Gemini Force 1 - Black Horizon.
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 2:30 amI'm about two thirds of the way through this book by M G Harris and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I didn't really know what to expect, having been rather underwhelmed by the presentation of it at last year's Andercon. However, I have been most pleasantly surprised.
Ms Harris has been faithful to what appears to be Gerry Anderson's re-imagining of the origins of Thunderbirds. It's a well-written tale, certainly not for young children. I'm no expert on fiction for young people, but I would think the target audience for this would be 'young adult '-certainly 11 or over. Well, I liked it and not only am I over 11, I can hardly be described as a young adult!
Ms Harris has done well in her technical descriptions of the base ( GF1) and the craft, as well as the incidents in the plot itself. Kudos to her, because I know how hard it is to make this visually realistic for the reader. I am sure she took inspiration from Andrew Probert's marvellous illustrations presented at last year's Andercon, although they were in their infancy then.
The central character, Ben Carrington, is a bit like Alan Tracy, but much more well-rounded and believable. It's not clear whether this is set in the future or not- if it is, probably not too far ahead, as there are frequent references to things that are part of our life today, such as sporting stuff and Facebook. The whole book is written pretty much from Ben's perspective, which is okay, but a bit of a shame in a way. From viewing some of the deleted chapters, it looks as if MG was persuaded by her editors to go down that route. I can understand why, but it does mean some characters remain rather two dimensional, when the scope was there for better development. Major bone of contention- without giving away too many spoilers, I'm disappointed at the decision to kill off a leading character halfway through. I understand this was a plot device, but the entire premise would have been much more interesting had it not happened.
Having read this, I can now completely understand Jamie Anderson's ambivalence towards 'Thunderbirds are Go'. The timing is awful, because the projects are too similar. I know the hope was that GF1 would eventually be presented for the screen, but it's hard to see how it would attract backers, given its similarity to TAG. Having said that, I'd like to see GF1 made with live actors because it's a more realistic premise; not that I think it will happen.
Still, GF1 went down well at the Hay Literary Festival, which is arguably the UK's premier literary event. So it's a heads up for fan fic writing! Keep scribbling, folks, the future is bright.
I'm looking forward to the next two GF1 books.
Ms Harris has been faithful to what appears to be Gerry Anderson's re-imagining of the origins of Thunderbirds. It's a well-written tale, certainly not for young children. I'm no expert on fiction for young people, but I would think the target audience for this would be 'young adult '-certainly 11 or over. Well, I liked it and not only am I over 11, I can hardly be described as a young adult!
Ms Harris has done well in her technical descriptions of the base ( GF1) and the craft, as well as the incidents in the plot itself. Kudos to her, because I know how hard it is to make this visually realistic for the reader. I am sure she took inspiration from Andrew Probert's marvellous illustrations presented at last year's Andercon, although they were in their infancy then.
The central character, Ben Carrington, is a bit like Alan Tracy, but much more well-rounded and believable. It's not clear whether this is set in the future or not- if it is, probably not too far ahead, as there are frequent references to things that are part of our life today, such as sporting stuff and Facebook. The whole book is written pretty much from Ben's perspective, which is okay, but a bit of a shame in a way. From viewing some of the deleted chapters, it looks as if MG was persuaded by her editors to go down that route. I can understand why, but it does mean some characters remain rather two dimensional, when the scope was there for better development. Major bone of contention- without giving away too many spoilers, I'm disappointed at the decision to kill off a leading character halfway through. I understand this was a plot device, but the entire premise would have been much more interesting had it not happened.
Having read this, I can now completely understand Jamie Anderson's ambivalence towards 'Thunderbirds are Go'. The timing is awful, because the projects are too similar. I know the hope was that GF1 would eventually be presented for the screen, but it's hard to see how it would attract backers, given its similarity to TAG. Having said that, I'd like to see GF1 made with live actors because it's a more realistic premise; not that I think it will happen.
Still, GF1 went down well at the Hay Literary Festival, which is arguably the UK's premier literary event. So it's a heads up for fan fic writing! Keep scribbling, folks, the future is bright.
I'm looking forward to the next two GF1 books.