Thanks, Todd, for the new board!
Unfortunately, I've not read the first novel in this new line, so I may not have much to say on this board. I'll start by reiterating what I said on the Sink: 1999 board... when I heard Resurrection was a direct sequel to "End of Eternity," I wasn't in a big hurry to get the novel.
I've heard John Kenneth Muir is writing the second novel. While I enjoyed his Exploring Space: 1999 book, I didn't always agree with some of his assessments of certain things and found a couple factual errors. (He, too, seems to love "End of Eternity," by the way.) I wonder how his novel will turn out, and I wonder what it will be about.
One thing I hope for in the new series: keep the two seasons separate; I really feel there's no way to reconcile the two into the same universe, and while the various theories of space warps causing an altered timeline are interesting, they just don't sit well with me.
I think a new novel could tell a Season 2 version of "Breakaway," where the Command Center crew was always present. That could be challenging to write, but potentially quite enjoyable to read. (I know there's some fan fiction out there that has tried to do this, but I haven't had time to read it.)
Comments, anyone?

I believe that's the point of Ken Muir's book - it will be a story arc between seasons I and II.

I have read Resurrection and after looking forward to the book for so long, I was EXTREMELY disappointed. IMHO, the book was poorly written, the characterizations were off-key, and the book was nothing but one long, meandering conversation. A little description - of anything! - would have been greatly appreciated.

Having said that, I'm still pleased that they're "resurrecting" the Space 1999 fable. I just wish the premier novel of the new series would have been better done. I will still probably buy the book by Ken Muir, just to see how he pulls off the Season I - Season II arc.

If Resurrection was one long meandering conversation, then it was similar to the episode it sequelizes. (Is 'sequelizes' a real word?) For all the talking Balor and others do in "End of Eternity," we really don't get much depth in any character, especially once Balor is shown to be a malevolent and (seemingly) unstoppable force-of-the-week.

By the way, I shall probably read Resurrection, so that I have a common frame of reference with which to discuss it. And I certainly don't fault anyone for trying to write a new series of S99 novels. It's a noble effort.
I do wish, though, that the two seaons would be kept separate... why must the two be shoehorned together, instead of each standing on its own? I feel each series has its own merits, and trying to combine them pulls both down. Obviously, that's what happened in the past and contributed to the TV series' demise.
Am I the only fan who feels this way?

I'd prefer to know exactly what happened in between season I and season II to lead to the changes. Half the crew missing, new location, new relationships, etc. I look forward to seeing how Ken Muir is going to work it out.

True End of Eternity wasn't exactly action-packed, but the book doesn't even say "she had blonde hair" or whatever. I know the books are primarily written to the Space 1999 fanbase, but even so a little description of the characters, the base, the "extras" or whatever was needed. I prefer to read what a character looks like and a description of what they're doing (especially new characters introduced in the book).

The thing is, as some of us have noted before, year one and year two seem to have too many contradictions to be in the same timeline. How they'll reconcile this is a good question.

Which is why I personally wish they wouldn't bother. Few (if any) people seem to share my opinion, but I like the idea of keeping both seasons as separate series.
Changes in personnel and equipment can be explained away without too many leaps in logic and belief... changes in personality and history cannot.

And another thing... I liked the open-endedness (and ultimate optimism, despite the dark tone) of the first season, with the idea that Bergman, Morrow, Kano and Alexander/Alexandria were still part of the crew, sharing adventures with the rest of Moonbase Alpha and maybe even finding a new world. The new novels will officially kill all of that.
I'd still like to see a series of books chronicling a Season 2 format from the initial Breakaway. (Heck, such a format could even try to keep the S99 as a sequel to UFO idea.)
Of course, UFO fans may not like that idea.

The new novel release date is 1/24/03

I got my copy of The Forsaken today and I've had a chance to scan it over. I'm afraid I'm going to be very disappointed in this one, as I was in the first. Very talky, not much action, zilch in the way of character development. >

You've GOT to be kidding! I got my copy and I loved it. It had all the good stuff - mutiny, freaky creatures on a dying planet, romance. I thought it was awesome.

Sounds more like a {Star Trek} plot.

So, how'd the two seasons get reconciled? (I know, "Read the book and find out!")

I am curious about what Prentiss Hancock had to say...

