Walesboy1972
SOC-1
I'm after a copy of Paul Brunette's "The Backwards mask" for my fiancee. She bought the first two books of the new era trilogy ages ago but can't find the third.
Can anyone help?
Can anyone help?
Wanted: TNE novel "The Backwards Mask"
- Thread starter Walesboy1972
- Start date
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
Afraid not, it was never printed.
http://www.waynesbooks.com/TravellerFiction.html
I wonder if it was written and the manuscript is moldering in some box somewhere?
http://www.waynesbooks.com/TravellerFiction.html
I wonder if it was written and the manuscript is moldering in some box somewhere?
The manuscript was bought by Swordy or Navywarlord, if memory serves me right on eBay. I have tried several times to contact the author regarding this manuscript and his fusion adventures which look perfect for Traveller but I have been unable to find a working email addy.
Our good Mr. Nilsen also had a brief conversation and perhaps Mr. Brunette is waiting for an apology from Dave before re-releasing the manuscript, as he may feel snubbed. But, looking at Dave's comments, it was an honest error but as the two haven't talked since...
If anyone knows how to reach Mr. Brunette could they express, the wishes of Traveller fandom, I am sure that QKI or maybe even Stellar Reaches wouldn't object to serializing the novel, so that we may learn how this saga ends.
Our good Mr. Nilsen also had a brief conversation and perhaps Mr. Brunette is waiting for an apology from Dave before re-releasing the manuscript, as he may feel snubbed. But, looking at Dave's comments, it was an honest error but as the two haven't talked since...
If anyone knows how to reach Mr. Brunette could they express, the wishes of Traveller fandom, I am sure that QKI or maybe even Stellar Reaches wouldn't object to serializing the novel, so that we may learn how this saga ends.
Gentlmen,
Is our Completist Fever so great that we must dream and scheme for the release of the final book in what can charitably be called one of the most mind numbingly awful science fiction trilogies every actually printed?
I read a LOT and I am at a loss to say when I have read two physical books worse than Mr. Brunette's dreck. Sure, there is plenty of utterly wretched fan fiction strewn about the 'Net these days; a fellow posted two .pdfs to the TML earlier this year that read as if English was his third language with the first two being whale songs and FORTRAN, but the TNE's so called 'novels' were all the more appalling because they are actually printed.
Think of it... men were hired, press time rented, ink bought, and trees actually died to bring those novels some unholy approximation of literary life. The mind truly boggles. That the manuscripts actually passed what was then passing for muster at GDW makes the mind boggle even further.
I can presume that the success of the D&D Dragonlance books was in GDW's minds when the Mr. Brunette dropped off his manuscripts to be read; no doubt in a biohazard suit complete with it's own air supply. However, the formulaic and almost mediocre Drangonlance series was closer to Cervantes, Conrad, and Conroy to the TNE work.
Let me state this plainly: The Brunette novels are not books to be discarded lightly, rather they should be thrown away with great force.
The only thing that kept me reading until I finished both was my multi-decade love of Traveller and even then it still took several attempts to complete both.
There are truly Things That Men Are Not Supposed To Know. Why open the ichor dripping tomb in which the third so-called novel is said to reside in some faint hope that the work might actually be worth the few hours of your life it will take to read it? Let the sleeping horrors lay. The paper should crumble in a century or so and then humanity will be safe.
Time is to short to read crap,
Bill
Is our Completist Fever so great that we must dream and scheme for the release of the final book in what can charitably be called one of the most mind numbingly awful science fiction trilogies every actually printed?
I read a LOT and I am at a loss to say when I have read two physical books worse than Mr. Brunette's dreck. Sure, there is plenty of utterly wretched fan fiction strewn about the 'Net these days; a fellow posted two .pdfs to the TML earlier this year that read as if English was his third language with the first two being whale songs and FORTRAN, but the TNE's so called 'novels' were all the more appalling because they are actually printed.
Think of it... men were hired, press time rented, ink bought, and trees actually died to bring those novels some unholy approximation of literary life. The mind truly boggles. That the manuscripts actually passed what was then passing for muster at GDW makes the mind boggle even further.
