Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Lo, the Rings of Saturn

by Andrew E.C. Gaska, Judy Glass (Editor), Maria Paula Alvarez (Design)

The year is 1987, and NASA launches the last of America's deep space probes. In a freak mishap, Ranger 3 and its pilot, Captain William "Buck" Rogers, are blown out of their trajectory into an orbit which freezes his life support systems, and returns Buck Rogers to Earth, 500 years later.... The first original Buck Rogers in the 25th Century(r) adventure in over three decades! Set in the continuity of the original series, Draconian Fire Part 1: Lo, the Rings of Saturn is the first of three novellas that fill in the gap between the first and second seasons of the 1979 disco scifi TV show Buck Rogers in the 25th Century(r). Join Buck, Wilma, Princess Ardala and Commander Kane as they face a threat that will either unite the known systems, or instigate all out war. On an undercover mission to save the Earth from an ecological disaster, Buck finds himself trapped on an icy prison moon packed full of his former foes. Soon, he and Colonel Wilma Deering must choose between preventing a madman from blowing them all up, or stopping a mechanical overlord from turning everyone into mindless zombies. Some centuries, it just doesn't pay to be unfrozen

Genres: Science Fiction

130 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2015

About the author

With two decades of experience in the comics and video game industries, author Andrew E.C. Gaska is the Senior Development Editor at Lion Forge LLC. Having previously freelanced for Lion Forge’s Labs division as a script, pitch, and proposal writer, he now generates original IP for the brand, developing both comics and animation projects while working closely with creative teams to guide their vision to fruition.

He is founder/creative director of the guerrilla integrated-media studio BLAM! Ventures, and for the past three years has worked as a freelance franchise consultant to 20TH CENTURY FOX, writing series reference bibles, maintaining continuity, streamlining in-universe canon, and creating detailed timelines for the legacy franchises of ALIEN®, Predator®, and Planet of the Apes®. He was also a sequential storytelling instructor at the School of Visual Arts in New York and for seventeen years served as a visual consultant to Rockstar Games on the Grand Theft Auto series, Red Dead Revolver, and all other releases.

Known as ‘Drew’ to his friends, his online sci-fi and sociopolitical essays on social media and at rogue-reviewer.com draw controversial debate and discussion from all sides. His graphic novels and prose works include Critical Millennium™, Space:1999™, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century®: The Draconian Fire Saga, Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes®, Tales from the Forbidden Zone: The Unknown Ape™, and the upcoming novel, Death of the Planet of the Apes®.

Drew resides in Gulf Breeze, Florida with his affectionately glutinous feline, Adrien. Find out more about his upcoming projects at www.blamventures.com

Reviews

[Christopher Backa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novella picks up where Season 1 of the show left off. Buck and Wilma are on a secret mission for the Directorate on a mining colony, and run into some past adversaries. While Ardala heads home for a meeting with Draco. The book reads like an episode of the show. There are so interesting retcons for some of the things that happened during season 1 so they all fit together. If you liked the series, you will like this book. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a certain nostalgia for the 70's Buck Rogers, which I watched religiously as a child of 9 or 10. I mostly read this out of that sense of nostalgia. It's a pretty by-the-numbers "Buck goes undercover in a prison" story, with some exotic locales added that would have been beyond the budget of 70's television. It's competent and scratches that nostalgia itch, but not terribly remarkable.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads like a screen treatment from an overworked screenwriter

The plot of buck outflying and out thinking a security force of the future is a standard for the milieu. The set up of the e book doesn't allow the easy read settings I am used to.

[Todd R · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't necessarily dislike this novel. It was a bit simple, but I still enjoyed the writing. It wasn't much more than what you get from watching an episode...nothing new here and not really exciting.

[Jeff Correll · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story and am looking forward to the next installment, but the publisher needs a much better editor/proofreader.

[Frieda Verbaenen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earth is not receiving the organisms it needs and no satisfactory reply comes from the facility on Enceladus - one of the moons of Saturn. So Buck Rogers and Wilma Deering are sent undercover to investigate to find what is happening.
Apart from Wilma and Buck, we also meet Ardala, who is still obsessing about Buck; but soon she becomes empress, after her father Draco's death.
This Novella - Draconian Fire - is the first of 3 novella's and sets the stage. Of course in true Buck Rogers style not everything goes to plan and as it is the first story, we are left wondering what will happen next.

The story, placed between Seasons 1 and 2 of the TV series, is well-paced and I finished it in a couple of hours. Certainly looking forward to part 2.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Andrew Graska deftly captures the tone and feel of the first season of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century in this novella, the first part of a three-book series. His continuity references show a deep love and understanding of the show without feeling like pointless fan service. The plot, while fairly straightforward, is tense and gripping. While the dialogue at times is clunky and over expository, this is still in keeping with the show. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this continuation of a childhood favorite, and am looking forward to the next installment.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story and can't wait for the author to give us more. Buck Rogers is classic sci-fi and always a great escape