In news that could only come from up north, a family in Alaska was out for a pleasure cruise on a 22-foot boat when they ran into a surfacing humpback whale.
Members of the family were hospitalized, but there have been no reports of injuries to the whale.
When turning this into a story, what if there was a modern retelling of the Beastmaster tale? The character already exists in a book, movie, and TV show. Take that character and plug him into a world where the animals have taken back the world’s wild spaces, forcing all humans into cities.
Whales, sharks, and dolphins patrol the waters.
Large cats, dogs, and ruminants patrol the land in North America and Europe, and primates and other megafauna patrol the property outside African and Asian cities.
Traveling between cities is a challenge, and requires convoys to be done safely.
This story could be a dystopian novel. After the release of a massive EMP, all animals organize, like “Planet of the Apes”, but planet mammals.
Humans don’t have the leg up on technology anymore, because of the EMP, leading to a situation reminiscent of the classic movie “Tremors.”
Then, a new kind of hero is born—the beastmaster (but not called the beastmaster). There could be a whole series of adventures, each book creating a new scenario that requires his special animal-communication skills.
