A Literate Look at the Strike of ‘08

By: Pat Ferrara
Date: Monday, November 05, 2007

The first volume in the new Heroes print collection may be debuting this week, but Heroes: Origins, the NBC hit’s next TV incarnation, isn’t faring nearly so well. This Halloween saw the expiration of the WGA’s contract with the Alliance, and as if by some preordained destiny the cosmos have selected this day, the first Buzz of November, to begin the Strike of ‘08’s epic telling.

Though talks of the strike have been floating openly in the media for months, now that the Writers Guild of America has officially walked off (that’s right, it’s a walk-off) their scary threats could possibly translate into terrifying consequences.

In an industry that already craps out mountains of shitty product, can we the consumers really afford to have the professionals walk out on the job? I mean, you can cut corners some places but come on, this is our entertainment! You can’t afford to skimp on writing, and soon the unionized directors and actors will join the fray in June when their own contracts with the Alliance expire.

By that time Aury Wallington’s Heroes: Saving Charlie will have already hit the shelves in hardback, entrenching the comic homage universe into Del Rey’s book fold. If all goes well Heroes can then flourish in the new medium of fiction literature regardless of how its on-screen counterpart unfolds. So will the strike affect the more literate-side of the media stream? Probably, but not by much: a wrench thrown in author-publisher negotiations here, another cog put in the book-to-film pipeline there. The strike may only create ripples in the genre book world, but it will sure churn up waves in the film and television industries.

And how did this all come to a head so suddenly? What was once only a subject of talk mere days ago is now forcing shows off the air and major rescheduling of nightly time slots. I can’t see the Producer’s Alliance agreeing to give up money, and I don’t know how the creative minds of Hollywood will tread water in such a competitive, scab-ridden work force, but as these two forces continue to lock horns one thing is certainly clear: our favorite fiction will suffer.

New in Hardcover:

Heroes, Volume One, Illustrated by Tim Sale (Wildstorm)

This stunning hardcover collects the amazing online comics based on the smash-hit, Emmy Award-nominated NBC show HEROES! This volume -- featuring a cover by comics legend Alex Ross -- also includes an introduction by Masi Oka (Hiro), all 34 chapters of Season One, and Tim Sale's artwork as seen on the show. The comics included have been written and illustrated by some of comics' and television's top writers and artists, including Michael Turner, Phil Jimenez, Marcus To, and more!

The Sagittarius Command, R.M. Meluch (DAW)

In the third novel of this acclaimed military science fiction series, all of humanity and its alien allies have joined together to battle the Hive-a force of pure destruction sweeping through the galaxy. But when the leader of the Roman world is assassinated, tensions escalate-and Captain John Farragut is forced to lead a mission into the heart of Hive territory in search of a man who's been "dead" for decades...

Genesis, Paul Chafe (Baen Books)

The human race is running out of time on overcrowded Earth, and only one man has the courage to save it. Colony ship Ark is the greatest project the human race will ever attempt, a self contained world one hundred years in the building, launched on a ten thousand year voyage to carry the seeds of civilization to the stars. It is humanity's final gamble for escape from a desperate world, but the price of hope is measured in lives. Joshua Crewe, Ark's designer. Obsessed with his vision, he's devoted his life to winning the power to turn it into reality. No burden is too great to bear in pursuit of his dream-especially when other people are the ones to bear it. Aurora Brady, first of the spaceborne, with one foot in the future and one in the past. She must give power to her enemies to see Ark launched, but giving too much will mean its destruction. Jedidiah Fourgere, a simple farm boy, he finds himself caught up in a revolution that will forever change the balance of power in Ark's hermetically sealed world. Torn between love and faith, humanity's future lies in his hands. Master storyteller Paul Chafe presents Genesis, the gripping first book of the Ark trilogy.

Classic Dan Dare: The Rogue Planet, Frank Hampson & Don Harley (Titan Books)

It’s chocks away and tally-ho once again as Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future, returns! First published in classic British comic Eagle, these are the original adventures of one of the best known and loved of British comic characters, presented in a new series of gorgeous library editions. Dan, Lex and Digby — with their alien guide Lero — finally make planetfall on Cryptos, but the Phant invasion has already begun! With a new friend, the alien creature Stripey, our heroes must fight a desperate battle to save two worlds! Featuring a brand new introduction, plus exclusive feature material, this thrilling new volume will blow you away!

Cauldron, Jack McDevitt (Ace)

The year is 2255. The academy that trained the starfarers is long gone and veteran star pilot Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins spends her retirement supporting fund-raising efforts for The Prometheus Foundation, a privately funded organization devoted to deep space exploration. But when a young physicist unveils an efficient star drive capable of reaching the core of the galaxy, Hutch finds herself back in the deepest reaches of space, and on the verge of discovering the origins of the deadly Omega clouds that continue to haunt her.

Carnifex, Tom Kratman (Baen Books)

Revenge: it won't bring your wife and kids back, but it might help with the nightmares. Patricio Carrera has been waging what amounts to a private world war to bring to justice the murderers of his family. He's raised an army and air force and used them. He's raised a fleet and he's about to use that. He's suborned one republic and is about to undermine another. He's tracked his enemies across half a world, breaking, in the process, any notion of international law that stood in his way. Now he's deployed his legions to Pashtia, penultimate hideout of the Salafi Ikhwan who have made him what he has become. But with each step further from his home, revenge seems no closer. And with each step he leaves behind him a little of his dwindling humanity. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Yet the trail itself grows cold, as cold as the snow-capped, windswept mountains of Pashtia. Only Carrera's hate still burns hot, and that's a fire that is slowly consuming him.

