Corvus Ascending (Corvus Ascending 1) by Dale Sale-Review & Interview

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date

When wisecracking star-sailor Gus Johansson hauls a 1400-year-old accident-prone robot out of the sea and boards a long-lost sentient spaceship his beach bum retirement goes from boring to blazing.

Captain Harrison “Hazy” Grey is out for revenge and convinced that he can finally get his Admiral’s flag, if only he can capture that ship; and he doesn’t care who he has to kill to do it.

Gus must assemble a team of old friends and add some new ones to escape. Maybe he should have stayed on the beach.

••••••

REVIEW:CORVUS ASCENDING is the first instalment in Dale Sale’s TALES OF CORVUS sci-fi adventure series focusing on the crew of the space-ship Corvus.

Told from third person perspective CORVUS ASCENDING follows former Chief Warrant Bosun and star-sailor Guster Johansson as he is tasked with captaining a sentient spaceship that has returned from the depths of the sea. With his trusty side kick, a 1400 year old robot named HAM, Gus Johansson begins to amass a crew of oddballs and renegades but not before our hero finds himself a prisoner of Captain Harrison Grey and the ruling Governance, who sets their sights on acquiring the spaceship Corvus. Outfitting the Corvus for potential war, Gus and the crew find themselves the target of Captain Grey, a target that must out maneuver a mad man desperate to claim the Corvus for his own.

CORVUS ASCENDING is a fast paced, sci-fi adventure ala Star Wars™, Star Trek™, Battlestar Galactica ™ and Babylon Five™. Dale Sale meshes together AI, cyborg and robots, a sentient star ship, a holographic constructed intelligence (CI), and an eclectic assortment of humanoid personas resulting in a quirky yet talented crew whose journey has only started. The premise is captivating; the world building includes some scientific and fictionalized terminology; the characters are diverse, distinctive and unconventional but such are the personalities of every entertaining story of science fiction.CORVUS ASCENDING begins slowly but accelerates at ‘warp speed’.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

TRC: Hi Dale and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the release of CORVUS ASCENDING.

We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Dale Sale: I served in the US Coast Guard for over 30 years. I was a Chief Warrant Officer (like my characters) for over 20 years. I served at rescue stations, large and small patrol cutters, a construction tug, and 4 different icebreaker tugs. Lots of sea time, lots of time to dream up ideas.

Social Media links:  Website / Goodreads/ Facebook / Amazon Author page / Newsletter

TRC: Who or what influenced your career in writing? In writing Science/Speculative fiction?

Dale Sale:I grew up reading the classic science fiction authors: Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein as well as great pulp writers like Robert E. Howard. The experimental stuff from the 1960s and 70s just doesn’t do it for me.

I did a lot of technical writing in the Coast Guard. I worked at the school that trains mechanics and electricians writing curriculum and reviewing lessons. I was happy to go back to sea after that, lol.

TRC: For those who do not know, what is the difference between Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction?

Dale Sale: All Science Fiction is Speculative Fiction, but all Spec Fiction is not Science Fiction. I would say that Spec Fiction is the big tent and Science Fiction is one of the bleacher sections inside. Spec Fiction could be anything from Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale to King’s The Stand. For example: one of the hardest science fiction books recently is Weir’s The Martian. It is very detailed and follows real principles of science and physics. Contrast that to Man in the High Castle which is an alternate history. Both could be called Speculative Fiction but only The Martian is Science Fiction.

One of my pet peeves is searching for Science Fiction and seeing Epic Fantasy or Urban Fantasy lumped in there.

TRC: Why do you think there are a limited number of female / women authors of Science Fiction, and what do you think can be done to increase the female / women readership?

I am hoping that as more women enter the STEM fields it will encourage them to also write and read science fiction. I think that people want to write what they know about and that women without a STEM background may not be comfortable writing those stories. I enjoy writing strong female characters. They definitely aren’t damsels in distress.

TRC: What challenges or difficulties did you encounter writing and publishing your first book?

Dale Sale: The oddest problem I had actually occurred because of my name. Amazon’s bots always think that I am trying to trick them using my name, Sale, to fool the algorithm. I have to send a copy of my driver’s license to prove that is my legal name.

TRC: Would you please tell us something about the premise of CORVUS ASCENDING?

Dale Sale: The main character, Gus Johansson, has been involuntarily retired and put out to pasture on an out of the way planet. Gus is bored and feeling sorry for himself. While fishing he drags an ancient robot out of the sea that is connected to a sentient spaceship. An old enemy, Captain Harrison Grey, wants the ship for himself and will do whatever it takes to get it. Gus has to assemble a team of misfit veterans and his robot friends to avoid destruction.

TRC: How many books do you have planned for the TALES OF CORVUS series?

Dale Sale: This first story arc will be three books. I do plan to continue writing in the Corvus Universe, but I want to branch out from the large ensemble cast of the first three books to focus on some smaller first-person stories. I’m thinking about writing a set of adventures for a female detective character from the second and third books.

TRC: What kind of research/plotting did you do, and how long did you spend researching /plotting before beginning CORVUS ASCENDING?

Dale Sale:  started with a loose plot and let the story unfold. I do research as needed during the writing process.

TRC: Do you believe that science fiction/ speculative fiction should be based in factual statistics or information?

Dale Sale:  I’m really trying to keep from breaking physics too badly in this story. As such, there are no faster-than-light spaceships, instant communications, super aliens, or teleporters etc. I don’t think those are bad things, but that’s not the story I’m telling. I used several online calculation tools to help with orbital mechanics and asked questions of some actual scientists about the orbital behavior of asteroids.

TRC: Do you believe the cover image plays a deciding factor for many readers in the process of selecting a book or new series to read?

Dale Sale:I did use a professional cover designer. I feel that a trope heavy genre, like military science fiction, should convey that basic genre information on the cover. You really need a good cover.

TRC:  When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

Dale Sale:I do use a loose outline for the story, but the characters often start thinking for themselves. One of my characters owns an arms manufacturing plant, she decided to load her fancy space yacht full of guns in the next book and take them to the underdogs in the big battle. I was just writing along and there she was!

TRC: The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen? Where do you believe writer’s fail in this endeavor?

Dale Sale:I think dialogue is key to expressing your characters emotions. You really need to avoid exposition data dumps and let characters talk. Exposition is common in science fiction because writers are trying to compress the world building and get right to the story.

TRC: What is something that few, if anyone, knows about you?

Dale Sale:I play the concertina, poorly.

TRC: Who is your favorite author (living or dead)?

Dale Sale:Philip K. Dick, that guy was one strange dude.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Dale Sale:I’m working on book three of the series. It should be out by June. I need to tie up some loose ends and plot lines.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Dale Sale: I would love to hear from readers. You can email me at author@DaleSaleBooks.com. I have some free stories available at www.DaleSaleBooks.com if you sign up for my newsletter.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food: Good pizza with a nice porter for the beverage

Favorite Dessert: Anything sweet

Favorite TV Show: Black Mirror

Last Movie You Saw: The Old Guard on Netflix

Dark or Milk Chocolate: Dark

Secret Celebrity Crush:  Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow

Last Vacation Destination: No vacations due to the Covid, booo.

Do you have any pets? : I got volunteered to take care of my stepdaughters Pomeranian “temporarily” 3 years ago.

Last book you read:  Reading Deacon King Kong now

TRC: Thank you Dale for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of CORVUS ASCENDING.