On Sunday 6 June, I had the opportunity to interview Johan Bakker, the author of One-way Trip to Mars. It was a nice interview. Johan spoke passionately about music and his other interests such as space travel.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I mainly write articles and reviews about music. In 2012 I wrote a biography about Eva Cassidy. In the UK her music is very popular. In our country she is a little less known, but things are getting better and better. Her music really appeals to me. I wanted to write her biography and contacted her family for the research of this life story.
I sent my idea for this book to Omnibus Press and to my great surprise they replied within minutes that they were very interested. And that’s special, because normally, as an outsider, you don’t get in quickly if you want to write about American or English artists. People are rather chauvinistic over there. The book was well received (it won the British People’s Book Prize) and that gave me the confidence to concentrate more on writing books.
When you were ten, you wrote a story about Mars. How did that come about?
That interest was there from an early age. When I was seven, my father woke me up just before the first moon landing. We watched it together. It is still a fond memory for me. A few years later, during my newspaper delivery round, I kept looking at the picture of the Viking lander on Mars. It made me think about the journey and what it would be like to live there. I then wrote a story about life on an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter.
In the final part of the book, you mention as one of your sources the New Bible Translation. What is the link with the Mars story?
Jonah, one of the astronauts, is in a hotel on the eve of the launch. He had to leave everything behind. He misses his phone, which he is so fond of. In his hotel room, he finds a Bible. He reads from Ecclesiastes: “The sun rises and sets and so it has been for thousands of years. There is nothing new under the sun.” Sometimes you find a Bible in your hotel room, which make you realise that nothing beats a paper book.
On Facebook you said you were inspired by Mars One for this story.
Yes, in 2012 I read a report in the newspaper about the Dutch company Mars One. They wanted to go to Mars to build a colony there and they were looking for candidates. I immediately thought: would I want to travel there and leave everything behind? I realised that I would not be a suitable candidate. But I could write about it. About the journey and what it would be like to live there. I tried to get in touch with Mars One, but they were not interested in my prying eyes. Later, I got in touch with the International Mars Society and they gave me all the necessary information for my book.
It is a pity that Mars One failed. They ran a strong media campaign. There was a lot of interest in their project. From the stories in the media, it seemed as if they were doing fine and the rocket could be built. But they didn’t tell the full truth to Spacex and to the media. They hadn’t got their affairs straight.
In the book, you focus mainly on the relationships between the characters and what the journey does to them.
I don’t think that technical details would have been very interesting. The book is said to be sci fi, but that was not my intention. I just wanted to make a good book about space travel. And everything I wrote had to be right. I created two female opposites for Jonah. One who was close to him and the other one who was more distant. They were supposed to stimulate the storyline.
Do you think that if you had written the book now, given the current developments round Mars, the book would have been very different?
Yes, I do think so. In the book, I already paid attention to the Chinese, who now play an important role in space. If I were to write the story now, I would write more about India, which is also developing rapidly. I would mention Elon Musk’s plans. And maybe do something with Bitcoin sponsorship.
Will there be a sequel to the book or another Mars story?
People ask that question quite often. I am currently working on a new biography. I’m not allowed to say anything about it yet. It should be published by the end of this year. Who knows what I will write next. At least you have inspired me!
Thank you very much for letting me interview you.
You’re welcome!
John van Hal, Administrator of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club
Picture Johan Bakker: Ron Beenen