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Phoenix without Ashes
The 2785 A.D.They had banished Devon from the world of Cypress Corners because he dared to challenge the Elders. And when he defied them again, they hunted him like an animal.Then Devon stumbled on a secret passage in the hills. His whole life changed in that moment. For Devon had accidentally discovered the giant ark that was ferrying not only Cypress Corners but all other Earth cultures to another planet.What Devon did not know was that there had been a terrible accident aboard the spaceship. The gear had been damaged, the crew dead. And the ark and all its worlds were now headed straight for destruction.
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
5 people are currently reading
277 people want to read
About the author
Edward Bryant
228 books32 followersEdward Winslow Bryant, Jr. was born August 27, 1945 in White Plains NY and was raised on a cattle ranch in Wyoming. He attended the University of Wyoming, where he earned a Master’s in English in 1968 and ’69. He went to the Clarion Writers’ Workshop in 1968. In 1972 he moved to Denver CO, where he founded the Northern Colorado Writers Workshop. He helped found and run many other workshops and classes as well, including the Colorado Springs Writers Workshop.
Bryant was an accomplished science-fiction writer, mostly of short stories. He began publishing SF work with “They Come Only in Dreams” and “Sending the Very Best”, both in January 1970. For the next two decades he was a frequent contributor to magazines and anthologies, and though his fictional output slowed in the ’90s, he was still active as a critic. He was a familiar figure at conventions, especially in Colorado fandom. He was a frequent guest at the World Horror Convention, and chaired the 2000 convention in Denver.
With Harlan Ellison he wrote Phoenix without Ashes (1978), and solo short novel Fetish appeared in 1991. He also edited 2076: The American Tricentennial (1977), and was an editor for Wormhole Books. He wrote screenplays and occasionally appeared in films.
--excerpted from Locus Publications
Bryant was an accomplished science-fiction writer, mostly of short stories. He began publishing SF work with “They Come Only in Dreams” and “Sending the Very Best”, both in January 1970. For the next two decades he was a frequent contributor to magazines and anthologies, and though his fictional output slowed in the ’90s, he was still active as a critic. He was a familiar figure at conventions, especially in Colorado fandom. He was a frequent guest at the World Horror Convention, and chaired the 2000 convention in Denver.
With Harlan Ellison he wrote Phoenix without Ashes (1978), and solo short novel Fetish appeared in 1991. He also edited 2076: The American Tricentennial (1977), and was an editor for Wormhole Books. He wrote screenplays and occasionally appeared in films.
--excerpted from Locus Publications
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
October 31, 2021
This is a novelization of a Harlen Ellison screenplay for a television series (that was terribly botched) called "Starlost". Edward Bryant did a much better job of bringing Ellison's screenplay to life than said television series. However, the story of how this program was to be so great and due to economics and such, it being being produced in Canada by CTV as opposed to being done in Britten via a co-op deal with 20th Century Fox and the BBC, thus it becoming "a cheap low budget forgettable and almost embarrassing shamble" was, to me, as interesting as the "Phoenix Without Ashes" story itself. Being a Canadian growing up in the 70's, I am very aware of what the CTV is and its obvious limitations. A project of this scope would have been absolutely way out of their league at that time. That said, it is amazing they managed to produce anything at all - as an 8 year old when it was originally broadcasted on prime time, I must admit that I loved it and looked forward to every upcoming episode. It was my first experience of a multi-generational ship, its inhabitant no longer even aware of the fact... (I would not discover Heinlein's "Orphan's in the Sky" until many many years to come).
Surprising to me, later on, was that they managed to secure Keir Dullea of "2001: A Space Odyssey" for the lead role.
Noteworthy, the foil printed cover of this particular edition of "Phoenix Without Ashes" is so totally cool. A must have for collectors of such things.
Surprising to me, later on, was that they managed to secure Keir Dullea of "2001: A Space Odyssey" for the lead role.
Noteworthy, the foil printed cover of this particular edition of "Phoenix Without Ashes" is so totally cool. A must have for collectors of such things.
March 30, 2011
First off, let me tell you that I didn't finish this book. For two reasons. One, the introduction by Harlan Ellison, which was brilliant, gave too much away about the story (even if the story was a mini-series that floundered back in the day). And two, Ellison didn't write this. He came up with the premise, but Edward Bryant wrote the novel. Now I have nothing against Mr. Bryant, but his writing didn't scintillate me enough to want to keep on reading. Perhaps had I skipped the introduction (as I normally do) and waited to read it after the story, things would be different. As is though, the story was blase with writing to match.
WASTE OF TIME (perhaps don't read the introduction and you may enjoy this one more)
WASTE OF TIME (perhaps don't read the introduction and you may enjoy this one more)
February 21, 2017
There once was a really, really bad cable sf series called The Starlost... Harlan Ellison wrote the first episode, and this is novelization of it by Edward Bryant, complete with an amazingly entertaining long introduction by Ellison explaining why the lack of success wasn't his fault. This very good story tells us that we can but wish that they had done it his way.
November 2, 2020
Two Februarys, forty-seven years apart.
A well-known, successful Writer (not a typo, just respect for the man who earned the capital letter) named Harlan Ellison is called to the office of one Robert Kline, a West Coast Head of Taped Shows for 20th Century Fox, in February 1973. Kline wants Ellison's ideas for a new science fiction series, without the fuss and bother of honoring Writers Guild guidelines or actually paying him. Ellison records his idea on an analog cassette, with the understanding that if said idea is ever transcribed, Kline will pay Ellison for the "Speculative Writing" to which he's entitled. Ellison is led to believe the taped concept will be picked up by the BBC and assure him several months work in "Swinging London." Instead, Ellison is plunged into a seven-month Hell, where his seven-minute tape is not only transcribed, but bastardized into a travesty of SFTV for, of all places, Canadian Television. The details of this travesty are outlined in the "Introduction" of this most exceptional novelization.
A similar conversation this past February (2020 for you future readers) led to my possessing this particular edition, albeit temporarily. I had the opportunity to see some episodes the aforementioned travesty, and discussed my impressions of "The Starlost," which is what the series came to be called, with a friend. He was a longtime Science Fiction reader, had read my own work and knew when I was fixated on certain ideas. He loaned me the PB with the promise that:
1) I would return it in same condition in which it was loaned
2)I would never divulge his identity, because "(I) need to read this to get it out of (my) system, but (he) wasn't becoming some freaking lending library!"
I must admit I had read Bryant's novel before Ellison's original script Even if I had not come across HE's marvelous group of friends, fans and supporters on Facebook, and acquiring a the volume of "Brain Movies," none of Ellison's original screenplay would have been missed. Bryant's novelization is faultless, the most faithful novelization I have ever read. Reading Bryant's "Phoenix," gives the reader an accurate impression of how excellent this series could have been had Kline given Ellison the control-and compensation-a writer of his experience and stature more than deserved.
A well-known, successful Writer (not a typo, just respect for the man who earned the capital letter) named Harlan Ellison is called to the office of one Robert Kline, a West Coast Head of Taped Shows for 20th Century Fox, in February 1973. Kline wants Ellison's ideas for a new science fiction series, without the fuss and bother of honoring Writers Guild guidelines or actually paying him. Ellison records his idea on an analog cassette, with the understanding that if said idea is ever transcribed, Kline will pay Ellison for the "Speculative Writing" to which he's entitled. Ellison is led to believe the taped concept will be picked up by the BBC and assure him several months work in "Swinging London." Instead, Ellison is plunged into a seven-month Hell, where his seven-minute tape is not only transcribed, but bastardized into a travesty of SFTV for, of all places, Canadian Television. The details of this travesty are outlined in the "Introduction" of this most exceptional novelization.
