Novelist Ed Downes discusses filling his new creation, Frozen Echoes, with horrors of Antarctica touched by several of horror history’s greatest and reflects on what makes the alien really alien–and what might happen if we came across aliens for real.
Frozen Echoes
Dr. Flint Hill, an Antarctic researcher, has a centuries-old frozen ship burst through the ice near his base.
Dr. Eva Ward, a cultural anthropologist, journeys deep into the Amazon jungle to investigate a strange flute recovered at a dig site.
Hill is overwhelmed when a mysterious duo shows up in a helicopter, followed by the United States Navy, both drawn by a strange signal emitting from the frozen ship.
Back in Sao Paulo, Eva fights off an attacker set on stealing the flute and ending her life, fleeing to a hacker friend to hide.
Aboard the ship, Hill and the Navy discover the remains of a strange creature before the ice closes around them, threatening to end their investigation prematurely.
Eva’s friend takes her prisoner, forcing her to escape and make her way toward the one clue he provided: Antarctica.
Joining forces, Flint and Eva use the Navy’s resources to head under the ice, where they find the frozen echoes of a civilization waiting to be reborn. But is the cost one they’re willing to pay?
The Interview
1. “Anything weird with the penguins?”: Antarctic Echoes. What inspired you to write a story primarily set in Antarctica? What moods, themes, and images do you like best when surrounding your characters with so much cold, ice, and inhospitable water? While the Antarctic remains a great unknown for most people and relatively unexplored in both reality and fiction, it does appear in two pillars of the horror tradition: Edgar Allan Poe’s underread novel The Narrative of Arthur Pym of Nantucket (1838) and what is probably H.P. Lovecraft’s most influential novel, At the Mountains of Madness (1936). Lovecraft’s work certainly echoes Poe’s. To what extent, if at all, does Frozen Echoes echo either or both of these works? For Lovecraft—and I’d say for Poe as well—there’s something cosmic and horrifying about the sublimity of Antarctica. Do you find Antarctica cosmic and horrifying? Why or why not?
ED: I have always been fascinated by stories that take place in isolation. And I can’t think of any more isolated place on the planet than Antarctica. I grew up watching movies and reading books that depict horrific scenarios set deep in the Arctic ice shelf. Specific examples that come to mind include John Carpenter’s The Thing, which was one of my favorite movies growing up. Another story that sends chills up my spine was an accurate account of an exploration expedition of Sir Ernest Shackleton when he led the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914. This expedition’s purpose was to embark on a trek across the Antarctic continent. Inevitably, Shackleton’s ship became ice-locked in the Arctic for a long period of time. And the third example that comes to mind is Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, where the climax takes place in the Arctic, where Victor Frankenstein confronts his creature.
I have always enjoyed reading the works of H. P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe. I won’t get into either of their personal lives or belief systems. I will just comment on their writing capabilities. Both were very talented in creating stories that instill fear. From the suspenseful horror of Edgar Allan Poe to the immense cosmic horror of H. P. Lovecraft, I have always found myself immersed in their stories. There’s no doubt that both of these prolific authors had an influence on the stories that I want to tell. I’ve always loved the way H. P. Lovecraft can make us feel so small and isolated in his storytelling. His ability to weave a story of dread is still unmatched in my opinion. Also, I have always found Edgar Allan Poe to have a unique talent of building suspense that draws the reader in and makes the story unputdownable.
Putting aside for a moment the concept of horror fiction, the mere idea of going to Antarctica gives me anxiety. What I mean is that Antarctica is so far away from civilization and so difficult to travel to and from that going there puts anyone in a highly isolated and vulnerable position. Not to mention, the inhospitable conditions and lack of resources make Antarctica a very high-risk place to visit. That alone to me makes Antarctica a very cosmic place that lends itself to being the fuel of nightmares.
