Quil Carter | Interview
The world of 'Fallocaust' is the scorched Greywastes, where cannibalism has become a harsh reality and life before the catastrophe seems like nothing more than a fairy tale from dog-eared magazines. In this universe, survival comes first, and traditional morality has long since given way to primal instincts.
Specially for Russian-speaking readers, we interviewed the creator of this massive saga. During our conversation, the author shared his sources of inspiration (from the Fallout series to nature documentaries), discussed the mechanics of immortality, and revealed some secrets about future projects, including the long-awaited story of King Silas.
Q1. Writers often pour a piece of themselves into their work. How much of yourself – your own experiences and fears – found its way into the Fallocaust? Are there any specific scenes or characters that echo something from your own life?
A1. Oh I have put all of myself into these characters and the world as a whole. Every character has a piece of me, whether it’s a personality trait, a like or dislike, an experience from my past, you name it. One of the more obvious examples are the chimeras loving cats, since as we all know I am quite the cat lover myself. Another good example is the China Lily brand soy sauce and how the Dekkers need it with their rice for them to be able to enjoy it.
Those are the easiest examples to give. There’s more complicated ways that the characters hold pieces of me. Some emotional moments in these books come from real life experiences that I’ve had, and I’ve found a catharsis in being able to talk about them through my writing. It’s like therapy except people pay me instead of me having to pay a therapist. Ya’ll have saved me so much money.
As for any specific scene or character, I think it’s hard to narrow it down. The inspiration is just everywhere, there’s no getting away from it.
Q2. Were there any scenes in the book that were particularly tricky from a technical perspective? Perhaps you had to “do your homework” on a subject you weren't familiar with, or maybe a scene was just difficult to get right for other reasons?
A2. Even though the series is science fiction, I like to base it in reality as much as possible, so there’s always lots of research when it comes to these books. I love learning new things though so that’s one of my favourite parts. There’s been a few times where I spent the whole evening searching for then going over old floor plans for places the characters have visited, like specific malls or museums. Since in the Fallocaust Timeline the world ended around 2003/2004, it’s not as easy as Googling the place in general and bringing up a map, I want it to resemble what it would’ve looked like right before the world ended. Sometimes it ends up being an interesting little treasure hunt.
Also some of the research I’ve needed to do have led to some interesting search results on Google, like “Can I eat a rat that’s been killed with rat poison” and my personal favourite “How to smoke meth”.
Q3. Most of your readers are aware that music is your greatest inspiration. Apart from music, what else do you draw inspiration from while crafting the plot? Were there any specific books, films, or other works of art that particularly influenced you?
A3. Oh lots. One of the early inspirations for the series was the Fallout video games and also the book The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I’ve always been enamored with abandoned buildings or urban decay in general, so finding media whose whole vibe was a post-apocalyptic setting just sparked so much inspiration in me. As for crafting the plot in general, I don’t do a whole lot of ‘sit down and plan it out’ sort of stuff when I’m writing, I just leave it in my head to stew, so I draw inspiration from so many different things as those ideas are fermenting up there. So I don’t think there’s anything specific I could point out.
Q4. Many readers are fascinated by the concept of the proxy worms. Did films about body horror or parasitic control play a role in their development? There's a theory among some readers that they might be a nod to the creatures from The Faculty. Have they guessed right?
A4. I did watch the Faculty way back when but it wasn’t until I read this that I remembered it. I need to watch that again. So no, the Faculty wasn’t an inspiration for it, the main inspiration was the horsehair worm (lots of really fascinating and absolutely disgusting videos out there of them slithering out of insects they’ve taken over) and the cordyceps fungus! I remember watching I think it was Planet Earth 1, the nature documentary and they had a segment on the cordyceps fungus and I’d never heard of it before and was just enamored that a funguscould mind control like that! (I don’t think I was the only one to get inspiration either, looking at you The Last of Us lol) Mother Nature VS Father Fallocaust has always been an underlining theme in the series and I loved the idea of Mother Nature fighting back against what has been done to her and sending these parasites out into the world to bring down the ones that had killed her.
As for the body horror aspect, I can’t think of any single piece of media, I have just always loved body horror in general.
Q5. The references to Sailor Moon and Pokémon are a fun touch for many readers. Are you a fan of them too? If this is the case what are your thoughts on the more recent releases, like Sailor Moon Crystal and the ongoing Pokémon series? Have you been keeping up with them?
A5. Definitely a fan of both but oh boy. Sailor Moon Crystal… kind of made me question just why it was made in the first place! They skipped over so much and some of the animation was just awful. I think they should’ve just remastered the OG series or something similar. It is nice that it attracted a new audience I suppose.