A similar conversation this past February (2020 for you future readers) led to my possessing this particular edition, albeit temporarily. I had the opportunity to see some episodes the aforementioned travesty, and discussed my impressions of "The Starlost," which is what the series came to be called, with a friend. He was a longtime Science Fiction reader, had read my own work and knew when I was fixated on certain ideas. He loaned me the PB with the promise that:
1) I would return it in same condition in which it was loaned
2)I would never divulge his identity, because "(I) need to read this to get it out of (my) system, but (he) wasn't becoming some freaking lending library!"
I must admit I had read Bryant's novel before Ellison's original script Even if I had not come across HE's marvelous group of friends, fans and supporters on Facebook, and acquiring a the volume of "Brain Movies," none of Ellison's original screenplay would have been missed. Bryant's novelization is faultless, the most faithful novelization I have ever read. Reading Bryant's "Phoenix," gives the reader an accurate impression of how excellent this series could have been had Kline given Ellison the control-and compensation-a writer of his experience and stature more than deserved.
November 10, 2024
Finished this 4 part graphic novel series in one sitting.
A brilliant scifi story with some superb illustrations and a crisp narrative.
My only jibe was that the climax was left open ended and left you wanting more!
A brilliant scifi story with some superb illustrations and a crisp narrative.
My only jibe was that the climax was left open ended and left you wanting more!
March 11, 2012
So, a long while back, over a year ago, I got a copy of a godawful book for free. This book was called Low Red Moon and it was a cheapo Twilight rip-off. Girl falls in love with Werewolf who may have killed her parents, but it turns out that he’s a prosecuted minority and – okay, that sounds a hell of a lot better than the book actually was.
In any case, reading this awful book gave me an idea for a blog. I would find books for less than $2, and read them, and review them. Every book that I got for free or almost no money, I would devour, and pick apart, and mock, in the hopes of getting Internets Famous, or at least of making someone laugh. (This would, of course, exclude books that I got for free because they were gifts, or ARCs. Low Red Moon was a copy that was damaged out by my place of employment, partly because they hadn’t ordered it, and partly because no one wanted to buy it.) So I went out to used bookstores and raided their discount racks for anything under $2. I found a couple of truly bewildering treasures – I still have to read the double novel by none other than Ed Wood. But much to my chagrin, I found that many of the books I got were actually… Good.
Phoenix Without Ashes by Harlan Ellison and Edward Bryant is a brilliant book. The book is in fairly good condition. There are notes scribbled in a lot of the margins – illegible, inane notes, which, when readable, are only stating “this is what happen son this page.” But the cover is intact; the words are all readable. The cover price is 95 cents, and I got it for a dollar. I feel like I should have had to pay more for it. Price variance over time is weird.
Phoenix Without Ashes was written by Edward Bryant, based on the pilot of the same name for a television show called The Starlost. The Starlost was meant to be a sprawling television series headed by Harlan Ellison. But between the network executives’ meddling and a writer’s guild strike, the project fell to pieces. The book opens with a vitriol and bile filled essay by Ellison about the whole experience, which is at least on par with the novel itself in entertainment/interest value.
The basic idea behind The Starlost was defined as the “enclosed universe”. It was about this huge spaceship with all of these individual bubble-worlds populated by particular cultures and sub-cultures. It was an ark, carrying the cultures away from a doomed Earth. They had communication with each other, up until some point 500 years before the story starts, when a disaster separated them, leading them all to, over the generations, forget that they had once been a space-faring civilization who lived on an actual planet. The pocket worlds each think that they are the entirety of the world (though, with so many of them, I’m sure a number would have known the truth). The ship is also doomed to destruction in 5 years. The show would have been about the efforts of those who accidentally came upon the truth to save the ship. They would have made contact with other pocket worlds, tried to convince them of the truth, and explored the ship.
Since the show only produced one reportedly terrible season, all we really have to go on of this original vision is this solitary book. (And, apparently, a graphic novel of the same name and plot released last March by IDW). And let me tell you, the show should have been amazing. It should have been LOST, except in space, and with actual plot-destinations in mind throughout the whole thing. It should have been the perfect sci-fi series. As soon as I had finished reading the book – whose prose is excellent, but overall unremarkable – I wanted to know so much more about the universe. When I found out that there were no more books in the series, I actually considered finding the television show, just to have a taste of the world Ellison had built. I’ll doubtless buy the graphic novel soon enough. I want to know more about these characters. What side did Garth end up on? What were the other Enclosed Worlds on the ark? Where was the plot going to end up?
It’s not fair that such a brilliant concept got cut down the way it did. I had a little rant about how desperately I wanted more of The Starlost, but when looking for the links to populate this post with, I discovered something beautiful. Something killer. Ark, a 9-episode web remake on Hulu. Tears, guys. I have tears. The Starlost rose from its ashes, to produce a Phoenix.
I’ll watch it tomorrow.
http://derivativewafflehouse.wordpres...
In any case, reading this awful book gave me an idea for a blog. I would find books for less than $2, and read them, and review them. Every book that I got for free or almost no money, I would devour, and pick apart, and mock, in the hopes of getting Internets Famous, or at least of making someone laugh. (This would, of course, exclude books that I got for free because they were gifts, or ARCs. Low Red Moon was a copy that was damaged out by my place of employment, partly because they hadn’t ordered it, and partly because no one wanted to buy it.) So I went out to used bookstores and raided their discount racks for anything under $2. I found a couple of truly bewildering treasures – I still have to read the double novel by none other than Ed Wood. But much to my chagrin, I found that many of the books I got were actually… Good.
Phoenix Without Ashes by Harlan Ellison and Edward Bryant is a brilliant book. The book is in fairly good condition. There are notes scribbled in a lot of the margins – illegible, inane notes, which, when readable, are only stating “this is what happen son this page.” But the cover is intact; the words are all readable. The cover price is 95 cents, and I got it for a dollar. I feel like I should have had to pay more for it. Price variance over time is weird.
Phoenix Without Ashes was written by Edward Bryant, based on the pilot of the same name for a television show called The Starlost. The Starlost was meant to be a sprawling television series headed by Harlan Ellison. But between the network executives’ meddling and a writer’s guild strike, the project fell to pieces. The book opens with a vitriol and bile filled essay by Ellison about the whole experience, which is at least on par with the novel itself in entertainment/interest value.
The basic idea behind The Starlost was defined as the “enclosed universe”. It was about this huge spaceship with all of these individual bubble-worlds populated by particular cultures and sub-cultures. It was an ark, carrying the cultures away from a doomed Earth. They had communication with each other, up until some point 500 years before the story starts, when a disaster separated them, leading them all to, over the generations, forget that they had once been a space-faring civilization who lived on an actual planet. The pocket worlds each think that they are the entirety of the world (though, with so many of them, I’m sure a number would have known the truth). The ship is also doomed to destruction in 5 years. The show would have been about the efforts of those who accidentally came upon the truth to save the ship. They would have made contact with other pocket worlds, tried to convince them of the truth, and explored the ship.
