I'm sorry if this annoys the Mod since it's technically not a trek lit novel, but rather a novel written by one of the treklit authors. I read Greg Cox's Vesuvius Prophecy, which is 4400 novel and I must say I really enjoyed it. For those unfamiliar with the 4400,it was an awesome scifi show on the USA network that got canceled and DS9's Ira Behr was one of the exec producers. Needless to say, I've really missed the show since it got canceled. Reading Vesuvious Prophecy made me feel like I was watching a brand new lost episode of one of my favorite shows.
I know Greg Cox posts on here since he responded to a thread of mine a while back. Just want to say thanks and that I look forward to the first post-finale book that you wrote "Welcome to Promise City (Vesuvious Prophecy takes place in season 3). I really liked how you incorporated the DB Cooper hijacking into it. What was the genesis of that idea? I only vaguely remember a Newsradio episode about DB Cooper(Basically Mr. James pretended to be DB Cooper for some strange reason- I loved that show too) before reading your book and as soon as the name came up in the first chapter I looked up the Wikipedia entry on DB Cooper and I knew this was going to be interesting. Once I found out more about Cooper, the premise that he could be a 4400 became entirely believable since the FBI believes that he died after jumping off the plane. One thing I wasn't sure about was if Cooper jumped with the bomb or if he left the bomb on the plane because it's never clear whether the bomb was real or not. I love how you incorporated that slice of history into your story.
Overall, I really felt like I was spending time with these characters again, which is what I was looking for. I hope we get more 4400 novels and that fans find out about the books. Like I said in my past thread, the show was great because it took a sci-fi premise and infused it some very poignant human drama about the returnees along with Tom and Diana and that really came across in your book especially with the Gorinisky brothers and how Tom and Diana handled that situation. Anyway kudos. It was a fun read. I've already pre-ordered "Welcome to Promise City" and you have no idea how much I'm looking forward to that because there are so many possibilities in terms of how to continue the story after the finale. Does Tom take Promicin? Will the government try to take back Seattle from Jordan Collier? Will the NTAC agents who got infected with Promicin be allowed to continue their work or will the NSA or some government agency step in?
I've recently read Stephen King's Firestarter and without going into too much detail, I can totally see the government reacting to people with superhuman abilities without much regard for how they might disrupt people's lives. In that story, a father and his little girl are pursued by a fictional government agency called The Shop because the girl is pyrokenetic and is the product of two parents who both participated in a college science experiment for a few bucks and unknowlingly developed special abilities as a result. In the afterward, King states:
" While Firestarter is just a novel, a made-up tale with which I hope
you reader, have passed a pleasant evening or two, most of the novel's
components are based on actual happennings either unpleasant or
inexplicable or simply fascinating. Among the unpleasant ones is the undeniable fact that the U.S. government, or agencies thereof, has indeed administred potentially dangerous drugs to unwitting subjects on more than one occasion. Among those which are simply fascinating -if a little ominous - is the fact that both the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics have programs for isolating the so-called "wild talents" (a term for psionic abilities coined by the science-fiction writer Jack Vance) . . . and perhaps putting them to use. Goverenment-funded experiments in this country have centered on influencing the Kirilian
aura and proving the existence of telekinesis. Soviet experiments have centered largely on psychic healing and communication by telepathy. Reports filtering out of the U.S.S.R. suggest that the Soviets have achieved some moderate success with the latter, particularly by using identical twins as communicators..."
"... I most certainly do not mean to impute that the train of events in this book is likely or even possible. If I mean to suggest anything, it is only that the world, although well-lighted with flourescents and incandescent bulbs and neon, is still full of odd dark corners and unsettling nooks and crannies."
Firestarter came out in 1980 hence the references to the USSR, but I just found that statement fascinating and it's interesting how a show like the
4400 plays into some of those same ideas explored in Firestarter in a totally original and interesting way.
I know Greg Cox posts on here since he responded to a thread of mine a while back. Just want to say thanks and that I look forward to the first post-finale book that you wrote "Welcome to Promise City (Vesuvious Prophecy takes place in season 3). I really liked how you incorporated the DB Cooper hijacking into it. What was the genesis of that idea? I only vaguely remember a Newsradio episode about DB Cooper(Basically Mr. James pretended to be DB Cooper for some strange reason- I loved that show too) before reading your book and as soon as the name came up in the first chapter I looked up the Wikipedia entry on DB Cooper and I knew this was going to be interesting. Once I found out more about Cooper, the premise that he could be a 4400 became entirely believable since the FBI believes that he died after jumping off the plane. One thing I wasn't sure about was if Cooper jumped with the bomb or if he left the bomb on the plane because it's never clear whether the bomb was real or not. I love how you incorporated that slice of history into your story.
Overall, I really felt like I was spending time with these characters again, which is what I was looking for. I hope we get more 4400 novels and that fans find out about the books. Like I said in my past thread, the show was great because it took a sci-fi premise and infused it some very poignant human drama about the returnees along with Tom and Diana and that really came across in your book especially with the Gorinisky brothers and how Tom and Diana handled that situation. Anyway kudos. It was a fun read. I've already pre-ordered "Welcome to Promise City" and you have no idea how much I'm looking forward to that because there are so many possibilities in terms of how to continue the story after the finale. Does Tom take Promicin? Will the government try to take back Seattle from Jordan Collier? Will the NTAC agents who got infected with Promicin be allowed to continue their work or will the NSA or some government agency step in?
I've recently read Stephen King's Firestarter and without going into too much detail, I can totally see the government reacting to people with superhuman abilities without much regard for how they might disrupt people's lives. In that story, a father and his little girl are pursued by a fictional government agency called The Shop because the girl is pyrokenetic and is the product of two parents who both participated in a college science experiment for a few bucks and unknowlingly developed special abilities as a result. In the afterward, King states:
" While Firestarter is just a novel, a made-up tale with which I hope
you reader, have passed a pleasant evening or two, most of the novel's
components are based on actual happennings either unpleasant or
inexplicable or simply fascinating. Among the unpleasant ones is the undeniable fact that the U.S. government, or agencies thereof, has indeed administred potentially dangerous drugs to unwitting subjects on more than one occasion. Among those which are simply fascinating -if a little ominous - is the fact that both the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics have programs for isolating the so-called "wild talents" (a term for psionic abilities coined by the science-fiction writer Jack Vance) . . . and perhaps putting them to use. Goverenment-funded experiments in this country have centered on influencing the Kirilian
aura and proving the existence of telekinesis. Soviet experiments have centered largely on psychic healing and communication by telepathy. Reports filtering out of the U.S.S.R. suggest that the Soviets have achieved some moderate success with the latter, particularly by using identical twins as communicators..."
"... I most certainly do not mean to impute that the train of events in this book is likely or even possible. If I mean to suggest anything, it is only that the world, although well-lighted with flourescents and incandescent bulbs and neon, is still full of odd dark corners and unsettling nooks and crannies."
Firestarter came out in 1980 hence the references to the USSR, but I just found that statement fascinating and it's interesting how a show like the
4400 plays into some of those same ideas explored in Firestarter in a totally original and interesting way.
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