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The Survivors Continue On
Galacticide follows a man who thought he had stopped an alien race only to discover the Brood Mother survived and now wants to erase reality. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Through most of history, women had to deal with the effects of war on the home-front, many times seeing their normalcy destroyed just as much as the fighting men. Striving to expand the scope and up the stakes one last time for the final book of the series, I wanted to start out with a classic revenge story. But I needed an antagonist who was so deeply wounded that this character’s wrath would know no limits. This character should not shy away from even the most drastic of measures, pledging to commit fundamental acts of destruction: tearing spacetime itself. I choose an alien mother as the chief antagonist, someone who lost their children to a war that wasn’t hers. The alien species in my novels has few females, but their offsprings count in the billions. What would the level of grief be for someone who lost 10 billion children on a single day?
What is one pivotal moment in the story that you think best defines Kel Chaada?
A direct answer here would contain heavy spoilers. Let me say that the pivotal moment makes clear why Kel Chaada, a man with many flaws, someone who is controversial even in his own fictional universe, is the hero of this story. I believe classic heroes exist, including in our present day. I also believe that those heroes are not heroic at every moment of their lives, and neither is Kel Chaada. But, unlike so many other characters, he is the only one who genuinely cares about the galaxy, its inhabitants and saving the sapient species, including humans. While he starts out doing things out of questionable motives, his character develops to doing the right thing for the sake of it being right. The pivotal moment in Galacticide will give his character the opportunity to tie many loose ends together.
Were you able to achieve everything you wanted with the characters in this series?
I believe so. While Kel Chaada’s adventures are the thread tying the narratives together, the trilogy can be split into ‘the Father’ (Kel Chaada in book 1), ‘the Mother’ (Sya Omga in book 2) and ‘the Child’ in book 3. Each of these characters has major developments in their arc in the respective books/chapters of the trilogy. The story is told from many points of view, including different alien species and intelligent machines, but the three main human characters keep even the more esoteric concepts relatable.
Where do you see your characters after the book ends?
The universe keeps evolving after the story ends, and this is true for the real thing as much as for fictional ones. There is much armed conflict in the story, and not everybody makes it, but the survivors will continue on. Some might follow interesting paths, warranting a sequel trilogy. Oh, who am I kidding? I am working on a sequel trilogy right now!
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No cause. No effect. Causality stops and reality shatters.
Kel Chaada believed to have beaten the extra-galactic menace when rigged AI cores blew the Võmémééř’s galactic realm apart. Sheltered from the explosions, the alien Brood Mother survived, mourning billions of her children, burning with vengeance.
One breeding couple is all it takes to re-build an army, but the Brood Mother’s target is neither Kel, nor space fleets: It is reality itself. No universe hostile to the Mother’s children shall remain.
Imprisoned for old crimes, his only child gone missing in a military coup at home, Kel Chaada witnesses his world crumble, the very fabric of existence tearing. Even if he escaped, how could he fight a raging alien mother capable of destroying the multiverse?
Galacticide
In Galacticide, author Bert-Oliver Boehmer crafts a space opera of epic proportions, where the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance. The protagonist, Kel Chaada, initially believes he has vanquished the alien threat to all life. Yet, the survival of the Brood Mother casts a shadow of impending doom, her ambitions now escalating to the annihilation of reality itself. Kel, trapped and sidelined from the cosmic battlefield, faces a dire situation. The narrative explores whether he can escape and confront the Brood Mother in a climactic struggle, with the existence of reality itself at stake.
Boehmer’s narrative skillfully weaves elements reminiscent of science fiction luminaries such as Frank Herbert and Isaac Asimov while introducing unique concepts distinguishing Galacticide within the genre. While Galacticide is the third installment in a trilogy, Boehmer skillfully navigates the narrative to welcome new readers, effectively acquainting them with the story’s rich and expansive universe. Familiar science fiction themes, such as humanity’s hubris and alien hostility, are present, drawing parallels with recent developments in Marvel’s cinematic universe, notably the multiverse exploration. These elements provide a backdrop to the novel’s standout feature: the protagonist, Kel Chaada. He is portrayed as a world-weary anti-hero, grappling with the weight of his mission against moments of existential doubt. This character depth adds a compelling layer to the narrative, resonating with readers who might empathize with his internal struggles.
Galacticide is a testament to Boehmer’s ability to balance classic sci-fi elements with innovative ideas, creating a story that is both familiar and fresh. The novel invites readers into a vast, imaginative universe, posing profound questions about duty, destiny, and the choices that define us.
Pages: 331 | ASIN : B0CL7C291M
Inter-Galactic Warfare
In Dark Cascade, Kel Chaada and his crew are headed directly into a civilization inhabited by a horrifying extraterrestrial race hellbent on destruction. What was the inspiration that created the fantastic journey these characters go on?
I wanted to raise the stakes of the conflict to inter-galactic warfare in the second book. The main characters had already proven their mettle during the interstellar conflict in the previous novel, but my vision was to keep on expanding the threat and the challenges they had to face.
