Vanguard: Open Secrets extract in Star Trek Magazine 17 - Page 4

PaulSimpson · April 13 2009, 11:57 AM

JD wrote:

I just subscribed to the magazine on Friday, so I was wondering when I should be getting my first issue? Will it be the current issue or the next one?

I would hope it would activate in time for issue 18 US/145 UK (the movie issue) - it certainly won't be the issue on newsstands now because that subs set went out some time back in all territories.

Paul

Dayton Ward · April 13 2009, 02:52 PM

Avro Arrow wrote:

Read the excerpt this weekend... really looking forward to this book!

Nice to see the shout-out to the Tech Manual's Saladin class, and what I presume is an homage to FASA's Loknar class. Did the spelling have to be changed to "Locknar" due to rights issues? Just curious.

Nothing like that, I'm afraid. It was my intention to pay homage both to the FJTM and the old FASA materials, but unfortunately for you, I'm also a fan of the film Heavy Metal, the original score to which is in the rotation of music I listen to while I'm writing. The glowing green energy orb in that movie is called a "Locknar," and I must've gone with that spelling without thinking.

Christopher · April 13 2009, 03:42 PM

I Googled Locknar/Loknar to see if it was a mythological reference or something, but apparently it's just a surname, found in both spellings though mainly the former. The orb in Heavy Metal is spelled "Loknar" on IMDb and "Loc-Nar" on Wikipedia (and was voiced by Percy Rodriguez, aka Commodore Stone from "Court-martial"). I wonder if the FASA ship class was named for the Heavy Metal thingy?

Dayton Ward · April 13 2009, 04:05 PM

^ Could be. The movie came before the game, so it's entirely possible.

As for "Locknar," I'm almost certain that's the spelling used in The Art of Heavy Metal and other stuff related to the movie that I've had for years, but I haven't looked at that stuff in forever. It's a goof either way, with respect to how it's spelled in the FASA material.

Besides, if IMDB and Wikipedia are at odds with one another, WHAT ARE THE REST OF US SUPPOSED TO DO?????

David Mack · April 13 2009, 04:39 PM

^ FWIW, when I read your first-draft ms. and saw the word "Locknar," my first thought was, "Aha! A nod to Heavy Metal!" ... Which, as it happens, I watched about fifty times as a teenager, and whose original Elmer Bernstein score is also in my writing-music iTunes lineup.

PaulSimpson · April 14 2009, 06:01 PM

David Mack wrote:

^ FWIW, when I read your first-draft ms. and saw the word "Locknar," my first thought was, "Aha! A nod to Heavy Metal!" ... Which, as it happens, I watched about fifty times as a teenager, and whose original Elmer Bernstein score is also in my writing-music iTunes lineup.

Freaky - has anyone seen Mack and Ward in the same place???!!!

David Mack · April 14 2009, 06:35 PM

PaulSimpson wrote:

Freaky - has anyone seen Mack and Ward in the same place???!!!

Sure, hundreds of people have — every year at Shore Leave:

PaulSimpson · April 14 2009, 08:09 PM

David Mack wrote:

PaulSimpson wrote:

Freaky - has anyone seen Mack and Ward in the same place???!!!

Sure, hundreds of people have — every year at Shore Leave:

mass hallucinations... I refuse to believe it!!

JD · April 15 2009, 12:12 AM

I finally got my hands on the magazine yesterday, and the extract was the first thing I read. I really liked it, especially the way it tied into the end of Errand of Mercy. Is this the first such direct tie in to a specific TOS episode, or were there others that I missed/forgot about?

Christopher · April 15 2009, 01:40 AM

^Well, the first Vanguard novel had a number of story ties to "Where No Man Has Gone Before," exploring some of the aftermath of that episode's events. The second novel foreshadowed "Balance of Terror," but took place some time before it. And the end of the third novel foreshadowed something from the movies.

JD · April 15 2009, 05:29 AM

Oh, yeah I forgot about Balance of Terror and Where No Man Has Gone Before. I did remember the movie tie in though

Avro Arrow · April 19 2009, 05:57 AM

Dayton Ward wrote:

Avro Arrow wrote:

Read the excerpt this weekend... really looking forward to this book!

Nice to see the shout-out to the Tech Manual's Saladin class, and what I presume is an homage to FASA's Loknar class. Did the spelling have to be changed to "Locknar" due to rights issues? Just curious.

Nothing like that, I'm afraid. It was my intention to pay homage both to the FJTM and the old FASA materials, but unfortunately for you, I'm also a fan of the film Heavy Metal, the original score to which is in the rotation of music I listen to while I'm writing. The glowing green energy orb in that movie is called a "Locknar," and I must've gone with that spelling without thinking.

Thanks for the info. Always cool to get "behind-the-scenes" info from the authors.

Must be a sign that I'm growing cynical when the first thing that I assume is that there's a lawyer's hand involved...

Man of Steel · April 19 2009, 08:33 PM

cbp44189 wrote:

David Mack wrote:

^ The fifth Star Trek Vanguard novel, Precipice, will be out in December. I am hoping to finish writing the manuscript within the next few weeks.

