OT: The 4400 Welcome to Promise City/Promises Broken

[JD]

I know we do have a seperate general Sci-Fi forum, but since the two authors involved have written I'm a big fan of The 4400, and I was just curious if these two books are going to be ending the series, or will this be the beginning of an ongoing DS9R type series for The 4400? I think I remember David Mack making a reference to ending the story, but I just wanted to make sure.

[David Mack]

The answer, as with all things in publishing, is, "It depends."

I wrote Promises Broken to serve as a "grand finale" to The 4400, but I left enough of the fictional universe intact that if sales warrant a continuation, there is somewhere for the series to go.

[Defcon]

This is from an interview I did last September with David Mack, so it might me a bit outdated already:

“It’s set a few months after the series’ final episode, The Great Leap Forward, and it will build upon events depicted in Greg Cox’s forthcoming post-finale 4400 novel, Promise City,” he explains.

“In a lot of ways,” he adds, “I approached Promises Broken with the mindset of crafting the ‘grand finale’ tale the show might have done if its final six episodes had been allotted a budget of two hundred million dollars. A lot of the lingering story threads and dramatic questions from the end of season four will be dealt with in Promises Broken. Its storyline, which has just been given the green light by the licensor, has been described as ‘epic’ and will kick over the status quo of the series.”

As one of only two authors writing post-finale books for that series, it seems possible that David will have a fair amount of influence on the direction of the line, but he disagrees. “I’m writing the last scheduled book in the series, which means I get to wreak havoc on the series’ status quo and the characters’ lives, but unless the book sells like gangbusters and spurs Pocket to extend its commitment on that license, I’d say my ‘influence’ on the line will be minimal.” On the other hand, that’s also had a positive effect for him, since on the creative-freedom front he “was all but given carte blanche.”

[David Mack]

^ All of that remains true and accurate.

[LightningStorm]

I am quite excited for these two books.

[JD]

Cool, I think it was that interview that I was thinking of.

I can't wait to see what Cox and Mack do. I remember being upset that the show ended the way that it did, because I thought that it was a great set up for future stories. So now I am really excited to see where things go in these books.

[John Clark]

LightningStorm wrote:

---

I am quite excited for these two books.

I am too. I do hope they sell well enough to continue as I've enjoyed the others I've read so far.

[nickyboy]

when are they out?

[Defcon]

If I remember correctly in July (Cox) and November (Mack).

[Trent Roman]

Defcon wrote:

---

If I remember correctly in July (Cox) and November (Mack).

Sounds like an illustrated calendar... The Men of Tie-In Fiction.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

[BrotherBenny]

Trent Roman wrote:

---

Sounds like an illustrated calendar... The Men of Tie-In Fiction.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

Only for charity...The Starfleet Officers' Benevolent Fund

[William Leisner]

BrotherBenny wrote:

---

Only for charity...The Starfleet Officers' Benevolent Fund

A calendar of tie-in writers? Doesn't sound very benevolent to me...

[Greg Cox]

Thanks for the interest in the books. FYI, there's also an ongoing thread about the books in the Science Fiction & Fantasy forum.

[JD]

Oh, sorry. I guess I should have checked there first.

EDIT: I just came back after checking out the other thread, and found a few interesting bits from Greg Cox.

Greg Cox wrote:

---

Without giving too much away, some quick answers:

1) The good folks at CBS approved the new books, but gave us plenty of freedom to use our imaginations.

2) Tom was not exposed to promicin during the tv show's series finale, but, yeah, the rest of the NTAC gang have abilities now (except Diana, as you noted.) The final scene of the last episode had Tom debating whether to take the promicin shot his son had given him. Let's just say I deal with this issue in the very first chapter of the new book.

3) In the final episode, Jordan was rescued by Tom and Isabel before the Marked took possession of his mind. It was implied that Shawn would cure him, which is what I assumed happened. So Jordan is not among the Marked as the book begins.

As you may recall, Tom also gave Jordan a list containing the names of all the surviving Marked, with the understanding that Jordan would deal with them. I picked up on that plot thread and ran with it . . . .

Greg Cox wrote:

---

Don't worry. We didn't forget about Ryland. He's all over these books.

I brought back Richard as well.

Greg Cox wrote:

---

I know what you mean. Bringing Richard back and putting him front-and-center again was near the top of my to-do list.

[Greg Cox]

Just to elaborate on that last point, I really wanted to have Richard deal with Isabelle's death. It bothered me that, on the show, they never had a chance to show Richard reacting to the news that his daughter had been killed by The Marked.

That was an obvious loose end up to pick up on.