May 18. 2009
As some of you already know, Warlord of the Pit has finally been put on the schedule…slated for an October release. Why did it take so long? I dunno…maybe Gold Eagle had to chip away the ice that coated their presses after Hell froze over.
There’s not much to say about the book beyond the fact that it’s probably my last Outlanders novel...at least released by Harlequin.
I make that oblique statement as a way of noting that everything I’ve created always ends up back in my possession, by and by. There’s no reason to believe that Kane, Brigid Baptiste, Grant, Mohandus Lakesh Singh, Domi and all of my other characters and concepts won’t do the same.
After all…if JJ Abrams could completely reboot the Star Trek franchise by citing an alternate reality…well, I introduced the concept of “parallel casements” in the Outlanders lexicon 12 years ago in case such a thing as a “do-over” became necessary.
Speaking of characters and alternate realities—in my last blog I mentioned a new project that had come my way…the full title is Gulliver of Mars: Beyond the War of the Worlds. I've been asked about it, so I'll provide a little more information.
For those of you unfamiliar with Gulliver Jones—he is the precursor to all “modern” interplanetary heroes, predating John Carter of Mars, Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon.
Gully made his first appearance in the 1904 novel, Lt. Gulliver Jones: His Vacation.
The book was reprinted by Ace in the 1960s, where I first came across it...sporting a Frazetta cover, which of course drew me to it instantly.
In the 1970s, Marvel did an updated and very loose adaptation of the book in their Creatures on the Loose title.
Gulliver of Mars: Beyond the War of the Worlds is steampunk epic high adventure, dealing with the “truth” behind the Martian invasion of 1899 and featuring a great cast of heroes, heroines and villains. Essentially, Gulliver Jones, employing back-engineered Martian technology, is chosen to lead a military expedition to Mars to make sure another invasion never happens.
In the near future, I’ll be providing more information about that project as well as a couple more in the planning stages.
For now, here’s a promotional image of Gully himself in the uniform of the United Spaceonautical Service (founded in 1900, for you alternate history buffs out there) rendered by the brilliant Dean Zachary with whom I collaborated many moons ago on It! The Terror From Beyond Space.
