[B5JMS] ATTN JMS - Mongoose Books?

[b5jms at mail.fsl.cs.sunysb.edu]

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From: "Joseph DeMartino" <jdemarti at bellsouth.net>
Date: 8 Dec 2006 16:55:22 -0800
Lines: 70

There is news up at the Mongoose publishing site that has generated
some discussion in fan circles - to say the least.  Naturally this
happened just when the newsgroup went pear-shaped and it became
impossible to ask you about it or see anything you might have posted on
the subject yourself.

Since messages now appear to be posting, I thought I'd give it a shot.

Here's the meat of the posts:

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> Babylon 5

This game enjoyed a second edition (and very nicely done by Gareth
Hanrahan, if I may say so) this year, and the release of the huge Guide
to the Station box set has proved that the Babylon 5 fan base is still
very much alive and well. In 2007, things are going to go into
overdrive for this universe.

By now, you should all have heard about the Lost Tales DVDs that will
be revisiting Babylon 5. We believe these are going to be exceptionally
popular, and plans are being made to support them. For the RPG, you
will see deck plans of the White Star, a look at the pak'ma'ra and
Dilgar, more on the Rangers and Telepaths, and a lot more 'gaming'
material, supporting Games Masters with locations, starports, vehicles,
and many other bits and pieces.

This, however, is just the tip of the iceberg. After having spoken at
some length with the Great Maker, Mr Straczynski, a new range of
official novels and Babylon 5 encyclopaedias will be appearing next
year. See the 'bits and bobs' post for more details!

All in all, it is a good time to be a Babylon 5 fan. . .


"The Anla'Shok Archives"

If you cannot wait for officially approved novels, how about an
officially approved encyclopaedia series? The Anla'Shok Archives will
feature a comprehensive coverage of the Babylon 5 universe, from the
Earth-Minbari War to the innermost workings of the Kha'Ri. Each
volume will come with an original print from the very best of Babylon 5
artists, and anyone who collects them all will receive, free of charge,
a replica of Valen's Denn'Bok, as presented to him after the Shadow
War one thousand years before the main Babylon 5 timeline. This is an
extremely high quality collector's item, only available to those who
make a thorough study of the Anla'Shok Archives - it will not be
available anywhere else.  <

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Anyone who wants can read the entire thread on the Mongoose message
board here:

http://tinyurl.com/yharfz

Given the controversy earlier this year on this newsgroup, there is a
lot of skepticism on the 'net about this announcement, especially given
that the newsgroup, your main means of publicly communicating with your
fans, was effectively down.

Can you, or will you, offer any coment?

Thanks, 

Joe




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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com
Date: 12 Dec 2006 20:12:24 -0800
Lines: 59


Joseph DeMartino wrote:
> There is news up at the Mongoose publishing site that has generated
> some discussion in fan circles - to say the least.  Naturally this
> happened just when the newsgroup went pear-shaped and it became
> impossible to ask you about it or see anything you might have posted on
> the subject yourself.
>
> Given the controversy earlier this year on this newsgroup, there is a
> lot of skepticism on the 'net about this announcement, especially given
> that the newsgroup, your main means of publicly communicating with your
> fans, was effectively down.
>
> Can you, or will you, offer any coment?
>

I've tried several times to reply, but each time the server ate it,
let's see if this one gets through.

To recap...after making a number of rather controversial statements
about my involvement, which were not accurate, there were several
emails exchanged which resulted finally in my agreeing to give Mongoose
a second chance.  The main concerns were that a) information given to
the fans should be accurate, b) the books should be canonical, and c)
the level of writing on the books had to be consistent with what's gone
before.  To be fair they said they would work within the guidelines
they were given.

I made it very clear that I did not want any money off the deal, no
fees for myself, the purpose was to ensure the quality of the books.

The manuscripts came in on the books currently in progress, and
unfortunately the level of writing is at very best amateurish, on a
level somewhat below what one would find on the average fan-fiction
website.  In some cases the manuscripts had net handles not even actual
names, they were unprofessionally put together and edited, and the
writing is just not there.  This is not the sort of thing that can be
easily corrected with just some notes or asking for re-dos.  They
haven't done much publishing in the area of fiction previous to this
time, and my feeling is that as well-intentioned as they might be, they
don't really have the chops when it comes to fiction.  And their
statements on their website are again somewhat overstating the
situation and not being entirely accurate in the projects and processes
being announced.

So having given a second chance to this process, and again as well
intentioned as they may be, my sense is that this is going to be a case
of diminishing returns.  Fiction is a far more subjective field than
putting together reference books, and you really have to trust the
tastes and perspective of your editorial staff, which for me,
subjectively, isn't here.  So I've stepped back and said I really can't
be a part of this process because I can't endorse something if I don't
think the quality is going to be there.  So it's between them and WB at
this point.

jms