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Diplomatic Act
Playing an alien on a television show, Richard Faraday is astonished when he is mistaken for an alien by real extraterrestrial visitors, who are threatening the galaxy with interstellar war unless Richard's character, a diplomat, can save the day
364 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 12, 2012
I'm from one of the sparsely populated areas of Canada, the province of Saskatchewan. An interesting thing - I can almost always tell if a person is a local or not, simply by hearing their pronounciation of the word.
I'm generalizing of course, as there will always be exceptions, but it's fairly consistent. And it reminds me of my favorite genre of book. I can usually tell an "insider" whom I'd consider a true science fiction fan just by hearing him speak. Does he say "science fiction", or does he say "sci-fi".
I admit I'm generalizing, but I've found that there are two main categories of science fiction fans. There are those that focus on the movies and television shows, and those that focus on the novels and short stories. The "sci-fi" folk are the mass media group, who may read 5-10 novels per year, but get the vast majority of their SF fix through movies and TV. And I, perhaps a bit of an SF snob, belong to the other group - I enjoy some of the movies and a rare bit of TV, but by far the majority of my time spent with SF is through reading books.
You'd think the two groups would be more closely linked. And yet I find a big difference. When you read a lot of SF (an awful lot), you start to get familiar with some of the conventions of the genre. And the movies are just not consistent with those norms. They get the science wrong, they get the aliens wrong (too human), they get the cultures wrong (too uniform within a planet), etc.
I have rarely found a movie that does what I'd call "true" science fiction right. I can usually find it in the books that I read.
I presume that if I were in the other group, I'd find that after watching tons of sci-fi movies, I'd be a bit disappointed in the books being so staid, and in their need to make things so complicated. Why can't we just blow things up (with nice bright explosions in space) and solve things that way? (Sorry, a bit of sarcasm there.)
So... now to this book. And to the reason why I rate this so highly. One of the authors is actually an actor who appeared regularly on Babylon 5 (a show I've never watched even once... sorry). So I expected a sci-fi romp, similar to a movie or television show. In fact, reading the blurb on the back made me think of the movie Galaxy Quest (which I loved, by the way), so the book seemed like it would not be my standard fare of SF reading material.
But I was overseas, shopping in Davao City Philippines (at Gaisano Mall, in case anybody knows the spot), and this was one of the few books in the entire used book shop that looked like it had any appeal. So I debated... and bought it for 80 pesos.
And started to read it on a whim as I flew back to Canada.
And wow.... I was immediately captivated. My first impression was that this book was VERY similar to Galaxy Quest. But this book came first.... Hmm...
And then the book got better, and better, and better. And more impressively: this book does science fiction right! The authors took the time to make sure that the science works within the accepted norms of the written science fiction genre. When the book discusses zero gravity, the authors find ways to describe it that make it so real - unlike the scenes I recall from most movies I've seen. The book even discusses some physics concepts as the background for its basic conflict between alien species (involving a famous cat who may or may not be dead), and gets the physics right. The book also uses nanotech in ways consistent with other big hard-SF writers such as Bear or Benford might employ. And the book goes to great lengths to explain that alien species should not be humanoid. More examples are possible, but you get the point.
But the book also seamlessly analyzes movie and television sci-fi as well. I learned a lot, and have a new respect for some of the story lines and titles discussed. Being produced for the masses (most of whom don't care about the nitpicking details with which I've concerned myself), they still nonetheless have something to say about our society and our times. And this book brings this out, again and again.
Wow... I really didn't expect a book that could be such an exciting read, and yet can sit so comfortably in any canonical realm of the science fiction genre.
As a novel - top marks once again. The characters were engaging. The plot was detailed and fast-moving. There was a twist at the end that I was maybe a bit disappointed with initially (thinking perhaps that it was a bit too neat), but then another twist was thrown in the last 8 pages that knocked me flat. So I had to re-evaluate, and admit that it was as satisfying and exciting an ending as I've read in a long while. Not too "Hollywood" at all...
I will definitely seek out more by the author William Keith, but apparently this is all that Peter Jurasik has produced.
