Back in March at CPAC Dallas, I had the chance to sit down with my longtime friend and former colleague, Kira Davis, to discuss fantasy fiction, modern storytelling, and my new novel, Hypernea: The Cursed Kingdom.
We covered quite a bit in this conversation, including the growing frustration many readers have with modern fantasy franchises that seem determined to deconstruct heroism, morality, and hope in favor of cynicism and nihilism.
We also talked about Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, mythology, Roman history, and why audiences still hunger for stories centered on courage, sacrifice, and meaning.
If you could pick up a copy of Hypernea: The Cursed Kingdom and leave a review on Amazon, I would be deeply grateful.
Hypernea: The Cursed Kingdom is the first installment in a larger fantasy series and follows Prince Sigismund, a feared outcast marked by a mysterious curse, as he joins a group of unlikely allies against a force threatening existence itself.
Kira recently published her own write-up of our discussion on her Substack, and if you enjoy thoughtful cultural commentary, interviews, and political analysis, I highly recommend following her work at Just Kira Davis.
Here is the transcript from our interview:
Kira Davis: Good to see you. We are live. Welcome to Kyle Becker.
Kira Davis: Kyle Becker is an old... we’re live. Yeah, we’re streaming. Conservative Daily News.
Kyle Becker: Oh my God.
Kira Davis: Remember that? My first job in this business almost 20 years ago with Kyle at Conservative Daily News, when we were all just bloggers.
Kyle Becker: Oh yeah. Just a blogger.
Kira Davis: Just a blogger.
Kira Davis: Well, Kyle’s work has gone on to IJR since then. Where else?
Kyle Becker: Fox News.
Kira Davis: Fox News.
Kyle Becker: Yep.
Kira Davis: Are you still at Fox?
Kyle Becker: No.
Kira Davis: Okay. Thank you.
Kyle Becker: But now... sorry. Thank you for bringing that up, Kira. I am no longer.
Kira Davis: No, no, please.
Kyle Becker: Trust me. I’m happy.
Kira Davis: Okay, good. I’m glad.
Kira Davis: Well, I’m glad to hear that. This business is entertainment, actually. A lot of people don’t know that, but it’s just a different version of the entertainment business. But you’ve got some exciting new things going on.
Kyle Becker: Well, I’m excited about it. I hope other people are too.
Kira Davis: I am.
Kyle Becker: There’s a lot of buzz right now about Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia and so on.
Kira Davis: Right.
Kyle Becker: People are complaining and whining about Stephen Colbert and wondering why he’s possibly being tapped to write this derivative LOTR work and their female-first version or whatever.
But you don’t have to read Lord of the Rings for the 50th time to read epic fantasy that’s in the classical vibe that you want.
There’s this book, Hypernea: The Cursed Kingdom. I designed the cover. Hopefully you like it. It’s published by Permuted Press. They work with Simon & Schuster and did the map and all this other stuff with it.
It’s about 300 pages. It’s a little different, but if you like Chronicles of Narnia, I think that’s probably the best audience for this. There’s definitely some Christian-type allegory or tropes in it, but it’s not heavy-handed.
Kira Davis: Those of you out there who are Tolkien buffs know that he was not deliberately inserting all this Christian allegory.
Kyle Becker: Yeah, it’s symbolic.
Kira Davis: Yeah, it’s symbolic.
Kyle Becker: And a lot of it is subconscious, because many of the powerful things about religious narratives across all cultures... if you read The Hero’s Journey, there are a lot of examples of this.
There are powerful things that are hardwired into our mindset, like allegories.
Kira Davis: Yes. Well, let’s talk about it. Let’s talk about it, Kyle.
Kyle Becker: Okay.
Kira Davis: I think one of the things that people are craving right now is meaning. They’re craving stories that aren’t cynical and empty.
Kyle Becker: Exactly. That’s really the core of it. Modern entertainment has become so obsessed with deconstruction and irony that it forgets people actually want hope. They want heroism. They want sacrifice and redemption.
A lot of fantasy today either mocks those themes or strips them out entirely. What I wanted to do with this book was go back to that older tradition.
Kira Davis: And that’s why people still go back to Tolkien and Lewis.
Kyle Becker: Right. Because those stories speak to something eternal.
Kira Davis: So tell people about the world you’ve created.
Kyle Becker: Hypernea is a kingdom under a curse. The world has a spiritual weight to it. The characters are dealing with evil, but also with questions about loyalty, identity, fear, and purpose.
I didn’t want cardboard heroes or villains. I wanted characters who struggle.
Kira Davis: That’s important because people connect to struggle.
Kyle Becker: Exactly. If the character is perfect, nobody believes it. Real courage comes when someone is afraid and still chooses to do the right thing.
Kira Davis: That’s very old-school storytelling.
Kyle Becker: It is, and I think audiences are hungry for it again.
Kira Davis: Do you think that’s part of the backlash we’re seeing against Hollywood right now?
Kyle Becker: Definitely. A lot of people feel lectured to. They feel like modern franchises don’t respect the audience anymore. Instead of telling good stories, they push messaging first.
People notice that.
Kira Davis: They absolutely do.
Kyle Becker: And eventually they tune out.
Kira Davis: So was writing fiction always something you wanted to do?
Kyle Becker: Honestly, yes. I’ve always loved mythology, fantasy, symbolism, and storytelling. Journalism is one way of communicating truth, but fiction can sometimes reach people more deeply.
Stories stick with people in a way arguments don’t.
Kira Davis: That’s true.
Kyle Becker: You can explain a principle in an essay, but when people experience it through characters and sacrifice and conflict, it becomes real to them.
Kira Davis: That’s why stories matter.
Kyle Becker: Exactly.
Kira Davis: And honestly, people need beauty again.
Kyle Becker: They do. Beauty matters. Wonder matters. Awe matters.
Modern culture often treats sincerity like it’s embarrassing, but sincerity is powerful.
Kira Davis: That’s such a good point.
Kyle Becker: People want stories that inspire them instead of humiliating them.
Kira Davis: So where can people find the book?
Kyle Becker: It’s available online now. People can search for Hypernea: The Cursed Kingdom and find it through the publisher and major retailers.
Kira Davis: Very cool.
Kyle Becker: I’m excited for people to read it.
Kira Davis: Congratulations on the project.
Kyle Becker: Thank you. I appreciate it.
Kira Davis: And thanks for coming on.
Kyle Becker: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
You can watch the full interview above. Fair warning: the CPAC vendor hall was extremely loud, so captions may help.