I can presume that the success of the D&D Dragonlance books was in GDW's minds when the Mr. Brunette dropped off his manuscripts to be read; no doubt in a biohazard suit complete with it's own air supply. However, the formulaic and almost mediocre Drangonlance series was closer to Cervantes, Conrad, and Conroy to the TNE work.
Let me state this plainly: The Brunette novels are not books to be discarded lightly, rather they should be thrown away with great force.
The only thing that kept me reading until I finished both was my multi-decade love of Traveller and even then it still took several attempts to complete both.
There are truly Things That Men Are Not Supposed To Know. Why open the ichor dripping tomb in which the third so-called novel is said to reside in some faint hope that the work might actually be worth the few hours of your life it will take to read it? Let the sleeping horrors lay. The paper should crumble in a century or so and then humanity will be safe.
Time is to short to read crap,
Bill
fredofmars
SOC-12
I'm glad we feel free to voice differing opinions here.
While the two books by Mr Brunette were not the best fiction I have read, I wouldn't rate them as the worst either. For one thing, his books managed to get the Traveller technical details pretty straight. The writer of the T4 novel did NOT get the technical details of Traveller right.
There is certainly an undercurrent of Completist Fever among some of the Traveller crowd, which is why eBay seems to do a good business on Traveller related auctions.
While the two books by Mr Brunette were not the best fiction I have read, I wouldn't rate them as the worst either. For one thing, his books managed to get the Traveller technical details pretty straight. The writer of the T4 novel did NOT get the technical details of Traveller right.
There is certainly an undercurrent of Completist Fever among some of the Traveller crowd, which is why eBay seems to do a good business on Traveller related auctions.
Mr. Kimabll,
They may not be the worst fiction you've read, but you also do not rate as the best either. Indeed, the only praise you seem to have for them is that Brunette got the various TNE technical details correct. I suspect that GDW's vetting of the manuscripts was responsible for that however.
When Mr. Brunette's 'work' veers into the technical tidbits, you can almost hearing the gearshift grinding. Many others authors can impart such details; whether they be fantasy or science fiction, seemlessly. The reader learns about the variosu technical geegaws without knowing he is learning about them. When Mr. Brunette began to explain, the effect was jarring and uneven. It was almost as if you could hear the filmstrip projector being warmed up.
The interest in the third TNE 'novel' is due to nothing more than Completist Fever. The first 2 books were wastes of paper and ink. If Greenpeace knew that trees died to print them, Mr. Brunette would have a zodiac full of wackos parked on his front lawn.
I completely fail to understand why anyone would be interested in the third novel, let alone why anyone would want to pay to see the third novel. If you had kicked me in the groin twice, I would not pay for you to put a third boot in with the hopes that it would be better or different than the first two.
Different strokes and all. Besides...
Life is too short to read crap,
Bill
They may not be the worst fiction you've read, but you also do not rate as the best either. Indeed, the only praise you seem to have for them is that Brunette got the various TNE technical details correct. I suspect that GDW's vetting of the manuscripts was responsible for that however.
When Mr. Brunette's 'work' veers into the technical tidbits, you can almost hearing the gearshift grinding. Many others authors can impart such details; whether they be fantasy or science fiction, seemlessly. The reader learns about the variosu technical geegaws without knowing he is learning about them. When Mr. Brunette began to explain, the effect was jarring and uneven. It was almost as if you could hear the filmstrip projector being warmed up.
The interest in the third TNE 'novel' is due to nothing more than Completist Fever. The first 2 books were wastes of paper and ink. If Greenpeace knew that trees died to print them, Mr. Brunette would have a zodiac full of wackos parked on his front lawn.
I completely fail to understand why anyone would be interested in the third novel, let alone why anyone would want to pay to see the third novel. If you had kicked me in the groin twice, I would not pay for you to put a third boot in with the hopes that it would be better or different than the first two.
Different strokes and all. Besides...
Life is too short to read crap,
Bill
fredofmars
SOC-12
I read them each once several years ago, and not since. I don't feel I could give a competent review of them at this time. They are currently fairly low on my "read again" list, but significantly higher than some that I have checked out of the library, read a few chapters of, then returned to the library unfinished. They are much lower on my "read again" list than anything I have read that was written by David Weber for example.
