“Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.”

-William Shakespeare, Hamlet (Act II, Scene II)

Laguna is the story of the heir to an interplanetary throne who, after being enslaved on a distant planet, must find his way back home. Our story takes place in one solar system and spans multiple planets in that system’s habitable zone. The worlds, characters, and their interactions with one another bring the story to life. But, more important than simple plot, Laguna is a story about the discovery of, and the reaction to, the basic universal truths of existence. It is a story of characters and emotions and interactions. It is a story of growth.

My name is Tariq Elagamy. I am a recent graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in English literature. My love for books runs deep and my love for space deeper still. I remember finding a copy of the novelization of ’Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ in a Salvation Army when I was eleven years old. I read that book voraciously and, by the time I was finished, an interest in the unknown and the unexplained was planted in my mind. Space is a potent setting for storytelling because of its limitlessness. The space opera sub-genre allows the writer to express a multitude of themes through devices of warfare, melodrama, romance and otherworldly technologies and cultures. From Kurt Vonnegut’s The Sirens of Titan to George Lucas’ Star Wars to BioWare’s Mass Effect series of video games, space operas hold a special place in my heart, and I feel this is the perfect time to tell my story.

A short prologue and the first chapter of Laguna have been uploaded. In the first chapter you will find an introduction to some of the main characters, themes, and tone of the book. You will also be introduced to the first world - Trypto, home to Laguna Kintell, heir to the Kintellian throne. The story will eventually evolve towards new worlds and will encompass a variety of internal and external conflicts.

Laguna is an ambitious work. I want to visit different worlds and explore different cultures and conflicts. I have the whole story mapped out in my head and I am writing every day. I know not how long the final product will be, but I know and understand that sometimes the characters take control of the story as I am writing and, in those moments, I try my best to let them act. As I complete chapters, I hope to upload them to this website, for criticism and general interest. Sometimes, the greatest gift you can give a writer is an honest criticism of the story they are telling. An outside perspective can give new lenses to a writer trying to juggle all aspects of a story at once. I urge everyone to participate in the story writing process by letting your voice be heard! A draft is a draft, after all, and nothing I upload here is by any means a final version. I look forward to hearing from you, the readers.

I hope you will stick around and watch this project unfold into the epic story hiding in my mind, waiting to be told. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Thank you for your time and interest!