Since the show only produced one reportedly terrible season, all we really have to go on of this original vision is this solitary book. (And, apparently, a graphic novel of the same name and plot released last March by IDW). And let me tell you, the show should have been amazing. It should have been LOST, except in space, and with actual plot-destinations in mind throughout the whole thing. It should have been the perfect sci-fi series. As soon as I had finished reading the book – whose prose is excellent, but overall unremarkable – I wanted to know so much more about the universe. When I found out that there were no more books in the series, I actually considered finding the television show, just to have a taste of the world Ellison had built. I’ll doubtless buy the graphic novel soon enough. I want to know more about these characters. What side did Garth end up on? What were the other Enclosed Worlds on the ark? Where was the plot going to end up?
It’s not fair that such a brilliant concept got cut down the way it did. I had a little rant about how desperately I wanted more of The Starlost, but when looking for the links to populate this post with, I discovered something beautiful. Something killer. Ark, a 9-episode web remake on Hulu. Tears, guys. I have tears. The Starlost rose from its ashes, to produce a Phoenix.
I’ll watch it tomorrow.
http://derivativewafflehouse.wordpres...
April 15, 2015
In 1973, Harlan Ellison wrote a pilot script “Phoenix Without Ashes” which he hoped would launch a groundbreaking 8-episode science fiction miniseries on television. Instead, due to repeated mismanagement and interference from the producers, it became one of the worst series ever—the now infamous THE STARLOST, which lasted only one season on NBC/CTV.
Ellison quit the project before the first episode was filmed. His successor Ben Bova eventually quit as well, and later wrote the comedic novel THE STARCROSSED loosely based on this experience.
PHOENIX WITHOUT ASHES begins with Ellison’s essay “Somehow, I Don’t Think We’re in Kansas, Toto” which details how the script came to be and how NBC/CTV manage to foul it all up. (There is actually a longer, funnier, and slightly less vitriolic version of this essay also in Ellison’s collection STALKING THE NIGHTMARE… make sure to look that one up.)
The prose story that follows is a novelization of the script, authorized by Ellison and written by his friend Edward Bryant. If this story had been filmed correctly with high production values, good acting, and writers who understood science fiction, this could have been an excellent show, much better than its contemporaries like Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers. It certainly would have been more grounded and thought-provoking.
Unfortunately, as a novel in its own right, the story here feels very thin, and it ends with all the major story lines unresolved. This makes sense—a tv pilot is supposed to establish characters, introduce a central conflict, and then leave the viewer wanting to tune it next week. However, This would have been a better literary project if Ellison and Bryant had written the novel based on the entire original 8-episode arc that was envisioned. Without it, this is essentially nothing more than a wistful longing for what could have been.
The teleplay script itself has been recently published in HARLAN ELLISON’S BRAIN MOVIES VOLUME 2. It would have been nice if it could have been included in this kindle volume also.
The script was also adapted in 2010 as an award-winning and NY Times bestselling graphic novel.
Ellison quit the project before the first episode was filmed. His successor Ben Bova eventually quit as well, and later wrote the comedic novel THE STARCROSSED loosely based on this experience.
PHOENIX WITHOUT ASHES begins with Ellison’s essay “Somehow, I Don’t Think We’re in Kansas, Toto” which details how the script came to be and how NBC/CTV manage to foul it all up. (There is actually a longer, funnier, and slightly less vitriolic version of this essay also in Ellison’s collection STALKING THE NIGHTMARE… make sure to look that one up.)
The prose story that follows is a novelization of the script, authorized by Ellison and written by his friend Edward Bryant. If this story had been filmed correctly with high production values, good acting, and writers who understood science fiction, this could have been an excellent show, much better than its contemporaries like Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers. It certainly would have been more grounded and thought-provoking.
Unfortunately, as a novel in its own right, the story here feels very thin, and it ends with all the major story lines unresolved. This makes sense—a tv pilot is supposed to establish characters, introduce a central conflict, and then leave the viewer wanting to tune it next week. However, This would have been a better literary project if Ellison and Bryant had written the novel based on the entire original 8-episode arc that was envisioned. Without it, this is essentially nothing more than a wistful longing for what could have been.
The teleplay script itself has been recently published in HARLAN ELLISON’S BRAIN MOVIES VOLUME 2. It would have been nice if it could have been included in this kindle volume also.
The script was also adapted in 2010 as an award-winning and NY Times bestselling graphic novel.
March 22, 2015
Ads for the Syfy miniseries Ascension, about a generation ship launched into space in the early 1960s, reminded me of this book, the novelization of the pilot for the series The Starlost. Actually, it's a novelization with a rather lengthy introduction by Mr. Ellison who explains why the series sucked even though he had created it. Upon rereading it, I'd have to say that the introduction is the more entertaining part.
The main story is about a generation ship, the Ark, that had been sent from Earth to save a remnant of the human race from the destruction of Earth. The Ark is a collection of biospheres, separated from each other in an attempt to preserve Earth's cultural as well as genetic diversity. Unfortunately there was an accident that killed off the crew and the multitude of communities are now drifted blissfully unaware that anything is wrong, the earth pretty much forgotten. The hero of the tale is Devon, a young man from an Amish-like community. He's a bit of a rebel, and by accident discovers an access port out of his biosphere into the ship at large. It's an interesting set up for an ongoing series, but Devon's own community is somewhat two-dimensional. 'Tis all strictness and punishment, a trope that I've come to find a bit tired.
The main story is about a generation ship, the Ark, that had been sent from Earth to save a remnant of the human race from the destruction of Earth. The Ark is a collection of biospheres, separated from each other in an attempt to preserve Earth's cultural as well as genetic diversity. Unfortunately there was an accident that killed off the crew and the multitude of communities are now drifted blissfully unaware that anything is wrong, the earth pretty much forgotten. The hero of the tale is Devon, a young man from an Amish-like community. He's a bit of a rebel, and by accident discovers an access port out of his biosphere into the ship at large. It's an interesting set up for an ongoing series, but Devon's own community is somewhat two-dimensional. 'Tis all strictness and punishment, a trope that I've come to find a bit tired.
October 14, 2018
A follow on book based on the horribly flawed, low budget, Starlost TV series. It's an OK read but Ellison didn't write anything extreme since it was meant for 70s TV.
October 17, 2024
The story behind this novel is just as fascinating, almost more so, than the novel itself. This novel contains a foreword explaining the gritty details, but suffice it to say that it started out as Harlan Ellison's pilot for the TV show "The Starlost," a show he had grand plans for... only for the studio to gut his original vision down to nothing. The show ultimately ended up a flop, but Harlan commissioned another writer to take his original script for the pilot and turn it into a novel. And the resulting novel is a compelling look at what might have been.
Devon lives in the tight-knit, religiously fanatical community of Cypress Corners, a self-contained world with clearly defined borders. Outcast from his community for daring to question the elders, his wanderings lead him to a dramatic discovery -- that his world is only one of many connected to a vast interstellar vessel, one carrying the last of humanity through the stars to new homeworld. But a terrible accident has the vessel drifting off course, and unless Devon can correct what has gone wrong, humanity will be destroyed within five years. Devon returns to Cypress Corners to warn the people there... but will they listen?
This book shows signs of its age, given that it was written in the '70s. The characters are a little bland and the technology is slightly dated. But the ideas it gives us and the world it builds are so compelling that I wish I could have seen Harlan's original vision for what the show was intended to be. The seeds for a great series are planted here, and while I'm disappointed that it's still a delightful ride.