2. Alien Attraction, Alien Horror. A mysterious signal, which your Antarctic scientists think might be a distress signal or could be a warning (like the signal at the beginning of the movie Alien, 1979, another possible influence for you), lures your characters toward discoveries. This initial signal seems to reflect a quality of the idea of the “alien” throughout the book: it is simultaneously too attractive to resist and too horrific to approach. Why the attraction? Why the horror? Why the duality? Without giving too much away, how would you compare your “civilization waiting to be reborn” to other “alien” discoveries? What’s fascinating and terrifying about it?
ED: It’s funny that you bring up the movie Alien. When Alien first hit the movie theaters back in 1979, I was only nine years old. At that time, my parents did not approve of me seeing an R-rated film. So, I could not see Alien for a few years after it came out, and it wasn’t for the lack of trying. I managed to find a book called The Making of Alien, which was a behind-the-scenes coffee table-style book. I drew inspiration from some of the early sketches by HR Giger, whose works of art sparked my imagination to go where it had never gone before. The gothic and ominous nature of his artwork was like nothing I had ever seen. To this day, I find his drawings to be among the most interesting sketches depicting alien life forms and worlds.
Well, eventually I got to see Alien, and it did not disappoint. The pictures in my coffee table book did not do the movie justice. Yes, I had seen the image of the alien bursting through the chest of Kane, played by John Hurt, but seeing it on the big screen in full motion color was a fantastic experience. I still remember the tagline, “In space, no one can hear you scream.”
Alien, no doubt, has influenced my storytelling. And there’s something irresistible about a signal coming from a mysterious place. Especially a signal coming from a place where no signal should come from, a place that almost seems impossible. Really, who could resist trying to find out where that signal originated and who sent the signal?
When looking at comparing of my alien civilization born against other alien civilizations depicted in movies, especially the one in Alien, I am reminded that the unfortunate truth is that if and when we do encounter an alien race sometime in the future, it might not go well.
3. Dual Narrative. As the description (above) indicates, your book has two major protagonists, Flint and Eva, and much of the novel has them in separate places and follows them on separate narrative lines, switching back and forth between their experiences and perspectives. Why did you choose this (mostly) dual structure for telling your story? How do you think keeping your main characters apart—and then in key moments bringing them together—shapes the reading experience for your audience? How did it affect the writing experience? Do you expect readers to enjoy both narrative lines equally? Relate to both characters equally? What’s the thinking behind your expectations?
ED: When I was contemplating this story, I struggled with how to create fascinating characters. In doing so, I realized that the two main characters are vastly different from one another. They both contrast with and complement each other at the same time. It made sense to put them in various settings at the beginning to help build them as characters. First, you have Flint, who is older and set in his ways, lives by a code, and has a pretty solid moral compass. Then you contrast that with Eva, who is younger, ambitious, and damaged, but is looking to discover herself and rebuild her life.
Many of the stories I have read and truly enjoyed follow a similar model, where one or more characters embark on their journey in different places or settings and then come together later in the story. I love the storytelling of Clive Cussler, Preston & Child, or James Rollins, as they have a knack for building these types of stories in a fun and engaging way. However, they are in the traditional action-adventure genre. I still thought it might make sense to follow this formula in the sci-fi horror genre.
I hope the readers will enjoy discovering each of these main characters and see the contrast not only in the characters but in the geographies and climates from which they originated at the beginning of the story. The alternating between the two characters in their respective settings at the start of the book creates a pleasant rhythm, shifting from hot to cold. I am interested in seeing how readers embrace each of the characters and learn which ones they like better or dislike, and why. That’ll be a big fun part for me to experience and learn about building interesting characters for future stories.
4. Narrative Authenticity. I see “scuba diving” in your bio (below), but I don’t see anything about diving in the Antarctic… how much research did you do to capture the experiences of living, working, and exploring in Antarctica, both on the surface and in the surrounding waters? Your characters are scientists, an anthropologist, and military personnel: what sort of research did you do when crafting their personalities, determining the sorts of things they would know, and figuring out how they would talk? In short, what did you do to make your characters, settings, and situations feel authentic?
