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[b]mateo wrote:[/b]
[quote]OK, who is going to make our Christmas holiday just that much happier and post as soon as they get their copy of Chasing the Cyclops? Initial, just it out of the box impressions…[/quote]Hello All
Firstly, apologies I’ve not been around for a long time – I am up to my neck in a fairly long illness, and though I haven’t contributed in a long while, I do pop in to glance at what has been going on.
Anyhow, I am pleased to report that my two copies of [b]Chasing The Cyclops[/b] were delivered by the Royal Mail about a hour ago. Not bad going by either Lulu or the Royal Mail, who have been hit quite badly in parts by the extreme weather we’ve been having in the UK recently.
As a long standing fan of William Latham’s writing ([b]Resurrection [/b]remains my favourite [i]1999[/i] novel, along with John Rankine’s [b]Android Planet[/b]…) I am pleased to be one of the first to report that I have the finished product in my hand. And it looks like 168 pages of how to build a novel. If you have the writing talent, that is. (I suppose it’s a bit like the literary version of Tim Heald’s [i]The Making of Space:1999[/i]….!)
The book looks nice and polished, and will go well with the novels themselves in the bookcase.
I rather enjoyed Bill’s afterword to [b]Eternity Unbound[/b], which gave an idea of the thought processes behind writing the expanded version of his debut [i]1999[/i] novel, and some of the difficulties and issues involved. [b]Chasing the Cyclops[/b] is the same idea, but much expanded. I am pleased in a small way to have been able to contribute a little bit to the efforts of Powys Media and their merry band – moreso in the early days; (at present I don’t have much energy for anything, I’m surprised I’ve got this far in a forum post….!)
Anyway, one copy for reading over Christmas, and one copy to go on the shelf.
Thank you all and Merry Christmas. Oh, and Mateo: my ‘other’ Christmas present also arrived today. Thank you!
And now, back to my sick bed. But at least I’ve something to read while I’m there 😀
Simon
[b]mrsalancarter wrote:[/b]
[quote]I loved this anthology and I hope that there are more to come!!!![/quote]As with the [b]BFA[/b] thread, I hope though that you’ll expand on your comments, as remarks like the above, though I’m sure are very welcome, don’t tell either the authors or Powys Media very much in themselves.
Go on – I already have posted my [b]SM[/b] comments. So don’t be shy. And that goes for other people out there. Be expansive. Mateo [i]loves[/i] it 😀
– Simon
[b]mrsalancarter wrote:[/b]
[quote]I finished BFA last night and have to say that it was TERRIFIC!!!! Omega arrived this afternoon and I plan on finishing this one by tomorrow p.m. These novels were well worth the wait! Thanks for all your efforts Mateo!!!! ;)[/quote]I’ve finished [b]BFA[/b] and plan to post more on it in the coming days. Perhaps you’d like to expand on your comments in the meantime – I’m sure the author, David McIntee, (as well as Mateo) would like to hear more than just [i]’terrific!!’ [/i] – pleased though I’m sure they are to receive such enthusiastic praise….. 🙂
– Simon
It’ll be a good while before I get round to [b]OMEGA[/b], but it is the book I have [i]most[/i] been looking forward to, ever since reading [b]RESURRECTION[/b] (and [b]ETERNITY UNBOUND[/b]). So it’s good to hear that the book has had an impact and is somewhat…controversial!
This is what was intended, if you re-read Mr Latham’s [i]Omega Diary[/i]:
http://www.williamlatham.net/diaryhome.html
Oh – and I’m [i]sure[/i] he has at least another book in him…. 😉
– Simon
Yes, my two copies also arrived today as well and as Ally says, the cover is excellent – Ken Scott’s best yet I would have said.
As I have to read books between bouts of illness sometimes I hit a slow patch; I haven’t quite finished [b]BFA[/b] yet so I’m not sure when I’ll be starting [b]Omega[/b], but I’m certainly looking forward to it.
