Devouring Light blends astronomy with Greco-Roman mythology and Dante’s Paradiso to create looming disaster on a cosmic scale.
The story takes place in our solar system, but not purely our solar system.
Permeating the physical reality is the essential inner reality. For my protagonist Mercurio and his fellow planetaries, the physical reality and the “essential” reality are equally real. They speak of each planet’s orbit and its “sphere” almost interchangeably.
The Sun tended by Sol
Mercury tended by Mercurio
Venus tended by Star
MAIN ELLIPSE
The Moon tended by Artemis Diana
INNER ELLIPSE
Mars tended by Ares
The Asteroids tended by Plurima
Ceres tended by Ceres
Jupiter tended by Basileus
INNER ELLIPSE
Saturn tended by Saturnus
Uranus tended by Ouranos
The Zodiac Perspective inhabited by the Constellations
Pluto tended by Haden
Devouring Light’s celestial spheres owe their inspiration to those of Dante’s Paradisio, but I adjusted their numbering and content to suit my own more modern notions and my story.
Just to be clear, Devouring Light is fantasy, not science fiction, despite its outer space setting. The astronomy is inspiration, not prescription. I’ve attempted to adhere to the facts as they are currently known, layering the fantasy atop.
And, yes, I know that Pluto is no longer a planet. At the beginning of my story, it is. At the end . . . well, you’ll have to read it! 😉
For more about the world of Devouring Light, see:
What Do Celestials Wear?
The Graces
Roman Dining
The Heliosphere
The Oort Cloud
Mercury the Planet
Draco the Dragon
The Simiae