I also enjoyed the insights Harlan provides in the book's foreword, and how things can change drastically from script to screen during the filming process. I'd read a similar diatribe of his in his screenplay for the "I, Robot" film (that was sadly never produced -- I'm sensing a pattern here...), and it's again a heartbreaking case of "what could have been."
While this book leaves me aching for a series that never will be, I'm still glad to have read it, and can let my imagination run wild with the possibilities.
Devon lives in the tight-knit, religiously fanatical community of Cypress Corners, a self-contained world with clearly defined borders. Outcast from his community for daring to question the elders, his wanderings lead him to a dramatic discovery -- that his world is only one of many connected to a vast interstellar vessel, one carrying the last of humanity through the stars to new homeworld. But a terrible accident has the vessel drifting off course, and unless Devon can correct what has gone wrong, humanity will be destroyed within five years. Devon returns to Cypress Corners to warn the people there... but will they listen?
This book shows signs of its age, given that it was written in the '70s. The characters are a little bland and the technology is slightly dated. But the ideas it gives us and the world it builds are so compelling that I wish I could have seen Harlan's original vision for what the show was intended to be. The seeds for a great series are planted here, and while I'm disappointed that it's still a delightful ride.
I also enjoyed the insights Harlan provides in the book's foreword, and how things can change drastically from script to screen during the filming process. I'd read a similar diatribe of his in his screenplay for the "I, Robot" film (that was sadly never produced -- I'm sensing a pattern here...), and it's again a heartbreaking case of "what could have been."
While this book leaves me aching for a series that never will be, I'm still glad to have read it, and can let my imagination run wild with the possibilities.
January 16, 2022
Some readers may remember a short-lived television program in the early 70s called "The Starlost". Many people including Mr. Ellison would truly like to forget this program ever existed, as Mr. Ellison's original ideas, and concept for the TV program and story were essentially stolen, and completely corrupted by Hollywood and the television industry.
The first chapter of this book is written by Mr . Ellison and outlines the story of what happened, and how the TV program was made, up until the time that he got so disgusted with it that he left the show, and forced the network to remove his name from the series and replace it with the pseudonym Cordwainer Bird. He was soon to be followed by Ben Bova who was the science advisor to the series.
The remainder of this book is written by Mr. Bryant is the actual novelization form of Mr. Ellison's outline prior to various unscrupulous agents, managers, and others who got hold of it.
The story itself revolves around a time. In the relatively distant future (2785), after the earth has been destroyed and the inhabitants from selected places have been placed acboard an ark in Controlled biospheres to mimic their cultures and lifestyles, and set on course for Alpha Centauri. Devon is a young man who questions the authority of the elders and his cast out. Further violations of their extremely strict doctrine forces him to flee, and while a posse pursues him he stumbles across a hatch that leads into the actual Ark itself. He discovers that the crew is dead, and the ship is on a collision course with a star which it will hit in approximately five years.
I can remember watching "The Starlost" when I was young, and at the time I thought it was fairly well done but in my own defence this was before I started reading a whole bunch of science fiction and other types of writing as well. Now I can see how the story arc has been corrupted and this reinforces my previously expounded upon thoughts that Hollywood should never be allowed to get hold of a writer's work.
The first chapter of this book is written by Mr . Ellison and outlines the story of what happened, and how the TV program was made, up until the time that he got so disgusted with it that he left the show, and forced the network to remove his name from the series and replace it with the pseudonym Cordwainer Bird. He was soon to be followed by Ben Bova who was the science advisor to the series.
The remainder of this book is written by Mr. Bryant is the actual novelization form of Mr. Ellison's outline prior to various unscrupulous agents, managers, and others who got hold of it.
The story itself revolves around a time. In the relatively distant future (2785), after the earth has been destroyed and the inhabitants from selected places have been placed acboard an ark in Controlled biospheres to mimic their cultures and lifestyles, and set on course for Alpha Centauri. Devon is a young man who questions the authority of the elders and his cast out. Further violations of their extremely strict doctrine forces him to flee, and while a posse pursues him he stumbles across a hatch that leads into the actual Ark itself. He discovers that the crew is dead, and the ship is on a collision course with a star which it will hit in approximately five years.
I can remember watching "The Starlost" when I was young, and at the time I thought it was fairly well done but in my own defence this was before I started reading a whole bunch of science fiction and other types of writing as well. Now I can see how the story arc has been corrupted and this reinforces my previously expounded upon thoughts that Hollywood should never be allowed to get hold of a writer's work.
June 5, 2021
Had a used copy from the UK's Savoy publishers, in a 'videoback' paperback edition on my shelf for years. Finally read it this year, 2021, after seeing the first episode of The Starlost for the first time, via YouTube. Harlan Ellison's afterword in the book was interesting but Ed Bryant's novelisation of Harlan's script was no great shakes. Easy to see how the filmed version turned out poorly. Not the best thing Harlan has come up with.
May 28, 2025
The Waltons with a Sci-Fi Veneer
I've been enjoying The Starlost series on DVD and then read about Harlan Ellison's discontent at what a travesty the Canadian Philistines wrought with his award-winning script. And then how Ellison's padawan Edward Bryant turned that script into a novel. I found an old paperback on eBay and eagerly read it, expecting Ellison's original (even if not dangerous) vision to be at impossible odds with the blanderized and corporatized product inflicted upon us hapless glass teat addicts.
Nope. The book's plot is virtually identical to the television show's opening episode, "Voyage of Discovery," minus protracted descriptions of life in Cypress Corners and several gratuitous soft-porn inserts of Rachel masturbating and of her and Devon's first fumbling attempt at sex. Yeah, like those scenes were ever going to make it onto the small screen in 1973.
As I read, I realized Ellison phoned in this show's concept... and it was a collect call, to boot. With one eye on 1972's hit series The Waltons and a copy of James Blish's Cities in Flight saga in hand, he conjured up a concept he freely admitted was "common coin" in science-fiction: the "enclosed universe." And to Ellison's credit he acknowledges his debt to Blish et al. on the book's opening page.
But by acknowledging he simply ground up like a sausage the well-worn ideas of others, why does Ellison play act the affronted artiste wounded by crass producers who violated his immaculate and ever-virgin creation to accommodate their budget and technological limitations? His self-aggrandizing apologia is the book's introduction and spans pages 11 through 30. He leaves no professional reputation untarnished but his own and Ben Bova's. But after reading Phoenix Without Ashes I wondered what all the shoutin' and poutin' was about. CTV was faithful in adapting that opening episode, minus the hardly pivotal plot point of allowing the characters to reach the bridge in the first instead of the last episode.
Ellison admits he watched that opening episode but neglects to mention the excellent performance of Keir Dullea as Devon. Dullea was already an established star and 2001: A Space Odyssey gave him rock-solid sci-fi creds. Couldn't Ellison at least muster the generosity to give a shout out to CTV for its A-list casting?
I will credit the television series for rechristening the first episode with a better title, "Voyage of Discovery," one that actually described the plot instead of one attempting to be pretentiously obtuse. The series also emphasized the science-fiction over the poor man's Peyton Place melodrama of Cypress Corners. Ellison's script and Bryant's novel dedicate about 90% of the page count to world building that backward village that apparently possesses only the harshest portions of the Old Testament as their sacred "Book." There is nary a mention of Jesus Christ, mercy, grace, forgiveness or of any other New Testament concept.
