“We have the power to do great good or great harm”
US novelist orson Scott card helped to define fantasy and sci fi literature in the 70s and 80s, his Enders Game saga earning him critical acclaim and a glut of awards. In later years his views on same-sex marriage caused controversy, but his work has continued to influence writers, musicians and artists, and it was his 1987 novel, Seventh Son, that served many of the themes in maiden’s 1988 landmark record…
WHEN DID YOU BECOME AWARE THAT
IRON MAIDEN HAD DRAWN INSPIRATION FROM YOUR WORK?
“We were made aware when the Iron maiden album first came out, and my response was to feel honoured and grateful that people who were creating their own art were willing to devote so much of their creative energy and opportunity to comment on and expand on the elements of my story that mattered to them.”
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THEIR INTERPRETATION OF YOUR STORY?
“I celebrate the fact that somebody else cared enough about a story of mine that they made it into their own story. I’m perfectly happy that along with drawing upon my story, they also brought in a quote from the movie The Ten
Commandments [1956], in which Pharaoh repeatedly says, ‘So let it be written. So let it be done.’ like me, Steve harris draws upon everything he’s read and seen and heard and experienced when creating a work of art. I’m just glad to be in the mix.”
WHY DO YOU THINK THIS PARTICULAR STORY RESONATED SO DEEPLY WITH PEOPLE?
“I imagine that for those readers who believe in and care about Seventh Son, what holds them is probably the life of a child who has the power to do great things, but struggles to know which things he should do. Since this is a dilemma that actually affects every human being, because within the circle of our own homes we have the power to do great good or great harm, the fact that the story contains magic does not change its applicability to the real world.”
DO YOU THINK YOU’VE PICKED UP A FEW METALHEAD FANS ALONG THE WAY THANKS TO
THE ALBUM?
“the Iron maiden album has reached 30 years, and I hope it goes on finding listeners for many years to come. Whether those who enjoy that music have any idea that it references a novel of mine is not terribly important, although if some of them gave the novel a try and liked it, I would be pleased.”