Writing Fairy-Tale Inspired Science Fiction with K. Eason, author of HOW RORY THORNE DESTROYED THE MULTIVERSE
I’m joined in this episode by K. Eason, author of HOW RORY THORNE DESTROYED THE MULTIVERSE. This charming and subversive fantasy-meets-space opera tale follows a young princess who is uprooted from her planet and her throne, sent off-world to be a pawn for intergalactic politics.
But Rory Thorne is no run-of-the-mill fantasy princess, and is definitely no pawn. Gifted at birth with thirteen fairy blessings, Rory is smart and beautiful and kind. But, most importantly, she can keenly see through flattery and falsehoods.
After assassination and war destabilize the galaxy, new political alliances place her under the dominion of the power-hungry Regent that likely killed her father. Accompanied only by two trusted and endearing advisors, and some surprisingly useful guards, Rory must use all of her wits, gifts, and determination to turn the Regent’s plot against him, rescue the mislaid prince she is supposed to be betrothed to, and perhaps avoid plunging the entire star system once again into chaos and conflict.
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About K. Eason
K. Eason is a lecturer at the University of California, Irvine, where she and her composition students tackle important topics such as the zombie apocalypse, the humanity of cyborgs, and whether or not Beowulf is a good guy. Her previous publications include the On the Bones of Gods fantasy duology with 47North, and she has had short fiction published in Cabinet-des-Fées, Jabberwocky 4, Crossed Genres, and Kaleidotrope. When she’s not teaching or writing, Eason picks up new life skills, ranging from martial arts (including a black belt in kung fu!), to Viking sword and shield work, to yoga and knitting.
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About How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse
First in a duology that reimagines fairy tale tropes within a space opera—The Princess Bride meets Princess Leia.
Rory Thorne is a princess with thirteen fairy blessings, the most important of which is to see through flattery and platitudes. As the eldest daughter, she always imagined she’d inherit her father’s throne and govern the interplanetary Thorne Consortium.
Then her father is assassinated, her mother gives birth to a son, and Rory is betrothed to the prince of a distant world.
When Rory arrives in her new home, she uncovers a treacherous plot to unseat her newly betrothed and usurp his throne. An unscrupulous minister has conspired to name himself Regent to the minor (and somewhat foolish) prince. With only her wits and a small team of allies, Rory must outmaneuver the Regent and rescue the prince.
How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse is a feminist reimagining of familiar fairytale tropes and a story of resistance and self-determination—how small acts of rebellion can lead a princess to not just save herself, but change the course of history.