Northern Ont. author pens 6th sci-fi novel
Sudbury area author Scott Overton has conjured up a compelling adventure story – his sixth novel – exploring what would happen if social divides were taken to the extreme.
Sudbury area author Scott Overton has released his sixth novel ‘Indigent Earth.’ (Supplied)Overton’s new science fiction book ‘Indigent Earth,’ the rich, wealthy and powerful have abandoned our ravaged planet 500 years earlier to allow it to heal from the damage it has suffered from industrialization. While the world’s most power went to live in space colonies, many were left on Earth to live in stagnating communities.
The book begins as those who abandoned the planet decide to return and focus on a discontent survivor named Killian Morningcloud, who works a “dead-end life” and has dreamed of the day colonists return hoping they will take him to the stars, and Natira Celestia, an aristocrat and video celebrity on the space colonies who is “dying to get to Earth” to meet the noble savages that live there.
Overton told CTV News that when the pair finally meet they really clash.
“When they discover a secret that powerful people are desperate to hide, they face a brutal test of endurance and shattered dreams,” said Overton in the summary of his novel.
“Their fire-and-water pairing will shape the course of the whole human race.”
The author said while not specified in the story itself the events of the book play out in northern Ontario.
“It is in northern Ontario,” he said.
“In a very small community in the northern Ontario Boreal Forest.”
Overton added that some of the story also takes place on one of the space colonies – about the distance of the moon.
Overton said as readers may have gathered from the title the book explores colonialism and economic inequality.
“It is not meant to hit anybody over the head (though,)” he said.
“It’s an adventure story – it’s exciting, there’s a lot of action going on… But it does have that strong theme. I was trying to picture the colonialism of the future. I don’t think it is going to be European versus Indigenous peoples – it's going to be perhaps the wealthy and the uber-wealthy and the rest of us.”
Overton explained that with what has gone on in the world recently he feels that anyone could end up on the wrong side of the “privilege divide” in the future.
Scott Overton has now built a second career as a science fiction writer after a 25 year career as a radio morning host in the Sudbury area. (CTV News Northern Ontario Interview)Overton is a well-known radio morning host for more than 25 years in Sudbury, Overton has now built a second career as a science fiction writer. His radio-themed debut novel Dead Air was shortlisted for a Northern Lit Award in 2012. Since then his other four previous novels ‘The Primus Labyrinth,’ ‘Naïda,’ 'The Dispossession of Dylan Knox' and ‘Augment Nation’ have also been well-received – readers often compare his works with those of Michael Crichton.
Overton’s latest novel is available as both an ebook and in traditional paperback. The author said it will mostly be sold from online retails such as Amazon – though he and a friend will be selling copies of the book at the Sudbury Market on Oct. 14.
He also has several short stories available on his website.
For more information on his writing and where he will be, follow him on 'X' formerly Twitter.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police arrest Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides
Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'
NDP house leader laments 'agents of chaos' in precarious Parliament
NDP House leader Peter Julian says there's more his party wants to do in Parliament before the next election, but if the current dysfunction continues it will become a factor in how they vote on a confidence measure.
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years for voting data scheme
A judge ripped into a Colorado county clerk for her crimes and lies before sentencing her Thursday to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
Here's what the jury didn't hear in Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial
A northeastern Ontario jury has started deliberating in Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial, we can now tell you what they weren't allowed to hear.
Youth pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of P.E.I. teen Tyson MacDonald
A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
2 dead after fire rips through historic building in Old Montreal
At least two people are dead and others are injured after a fire ripped through a century-old building in Old Montreal early Friday morning, sources told Noovo Info.
Scientists looked at images from space to see how fast Antarctica is turning green. Here's what they found
Parts of icy Antarctica are turning green with plant life at an alarming rate as the region is gripped by extreme heat events, according to new research, sparking concerns about the changing landscape on this vast continent.
A French judge in a shocking rape case allows the public to see some of the video evidence
A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her decided on Friday to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the alleged rapes.
Jury begins deliberations in Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial
The jury tasked with determining if Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard sexually assaulted a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago began deliberating Friday after nearly two weeks of testimony that saw the singer and his accuser give starkly different accounts of what happened.