SALT LAKE CITY, November 27, 2018
The Third Thaw series by Karl Hanson is a planned trilogy following the lives of people sent as frozen embryos to a distant planet, who were “birthed” and raised by robots. Hanson, an engineer, writes unconventional, hard sci-fi stories that appeal even to readers who typically avoid science fiction.
Among other things, his second book explores the question, “What is it that makes us who we are?” There is action, an unusual villain, and plenty of lessons about science on the cutting edge. Now under contract with E.L. Marker,™ it’s scheduled publication date comes a year after the first, The Third Thaw (E.L. Marker, 2018).
Hanson has this to say about his series: “The Third Thaw ends with a few loose ends. Book 2 answers these questions as well as providing backstory about ‘The Planners of The Mission. ‘ Whereas The Third Thaw is an epic adventure covering great distances, the sequel is set in one place, following the character’s lives in a 1950’s setting. ”
The author belongs to a rare breed of “engineers who write novels”. Hanson’s approach to writing is “somewhat like designing a bridge or building, because stories also have structure,” he states. “Writing is ultimately an art, but writers can also apply some analysis (or engineering) in viewing their story’s plot structure.”
He feels that the best stories begin with gentle ups and downs, eventually growing in amplitude to an exciting finish. “When, I write, like any novelist, my foremost objective is to keep the reader interested. I especially like finishing chapters with cliff hangers.”
Many of the scenes in The Third Thaw are social experiments exploring simple aspects of society. The characters are naïve and know nothing about family, parents, sex, love, raising kids, or money. In his books, Hanson examines simple social issues as well as complex issues, such as the evolving relationship of humans to machines. The sequel continues along these lines, exploring new issues in unusual ways.
The characters with which the author most identifies are Charles Timoshenko and Horst. Charles Timoshenko is a structural engineer in Chicago, like myself,” Hanson says, “and he is about my age. Horst is the hero of the book; he speaks and acts like me.”
Hanson enjoys the novels of Michel Crichton, Nelson DeMille, Lee Childs, Harlan Coben, Robin Cook . “I typically avoid science fiction, unless it is hard science fiction, such as John Cramer’s excellent books. On the literary end of the spectrum, perhaps my favorite book is Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser– (the second half of the book blew me away).”
Hanson chose to submit his manuscript and sign with E.L. Marker when he was offered a contract. He states, “WiDo’s E. L. Marker hybrid imprint appealed to me, because it allows me to maintain more control over the story. I was afraid certain elements I wanted to include would not survive the editing process with a larger publishing house.”
“We are so happy that Karl chose us to publish his sequel to The Third Thaw,” says WiDo’s lead publisher, Brenda Gowen. “My thirteen-year-old son read Karl’s book and is really excited to read the new one when it comes out.”
Karl Hanson, a structural engineer, earned degrees from Colorado State University and the University of Illinois. Since 1980, he has helped design buildings and bridges throughout the country. In Chicago, he is involved in everything from small projects to high profile projects such as Millennium Park and McCormick Place.
Despite the pressures and responsibilities of his job, Hanson is fascinated by the challenges. He has developed a suite of structural engineering software by the name of “DCALC”, or DesignCalcs, used by structural engineers across the country.
His hobbies are piano playing, learning German, and riding bikes with his wife around the Chicago area; in the last three years, they bike roughly 1000 miles a year. Karl Hanson lives with his wife, Lisa, in Chicago. They have two daughters and are a family of avid readers. Learn more about the author at his website: kjhanson.net. Find him on Facebook under “Karl J. Hanson, Author.”