Dreaming of Mars from a Drowned World (Guest Post by Kieran Fanning)
In a world threatened by global warming and rising sea levels, the future of our planet is at the forefront of many of our minds, especially those of children. What will happen if the Earth becomes uninhabitable? Will we have another planet to escape to? It was these questions that gave rise to my new middle-grade novel, Ticket to Mars.
Set on a futuristic New Earth that has been flooded by the rising seas of global warming, we meet thirteen-year-old Veon Windbourne, who lives in Heaven’s Ladders, gigantic towers of concrete which rise out of the sea that has flooded the old city of New York. Each tower has a strict class hierarchy, with the rich living at the top and the poorest at the bottom. Veon is a mid-tower resident who dreams of escaping to Harmonia, the first city on Mars.
His mother has been saving to buy two tickets her whole life and almost has enough, when their entire savings are stolen. Desperate for justice, Veon follows the trail of the thief to Mars and manages to win a ticket to the Red Planet, in a programme recruiting children. But when he gets there, he finds that Harmonia isn’t the utopia that has been advertised on New Earth. On Mars, Veon discovers a futuristic city where all is not as perfect as it seems on the surface.
I had great fun imagining what a futuristic Earth might look like and researching the possibility of humans living on Mars. Though it won’t become a reality for most of us, we may well see the first humans travel there in the coming decades.
Maybe in the future, humans will begin again on Mars. If you were given an opportunity to restart society, what would you do differently?
That question — what kind of world would we build if we had the chance to begin again? — lies at the heart of my sci-fi adventure, Ticket to Mars, published by Our Street Books on July 28. I hope readers enjoy travelling with Veon from the flooded towers of New Earth to the uncertain promise of Mars.
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Kieran Fanning is a children’s author and primary school teacher from County Meath, Ireland. He wrote the CODECRACKERS series, published in multiple countries, and THE BLACK LOTUS, shortlisted for several awards.
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“A slick sci fi mystery that twists and turns like a rocket ride through an asteroid belt. Book your ticket now!”
— Chris Callaghan, author of The Great Chocoplot
“Terrific and terrifying, a thought-provoking, action-packed quest and a daring glimpse into a very possible future. Embark and explore, if you dare.”
— Eve McDonnell, author of The Last Boy
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