Highly recommended!
(Genre fans will obviously get the most of this book - both SF and sci-fi fans! But new readers will also find this enlightening, so I encourage anybody who has any curiosity in science fiction to check this out, as it will educate you on Hollywood sci-fi while keeping you firmly within respectable confines of the written SF genre.)
I'm generalizing of course, as there will always be exceptions, but it's fairly consistent. And it reminds me of my favorite genre of book. I can usually tell an "insider" whom I'd consider a true science fiction fan just by hearing him speak. Does he say "science fiction", or does he say "sci-fi".
I admit I'm generalizing, but I've found that there are two main categories of science fiction fans. There are those that focus on the movies and television shows, and those that focus on the novels and short stories. The "sci-fi" folk are the mass media group, who may read 5-10 novels per year, but get the vast majority of their SF fix through movies and TV. And I, perhaps a bit of an SF snob, belong to the other group - I enjoy some of the movies and a rare bit of TV, but by far the majority of my time spent with SF is through reading books.
You'd think the two groups would be more closely linked. And yet I find a big difference. When you read a lot of SF (an awful lot), you start to get familiar with some of the conventions of the genre. And the movies are just not consistent with those norms. They get the science wrong, they get the aliens wrong (too human), they get the cultures wrong (too uniform within a planet), etc.
I have rarely found a movie that does what I'd call "true" science fiction right. I can usually find it in the books that I read.
I presume that if I were in the other group, I'd find that after watching tons of sci-fi movies, I'd be a bit disappointed in the books being so staid, and in their need to make things so complicated. Why can't we just blow things up (with nice bright explosions in space) and solve things that way? (Sorry, a bit of sarcasm there.)
So... now to this book. And to the reason why I rate this so highly. One of the authors is actually an actor who appeared regularly on Babylon 5 (a show I've never watched even once... sorry). So I expected a sci-fi romp, similar to a movie or television show. In fact, reading the blurb on the back made me think of the movie Galaxy Quest (which I loved, by the way), so the book seemed like it would not be my standard fare of SF reading material.
But I was overseas, shopping in Davao City Philippines (at Gaisano Mall, in case anybody knows the spot), and this was one of the few books in the entire used book shop that looked like it had any appeal. So I debated... and bought it for 80 pesos.
And started to read it on a whim as I flew back to Canada.
And wow.... I was immediately captivated. My first impression was that this book was VERY similar to Galaxy Quest. But this book came first.... Hmm...
And then the book got better, and better, and better. And more impressively: this book does science fiction right! The authors took the time to make sure that the science works within the accepted norms of the written science fiction genre. When the book discusses zero gravity, the authors find ways to describe it that make it so real - unlike the scenes I recall from most movies I've seen. The book even discusses some physics concepts as the background for its basic conflict between alien species (involving a famous cat who may or may not be dead), and gets the physics right. The book also uses nanotech in ways consistent with other big hard-SF writers such as Bear or Benford might employ. And the book goes to great lengths to explain that alien species should not be humanoid. More examples are possible, but you get the point.
But the book also seamlessly analyzes movie and television sci-fi as well. I learned a lot, and have a new respect for some of the story lines and titles discussed. Being produced for the masses (most of whom don't care about the nitpicking details with which I've concerned myself), they still nonetheless have something to say about our society and our times. And this book brings this out, again and again.
Wow... I really didn't expect a book that could be such an exciting read, and yet can sit so comfortably in any canonical realm of the science fiction genre.
As a novel - top marks once again. The characters were engaging. The plot was detailed and fast-moving. There was a twist at the end that I was maybe a bit disappointed with initially (thinking perhaps that it was a bit too neat), but then another twist was thrown in the last 8 pages that knocked me flat. So I had to re-evaluate, and admit that it was as satisfying and exciting an ending as I've read in a long while. Not too "Hollywood" at all...
I will definitely seek out more by the author William Keith, but apparently this is all that Peter Jurasik has produced.
Highly recommended!
