Greetings from Earth (Book)

From Battlestar Wiki, the free, open content Battlestar Galactica encyclopedia and episode guide
Revision as of 16:15, 3 January 2007 by Shane (talk | contribs) (+ Copyright Concern)
POSSIBLE COPYRIGHT VIOLATION
Text that was previously posted here appears to infringe on the copyright of the text from the source(s) below:
http://www.blast.net/hart/GREETINGSFROMEARTH.htm

This page is now listed on Battlestar Wiki:Copyright problems. Please do not edit this page for the moment. If there was permission to use this material under the terms of our Creative Commons license or if you are the copyright holder of the text that was submitted, please indicate so on this page's talk page and under the article's listing on Battlestar Wiki:Copyright problems.

It should be noted that the posting of copyrighted material that does not have the express permission from the copyright holder is possibly in violation of applicable law and of our policy. Those with a history of violations may be temporarily suspended from editing pages. Regardless, even if this is in fact an infringement of copyright, we still welcome any original contributions.

If there was no permission to use this text, then please either write at least a good stub on this temporary subpage, or leave this page to be deleted. Please do not resubmit the material that was here before, as it will be removed. If Battlestar Wiki is found to have copying permission, then this article will be restored to its previous contents. If you place something on the temporary subpage, please make a note of it on this page's talk page.

Unless a stub is written on a temporary subpage, deletion will occur after one week from the time this page was listed on the Battlestar Wiki:Copyright problems page.

The original posting is still accessible for viewing through the history link on this page.

This article has a separate continuity.
This article is in a separate continuity, which is related to . Be sure that your contributions to this article reflect the characters and events specific to this continuity only.

[[Category:Separate continuity ({{{universe}}})]]

Greetings from Earth
Greetings from Earth
A book of the Berkley Books line
Book No. 8
Author(s) Ron Goulart
Adaptation of Greetings from Earth
No. of Pages {{{pages}}}
Published June 1983
ISBN 0425060470
Chronology
Previous Next
War of the Gods Greetings from Earth Experiment in Terra
Paperback Version
Available at Amazon.comPurchase
Available at Amazon.co.ukPurchase
Available at BOOKSAMILLION.COM - Purchase
Available at Half.com by eBay - Purchase
Audiobook Version
Available at iTunes – [{{{itunes}}} Purchase]



The Berkley novels take a turn for the worse with author Ron Goulart at the helm. It doesn't help that Greetings From Earth isn't exactly the most popular episode of the series. Goulart does his best to differentiate the novelization by adding several new scenes and even a few new characters to the story, and while it may make the novel a little more interesting, the extra scenes and characters don't add much to the story as a whole.

The biggest fault of the book is Goulart's handling of Starbuck. Goulart takes all of Starbuck's least likable traits and multiplies them times ten! Sure, Starbuck was a loudmouth, a braggart, and a womanizer to some extent, but Goulart writes him so over the top that the character becomes a joke. If the Starbuck character had been like this on the TV series, he surely would have been hated and despised by every Galactica fan.

First of all, it gets annoying the way Starbuck is almost always chomping and puffing away on a cigar. Second, he is constantly saying "Hooey!" and addressing everyone as "chum". In the actual episode, Starbuck did go overboard a little when he told off Reese in the officers' club, but in the novel Starbuck blows up on Reese so badly that he comes across as an insufferable jerk. ("Reese, you have ten seconds to withdraw your snoot from our conversation," said Starbuck, grinning thinly. "After which time I will personally carry you bodily to the nearest wastechute and eject you into the vastness of space." Only moments earlier, Starbuck tells Apollo, "You're being dippy." Dippy???)

To make matters worse, Goulart feels compelled to pair Starbuck up with some country hick woman with psi-powers on Paradeen, and the whole thing never really clicks. This is one Berkley book you could skip, as well as the rest of the Goulart novels.

Some plot points of the novel:

There is a subplot involving Jolly hooking up with a woman named Zixi which never really goes anywhere.

The class that Athena conducts is called Applied Science.

Boxey says in class that Dr. Wilker might make a mistake and cause the people to die. Athena later admonishes Apollo for talking negatively about Wilker in front of Boxey.

Adama explains to Boxey in his quarters why Starbuck and Apollo took the shuttle away.

Apollo sends a communication to the Galactica soon after arriving on Paradeen.

Sarah sets out at night down the road (to saboutage the ships). Hector confronts her, but she insists on continuing.

Councilman Geller meets with Adama about the ships on Paradeen. They both become concerned when they can no longer communicate with them.

The next morning, Apollo does some exploring in the woods. He is approached by a gaunt old man named Kertiz the Hermit who has low-level telekinetic powers. Kertiz tells Apollo that leaving the planet won't be as easy as he thinks, and then walks off.

Apollo is headed towards the vipers to check them out when a man named Sut Meadows tells him they've been smashed. The shuttle is also badly damaged.

Hector's hovercraft is able to fly high in the air. At the city, Starbuck threatens to jump out if Hector won't lower the ship to the ground.

Apollo confronts the Morelands on their property, but they deny they had anything to do with wrecking the ships.

In the city, Starbuck is captured by a gang. He tells them he can get them guns. One of the women, a red-head named Queenie, takes him to find the weaponry. She tells him she saw a blonde woman wrecking the ships, and Starbuck realizes it must be Sarah. Queenie has psi-powers and knows that Starbuck was lying about the guns, but she wants to help him. They both go to a library looking for records. A rival gang appears called the Commandoes. They are about to be killed when Apollo arrives.

Kurtiz the Hermit saves one of the children, Cindy, from an Enforcer.

Starbuck and Apollo disguise themselves as Enforcers when they capture Leiter and his men.

Sarah apologizes to Apollo for wrecking the ships.

Queenie joins the fleet (and so Starbuck apparently has another girlfriend!)