W.T. Fallon asked Saurabh Dashora:

What inspired your first book, Starship Samudram?

Saurabh Dashora Hello,

Sorry for getting around to answering this so late. I was quite occupied with setting up my website and preparing some other stuff.

To answer your question, the idea for Starship Samudram came to me more than a year ago while watching one of the discovery channel shows about Saturn's largest moon, Titan. I always wanted to write something about Titan. And then there was also this premise about exploring mankind's true origin and challenging the very idea of God.

Initially, there was only this one scene in my mind that I would call as the true inspiration. An astronaut standing on a cliff and looking over the horizon to see nothing but Saturn looming in the sky. How insignificant he would be feel in that moment? How will it even feel to be on this strange world in our own solar system where methane rained instead of water and mighty Saturn covered the skies rather than the familiar sight of sun?

The whole story came later in various iterations but that image has stayed with me since the beginning of the writing process. I've tried to keep that sense of wonderment through the entire story even though other elements of horror, exploration, mystery, philosophy and science have seeped their way into the novel.

I hope I answered your question. Feel free to ask more if you wish.

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