The Forsaken

Over the last couple of years, I’ve enjoyed listening to the Gerry Anderson Podcast, which discusses the shows Anderson produced along with new books, videos, and products associated with those shows. Anderson’s shows included Space: 1999, Thunderbirds, UFO, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and more – a few of which I’ve mentioned here at the Web Journal. Back in episodes 188 through 190 of the podcast, producer Ben Page interviewed author John Kenneth Muir, who has written books about Space: 1999, Doctor Who, the films of John Carpenter and more. Over the course of the interviews, it was clear that Muir was very knowledgeable about Space: 1999. However, I was especially interested when Muir discussed his two Space: 1999 novels, The Forsaken and The Whispering Sea. One thing that becomes clear if you watch episodes from the two seasons, is that they’re very different in look and tone. Several cast members left and new ones were introduced. In real life this had to do with a change of production staff that came as a result of a perceived need to make the show more action packed for American audiences. However, as a writer, I always find it interesting to explore ways these discrepancies can be explained within the story itself and that’s one of the things John Kenneth Muir set out to do in The Forsaken.

The Forsaken is set after the events of Space: 1999 season 1. In a typical episode setup, Earth’s moon has drifted into a solar system which contains a planet which looks suitable for colonization. The moonbase receives a mysterious signal from the planet, but it doesn’t seem hostile. While crewmembers at the base set out to translate the signal, a reconnaissance team from Moonbase Alpha, led by Command John Koenig, goes to explore. Soon after they land, the team from Alpha is beset by giant spider-like aliens. It soon turns out the spiders are effectively pets belonging to an intelligent, peaceful turtle-like species. Back on Alpha, teams have interpreted the messages and learn that the turtle-like people call themselves the Cryptodira and communicate through song. As the two sides learn to communicate with each other, we find out the Cryptodira might welcome the Alphans to come and settle. This all looks good, except that in the recent past, the Cryptodiran’s planet, Pyxidea, had been decimated by solar storms. In his explorations, Alpha’s chief scientist, Victor Bergman, finds an alien artifact used to communicate with a lifeform off the planet. It soon becomes apparent, this life form was an alien intelligence the Alphans met – and destroyed – in the episode “Space Brain.” What’s more, the alien intelligence helped to protect the Cryptodirans.

One of the things Space: 1999 did well was to explore the ways science, spirituality, and philosophy intersect. The setup of the novel gives plenty of room to explore questions of the alien intelligence’s place in the universe and whether Earth’s moon had been sent on its odyssey through space for some divine purpose. As the story continues to progress, some Alphans decide they should settle on the planet Pyxidea, others decide they should move on. The results of this conflict explain why some familiar faces don’t reappear in the second season of the series. Muir also sets up the beginning of the move from the Main Mission command center of the first season to the Command Center of the second season. Muir also anticipates some of the political dialogue we find ourselves involved in today in the United States.

All in all, The Forsaken was a fine novel that fit well into the Space: 1999 storyline. It was good to spend time with familiar characters and I look forward to reading Muir’s other novel, The Whispering Sea. You can find copies of The Forsaken at the publisher’s website: https://tkundergroundmusic.wixsite.com/powysmedia/the-forsaken

You can listen to the Gerry Anderson Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, just search for it by name. It’s available on YouTube, iTunes, and numerous other platforms.

Of course, you can find my novels at http://www.davidleesummers.com

Moonbase Alpha

Back in April, I shared the model I built of Main Mission, the command center of Moonbase Alpha from the 1970s TV series, Space: 1999. As I mentioned at the time, the command center was only one part of the kit. The main part of the kit is effectively a diorama of the full Moonbase from the series. We saw the moonbase at the beginning of each episode in the title card, and often at various points in the series.

