A lab, a murder, and two young scientists that risk it all. Pangu’s Shadow follows rival apprentices Ver and Aryl who work in the most prestigious biology lab in the Pangu Star System. One night they’re working late and find their brilliant but egotistical teacher, Cal, sprawled on the floor, dead. Murdered. And they immediately become the prime suspects. To clear their names, the girls must put aside their mutual suspicion and team up to investigate Cal’s death.
Today author and neuroscientist Karen Bao joins us to share how her career in research inspires her science fiction, her writing process, and more! Don’t forget to download the free discussion guide and share a video from Karen on life as a scientist with your readers!
Q: Are you a dancer, like Aryl?
A: Challenge me on TikTok.
Q: You’re a real-life scientist. How did your career inspire Pangu’s Shadow?
A: While writing the book, I was a PhD candidate studying mosquito brains to find out how they sense carbon dioxide—one big cue that gives away the presence of their human prey. The competitive research environment of the Institute for Natural Exploration—and the strong friendships that form during the process of discovery—reflect what I’ve experienced in real life.
Disclaimer: Everyone in my lab is alive and well. They’re all very nice people.
Q: You previously wrote epic YA sci-fi novels like Dove Arising. What made you switch to a sci-fi mystery for Pangu’s Shadow?
A: I love reading every genre of young adult book and have always been a fan of mysteries. Also, as a scientist, I’m trying to unravel mysteries of nature, so to speak. While writing about two young scientists, I decided it made sense to have them use all their skills to find the culprit who tried to ruin their lives.
Q: Immigration is a topic that runs throughout the text. Did your experience as a first-generation Chinese American inspire the storyline?
A: For sure. Like me, Ver and Aryl have never felt like they fully belonged on one moon or the other. They’re often judged by where they come from, which is silly because all the Gui Moon inhabitants’ ancestors originally came from Earth, millions of miles away. But both girls, especially Aryl, experience the amazing feeling of having two cultures and a tight-knit immigrant community forging a better life together in a new world.
Q: What was your writing process for Pangu’s Shadow?
A: I went through only thirty-something drafts (I lost count) over about five years. It was so tough! First, I wrote a fantasy novel with similar themes, but the worldbuilding didn’t make sense. I scrapped that and rewrote the story as an academic sci-fi adventure set in the Pangu Star System. But that lacked tension, so I decided to make it a murder mystery. After that draft, Pangu’s Shadow started to feel like a real book. Then I went through many more iterations to streamline the story and make it easier to read. Thank goodness I had the sharp eyes of my writer friends, agent, editor, and more!
Q: Rapid Cellular Degeneration isn’t a real disease. How did you come up with it, and what does it mean for Ver and the story?
A: I wanted to create a disease that exists only in the Pangu universe but that also mirrors my experience with chronic pain. When I was writing this book, I had back issues that caused tingling in my legs and led me to use a cane to get around. I saw every doctor around and most of them couldn’t help. Like Ver, I became almost obsessed with finding a way to feel better.
Disability is a vast, complicated topic, but my core thoughts about it are simple: Ver has a right to try to improve her own life and the lives of her fellow RCD’ers. She deserves to have a full place in society. Her condition doesn’t define her and doesn’t make her any less of a person.
Q: You use a lot of variety in naming your characters, reflecting the wide range of cultural roots that have come together in the Pangu System. Aryls and esters are functional groups in organic chemistry. Did you name give Aryl and her sister these names intentionally?
A: Don’t @ me. I could have named them Epoxide or Carboxylic Acid instead.
A Day in the Life of a Scientist
Free Educator Resources
Download the free discussion guide to encourage crucial conversation after reading. This guide can also be found on the Lerner website.
Connect with the Author
Karen Bao does science in the lab, then goes home and writes about it. Having earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from Harvard University, she studies mosquito brains by blasting them with an electron beam. She has eight ear piercings for no reason. Her favorite activities include cooking, tending her plants, singing, and playing her violin. She is the author of Pangu’s Shadow, the Dove Chronicles trilogy, and a contributor to the YA mental health anthology Ab(solutely) Normal.