Eight Questions: D. Allen Rutherford

 


As promised before, we are closing out June with an interview by D. Allen Rutherford, former army officer, international technology consultant and science teacher. He is the author of the Wargs Trilogy, and his words speak for themselves, so, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen here he is...

Coyote: What kind(s) of books do you read? Do you have any favorites?

D Allen Rutherford: I mostly read fantasy and science fiction novels. Occasionally, I will read historical fiction and paranormal thrillers. There are many authors/novels that I’ve read over the years that I’ve liked; too many to list here. That being said, H.G. Wells would probably be at the top of my favorites list.  However, a few of the more recent ones that I truly enjoyed are: “Rys Rising” by Tracy Falbe, “The Archer’s Son” by M.E. Hubbs, “Forged in Death” by Jim Melvin, “Angels Blood” by Sallyann Phillips, “Shadowland” by C.M. Gray.

Coyote: If you weren’t writing books, what would you be doing with that time and energy instead? Why?

 D Allen Rutherford: I generally have to keep busy doing something. I consider myself semi-retired (former international consultant). It’s hard for me sit around and do absolutely nothing. I do enjoy a couple of hobbies such as fishing. I couple of years ago I got back into fly fishing and recently I’ve taken up the hobby of tying my own flies. I enjoy the challenge of fly fishing and the joy of being able to catch a fish on a fly that I created on my bench.

Coyote: What first inspired your writing of The Wargs Trilogy? How did the project begin?

D Allen Rutherford: When I watch or read science fiction, fantasy, or paranormal type movies/novels, I enjoy the connection to fundamentally sound scientific principles. This keeps me grounded in the story and gives me a feeling that whatever is being presented is possible, if not probable. Hence, I was watching a werewolf movie that pretended to be a “Modern” adaptation of the stereotypical werewolf myth/legend. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of imagination in bringing the werewolf “to life” in a modern setting. Shortly after watching that movie, I happened across a YouTube video highlighting the current scientific advances in transgenics and the experimentation with creating human-animal hybrids. Afterwards, I researched transgenics in more detail and started looking for a scientific foundation that could make it possible for someone to create a human-animal hybrid that, in essence, would be a real-live werewolf. Surprisingly, the science was there and not only was is possible, there were labs around the world actually creating human-animal hybrids. This sparked the idea for writing novel incorporating this fringe science into a real-to-life story.

As I began doing more in-depth research into the science of transgenics and human-animal hybrids, several moral and ethical issues came to light. Looking into the moral and ethical debates surrounding transgenics and human-animal hybrids revealed a wealth of ideas from which I used to develop the multiple layers within the storyline of the Wargs Trilogy.

Coyote: Tell us a little about the story.

D Allen Rutherford: The Wargs Trilogy is a modern-day, Sci-Fi Thriller that follows the exploits of Dr. Mathew Kershaw in a remote valley in north central Idaho. Dr. Kershaw, is crypto zoologist on a quest to find a cryptid wolf species that he believes may exist in the wilderness regions of the pacific northwest. His quest is driven by a belief that many of the old Native American myths and legends were derived from some strange and unusual animals that once existed and may still be found in the wilderness regions. Responding to a request from an old college friend, Matt reluctantly agrees to investigate a wolf attack on a forest ranger. However, after talking to the ranger and hearing details of the unusual attack and the detailed description of the strange and abnormally large wolves, Matt is encouraged at the prospect of finding his long sought after cryptid wolf species,. Upon his arrival in Misty Hollow, he quickly gets the feeling that there is something not quite right when he encounters resistance to his presence and a reluctance from the locals to aid him in his investigation. He soon finds himself in a fight for survival when he becomes an unwitting player in a struggle between the people of Misty Hollow and a terrible and vicious predator from the wilderness region. Layered in mystery, suspense, love, tragedy, and betrayal, the story takes you into a real-to-life world of transgenic human-animal hybrids and forces that will go to great lengths to control and exploit the Curse of Misty Hollow.