In the series, Moonbase Alpha was located in the crater Plato and was approximately four kilometers in diameter. The central tower housed the main mission command center we saw in the first season. The overall base housed some 311 people. The premise of the series was that a nuclear accident launched the moon from Earth orbit and sent it hurtling out into deep space. The series goes on to show the Alphans as they fight for survival during their encounters with assorted natural phenomena and various alien races. Needless to say, it was challenging to see how the physics would work out to get the moon out of the solar system in a short time span. Despite that, the moonbase was designed in a way that felt real. As a child, watching the show with wide-eyed wonder, I could imagine living on the moonbase and flying the Eagle transport craft. I remember asking my parents for an early edition of the Moonbase Alpha kit. They wisely turned me down. While it looks simple, I encountered some challenges along the way, even as a relatively experienced model builder. Here’s the finished model, photographed from approximately the same angle as in the title card.

Moonbase Alpha Model

Perhaps the biggest challenge of building this model is that the moon crater ground pieces are vacu-form plastic while the moonbase pieces are polystyrene plastic. What this means is that you can’t use standard polystyrene model glue to assemble the kit. Most of it must be done with a more general bonding agent such as cyanoacrylate adhesive or super glue. This is tricky stuff to work with, since you don’t want to get it on your fingers. If you do, it’s a good way to attach parts of the moonbase to yourself permanently! Another tricky aspect of this kit was that the travel tubes, the long radial segments coming out from the buildings, had to be cut to size. Fortunately, I’d watched a good video on YouTube from Starship Modeler that suggested that I should measure the pieces on the model itself rather than use the guide in the kit instructions. It gave me nice results and I was able to fit the tubes into position with little trouble.

Eagle on the pad ready for liftoff!

One of my favorite aspects of the series were the Eagle transporters, used to shuttle our crew on Alpha around the moon or to alien worlds they encountered as they hurled through space. One of the things I love about the most recent Moonbase Alpha kit is that they provided nice, detailed decals for the landing pads and the Eagles were made to scale. The challenge is that the Eagle in the photo above is only 1.5 centimeters long! I had to paint the details using my jewler’s magnifying loops. Still, I’m pleased with how the Eagles came out. I chose to place two of them out on landing pads since that seemed typical for a reconnaissance mission.

Moonbase Alpha mounted in its frame

I ended up mounting the whole base on form board to give it extra stability, and then having it framed at a local shop. It was a little expensive, but it now makes a nice wall hanging in my home.

While working on the model, I sought a little inspiration and came upon the Gerry Anderson Podcast. This podcast is hosted by Jamie Anderson, son of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, who created Space: 1999, Thunderbirds, UFO and numerous other wonderful British TV series. Jamie’s co-hosts are Richard James and Chris Dale. In each episode of the podcast, they discuss trivia about episodes, share news about new memorabilia and upcoming projects related to the Anderson shows, and interview someone related to the series production or has some insight into one or more of the series. A highlight of each episode is the “Randomizer” where Chris Dale watches an episode and provides commentary and insight. At times, his remarks can be as much fun as watching an episode of Mystery Science Theater. What’s more, his Randomizer segment has induced me to seek out and watch some of the Anderson entertainment shows I didn’t know about before discovering the podcast. I was especially delighted when they chose to read an email I sent in. If you would like to hear it, it’s in show 162 a little over 13 minutes into the episode. There is a Facebook group devoted to listeners of the show. I have enjoyed being part of the group, in part because the other fans take such delight in the podcast and the shows. Any criticism of the shows is clearly made with a good-natured spirit. You can learn more about the Gerry Anderson podcast and find places to listen by visiting https://www.gerryanderson.co.uk/podcast/

Podcasting about Astronomy, Steampunk and More

This weekend finds me at Wild Wild West Con, which is being held at Old Tucson Studios just outside Tucson, Arizona. If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll make time to join us. We’re having an amazing time. You can get more information about the convention at https://www.wildwestcon.com/

