Regarding Year One, don’t know. It’s still got a ways to go.

As for Android Planet, etc. I spoke to John Rankine’s son a few years ago, and again recently, and he agreed to license the books to Powys and agreed when I said that we wanted to revise them to fit into the Powysverse. Any “rewriting” will be done by John Mason (Rankine’s son and a fine author in his own right).

As there is no electronic file of this book, I am typing it in the computer myself. I will then send it to John Mason with the requested/suggested alterations. He is the best person to be able to match his father’s writing style.

I altered the paragraph posted just as a sampler, meant to generate buzz.

Mateo

We want to build a body of work that honors the original series and the work of Johnny Byrne, Christopher Penfold, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and everyone else who made the series what it is. I’ve said it before. We hope to build a large, internally consistent, unified epic saga. One that includes all 49 episodes and all the Powys material as well.

I believe we are the ONLY publishing company to ever attempt to alter the existing novelizations of a series to support future continuity, to add in thoughts of past events that weren’t even conceived of when those books were written. To foreshadow episodes and novels. And in doing so we try to give characters personal arcs and GROWTH, rather than just hitting the restart button with each new book.

The older editions are still there–we all have them and love them–but these new versions, even though the changes are subtle, breathe new life into them. Spark readers curiousity to read them again–even both versions!

I have been asked if certain changes we made to Year Two, etc., were in there in the original books or were Powys additions to the manuscript. My thinking is that if an addition was seamless enough to make the reader question whether it was always there in the original book–THEN WE’VE SUCCEEDED! We want to alterations to be so logical and grow out of the previous events of earlier stories that you DON’T notice them. And if you do, we want you to say what Stewie said, mop on head, “It feels RIGHT”.

At the same time, we want to change as little as possible–otherwise what is the point of republishing them?

And you can expect some great new covers from Cesar Gallegos: Spider’s Web, Eternity Unleashed, and Ken Scott: Android Planet and Phoenix of Megaron. Not to mentions forewords from people like John Mason! It’s a win, win, win situation for all involved.

And if you like them–and buy them :P–then add another WIN!

I agree. Every novel should be able to be read independently. But that is just one level of storytelling. There is also something to be said for a series of books that collectively reveal and tell an overarching story while simultaneously working independently.

Yes, I will be approaching E.C. Tubb through his agent for the rights to reprint his two original Space: 1999 novels. Earthfall has already been republished by Fanderson (beautiful book, btw) and I don’t want to interfere with their releases. However, if Alien Seed’s publishing rights are available, along with Rogue Planet, I hope to bring both books out again under the Powys imprint.

Rogue Planet and Android Planet are my two favorites of the 70s original novels.

Mateo

I don’t know that they will fit “right after” The Infernal Machine. I haven’t really decided. I saw a fan timeline on the net that had those novels set IN Year One and I started thinking of them that way. I added a reference to Cellini which would place them before Testament of Arkadia, but I could change that. If I do set them post-Testament, pre-Forsaken, I’d add in a growing tension between Koenig and Morrow to bolster the state of mind Morrow is in in The Forsaken.

We had originally planned for Shane Johnson’s story to take the post-Testament spot–and it still may, whether it be before or after these novels, I don’t know.

I try to order our consecutive novels: planet story, space story, planet story, space story. The four 70s originals contain two of each. Android and Phoenix involved planets, Alien and Rogue are space encounter stories.

Lots of things to consider.