Read Pilgrim Stars (Spoilers)

Mekt-Hakkikt

Mpanty's bane
Hi!

So, finally I got to read the last WC novel I was missing, Pilgrim Stars.

I liked it - it's one of the few (maybe even the only one) WC novels I found to be really suspenseful. Even more with the cliffhanger at the end.

I still dislike the Pilgrim stuff and thus was not thrilled to see their capabilities to be augmented: all those visions, telepathy, "tapping into the scripts", force choking, "make gravity to bow to your will" - no thanks. They're certainly far beyond doing maths very quickly.
I also found the Angel-Blair and Paladin-Aristee relationship stuff to be rather annoying, too cheesy. Luckily, there wasn't too much focus on it.

I liked the combat scenes and especially the scenes with the Kilrathi. It made them more wild and alien, yet not so one-dimensonal as in other novels. I felt almost sorry for Vukar and his crew, I think they "deserved" to get at least a small victory. Too bad they're going to kill each other...

And I have to say, Maniac was, even though being annoying, the only likeable character on the human side. Certainly not Blair or Paladin.

Two small questions though:

1. Did Mr. Telep know what will happen to Tolwyn in the later WC story? Because his plan to annihilate the Pilgrim enclaves certainly shows some of the later Tolwyn.

2. What about this reference how the new CF-117b Rapier replaced the old F-44a Rapier? Just a mistake? Because I thought the F-44a Rapier was the one from WC 1...
 
That's an interesting take on Pilgrim Stars - it's not my favorite novel (... or even my 8th-favorite novel), but I think I'll re-read it in that frame of mind.

1. Did Mr. Telep know what will happen to Tolwyn in the later WC story? Because his plan to annihilate the Pilgrim enclaves certainly shows some of the later Tolwyn.

Yes, he did - in fact, Mr. Telep once described the 'Pilgrim' books as his attempt to 'clear the deck' for the later stories (specifically Forstchen's novels.)

2. What about this reference how the new CF-117b Rapier replaced the old F-44a Rapier? Just a mistake? Because I thought the F-44a Rapier was the one from WC 1...

He was trying to explain why he called them "F44" Rapiers in the first novel. It doesn't really work with anything else, though (and he doesn't bother to explain away most other things at all - like the Concordia and the Olympus not being Confederation-class ships...)
 
Thanks for the answers. Could you maybe direct me to the part in the movie novelization where he tries to explain the F-44 thing? Also, did he have to elaborate on the Concordia and Olympus thing, i.e. were there confusing parts?

Concerning why I liked Pilgrim Stars, maybe I should be more clear. It was not that it had an especially high WC feel for me. I dislike the Pilgrim stuff, I dislike what is done to characters that are dear to me (Angel, Paladin, even Blair) and I thought, while the combat parts were entertaining to read, there were not enough for a WC novel.

But I liked the caracterization of the Kilrathi as written above and I enjoyed not knowing how the story would develop. No other WC novel had that for me, I especially found ER and FA to be rather dull, one-dimensional and boring. I liked them because they fleshed out the WC universe (informations about stuff) and I could picture Bear chasing the Sartha in the canyon. But as a story, ~~~.

The WC novel with the most WC-feel remains FF for me. I like it and FC also especially because they tell focus a lot on the Kilrathi.

Now, where would I put PS in my ranking? I don't know, at the moment rather high. But a lot of the WC novels lost their magic for me when I read them the 4th or 5th time (ER I never liked very much), maybe it will be the same with PS.
 
Thanks for the answers. Could you maybe direct me to the part in the movie novelization where he tries to explain the F-44 thing? Also, did he have to elaborate on the Concordia and Olympus thing, i.e. were there confusing parts?

Sure, I can explain - the Wing Commander movie novelization was written before any of the movie material tie-in was finished... so instead of using the Confederation Handbook, Mr. Telep used existing Wing Commander information. As a result, everything is described as being like it was in the games - when the movie mentioned the Concordia, he decribed it as being the Concordia from WC2... when the movie mentioned Rapiers, he called them F44 Rapiers, etc.

Concerning why I liked Pilgrim Stars, maybe I should be more clear. It was not that it had an especially high WC feel for me. I dislike the Pilgrim stuff, I dislike what is done to characters that are dear to me (Angel, Paladin, even Blair) and I thought, while the combat parts were entertaining to read, there were not enough for a WC novel.

I don't think any book could have lived up to what I wanted in Pilgrim Stars (I literally forced myself to see again to read it)... but my biggest problem was mostly the sex. I hate to say it, but I can't stand sex... in science fiction. Few writers in my experience have ever done it right - it comes off as extremely juvenile and otherwise wrecks up otherwise reasonable stories.

But I liked the caracterization of the Kilrathi as written above and I enjoyed not knowing how the story would develop. No other WC novel had that for me, I especially found ER and FA to be rather dull, one-dimensional and boring. I liked them because they fleshed out the WC universe (informations about stuff) and I could picture Bear chasing the Sartha in the canyon. But as a story, ~~~.

I would like to have seen Pilgrim Truth in this respect; it was going to involve more Kilrathi politics... we'd have seen the Emperor in 2654.
 
Sure, I can explain - the Wing Commander movie novelization was written before any of the movie material tie-in was finished... so instead of using the Confederation Handbook, Mr. Telep used existing Wing Commander information. As a result, everything is described as being like it was in the games - when the movie mentioned the Concordia, he decribed it as being the Concordia from WC2... when the movie mentioned Rapiers, he called them F44 Rapiers, etc.

Ah, thanks. Strange, I didn't realize that when reading (apart the F-44 thing).


I don't think any book could have lived up to what I wanted in Pilgrim Stars (I literally forced myself to see again to read it)... but my biggest problem was mostly the sex. I hate to say it, but I can't stand sex... in science fiction. Few writers in my experience have ever done it right - it comes off as extremely juvenile and otherwise wrecks up otherwise reasonable stories.

I absolutely agree with you, those scenes were awkward, as were the whole relationship scenes in my opinion.


I would like to have seen Pilgrim Truth in this respect; it was going to involve more Kilrathi politics... we'd have seen the Emperor in 2654.

I immediatly re-read the plot outline of PT after reading PS - that part sounded very cool. I liked how Vukar and the Emperor came to an honorable agreement.

But I disliked the idea of the psychological torture by the Kilrathi (o no, I have to relive my father's treason!), a concept I dislike in general. And how the Kilrathi ducked in fear of the Pilgrim...who then descended from the heavens to pick up the elected people. That was a bit much.
 
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