June 12, 2017
Brian Leon
So one of the things I try to do is keep as much of my books grounded in “real” things as I can. Almost all of the locations are real–except perhaps the caverns under Central Park, maybe. The modern weapons and tactics are real, too. But there are a host of plot elements in both Havoc Rising and Chaos Unbound that are also based in reality that you might not be aware of (yes, I ended that sentence with a preposition–get over it–I’m from the south).
In Havoc Rising, there is a real connection between the very real terrorist organization I mention, Jundullah, and Medea. Her son Medus was the founder of the Medes, whom Jundullah claim heritage to. Kinda cool, right? If you want to read the free pre-prologue which goes into more detail on Medea and Medus’s run into what is now Iran, just email me and I’ll forward it to you. There is far more based in reality in Chaos Unbound, however. For instance, the blackout at the beginning of the book actually happened in Southern California. Again the places are all real, including Dytlov Pass and Aoikigahara. And I did as much research as I could on North Korea and the presidential train. And Kim Jong Il did indeed die on his train in that area on the day I list. Again, I have a prologue for Chaos Unbound that I can send you if you want that includes a unique conversation, also based in reality–which is damn scary to think once you’ve read it. Anyway, I always figured that the more I can ground my stories in reality, the better they are even though they are fantasy. I didn’t want to create a fantasy version of this world. I wanted to drag fantasy into it. Lemme know if you like it. Be warned. Book three, Rebellion Reborn contains more of this than either of the previous two books, including a telling of the Axeman Murders in New Orleans in 1919. After all, what fun is fantasy if it doesn’t have at least some connection to reality?