Renan Bernardo is known for his generosity as well as his stellar writing. I was happy to talk with him about his new novella, Disgraced Return of the Kap’s Needle. Thanks to Renan for taking time to answer my questions!
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Myna: Tell us about Disgraced Return of the Kap’s Needle! What’s it about? Who are your characters? What themes do you explore?
Renan: Disgraced Return of the Kap’s Needle is a dark space opera that is actually a fast-paced thriller with elements of noir set in a cursed generational spaceship. The “curse” in this case are the humans who live in it. After an expedition to a distant planet, the crew and dwellers of the Needle went into a massive shortage of resources on their way back to Earth, chief among them, the very air they breathe.
Life Support Officer Reva is one of the most important figures inside this ship. She has also lost her daughter on the planet, and now her son is threatened too, since he’s not working enough for his oxygen quota.
This is a story about responsibility, about fractured families, but also about the true face of the “colonizer” mindset: it’s always about profiting, never about the betterment of humanity or exchanging with nature.
Cover art by Olly Jeavons
Myna: When a reader finishes the last word in the book, what emotion will they be feeling?
Renan: I can’t spoil the ending, but I believe it’s a mix of anguish and surprise. If you know me from my hopeful and positive solarpunk stories, you might think twice before reading this one 🙂
Myna: How did this novella come about?
Renan: The first seed of this novella was written in 2018, when Brazil was spiraling out of control into a far-right mindset who promised to eradicate all corruption from politics, but which clearly just wanted to amass wealth on their own terms. I imagined a spaceship spiraling out of control with all of its crew engaging in corrupt acts, their will completely battered, their mission lost, and their only motivation being a sense of selfish survival and trying to accomplish at least a smidgen of what was promised to them.
Myna: If your novella had a theme song, what would it be?
Renan: Abyss, by Unleash the Archers, would be a great choice. I think it has some of the novella’s dark vibe.
Myna: Do you have other books or stories you’d like to mention?
Renan: I’d like to mention my collection of solarpunk and climate fiction short stories, Different Kinds of Defiance, which has a completely different energy than my novella. Most of the stories are set on Earth and are near-future SF. I’d also love to mention my short story We Are Burnout, which is a fast-paced cyberpunk piece about burnout and overwork. This one works best in one sitting.
Myna: Of all your short stories, which is your favorite? Which of your worlds would you least like to visit?
Renan: It’s hard to pick a favorite child. But I love what I accomplished with The Hungry Mouth at the Edge of Space and the Goddess Knitting at Home. It’s not published yet, but it will come out soon at Reactor (Tor.com). It’s a space fantasy about the ghost captain of a spaceship finding out why she died after failing to found a Brazilian street market on a distant moon. Of the worlds I’d hate to visit, I think it’s a safe bet to mention Disgraced Return of the Kap’s Needle. Damn, there’s nowhere in the whole novella that I’d like to be at all.
Myna: How would you describe your writing style, in general? Does that hold true for this book?
Renan: Ranging from completely chaotic (writing paragraphs out of order) to completely organized (intricately outlining). It depends on the story. Each one has a different necessity.
Myna: What’s next for you?
Renan: I have some upcoming short stories like the aforementioned piece at Reactor, but also a fantasy story called The Crumbs of My Body in Of Enchantment, Enigma, and the Infinite, an anthology about magic by Stars & Sabers, and a SF short story called Plucking Flowers From My Garden of Poison coming in audio at Simultaneous Times.
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Renan Bernardo is a Nebula and Ignyte finalist author of science fiction and fantasy from Brazil. His fiction appeared in Reactor/Tor.com, Clarkesworld, Apex Magazine, Podcastle, Escape Pod, Daily Science Fiction, and elsewhere. He writes from secondary world fantasy to dark science fiction, and he enjoys the intersection of climate narratives with science, technology, and the human relations inherent to it. His solarpunk/clifi short fiction collection, Different Kinds of Defiance, was published in 2024. His dark sci-fi novella, Disgraced Return of the Kap’s Needle, was published in 2025 by Dark Matter Ink. He also had stories recommended by Locus and longlisted for the BSFA.
Find Renan on Bluesky, Instagram, and Linktree.
Find Disgraced Return of the Kap’s Needle at Dark Matter Ink or on Amazon.
Myna Chang 