(Genre fans will obviously get the most of this book - both SF and sci-fi fans! But new readers will also find this enlightening, so I encourage anybody who has any curiosity in science fiction to check this out, as it will educate you on Hollywood sci-fi while keeping you firmly within respectable confines of the written SF genre.)
August 26, 2018
It took almost 300 pages for the plot to get rolling. Up to that point, "I wonder if I can pull this off?" was said about 1000 times in various ways. But the last 60 pages are a warm, fuzzy smile. And the book is almost worth the read just for the Rene Descartes pun (... so bad ...). The central conceit that audiences are being carefully manipulated to accept certain ideas rings eerily true today even more than when the book was written in 1998. For readers outside of the world of television production, the behind-the-scenes look at the making of TV shows is a highlight.
May 30, 2009
Before Galaxy Quest, there was this book. It is Sci Fi. It is comedy.
Much of the galaxy is in an alliance. Entry into this alliance was based on the race's philosophical sophistication, not their technology. For the first time in thousands of years, war is threatening the alliance.
They had to find the Eldar race that had united them in the first place, but had disappeared afterward. Then, from a backward planet on the outer edge of the galaxy, transmissions are received with an Eldar in them.
Yes, it is TV transmissions of a Sci Fi show, with a guy in costume. The aliens exchange one of their own with this Eldar. Now you have a second rate actor, that everyone thinks is from the great Eldar race, to stop a war; and an alien, trying to adjust to Earth and acting.
Much of the galaxy is in an alliance. Entry into this alliance was based on the race's philosophical sophistication, not their technology. For the first time in thousands of years, war is threatening the alliance.
They had to find the Eldar race that had united them in the first place, but had disappeared afterward. Then, from a backward planet on the outer edge of the galaxy, transmissions are received with an Eldar in them.
Yes, it is TV transmissions of a Sci Fi show, with a guy in costume. The aliens exchange one of their own with this Eldar. Now you have a second rate actor, that everyone thinks is from the great Eldar race, to stop a war; and an alien, trying to adjust to Earth and acting.
December 29, 2010
Peter Jurasik is an actor in Babylon 5. I suspect his input was not huge though I learned enough about the nuts and bolts of american Tv Production to think he lent more than his name. Its a light weight book that spoofs Babylon 5 in a near identical fashion to the way Star Trek was spoofed in Galaxy Quest. William Keith mutters about this (their work predates Galaxyquest and they touted it around hollywood) on his page
October 22, 2017
Silly, but kind of fun. Passing it along for others to read.
November 18, 2017
A fun little book - Galaxy Quest coming out a year after its publication does not seem like a coincidence.
November 29, 2020
Babylon vitidtan.mm
March 16, 2011
Story:
Richard Faraday is your typical grade B actor on a new scifi series called Star Peace. In his case though he really thinks that he should be an A actor on A show. Its not his fault that no one recognizes his talent. Actually that something else he is wrong about. Unfortunately for him there is a certain group that thinks his performance might be their salivation.
Unknown to Richard and the rest of the planet, the Galactic Unity is on the brink of war. The division among the Unity’s members threatens to dissolve 50,000 years of peace. The only hope lies in finding a member of the race that founded the Unity and then disappeared. The Eldar, a near mythical race that were masters of philosophy, morals, and diplomacy.
Guess who gets abducted because he plays a fictional character that just happens to look like a ancient race that disappeared around 50,000 years ago…..
---------
This was a pretty good read. The story had me laughing out loud at a few points as the various parties tried to sort out some cultural misunderstandings. This is one of those books that I like because their characters don’t do a 180 personality change by the end of the book. They may have some new ideas to think on but they are basically who they are. It’s also a pretty good spoof on Hollywood and the various goings on what it takes to get a T.V. series made. Kind of makes you wonder how much of it is real versus satire. This book also more or less gets along on its story and doesn’t rely on a lot of sex a violence to move things along. I would recommend this to anyone who likes comic Sci-fi and anyone looking for a good old space romp. m.a.c
Richard Faraday is your typical grade B actor on a new scifi series called Star Peace. In his case though he really thinks that he should be an A actor on A show. Its not his fault that no one recognizes his talent. Actually that something else he is wrong about. Unfortunately for him there is a certain group that thinks his performance might be their salivation.