Coyote: What are some of the recurring themes of your work, and why are they important to you?

D Allen Rutherford: I like to build stories around controversial topics in science and history, bringing to the forefront, moral and ethical issues that surround the central theme of my stories. Particularly in leading edge science, there are usually supporters and detractors who wage a war over moral and ethical issues. Most people have a hard time relating to the arguments proffered by either side. I like to take the argument out of the nebulous realm of the lab and the media and put it into real-to-life stories where the reader can relate to the impact of the science and related issues.

Coyote: In The Wargs Trilogy, the concept of scientific ethics plays a major role. Specifically, the plot centers around the practice of transgenics. In addition, your tale questions the effectiveness of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity enacted in 2003. Is there anything you would like for readers to take away from your work regarding these subjects, or specific questions you’re hoping to raise?

D Allen Rutherford: As I mentioned earlier, I hope the reader will walk away with a clearer understanding that science is has few constraints upon it. I’m not opposed to advances in scientific research. However, many scientist tend to set aside moral and ethical concerns in favor of achieving the next great break-through. Much like the atomic research and nuclear testing done in the mid-1940s and decades afterwards. The science outpaced our understanding of the inherent dangers imposed by that science. History is now littered with tragic examples of a science unleashed before we truly understood its potential and inherent risks.

In the Wargs Trilogy, I created a scenario that highlights just one potential hazard of a run-away research program. Recently, there have been initiatives taken by a few politicians who are seeking to imposed strict and enforceable constraints on transgenic research – specifically, they are insisting that the research not be allowed progress into the realm of actually creating human-animal chimera. Can you imagine a true human-animal hybrid that would be possess human cognitive intelligence but lacking a soul or conscience.

Coyote: If The Wargs Trilogy were to become a movie or cable series, who would you like to see play what characters, and why?

D Allen Rutherford: What author has not imagined his novel being made into a movie or series, then sat back and pondered which actor/actress would be best suited for the key roles. Given that the Wargs Trilogy is heavily influenced by Native American folklore and to some extent its culture, I would hope that many of the actors/actress would be from among the many (and often lessor known) Native American actors/actresses. It’s hard for me to name anyone particular actor/actress to any of the characters in my novel. I would be more interested to hear from readers who they pictured in their minds when reading the novel.

Coyote: Is there anything else you would like to say in closing?

D Allen Rutherford: Although I like writing stories that are interesting, exciting, and mind-bending. I ultimately want to write novels that people enjoy reading. Therefore, I love hearing comments from readers about who their favorite character is, what they liked, did not like, and what they would like for me to write about in the future.


D. Allen Rutherford is a former army officer and a retired international technology consultant with a B.S. and Masters degree. Settling down in central Arkansas, D. Allen taught a year as an adjunct professor and three years as a science teacher in secondary education before deciding to devote his time and energy to writing science and historical fiction novels.

Combining his interest in science with his love of writing, D. Allen attempts to create science fiction novels that blur the line between modern science and science fiction. Layered within his stories are issues associated with controversial scientific research, leaving the reader to wonder, "is this really possible," opening the doors to moral and ethical debate.

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Review: The Laputan Factor

Tristan Black Wolf’s The Laputan Factor is a fine story, containing generally well-written characters. Granted, there are elements that seemed to be missing, and their lack was something that I found telling in my overall enjoyment of the tale. But if I were a publishing house, I would definitely call the author with a contract in mind.

The Laputan Factor begins with the protagonist awakening. I’ve read that some people will advise against such an opening, but in this instance it actually suits the piece perfectly. The overall story takes place within a personal mystery, with the protagonist desperately trying to discern fantasy from reality, and determine how he can become truly awake, if such a thing is even possible. I’m not giving anything away when I say that there are two lives that are experienced within the narration, and one of the several challenges that our hero must face is discerning what is reality, and what is illusion. And no matter which life is real… if he is so delusional that he can’t easily tell, what does that say about him?

