James Dashner takes on history, time travel in Infinity Ring series

James Dashner is one busy guy. Earlier this month, “The Kill Order,” the prequel to James’ best-selling Maze Runner series hit bookstores. And tomorrow, the first book in an innovative new series from Scholastic will be released.

The Infinity Ring series is a multi-platform, multi-author project with James at the helm. Six authors will take part, with James writing the first and last books in the series. The series will launch simultaneously in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Each book in the series will be packaged with a “Hystorian’s Guide,” a collectable map that includes a special code to unlock exclusive content on the Infinity Ring online game.

The seven-book series features best friends Dak Smith and Sera Froste, who discover the key to time travel in a handheld device called the Infinity Ring. The two are inadvertently swept into a secret war that has existed throughout time. It’s up to the friends to travel through time and change things where history has gone off course.

The project is unique in a number of ways, including how James became a part of it. “Scholastic approached my agent and asked if I’d be interested in being the ‘architect’ of the series and writing the first and last books,” James told Cracking the Cover. “I’ve never had such a no-brainer decision in my life.”

The series appealed to James on a number of levels. “First of all, I’ve been a history dork all of my life, so the chance to play ‘what if’ with the past and write about historical figures was exciting to me,” he said. “Also, having grown up with Scholastic as such a big part of my reading life, it was surreal to be involved with them. And it was just such an amazing opportunity for my career.”

In addition to James, Lisa McMann (“The Unwanteds”), Carrie Ryan (The Forest of Hands and Teeth”), Jennifer A. Nielsen (“The False Prince”), Matt de la Peña (“I Will Save You”) and Matthew Kirby (“Icefall”) will also be telling Dak and Sera’s story, with each author tackling a different historical event.

“I’m really pleased with the authors Scholastic chose for the series,” James said. “I think each book will have its own unique flavor, yet maintain a style and tone that is familiar to the readers. I think everyone will just work hard and follow their instincts and succeed. As well as helping each other out.”

James says the overall process has been very collaborative and a lot of fun. “I worked with the Scholastic team on an outline for the series, and then the other authors were brought in,” he said. “From that point, we’ve all worked together to come up with the best books possible. Add the online game and historical guides created in-house at Scholastic and you have quite the immersive experience.”

The online component includes a game that was part of the project from the very first day. Though James isn’t heavily involved in the game, he still played a large role in the beginning. After all, he helped create the world that serves as the backdrop, the characters, and the storyline.

With the game, “Scholastic wanted to take what they’d accomplished with The 39 Clues and build something even bigger and better,” James said. “It was one of the reasons I was so excited to be a part of it, and they certainly have lived up to their goals! The game demos have blown me away.”

Though James has the first book in the series, “A Mutiny in Time,” under his belt, the most daunting part of the series — the seventh and last book — is still ahead of him. “I had a blast with the first one,” he said, “but I also didn’t have the pressure of wrapping anything up or tying all the loose ends. I’ll have that with the seventh. As well as the pressure of making a solid, exciting, satisfying ending. But I’m up to the task!”

With its broad historical setting, James says there was a lot of research required to make “A Mutiny in Time” work. But, he says, it was all fun. “It doesn’t feel like work when you enjoy it so much.”

The Infinity Ring series is unlike any other books in its genre, James says. “I think it’s more immersive than anything done before with a book series for this age. I really feel like the kids will love the books and the guides, get sucked into the game, and learn a lot of things along the way.”

James, who is currently working on a new young adult series for Random House, says it isn’t hard switching gears from writing young adult to middle reader. Nor was it difficult transition from the Maze Runner to Infinity Ring.

“When I sit down to write a book, I just follow my instincts and write the best possible story,” James said. “I don’t even think about my audience all that much, so it doesn’t feel that different. The audiences are different, and I take that into account, but I don’t feel like my writing changes that much. …

“The most important thing is to write a good story with characters that seem real and are cared about. I feel like the middle-grade books are more whimsical, have a little more humor and not get so deep, but I approach them the same way, basically. It’s exciting to be writing for the younger kids again, though.”

*James will be at the Main Salt Lake City Library, 210 East 400 South, Wednesday, Aug. 29, at 7 p.m. for the launch of “Mutiny in Time.” Jennifer A Nielsen and Matthew Kirby, who will also pen books in the Infinity Ring series, will join James at this event. Books can be per-ordered from The King’s English.

**Read a complete transcript of James’ interview with Cracking the Cover. Read Cracking the Cover’s review of “A Mutiny in Time.”