🙂
– Simon
[b]Procyonstar wrote:[/b]
[quote]Oh and by the way…can anyone tell me how to add those quote boxes into threads… I must be stupid because I can’t work it out…LOL[/quote]Easy peasy!
If you want to quote all or part of someone’s post in er, [i]your[/i] post, click on the ‘quote’ button (rather than ‘reply’ or ‘quick reply’.) The software will then show you the post you want to quote, bookended at the beginning and end by two separate ‘quote’ legends – one for ‘quote’ and one for ‘unquote’. You can always delete what you don’t need in between.
I suppose if you want, you can type quote/unquote legends yourself, but it’s a bit of a chore.
– Simon
One thing I should add: I’m no great fan of science fiction/fantasy of any sort, outside of Space:1999, which may possibly mark me apart from others. I don’t know.
One thing I [i]will [/i]say is thanks to you both (ally, cricket) for some worthwhile discussion – things were getting boring round here, LOL.
– Simon
[b]Procyonstar wrote:[/b]
[quote]Have you read [i]Bridge Two [/i] by David Welle? Ok, the story is largly concentrated on Maya and Dorcans but all set within an incredibly complex and detailed description of the ‘day to day’ life on Alpha. I thought that side of the novel was fascinating and I think thats what Cricket is saying.
Can we not have both?[/quote]
I’d love to have both – I never said [i]either[/i] approach should be set in stone or that one was better than another (and I think I [i]did[/i] make that clear 😀 ) I just wasn’t quite sure what cricket was saying – but since their subsequent post, I understand better. And I can’t say I disagree.
I was hoping that David Welle might have contributed to [b]SM[/b], actually – maybe the next one.
– Simon
I think the problem with naming [i]Full Circle[/i] as an example of the sort of story that you’d like is…that it was one of the weakest of the Year One stories! There might have been some nice character moments and flashes of humour, but that’s about it.
I [i]do[/i] think though that there is always a danger that writers can get carried away with alien characters and civilisations at the expense of the Alphans (who should indeed be the main focus). In general I think the balance is well judged. Sometimes you need a little context in these stories, and Alpha’s brushes with alien civilisations (as in the tv series) provide a very rich source of character conflict.
Now, you could [i]also[/i] say that novels solely based around the Alphans could do much the same (eg [i]Seance Spectre[/i] or [i]The Lambda Factor[/i] maybe?) but could they be sustained over the length of a [u]book[/u] without turning into a soap opera (or even worse, a sort of ‘romantic’ effort)?
I’m not sure myself. And just to be clear, I’m not saying that one approach is better than another. It’s a question of which works better.
Presumably you didn’t like [b]Eternity Unbound[/b] then, or stories like [i]’The Astelian Gift'[/i] in [b]Shepherd Moon[/b]? I think to skip sections of books just because you aren’t that interested in the Psychons (for instance) does the books a disservice quite frankly.
I wonder if perhaps more of an exploration of the Maya/Tony relationship (or indeed Helena/Koenig relationship, or any other relationships on Alpha for that matter) would be more to your taste in that case?
– Simon
[i]Definitely[/i] surprising.
I’d have put money on the popular vote going with “Year One” – but it seems to be a mix of seasons that people want. I wonder if that is a legacy of the [b]Shepherd Moon[/b] anthology?
For the main novels, I think I prefer the ‘Year Three’ approach, but even then, I wouldn’t be too upset at [i]what[/i] turned up.
Regarding Shane Rimmer, he was interviewed many years ago for the old [b]SIG[/b] magazine that was affiliated to Fanderson. In it, I’m pretty sure I recall him saying that he wrote a couple of scripts for [b]Space:1999[/b] and was paid for them but that they never got made.
I think it was the first season he was talking about; and with people like Johnny Byrne and – for a time anyway – Christopher Penfold around, there was probably a good reason why the scripts were junked.
Some times, things [i]are[/i] better left alone.