The two seasons really don't get reconciled, other than it sort of explains the disappearance of Morrow and Tanya. Kano and Victor are still around at the end, but so is Verdeschi. At the end they explain the new Command Center and why they leave the old one. But it's less a bridge between seasons 1 and 2 than just a season 1 book with Verdeschi thrown in for good measure.

Oh.

So how did Paul and Tanya disappear?

Tanya gets pregnant (not by Paul) and Paul mutinies and takes Tanya and a bunch of other people to a new planet.

That's a tad out of character, I'd say.

I'd say too. It sounds not unlike writing Mike Stivic out of the "All In The Family" continuity by having him abandon his wife and child and running off to a commune, which they did when Sally Struthers got her own short-lived show. Why can't these characters just die young and unexpectedly like they're supposed to? An eagle crash is an arbitrary way to kill off a character, but in keeping with the series occupational hazards.

On the other hand, why write them off at all? Why not have a few more Season 1 stories before forcing the continuity with Season 2?
Oh, well, if they must go... well, I don't like it, but there it is. But at least keep the characters in character.

Too late now, unless, of course, we just ignore the new novels, which is what anyone can choose to do. I treat them like the fan fiction out there: some of it is awful, some of it is spot-on, a lot of it is something in the middle. Not all of it can exist within the established episodes (and some blatantly doesn't try to, but still ends up being a good read). It ends up being a matter of personal preference.
I guess (speaking for myself) I just don't like the idea that these are "official" stories, when I've read some fanfic that could be just as "official" if only it hadn't been written by non-"professional" authors.

I was hoping they'd let good old Paul die saving the base or something. Well, at least Victor is still around at the end of this one. If future books have the crew acting as out of character as this one, he'll have a heart attack trying to shag Sandra.

Uh-uh. His mechanical ticker won't give out from stress. Nice try, though.

So who is Tanya pregnant by, and does she and the others get a choice of going to this new planet? And was Paul on the wacky manna again?

The book doesn't reveal who Tanya has been doing the horizontal boogie with, and they all sort of mutiny together.

Paul may have been smoking those mushrooms again, who knows.

Well, some new stuff's coming out, including the next novel, Survival, which takes place between Year 1 and Year 2. Based upon it's description at Powys Books, and the photo of Victor Bergman on the front cover, I'd say this is where Bergman gets killed off. Officially.
Some good news is that a collection of S99 short stories is also coming out (alas, by "professional" authors only, including many who've done the original and the new novels). Also, Martin Wiley (of the wonderful website, The Catacombs) will have a companion book to the tv series out in 2004.
Here is a link so y'all can check things out for yourselves.

Does anybody know when the newest novel is coming out? (Survival, by Brian Ball). Acc. to the Powys Media website it was supposed to be October but I don't see anything about how to order.

Any ideas if one can order from the powys website which hasn't been updated for some time now?

Any idea on where to get current novels?

Hi Wolverine - I wish I knew. Lots of juicy information about the new novels, but no way of ordering and they ignore emails. Not a good way to run a business.

When a business starts ignoring its customers or potential customers' e-mail, that's a sign that that business is about to go under.

BOOK: Aftershock And Awe
AUTHOR: Andrew Gaska
YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2012


This graphic novel is a must have for any fan of Space: 1999.

The first part is a retelling the pilot episode, Breakaway, which depicted the Moon being blown out of Earth's orbit on September 13th, 1999 (this story acknowledges that it's happening in an alternate reality). However, it is not a straight one. New scenes are added to feature characters that had not yet appeared at the time (such as Tony Verdeshi, who didn't arrive on the show until the second season).

They also address the issue of Shermeen Williams, from the S2 episode, A Matter Of Balance, what she, at 16, was doing on Alpha. Apparently, she was on a visit to Alpha, because her science teacher was a friend of Victor's, and he invited them. Shermeen's mother came along as well. Both the teacher and Shermeen's mother were killed when the Moon was blown out of Earth's orbit.

During the story, Koenig examines the signal from Meta and comments that it seems familiar. If you've seen the 1999 short film, Message From Moonbase Alpha, you'll know what that means.

The second part is set on Earth, and shows us what happened when the Moon was blown out of Earth's orbit on September 13th, 1999. Turns out the resulting disaster (earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.) killed two billion people and tilted the Earth on its axis. As a result, the weather patterns are changing all over the world.

Ten years later, humanity is still picking up the pieces, but we are persevering (and we see that JFK is still alive in this reality, at age 92). And, slowly, we are turning our eyes outwards again.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel, and I think you will too.