The Disappearing Air
Letters
I finished my first novel for young adults, ‘The Disappearing Air’, last year. It is not published and almost certainly never will be. I just wrote it for the pure enjoyment of doing so. Here’s a brief synopsis – you can find a sample from the book to the left.
When Bodie Lakestar and his family win passage aboard a luxury Colony Ship, they leave behind an overcrowded, polluted Earth — and look forward to a new life filled with opportunity. But although Bodie quickly befriends a Felinian princess and a tech-savvy Pegasun, he also makes a powerful enemy: the devious Happy Smiles Corporation. When the three friends discover the Corporation’s evil plot to sabotage the ship and wipe out its population, all in the name of profit, only their quick thinking, loyalty and resourcefulness have any chance of preventing an unthinkable crime.
Science fiction is an overwritten genre. This I concede with grace. Which is why a novel in this field has to stand out not just for the quality of writing, nor the story, nor the characters, nor the gadgets. It must stand out by exploring modern themes in a post-modern environment.
Teen fiction simply wouldn’t be teen fiction without the main characters developing friendships, learning how to interact with the adult world, experiencing adventures that lead to extremes of emotion, and discovering how to use teamwork as well as self-reliance to achieve their ends.
So far, so good.
However, I go beyond these staples of children’s writing to introduce themes that are not so well-represented in this genre. For example, I believe that right now our society is deeply, and rightly, disturbed by the lack of a moral compass within our largest corporations. Thus the enemy in my book is more nebulous than a Darth Vader or a Lord Voldemort. Although there are colorful villains in the book, they serve another master: the concept of profit at any cost, as exemplified by the Happy Smiles Corporation.
Another theme, and one that has eluded many authors of fiction for children, is the idea that adults can — mostly — be trusted. While it is the heroes of the book who ultimately triumph, they do so with the support, trust, and belief of the adults in their lives.
An unusual theme is explored through the relationship between the heroine and the paparazzi. Fame is a currency in our lives. We read, view, and breathe celebrity. Although young, her character has to deal with the invasion of her privacy and the ceaseless reporting of the minutiae of her life to satiate the masses. Initially overwhelmed by it, she learns to use it to her advantage. Do those who invite publicity deserve privacy? I’d like the reader to think about this.
Finally, the book deals with a modern obsession that has completely revolutionized our lives — the Internet. Access to the web has become even more prevalent amongst the young than it is amongst us thirty-somethings. As children grow and learn, it is my belief that their education will increasingly focus on this resource. In ‘The Disappearing Air’ the protagonists are not just comfortable communicating remotely, but experts at it. If it weren’t for the fact that a few hundred years from now Twitter will be obsolete, they’d be tweeting all day.