Review - Primordial Threat - Interview with M. A. Rothman

I love a good science fiction novel so when author Michael Rothman reached out to me about his new novel I knew I had to read it and I am so glad I did because it hits all the essential elements of a solid story in this genre.
I hope you like my interview with the author and my review of Primordial Threat.
Enjoy!

ISBN-13: 2940162132196
Publisher: M.A. Rothman
Release Date: 8-06-2018
Length: 459pp
Source: Author for Review
Buy It: Amazon/ B&N/ Kobo

ADD TO: GOODREADS

Overview:

The year is 2066 and the world is oblivious to the threat it faces.
The fate of humanity lies on the shoulders of Burt Radcliffe, the new head of NASA's Near Earth Object program.
He's been rushing the completion of DefenseNet, a ring of satellites that are both part of an early-warning system as well as the means to eliminate incoming threats.
Yet Burt knows that despite the world's best efforts, nothing can be done about the alert he's just received.
Coming out of deep space is a danger that's been approaching since the dawn of time. A black hole. An unstoppable threat that promises death for all in its wake.
Dave Holmes was a modern-day Einstein. As the original architect of DefenseNet, he'd had visions of this Primordial Threat before he disappeared, yet he'd left behind no details on how the problem might be solved.
Can Holmes be found, and if so, will his solution even work?
The world has less than a year to find out.

Interview with Michael Rothman: 

Michael I loved your sci-fi thriller, Primordial Threat.
Tell my readers a bit about it.

Well, my canned summary is what you’d read on the back of the paperback:

The year is 2066, and the world is oblivious to the threat it faces.

The fate of humanity lies on the shoulders of Burt Radcliffe, the new head of NASA's Near Earth Object program. He's been rushing the completion of DefenseNet, a ring of satellites that are both part of an early-warning system as well as the means to eliminate incoming threats. Yet Burt knows that despite the world's best efforts, nothing can be done about the alert he's just received.

Coming out of deep space is a danger that's been approaching since the dawn of time: a black hole - an unstoppable threat that promises death for all in its wake.

Dave Holmes was a modern-day Einstein. As the original architect of DefenseNet, he had visions of this Primordial Threat before he disappeared, yet he left behind no details on how the problem might be solved.

Can Holmes be found, and if so, will his solution even work?

The world has less than a year to find out.

What led you to write this particular novel?

I’m a research scientist – so I have lots of feelers into academia as well as an overwhelming desire to learn. That being said, I actually live about 100 miles from one of the places listed in the book. The same place (LIGO) that discovered gravitational waves and was also one of the key discoveries that led to the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics being awarded to some of the scientists I know.

That being said, I was touring the LIGO location when the idea of the book came to me.

I read a book set in the present called The Last Policeman a few years ago about a huge asteroid hurtling towards earth.
Unlike in your book where there is a hopeful solution the planet was doomed in the other book I read.
Does having your novel set in the near future of 2066 make saving the planet more realistic or could your scientists pull this off today too?

What you’ll find is that the science in this book is about as real as it gets. I’ll quote from the addendum in my book:

In this tale, I’ve strived to maintain some level of scientific accuracy to the things that a reader is exposed to. Certainly, there will be elements in any tale of fiction that are impossibilities today. However, built upon a solid foundation of science, I attempt to venture forward with some predictions of what could be, and from that, construct a tale that should hopefully be entertaining and maybe somewhat enlightening.

You’ll find that most of this story is based on solid scientific principles. Some of them are theoretical, but most all of them are in today’s academic research. To answer your question, the science needed to save the world against the primordial threat doesn’t yet exist in its needed form today. Could it in 2066? Yes.

Even though I love sci-fi I’m scientific and technology challenged so if a book is too techy without a lot of layman’s terms I’m often left in the dark. But I’m happy to say I didn’t feel lost at all in the pages of your book, except lost in enjoyment.
Did you find yourself rewriting scenes that felt too techy or did you decide from the get go how to divide the tech speak and the common terminology?

From the beginning, it was always my goal to make this story technical, but consumable by a general audience. I’m going to quote from a section in my addendum where I talk about hard science fiction.

One might ask, “What is hard science fiction, and is it something that I can read?”

To me, the key thing that differentiates hard science fiction from “soft” is that in the former, science is not just an ingredient of the story, but a key part of it.

However, in my honest opinion, that shouldn’t mean you need advanced degrees to understand what is happening. All you should need is a love of good stories that contain science and technology. It is up to the author to make the science portion accessible to all that would read it.

Also for me to enjoy a good sci-fi the world building has to be not only believable but also have a touch of awestruck amazement. And I’m also happy to report that all that happened while reading Primordial Threat.
How did you keep your people places and things straight? Did you use visual aids like a big whiteboard, were they kept on a spreadsheet, how?

In my mind, I always thought of each and every scene as a film director. How would this scene look in a blockbuster film? That helped inform my decisions on how to describe everything. I usually have a very rough outline to keep things straight, but some of the scenes were spawned organically.