In the run-up to the convention, I was interviewed on the podcast, Madame Perry’s Salon. Madame Perry is a little like Barbara Eden’s character in I Dream of Jeannie. After a lead in from Captain Kirk and Mr. Sulu, she invited me to sit on the cushions in her genie’s bottle. We discussed how reading Robert A. Heinlein’s Time Enough for Love and John Nichols’ The Magic Journey while thinking about the story of my mom’s family set me on the path to writing my first novel The Pirates of Sufiro. We also talked about how working at an observatory and making discoveries in the late twentieth century using nineteenth century instrumentation was an important inspiration for my steampunk writing. Madame Perry asked some great questions. We also had a listener question and a visit from Wild Wild West Con’s programming director James Breen. You can listen to the entire show at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/madameperryssalon/2019/02/28/author-and-astronomer-david-lee-summers-visits-madame-perrys-salon

While you’re at the site, be sure to navigate up to Madame Perry’s main page. In other episodes, she interviews several other Wild Wild West Con featured artists as well, including cosplayer Tayliss Forge, maker Tobias McCurry, and musical guest Professor Elemental among others. If you can’t make it to the convention, the podcast is a great way to get to know some of the people attending. If you were able to make it Wild Wild West Con, you can listen and learn even more about those of us in attendance!

As it turns out, Madame Perry’s Salon wasn’t the only podcast I visited recently to speak about Victorian astronomy. A while back Jeff Davis invited me to speak on his show about something called the Carrington Event. In effect this was a massive solar storm in 1859 that resulted in a coronal mass ejection hitting the Earth head on sparking electrical disruption through telegraph lines, triggering auroras and making compasses go crazy. I had to admit that I didn’t know much about the Carrington Event, but Jeff recommended I read a great book called The Sun Kings by Stuart Clark.

The Sun Kings told the story of the Carrington Event and how solar observations in the nineteenth century contributed to the rise of modern astrophysics. Among other things, it discussed the advent of astrophotography and spectroscopy and how astronomers began to notice commonalities between the sun and other stars. This really gets to the root of work I’ve done studying RS CVn stars, which are sun-type binary systems where one or both of the stars have massive spots. It also ties into my work at Kitt Peak where I routinely support spectrographic observations.

Jeff’s show is on the Paranormal UK Radio Network. Despite the network title, we didn’t really get into the paranormal, even though the subject does fascinate me. You can listen to my discussion with Jeff at: http://paranormalukradio.podbean.com/

Chronicles of the Planeswalkers

This week, several of us who contributed to the anthology Straight Outta Tombstone continued our conversation with David Afsharirad at the Baen Podcast. I’m there along with editor David Boop and fellow authors Robert E. Vardeman, Nicole Givens Kurtz, and Peter J. Wacks. In this week’s installment, we discuss our stories and what inspired them. You can download and listen to the podcast at: http://www.baen.com/podcastfiles/mp3/baen-free-radio-hour-2017-07-21-Tombstone-2-Feldspar.mp3

This week I continue my series on books I edited for LBF Books a decade ago with a book I didn’t edit, Chronicles of the Planeswalkers, Part Zero by B.T. Robertson. Although I didn’t edit this book, I enjoyed the series and I took over as editor with the second book, Chronicles of the Planeswalkers, Part One: Alliances. Like the other books I’ve featured in this series, I have a stock of the books available and I wouldn’t want you to miss out on the series’ first book.

The first book tells the story of a world plagued by an unseen evil and growing chaos, where a Krayn elf will search for his destiny. Aerinas, son of Tristandor, journeys to lands far beyond those he has ever traveled before. A group of elves, giants, men, and other beings must uncover the mystery locked within the secrets of the Planes. Aerinas and the others alike face challenges that will affect them physically, emotionally, and psychologically, and ultimately they face an enemy that taunts them from beyond the borders of the physical realm.

The second book in the series is Chronicles of the Planeswalkers, Part One: Alliances.
This is the first one I edited. New York Bestselling Times author David Farland said, “B.T. Robertson’s Planeswalker series provides wondrous, exciting adventure that every fantasy reader will love.”

