The colonists making their way to New Pacifica come on what looks like an impassable barrier. A huge canyon that is miles deep and wide that stretches for thousands of miles. They have to figure out a way to cross it. True and Uly discover a Koba pathway to the bottom that most of the colonists go down to explore. Alonzo, Yale and the kids are left behind and attacked by Grendlers looking to steal the vehicles. They use a desperate plan to parachute the vehicles into the valley.
With the vehicles united with the colonists they soon discover that the valley offers them a comfortable existence. Soon they discover a Terrian tribe that uses wings to fly. This tribe befriends them and shows that there is a Fountain of Youth they use to stay young. Martin Morgan has dreams of using it for wealth. The tribe though has an enemy Terrian tribe, and the colonists continue to look for and find a way out of the valley.
This third book in the TV series is another enjoyable read. John Vornholt has written some really good Babylon 5 books, so he has experience in writing for TV series. It is a little goofy with the parachuting of vehicles into the canyon. Everyone seemed in character from the TV series, and this would have made an enjoyable episode.
The series was short lived, so it only got these three books. Reading these books has given me a new appreciation of the series and it is unfortunate that it didn’t get the chance to grow. If you love the series, you will enjoy the books. I also recommend checking out the series.
Well, another Christmas has come. I hope everyone has a fun holiday and happy New Year. I leave you with my favorite scene from by favorite Christmas movie.
The colonists heading toward New Pacifica are running out of water. They enter a great plain and get trampled by a huge herd of buffalo type animals. The water tank is damaged and they need water. A valley has the potential of water, but both the Grendlers and Terrians both warn against entering the place. The colonists ignore this and find an underground city. A strange and beautiful place which True and Uly soon discover is a tomb. Morgan goes hunting for treasure and falls into a trap. Now the colonists have to rescue him and escape the deadly traps.
This is the first original story written for the sci-fi series. It is an enjoyable book. It did feel like an episode to the series and would have made a good one. There is a mystery to this deserted city that is left to the two kids True and Uly to explore. Morgan’s greed gets everyone in trouble which is consistent with the character in the series. I always enjoy reading book adaptations of TV series as they give us new story to enjoy.
It is the 22nd century and Earth is a polluted uninhabitable planet. Most of humanity lives in comfort on space stations scattered throughout the solar system. Only a problem has developed from living solely on space stations. Children are developing a condition called The Syndrome. The Syndrome will kill a child by the time they reach nine years old. It is theorized that they need to live on Earth to get better. Only Earth is a dead planet. Devon Adair the richest woman in the system has a young son Uly that has been stricken by the Syndrome. She mounts an expedition to planet G889 which is an Earth like planet. The plan is to set up a colony on New Pacifica for the children of the Syndrome. Only the government doesn’t want this to happen and tries to sabotage the expedition. The ship makes it safely, but a malfunction causes it to crash thousands of miles from their destination. They have to recover vehicles to make a trek and also find out the planet has intelligent aliens.
This book is an adaptation of the pilot to the series from the nineties. The pilot was a ratings success but unfortunately never caught on and the series was cancelled after one season. The author does a good job of adapting the screenplay. She gives us some more backstory about Adair and her son Uly. Reading this brings back how good the series was. I personally enjoyed it and was disappointed it was cancelled after a cliffhanger like most good series for the nineties. It had an interesting premise and likeable characters. I have the DVD set and might have to give it another look.
INTERVIEW WITH THE LATE ANDREW BONIME by Eric S. Brown
An interview before his death of the producer. It talks about how he got involved with the movie and his favorite memories along with challenges it getting it made.
DOG WALKER by Robert E. Waters
The story of the woman at the start of the movie who gets taken by the Chud into to sewer with her dog. She was the wife of the police detective, and we find out about her.
THE DWELLERS by Nick Cato
The son of the NRC from the movie gets a job storing toxic waste in the sewers. He is also in a rock band and at the club turns into a Chud. Federal agents kill everyone in the club to cover it up.
THIS CITY WILL EAT YOU ALIVE by Ryan C. Thomas
An unemployed man goes down a tunnel in the subway to investigate a missing ticket agent. He gets eaten naturally.
