The Novels

[Cynthia Grey (Kim)]

So did anyone here read any of the novels based on the movie?

[Katharina Kahler]

no

[Kefla (Kefla)]

yes, portions of War in the Desert

[Cynthia Grey (Kim)]

The two novels Silent Zone & War in the Desert were both pretty good, I thought. Silent Zone was the story of how Dr Okun( the weird hairy scientist in the movie) came to be at Area 51. It was an entertaining book to read but it lacked a lot of the action the film had. I thought War in the Desert was better, imho. It had more adventure and I got to learn more about the aliens in that one. <BR> <BR> ~Kim

[kefla]

:-) Hey Kim. Sorry for the flip answer before. It's been my experience that people don't often go into detail about the novels on this board. <BR> <BR>I guess we're opposite sides of the coin. I *did* read every word of Silent Zone and was ROTFL. The very name of the character Okun Brackish had me going. The story devolved (is that a word?)into slap stick comedy with the loss of the coffin in the street. I've never seen comedic sci fi in print - bizare but fun. <BR> <BR>War in the Desert, on the other hand, well. . . <BR>I wasn't buying the protagonist and didn't care for the boy/girl thing that was developing. Probably just me. <BR> <BR>I've gotta add - I (probably along with many others) developed a fondness for the author of these books, Stephen Molstad. I hope we get to see him here at Electric some day. <BR> <BR>I just finished reading more of Arthur C. Clarke. Had read many of his books but somehow skipped the classics 2001 and 2010 - until now. <BR> <BR>Kim, were you on the old board (the first, second or third, hehehe) which had a book section?

[Angillas (Angillas)]

Kefla said: "I've never seen comedic sci fi in print - bizare but fun." <BR> <BR>Try Red Dwarf. "Infinity welcomes Careful Drivers", and "Better than Life", Both by Grant Naylor. <BR> <BR>Definately not for everyone, but vey good for the right reader... <BR> <BR>Another interesting Sci-Fi Comedy series would be the "Bill the Galactic Hero" series by Harry Harrison. <BR>Again, not for everyone.

[Kefla (Kefla)]

Ack! "bizarre" **grumble, grumble** Would like to be able to edit my posts. Anyway - seeing that quote, typo and all, I meant to say, that particular type of comedy in sci fi. <BR> <BR>Thanks for the suggestions, Angillas. :-) Those titles are all new to me.

[Electric Goose (Egg)]

No way!! Primordial Soup and Son of Soup!! I laughed til my ribs hurt. <BR> <BR>I read both ID4 books. They RULE! Stephen is my idol. Some day I want to be able to write just like him. So far, I only write trash... My Grammy said his book on The Patriot was better than the original! Whaaddaya mean you couldn't get into the boy / girl thing? Stephen writes an excellent romance novel! heeeehehehehe!!

[Kefla (Kefla)]

Oh well, The Patriot was another story. :-) Beautifully done - had me in tears when I didn't wanna be. Like I said, I just couldn't get into the romance portion of War in the Desert - It was just a personal thing, no doubt.

[Cynthia Grey (Kim)]

Hi Kefla. You didn't offend me by being flip. I love reading books sometime more than watching movies. So I thought it would be fun to start a discussion on the books based on id4. Yes Silent Zone was a hilarious book to read. The main character was a riot, Brackish Okun. I've always wondered about that name if it was an inside joke from the writers. I mean Brackish isn't really a name is it? In War in the Desert I didn't buy the romance either. It happened too fast and him deciding she was 'the reason for fighting' so soon after they had just met stretched believability. I thought the protagonist was just a variation on Nimziki( the guy the prez fires), completely selfish and power grabbing. But I liked WITD 'cause it showed more of the alien technology and was more high-octane then Silent Zone. But I did adore the characters in Silent Zone more than the ones in WITD. I love Stephen Molstad too I hope he contiues to write more novels for D&E's movies. Yes. I was on the last Centro board just before it became Electric. Hey Ms. or MRS. Goose<IMG SRC="http://www.electric-ent.com/bbs/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":)"> Who was the author of those novels 'Primordial Soup and Son of Soup'? They sound fun. <BR>~Kim

[Kefla (Kefla)]

Congrats on getting a book discussion going. <IMG SRC="http://www.electric-ent.com/bbs/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":)"> <BR>Your comments about the romance angle in WITD are exactly what I was thinking (if only I could remember as well - it has been a year). I couldn't accept that a woman would be Reg's sole motivation for continuing. <BR> <BR>Regarding the name in Silent Zone, I thought I saw "Okun" somewhere in the credits of a Centropolis production. A staff member? Anyone know?

[Electric Goose (Egg)]

MIZZZ goosie! LOL <BR> <BR>Grant Naylor. Same fella Angillas was speaking of. They're both "favorite" scripts from the Red Dwarf series.

[Cynthia Grey (Kim)]

Thanks!<IMG SRC="http://www.electric-ent.com/bbs/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":)"> I'll have to check those out.

[Cynthia Grey (Kim)]

Yeah, he was named for Jeffrey Okun the visual effects supervisor on StarGate. I just don't know about the first name.

[Kefla (Kefla)]

Very cool, Kim. Thanks for the info.

[Will Finch (Shetan)]

Coool! And a similarity to "Occum" in The Patriot. As Ben Martin said, "I consider them linked".

[KaMiKaZE muShROom!! (F_U_N_G_U_S)]

Marvel comics had an ID4 adaptation, the first issue being a special '1/2' issue. See, issues 1 to whatever were the movie adaptation, but the 1/2 issue has information that takes place <I>before</I> the events of issue 1 (ie the movie). I believe the scenes depicted were actually shot and edited back in in the special edition dvd (which I'd like to get someday...). In it, they DO refer to his character as Okun Brackish, so it's not just something they thought of for the book (the last name I mean). However, and it's been awhile since I last saw the movie on video, I believe Adam Baldwin's character (the army guy) DOES refer to him as Okun Brackish when intro'ing him to the president.

[Will Finch (Shetan)]

Fungus, you need to get busy on an adaptation of The Patriot. Occum's last name there very well could have been Brackish also. Brackish water is the term used for the water where the fresh meets the salt water...tide's come and tide's go.

[KaMiKaZE muShROom!! (F_U_N_G_U_S)]

As soon as they say 'we'll pay you', I'll do it :] actually, i can get likenesses down pretty well...

[Mark Robert Bourne]

"Fungus" <BR> <BR>Well, its a couple years after this last post, but I would like to add that the 0 issue was based on the idea by DD & RE that was presented to us at Marvel. There was going to be another sequal series that was pitched and rejected. <BR> <BR>And how do I know, well, look for my name in the books. ;)