Posted By thedupleman on 25 Sep 2010 04:38 AM
just finished reading this.
Have to admit,this is the first shadow world novel i have really enjoyed.I think this is certainly the best of the shadow world books and was a very easy read indeed plus its a suitable finish to something i never really enjoyed but did stick with.well done ap

Thanks, thedupledman.

Posted By darkravenangel on 01 Oct 2010 02:46 AM
Hey, Mr. Philipson. Good job on writing your version of the Deathlands.  I am trying to become a writer of fiction stories and I do have about thirty-four story ideas started, but I still feel lost and I do not know where to start.  Do you have any suggestions?  Thanks.

darkravenangel,
Don't know what you're trying to write, and this REALLY isn't the thread to go into that. A quick suggestion: get some how-to-write books in the genre(s) you're interested in. That should give you a basic framework to work from, and to apply to your original material. That's what I did ...
Best wishes,
AP

I have a couple questions: I noticed that Dr. Huth was back. I read Breakthrough several years ago, so I can't recall how or why his death got retconned. I have a copy, but it's in a box of books I'm *still* waiting to receive... so, what happened with him?

Also, what was that macroentity? How did it work, with the specters (I don't want to spoil too much in my question)?

Posted By Kerrick on 08 Oct 2010 09:21 PM
I have a couple questions: I noticed that Dr. Huth was back. I read Breakthrough several years ago, so I can't recall how or why his death got retconned. I have a copy, but it's in a box of books I'm *still* waiting to receive... so, what happened with him?

Also, what was that macroentity? How did it work, with the specters (I don't want to spoil too much in my question)?

Kerrick,
At the end of Shadow World, Dr. Huth got sucked through the trans-universe gateway when Ryan and the others blasted it shut with a redirected missile--he ended up in DL all by his lonesome. At the end of Breakthrough, Dredda and the she-hes took Huth (their only whitecoat) with them when they evacuated DL for universes unknown.

As to the specters, they are entities that exist outside the bounds of ALL realities. There is no way the DL characters can explain or understand them, and certainly not short term, with the limited resources at their disposal. The closest analogy for them in human experience is "virus." (Or perhaps, "watchdogs." Or "toll collectors.") If you jump parallel universes, you cross their home turf, which is the void between universes; and if you jump enough times eventually their spores will latch onto you--when that happens it's endgame for entire worlds. They destroy the species that trespassed and therefore the technology that made trespass possible. Because they are apparently indiscriminate, the collateral damage (toll) is off the scale.

In my opinion, leaping before looking (or ignoring possible downside consequences) is an integral part of the depiction of human nature/science in the DL series. We humans are doomed (in DL by nukewar, on Shadow Earth because of overpopulation) because of who we are and what we do, by our own DNA.  And by our inability to come to grips with who we are. Ergo, Doom Helix.

That said, DH is a comedy of sorts. Perhaps a Jennifer Aniston or J-lo vehicle?
AP

Ah, I s ee. So how did they all vanish when the gate was closed? Huth hypothesized they were part of a macroentity, which made sense. If they're freeform beings, closing the gate wouldn't have prevented them from wiping out Earth. (Sorry, I know I'm being annoying, but I'm just curious.)

BTW, the comment on humanity being doomed to wipe out any planet they come to is interesting; technology taken too far will eventually doom the species instead of delivering us to a Golden Age. It certainly fits with the overall archetype of the series.

Posted By AP on 09 Oct 2010 11:43 AM

That said, DH is a comedy of sorts. Perhaps a Jennifer Aniston or J-lo vehicle?
AP

I am sure that Ti would be more than happy to be played by Jennifer Aniston. Do you think we could get Jason Statham to play Ronbo?

Posted By Ron Miles on 09 Oct 2010 12:23 PM

Posted By AP on 09 Oct 2010 11:43 AM

That said, DH is a comedy of sorts. Perhaps a Jennifer Aniston or J-lo vehicle?
AP

I am sure that Ti would be more than happy to be played by Jennifer Aniston. Do you think we could get Jason Statham to play Ronbo?

Statham is a bit stumpy to play Ronbo. What about Ray Stevenson ("Titus Pulo" in HBO's Rome)?

Posted By Kerrick on 09 Oct 2010 11:57 AM
Ah, I s ee. So how did they all vanish when the gate was closed? Huth hypothesized they were part of a macroentity, which made sense. If they're freeform beings, closing the gate wouldn't have prevented them from wiping out Earth. (Sorry, I know I'm being annoying, but I'm just curious.)

BTW, the comment on humanity being doomed to wipe out any planet they come to is interesting; technology taken too far will eventually doom the species instead of delivering us to a Golden Age. It certainly fits with the overall archetype of the series.