Forget Christmas and Chanukah, I'm looking forward to Precipice.....

That was geeky, sorry.

What, no Festivis or Chrismikka?

Man of Steel · April 19 2009, 08:43 PM

David Mack wrote:

Xeris wrote:

What's up next for your good self?

Apropos of this thread, I am currently working on finishing book five of the Vanguard series, titled Precipice. It's scheduled to be published in December.

After that I will start work on expanding my Mirror Universe short novel, The Sorrows of Empire, into a full-length, mass-market paperback edition slated to go on sale in January 2010. Then I'm hoping to have a few weeks to work on a proposal for a new original project before I start work on a new Star Trek book project.

Meanwhile, I hope my readers from this and other sites will buy my first original novel, a modern-day urban fantasy titled The Calling, coming in July from Simon & Schuster. (It's the last novel for which Marco was my editor before he left Pocket.)

All this and a full time job? How does he do it?

David Mack · April 19 2009, 11:47 PM

^ I left my full-time job last May, but thanks for playing. Pick up your Rice-a-Roni at the door on your way out.

April 13 2009, 03:42 PM	#48
Christopher Writer	Re: Vanguard: Open Secrets extract in Star Trek Magazine 17 I Googled Locknar/Loknar to see if it was a mythological reference or something, but apparently it's just a surname, found in both spellings though mainly the former. The orb in Heavy Metal is spelled "Loknar" on IMDb and "Loc-Nar" on Wikipedia (and was voiced by Percy Rodriguez, aka Commodore Stone from "Court-martial"). I wonder if the FASA ship class was named for the Heavy Metal thingy? __________________ Christopher L. Bennett Homepage -- Includes purchasing links for Only Superhuman, on sale now! Updated 12/30/12 with annotations for the novel. Written Worlds -- My blog

April 13 2009, 04:05 PM	#49
Dayton Ward Word Pusher	Re: Vanguard: Open Secrets extract in Star Trek Magazine 17 ^ Could be. The movie came before the game, so it's entirely possible. As for "Locknar," I'm almost certain that's the spelling used in The Art of Heavy Metal and other stuff related to the movie that I've had for years, but I haven't looked at that stuff in forever. It's a goof either way, with respect to how it's spelled in the FASA material. Besides, if IMDB and Wikipedia are at odds with one another, WHAT ARE THE REST OF US SUPPOSED TO DO????? __________________ www.daytonward.com "tlhingAn HoL, Mother F*cker! Do you speak it?!"

April 13 2009, 04:39 PM	#50
David Mack Writer Location: New York, NY	Re: Vanguard: Open Secrets extract in Star Trek Magazine 17 ^ FWIW, when I read your first-draft ms. and saw the word "Locknar," my first thought was, "Aha! A nod to Heavy Metal!" ... Which, as it happens, I watched about fifty times as a teenager, and whose original Elmer Bernstein score is also in my writing-music iTunes lineup. __________________ ~ David Mack \| "Where were you when the page was blank?" — Truman Capote Join me on Facebook & Twitter

April 15 2009, 12:12 AM	#54
JD Admiral Location: Arizona, USA	Re: Vanguard: Open Secrets extract in Star Trek Magazine 17 I finally got my hands on the magazine yesterday, and the extract was the first thing I read. I really liked it, especially the way it tied into the end of Errand of Mercy. Is this the first such direct tie in to a specific TOS episode, or were there others that I missed/forgot about? __________________ Over the course of many encounters and many years, I have successfully developed a standard operating procedure for dealing with big, nasty monsters. Run away. Me and Monty Python. Harry Dresden - Blood Rites (The Dresden Files #6)

April 15 2009, 01:40 AM	#55
Christopher Writer	Re: Vanguard: Open Secrets extract in Star Trek Magazine 17 ^Well, the first Vanguard novel had a number of story ties to "Where No Man Has Gone Before," exploring some of the aftermath of that episode's events. The second novel foreshadowed "Balance of Terror," but took place some time before it. And the end of the third novel foreshadowed something from the movies. __________________ Christopher L. Bennett Homepage -- Includes purchasing links for Only Superhuman, on sale now! Updated 12/30/12 with annotations for the novel. Written Worlds -- My blog

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April 15 2009, 05:29 AM	#56
JD Admiral Location: Arizona, USA	Re: Vanguard: Open Secrets extract in Star Trek Magazine 17 Oh, yeah I forgot about Balance of Terror and Where No Man Has Gone Before. I did remember the movie tie in though __________________ Over the course of many encounters and many years, I have successfully developed a standard operating procedure for dealing with big, nasty monsters. Run away. Me and Monty Python. Harry Dresden - Blood Rites (The Dresden Files #6)

April 19 2009, 11:47 PM	#60
David Mack Writer Location: New York, NY	Re: Vanguard: Open Secrets extract in Star Trek Magazine 17 ^ I left my full-time job last May, but thanks for playing. Pick up your Rice-a-Roni at the door on your way out. __________________ ~ David Mack \| "Where were you when the page was blank?" — Truman Capote Join me on Facebook & Twitter