Return

by Richard F. Weyand

"Would you consider a return to Fortuna?"When the president of the United States asks you a question like that, you have to at least consider it.Michael, Sue, Matthew, & Denise Talbot head back to Fortuna, but this time they take two hundred colonists with them. Their Create a self-sustaining, multi-species society on the planet.It's a long slog, though. They begin with simply trying to create the equivalent of Tudor England.But the first question they have to answer is, Who do you take with you, and why?.INTERVIEW WITH RICH WEYANDThe Talbot story continues?Yes. Everybody knew that there would have to be another trip to Fortuna. The point of exploration was colonization, after all. So the Talbots - Mike, Sue, Matthew, and Denise - go back to Fortuna, and they take the beginnings of a colony with them. The first two hundred people.What are the hurdles?The first one is technology. I've never been very happy with colonization as described in most fiction. It doesn't seem to track very well with actual historical colonization events. Everybody goes there, and Voila! Civilization. Look at something like Plymouth Colony. You have a hundred people show up on this small ship, and they get to build a life pretty much from scratch. It was pretty tenuous there for a while, and a lot of people didn't make it.How would a space colony get started? You have a lot of the same issues the Mayflower people had. You have long crossings, with a minimal number of things you can take with you. What do you take? How do you get started? What are the problems?The first hurdle is technology. What's the next hurdle?There is another species already there. Not indigenous, they're colonists, too, or the descendants of colonists. How is that going to work? The colony leaders and their backers on Earth are adamant that they will not repeat the mistakes of past colonizations. Second-class status, slavery, and genocide. They are not going there. Not everybody gets the message. One big conflict in the book is over that very issue.How did this book write?A little slowly. Forty-four writing days for 80k words. About 1820 words a day. As you go deeper into a series as an author, your writing normally speeds up. You have your main characters, your world-building, all in place. This book, though, took a lot of research. What would you take? How do you do some basic things, like make Portland cement, or steel, or even charcoal? How do you raise a barn? This stuff doesn't all just appear. You have to build it, and I had to learn how to do that, at least well enough to portray the effort in the book.Your books are mostly people stories. Is this one, or is it all technology work?No, it's a people story, first and foremost. When the president asks the Talbots to go, will they? What are the considerations there? What about the kids? Sue Talbot's growth into the role of governor of the colony is a big topic. The kids' role in the colony, and how they fare, is a big part of it. The political and financial considerations back on Earth. All the people issues are there, front and center.What's the cover about? What's with the gun?That's Sue Talbot, governor of Fortuna Territory. She sees something that will NOT be allowed to happen on Fortuna. And therefrom spins a chunk of the story. Another excellent cover by Luca Oleastri and Paola Giari in Italy.What's next for the Talbot series?The one thing we still don't know is where is the bird-people's parent civilization? They were colonists on Fortuna themselves.

327 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 8, 2024

About the author

Rich Weyand is a computer consultant and digital forensic analyst. He was born in Illinois and lived there almost 60 years before he and his wife engineered an escape to the hills of southern Indiana in 2011. His undergraduate and graduate education is in Physics, and he's never really recovered. He is currently heading up the launch of a computer software start-up.

Check out my blog at www.spoutingoff.com.

Reviews

[Karen A. Wyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel continues the story of, in particular, Book 2 in this series. It leaves many of the most interesting questions posed in that Book for the promised Book 4. Book 3 primarily consists of the well-researched, convincing step-by-step process of building a full-fledged colony on the world Fortuna.

Authors differ in how much of their background research they put on the page. Weyand prefers to be on the more thorough end of the spectrum. He focuses primarily on the technical aspects, but also addresses a few potential social pitfalls and growing pains.

There's also a satisfying solution to the political problem underlying any highly expensive project dependent on government support.

[Brian Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Future History

To grasp the possibilities of Mankind's development requires multidisciplinary knowledge and experience. This author undoubtedly has these traits. If you would like to peer into one of the possibilities of our future , this series is it. Looking forward to much more of a glimpse into our future.

[Lois Raymond Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good Way and book

While a LOT of "world building" was involved (literally...) the characters continued to carry us along. I can't wait for the next one!
One complaint. The cover. Bad AI or bad artist? I've never seen anyone hold a pistol with their thumb in the trigger guard and their fingers clutching air.

[Mike Goodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting Thoughts

This story of a AI who almost took over the world, changing his focus to help humanity to colonize a different planet was fantastic.