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I thought it might be interesting to shed light on the origin of the titles of the Powys Books and the Episode titles as well. If you know the reference or origin of a title, post about it on this thread. I’ll start off.
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SPowys’s first Space: 1999 novel was Resurrection. The title Resurrection has a double meaning, of course. One refers to the resurrection of Balor, not to mention Mike Baxter, and Koenig! The other refers to the resurrection of the series itself via the books.
The Forsaken refers first to the Cryptodira who feel themselves abandoned by their Space Brain protector, and in the novel, Hurum sends a message via the obelisk: Why have you forsaken us? This was an intentional Christian reference to Jesus on the cross. It was meant as a literary reference, not an espousal of any relgious belief.
That said, it is interesting how many Powys titles have religious connotations. So far Resurrection and The Forsaken certainly do.
The next book published was Survival. Survival was chosen because the crux of the book is two groups of people, both the last remnants of a once great civilization thrust together into a struggle for limited resources that at first glance looks to be a zero-sum game where one of the other will survive–forcing them into combat with one another The theme of the book being that ethics are a luxury when extinction is a distinct possibility.
Eternity Unleashed refers to the process of immortality that Balor “gifts/curses” his people with. Eternity Unbound–also refers to this. The people of Progron are no longer bound by the limitations of normal life spans and in Resurrection a few Alphans are exposed to this as well. In the middle is End of Eternity, where Balor’s “eternal” life is thought to have come to an end (or at least his reign on Alpha).
Year Two–well, it’s Year Two. I believe the U.S. books actually had the words “Year 2” right on the cover. I don’t know when the two seasons (or series in the UK) began to be referred to as Year One and Year Two.
Shepherd Moon was chosen because it has a meaning in astronomy, but also because we have referred to Koenig as a kind of Moses guiding his people–and so the Moon is taking them on a journey, and because, well, I listen to Enya once in a while. 😆 I felt it was an evocative title and the religious reference was not lost on me. (For the record, I am an atheist.)
Born for Adversity is directly from a bible verse. Look it up once you’ve read the book. But it also has true significance in terms of the story being told. Once again titles with multiple possible meanings.
A reference I am sometimes asked about is on the back over of all the Powys paperbacks:
“…as they struggle to survive their journey through the depths of space, encounter alien civilizations [b]rich and strange[/b], and search for…”
The “rich and strange” descriptors are a reference to Shakespeare:
Full fathom five thy father lies
Those are pearls that were his eyes
Of his bones are coral made
Nothing of him doth fade
But that suffers a sea change
Into something rich and strangeForgive me if I misquoted the bard. 😉
Are any of the other titles(yet to be released)references to literary or Biblical Quotes?
I still haven’t figured out the meaning of the title concerning forthcoming story about the alternative timeline/universe Alphans from the Year One episode “Another Time, Another Place.”
🙂
Are you referring to Syukhtun? Syukhtun in the Chumash name for the area they lived in along the California coast near (and including Santa Barbara). It is intended to show the Alphans settling at Santa Maria (and environs) and adopting a more back to the land sort of lifestyle.
I’ve been to the reservation and once knew a few of the elders there. I chose that title to honor them.
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