Better to Beg Forgiveness, Michael Z. Williamson (Baen Books)

Celadon, a poor nation on a poor planet, engaged in civil war and a haven for every type of villainy in space, is ripe for cleanup. The military could pacify it handily, but it would take a statesman to fix it. But some statesmen have ethics, which politicians and megacorps find inconvenient. President Bishwanath compounded the sin by being astute, ambitious and capable. Something had to be done, because a working nation isn't much use for pork and graft. When the word comes down that he is dead, the politicians move on with a new plan, re-allocating resources, and finding a new, more pliable president to put in place. There are three problems with this solution. Bishwanath is not dead. His mercenary bodyguards are more loyal than the politicians. And if they're not on contract, there are no rules.

Reader and Raelynx, Sharon Shinn (Ace)

In this novel of secret sorceries and forbidden desires, the mystic Cammon must put aside his personal feelings for Princess Amalie while he reads the souls of her suitors for any potential threats. But Cammon is unable to read Amalie, and he begins to suspect that she herself possesses magic powers-a revelation which would put her life in danger, and throw the kingdom into chaos.

New in Paperback:

Warrior Spirit, Alex Archer (Gold Eagle)

A priceless artifact could restore a family's honor — or destroy everything in its wake. While vacationing in Tokyo, archaeologist Annja Creed is approached by a man who desperately needs her help. Kennichi Ogawa, the last descendant of an ancient warrior family, is trying to locate a stolen artifact. Legend has it that the vajra was mystically endowed by a warrior's spirit to help the Yumegakure-ryu family forever be a source for good. But the vajra could help the forces of evil if it gets into the wrong hands. And now the bloodthirsty Yakuza and a group of hired ninja are after it. As Annja and Kennichi trek through the fog-enshrouded mountains of the Iga province to find the relic, they must also outsmart the vicious Yakuza and ninja who are dangerously close to uncovering the vajra first…and to destroying their competition. The ninth novel in the Rogue Angel series.

Wizards, Inc., Martin H. Greenberg & M Coleman (DAW)

15 original stories about those who earn their living through spellcraft. From a boy who discovers life can be an illusion...to a man who maintains company security through enchantment...to a young woman who inherits a real magic shop...to a gambler who needs a sure way to beat the odds...to a woman who creates unique chocolates-here are 15 imaginative tales that run the whole gamut of wizardly professions.

The Secret Books of Paradys, Tanith Lee (Overlook TP)

Paradys--the city--was a place of decadence and decay, of luxury and lasciviousness, and, after the revolution, a graveyard peopled by the insane and the dead... and by those who preyed on both. The strange and the tormented dwell in Paradys - prowling its dark streets and twisted alleyways, passing the endless hours in the city's elegant mansions and smoke-tarnished inns, wandering in moldering graveyards and the stark surrounding countryside. For the land here is bound by a timeless, soul-chilling magic, and that power has cast its spell over all who have ever lived in this foreboding and dangerous place. All who came to Paradys were forever touched by its dread magic. The City was not one place but three, bound together by a labyrinth of ice yet separated, perhaps by time, perhaps by some long-forgotten enchantment, into Paradise, Paradis and Paradys--each cursed in an entirely different way... Witness the city of Paradys' life and history through theeyes of its provocative and perverse citizens - a darkly fascinating odyssey as only World Fantasy Award winner Tanith Lee could imagine it.

The Quarters Novels: Vol. II, Tanya Huff (DAW)

Host, Faith Hunter (Roc Trade)

In a post-apocalyptic ice age, neomage Thorn St. Croix was nearly driven insane by her powers. She lived as a fugitive, disguised as a human and married to a human man, channeling her gifts for war into stone-magery. When she was discovered, her friends and neighbors accepted her, but warily. Not so the mage who arrives from the Council of Seraphs, who could be her greatest ally-or her most dangerous foe. And when it's revealed that her long-gone sister, Rose, is still alive, Thorn must make a choice-and risk her own life in the process.

Hinterland, James Clemens (Roc)

In war-torn Myrillia, an ominous artifact is found. It is a skull, twisted and corrupted by dark Graces-the work of the evil, demonic Cabal set on destroying the Nine Lands. Former Shadowknight Tylar must unravel the mystery of the skull before all of Myrillia is threatened.

But the Cabal is not the only danger. Tylar returns to the Citadel and regains his knighthood-and forces out of Ice Eyrie launch an attack trapping Tylar and the Shadowknights. More terrible is an ancient threat rising out of the dark depths of the Citadel itself. To save the Nine Lands, Tylar must enter the Hinterland, the desolate territory beyond the blessed Lands, where rogue gods roam and dark Graces flow-and from which no Shadowknight has ever returned... The second novel in the Godslayer Chronicles.

The Cracked Throne, Joshua Palmatier (DAW)

She was a child of the slums skilled in the art of survival...Could she harness that talent to save the city from a fiery doom?

The Cipher: A Novel of Crosspointe, Diana Pharaoh Francis (Roc)

Distant member of the royal Rampling family, Lucy Trenton's ability to detect majick has embroiled her in a dangerous intrigue that threatens her very life. Her only hope lies in her most persistent suitor, ship captain Marten Thorpe, but Lucy isn't sure she can trust him... A Novel of Crosspointe.

Alright y’all that’ll do it for this week’s edition of the Buzz. Check back next Monday for all the latest info on current sci fi, fantasy, and horror releases. Questions or comments? Hit me up at Pferrara.mania@gmail.com.

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