Oh, and betraying its Canadian origins, the novel is mad about the metric system, with meters and kilometers cluttering up almost every page.
And those "bounce tubes" were just thinly veiled "boom tubes," a creative component of Jack Kirby's celebrated Fourth World comic-book epic that was unfolding in the early seventies. Just more evidence that Ellison grabbed at whatever was popular in early '73, syncretized it into something sellable, and sold it for a tidy sum to CTV. Then after cashing the checks Ellison has the gall to go apoplectic over his swiped-wholesale concepts being tweaked, adjusted, and revised for the realities of television.
The Starlost television series is high concept and low budget, much like Doctor Who was in those halcyon days. And like Doctor Who, there's a lot to be enjoyed and appreciated in the Starlost series, with its limitations often lending it a peculiar and endearing charm. No, it's not Star Trek, but it falls somewhere between Star Maidens and Space: 1999, which isn't a bad place to land.
Can't say the same for the novelization, however, which spun its wheels way too long in Cypress Corners, gooses the tedium with unnecessary sex scenes, and shoehorns in the science-fiction elements almost as an afterthought. And even in those brief scenes, did we really need to read about Devon's urinating on the floor and how the Ark's HVAC compensated to reduce the acrid odor as it dried? Or the random morbid corpse floating along decomposing in the oxygenated atmosphere? Or of the hapless hillbilly who gets him arm caught and chopped off in the fast-closing iris (and of the blood-spurting stump)? Again, all scenes that of course TV producers would wince at and necessarily snip and leave on the cutting room floor (where Ellison and Bryant should also have let them languish).
To end on a positive note, I will say the book was a brisk read and an engaging one. I found myself reading "just one more chapter" if not always to see what happened next but in the vain hope that we'd finally get Devon, Rachel, and Garth off the Waltons set and onto the Red Dwarf one the series delivers with its sprawling yet apparently empty starship equipped with its own proto-Holly, who being Canadian and presumably a consumer of Peak Freans is one very serious cookie!
I've been enjoying The Starlost series on DVD and then read about Harlan Ellison's discontent at what a travesty the Canadian Philistines wrought with his award-winning script. And then how Ellison's padawan Edward Bryant turned that script into a novel. I found an old paperback on eBay and eagerly read it, expecting Ellison's original (even if not dangerous) vision to be at impossible odds with the blanderized and corporatized product inflicted upon us hapless glass teat addicts.
Nope. The book's plot is virtually identical to the television show's opening episode, "Voyage of Discovery," minus protracted descriptions of life in Cypress Corners and several gratuitous soft-porn inserts of Rachel masturbating and of her and Devon's first fumbling attempt at sex. Yeah, like those scenes were ever going to make it onto the small screen in 1973.
As I read, I realized Ellison phoned in this show's concept... and it was a collect call, to boot. With one eye on 1972's hit series The Waltons and a copy of James Blish's Cities in Flight saga in hand, he conjured up a concept he freely admitted was "common coin" in science-fiction: the "enclosed universe." And to Ellison's credit he acknowledges his debt to Blish et al. on the book's opening page.
But by acknowledging he simply ground up like a sausage the well-worn ideas of others, why does Ellison play act the affronted artiste wounded by crass producers who violated his immaculate and ever-virgin creation to accommodate their budget and technological limitations? His self-aggrandizing apologia is the book's introduction and spans pages 11 through 30. He leaves no professional reputation untarnished but his own and Ben Bova's. But after reading Phoenix Without Ashes I wondered what all the shoutin' and poutin' was about. CTV was faithful in adapting that opening episode, minus the hardly pivotal plot point of allowing the characters to reach the bridge in the first instead of the last episode.
Ellison admits he watched that opening episode but neglects to mention the excellent performance of Keir Dullea as Devon. Dullea was already an established star and 2001: A Space Odyssey gave him rock-solid sci-fi creds. Couldn't Ellison at least muster the generosity to give a shout out to CTV for its A-list casting?
I will credit the television series for rechristening the first episode with a better title, "Voyage of Discovery," one that actually described the plot instead of one attempting to be pretentiously obtuse. The series also emphasized the science-fiction over the poor man's Peyton Place melodrama of Cypress Corners. Ellison's script and Bryant's novel dedicate about 90% of the page count to world building that backward village that apparently possesses only the harshest portions of the Old Testament as their sacred "Book." There is nary a mention of Jesus Christ, mercy, grace, forgiveness or of any other New Testament concept.
Oh, and betraying its Canadian origins, the novel is mad about the metric system, with meters and kilometers cluttering up almost every page.
And those "bounce tubes" were just thinly veiled "boom tubes," a creative component of Jack Kirby's celebrated Fourth World comic-book epic that was unfolding in the early seventies. Just more evidence that Ellison grabbed at whatever was popular in early '73, syncretized it into something sellable, and sold it for a tidy sum to CTV. Then after cashing the checks Ellison has the gall to go apoplectic over his swiped-wholesale concepts being tweaked, adjusted, and revised for the realities of television.
The Starlost television series is high concept and low budget, much like Doctor Who was in those halcyon days. And like Doctor Who, there's a lot to be enjoyed and appreciated in the Starlost series, with its limitations often lending it a peculiar and endearing charm. No, it's not Star Trek, but it falls somewhere between Star Maidens and Space: 1999, which isn't a bad place to land.
Can't say the same for the novelization, however, which spun its wheels way too long in Cypress Corners, gooses the tedium with unnecessary sex scenes, and shoehorns in the science-fiction elements almost as an afterthought. And even in those brief scenes, did we really need to read about Devon's urinating on the floor and how the Ark's HVAC compensated to reduce the acrid odor as it dried? Or the random morbid corpse floating along decomposing in the oxygenated atmosphere? Or of the hapless hillbilly who gets him arm caught and chopped off in the fast-closing iris (and of the blood-spurting stump)? Again, all scenes that of course TV producers would wince at and necessarily snip and leave on the cutting room floor (where Ellison and Bryant should also have let them languish).
To end on a positive note, I will say the book was a brisk read and an engaging one. I found myself reading "just one more chapter" if not always to see what happened next but in the vain hope that we'd finally get Devon, Rachel, and Garth off the Waltons set and onto the Red Dwarf one the series delivers with its sprawling yet apparently empty starship equipped with its own proto-Holly, who being Canadian and presumably a consumer of Peak Freans is one very serious cookie!
October 23, 2023
Excellent story by Bryant based on a proposal of Harlan Ellison, a spaceship is sent from a destroyed Earth with hundreds of separate colonies of survivors, all separated from each other, intended to populate a new world. This is the story of one of the colonies, one of the inhabitants discovers the lost history of the spaceship.
December 12, 2020
Not anything controversial or "out there" like you might expect from Ellison, but this was conceived for 1970s television, so there you go. It's an interesting time capsule of the state of televised SF at the time.
December 12, 2018
Classic 70s Sci Fi
April 12, 2022
Much better than the short-lived TV series but based on Harlan Ellison's original script for the pilot.
March 18, 2020
If you have never read anything Harlan wrote then you should!
He's the king of short stories so for you commitment fearing readers who like bold yet out of the ordinary fiction then please check him out. I recommend: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream or "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman.
