Dive beneath the waves into secrets, evolution, rebellion and survival.
In this episode of Review It Yourself, Sean is joined by science fiction author David Deane Haskell to discuss The Solarian Deep, the first novel in his planned Techno-Quatic series.
What begins as a journey into an unfamiliar underwater world soon becomes a fast-moving exploration of mystery, transformation, power, evolution and the societies we build around ourselves. Sean shares his honest reading experience, explaining how, once the world and characters clicked into place, he found himself racing through the book and finishing its final sections in a single extended reading session.
The Solarian Deep is a science fiction novel set in the distant future, where evolutionary forces, underwater societies and hidden secrets collide. The episode explores the book's mysterious "Great Dying", the controlled society of the Shallows, social hierarchy, political power, rebellion and the tension between conformity and transformation.
David also discusses his approach to science fiction world-building and why he prefers stories that allow readers to discover a world rather than having every mystery immediately explained. The conversation moves through the challenges of creating believable characters, writing morally complex people, and balancing technology and world-building with an engaging story.
Sean and David also discuss whether The Solarian Deep could work as a film or television adaptation, with comparisons to science fiction and speculative fiction including Star Wars, Alien, The Andromeda Strain, The Martian, Project Hail Mary, WALL-E, Children of Men, 1984 and more.
The conversation also explores David's writing journey, including his earlier fiction, a period of writer's block, and how personal growth and greater empathy have influenced the characters and relationships in his more recent work.
David reveals that the Techno-Quatic story is planned as a trilogy and discusses other books from his catalogue, including Dark Alignment, Too Much Information and his nonfiction book Wounded Angels. He also talks about his forthcoming novel, The Vibrants, which he describes as the best work he has written so far.
If you enjoy science fiction books, underwater worlds, dystopian fiction, cyberpunk, speculative fiction, complex world-building, character-driven stories or discussions about books becoming films, this is an episode for you.
Website and contact:
https://daviddeanehaskell.com
Visit David's website to find The Solarian Deep, his other books, contact information and links to his social media.
Important: Make sure to search for David Deane Haskell, including the middle name Deane, to find the correct author.
Amazon link: https://mybook.to/solariandeep.
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Have you read The Solarian Deep? What do you think? Would David Dean Haskell's underwater science fiction world make a great film or television series? Get in touch and let Review It Yourself know.
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