A Q&A with Jon Land, author of
Black Scorpion: The Tyrant Reborn
1. Can you tell us a bit about Black
Scorpion: The Tyrant Reborn? I think it’s the most
ambitious book I’ve ever done in terms of character, emotion and story. I say that not only because of its epic-like
structure, but mostly because I’ve never written a book before that challenges
its characters in so many ways. It
challenges them with truth and the reality of their own natures contrasted
against their fates, testing especially Michael Tiranno’s capacity to exceed
his own limitations. He has become a classical, almost mythic hero in terms of
the losses he suffers and stunning revelations about his own fate he must
accept. All the while confronting a villain
just as powerful as he is with whom he unknowingly shares an indelible
bond. Great villains, they say, make
great heroes and that’s truly the case here as Michael confronts an
all-powerful criminal organization with a plot to do incredible harm to the
country and world in the offing. To stop
them, Michael must become a different man than he is when the book starts out,
he must evolve, literally, into something more and accepting that fate comes to
define both him as a hero and the story as a whole.
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| Jon Land |
2. This book takes place 5 years after Book One. As a writer, what was it
like to make that time jump? It wasn’t as hard as it seems because
I started with the premise that in those five years, Michael hasn’t changed
very much. He’s still pretty much the
same man we left at the end of The Seven
Sins, a tyrant consumed by his desire to expand his empire and
holdings. The whole essence of Black Scorpion is watching him evolve
into something entirely different—still a tyrant, yes, but a tyrant for
good. A superhero without a mask or
cape. We watch his view of his entire
place in the world change, forced upon him by the shattering truths and tragedy
he encounters along the way. And in that
respect his quest changes from the pursuit of riches and power to self-fulfillment
and self-actualization.
3. What is your favorite character
trait about Michael Tiranno? That’s the perfect
follow-up to the last question, because the answer lies in the essence of his
character in both books as defined by witnessing the murder of his parents as a
young boy. He knows what it’s like to
feel weak, powerless and vulnerable. And
now, above everything else, Michael Tiranno’s character is defined by his
obsession for standing up for those who can’ t stand up for themselves. Bullies aren’t confined to the schoolyard and
he won’t tolerate them under any circumstances.
He’s spent his life trying to find the security he lost that day his
parents were murdered and once there he uses the power that comes with it to
defend those who need him the most.
4.
I’ve
read that Tiranno is based on the character’s owner, Fabrizio Boccardi. How
do you work with him to develop each story?
It’s an extremely close relationship
since we basically sweat every single plot development, every single
scene—hell, every single line! It can be
extremely frustrating at times because I’m used to working alone in a box
without interference or micromanaging.
Quite frankly, I don’t enjoy the process at all, but have to admit twice
now it’s resulted in far better books than I could have written on my own. Fabrizio isn’t a writer or a storyteller and
he doesn’t grasp all the intricacies of structure. But he has wonderful instincts that are right
more often than not and form the perfect complement to my experience and
talents. Look, Michael Tiranno is his
baby. He turned him over to me to build
but he could never be expected to let him go altogether. Ultimately, I think we work so well together
because our passion is balanced by our willingness to compromise toward telling
the best story we possibly can. It may
drive me crazy at times, but the ends justify the means.
5.
Without giving too much away—what was your favorite scene
or chapter to write in Black Scorpion? Oh, wow, what a
great question! And the answer occurred
to me immediately: the scene on the farm
where Michael was born where he meets the book’s villain Vladirmir Dracu, head
of the sinister organization Black Scorpion, for the first time. It’s a turning point not only in this book,
but in Michael’s entire life—his journey, his quest. A shattering revelation that comes on the
heels of an equally shattering discovery about his own past. What this book does more than any other I’ve
ever written is challenge its hero by taking him to the absolute brink. Force him to rethink everything there is so
he has to evolve in order to deal with all he’s being confronted by. The only way he can survive is to remake
himself into something entirely different than how he started out.
6.
Did you have to do any special research to write this
book?
Yes, a ton. It’s always that way
with thrillers that involve as much cutting edge technology as this one
does. But so much of it is speculative,
based not on what exists now but will eventually, that I’m essentially forced
to go back to school on subjects I had very little knowledge of to start
out. And not just pertaining to the
villain’s world-threatening plot either.
I had to figure out how to construct Black Scorpion’s lair inside a
mountain, needed to concoct a away for a commando team to access from beneath a
manmade lake in the climax. It’s all
very James Bond-like and, as with Bond, with every challenge comes up a
wonderful opportunity to do something no one’s ever done before.
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7.
What do you hope fans take away from or feel when reading
this book?
