Future Fugitives be like…
What’s it take?
What can be blended to express the gist of my latest novel?
I’ve struggled with a “meets” statement that gives readers a solid idea what this novel, Future Fugitives, is comparable with. What follows are a dozen AI attempts and their shortcomings:
The One meets Looper. This blends action-packed sci-fi with the complexities of romantic relationships entangled in alternate timelines and the paradoxes of identity. The One features a multiversal police officer hunting down alternate versions of himself, while Looper portrays assassins eliminating targets sent back from the future, creating intricate moral dilemmas. This reflects the blend of danger and romantic intrigue in both series, where characters wrestle with the implications of time travel on their choices and connections.
Well, the Endless Tempest series indeed does feature assassins policing the past and complicates things with moral issues, but only one (okay, two) characters really have much time travel that might confuse their identities.
The Lake House meets Arrival. This blends the romantic longing across time with the challenges of communication and understanding in extraordinary circumstances. The Lake House depicts a couple connected through letters delivered across a two-year time gap, while Arrival focuses on linguists deciphering an alien language to prevent global conflict. This mirrors the yearning for connection and the difficulties of communication experienced by characters separated by time or entangled in complex situations.
Okay, I like the wildly flung films selected here, like tossing spaghetti on the wall to see what sticks. AI gets it close in that time travel certainly complicates relationships in this series. However, there’s no cryptic missives in a mailbox and definitely no alien visitation. I would say that this quote suggests at least one or two characters get tangled in time travel relationship muck:
“Listen,” he said, “I may not live to see tomorrow, so let’s just get it all out on the table. You still got it for her. He’s still got it for her. She’s not sure what she wants—never is. So, you hate him and he thinks you’re misguided. What’s even more insane is that even I got it for her,” Sackerson said, shaking his head. “Even now.”
The Terminator meets Looper. This highlights the relentless pursuit of protagonists by time-traveling assassins. The Spooks in Future Fugitives operate with a similar level of implacability as the Terminator, hunting down their targets across time. Looper adds the element of moral ambiguity and the protagonists grappling with the consequences of their actions in a complex time loop, mirroring the challenges faced by the characters in Future Fugitives.
Meh, this is again in the ballpark. It’s true the characters are increasingly plagued with huntsmen from the future. There’s also complications with a character seeing his past and future selves. It all falls into “moral ambiguity” by Lost and Found. However, I don’t think these books play out at all the same as the gritty, action-oriented films listed here.
I’ve tried to explain it now with long winded descriptions, pithy blurbs, and even these “meets” comparables. I’ll continue refining what this book and series might be like, but they might be like, you know, their own thing.
Still, I’m itching for a pitch. If you’ve read them, what do YOU think they’re made of?
