Keeping things fresh

I'm not sure I have ever talked about this aspect of "The Star Travels of Dr. Jeremiah Fothering-Smythe", so as I work on redrafting Book 4 this seems as good a time as any to talk about it.

Basically, although the series is firmly a Victorian pulp SF tale, I am attempting to vary the story style somewhat from book to book.  They remain in the same tone, always first-person narrated by Jeremiah, but the type of story being told should be somewhat unique every time.  To make every book a little bit special.

Book 1, "Enter the Unknown", is lower in incident - being mostly about the introduction of this Victorian man to the wider universe - with a kind of H.G. Wells slant.  A protagonist who is not completely fazed by his placement in such a bizarre environment, and whose focus is on the details of this new universe he has become witness to.

Book 2, "The Savage Planet", has a little more of an Edgar Rice Burroughs bent.  It's not just the arena fight, but the kind of world into which Jeremiah is flung, and the way he is marked out as special among its peoples.  There's not much of a John Carter vibe, but it's in there, and affects the focus of the storytelling.

Book 3, "Beyond the Frontier" is essentially a steampunk Star Trek.  As in Victorian science fiction, I focus on the little details of the technology and its otherworldliness in a nonsensical but hopefully era-appropriate way, but the function of the space vessel and the type of dangers it faces, are very much drawn from Star Trek.  I always felt that the show (and I am referring to the original, here) was very pulpy to begin with.  Very much my kind of series.

Book 4, "Kingdoms of Sky and Sea" will be slightly more Flash Gordon-y.  I endeavored to construct the plot in a way that utilizes cliffhangers every twenty minutes or so, to keep the pace going, and to give that cinema serial feel to the book.  It has more incident and more action than usual, but also makes sure to contain a lot of intriguing details about the alien culture and technology in it.

Right now, the plan for Book 5 is for it to be even faster paced - with a touch of Star Wars influence - weaving three plot strands together in a way that keeps the action moving ever-forward.  I should begin work on this story next week.


Throughout all of this, despite the attempts to give a different feel and focus to the story of the month, I am trying to have same basic approach to the character and the tone.  A very H.G. Wells/George Griffith way of exploring the environment at least as much as the events.  And above all of that, developing Jeremiah slowly from a self-centered and aristocratic coward into something that retains his basic sense of self but which has a new purpose and recognition of inner worth.

I hope it all comes across.  And I hope it keeps the series fresh and exciting, but consistent.  It's up to you all to let me know how that succeeds!