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I’ve still got a couple of stories left to go, but after a wait this long, I don’t want the book to be over too quickly.
So far, so good. I’m enjoying the mix of stories, and I think it would be great to have more anthologies like this. Not least because the novels are moving forward in a certain direction, and anthologies like this can give fans stories set at various points in the series timeline. For example, Victor Bergman’s gone by this point in the novels, but he’s present in several of Shepherd Moon’s stories. Then there’s the first story, which is mostly a flashback to a time well before the moon leaves orbit; though it has some familiar supporting characters along with Koenig, it wouldn’t make sense to do that kind of story as a novel unless the novels were coming out much more frequently.
However… I think the book needed a bit more copy editing. The story by the four fans has almost random shifts from past to present tense that don’t seem to serve any stylistic purpose; the present tense should have been changed to past tense to make the story consistent. The word “reign” has been used in at least two places where “rein” is the correct word. One writer seems to have only a tenuous grasp of what commas are for. None of this detracts from the stories too much, but it’s the sort of thing that can make something feel like better than average fanfic rather than pro material if it happens too often.
Do people on the forum and with the company only want to hear good things? I mean I like the prose and imagery and I think the writing is well done but I do have some criticisms. I just don’t know if anyone really wants to hear them! 🙂
On an unrelated question: does the alien being in THE IMMUNITY SYNDROME, the “creature”, die at the end?
I wouldn’t have thought anyone on the forum – or indeed anyone from Powys – would have any problem at all with constructive (spoiler free) criticism – I have one or two very minor niggles myself, but I suppose in a way if I revealed them at this stage some people might construe them as spoilers….. 😉
So post away. After all, it’s a learning curve for everyone…!
As far as Steve’s comments go, I hadn’t really noted any major grammatical faux pas – at least those that spoiled my enjoyment anyway! I’ve read worse in some other sci-fi novels, and even some of the (very few) [b]Doctor Who[/b] novels that I’ve read have occasionally contained some howlers 😀
– Simon
The alien life force that was introduced in The Immunity Syndrome does not die. As a matter of fact, “SPOILER ALERT” it actually helps the Alphans in the end, once John, Helena, Maya, Alan, Alibe, and Jerry Travis find a way to establish contact and communication with it.
This is one of my favorite episodes from the series. Definately well written, well directed, and well acted out by the cast and guest artists.
🙂
[b]Papillon wrote:[/b]
[quote]The alien life force that was introduced in The Immunity Syndrome does not die. As a matter of fact, “SPOILER ALERT” it actually helps the Alphans in the end, once John, Helena, Maya, Alan, Alibe, and Jerry Travis find a way to establish contact and communication with it.This is one of my favorite episodes from the series. Definately well written, well directed, and well acted out by the cast and guest artists.
:)[/quote]
Really? My impression was that the life force [i]does[/i] actually die after it has established contact with the Alphans – simply because it cannot deal with the grief having found out it has been unwittingly responsible for death?
Agreed – I like the episode, which is far superior to [b]The Dorcons[/b] 😀
– Simon
SPOILERS
I think I asked because Johnny Bryne in some of his interviews seems to say it does die. Even some of the guides I found on line mentions it dies, committing suicide because it cannot handle the greif. I always thought it didn’t survive, preciously because it does help them. I must admit I rather that it did survive.
In any event, my main problem with SHEPHERD MOON is some of the plotting and the setting of the timelines. Many of the stories (and this is just my preference) occur at times that I feel are the most boring time spots of the timeline. These include just before BREAKAWAY, Tess and Sam’s deaths, and Maya on Psychon before the Moon arrives. For me (and I haven’t read all the stories FULLY yet, the best seems to be SPIDER’S WEB. The worst is, and again, I do like the way and style of the writing in all the stories, the one where Jackie Crawford dies.
I might be alone in this but I feel that Jackie has more mileage as a character and a story device if he were to live. It is one of the reasons I never continued reading THE FORSAKEN. It is also one of the reasons that I consider the Powyrs Media books NOT my 1999 chosen canon. To me it is some kind of alt universe thanks to that one thing. I don’t like that idea that Jarak is back inside him and I don’t like the idea that the boy has to die. It is just too sad. It is true that 1999 can be dark but even the First Season kept him alive at the end of ALPHA CHILD. The whole story sours for me thanks to that and I felt it was a sort of retread of FORCE OF LIFE.