Oh man, that’s another great question! Wow, it was easy in the first
book, The Seven Sins, because that
one mostly followed the ultimate rags-to-riches story, so I wanted people to
come away believing anything was possible.
In Black Scorpion, the moral dilemmas and the morality itself is more
complicated. Of course, first and
foremost I want them to come away feeling they weren’t just entertained, but
spirited away into the fabric of the story.
But I want them to take away from that what makes a man a hero. That a man’s fate isn’t always his to define,
as personified in Michael’s case by the mystical relic medallion that’s the one
possession he has left from his family.
It’s both his talisman and his curse, as it has been for other men of
great power who’ve possessed it through history. And while that medallion might fuel Michael’s
quest, ultimately that quest is about saving a woman he loves and preserving
the world he has built he now wants to share with her. So as broad and ambitious as this book is,
like all great stories, it’s ultimately very simple.
8.
What is your favorite piece of feedback you have gotten
about Michael Tiranno? (Laughs)
That’s an easy one: “He’s an
asshole, but I like him!” Of course,
that’s from the first book. The feedback
on the Michael Tiranno of Black Scorpion
so far is that he represents the light confronting the ultimate forces of
darkness. That’s exactly what I was
striving for, in both cases, so I couldn’t be more happy.
9.
Can you tell us if there is a Book Three in the works? Hey, here’s a
short answer for a change: No, not
yet. But there’s a whole bunch of
happening in film and comic books. Stay
tuned, as they say!
10.
Tell us where we can find your book
and more information about you. To use the cliché,
accurate in this case, wherever books are sold or is most convenient for
you. As for me, you can find me on the
Web at jonlandbooks.com or follow me on Twitter @jondland. I promise to keep you entertained there too!
An Excerpt
Part One
BEFORE
ONE
Northern Israel, 950 BC
“They come, oh great King.”
Solomon, weary and weak from going so
long without rest, leaned heavily on the shoulder of his son as he emerged from
inside his goat- hair tent. Already he and his private guard had fought off two
ambushes. Bandits appeared to be to blame, but Solomon sus-
pected otherwise given their weaponry, skill, and the fact that
they hadn’t fl ed when confronted.
Now his heart pounded with
anticipation, but also with fear, in the night’s heat. He was so close now, so
close to fulfilling the destiny shaped by his father, the great King David. And
that reality filled him with the awesome scope of the responsibility before
him, along with the price of failure.
He
could not fail. The fate of his kingdom was at stake.
Solomon cast his gaze down the road to
see a single wagon kicking up a dust cloud in its wake. Traveling under cover
of darkness greatly lessened the threat of a raid by bandits and, in any event,
at first sight the wagon seemed to be carrying nothing more than a farmer’s
crops being taken to the open market in Jerusalem.
Solomon peeled back his beggar’s hood
to reveal long locks of shiny brown hair and finely etched features that looked
chiseled onto his face. He’d just nodded off, dreaming of Jerusalem, imagining
the lanterns lighting the city twinkling in the night, when the captain of his
private guard alerted him to the wagon’s coming.
Solomon eased his hand from the
shoulder of his fifteen-year-old son Rehoboam as the wagon drew closer, so the
boy wouldn’t feel him stiffen. “Keep a keen eye, my son, for our enemies are
everywhere.”
“Father?” the boy said, sliding a hand
to the knife Solomon had presented him on the occasion of his bar mitzvah. He
was small for his age and a bit frail. But, as heir to the kingdom of Israel,
he needed to be part of such a vital mission, no matter how perilous.
“They would seek to destroy this
symbol of our people and the foundation of our future. With our temple
complete, we have safe refuge for it at last.”
The Temple of Solomon had taken nearly
eight years to build, requiring men and materials the likes of which had never
been seen before in the known world. A staggering two hundred thousand workers
had ultimately played a part in its construction, milled from vast quantities
of local stone and imported cedar wood. It was a sprawling, palatial structure,
perhaps the greatest ever erected— and with good reason, since it would be
housing the vast stores of priceless treasures amassed by the Jewish people through
time. What Solomon had kept secret from all but his most trusted cadre was the
construction of a special chamber within the temple called Kodesh Hakodashim,
or Holy of Holies. This would house the ark of the covenant, containing the
remains of the stone tablets that held the actual Ten Commandments, along with
the contents carried in the rear of the simple farmer’s wagon approaching now.
It drew close enough to reveal the
snorting of the horses and pounding of their hooves atop the roadbed that was dry
and cracking from the long drought Solomon took for God’s impatience. And, as
if to reinforce that belief, he felt the first trickle of raindrops and took
this as a good omen, until thunder rumbled in the distance and it became
something much different.
A warning.
This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.
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