For decades, Marblehead resident Bob Welch made a career out of creating games people couldn’t put down.
Now he’s hoping readers feel the same way about his first novel.
Welch, whose career spanned toy invention and video game production, will release his first published novel, “Into The Dax,” on June 30. The eco-dystopian thriller has already earned praise from reviewers, including a rare “GET IT” verdict from Kirkus Reviews and a four-star rating from Foreword Clarion Reviews.
After spending years designing and inventing toys — including the wildly successful Bop It — and producing video games such as “Civilization” and “RollerCoaster Tycoon,” Welch has turned his attention to fiction.
“I started writing probably 20 years ago,” Welch said. “This is the third book I’ve written, the first one to be published.”
Welch moved to Marblehead in 1992 after taking a job at Parker Brothers in Beverly. He spent seven years there before striking out on his own as a toy inventor.
Later, he returned to the gaming industry when former Parker Brothers employees launched Hasbro Interactive, beginning what would become a 30-year career in video games.
One game in particular left a lasting impression — especially on Welch’s son.
“He works in international relations now and the reason is he played “Civilization.”
Welch explained the game. “Your job is to build a civilization. You’re looking at … how’s my technology, how’s my economy? How’s the culture? People like me, do I need to build my military? Can I build up my culture? So you’re learning experientially, and you don’t even know it”
That focus on world-building eventually helped shape “Into The Dax,” which takes place roughly 200 years in the future in a fractured North America transformed by climate change.
The novel follows Kiley Van, a bioscientist whose life is upended after an attempted kidnapping forces her to flee. Along the way, she discovers long-hidden truths about her family and a powerful biotechnology developed by her mother.
“On the run she starts to meet people that reveal things about her family and her past that she never knew,” Welch explained.
The story begins in Vermont; part of a scientifically minded nation called the Commonwealth. To the west lies the Great Lakes Federation, a religious theocracy that controls access to water. Between them are the Adirondacks, home to a fiercely independent society known as the Dax.
“It turns out her mother had invented a biotechnology that can be used for good — which is what she built it for — or evil,” Welch said.
While the book functions as a fast-paced thriller, Welch said it also explores larger questions about environmental stewardship, belief systems and power.
“The bigger story becomes kind of a conversation with yourself as the reader about how people’s beliefs influence the way they think about treating other people and treating the planet in general,” he said.
Welch describes the novel as climate fiction as much as science fiction.
“To me, I was writing a climate fiction book,” he said. “And because of my video game career, it also became science fiction.”
The book’s central technology draws inspiration from real-world science involving mycelium networks — underground fungal systems that connect plants and trees.
“Everything in here is based on real science, things people are working on,” Welch said.
Although Welch studied industrial design at Massachusetts College of Art and Design and built his career designing toys and games, he credits video games with helping him learn how to construct fictional worlds.
“I think world building probably is huge in being able to write something like this,” he said. “When I’m writing, I have the ability to just be gone in that space.”
Welch has already written two unpublished middle-grade novels and has plans for both a prequel and sequel to Into The Dax.
For now, he’s focused on introducing readers to Kiley Van and the world he spent years creating.
Asked how he would describe the book to a friend, he said, “It’s an awakening wrapped in a thriller where nature, science and religion collide.”
“Into The Dax” will be available June 30 through Amazon, with plans for broader distribution and appearances at local bookstores throughout New England. You can learn more about the book and Welch at bobwelchauthor.com.
