Hello and welcome to this Track of Words guest post, where I hope you’ll join me in welcoming the fantastic Ren Hutchings, author of the brilliant “accidental time travel” space opera Under Fortunate Stars, back to the site! I absolutely loved Under Fortunate Stars, and it’s always a pleasure to be able to host Ren. She’s previously written a great post about why the idea of a ‘ragtag crew’ remains such enduring appeal, but this time she’s back to talk about what’s coming next for her, and what it’s been like writing further stories in the same setting! So if (like me) you loved Under Fortunate Stars and you’re keen to see more of that universe, you’re in luck – read on to find out more.
***
Ren Hutchings: A lot of things have changed for me as a writer in the past few years, but one thing has remained a constant: I’ve always been writing space stories. And in 2022, one of those stories became my debut novel, Under Fortunate Stars. This year, I got to make the exciting announcement that I’ll be publishing two more books with Solaris, and next up will be An Unbreakable World [coming in Spring 2025 – ToW]!
Is the next book a sequel to Under Fortunate Stars? Nope, although it does take place in the same galaxy – it’s set at an earlier point in the galaxy’s history. But it’s not exactly a direct prequel either. It’s a companion story with a new set of protagonists and a storyline that stands on its own.
As I worked on this novel, a lot of questions swirled around in my head. How could I make this story equally compelling for both new and existing readers? How are these books in conversation with one another? What parts of the UFS universe did I wish I could have told readers more about, and how could I get there in this story?
Crafting a new novel in an established universe is in some ways easier the second time around. A lot of the worldbuilding is very clear in my mind now, and there are less background details to work out. But since the books are standalones, the new story will still need to give its own self-contained introduction to the galaxy. Readers will be introduced to it all over again, but they’ll be brought in through a different portal, because we’ll have some new character perspectives.
Folks who read UFS first will have new things to discover, because we’ll be visiting new settings and exploring parts of the galaxy’s history that were only lightly touched on before. And some of the small details that made readers curious will get to be expanded on – that’s something I’m most delighted to see UFS readers delve into!
While writing UFS, I had accrued a lot of back story on the history of the United Worlds of Humanity, and on the intricate and sometimes fraught relationships between the different human planets. Those stories didn’t end up fitting anywhere in the UFS storyline, but an increasingly sprawling history of the Union played out in my manuscript notes.
In UFS, humanity is very much standing together as one unified collective… but it hasn’t always been that way. Ultimately, I knew that if I wanted to write more about that history, it would need a new cast of characters who lived in an earlier time period.
I’ve thought a lot about different fictional universes that feel vast and complex, and the ways that a story set in a tiny corner of that wider setting can feel immense through the right character’s eyes. The Star Wars universe, for example, has always given us that feeling that there are endless corners of it to explore, and it’s still expanding. In particular, the From A Certain Point of View anthologies have highlighted how compelling a new perspective can be, even in a very short piece that covers a known event.
I like to think of Under Fortunate Stars and An Unbreakable World as separate tunes that can be sung in harmony. But I hope readers will be able to see some overarching themes, particularly about how individual choices can echo into big ripples in history.
Under Fortunate Stars involves the sealing of a peace treaty, and the truce that came at the end of a galaxy-altering war. There are only small glimpses of the rogue network of outlaws that profited from people’s fear of the alien Felen – which we see through flashbacks from one of the main characters, a smuggler who works at the edges of lawless space. But An Unbreakable World will take us much deeper into that particular intrigue, and I’ll finally get to write more about that slice of the galaxy.
There are a lot of reasons I wanted to write a ‘sidequel’ to UFS, but the idea of opening different windows into a wider universe through alternate character perspectives has always appealed to me… as has the idea of just how many secrets would be woven into the fabric of an entire galaxy’s history. How many events would remain known only to a handful of people in one little sliver of time, and how many ways would a shared mythology be reimagined across planets?
While these two books are definitely a little different in flavour, I think readers who enjoyed UFS will find some of the same ingredients at the heart of An Unbreakable World: a ragtag space crew, a lot of feelings, and a side of heists. (And psssst, UFS readers may find there’s a little appearance or two from familiar characters and locations!)
Here are a handful of my favourite ‘shared universe’ space opera series – books and short stories that are set in the same continuity, but can be jumped into just about anywhere.
Becky Chambers: The Wayfarers Universe
Aliette de Bodard: The Xuya Universe
Alastair Reynolds: The Revelation Space Universe
***
Ren is an SFF writer and writing mentor. She has spent most of the past few years working in game dev while plotting twisty space books. Ren’s debut novel, Under Fortunate Stars, was published by Solaris in May 2022.
Ren previously worked as a creative producer and managed communications for a non-profit arts council. She graduated with a BA in History before completing a year of grad school in archaeology, indulging her lifelong passion for nerding out about the past just as much as the future.
You can find Ren on Twitter and Instagram as @voidcricket.
***
As always, thanks so much to Ren for contributing such an interesting, entertaining article to Track of Words! I absolutely can’t wait to read An Unbreakable World, I’m only sad that I have to wait until 2025 before I can get my hands on it! If you haven’t already read them, check out the links below to my review of Under Fortunate Stars, an interview I did with Ren, and Ren’s previous guest post:
My review of Under Fortunate Stars
AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Ren Hutchings Talks Under Fortunate Stars
Why We Love Ragtag Crews – Ren Hutchings Guest Post
Under Fortunate Stars is out now from Solaris – check out the links below to order* your copy:
If you enjoyed this article and would like to support Track of Words, you can leave a tip on my Ko-Fi page.
*If you buy anything using any of these links, I will receive a small affiliate commission – see here for more details.