– Simon
A lot of the books that I have bought over the years tend to get the same sort of reception. People clamour for a book about X or Y. Then while the book is in the works, there are regular “when’s the book coming out?!” “How much longer!” “We’ve been waiting for this!” etc etc ad nauseum.
I’m not just taking about [b]Space:1999[/b] here either.
And when the book in question finally appears, there is a brief rash of “Thanks!” “Great!” “When’s the next one?” – and that is it. Hardly another word of discussion about what people liked, didn’t like, ideas…..
I don’t think this actually implies displeasure, or disinterest. I think it’s just that people find reading less of an effort than…actually putting any thoughts or opinions down themselves. A shame really. I think a similar attitude met the Fanderson re-release of [i]Earthfall[/i] (which ok, I don’t think as highly of as some people, but still…..) and their premiere publication of [i]Earthbound[/i]. People say they want these things and yet – when they deliver, as Fanderson [u]certainly[/u] did – they are met with something that seems like indifference (but probably isn’t). Maybe short message texting and emails are destroying the ability of people to actually [i]write[/i] a meaningful response?
To some extent, I think the same problem will arise with Robert Wood’s Destination Moonbase Alpha book (which I highly recommend incidentally). There has been quite a buzz in various forums and people quite impatient for it’s release…..and then people just go quiet. I don’t believe there is a genuine and committed writer around who works in a vacuum, so I can see how dispiriting that can be.
– Simon
I’m recovering from illness so apologies for lack of feedback here recently – and that which follows is truncated because the notes I made before I went into hospital have disappeared into a black hole (never to be seen again by the looks of it) and so I’m just going to throw out a few one-line comments based on memory for now.
Anyhow, to sum up [b]Shepherd Moon[/b], I’d have to say I was extremely disappointed with it!
S
P
O
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Ok……I was KIDDING about being disappointed, but I bet it got you reading past the spoiler space….. 😀
I think the point about [b]SM[/b] is that anthologies like this can allow people to ‘let their hair down’ and have a bit of fun. That means that it truly IS ‘all good’ – and you can do a Year 1 story, a Year 2 story, a Year 3 story….wow, I suppose you could even do a couple of pages on Doctor Russell’s sex life (well, [u]I’d[/u] certainly like to read it, anyway…..)
The limits are few, and stories can be tackled that perhaps fall outside the established chronologies (or indeed the Powys chronology). So I trust there’ll be a second volume.
As to the stories:
[i]The Touch of Venus[/i] – a pretty kick ass opening to the book. Some people will moan that the story focusses on a couple of minor characters, but they are really just a device for exploring the ‘early’ John Koenig. My main gripe was that Koenig was made over into something of a younger version of Captain Kirk here – something I don’t think he ever really was, being primarily someone who had ended up in administration and had a huge responsibility thrust upon him due to circumstances (ie the moon blowing out of orbit). As far as I recall in the televised scripts (‘The Exiles’ for instance) I am sure Koenig tells us that it was [i]his commander[/i] that made the decision to leave Sam and Tessa et al….NOT Koenig. But like I said, it’s a small quibble and Koenig gets a pre-Breakaway ‘fleshing out’, even if it’s not quite in the direction I would have preferred.
[i]Fallen Star[/i] – my initial reaction to seeing so many authors for one story was ‘uh-oh!’. But actually, it works rather well as a particularly emotive piece. I think Steve Roby picked out some grammatical problems (changes of tense etc) but I have to say that in general I didn’t notice them and the story certainly wasn’t spoiled. It’s a shame how Jackie ends up, and sometimes I do have reservations how Powys writers have a fondness for killing off some of the more peripheral characters – but then I think of how many Fred Freiberger exised…and somehow Powys’ doesn’t seem [i]so[/i] bad…. 🙂
[i]Cargo[/i] – Not much to say here. I didn’t really like it, and wasn’t really sure what – if anything – it was trying to say. Did Mr Ball have trouble coming up with a suitable story? I didn’t find the attempts to put some meat on the Ernst Linden/Queller character all that successful to be honest, and I didn’t really ‘see’ the character as he was played by Jeremy Kemp. Ah well. You can’t win ’em all.
