Flag Full of Stars

[Landru1000]

Inspired by the reprint of the TMP novelization, I'd like to go back and reread the Lost Years novels. I remember A Flag Full of Stars being a real slog when I read it in the '90s, so I wasn't surprised to read later that the original manuscript received a slapdash rewrite at the request of Richard Arnold.

I've got a PDF of Brad Ferguson's original version, so my question is: do I read the original version? The rewrite? Both? Neither?

 

[Mysterion]

Why not read both versions?

 

[F. King Daniel]

I'd be very curious about such a PDF...

 

[Desert Kris]

There's a review for A Flag Full of Stars on the Deep Space Spines review blog. The reviewer wasn't keen on Crisis on Centaurus, and said that he felt the published version was a better read of what was mostly the same book, without some of what he felt was distracting silliness. He provides a link to the author's original version in the review. Here is a link to the
review:
http://deepspacespines.com/2019/04/26/080-flag-full-of-stars/

 

[Therin of Andor]

I remember A Flag Full of Stars being a real slog when I read it in the '90s, so I wasn't surprised to read later that the original manuscript received a slapdash rewrite at the request of Richard Arnold.

I've got a PDF of Brad Ferguson's original version, so my question is: do I read the original version? The rewrite? Both? Neither?

Read both! The saddest thing for me about the rewrite: the character of Admiral Timothea Rogers, who commentates beside Robert April at a celebration of NASA (IIRC), was supposed to be Pike's Number One. I thought I recognised an intent to suggest it was Number One by physical description and demeanour, assumed it was supposed to be just Number One being typically enigmatic, and wrote to Brad Ferguson - and he told me I was correct!

Somewhere on an old computer I still have the PDF of his original version (it used to be linked off his website). I only ever skimmed it to check out some differences. A shame it happened at a time of Maximum Scrutiny by RA.

There's a review for A Flag Full of Stars on the Deep Space Spines review blog... He provides a link to the author's original version in the review. Here is a link to the
review:
http://deepspacespines.com/2019/04/26/080-flag-full-of-stars/

And the link to the PDF still works, too! Thank you. Brad's old website disappeared many years ago.

The PDF also has a two-page Afterword, explaining the debacle with the rewrites.

 

[ronny]

There's also a PDF of Margaret Wander Bonanno's Music of the Spheres, which is the origin of Probe, floating around out there. It was re-written by Gene DeWeese but still has her name on it.