Why a Red Dawn type of attack in Beyond the Lost?

I first watched the movie Red Dawn back in like 2005 when I was a freshman in high school and I was immediately taken with it. 

And I’ll admit something: I hate TV movies. Always have and always will. Hell, I hate most movies, and if you ask me, they’re a good way to waste hours on end.

Not that I won’t watch flicks, since MCU inspired the Renegades Epic, a shared universe of works that span across five different worlds and even more genres than you can imagine. But I couldn’t tell you the last time I sat and watched one. So, when a movie like the inciting incident that Red Dawn brought when it crossed that tube TV screen, I was hooked.

Or, at least somewhat hooked. I honestly found the movie boring and turned it off halfway through. It had a predictable plot and followed those same, tired tropes that I’ve seen plenty of times in books and TV shows, the latter of which I also don’t get around to these days.

Even then, I was sick of tropes, or at least to an extent. But still, that attack scene set the stage for what would become Beyond the Lost Horizon. I just stored it into my memory bank for the next 18 years, coming outta the woodwork when I finally wrote the damn book in 2023.

Red Dawn’s inciting incident was perfect for what I wanted

For a while, I wanted a story that saw the main protagonist cross a girl who’d give him the hardest time of his life in the most dire situation they’d both encounter. One where seemingly few, if anyone else, survived.

So, why not use the same concept? But this time, it wasn’t Soviets or North Koreans. No, these people were far more dangerous.

U.S. foreign military intervention, harsh sanctions, and numerous coups destabilized primarily the undeveloped and developing world. It forced mass migration, and so much of it sought refuge in the U.S., often with an array of ethnicities.

But these people didn’t bring guns and ammo over. Nah, someone sponsored them, brought them into off-the-grid camps, trained them, and then unleashed them into every military base in America, every sporting event, concert, and mass gathering out there.

These sponsors shut down communication so even local law enforcement and the National Guard had no idea what was happening before it was too late.

And the next thing Beyond the Lost Horizon’s fearless protagonist, Quinn Cozens, knew? He was all alone after the most violent terrorist attack in American history killed everyone at that K-pop concert in southwestern Pennsylvania. Everyone except for one of the idols, Yui Kikuchi.

Not completely like the 1984 blockbuster

Like I said, I found the movie boring. So much that I could’ve paused it, written the damn script, and accurately predicted every beat. So, I didn’t want to remake Red Dawn. 

Instead, I pictured an anarcho-libertarian (Quinn) and a conformist K-pop idol (Yui) butting heads while trying to stay one step ahead of these terrorists. Terrorists trained to shoot and kill indiscriminately anyone who got in their way.

Don’t expect as much fighting in Beyond the Lost Horizon or any of that “in the early days of World War III” nonsense. This isn’t a war story, or at least you won’t see a big battle until the climax of Book II, Beyond the Lost Assault.

Now, if you like quick introductions that are about 37,000 words long and move at a fast pace after Quinn reminisces for about 1,700 words in the Prologue, then you need to read Beyond the Lost Horizon. You’ll meet Quinn and Yui, see what their dynamic looks like, get a fight scene or two, and what should be a satisfying ending.

If that micro-summary sounds like a plan, then check out the work now at my Payhip store, The Rebel Lore Vault.