[i]Futility[/i] – JKM shows he has a good grasp of the characters once again, and I loved the ‘We’re all dying in here’ teaser (imagine that as a hook for an actual episode….). Overall I thought it was an excellent story, although one short sentence on page 117 did rile me: the one which said that Jesse Franklin had to [i]ring up[/i] Main Mission to order a new Commlock…. (ring up?? RING up??? Does Alpha have a telephone exchange then?!)
[i]Dead End[/i] – Tubb was never one of my favourite 1999 novelists. because I don’t think he ever really captured the characters properly, while the rest he pretty much ignored completely. Perhaps his short stories are better because – unlike his epic EARTHFALL – they don’t oustay their welcome. Anyway, I quite liked this. Tubb’s unique writing style, so familiar from his other novelisations, was immediately apparent. I always found his portrayal of the main staff rather stiff and nothing changes here. The test of Koenig’s logical thinking seemed a bit ‘Mr Spock’/’Star Trekian’ to me (although I only have a passing familiarity with any of the ST series), but – not a bad story all the same. I’m not really sure that Tubb has an awful lot to say and nothing new to reveal about the characters – much like Brian Ball’s story I suppose.
[i]Remembering Julia[/i] – another character based story, and an exploration of how fragile mental states can be in an environment like Alpha – or if you like, how grief for a loved one can drive someone completely over the edge. In this story, we see the effects on Julia Vale (the author’s invention) and on Helena Russell as she is forced to delve into her past with her hsuband Lee. I liked the continuity aspects very much, and I especially liked the overall intention of the author. I suppose other than episodes like [i]Seance Spectre[/i], examination of the mental state of people imprisoned on a wandering asteroid wasn’t dwelt on that much in the televised episodes….
[i]Mission Critical[/i] – Fred Freiberger may well have been proud of Michael Faries! A brief and humourous diversion. If you never liked Tony Verdeschi and his beer, this story won’t make you like them any more, but this story may at the least raise a style. The mock-serious style at the start – where I really wondered what sort of action/tension story was coming – gives way to a light-hearted sketch.
[i]The Astelian Gift[/i] – All I can say is, a perfect representation of Maya and her childlike innocence before she joined the Alphans (what happened to this in [i]Born for Adversity[/i]? Oh well, that’s for another day…). Alien visitors to Psychon that – within the confines of a short story – are sympathetic and well drawn. Mentor and Maya are so well characterised that I could practically hear Catherine Schell and Brian Blessed leaping off the page. The shocking end of the story ([i]we[/i] know what’s happened to the alien visitors) contrasted with Maya’s childlike trust in her father and her complete ignorance of what has really happened to her new friends (the ‘gift’ turning out to be somewhat of an ironic term…) made this a truly fantastic story. I hope Emma gets to write a full length story because of the face of this, she’d do a great job.
[i]Spider’s Web[/i] – I can see we’re going to have to pay attention in Mr Latham’s forthcoming book! The ‘return’ of a much loved character and – I thought – quite a visceral situation that he is faced with. A fairly cinematic opening and something of a cliffhanger finish. I’ll say no more other than….I can’t wait for OMEGA.
********
There you go. Apologies – it probably took more space than I intended, and yet is vastly cut down from my original jottings. Yes, I did note the odd typo in the book (and indeed in this posting), but nothing very jarring. Elsewhere, I think Ultra has commented on the science not being particularly well conceived, and I suppose there was the odd occasion where the science was awkwardly expressed, but – you know what? – it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of this book one iota. I read Space:1999 for the characters and the philosophies and the situations more than the science. We’re all different eh?!
I’m now reading [b]BFA[/b] at a fairly slow pace (recuperating from illness) and am really enjoying the book. Will no doubt eventually put some of my thoughts down……
– Simon