Both mind-blowing tales in there own right. And as Harlan is not shy in pointing out, as a matter of fact he's not shy about saying anything, 'I Have No Mouth' is one of the most reprinted short-story in the English language. It's won awards and has been adapted into a computer game.
Harlan's been a pretty successful writer for many years. And since the man had been writing TV scripts since the 60's as well as been a Hollywood Script Doctor, not to mention having written the episode of the Outer Limits that the Terminator was based on. It's likely you've been influenced, in some way, by his work. Weather you know it or not.
Back in the 70's he and SF Writer Ursula K. LeGuin created a TV series for Canadian TV (CTV) and NBC: The Star Lost. It was about a ship lost in space for generations. The descendants of the original crew are now unaware that they are on a ship due to the bio-domes they lived in.
The series was not a success... experiencing a number of production difficulties, as well as seeing Ellison and LeGuin leave before the first episode even aired. To say the least it was not that good... but luckily I watched too much TV as a child and found the Star Lost on a community access station one night.
Say what you will about production, I was watching it on a small B&W TV, since at the time my town's cable system didn't carry the station, and since I must have been about 7 the sets were not what piqued my interest. It was the story. What little Science Fiction I had seen at that age was confined to the Transformers and re-runs of Knight Rider.
Here was a space arc on it's way to another word, with little islands full of people behind sliding doors... and what's more the ship itself had been damaged somehow, as I would learn, and was no longer on it's way to save humanity.
Many years had passed since I watched that show... and I, along w/ my friend Steve, discover Harlan. Read his work, hear him rant... And one day, quite absently, Steve says to me, "I just picked up this book, Phoenix Without Ashes, based on this TV Series that Harlan was involved w/."
The name of the show did not ring any bells, but the story... ah, the story Steve told me did. So I promptly stole the book from my friends hands and read, basically the pilot of the TV series.
It made me feel like a kid again and yet it was much, much more interesting then I remembered the show being. Would I suggest you read it?
Sure! If you can find it (as you see here they don't even have a cover for the book).
It was fun, exciting, and wonderfully imaginative... but since there was no real ending the woes of these would-be seedling human explores, I can't say it was a very satisfying ending.
If anything I think I was mad at Harlan for reminding me how magical this story seemed to the boy I was and then not giving the man I became the closure we all crave from fiction.
He's the king of short stories so for you commitment fearing readers who like bold yet out of the ordinary fiction then please check him out. I recommend: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream or "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman.
Both mind-blowing tales in there own right. And as Harlan is not shy in pointing out, as a matter of fact he's not shy about saying anything, 'I Have No Mouth' is one of the most reprinted short-story in the English language. It's won awards and has been adapted into a computer game.
Harlan's been a pretty successful writer for many years. And since the man had been writing TV scripts since the 60's as well as been a Hollywood Script Doctor, not to mention having written the episode of the Outer Limits that the Terminator was based on. It's likely you've been influenced, in some way, by his work. Weather you know it or not.
Back in the 70's he and SF Writer Ursula K. LeGuin created a TV series for Canadian TV (CTV) and NBC: The Star Lost. It was about a ship lost in space for generations. The descendants of the original crew are now unaware that they are on a ship due to the bio-domes they lived in.
The series was not a success... experiencing a number of production difficulties, as well as seeing Ellison and LeGuin leave before the first episode even aired. To say the least it was not that good... but luckily I watched too much TV as a child and found the Star Lost on a community access station one night.
Say what you will about production, I was watching it on a small B&W TV, since at the time my town's cable system didn't carry the station, and since I must have been about 7 the sets were not what piqued my interest. It was the story. What little Science Fiction I had seen at that age was confined to the Transformers and re-runs of Knight Rider.
Here was a space arc on it's way to another word, with little islands full of people behind sliding doors... and what's more the ship itself had been damaged somehow, as I would learn, and was no longer on it's way to save humanity.
Many years had passed since I watched that show... and I, along w/ my friend Steve, discover Harlan. Read his work, hear him rant... And one day, quite absently, Steve says to me, "I just picked up this book, Phoenix Without Ashes, based on this TV Series that Harlan was involved w/."
The name of the show did not ring any bells, but the story... ah, the story Steve told me did. So I promptly stole the book from my friends hands and read, basically the pilot of the TV series.
It made me feel like a kid again and yet it was much, much more interesting then I remembered the show being. Would I suggest you read it?
Sure! If you can find it (as you see here they don't even have a cover for the book).
It was fun, exciting, and wonderfully imaginative... but since there was no real ending the woes of these would-be seedling human explores, I can't say it was a very satisfying ending.
If anything I think I was mad at Harlan for reminding me how magical this story seemed to the boy I was and then not giving the man I became the closure we all crave from fiction.
August 31, 2015
In an ultra-religious agrarian community known as Cypress Corners, young Devon has become an outcast not only for questioning authority, but also for falling in love with Rachel, a farmer's daughter who has been betrothed to Garth, the local blacksmith. Garth and Devon had been friends since childhood, and since Rachel and Garth do not love one another, the blacksmith is all too happy to turn a blind eye toward the "secret"—and forbidden—romance.
While living out his temporary exile in the hills beyond the town, Devon survives on care packages brought by Rachel, who sneaks away from town after evening prayers. When his penance is complete, the town elders escort Devon back to Cypress Corners, expecting him to repent. Yet Devon remains recalcitrant and soon discovers that the Creator's Machine, from which the Elders receive their instructions for leading the community, is broken. The Elders have since learned how to record their own orders into the machine and play them back at will.
After attacking the Elders and stealing the recording device, Devon tries to reason with Rachel and her parents, but they do not believe him. Knowing he will soon be arrested, Devon flees for the hills. While there, he discovers a portal that leads to a strange and wondrous place. Devon soon learns that he, and everyone in Cypress Corners, is aboard an ancient interstellar Earth vessel known as the Ark.
Upon finding a library computer, Devon learns that the Ark's purpose was to transport millions of humans from a dying Earth to a new home across the galaxy—until an accident diverted the ship from its course and sent it on a path directly toward a star. If the Ark cannot be repaired and its course corrected, the ship and everyone aboard will be dead in five years.
This mysterious catastrophe, having occurred 400 years ago, also terminated communications between the thousands of communities aboard. As a result, no one in Cypress Corners is even aware of the other societies, or the truth about their very existence.
Can Devon convince the Elders of this new information and enlist their help in repairing the ship, or will they sentence him to a brutal end for his blasphemy?
Edward Bryant did an admirable job of adapting Harlan Ellison's screenplay for The Starlost into the novelization. The chapters are brief, averaging about 5 pages, and the pacing is solid.
It would not be a Harlan Ellison book without an introduction as interesting as the story itself. This time, Harlan describes the debacle that ensued from the time he pitched The Starlost all the way through the ineptitude of the producers in marketing it, and their ignorance in utterly misinterpreting the series bible that they had pressed him into writing on an impossible deadline.
As a result of his experiences, and his dissatisfaction with the quality of the production, Harlan removed himself from the television project and demanded that his nom de plume, Cordwainer Bird, be used in the credits. Harlan was known to employ this pseudonym as a symbol of his objection to the mistreatment of his work by others.
While living out his temporary exile in the hills beyond the town, Devon survives on care packages brought by Rachel, who sneaks away from town after evening prayers. When his penance is complete, the town elders escort Devon back to Cypress Corners, expecting him to repent. Yet Devon remains recalcitrant and soon discovers that the Creator's Machine, from which the Elders receive their instructions for leading the community, is broken. The Elders have since learned how to record their own orders into the machine and play them back at will.