Speaking of scientific how much of your book is science and how much is only fiction?

You’ll need to read my addendum, but almost all of it is based on real science.

There are many “stars” (pun intended) in your novel, The President of the US, the cop Stryker, and the scientists who are trying to save humanity and the planet.
Which one gave you the most headaches while writing them?

Probably Stryker. I spent a good amount of time interviewing an NYPD lieutenant on police procedures, etc. The rest seemed to come very naturally to me.

You also have a spy thriller coming out in September called Perimeter.
Tell us a little about this book.

The marketing blurb is:

Levi is a "fixer" in a fix.

The CIA needs his help. The Russian mob wants him dead.

With enemies closing in and nowhere to turn, he learns that the one person who may hold all the answers ... is his dead wife.

This is the first book in a series, very much in the style of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher or Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt.

The main character is unusual. Levi is Amish – or was born Amish. However now as an adult, he’s a member of the Italian mob, yet almost always stays is on the side of the angels. Almost always. 

Levi is a mix of 007, skilled survivalist, and a master of disguise.

I hope people enjoy him.

It’s not often that authors change genres from one book to the next.
Why did you and what’s next up for M.A. Rothman the author?

I was long ago give advice to write what I know. Let’s just say that I have a strong background in technology, and I’ve travelled the world and am an informal student of cultures and languages.

It is my intent to write two books a year. One being heavily based on technology, like Primordial Threat, the other being Perimeter, a mainstream thriller. All of them will have international settings. In fact, I’ve already put together the third novel, scheduled for first half of 2019. It will be a medical thriller named Darwin’s Cypher. And then for the second half of 2019, will be book 2 of the Levi Yoder series. And yes – I even have an outline for the book for the first half of 2020. Yes – I have my work cut out for me. I don’t intend to disappoint my readers. ;-)

For fans and future fan’s inquiring minds tell us just a bit about you.
Do you have a day job, when did you decided you wanted to be an author, what are your hobbies, what do you like to read in your spare time, etc…?

I do have a day job, but I tend to keep that under wraps. I generally do research in computer technology and have programming running in almost all platforms that have shipped in the last decade or more.

I began writing as a way to entertain my kids. Mostly epic fantasy. Now that they’re older, I began pursuing genres that are more in my areas of interest.

My hobbies are cooking, academic research, and target practice (shooting).

My reading has historically been epic fantasy and thrillers, but nowadays it is hard science fiction and thrillers.

Michael thank you for letting me get nosey with you. Good luck with this novel and your upcoming thriller too.
Do you have any author events/signings coming up?

None as of yet, but depending on how these books sell, this may change.

My Review:

Primordial Threat
M.A. Rothman

Rothman’s debut, Primordial Threat, is a powerful hard science fiction novel set in the near future of 2066 about a black hole hurtling towards earth that will mean the total annihilation of the planet unless someone can find a solution. It’s chock full of real scientific data yet easy for a layman to not only understand but also appreciate, a mix of hard sci-fi and thriller and both fascinating and because of Rothman’s knowledge as a research scientist improbably probable. The backdrops are vividly portrayed by a fluent dialogue, and the tight plot drives the story with enough tech speak for the nerd but not too much to leave the remaining readers scratching their heads. The characters are genuine and likeable and there are many who share the title of “star” that makes it hard to pick a favorite. There’s also a villainous organization determined to let “God’s will” of Earth’s destruction happen that hits the thriller bulls eye and a cryptic ending that cleverly leaves a sequel option open. All in all fans of both hard sci-fi and thrillers will enjoy this non-stop action filled page-turner.
Kudos to this debut author and I know I’ll be reading him again!

SUMMARY:
With less than a year before the Earth is swallowed by an enormous black hole Dr. Burt Radcliffe head of NASAs Near Earth Object Program and his second in command Dr. Neeta Patek are scrambling to find a way to save the planet. This threat isn’t exactly news to them, in fact a colleague of theirs tried to warn about it four years ago. But no one believed him and as a result he was shunned, humiliated and disgraced. After being called crazy he was forced into a psychiatric hospital where soon after he disappeared without a trace. If he could be found they just might have a fighting chance, without him they’re doomed because the earth has no defense for this kind of foe.

Meanwhile there are a group of religious zealots spreading propaganda about this threat being God’s will and they have no problem causing death and destruction to see that a solution isn’t found.

Pre-order Michaels' upcoming mainstream thriller
releasing 10-1-2018

Connect with Michael - Website - Facebook - Twitter

Meet Michael:

I’m one of the most unlikely novelists you’ll ever meet. I’m an engineer first and foremost, with a background in the sciences.
I primarily write stories that focus on two things: technology and international intrigue. After all, I know technology, and being an army brat as well as the first born American in my family, I’ve traveled extensively in my life. For you literary nerds (myself included), that means I write things that span the genres of science fiction, techno-thriller, and mainstream thrillers.
When I’m not writing, I enjoy cooking, learning about new things, travel, and spending time with my family.