lagrange-point-the-fractal-series

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0CCPQTMQY

These three books are part of six shorter ‘episodes’ in the ongoing story that began with Fearless (2020) and continues with Resilient (2022).These are Europa, Ceres, Lagrange Point, Terra, Luna and Jezero. All of thesecan be read as standalone books, but they all link into the story. The third novel, Vigilance is due out in 2024.

In addition to this, there is the Fractals Album – acollection of music that I composed as I was writing all the different stories. You can stream and purchase the tracks on a variety of different music providers, like Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple. 

https://allenstroud.hearnow.com/

The Fractal series was always something I imagined to be avast, sprawling intermeshing of narratives. When I began writing Fearless,in 2018, I had a tight plot for the book in mind, but I knew events would havewider implications for humanity in the 22nd century.

Since I was a child, I imagined human civilisation in a hundred years’time to have expanded from Earth, but as I’ve got older, my appreciation of thechallenges involved in that expansion has deepened. I have a much greaterunderstanding of the technological gaps we need to bridge and the ways in whichour nations have focused on the different elements of social progress needed toget us to the common science fiction utopias. We might enjoy seeing the worldof Star Trek, with its warp drive, cashless society, world government andreplicator technology, but the journey from here to there is a long one withmany necessary moments of change along the way.

Some of these moments are obvious to us today. Issues likeclimate change, late-stage capitalism and inequality are huge points ofdiscussion for 21st century humanity, but there are others as well.Many of our international laws and treaties are inadequate to cope withindividual ambition. Who owns the Moon? Who owns Mars? These are questions wewill need answers to, before we start inhabiting these places permanently.

First and foremost, the Fractal series is about tellingstories. But each story also poses a question about the nature of humanity.There are technologies that will stretch the ethical boundaries of our identityas human beings and need us to think about their ramifications. With theFractal episodes, the short format allows for greater focus on one specificissue at hand. That might be to consider cloning, artificial intelligence, orthe preservation of human consciousness as a commodity. Or, it might be lookingat the debt economy as projected into a colonial business, with corporationslooking to ensure their profit margins when they send people out into space.

Science fiction writers are telling these stories. Nearfuture space opera is a popular market, with lots of really good writing fromgreat authors. But certainly, when I started and now when I look at thisspecific area, I see a space for the Fractal series, and a need for it,particularly in the area of representation. 

I have always been concerned this particular aspect of mystorytelling. Humanity is vastly diverse and occasionally, science fictionmakes the mistake of solving some of today’s problems in a way thatunintentionally disenfranchises some of its fans. Because we will have newtechnology in the future, we ‘will’ have cured X or fixed Y. Maybe that will bethe case, but if we (as writers) assume this, we are telling some of ourreaders that there will be no people like them journeying to the stars.

Disability representation, age representation, culturalrepresentation, gender representation and sexuality representation are allmatters that concern me in my work. Some of these elements I find easier toapproach than others, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t approach them all.Writing is about challenging yourself as a writer, and I definitely want peopleto see diversity in my cast of characters. Writing such a large selection ofshort works allows for this. Every story provides an opportunity to expand thecast and add more perspectives.  Witheach story, the world that began with the Khidr receiving a distresscall from the freighter, Hercules. Gets bigger and bigger and bigger,but in some ways, it also stays small as the episodes focus on a short crisis,happening on one colony or in one specific place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vHgQFFJqOE

With the Fractals music, I also want to inspire. When I wasyoung, I would read and listen to music on big headphones or with largespeakers near my ears. Music was a conduit, a way to transport me into theworlds I imagined in the books that I read. With the right music, I could seethe spaceships and the vast emptiness they travelled through on theirincredible missions. When the book finished, I would shut my eyes and keep ondreaming.

Each music track has that imaginative process in mind.Whether you listen to my music and see Ellisa Shann and her crew or not, that’sup to you. If listening helps you write, create and think about what excitingfutures can be possible for us as a civilisation, then I have successfullyhanded on the torch, without losing my own desire to envisage that future aswell.

Please enjoy these books. Enjoy the music. Look up anddream.

https://www.flametreepublishing.com/allen-stroud-s-fractal-series.html

https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/fractal-series