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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.
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
Sure they did, though we tend to focus on the ones they missed. But with only one image for Spider’s Web, I decided to make that little alteration. In know, it’s still clearly the Ultra Probe… 🙂
We’re hoping to release Spider’s Web as a single audio CD. Resurrection would have taken SIX! It just wasn’t economically feasible to do a six disc release, so we went to MP3.
As Spider’s Web takes place on an alien spacecraft, we removed that number 5 from the upper left side of the door frame, to disguise–just a little–the human markings within the Ultra Probe.
No one will miss the release. We promise you. We’ll give everyone ample notice. We’re just busy. 😉 Welcome back!
Mateo
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.
Interesting questions. The Powysverse timeline is Powys’s official timeline.
It doesn’t (at present) take into account the comics or comic magazines. Nor does it take into account the Return to the Beginning or the 1970s Charlton anthology (in book form) called, simply, Space: 1999. This is not to say I don’t like the stories. Some are fantastic–and I mean that in the word’s original meaning of being of a fantasy nature, but a number are quite interesting and fun. I have a great fondness for them.
That said, I am not of the opinion that EVERYTHING ever written must be included in any overarching timeline. I think it’s simply unworkable and often contradictory.
The Powysverse (at present) includes all 49 episodes (including MFMBA). It does not include the Earth scenes from the compilation “movies”. It includes all the Powys releases (always in the latest editions).
More closely, the events of Year Two as depicted in the YEAR TWO omnibus do not necessarily match what happened onscreen exactly. Unlike Star Trek where ONLY what happens on screen is canon. Powys is attempting to create a unified, internally consistent, LITERARY saga. So changes were made to the Y2 episodes to fill in a few plot holes, correct a few mistakes, provide connections backwards to earlier events and foreshadow future ones.
Ultimately, if you bound all the Powys material into one huge, back-breaking, hardcover volume, it would be some 4000 pages long. If you read it from one end to the other–we hope you’d feel it was all of a kind. An Alphan odyssey.
And I appreciate the vote of confidence! Thanks. It’s nice to hear.
Mateo
Fun, isn’t it? To get back that feeling we had when were were kids. As we get older and the pressures upon us build: economic, family, political and health. It’s nice to be able to dive into a new book that takes us back to a simpler time in our lives, when we looked up at every full moon and more than half-believed that one day there’d be a base up there. And beyond, a universe of mystery and awe.
We get as much fun hearing your comments (it really makes our day) as we do dreaming up the stories. We hope you get as much joy from reading them, fresh–not knowing what will happen next. That is something we can never do. But it’s worth it!
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!
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