SO those two problems are for me, why I really didn’t enjoy SHEPHERD MOON. I guess after years of being a 1999 fan, I have…as we all must have…our own ideas as to what happened in between seasons one and two and what happened after season three. I’m overjoyed that these books even exist today and continue to come out…and as a fan, I’ll always want to get them and read their visions. It just doesn’t always match my own of 1999.
I do like some of the 1999 comics,both CHARLTON and LOOK IN. I guess I like more adventure and less negative dark stuff; more MUF stuff or even God stuff in the stories.
I also found some problems with how some of the characters are described. Gorski is called a fat bastard by Cellini. Simmonds is twice mentioned as either sweaty and/or disgusting looking. I found that…I dunno, disturbing to me as it might be the actors who played them.
I hope it’s okay to say these things or write then rather as I do enjoy that 1999 is back in this format. I just feel that these are not the kind of books of 1999 I expected or enjoy.
Please remember to preface any postings that contain spoilers with the word SPOILERS in all caps and sufficient white space before your posting to give ample warning to forum readers who don’t want any surprises spoiled.
As far as Chase’s thoughts go, it’s obvious that they’ve read [b]SM[/b] fairly closely and assembled some thoughts. I’m a bit under the weather at the moment otherwise I’d follow up those comments; maybe tomorrow.
I guess the thing is that we all have different ideas of how the series should have gone, and it really does become a matter of taste. It seems to me that Chase doesn’t like going outside the timeline which was explored on Moonbase Alpha, so would prefer stories set between Breakaway and The Dorcons? Am I right here? I sympathise because that would have been my own view a long time ago. Now I tend to think that there is a whole universe out there to be explored. But – others prefer a narrower and more defined timeline and that’s a valid point of view.
I’m not sure though that I’d just stop reading a book because one element of that book wasn’t in accordance with the direction in which I myself imagined (or wished) the series to go. But again, we’re all different.
As I said, I have one or two minor niggles with some of the stories but as I’m a bit unwell at the moment I’ll follow up here at another time.
One question, Chase – do you write any fan fiction (eg Space:1999) yourself?
– Simon
I’ll try to post individual reviews as I read through each of the stories. Here’s the first one at least.
SPOILERS
A Touch of Venus
Pros: Very well written story covering the events of what I’ve always felt to be a rather silly sub-plot from an average Year 2 episode. After reading the story, I was compelled to watch Lambda Factor again for the first time since I bought the dvd’s in 2002 and found the episode to be better than I remembered. In Muir’s short story, I felt there was great use of Cellini, showing an early version of John and Tony’s friendship and rivalry, as well as Gorski and the early formation of Koenig’s dislike for him. There was some really great fleshing out of the two non-characters Sam and Tessa as well. They were made real for me and I found Koenig’s relationship to them drawn strongly enough to provide a believable basis for Koenig’s almost over-the-top reactions to their ghosts in Lambda Factor, which I’ve never cared for too much. I also enjoyed that Muir makes a valiant attempt to smooth over the awkward use of the word “plague” in the disease name in the episode by having several people question its use.
Cons: Other than the initial statement of Morning Star going “full burn” so that they can reach the Venus station earlier than the Evening Star, pretty much every single mention of trajectories, orbits, orbital mechanics, etc. after that point is just flat out wrong, or else nonsense. For instance – leaping to/from the space station and worrying about possibly “falling” all the way down to Venus? Impossible. The Evening Star “going into orbit” around the space station? Nonsense. There’s much more, but since these elements are not crucial to the story, I only downgraded by a point for these errors. I was also irked by the final line about the million twinkling lights of the stars outside the viewport – as stars don’t twinkle in a vacuum.