How do you see character development for Kel Chaada changing through the series?
Kel’s rise to wielding galaxy-wide influence and using it for good came at a price, and did not leave him morally unblemished. Many of his heroic actions root deeply in his need for redemption.
What were the morals you were trying to capture while creating your characters?
Underlying the action and adventure is an examination of loyalty, its forms, and its many challenges. The Dark AI leader, for example, sees itself as a machine prophet, having a cult following, while the protagonist is a master of creating alliances of necessity. Allegiances frequently shift during the story, except for the few genuine friendships which endure.
Can you give us some insight into the next book in the series, and when will it be available?
Book 3, Galacticide, will be the final chapter of the trilogy, increasing the stakes once more to inter-universal conflict, pushing characters and their reality to the limit. It will be available in December 2023.
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The desperate plan is bold, but cruel. Kel realizes he will become what he is fighting against: a destroyer of civilizations.
He rushes across the inter-galactic void on a stolen enemy ship, riding a derelict warp bubble, piloted by zealous AIs with their own agenda. Can Kel’s small crew succeed where all space fleets failed?
Dark Cascade is the second book in the Galacticide universe, blending distant future space opera, military sci-fi and high concept fiction. The story follows the events from the award-winning novel Three Immortals.
Dark Cascade
Journey with Kel Chaada as he navigates a galaxy teeming with diverse alien races, each with its unique motives and aspirations. A particularly menacing extraterrestrial race with advanced weaponry and a hunger for planetary resources threatens to destabilize the balance. In a bold move, Kel and his select crew venture directly to this menacing civilization’s galaxy, intending to halt the impending doom at its origin. Amidst this high-stakes mission, Kel grapples with the dilemma of potentially becoming what he’s trying to resist.
Dark Cascade, the enthralling second installment in Bert-Oliver Boehmer’s Galacticide series, effortlessly immerses readers into its cosmos—even those unfamiliar with the inaugural book. While it’s evident that Boehmer is influenced by sci-fi titans such as Asimov and Philip K. Dick, his narrative carves its distinctive mark.
The allure of Dark Cascade stems not only from its expansive cosmic view but also from Boehmer’s nuanced exploration of interstellar politics and morality. As the story unfolds, one is compelled to question: In the quest for species survival, where do we draw the line? Kel Chaada stands as a beacon of humanity’s perseverance, yet the narrative gracefully introduces moments where alien races and AI beings demonstrate equally commendable motives.
Boehmer blurs moral boundaries, suggesting that even the most drastic measures, including genocide, might find justification depending on perspective. This intricate dance between ethical dilemmas and intergalactic politics sets Dark Cascade apart, positioning it in a league distinct from its sci-fi contemporaries.
Pages: 323 | ASIN : B0BMFWXQDJ
As Alien As Possible
Three Immortals follows war hero to the fringe of the galaxy where he discovers an ancient alien civilizations and their legendary powers. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
I am a computer scientist, so one of the civilizations discovered by the protagonist had to be an AI/machine dominated one. Working in bioinformatics for many years, I developed a deep fascination with biology. We can only speculate what extraterrestrial life will look like. I like aliens in fiction who are truly alien, as alien as possible while remaining relatable as characters in a story. Introducing non-carbon based aliens with a different evolutionary backstory and having them “adopt” a human to live among them was a lot of fun to write about.
Your characters are intriguing and well developed. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
“I did not like […] having existence happening to me, instead of shaping it!” says the hero in the story. All main characters act and change the course of galactic history for good or bad. I wanted to tell the story from the perspective of passionate people who plow ahead despite adversity. None of them is all good or all evil. The hero has massive flaws, the antagonist has a relatable backstory and even the traitors’ perspectives offer some redeeming qualities.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The story presents itself in a way I like to read space opera and military science fiction and it will check all boxes of expectations if you prefer these genres. Underlying the story thread is questioning the saying “what does not kill you makes you stronger” and the book asks if this is true or not. The (human) galactic government, for example, has idolized this notion in their creed “strength through adversity” and makes war and suffering a desirable natural state for the life of trillions. The machine civilization pushes this one step further through their ability to perceive many realities in the multiverse, and always pursue the most difficult one. The hero, learning this ability, will have to choose if he prefers an easy life or not. The ending invites the reader to decide what they would have chosen for themselves.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Three Immortals brings its main story to a conclusion – but it leaves the arcs of many interesting characters open for continuation. 2400 Earth years of galactic history are woven in when the story requires, but there are many things left to explore with the reader – including the true nature of the Dark Ones, who nearly destroyed the galaxy. The next book is part 2 of a trilogy set in this universe. We will see familiar characters return, but also new threats and antagonists emerge. The scope will be larger, and the interstellar conflicts of Three Immortals are going to expand beyond the galaxy.
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Why was their existence purged from the historic records by the immortal elite?
LITERARY TITAN 