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Just had to post this. I’ve mentioned it to some in non-forum emails, but I wanted to throw it out anyone who might have other comments.
Spoiler space
Lots of it.
Don’t say you weren’t warned
Are you still reading?
I think this ought to be enough.
Odysseus was unwillingly dragged into a war caused by a conflict among 3 goddesses who have nothing better to do with their time than manipulate mortals.
Koenig is unwillingly dragged into a war caused by a conflict among 3(?) MUFs who have nothing better to do with their time than to manipulate mortals. Question mark because there is AlphaBergman’s MUF, NotMike, and OtherBergman’s MUF. Not clear to me if any of these are the same or if there are multiple forces at work.
Odysseus asks his most trusted advisor, Mentor, to look after his wife and newborn child. (I have always thought the choice of Mentor for Maya’s father’s name was unfortunate.)
Koenig asks his most trusted advisor, Victor, to look after Helena and their as-yet unborn child.
Odysseus is a hero to his side, and reviled by the Romans. They want him dead.
Koenig is a hero to one side, and the other side wants him dead.
Odysseus uses the Trojan Horse to attack Troy.
Koenig uses distraction forces to allow main team to get to their objective.
Odysseus gets caught between Scylla and Charybdis , the rocks which grab you and slam shut, and a watery death by a young girl that is turned into a whirlpool/monster . By going close to Scylla, he loses some of his men.
Koenig et al. are caught in a group of dragons, which grab you and then shut their mouths, and the brell, a watery death by a young girl who turns into a monster. There are some red-shirt fatalities.
(Caught between a [b]rock [/b][i][/i]and a hard place…)
Odysseus meets the spirit of his dead mother when things look really bad and he is at the edge of the world, and gets news from the home front.
Koenig is filled in on events by a MUF in the guise of his mother, having been snatched just as things were looking really bad and he’s at his wit’s end, and gets news from the home front.
Odysseus has a “champion” in Athena, who watches over him and supports him.
Koenig might have a champion – though at this point it is not entirely clear who it might be.
Odysseus is separated from his crew and is held against his will by Calypso, yet he continues to reject her because he wants to get back to Penelope.
Koenig is separated from his crew, and is held against his will by something, and he eases his mind by thinking about Helena, and would (obviously) like to get back.
Telemechus, Odysseus’ son, all growed up, goes looking for him.
RK, Koenig’s son, all growed up, apparently shows up and offers reinforcements – to go and look for Dad?
After a long time, Odysseus makes it home, meets up with Telemechus, and together they defeat the suitors who are causing all manner of trouble in Ithaca and his house.
?…?
“Your Odyssey shall know no end.”
-Pat.
Absolutely awesome posting, Pat.
Any monsters with one eye around (Cyclops?). Actually, more than one!
There’s another odyssey that influenced Space:1999 — be on the lookout for that, too…
Awww….Missed that one!! The cyclops Polyphemus that eats people and is defeated by whacking him in the eye!
Efxaristo, Homer.
-P.
Interesting to think of the access device used to enter Susurra (the Leiran ship) in Survival. The parallels in Omega are revealing to say the least.
Then there’s that other Greek myth…Oedipus. As I recall, he acted rashly on the basis of some shaky information, too B) . Heeding the half-true rantings of a drugged – if not just plain schizoid – (wo)man sitting on a rock is never a good thing.
Have a good week-end; I know I will.
-Pat.
An excellent analysis, PatS. My compliments.
Space:1999 was definately influenced by another classic odyssey.
Aside from Homer’s classic adventure in Greek mythology, it was also influenced by(as I am certain everyone knows)the classic 1968 MGM science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey. And to some extent its classic 1984 sequel(also from MGM), 2010: The Year We Make Contact.
Some of the best in the science fiction genre.
🙂
Should we use this as the spoiler topic for Omega? Great analysis, btw — I’ve never actually read The Odyssey, just synopses and stories playing with the core ingredients.
Anyway…
I’m still not sure what I think of Omega. I may not really know until we have the chance to read what comes next, whenever that may be. I think in some ways it might have worked better if we’d had more novels in the series, including some relatively standalone books, because it feels a little fanwankish that so much is being pulled together here. On the upside, I thought William Latham’s prose style flowed more smoothly here than it did in his past Space: 1999 work. The story had some interesting touches that could have been explored more if the book hadn’t been so short — references to the fact that it’s been years since BfA, for instance. It’s a shame we didn’t get more exploration of that instead of jumping right into the action. For that matter, a few reminders of past events and characters might have been helpful; it’s been several years since I read The Forsaken and Survival.
So… how long until the next book? I’m [size=4]DEFIN[u]I[/u]TELY[/size] looking forward to more from Powys.
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