In Alliances, an unlikely band of elves led by a wizard formerly of the Order of Light treks across foreign lands and seeks a mysterious mirror hidden within the ruins of El-Caras, the place where the final battle between good and evil took place during the Calaridis Wars many years before. They find great evil stirring, and a plan to shatter the fragile peace. Now, alliances will be formed and battle lines drawn across the plane of Vaalüna. Aerinas, a rebellious Krayn elf, continues to discover the power of the magic inside him, but after finding an ancient text penned by a long-dead wizard it becomes clear that he must grow up and face his worst fears, or perish.

I was honored that B.T. Robertson dedicated the third book in the series to me. In Chronicles of the Planeswalkers, Part Final: Alignment the Planar Alignment is at hand and a powerful being named Hydrais awaits his return from banishment on the Dark Plane of Zamas. Meanwhile, on the Plane of Vaalüna, Aerinas, along with his friends and allies, struggle to prevent Hydrais’ return. To do so, they must battle the forces of evil while Aerinas confronts truths about himself and the cold, calculating intelligence that dominates all life and destiny.

David Farland continued his praise of the series saying, “With each book in the Planeswalker series, B.T. Robertson writes with greater power and ease. With this installment, he proves himself to be a master of the craft, on par with the best fantasy writers of the day.”

This is an awesome series and here’s a little secret. I only have one complete set of the series available for sale and each book is half off the cover price. First come, first served! To order copies, visit http://www.hadrosaur.com/bookstore.html#cotp-zero

A Steampunk Trifecta

This week brings three news items which I hope will be of interest to steampunk fans or those just curious what this steampunk thing is all about!

First off, I’m delighted to announce that the anthology Gaslight and Grimm is now available for preorder at Amazon. If you order, it will be delivered to your Kindle or shipped to you on May 29 and here’s what you can look forward to:

Once Upon a Time, ageless tales were told from one generation to the next, filled with both wonders and warnings. Tales of handsome princes and wicked queens, of good-hearted folk and evil stepmothers. Tales of danger and caution and magic … classics that still echo in our hearts and memories even to this day, told from old, cherished books or from memory at Grandma’s knee.

Oh yes, tales have been told … but never quite like these. Journey with us through the pages of Gaslight and Grimm to discover timeless truths through lenses polished in the age of steam.

With tales by James Chambers, Christine Norris, Bernie Mojzes, Danny Birt, Jean Marie Ward, Jeff Young, Gail Z. and Larry N. Martin, Elaine Corvidae, Kelly A. Harmon, Jonah Knight, Diana Bastine, and Jody Lynn Nye.

My story in the collection is called “The Steampowered Dragon” and is inspired by a little-known tale from the Grimm library called “The Dragon and his Grandmother.” In my version, three reluctant soldiers in India are given everything they ever wanted by a magical, steampowered dragon. Can they solve the dragon’s riddles and keep their freedom? Pre-order the anthology and find out!

Also, stay tuned because the book will be launching at Balticon 50 in Baltimore, Maryland this Memorial Day Weekend. I’m planning to be on hand along with many of the other contributors. I’ll announce the plans here soon.

Now, I realize pre-ordering things can be a little less than satisfying, though, to tell the truth I do kind of like the anticipation. Be that as it may, the second part of my steampunk trifecta involves instant gratification and its free! I recently read part of my novel Owl Dance for the Creative Play and Podcast Network. Click on the podcast link to listen to my reading or you can download it for offline listening.

For some reason, I gave Professor Maravilla something of a British accent when I read him, even though he’s supposed to be from Mexico. Afterwards, though, I realized that although we know he’s Latino and he lived and taught in Mexico, we really don’t know many details beyond that. Perhaps his British accent is a clue to some other aspect of his character. I’ll have to give more thought to what my subconscious was telling me.

Finally, for my third bit of steampunk news, one week from today on Saturday, April 23 will be the Steampunk Occupation of Bookmans, which will be held at the Bookmans on Speedway in Tucson, Arizona from 10am until 5pm. You can expect the usual shenanigans from the Tucson Steampunk Society—costuming, tea-dueling, exhibits, crafting. and various vendors—as well movies, literature, and a steampunk swap-meet. Spacial guests include Gentleman Robot and Madame Askew. If you’re in Tucson, I hope to see you there!