Christopher Walborn
asked
Jeff VanderMeer:
Authority has two sections that seem to be a nod to Roadside Picnic: the "Maybe they called it a holiday retreat" passage on pg 37 recalls the passage from which the novella gets its name, and the image of military vehicles on pg 189 echoes an image from Stalker. Were these conscious nods? There were also echoes Lem's Solaris. Are these Eastern European writers touchstones for you? I'm looking forward to September!
Jeff VanderMeer
You'd think they would be, right? I mean, I totally get why those touch points come up. If you write about expeditions into a strange place, chances are that's what's going to happen. But, no, "holiday retreat" is a reference to Nabokov's Bend Sinister, in which he uses the language of the travel brochure to refer to detention camps. The image of military vehicles came from seeing footage of a line of burning tanks during the first Gulf War.
More Answered Questions
Suyi Davies Okungbowa
asked
Jeff VanderMeer:
Jeff, I noticed a lot of plant biology recurrent in Southern Reach, presented in a lot of sweetly disturbing ways. Was it a product of really extensive research (and if it was, what rigors did you go through to attain such knowledge?) or do you have some sort of background in plant biology?
Sam
asked
Jeff VanderMeer:
You've built some pretty outrageous and fantastic worlds in your writing, but are able to draw the reader in so easily. I've never had a point when starting one of your books where I am at all reticent to dive in completely. Is there a process for this world creation? Do you have a set map in your head from the beginning or does it kind of grow along with the story?
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