Books and Novels:
H.P. Lovecraft – The Call of Cthulhu and other stories of cosmic horror influenced the portrayal of the ancient, god-like entities in Eclipse Infernum, emphasizing the theme of unimaginable forces beyond human comprehension.Frank Herbert – Dune provided inspiration for world-building, particularly the intricate politics, power struggles, and the blending of technology and mysticism.Philip K. Dick – Ubik and The Man in the High Castle explored themes of alternate realities and fractured time, which play a central role in the shifting landscapes of Eclipse Infernum.Isaac Asimov – The Gods Themselves influenced the portrayal of celestial beings with god-like powers and their impact on humanity, reflecting the intersection of science fiction and divine intervention.Neil Gaiman – American Gods served as a reference for the depiction of ancient deities interacting with a modern or dystopian world, particularly in how they influence human events.Mythology and Religious Texts:
Greek and Roman Mythology – References to celestial gods and their power over the natural world echo the themes of chaos and creation in Eclipse Infernum.Norse Mythology – The concept of Ragnarok, the end of the world through divine forces, mirrors the cataclysmic return of the god of the Eclipse.Hindu Cosmology – The cyclical nature of destruction and creation, particularly through the concepts of Kali Yuga (the age of destruction), influenced the portrayal of cosmic cycles in the novel.Cosmic Horror and Existential Philosophy:
Jean-Paul Sartre – Being and Nothingness provided philosophical grounding in the exploration of identity, reality, and choice, especially in the context of how Kaelis and Lyra confront their roles in an apocalyptic world.Friedrich Nietzsche – The concept of eternal recurrence and the will to power informed the novel's themes of time loops, cycles, and the struggle against fate.Science and Technology:
Stephen Hawking – A Brief History of Time served as an influence in the exploration of time, space, and alternate realities, providing scientific grounding for the distorted reality of the Eclipse.Michio Kaku – Parallel Worlds contributed to the depiction of alternate realities and multiverses, particularly in how different zones of the world experience fractured time and space.Films and Visual Media:
Christopher Nolan's Inception – The portrayal of dream-like, layered realities served as inspiration for the shifting, unstable worlds Kaelis and Lyra must navigate.Ridley Scott's Blade Runner – The dystopian world-building and the interplay of humanity and artificial constructs influenced the aesthetic and moral ambiguity of Eclipse Infernum's future world.Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker – The haunting atmosphere of a mysterious, dangerous zone where the laws of nature are distorted helped shape the depiction of areas affected by the Eclipse.Video Games:
FromSoftware's Dark Souls Series – The existential struggle against god-like beings in a decaying world heavily influenced the tone and atmosphere of Eclipse Infernum, particularly in Kaelis's journey. Guerrilla Games' Horizon Zero Dawn – The combination of ancient technology and future dystopia, along with the theme of recovering lost knowledge, provided inspiration for Lyra's engineering and the advanced yet decayed state of the world.This reference section is a blend of literary, philosophical, scientific, and multimedia influences, which help to shape the narrative, world-building, and existential themes in Eclipse Infernum: The Blood of Broken Suns.