Another satisfying point in the story’s favour is a lack of pointlessly idiotic characters. I have long held that if a story requires a character to be a moron, especially if they’re normally intelligent, then you need to step back, set it all on fire, and come up with a better story. In The Laputan Factor, morons need not apply. Yes, there are mistakes made under stress, but at no time does a character suddenly and inexplicably turn brain-dead just to keep the plot moving, or to shoe-horn in a particular scene.

That being said, the tale is not without its problems. My copy is 141 pages long, counting the illustrations, and the author cites its word count at around 47,000 words. Unfortunately, instead of a short novella, the story reads like a draft for a novel. There are questions left unanswered, especially at the end, and places where the dialogue feels more like a recital than people interacting.

The main hero is a good-natured fellow, and an incorrigible flirt. This is fine, and he is a genuinely nice enough guy that in some scenes it even adds to his charm. But the narration also picks up this trend, more so in the beginning than later on in the book, and the parenthetical wink-wink-nudge-nudge is frankly a distraction when it happens. The shift in narrative style through the story feels like a lack of editing more than a narrative choice, but I may be missing something through being overcritical.

That said, some of the descriptions are themselves distracting. For example: the characters are all essentially a race (races?) of anthropomorphic animals, like Larry Niven’s Kzinti and C.J. Cherryh’s Hani. Their manipulative digits are referred to as “paws,” but they use technology that would seem to require thumbs to operate. This seriously messed with my visualization. If the characters are fully humanoid, then by physiological definition wouldn’t they have hands and feet? Are their “hands” actually like monkey paws, lacking a proper saddle-joint and therefore not truly formed hands? Or do they have true hands, but refer to hands and feet as “forepaws” and “hindpaws” as a cultural statement? If so, where are the “normal” humans they would be distinguishing themselves from, for such a statement to be needed? I am reminded of Watterson’s early strips of Calvin and Hobbes, where Hobbes started out with paw pads on his hands. It is worth noting that Watterson later dropped the pads as being too cluttered and distracting.

But most damning of all is probably the world-building, and the characterization of the supporting cast. Please don’t misunderstand, I actually found myself liking the characters a great deal. By the time I was on the last chapter, I was emotionally involved with their well-being, rooting for all of them, even though I knew there was no way all of them could make it out the other side. But there is so much telling instead of showing, with the cast and the worlds both. I kept wanting to go back in time and say to the author, “No, it’s okay, take your time! No good novel is actually finished in a month. It’s obvious you love these characters and their culture. Don’t just tell us why, show us.”

I would love to have seen more of the society on board the Heartwielder. Much more than that, I want to see the crew interact more, and have their merits and flaws demonstrated throughout the story, not explained in a descriptive introduction. I would love to see more of the main character’s lover, Donovan, so that I can care about him more. In fact, I would love to have seen more of every character shown through their actions, rather than described, and not have all their descriptions lumped into their opening shot. And since this all takes place in different worlds than our own, finding out more little things about the cultures throughout the story would have been beautiful. But again: show, don’t tell.

In an author’s interview he granted me a short time ago, Tristan Black Wolf said he finished the tale in 22 days. When I read that, my first thought was, “Oh, that explains it.” Not because it’s a bad yarn; it isn’t. But it feels rushed. It feels incomplete.

Ultimately, I give The Laputan Factor three and a half stars out of five. I feel that it isn’t finished enough to get a four or five, but it’s better than a three even in its current state. As I have said before, if I were a publisher, I would call Mr. Black Wolf with an offer. But one of my caveats would be that he take however many months he needed to tweak, smooth, and fill out the story until it was the novel – long or short – that it seems to want to be. As it is, it’s fun. But it has the potential to be wonderful. The characters are engaging, the story is good, and the concept is intriguing and well-handled. I just kept wishing that was more smoothly written, that it went deeper, and that there was more to it. That being said, it is ultimately no terrible thing to look at any work of art and find yourself longing for more.

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