Annoying ain't the half of it. I wrote the book a couple years ago. Now I have to fess up that I didn't remember the ending correctly. (Hey, it all tends to blur and fade--I have read and/or edited at least 500 other people's books in the interim) You're right, it appears from events that the specters weren't "individuals." Although Huth has no way of testing his hypothesis.

Just kidding about your being "annoying." It's refreshing to be reminded that people read these books with a critical intelligence.
AP

Posted By AP on 09 Oct 2010 01:49 PM
Annoying ain't the half of it. I wrote the book a couple years ago. Now I have to fess up that I didn't remember the ending correctly. (Hey, it all tends to blur and fade--I have read and/or edited at least 500 other people's books in the interim) You're right, it appears from events that the specters weren't "individuals." Although Huth has no way of testing his hypothesis.

Just kidding about your being "annoying." It's refreshing to be reminded that people read these books with a critical intelligence.
AP

That's quite all right - I laughed when I read your post. I should have realized that you wouldn't remember details, but that's all right.

Hold on Cat.Whats a line editor?Is that the next step up from a writer?Do you still work for GE?

how did Dr Huth infect the she/hes when they never come out their battlesuits..did i miss something

Posted By Diablo on 25 Mar 2011 10:57 PM
how did Dr Huth infect the she/hes when they never come out their battlesuits..did i miss something

Diablo,
Do you mean how did the creatures infect the she/hes? My memory is I never described in detail the point of first infection. I might be remembering wrong, but I think the idea was: infection picked up on the outside of the suits jumping between universes, brought unknowingly to a universe/planet where they could step out of battlesuits; infection discovered, they put suits back on to stop the spread in their ranks--and jump away.
AP

Yeah, the way I remember it is exactly that - they were infected while outside their suits during a jump.

I am sure Ronbo could have saved them all if he hadn't been so cruelly martyred.

I hear ya AP...To me when Dr Huth though "a little test was in order" that meant he was gona infect them.

This was the first book I ever read in the series. I found it in Afghanistan, at an MWR center and finished it shortly after I cracked the cover! I am hooked! Thanks for sharing your talent!

Digitty,

Glad you liked it. DH is the third book in a widely-spaced  DL trilogy I started in 2000. Kind of the wrap-up/swan song to my GE/DL career as well. The other two books, Shadow World and Breakthrough, might also interest you.

Thank you for the kind words and for your service. Both are much appreciated.
AP

I did read Shadow world since my last post.  It was also in the MWR center.  I thought it was great as well! To be honest, I used to only read non-fiction.  Biographies of interesting people, lots of books for dummies etc.  I still dont think that I would be able to stray to far away from DL with regards to Sci-Fi.

 I thought that the SL were a major part of the series and I am kinda bummed to find out that it was only limited to the three books.  I don't understand some of the harsh criticism against SL, everyone is entitled to an opinion.  It's not like its anymore far fetched than Mat-Trans or anything else in the DL universe, maybe I am missing something that the older fans see.

  Since I read the two, I purchased 1-4 and I bought encounter. I finished Neutron Solstice last night and started on Crater lake and realized that I had to get up in a few hours. I have you to thank for that.

 Can you explain to me how you got to write for the series? 

Sorry to jump off the subject.
I have been reading death lands for some time and just realized that all my
Favorite books are written by you AP. You are some witty m.f. thank you.
I don't know why more people don't like damnnation roadshow. It
Is simply the best book i have ever read. Please do more deathlands.
Seriously thank you. You have taken me to more places then i ever thought
Possible. D.

Digitty,
Sorry I didn't see this post until now.

As to how I got to write DL, I had been writing in GE's other action series for 14 years when I was told (in 1996) that LJ was too ill to keep writing DL. Something that may or may not have been true at the time. In other series (Destroyer, OL) I know GE used replacement series writers to bend the current author to its will in terms of rate of pay, book output, etc. I now believe this was the first instance of that "business strategy." I was really tired of writing contemporary men's adventure, so I'm not sure knowing about the strategy would have made any difference, but I like to think it would. If I'd suspected it was a game, I think I would have at least tried to contact LJ to get his side of the story.
Best,
AP

Damonite,
Thanks for the kind words.

As to DRS, you can never tell what readers are going to take away from a book. You can never tell what they BRING to a book, either. Some reviewer on Amazon thought DRS was about glorifying drug use.  When I saw that I laughed. 

Sorry to disappoint, but this witty m.f. isn't going to write any more DLs. I'm working on original stuff. If you want to read some of it click on the link to Slaughter Realms on the ja.com homepage. Be interested to know what you think.

AP