After attacking the Elders and stealing the recording device, Devon tries to reason with Rachel and her parents, but they do not believe him. Knowing he will soon be arrested, Devon flees for the hills. While there, he discovers a portal that leads to a strange and wondrous place. Devon soon learns that he, and everyone in Cypress Corners, is aboard an ancient interstellar Earth vessel known as the Ark.
Upon finding a library computer, Devon learns that the Ark's purpose was to transport millions of humans from a dying Earth to a new home across the galaxy—until an accident diverted the ship from its course and sent it on a path directly toward a star. If the Ark cannot be repaired and its course corrected, the ship and everyone aboard will be dead in five years.
This mysterious catastrophe, having occurred 400 years ago, also terminated communications between the thousands of communities aboard. As a result, no one in Cypress Corners is even aware of the other societies, or the truth about their very existence.
Can Devon convince the Elders of this new information and enlist their help in repairing the ship, or will they sentence him to a brutal end for his blasphemy?
Edward Bryant did an admirable job of adapting Harlan Ellison's screenplay for The Starlost into the novelization. The chapters are brief, averaging about 5 pages, and the pacing is solid.
It would not be a Harlan Ellison book without an introduction as interesting as the story itself. This time, Harlan describes the debacle that ensued from the time he pitched The Starlost all the way through the ineptitude of the producers in marketing it, and their ignorance in utterly misinterpreting the series bible that they had pressed him into writing on an impossible deadline.
As a result of his experiences, and his dissatisfaction with the quality of the production, Harlan removed himself from the television project and demanded that his nom de plume, Cordwainer Bird, be used in the credits. Harlan was known to employ this pseudonym as a symbol of his objection to the mistreatment of his work by others.
November 20, 2012
Précis Devon is a loner in the town of Cypress Corners, an agrarian community with Amish values and beliefs. Instead of God, it is the Creator they follow and their world is 100 kilometers wide. Devon has dreams of things he cannot explain and questions the elders and even the Creator, especially over the issue of the girl he loves being already committed to his one friend Garth. His chastisement by the elders led by Micah ends up with his banishment to the hill country.
While there, he discovers a portal to a strange place, and discovers that Cypress Corners is only one of many such worlds. All part of a giant spacecraft built hundreds of years to escape a dying Earth. However, there is a problem with the ship and Devon has to warn the People of Cypress Corners so they can try to stop the impending disaster. Of course, to the simple people of Cypress Corners this is demon talk and he is not believed.
In the end, he realizes he will have to try on his own with only Rachel by his side.
Protagonist Devon
Antagonist Elder Micah
What I liked The smooth pace of the story and the excellent development of Devon as he realizes the truth of his world. The science is well done and the enclosed worlds theme is well portrayed.
What I didn’t like The dream sequences to me seemed contrived. I know it helps Devon question his world and makes his discovery less traumatic but I would rather have had him discover some lost manual or such as a way to explain this.
Final Comment This is an adaptation of the pilot script Harlan Ellison wrote for the failed television series The Starlost. Having seen the show recently at Worldcon, I can say that while the sets were inaccurate and the story changed somewhat, it did capture the feel of the story as it appears in the book. Unfortunately, the series took a turn away from the arc that Ellison proposed, probably one of the many reasons it failed.
For those of you who are interested in the way series are put together and how a writer often struggles to realize his vision, the introduction by Ellison is worth the price of the book. My main regret is that as far as I know, this is the only novelization of the series and that the story Harlan wanted to tell is not completed.
While there, he discovers a portal to a strange place, and discovers that Cypress Corners is only one of many such worlds. All part of a giant spacecraft built hundreds of years to escape a dying Earth. However, there is a problem with the ship and Devon has to warn the People of Cypress Corners so they can try to stop the impending disaster. Of course, to the simple people of Cypress Corners this is demon talk and he is not believed.
In the end, he realizes he will have to try on his own with only Rachel by his side.
Protagonist Devon
Antagonist Elder Micah
What I liked The smooth pace of the story and the excellent development of Devon as he realizes the truth of his world. The science is well done and the enclosed worlds theme is well portrayed.
What I didn’t like The dream sequences to me seemed contrived. I know it helps Devon question his world and makes his discovery less traumatic but I would rather have had him discover some lost manual or such as a way to explain this.
Final Comment This is an adaptation of the pilot script Harlan Ellison wrote for the failed television series The Starlost. Having seen the show recently at Worldcon, I can say that while the sets were inaccurate and the story changed somewhat, it did capture the feel of the story as it appears in the book. Unfortunately, the series took a turn away from the arc that Ellison proposed, probably one of the many reasons it failed.
For those of you who are interested in the way series are put together and how a writer often struggles to realize his vision, the introduction by Ellison is worth the price of the book. My main regret is that as far as I know, this is the only novelization of the series and that the story Harlan wanted to tell is not completed.
April 16, 2015
In 1973, Harlan Ellison wrote a pilot script “Phoenix Without Ashes” which he hoped would launch a groundbreaking 8-episode science fiction miniseries on television. Instead, due to repeated mismanagement and interference from the producers, it became one of the worst series ever—the now infamous THE STARLOST, which lasted only one season on NBC/CTV.
Ellison quit the project before the first episode was filmed. The actual show that aired was much different than what he wrote. (His successor Ben Bova eventually quit the production as well, and later wrote the comedic novel THE STARCROSSED loosely based on their experiences.)
Twenty-seven years later, this graphic novel finally gives us a visual glimpse—much grander than could have been done in 1973 anyway—of what could have been. The story hews close to the original script; the artwork is bold and memorable. If this story had been filmed correctly with high production values, good acting, and writers who understood science fiction, this could have been an excellent show, much better than its contemporaries like Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers.
Unfortunately, the narrative here feels very thin, and it ends with all the major story lines unresolved. This makes sense—a tv pilot is supposed to establish characters, introduce a central conflict, and then leave the viewer wanting to tune it next week. For the graphic novel, I wish Ellison had finished the entire original 8-episode arc that was envisioned. Without it, rather than a complete and satisfying tale, this is essentially nothing more than a wistful longing for what could have been.
This story is also available in other formats: Ellison and his friend Edward Bryant adapted the script into a novel in 1975, which has recently come back into print as a Kindle book. The novel does a better job developing the characters’ relationships and motivations, but the comic book omits the book’s hokey dream sequences and one awkward superfluous death scene at the end.
Ellison has also reprinted the teleplay itself a few times, most recently in HARLAN ELLISON’S BRAIN MOVIES VOLUME 2.
Ellison quit the project before the first episode was filmed. The actual show that aired was much different than what he wrote. (His successor Ben Bova eventually quit the production as well, and later wrote the comedic novel THE STARCROSSED loosely based on their experiences.)
Twenty-seven years later, this graphic novel finally gives us a visual glimpse—much grander than could have been done in 1973 anyway—of what could have been. The story hews close to the original script; the artwork is bold and memorable. If this story had been filmed correctly with high production values, good acting, and writers who understood science fiction, this could have been an excellent show, much better than its contemporaries like Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers.
