Journey to the Far Side of the Constellation
It was a busy week, which is why I'm writing this on Saturday morning, after it's already due in your inbox. I had to write a big whitepaper for the day job while trying to fit in plotting and outlining Clouds in the Future and making progress on the new giveaway for subscribers. (That's you.)
I was also hoping to have the cover for Clouds ready, but the initial version was a bit of a letdown. Hopefully the next one will be better and I can share it.
I'm going to my first book festival in May. I learned about it this week and "bought a table." Then I ordered a table online so I have one that fits in my car, because even though I "bought" one, it's bring your own.
Being a writer is weird.
Do I Know You?
“Last night somebody broke into my apartment and replaced everything with exact duplicates... When I pointed it out to my roommate, he said, "Do I know you?”
― Steven Wright
I must have been 12 or 13 the first time I saw Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (Doppelgänger in the UK). One of the local stations was showing it on TV and my father was pretty excited for it. It had hit theaters earlier, in 1969, and I'm guessing he hadn't been able to catch it then.
In Journey to the Far Side of the Sun an international crew of astronauts are sent to a newly-found planet opposite Earth, on the far side of the Sun. The mission fails, or at least seems to, until the protagonist discovers they had crash-landed on a "Counter-Earth" that mirrors ours in every detail, with a parallel and duplicate timeline.
Like many science-fiction films of that era, Journey performed poorly in theaters, received mixed reviews, and has since gone on to become a bit of a cult film. I enjoy it for a its dark, almost film noir atmosphere, especially after the protagonist wakes up on "counter-earth" and has to figure out if he's going crazy or really on another planet.
I felt bad even revealing that much about the plot here, but most write-ups do explain that much of the plot, and without it I was left with "Watch this movie! It's great!" which is only a little less compelling than "Sign up for my email list! It's great!"
What made me think of this film was seeing Constellation on Apple TV+. Apple has been knocking it out of the park with science fiction of late, and this series is no exception. This is another show about astronauts not being sure if they landed at home or not (there have been many, Journey being neither first nor last.) But with multiverses and quantum physics being all the rage now, Constellation uses them and veers in a different direction as the story progresses.
What made me think of Journey to the Far Side of the Sun is the cinematography (both love mirrors) and the inclusion of Jonathan Banks character as one of the Earth-bound directors of the failed mission. There's a similar character in Journey.
If you like your science-fiction seasoned with a bit of mystery and conspiracy, both of these features are worth a watch. Constellation isn't over yet, and so far the seven episodes felt like they could have used editing down to six or so, but it's still very compelling and has an excellent cast.
EPIC Spring Sale
The sale on full-length science fiction and fantasy I shared a couple of weeks ago has about a week left.
There are some wonderful books in here from a variety of indie authors. (Including me.) Take a look!
I hope your first few days of Spring have been warmer than mine. Have a great week!
Refer a subscriber to my list from this link, to get a free ebook copy of Shadows of the Past!
Eric Goebelbecker
Trick of the Tale LLC
25 Veterans Plaza #5276
Bergenfield, NJ 07621-9998