DATE NIGHT by David Robbins
A woman who taught kids of the homeless picks up men at nightclubs to feed the little Chud children.
STRANGE GODS by Christopher Fulbright and Angeline Hawkes
A guy gets captured by a cult that worships the Chuds.
LOST AND FOUND by Greg Mitchell
The story of the young girl at the phone booth whose grandfather is attacked by a Chud. It tells how her uncle a shiftless drug addict manages to save her.
THEY ARE C.H.U.D. by Alex Laybourne
A police squad is trapped in the sewers and battles the Chuds. The survivor is rescued by a homeless man and the homeless battle the Chuds for control of the underground.
C.H.A.D. by Michael H. Hanson
A man leads a group of people in his apartment building as it gets overrun with Chuds.
SAMSA’S PARTY by Ben Fisher
The story of a homeless man that turns into a Chud.
THE WAY TO A MAN’S HEART by Tim Waggoner
What happened to the characters in the diner from the movie attacked by Chuds. One of the officers successfully tracks the Chuds down to rescue the waitress only to turn into a Chud.
DWELLER MESSIAH by Jason White
A kid from an abusive home befriends a homeless man. This leads him to be turned into a Chud and get revenge on his family.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT by Mort Castle
An anti-American rant that goes on about making Chicago a Chud tourist attraction. Thankfully a very short story.
TOXIC DISPOSAL by David Bernstein
The couple from the movie go back to their apartment to dispose of the dead Chud. They decide on dumping it in a dumpster, but it comes back alive and kills them.
MONSTEROUS ME by Martin Powell
Another story of a man turning into a Chud.
STEP ATE by Chad Lutzke
A recovered drug addict who manages a cafe has his ex who turned into a Chud locked in a storage room.
ZERO HOUR by JG Faherty
A special forces squad called Double Zeros are experts in hunting down Chuds. They go to West Virginia where toxic waste stored in abandoned mines have caused a Chud outbreak.
THE DEUCE by Philip C. Perron
A group in a greasy spoon get exposed to Chuds and are infected. They have to be eliminated by the government.
ALL AT SEA by Ross Baxter
A group of British Marines board a freight and find out it has been overrun with Chuds.
YOU WILL NEVER LEAVE HARLAN ALIVE by Jonathan Maberry and Eugene Johnson
Sheriff Bosch the detective from the movie is now a sheriff in a small Kentucky county. While investigating the disappearance of a senator, he finds a group of Chuds. Apparently, the senator was storing toxic waste in mines and some meth dealers turned into Chuds.
INTERVIEW WITH PARNELL HALL by Eric S. Brown
Interview with the screenwriter. How he got involved with the movie. The challenges to writing it as Daniel Stern wanted to change the character from a rookie cop to a hippie priest.
One of the great movies from the eighties has to be the low budget monster movie C.H.U.D. Which stood for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers. As we later find out this was a government red herring to cover up the real acronym Contamination Hazard Urban Disposal. This gem of a movie has a following because as the interview show it was made by people who cared about making a quality movie.
This anthology gives us a fun look at the universe of the world of the movie. Except for one story all of them are excellent. Many give us backstories of the characters from the movies. If you love the movie, you should check out this anthology. It is a true tribute to the movie.
Sly is a decker that is getting old and wants to retire. On a typical run to retrieve data on a minor executive that a competitor can use, she retrieves a file from a dying decker. Soon every corporation and government is out to get her. The file has a way to read fiber optic data and would give any corporation of government a big advantage in this information dependent world. She teams up with a young teenage gang member named Falcon that dreams of becoming a shaman. They have to avoid the various hit teams and find a way to post this data, so everyone has access to it.
This is Nigel Findley’s second book and definitely an excellent entry in the series. In fact, I think that Findley may be my favorite author in the series. He knows how to write interesting characters and situations that keep you invested from beginning to end. This book also gives us a look at the corporate workings in this world. The Zurich-Orbital is the corporate court that keeps the system running is on a space station. It makes sense that these extraterritorial corporate entities have to have some kind of authority to keep them in line. Definitely one of the best books in the series.
THE BOOKS THAT TIME FORGOT. 