Saturday, April 29, 2017

"Forgotten Worlds"

D. Nolan Clark is the pseudonym bestselling horror writer David Wellington uses for his science fiction books.

He applied the Page 69 Test to his new novel Forgotten Worlds, the sequel to Forsaken Skies, and reported the following:
Every time I bring out a new book, I am lucky enough to get to write one of these. I’m given a choice of what to write about, but I always pick the Page 69 Test, because I think it’s a great idea and a fun, original way to get to talk about my books.

Sorry, did I say I was lucky enough to do this? Let’s try that again. The Page 69 is a curse. It’s a horrible curse that has been following me and my books around for years.

Here’s the thing. I write exciting books. Forgotten Worlds is full of action, and suspense, and meaningful character moments. It’s a space opera in the grand tradition, with spaceships locked in deadly combat, with weird aliens, with steely-eyed space commanders making hard decisions about the future of humanity. And on page 69, it features several characters—some new, one an old friend (the wounded hero Tannis Valk) having a little chat.

They’ve just been kidnapped at gunpoint and forced into a detention cell. They’re trying to work out where they are, and why they’re there. What they don’t know is that they’re about to be forced into a secret mission of incredible import. They don’t know they’re about to begin an adventure of incredible danger and wondrous discovery. No. On Page 69 they’re just scared, and alone, and wondering what’s going to happen.

This happens every time. It happened for the first book of this series, Forsaken Skies. It happened for many of my previous novels. For whatever reason, when I write a book, I make sure that page 69 features people sitting in a room, talking. I don’t set out to make it so. I really don’t. If it was the page 369 test, or the page 41 test, things would be different. Page 41 is a real corker, actually. And as for what happens on page 369… well, that’s a whole other blog entry, isn’t it?

I hope you’ll give Forgotten Worlds a shot. I think you’ll enjoy almost every page. If you want to skip page 69, though, well, you won’t miss much.
Learn more about the book and author at David Wellington's website.

The Page 69 Test: Forsaken Skies.

--Marshal Zeringue