Unfortunately, the narrative here feels very thin, and it ends with all the major story lines unresolved. This makes sense—a tv pilot is supposed to establish characters, introduce a central conflict, and then leave the viewer wanting to tune it next week. For the graphic novel, I wish Ellison had finished the entire original 8-episode arc that was envisioned. Without it, rather than a complete and satisfying tale, this is essentially nothing more than a wistful longing for what could have been.
This story is also available in other formats: Ellison and his friend Edward Bryant adapted the script into a novel in 1975, which has recently come back into print as a Kindle book. The novel does a better job developing the characters’ relationships and motivations, but the comic book omits the book’s hokey dream sequences and one awkward superfluous death scene at the end.
Ellison has also reprinted the teleplay itself a few times, most recently in HARLAN ELLISON’S BRAIN MOVIES VOLUME 2.
August 16, 2016
I loved Ellison's preface/introduction.
The novel itself was written by Edward Bryant who did a passable job of adapting Harlan Ellison's award-winning script for the pilot of the ill-fated CBC series from the 70s, "The Starlost".
As with most TV pilots, the script left the story open and so does this novelization. I don't think there is very much chance of the story being continued, so that leaves me a bit dissatisfied. I want to know, HOW WERE YOU PLANNING TO WRAP THIS UP, HARLAN?!
It's like the last episode of "Gilligan's Island" all over again ... Do they eventually get off that island? Do the trio from Cyprus Corners ever figure out a way to avert impending doom?
How the hell should I know? And don't bother trying to rent the DVDs for the series to find the answer ... First, it was so bad, despite the high quality of the script, Harlan Ellison disowned it. And second, it lasted only one season (I don't even think all the episodes were broadcast ... ), so the last episode still left the fundamental questions of the series unanswered.
Despite that, I still liked this book. Nice quick read.
The novel itself was written by Edward Bryant who did a passable job of adapting Harlan Ellison's award-winning script for the pilot of the ill-fated CBC series from the 70s, "The Starlost".
As with most TV pilots, the script left the story open and so does this novelization. I don't think there is very much chance of the story being continued, so that leaves me a bit dissatisfied. I want to know, HOW WERE YOU PLANNING TO WRAP THIS UP, HARLAN?!
It's like the last episode of "Gilligan's Island" all over again ... Do they eventually get off that island? Do the trio from Cyprus Corners ever figure out a way to avert impending doom?
How the hell should I know? And don't bother trying to rent the DVDs for the series to find the answer ... First, it was so bad, despite the high quality of the script, Harlan Ellison disowned it. And second, it lasted only one season (I don't even think all the episodes were broadcast ... ), so the last episode still left the fundamental questions of the series unanswered.
Despite that, I still liked this book. Nice quick read.
August 21, 2008
This really needs to be reissued. A classic example of how to screw up a good idea for a science fiction TV series, THE STARLOST boasted a concept from Harlan Ellison, SF technology from Ben Bova, and special effects from Douglas Trumbull, who did the effects in 2001 and later CLOSE ENCOUNTERS...then the studio turned it over to low-budget Canadian TV and a staff of writers who had no knowledge of SF. The horible result will soon be available on DVD, but Ellison's adaptation of his original, award-winning screenplay with Edward Byrant makes for a fascinating read that sets up dozens of great potential storylines. There's also a hilarious essay about how it all went wrong. I'd love to see a new omnibus edition that collects this, the original screenplay, Bova's satirical "The Starcrossed" and the series bible that has wound up online. One can dream...
August 1, 2008
Another example of how the folks with money don't really understand good SF. The script was the pilot for a series(in the beginning a miniseries) and if they hadn't royally screwed Mr. Ellison, he would have produced a superior series for them.
He walked away and put in his pen name, Cordwainer Bird, to let fans know this wasn't his show anymore.
What came out was a hilariously bad series, further blackening the eyes of SF television to people who didn't understand the genre.
This was a novelization of Ellison's script by Bryant and a long introduction by Ellison explaining the whole turgid mess that appeared on television.
He walked away and put in his pen name, Cordwainer Bird, to let fans know this wasn't his show anymore.
What came out was a hilariously bad series, further blackening the eyes of SF television to people who didn't understand the genre.
This was a novelization of Ellison's script by Bryant and a long introduction by Ellison explaining the whole turgid mess that appeared on television.
June 19, 2015
One really cool story about a young man with questions about his world. Why is the sky made of metal? Why is the world only fifty miles? Why is Rachel betrothed to Garth when they don't love each other? And why is Elder Micah speaking to a machine when no one else is around?
All right, so the concept itself might not be the most original any more, but the execution isn't lacking. The artwork isn't bad, and it doesn't distract the reader from what's happening on the page.
I'd recommend this to anyone who either likes science fiction or comic books. (Apparently it's based on a book, so I'll have to read that sometime.)
All right, so the concept itself might not be the most original any more, but the execution isn't lacking. The artwork isn't bad, and it doesn't distract the reader from what's happening on the page.
I'd recommend this to anyone who either likes science fiction or comic books. (Apparently it's based on a book, so I'll have to read that sometime.)
August 1, 2015
The story wasn't bad, but because it was supposed to be the pilot for a television series, feels unresolved.
The art has high and low points, the space stuff looks great, and he clearly did some homework when it came to illustrating the earthbound portions of the story set in an Amish community. On the negative side, the characters kinda had one angry face, one sad face, and one neutral face, and them 3 are the only facial expressions he could pull off.
Worth the 5 bux I spent getting it off of ebay, but if I spend any more money, like the suggested retail price of 20 doll hairs, I'd probably feel different.
The art has high and low points, the space stuff looks great, and he clearly did some homework when it came to illustrating the earthbound portions of the story set in an Amish community. On the negative side, the characters kinda had one angry face, one sad face, and one neutral face, and them 3 are the only facial expressions he could pull off.
Worth the 5 bux I spent getting it off of ebay, but if I spend any more money, like the suggested retail price of 20 doll hairs, I'd probably feel different.
September 12, 2015
This was a solid 4 for me and I was raring to buy the next volume. And that's where the stars start falling. Apparently this is it. The story ends with absolutely no resolution, just a fascinating premise, a little dramatic pressure release, and... nothing. The story's all set up and ready to go, and there's nothing planned to come after. I feel like I've been given the first chapter of a great book only to be told that the author changed their mind, deleted the rest, and won't be finishing it after all; I'd rather not have read anything at all, at this point.
April 11, 2017
I remember watching The Starlost and thinking it was a good idea hidden beneath ultra-cheap production values and increasingly dumb stories, and I had heard of Harlan Ellison's story of how he came up with the idea but television destroyed it. Having read this novelization of Ellison's original pilot script, I was surprised at how closely it hewed to what was shown, but with deeper characterizations and motivations. Perhaps SyFy should endeavor to reboot this as a miniseries. Done right, it would be mind-blowing.
January 18, 2015
Phoenix Without Ashes is a graphic novel of a book of the same name by Harlan Ellison, which was written after Ellison's disastrous encounter with producing a TV show called The Starlost. It is more or less a retelling of the first episode and borrows a few cues from the TV show without the bad 70s haircuts :-) The art style is pleasing and makes a nice addition to any graphic novel or sci-fi library.
February 23, 2009
As I recall, this was Harlan Ellison's account of his work on the television series and the reasons for his breaking with the production entirely. It seemed petty and rather boring to me, but might interest fans in the program (which I have never seen) and would certainly interest any prospective biographer of Ellison.
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