ED: I started scuba diving back in the early 90s and have loved it ever since. My first exposure to scuba diving was in college as a physical education class. Taking this class qualified me for PADI Open Water certification. A few years later, I continued my certification path with PADI Advanced Open Water, Adventure Diver, and Rescue Diver certifications.
Although I’ve never had the opportunity or desire to dive in cold water, such as the icy waters near Antarctica, I could learn about this type of diving. The cold-water technical diving depicted in my story combines elements from cold-water dives and technical dives. Each has special equipment and skill set requirements. For example, cold-water dives require special heated dry suits, and technical dives require specialized equipment and tools for underwater engineering and labor activities. In such equipment, helmets are worn not only to protect the divers from the harsh elements but also to facilitate radio communication between divers. As part of my research, I had to become more familiar with this type of equipment and its applications.
5. Antisocial Academics. Flint, Eva, and other characters have strong ties to the academic world, but to me at least, those ties don’t seem connected to characters’ more admirable traits. Flint is a consummate loner, annoyed by graduate students… Eva once used her academic access for criminal activity… a villain is an academic known for sexually exploiting students… why does ugliness seem to surround academia in your novel? Is the book consciously critical of academia as an “institution?” What about the military, which also seems to be involved in questionable decisions and activities? If—and feel free to tell me I’m off track—the academics and military personnel are tainted by their institutional identities, is there anybody left to model “good?” If so, who and how? If not, why not?
ED: In the context of this novel, the portrayal of academia and the military has a negative tone, aligning with the story’s narrative and supporting the plot. Flint is an old, crotchety researcher living out his last days in isolation, hiding from the world. He has little patience for tolerating nonsense. At the same time, he enjoys working with students and seeing them discover and fall in love with Antarctica.
Eva, on the other hand, is a different type of character. She’s no longer involved with academia, but she still conducts her consulting work in examining antiquities. She has compromised principles and a moral compass that is off-kilter. This is part of her character arc, which changes throughout the story. A big part of Eva’s outlook on life and compromised ethics stems from the negative experience that she had with a former professor who took advantage of her in a personal relationship and then took credit for her work, all while tarnishing her reputation in academia.
As far as the Navy goes, they are just doing their job in following the mysterious signal coming from under the ice. That irresistible signal that we talked about earlier is so enticing that it can’t be ignored. That and the Navy’s need for security and secrecy as they explore and discover the national security implications of the signal source.
6. “A little lady named Pandora.”: The Ethics of Exploration. On a related note, from the moment the scientists decide to investigate the signal that could lead to something dangerous for them and perhaps for humanity, the impulse to explore and solve mysteries comes into question. Like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), a book that begins and ends with polar exploration, does your novel question the ethics of exploration? Does Flint’s ambition to garner achievements like Shackleton stem from a character flaw? Why or why not? Knowing that gaining access to the echoes of the civilization beneath the ice might be like opening Pandora’s box, do your characters have a moral and/or ethical duty to step away? Why or why not?
ED: It’s like most scientists to be curious about discoveries. In many cases, this desire to discover can be reckless and dangerous. From the beginning of the story, various elements reveal this curiosity. We see students arriving to learn and do research. We see Flint working in the weather station, and we get a glimpse into Flint’s personality and character. Then, with the helicopter crash. And the curiosity surrounding the signal emanating from a mile below the ice.
It truly is a Pandora’s box. And a slippery slope as the scientists and the Navy don’t see what’s coming, and they slowly slip closer and closer into the danger zone as they become more aware of what is going on. I don’t want to reveal any plot details that would spoil the story for the reader.
Interestingly, you ask about Flint’s motivations compared to Shackleton’s. I see your point that some of his actions could be driven from a place of scientific ambition and therefore recklessness. I view Flint as a highly ethical scientist who consistently strives to do the right thing. This can be challenging to balance against the ambitions of scientific discovery. I think in an ideal world, the scientists and the Navy would have a moral and ethical obligation to step away from the dangers to humanity as soon as they realize them. I also believe that a combination of human curiosity and scientific ambition makes it almost impossible for the characters in this story. They cannot avoid Pandora’s box, no matter the cost.
