Why Amie Kaufman loves writing stories set in space

Read a piece from bestselling author Amie Kaufman about her latest sci-fi novel Red Star Rebels.

Years ago, a podcast interviewer asked me why I write stories set in space. 

“Um. Oh. Well, I….” 

The next few seconds felt like an eternity as the silence stretched. I knew my answer, of course, but when you’re in the middle of a thoughtful, intellectual discussion about other aspects of your writing, you can’t just say “Because it’s awesome!” 

My brain kicked in, and I listened with interest as I said thoughtful things about stories set in space—that when we draw back from Earth, we can view the problems and challenges of humanity from a different angle. That stories set on an epic scale allow us to step outside ourselves, and so on. I sounded quite clever. And of course those things are true. 

But really, I like to set stories in space because it’s awesome. Because leaving our actual planet is an incredible idea, and just thinking about it gives me tingles. Because space represents such a huge adventure. Because imagine actually getting to go there! On Mars, you’d weigh about a third of what you do here. You could climb Olympus Mons, a volcano three times taller than Mount Everest. It’s so big, and rises so gradually (the base is the size of Italy!) that you literally can’t see the top of it from the ground. 

Space is awesome. 

On Mars, the dirt isn’t like ours here on Earth, but more the texture of talcum powder. Dust storms suspend it in the air, and it can stay there for a long time, completely blocking visibility. 

The protagonists of Red Star Rebels, Hunter and Cleo, are about to discover just how inconvenient that can be. What crimes can be hidden, when nobody can see you. 

Their story is full of the kind of action that somewhere (awesome) like Mars offers. And the kind of banter that I love to write. And yes, of course, the kind of social commentary that always ends up in my books (should we let wildly successful individuals be the ones to settle other planets, instead of doing it ‘for all mankind,’ and what might happen if we do?). 

But above all else, in Red Star Rebels, I set out to write something that’s just heaps and heaps of fun. The action takes place across eight hours. Once it starts, it doesn’t stop. If you loved the take-down-the-bad-guys-one-by-one of Die Hard, or the pressure-cooker, falling-in-love-during-a-disaster of Speed, or the make-it-yourself-with-sticky-tape-and-a-spoon ingenuity of The Martian, then this one’s for you. 

I hope you have half as much fun reading it as I had writing it. Thanks for joining me, whether it’s again, or for the first time. See you in space! 

 Red Star Rebels by Amie Kaufman is available now at your book retailer of choice.

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Red Star Rebels

by Amie Kaufman

From the NYT bestselling co-author of Illuminae and Aurora Rising comes a high-stakes, high-chemistry sci-fi romp filled with witty banter and clever high jinks about a stowaway girl and the richest boy in the galaxy, racing the clock to outwit a gang of mercenaries.

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