Overall: A superb first story in the volume, getting the collection off to a great start, marred only by bad science. 9/10
Finally had the chance to read the last story in Shepherd Moon, and I’m surprised there hasn’t been any discussion of it here. I suspect it’s intended as a taster for future events in the novels (in Omega, perhaps?), and if so I’m going to have to rewatch a few episodes. Looks like there may be some surprises ahead, especially for anyone who skips Shepherd Moon.
I don’t think there are significant SPOILERS here except a little of who the characters in the first Shepherd Moon story are, when it takes place, and the theme:
I enjoyed the back story to Koenig’s incident with Sam and Tessa, which was mentioned in the episode The Exiles before it was further developed in the Lambda Factor. It’s the only story in [b]SM[/b] that I’ve read so far, and it’s so good that I can’t believe the other stories in the book will be able to top it.
We don’t have much history about Koenig or the others, like his relationship to Cellini and Gorski, so back story like this is a welcome addition to the rich body of work being developed through Powys to further Space:1999.
Also, the Year 2 Omnibus adds even more to Koenig’s experiences under the influence of the lambda waves. It’s in a kind of epilogue to the Lambda Factor chapter called “Lambda Variance”, but if I say more I’ll spoil one of the most touching moments in that book for readers who haven’t yet purchased it.
As far as Martin Landau’s “over the top” acting in the Lambda Factor episode, I have always liked it and thought it was appropriate considering he was under the influence of lambda waves and his emotions were amplified and uninhibited. Of course, Landau’s interpretation of Koenig through his acting is the basis for his characterization in the novels, and I recently heard Martin speak about some of his acting style. I attended a workshop he was involved in, and he said he enjoys “larger-than-life” acting when he has the opportunity.
John Muir’s knowledge about and love of Space:1999 really show in his very moving story and detailed characterizations. I eagerly await more of his writing, which I hear is forthcoming!
Below is my review of the second story, Fallen Star.
SPOILERS
Fallen Star
Pros: An interesting fast paced story that answers the question many had after reading Forsaken – what exactly happened to Jackie Crawford? The story has a shifting viewpoint every few pages or less, which gives the reader a quick means to observe the events unfold from multiple aspects and gives the story some depth and detail that would be difficult to provide if it was only told from one point of view.
Cons: Numerous prose issues take the reader out of the story multiple times. Most notable is the shift to present tense the first time the story is told from Cynthia’s point of view. It’s quite jarring. The first couple of pages, as well as Jackie’s longer dream sequence, are a bit disjointed and somewhat opaque. Some passages required a second read through to make sure I understood what the author was trying to say. Other times I was never completely sure. What exactly did Jackie observe rising over the horizon when the lights were off, and what does it mean for the story? Why was Jarak menacing and evil in one dream, but yet a guide and protector the rest of the time? Elements of the ending were awkward as well. Koenig and crew figure out that Jackie destroyed the alien, but when Jackie asks if the bad things went away, everyone is confused as to what he is asking about. The characters also describe events as if there were two completely different creatures attacking the generator and not just the one that separated into pieces. I also didn’t care for the final paragraph, which I feel is a tacked on “happy ending”, and would have much preferred the story stop on Alan’s note of “This one’s for you”. As well, the story doesn’t seem to fit the timeline of Forsaken, since here the Moon is deep within an incredibly immense empty dead zone of space, six months out from their last solar system encounter, and yet Alpha is approaching Pyxidea just days later in Forsaken, where Jackie’s burial occurs.
Overall: A worthy tale delving into the mystery of Jackie Crawford, hampered by multiple prose issues and inconsistencies. 6/10
[b]Steve Roby wrote:[/b]
[quote]Finally had the chance to read the last story in Shepherd Moon, and I’m surprised there hasn’t been any discussion of it here. [/quote]
I’m sure there will be eventually, once everyone catches up on their reading.
Currently I’m on Cargo, the third story of nine. Still quite a ways to go for me….This discussion is making me realize how much I’ve forgotten about this show. I’m watching “The Lambda Factor” now and the only thing that seems very familiar is the pinwheel in space — and the Carolyn stuff is just starting to seem familiar now. But then, it’s possible I’ve only seen it twice before, back when it first aired and several years ago when I bought the DVDs.
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