7. Alienness. Although I don’t want to give away too much, your characters do find something “alien,” and your book provides detailed descriptions of alien places and things. Start with the flute: why did you decide to make sound integral to the alien technology? What, in your imagination, helps make technology seem alien? Similarly, you deal with forms of connectedness and communication that are alien to human experience, based more on a “hive” model. Why turn to the “hive” for a sense of alien interconnectedness? You describe alien architecture. What shapes and structures strike you as alien, and why? Eventually, your story calls for narration from the perspective of someone having an alien experience, i.e. going through something humans couldn’t normally feel or perceive. How did you manage that?
ED: Yes! Let’s not give away too much lol. But to answer your question, I’ve always had a fascination with exploring alien worlds and what that might look like. I’ve also contemplated various questions about what alien technology might look like or feel like for humans at length. It’s all an exercise in imagination, but in the world that I painted here in this story, I see the alien species as seeking a parasitic existence with humankind.
One of the plot elements that I was looking to engineer for my story was some sort of artifact that would be the catalyst for Eva to become part of the story. This artifact also had to hold significant meaning in the latter part of the story. All the while, it contributes to the ticking clock through its exposure to the surrounding people. And I’ve always wondered what a flute might sound like if it’s played underwater, and what could that mean, or what could that do? So that’s what I built into the story.
The technology depicted in this story had organic and biomechanical foundations. Materials, tools, and equipment are bio-engineered organically rather than manufactured. It almost had a similar look and feel to H.R. Giger’s concepts from Alien. This type of technology is so foreign to humans that it lends itself to creating more tension in the story and emphasizing the contrast between the human world and the alien world. I think this also can make the reader a little uncomfortable, which contributes to the reading experience.
In thinking about the species of beings encountered by the researchers, I wanted them to be a kind of like the Borg from Star Trek, but my version of that hive mind. I’ve always been a little freaked out by body horror in mutation, so it seemed like a natural direction for me to go in. Because if I’m a little freaked out writing it, I’m sure people are going to be a little freaked out reading it.
As the story progresses, we hear the viewpoint of a human going through a transformation and becoming part of this new species. It brings to mind elements from the movie The Fly. Humans can comprehend and articulate what is going on inside of them. I think this makes the story more relatable and personal for the reader, creating more tension and fear of loss as it progresses.
8. Unpredictable Bodies. Early in the novel, characters learn that exposure to the alien artifacts and structures affects human bodies, leading to death for some and odd changes for others. The term “body horror” has been popular lately: did you write the changing bodies in Frozen Echoes with “body horror” in mind? What do you think of “body horror?” Another work of Antarctic alien horror that might be an influence, John Carpenter’s film The Thing (1982), predates the term’s popularity but qualifies as a masterwork of body horror—to what extent might it have influenced you? Why do you think “body horror” is enjoying a spike of interest for horror’s readers and viewers today? Not all of the physical changes your characters experience are necessarily bad… is an unpredictable, alien, physical transformation ever not horror? Why or why not?
ED: The alien artifact, specifically the flute, was an integral part of the story—almost a nonplayer character, so to speak. I touched on it in a previous question, but let’s go deeper into what’s going on behind the scenes with the flute. Exposure to the energy emanating from the flute has adverse effects on the human body, killing some people and altering others. This is coming from a place of body horror. It’s also a contribution to the ticking clock and helps to establish the stakes at the beginning of the story.
It’s funny that we come back to John Carpenter’s The Thing. Undoubtedly one of my favorite movies of all time and highly influential in my writing. A combination of the isolated setting and the body mutations that take place through exposure to the alien being.