Unknown to Richard and the rest of the planet, the Galactic Unity is on the brink of war. The division among the Unity’s members threatens to dissolve 50,000 years of peace. The only hope lies in finding a member of the race that founded the Unity and then disappeared. The Eldar, a near mythical race that were masters of philosophy, morals, and diplomacy.
Guess who gets abducted because he plays a fictional character that just happens to look like a ancient race that disappeared around 50,000 years ago…..
---------
This was a pretty good read. The story had me laughing out loud at a few points as the various parties tried to sort out some cultural misunderstandings. This is one of those books that I like because their characters don’t do a 180 personality change by the end of the book. They may have some new ideas to think on but they are basically who they are. It’s also a pretty good spoof on Hollywood and the various goings on what it takes to get a T.V. series made. Kind of makes you wonder how much of it is real versus satire. This book also more or less gets along on its story and doesn’t rely on a lot of sex a violence to move things along. I would recommend this to anyone who likes comic Sci-fi and anyone looking for a good old space romp. m.a.c
June 19, 2011
The story is somewhat stereotypical. Aliens from an advanced federation have been secretly watching Earth. However, they don’t understand that fiction is fiction. They kidnap an actor who plays a great diplomat on a science fiction TV show since they think he can help them defuse a potential galactic war. Back on Earth, they replace him with an alien in disguise.
Peter Jurasik is more well known as the actor who played Londo Mollari on Babylon 5. William H. Keith is a prolific author who also writes Military SF under the pseudonym Ian Douglas. The novel is a cute piece, and frequently laugh out loud funny. The satire elements are dead on. The aliens are neither all powerful nor all knowing. In fact, they are prone to big errors of judgement. As such, the interaction with our hero, who is completely out of his element once abducted, works very well. It is obviously written for laughs, but there are some very clever twists to the story.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=874
Peter Jurasik is more well known as the actor who played Londo Mollari on Babylon 5. William H. Keith is a prolific author who also writes Military SF under the pseudonym Ian Douglas. The novel is a cute piece, and frequently laugh out loud funny. The satire elements are dead on. The aliens are neither all powerful nor all knowing. In fact, they are prone to big errors of judgement. As such, the interaction with our hero, who is completely out of his element once abducted, works very well. It is obviously written for laughs, but there are some very clever twists to the story.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=874
February 25, 2010
Some decent escape fiction I guess. If you don't mind your suspension of disbelief being stretched to the limits (Thousands of alien races out there much more advanced than we are and none of them have any grasp of the concept of fiction? Alright then.) The ending however, is just ridiculously cliche. The epilogue can basically summed up as "And they they all lived happily ever after and everything was perfect. The end... OR IS IT! DUM DUM DUMMMMMMMMMM!!!!"
This book isn't as funny as it thinks it is either. But hey, it was engaging enough to finish.
This book isn't as funny as it thinks it is either. But hey, it was engaging enough to finish.
April 2, 2016
Great fantasy of a TV actor switching places with an alien who thinks our science fiction is reality. Based on Pete's experience playing Londo on Babylon 5, and possibly how seriously his cult followers take the series. The Tim Allen movie was a ripoff of this book, but was missing the other side of the story: how the switched alien fared in the bizarre world of Hollywood.
July 30, 2011
What if Londo Mollari of Centauri Prime was really an actor from Earth playing him?
This intriguing idea is given voice by Londo himself - actor Peter Jurasik - in an entertaining sci-fi tale of a Hollywood actor whose fictional alien TV character apparently exists for real.
This intriguing idea is given voice by Londo himself - actor Peter Jurasik - in an entertaining sci-fi tale of a Hollywood actor whose fictional alien TV character apparently exists for real.
September 26, 2011
Really struggled with this one. Blandly written and annoying characters. If it was intended to be a satire on Babylon 5 the TV show it feels unconvincing. Galaxy Quest did this same plot so much better.
July 24, 2015
Meh...good, but...give me an episode of "Babylon 5!"
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews