Book Club

There are several topics worthy of discussion for your book club in Nine Planets.

Summary

This is usually the first question that readers ask: What type of book is it?

I usually have three answers.

  1. A supernatural action thriller. None of these three words really sum 9P up in its entirety, but they all add to it.

  2. The most unusual Christmas story you will ever read. This is closer to the truth, but this interpretation is hidden. None of the usual suspects of Christmas stories are evident here, and you will have to do some thinking to get there.

  3. The most unusual Christmas story you will ever read hidden below an action thriller. 9P has two layers. The top layer is the action thriller, the lower layer is the real story, and both are tightly linked.

Discussion topics

Hope

9P is, at its core, a story of hope.

  • What elements of the story, both positive and negative, point to hope?

  • How are these elements drawn together in the ending?

Albert Camus, the famous philosopher, once said (paraphrased) “Without divine meaning, we must face whether life is worth living.” How is this true in light of 9P?

Characters

Some of the characters in 9P have real-life counterparts. Which ones can you spot and what evidence from the text made you think this?

What role does the young John play in the story?

Events

9P is, at its heart, a re-imagining of historical events. Which events in the story can you identify?

Christmas

Which elements of the story lead you to think that 9P is a Christmas story?

Places

What three reasons make the town of Leonora ideal for the ending?

The choice of Boston and Perth was intentional because of the interesting geographical concept of antipodes, two places exactly opposite each other on the planet. Why?