In recent years, we’ve seen an uptick in body horror, I think, and I’m not sure where it’s stemming from, but people seem to love it. Body horror, as I mentioned earlier, has always freaked me out. I think the reason it’s so bothersome to me is that there are changes that the human body undergoes in some situations that there’s no coming back from. One movie I saw recently was called Tusk. That movie gave me nightmares, and I just kept saying to myself, “Well, there’s no coming back from that!”
As you mentioned, not all the physical changes that the characters undergo in this story are bad; a prime example of that is Flint. At the beginning of the story, we see his struggle with his arthritis and his raw hands and the difficulties they create for him in just functioning daily. This is contrasted by the version of Flint at the end of the story, where he has completely changed, and those shortcomings are no longer present, although they are replaced by changes that might not be seen as positive. But I’ll leave that for the reader to decide.
9. Proof? I’m not saying what characters do or don’t discover—and I’m not saying whether your characters or even the planet survives—but I will say that questions arise about what might happen if scientists discovered proof positive of intelligent (even superior) alien life. What do you think: if a team like the one in your novel managed to reveal proof of an intelligent alien species, how would the world react? How would the world change? How much and what kind(s) of proof would scientists need to be generally believed? Would people tend to assume that such a species poses a threat? Why or why not? Do you think the existence of such a species would likely be a threat? Why or why not?
ED: I touched on this briefly in the earlier part of the interview, but I’m glad you brought it up again. There is intelligent life in the universe that humankind will come into contact with in the future. The universe is a big place, and it’s just a matter of time. It sparks the question of what that would look like. And why haven’t we experienced an interaction so far?
An interaction with an alien species could go in many directions. Humans, by nature, are predisposed to fear what they don’t understand and, therefore, would most likely default to a defensive or offensive posture. This could easily lead to violence and either the killing of the alien species or the eradication of humanity.
When asked why we haven’t experienced an interaction with another race in the universe, there are infinite possibilities. There is a concept known as the Fermi Paradox, which is a contradiction between the high probability of extraterrestrial intelligence existing in the universe and the lack of evidence for such civilizations. There are a few theories that speculate on why this might be the case. Now, given the size of the universe, there’s a high probability that life exists beyond our own. And despite decades of searching and monitoring, we still have found nothing. At least nothing that the government has shared with us.
Possible explanations include the Great Filter, a barrier that prevents intelligent life from reaching a particular stage of development. Self-destruction, that’s self-explanatory. Too far away. Unrecognized signals. Or the one that scares me the most, the dark forest, which suggests that advanced civilizations are deliberately hiding to avoid destruction. There could be alien species that are close by, equivalent to or superior to our technology, and choose to remain anonymous because they’re aware of humankind’s violent nature.
It’s also possible that we’re just plain old lucky that the wrong alien species hasn’t noticed us yet. In other words, the species that would see us as a threat that has far superior technology and is willing, able, and ready to wipe us out. That’s the worst-case scenario.
10. Access! How can readers learn more about you and your works (please provide any links you want to share)?
ED: Sure, I would love to hear from my readers. Feel free to reach out to me on my website www.eddownes.com. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram, and other social platforms. And if you enjoyed the story, please consider posting a review or sending me a selfie of you holding my book so that I can add it to my website. Pictures of my happy readers are little trophies for me, and that’s what keeps me writing!
About the Author
Ed Downes writes stories that are suspenseful, sometimes scary, and always thrilling, where things are not always what they seem. His entertaining yet vulnerable characters usually find themselves thrust into situations that appear to be no win. Ed is the author of many short thriller fiction stories including “Qalupalik,” “Regrets,” and “Dr. Bonz.“ He has recently completed his Master of Fine Arts degree in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. A publishing industry marketing strategist by day, and novelist by night, he is a Boston native, and a lover of tennis, skiing, and scuba diving.
He currently lives in Raleigh, NC, most likely reading or writing thriller fiction or doing fun stuff with his wife Jeanie and two daughters Melissa and Jessica.