Pokémon though… I love Pokémon but they have been releasing absolute duds when it comes to the video games. No innovation, crappy graphics, paywalling the ability to catch them all, and just so lazy. And since they still sell so well, Game Freak has no incentive to change. I think Palworld really showed a lot of us just what was possible and pointed a big ol shame finger towards Pokémon. The old games though just like the old Sailor Moon episodes are absolute gems.
Q6. Some time ago you unveiled a plan to tell the story of King Silas's life before the Fallocaust. Where does that story currently sit on your writing schedule?
A6. So once the main series is finished, I’m going to be starting a sequel series (there’s some more info on that somewhere in the FalloCult. The whole concept of the sequel series started out as a joke, basically me thinking of the most ridiculous premise for a sequel coupled with the most ridiculous name ‘Fallocaust in Space!’ but low and behold I actually ended up getting really neat ideas for it and now it’s pretty much greenlit. The name is of course going to change though), and while writing that sequel series I’m going to be writing the Silas series too. I’ll still be writing The Gods’ Games books as well and hopefully have time for some side books I’ve been wanting to write, so the schedule will probably look like this:
Fallocaust in Space!
Silas Series book
The Gods’ Games book
and repeat that until finished.
Q7. Readers are fascinated by the immortals in your world. Since they seemingly can't even be killed by fire or acid, and there's only one known method to kill them permanently, could you give us some more details on how the resurrection works? What are the rules and limitations?
A7. How resurrection works is basically as soon as you ‘die’ your body immediately jump starts itself back to life and triggers your body to start healing itself. The time it takes for each immortal to heal is based off of the individual person and the extent of their injuries. For example, some immortals take longer to grow fingers but grow organs fast, or another may heal quickly from deep tissue injuries but it might take them an entire day to regrow teeth.
As for limitations, the only limitation would be if you resurrect in a hostile environment and die again immediately after. Even if the brain is completely destroyed, you will still resurrect with your personality and memory intact.
There is a lot that is unknown about resurrecting however, a lot of science experiments that could be conducted to learn and expand their knowledge. However, a lot of these experiments could result in some horrific side effects or unwanted immortals, so a lot of the unknowns have remained unknowns for now.
Q8. Which character from the Fallocaust do you feel the most affinity for? We understand that authors love all their characters equally, just like parents do, but still, who is your secret favorite?
A8. They all have a piece of me in them but I think the one I have the most affinity for is Elish. He’s ended up having such a fascinating back story and the psychology behind that man is so complex. A close second would be Silas… like very close second. Close enough I’m almost tempted to change my answer but I’ll refrain lol.
Q9. The world of the Fallocaust feels so cinematic. Is an adaptation a dream of yours, and if so, do you have a 'dream format' in mind, like a high-budget TV series or a stylized anime? And speaking of visual adaptations, how would you feel about fans taking the initiative to create their own animated shorts or game mods inspired by your work? Is that a form of fan engagement you'd encourage?
A9. I think if I had a say in the matter, I’d love a high-budget HBO-type television show. Admittedly, sometimes if a particularly good song comes on when Im in the shower or relaxing, I’ll fantasize about that being the song playing during opening credits and what those opening credits would look like. An anime would also be pretty damn cool too though.
And I love it when my books inspire people to be creative. When I started seeing people write fan fiction and post fan art, that was a huge ‘Holy shit, I’m a real author!’ moment for me. Knowing my books inspire others is such a neat bonus to the whole author thing and I love and absolutely encourage it.
Q10. Are there any plans to have your books translated into other languages and find publishers abroad?
A10. One day, but it would cost such an ass load of money to do so and I just can’t afford it right now. I’m not sure about finding publishers abroad either, everything I release is self-published so I have no experience with all of that. With my books being on Amazon though they are available worldwide.
Q11. We know you have a very peculiar hobby of collecting dinosaur bones. That's so fascinating! Could you tell us a bit about your collection and what sparked your interest in paleontology?
A11. I love history, especially ancient history. I’m not sure what sparked my interest in it, but dinosaurs and dinosaur bones, or any sort of fossil, has always fascinated me. Like that used to be an actual living, breathing creature millions of years ago! The concept is just mind boggling.
I don’t have a large collection by any means, I just started collecting a couple years ago. I haven’t done much travelling in my life so I’ve never been to a real dinosaur museum (although I really want to visit the Royal Tyrrell museum one day) so the first time I saw the fossils I’d end up buying was the first time I’d ever seen a real dinosaur bone.
My most prized piece in my wee collection is a T-Rex toe! The fact that I own an actual part of a T-Rex will never not enthrall me. I also own a megalodon tooth, lots of fossils of sea life like fish or shellfish, fossilized plants, and a few other ones I cant remember off the top of my head. So safe to say, Perish’s love for dinosaurs was lifted from my own.